The Boreal War

"I couldn"t believe in my wildest of dreams that the legion i had took care of for so many thousands of years would turn against the ones they swore an oath to. I apologize from the bottom of my heart your liege. I guess it wouldn"t have happened had i not been missing for so long"
Elias Maltoran, talking to the then emperor of the Imperium in the aftermath of the mutiny

Hell breaks loose by Sancient

The Boreal War was a deadly conflict between the Imperium and a renegade faction of the undead legion, lead by its commander Carolus Lorian, after he had been corrupted to do the bidding of a deranged god. His motives are unknown to the Imperium however and out of all the wars that the legion has fought, this one seems to be the haziest in details.
Nonetheless, it is known that this war was bloody for the entire world and especially for the legion. Not only did they lose most of their veteran and legendary warriors, there was a huge backlash against them which was only repaired by the outbreak of The Great War. It had also exposed one of the key flaws in the legion, which was the unwavering loyalty soldiers had to have towards their officers, resulting in most of the legionnaires remaining silent and many even joining the renegades
Millions died in the two years of the war, commonly referred to as the sunless years. The world was bleak and gloomy, and yet raging with the fires of war. Despite its name, the war had spread everywhere from the southernmost lands of the Argonites to the Northernmost frontiers of mankind and everything in between. It was the only war in which mankind, Argonites, Horcs and all the other sapient races of Elladia mixed blood as they desperately stood their ground against Carolus and his renegade legionnaires, supported by a malevolent power. It was easily the deadliest war Elladia had seen in millenia, and one that would have wiped out the world had it not been for the countless brave souls who died on the battlefields, in snowfields and burning sands, on polar islands and tropical wetlands, under sunless skies and shrouded lands. Everywhere on Elladia, they fell. All in the name of defeating the destroyer
The war was special in that it was the last war for a long period of time that was fought within the Imperium. It was supposed to bring an age of peace, marking a long age of wars and deaths. Alas, that was not to be. With the outbreak of the great war only a year or so later, the Imperium mustered all its forces to fight in what would become the deadliest war of the planet, one that continues to this day even a thousand years later

The Conflict

Prelude

The Corruption of the commander

Artifact of Darkness by Piotrdura

With Elias Maltoran, the commander of the Undead Legion being presumably killed at the end of the Bloodmoon Rebellion, the mantle had passed onto his second in command, Carolus Lorian who was also approved by many of the veterans and high ranking officers as well as the common soldiers of the legion through a vote. He was noted to be a kind and caring man, who would often personally listen to his soldiers problems. All of this would change however when the legion was called in for a rather odd job
Around a few years before the beginning of the mutiny, the legion was called in to give some protection to a number of imperial archaeological teams who had apparently unearthed a strange object. The Legion thought it odd, as it was a job they could have used local law enforcement or military and paramilitary forces for. When Carolus had inquired as to why they were being called, the only response was "You will know soon". He tried contacting many senior government officials for help but alas, they were equally as dumbfounded and just told him to go with it since they didn"t believe nothing much could happen
When the time for the excavation came tho, the legionnaires and the excavation team members felt an odd tingling sensation, and a voice whose strength grew stronger the nearer they moved to the supposes artifact. None of them would give any true reports however, and made a cover up story that seemed satisfactory. For both the excavation team and the legionnaires that were present ( including Carolus) were corrupted by the malevolent artifact and moved it secretly to the undead legion headquarters, where he would use it to corrupt more members of the legion

The Corruption spreads

"Oh this is just the beginning. The damned fools have no idea whats headed towards them. As i keep turning more and more people to the way of the lord, i shall eventually overthrow this filthy kingdom and their parasite like monarchs. Only the emissaries of the lord shall be fit to rule Elladia!"
Carolus, talking to one of his corrupted comrades about his plans

Entrance to the Underworld by Nele Diel

Slowly but steadily, Carolus began to corrupt more and more of his comrades, turning them to the twisted path of Arkanos. Not only his comrades, he began to corrupt the flora and fauna and soon, even the underworld itself. Shadow elementals, golems and other creatures of the underworld were turned into the servants of Arkanos. Taking lessons from the Bloodmoon Rebellion, Carolus covered up many of the mistakes that Zaratian had committed. Secrecy was his utmost intention, with him never going overboard with corrupting too many people as it would arouse suspicion.
This had helped him to slowly but surely corrupt a majority of the undead legions soldiers, and when they were corrupted, he began his next move

Planning a rebellion

"Its easier if i use someone to do my work ya know? Why stage a rebellion yourself when you can use another person to do it and use his cause as a justification?" Its a wonderful way to spread the rule of our lord after all"
Carolus, dressing some of his key followers during a meeting

Darkness Descends by Snatti89

In the Imperial political arena, there was a political party named the Democratic front. Their main platform was to make the Imperium a full direct democracy where the citizens truly held supreme power over the affairs of state. Elias thought that this was a good coverup for his activities and would also give him some "legality" to his activities. He decided to plant some civilian agents into the group, and the plan succeded as the party leadership and its masses slowly fell to the lull of Carolus and began preparation for the eventual rebellion. This was not however, unnoticed by the legionnaires

