One day, the Templars of Our Burning Saviour marched to Kleah.
Old Kleah, the dark, massive city, carved at the behest of ancient warlords and daemons out of black stone around the fallen Hydra’s head, ruled for time immemorial by Tusk Chieftains with a bloody fist. Home of Disease, Disorder and Death.
Hopelessness reigned in the City Stained Red, especially since their leaders submitted to the Desraki, and the Neos Khornathi Temple was constructed over the ruins of the old temple to the dark gods that had been destroyed by Stormcast.
Now, Grand Khornate rituals of worship and murder were performed daily in the temple, and rivers of blood flowed down its spires into the city below, all the while bleeding the citizenship dry.
With the Tusk Chieftains’ and Desraki control over the lands surrounding the city slipping, the city was but a carcass, a shadow of its former dark Glory, but still as hopeless and deadly as before. Its Obsidian walls were manned by elite Desraki soldiers and Khornate Daemons, and their Chieftain, his mind long gone, huddled in the temple, performing rituals in ever-increasing intensity, was fiercely devoted to Khorne.
Now, a massive host of shining gold and deep red, their Banners bearing the Burning Wings of Our Saviour, moved to encircle the city. Long lines of glistening, heavily armoured infantry; Templars riding on enormous, green-scaled reptilian beasts, themselves also heavily armoured with golden plate. Squadrons of Tzaangors on sacred discs of Tzeentch, both archers and Enlightened. This Holy Army had resolved to bring Hope back into this lands.
With them came many units of freed slaves.
Many of them hailed from Old Kleah – freed slaves, street scum. Refugees. They had fled when the city fell more and more to the bloodlust of the Desraki, and they had found new purpose in Our Saviour’s service.
Others hailed from intercepted slave caravans or labour camps the Templars had attacked and destroyed, freeing the slaves and hanging their Masters.
Now they stood alongside their Templar Saviours. Well-fed, well-trained and with fire in their eyes. Burning with desire to take the city.
The refugees knew Old Kleah; they knew the surrounding territory. They had told the Templars where to find people looking for a cause, a reason to live, refugee camps, deep mines where hardy slave workers were still under control of their Tusk Lord slavemasters, looking just for a spark to break their chains and get back at Kleah’s masters. Red-robed Priests came to refugee camps, slave quarters with easily disposed guards, and those warbands led by former slaves sympathetic to the Templars’ crusade.
The Tzaangor Preachers had made fiery speeches, citing the Templars’ glorious past and future, urging the huddled masses to join the crusade against their former, bloodcrazed masters. Those that accepted were healed and blessed by Clerics, and were given swords and shields fresh out of the Templars’ forges – which prompted many more to join.
Swiftly and covertly, also ccompanied by native scouts, Enlightened and Skyfirew sweeped the lands, preparing the way for the Templars’ main forces.They monitored movements, prepared ambushes, and led the host on the most advantageous paths to Kleah.
As they moved in to surround the city, unsurprisingly, a force made up of fanatic Tuskmen brandishing poorly made spears and old swords, but also well-armed Desraki soldiers in the back, stormed forth from one of the city gates. They also had managed to summon a small host of demons to do their bidding.
It was not unexpected, and Vardeshir the Solemn ordered a portion of his host to meet them in battle.
They let Kleah’s defenders march a fair distance while they took to their formations to counter the sortie. It was apparent that the Desraki commander was none too pleased with his allies’ foolhardy eagerness and resistance to his orders, but he did not turn back, for fear of being called a coward.
Finally, at the Paladin’s signal, the Templars charged – the Golden Wings on the backs of the heavy cavalry inflamed. A storm of golden Plate, fiery wings, claws, gold-tipped lances and sharp curved swords, Hymns to Our Burning Saviour, accompanied by confident battlecries of freed slaves and refugees storming forward, if falling a bit behind.
The Desraki took aim at the charging Templars with their firearms, but their unconcentrated attacks only brought down a rider infrequently. The Bloodletters quickly decided to fall into the flank of the Templars’ main body where the new recruits of refugees was placed, but squadrons of Skyfires flew out to meet them in battle, and shot them down to be cut down and overrun by units of Enlightened.
Then the Templar’s heavy cavalry crashed into the Tuskmen and Desraki lines.
The armoured Templars brutally and viciously rode through the Tuskmen’s, then the Desraki’s lines with ease, and once the formation broke, the slaughter commenced.
From Vardeshir the Solemn’s position, a chaos of black, red and gold ensued, from the soldiers position, it was a different experience. Humbled slaves hacked a Desraki soldier in full plate apart. A Templar’s golden Plate armour was cut open by a demon’s axe. Tuskmen were ripped to shreds by a riderless reptilian mount. Scarred slaves tore apart a panicking slavemaster with open bloodlust, while he uselessly flailed around with his whip.
The Templars outnumbered them by a great margin, even without their newly recruited auxiliaries, and they were better disciplined and better organised.
Once one of the Templars held a red helmet in his armoured hand, high up into the air, the battle was over. The corpse crumpled by his feet had been the Desraki officer, who had slaughtered many of the attackers with his impressive swordmanship, but now that he was dead, the remainder was soon mopped up.
The path to Old Kleah was free now, and the Templars set up their camps, outside of the reach of Desraki artillery. Makeshift fortifications were erected, and captured Desraki cannons of their own were brought into position, and with magical enhancement, they even had enough reach to start the bombardment of the city.
The siege of Old Kleah had begun.
