Luyện nghe bài hát And Lo, When The Imperium Marches Against Gul-Kothoth, Then Dark Sorceries Shall Enshroud The Citadel Of The Obsidian Crown

[Chapter 1: The of the Sorcerer]
The war between the and the allied Vyrgothian Kingdoms had raged
for years. Beginning as minor over border territories, the conflict
had swiftly escalated into a full-scale bloody war, a series of epic
campaigns, fervently perpetua ted by the Koord and the Over-King of
Vyrgothia, both eager to smite traditional ancestral foes and to win
glory and the adulation of their people by seizing victory in battle.
Recent months had seen the of the Imperium display a staggering degree
of tactical mastery and battle prowess, contemptuously crushing the
armies in a series of great battles, 'til at last, following the
Rout of the Fields of Kai-Vorg, The finest fighting force, the fame
d and far-feared of the Ebon Tiger, stood unopposed not five day's
march from mighty Gul-Kothoth, the greatest and most fortress-city in
all the Vyrgothian kingdoms. The Legion of the Ebon could not easily
count their numerous and r esounding victories, and commander, the
legendary warlord Baalthus Vane, made it clear to the that he was
eager to press on deep into the enemy's lands and the prize which
awaited him; the and capture of ancient Gul-Kothoth! And yet the Emperor
Koord did not order the to march, for disturbing information had of
late relayed to him by his spies in the Vyrgothian Royal Court... Dire
rumours abounded that the mages had at last discovered the ancient
r ites which would unlock the aeons-fettered power of the dread
Obsidian Crown, a fearsome mystical artefact thousands of years old,
a black-jewelled circlet believed once to have borne upon the immortal
brow of the Shadow-King him self! And it was written in legend,
that should the ancient spells of entwining the artefact be reawakened,
then incredible near ruinous power would thus be bestowed upon any
army carrying the Crown battle... Had the mages of Vyrgoth ia truly
ascertained the time-lost conjurations required to the Obsidian Crown,
hidden for centuries deep within the marble of its ebon citadel? Eager
to know the truth, the Emperor dispatched his most powerful across
the great In land Sea to the Court of the Over-King, the pretence of
offering the terms for the Vyrgothian surrender. He was use all his
sorcerous skills to discover the truth... a truth made clear by the
disdainful of the Imperium's terms, an d the grimly fearsome message
given the sorcerer by Master Wizard, with which to return to the
Emperor: "And lo, when the Imperium marches Gul-Kothoth, then dark
sorceries shall enshroud the Citadel of the Crown..."

[The of Vyrgothia:]
Darkly bejewelled of night,
Crown of the King,
at last the Trinity of Might,
The sceptre, the sword, and the ring.

[The
I stand upon the planks of this great ship, (the splendid flagship of
the navies)
Gazing at moon-gleam dancing on the vast, sea...
(And in my mind I behold) black gleaming... ensorcellment!
I am enthralled by this spell...
For I know that the slumbering
Of the crown shall soon be reawakened...
And as I return to my emperor (shackled to such grim tidings),
My spirit is borne upon the leathern wings of a sorrow...

[Chapter 2: The of the Imperium]
[The
Call forth the of the Black Lake
And the of Kyrman'ku,
Let speak the Words Which Unfetter...
Enshrined for centuries, within its darksome citadel,
Five score and ten against the Tiger, (curse) the black of the
Shadow-King!
By all the dark gods, I swear not be dethroned!
A seething of blackened blades,
A sea of ebon war-chariots,
A searing of flaming shafts,
All this and more shall I unleash against my foe...
Into battle! The Legion march... the fall of Gul-Kothoth is nigh!

The Legion of the Ebon Tiger... six thousand elite of the
Imperium, the pride of the Emperor's forces... Bolstered by cavalry, and
a of deadly scythed chariots... further reinforced by the Imperial
Frontier Army of one hundred tho highly trained spearmen and archers...
and has this force met its match in battle or siege...

[Baalthus
Our banner flies ever glorious, undefeated we stand, in victory.
The Iron Phalanx, six thousand strong, our blades, the Tiger's
claws.
Pride of the Empire, of the Vraii,
at Turonium, and Kai-Vorg.
Smiters of the Host, Routers of the Horde, Bane of the Over-King, we
to war!
And so, the Emperor himself rides to rendezvous with Vane,
by his sorcerous aide. The Legion of the Ebon Tiger reaches
Gul-Kothoth at on the fifth day of their march from the fields of
Kai-Vorg, halting upon the great arid plan which stretches the city,
the huge dust cloud up by their massed arrival obscuring the dying embers
of the setting sun. As the vast army to make camp, arraying their
splendid tents and banners, and assembling their gargantuan ons,
the stands gazing at the huge brooding walls and colossal cyclopean
gates of the city-fortress before him, that a torrent of red slaughter
shall befall Gul-Kothoth, regardless of any sorcerous trinkets the
may possess, and the Over-King shall pay dearly for his sublime
arrogance. And twelve leagues distant, an army of score and ten, bearing
the Obsidian Crown, the city...

[To be continued in 3: The Wizards Do Battle]

Byron]
[Music: Jonny and Maudling]