[ALTARUS:] Gaze deep into the with your spirit-eyes, Xerxes... look far, and me what you see. [XERXES:] I see a land far to the north... a vast of dark endless moors and snow-crowned mountains... a land of brooding and warrior-kings who to grim gods. Look well, Xerxes, for enlightenment hides within the fog-swathed of Hyperborea...
[The King's By the onyx sceptre of my forefathers, the air is churning with of dethronement... Impending dread prophesized! In a dream I was bade ride the argent-eyed unicorn to the Ring of Stones... a torrent of viscid slime me, as pipes and horns sang the clarion of my dissolution... And the usurpation of my azure throne. Assassins stalk the nighted of my palace... poisoned blades and chalices surround me. I thirsted for a balm, but my thirst was by an envenomed draught. My swordarm shackled by tendrils of sloth... enthralled by the gloom... Borne upon of labyrinthine dread... I awaken! I shall seek the counsel of the sorcerer, keeper of the ancient scrolls of wisdom, and the of Power...
Words of the Sorcerer:] My liege, great and regal king... the mists their secrets... you are destined to wield a great dark power. Drink deep of the of the apothecary, for upon thee now I a shard of the mystic Crystal of Mera... sacred artefact of the At mages, won in battle by our legions. My liege, the Crystal of Mera shall unveil the truth hidden in thy most dreams...
Voice of the Harbinger:] The land awash with blood, and viscera torn forth from the sundered dead... Gorge the earth with flesh darkened with the claw and of war... open the ravenous maws of worms...
[The The Crystal illumines dark secrets, the truth is known... a and threat is ranged against me. Hearken, the clarion is upon the winds, now the call to is upon us all, Grim warriors, take up thy spears and hone thy gleaming swords. Archers, thy bows, brave knights, saddle the steeds of war, The glory of battle is nigh at last, our banner fly this day in victory!
My warriors, a legacy shall this day be by our blades, decreed by the gods, Blessed by the of vanquished foes. Our destiny beckons...
[Lord Angsaar, Dark Liege of Come, great king of Hyperboria, march against me with your legions and shimmering swords. I, the Bane of the Kings, the Scourge of Lemuria, Archfoe of the Immortals of Ultima Thule, shall you! I shall visit a thousand plagues upo n your realm, and wreak untold havoc and carnage I have your throne... and your soul!
[ALTARUS:] And thus, flanked by the splendour of azure banners, a army marched from the great walls of the Imperial City of Hyperborea, and at the forefront of the mighty legions, an ebon war-stallion, rode the king, sunlight up on his splendid armour... compelled by dreams, and guided by the of Mera... [XERXES:] Where? did the king's path take him? The king was compelled to lead his forces to the shadow-haunted Mountains of the Dead, a grim and brooding place steeped in and ancient legendry. Alone he rode into the gaping maw of a huge hewn into the side of the tallest mountain co untless ages by unknown hands. For three full days and he did not emerge from the cave... until, at last, he rode forth from the eldritch mountain once more, a terrible knowledge in his icy eyes, and bearing in his gauntleted fist a huge sword, a magnificent ebon blade which no human ever forged. Fearsome sorcerous power crackled the yard of black steel, dancing upon its searingly honed, glyph-scored blade... and its bejewelled, hilt did whisper secrets to the king in a strange, elder tongue. [XERXES:] But master, powers did this blade possess? What secrets did it [ALTARUS:] Many centuries ago, before even were waged the Great between the ancient kingdoms of Atlantis and Hyperborea, Angsaar did rise from his charnel-tomb and do with a powerful immortal warrior-shaman over the possession of the elder Crystals of Mera, mystic gems of magical potency. Angsaar, his power swelled by forces from the Outer Darkness, did his foe to the brink of destruction... but, with his fading sorceries, the immortal mystically his li fe-essence into his great sword, and scattered the magic crystals across the galaxy, Angsaar with a hollow victory and forcing him to return once more to his dark Chamber of Slumber. The sword was for centuries, as were the crystals, u ntil the one gem to remain on world was discovered deep beneath the seas by an ancient Atlantean wizard. And the sword... spoke of how its final resting place would be made known by the sorceries of the crystal only when the bl ade's power would once again ne needed to battle the Chaos-liege. This was the immortal's final, powerful spell... upon the reawakening of Angsaar, the sorcerous energies and lifeforce encased within the would be transferred to its wie lder... aye, the one who discovered the Shadow-Sword would be imbued with the of the immortal, and by the art of spellcraft, he would do battle with his nemesis once more... [XERXES:] Then there such a cataclysmic battle! [ALTARUS:] And so, his Black Citadel, the Chaos-liege did send forth his Horde of Wraiths to engage the of the king...
[THE Behold, a legion of undead fiends meets us upon the of war. Face me, of Lemuria, I wield thy bane, the Shadow-Sword... (and darksome sorceries now empower me with thunderous might!) Hearken, the is upon the winds, now the call to arms is upon us all, The of battle is nigh at last, the fray we ride!
[XERXES:] The outcome, master... who left the field Did the prevail? [ALTARUS:] The mists begin to disperse... for now, the images fade. tale shall have to wait 'til day...
[Lyrics: [Music: Jonny