The Loyalists get a hint

"Dude, don"t you think that there is something weird happening? I don"t see Carolus these days anymore"
"He could simply just be busy you know?"
"Whenever he was busy before, he at least told us what he was busy with. This time, it hasn"t been like this. He"s like a wraith, moving through our ranks without even responding to us. I fear that something may be troubling him"
"You want to go ask him at tonights feast?"
"Sounds like a good idea. Lets hope he does reveal whats been happening to him"
Two friends of Carolus, talking about how he has been rather aloof since the time of the excavation

Though Carolus executed his plans with as much secrecy as possible, suspicions still sprang up. The uncorrupted legionnaires were somewhat unsettled by the fact that Elias spent as little time as possible with the legion, often hurriying up after an assembly or speech. When asked by his friends, he often gave no answer or said that everything was fine and that he just wanted some solitude these days. His closest friends were not satisfied with this answer however, and thus they began tailing him and spying on him.
This would lead them to a very horrifying and uncomfortable truth. One that would shock them to the very core

The Truth is revealed

"Believe me your honour, this is a dire situation. Those damned cultists are back! They have been butchering people down in the deepest reaches of the underworld and corrupting the damned place! You have to do something my lord, or else we will have a repeat of the events on the bloodmoon islands, and i fear that this time, it will be far bloodier

Legions of the Underworld by Zippo514

One night, as Carolus went to offer his usual prayer to Arkanos at the end of the day, a group of his close friends tailed him when he forgot to lock the door. Inside his room, they found several diaries with ominous detail, talking about "Lord Arkanos" and how he would rule the world through his chosen emissary. Tailing him further through a secret passage, they came to a lair filled with dead bodies and containing hideous creatures who could only be called demons. This was already enough information for them to know that he had indeed fallen victim to whatever had plagued the minds of the Bloodmoon islanders six thousand years ago, and rushed to tell the others the truth
When the uncorrupted members of the legion understood that this was a situation that had the potential to end the entire world, they quickly sent a few parties consisting of the high ranking officer in the legion to inform the imperium and present them evidence. When they arrived and presented their evidence, the emperor and the king of Tenebria could hardly believe themselves and ordered the immediate subjugation of the corrupted members of the legion. It would not happen however, as the corrupted legionnaires soon began the carnage

War Breaks out

"Filthy parasites! They think they can stop the rule of the great lord? Their optimism amuses me. In the end, it shall be me that shall stand over their rotting corpses and proclaim the birth of a new world! One that is ruled by the ideals of our lord and not by the false gods of these filthy beings"
Carolus, declaring war on the Imperium

When the Imperium went in to arrest Carolus and his subordinates, they had found that the legions headquarters were already a battlefield. A large battle was raging, where Carolus seemed to be winning. The remaining uncorrupted legionnaires fled to the other parts of the Imperium alongside the force that had come to arrest Carolus. From the Underworld, he had brodcasted a speech in which he claimed that war had begun, and that the forces of "the lord" would reign victorious. What followed, was a war that would scar the Imperium forever

The Engagement

Initial Stages

Demons arriving by Chriscold

The initial stages of the war mostly concerned the Imperium making aggresive attacks against the corrupted legionnaires and their demonic masters, which all failed horribly due to their indomitable will as well as their newfound magical powers. They demons they encountered this time were far stronger and deadlier than the ones in the Bloodmoon Rebellion, and some could even reanimate fallen soldiers for a short period of time to fight by their side. It wasn"t until a certain person arrived that the tide was turned

The Return of Elias

"Who the fuck are you all?"
"Who are you?" One of the Champions of our lord perhaps?"
"Our lord?" What are you even going about?" Judging by your armor and weapons, you all seem to be part of my legion but why are they glowing purple?"
"This.... this is the person who was missing for thousands of years now. I guess its best if we end him here before he becomes a poisonous thorn for us"
Elias, talking to a group of corrupted legionnaires and their leader

Elias, Lord of the Undead Legion by Dleoblack

When a group of corrupted legionnaires attempted to summon a demon, they found that they had accidentally summoned one of their own kin from the undead legion. He was different however, for whilst he had the purple glow from his armour and also from his hands, he seemed aggresive towards them. It wasn"t until their leader told them that this was Elias Maltoran, the original commander of the undead legion who was presumed dead at the end of the Bloodmoon Rebellion.
Their commander had proposed to kill him there and then, as he feared that Elias was still uncorrupted and would soon go on to become a poisonous thorn for them. The legionnaires moved in to attack, only to find their bodies sliced in half. Elias fought his way out of the caves and wandered for a long while before being discovered by an Imperial patrol team. The team couldn"t believe that Elias was still alive, after being presumed dead for thousands of years and quickly took him to the nearest town to heal his wounds

Recovering from wounds

I don"t remember anything of my memories of the place i was in. All i know is that i was stuck there with some hideous creatures and gained some new powers through Regulus knows what means
Elias, talking to a group of uncorrupted legionnaires upon being a bit better in health

Recovering from wounds by Omer Tunc

When he regained consciousness, Elias found himself in company of some of his closest friends. Not being able to control their happiness, they hugged him and proceeded to ask him quite a lot of questions that made him tired. He simply replied that he didnt have any memories of where he went and he only knows that his newfound powers were the result of him interacting with something in the void. He asked for some time to recuperate and get some information about everything that was happening. His friends agreed and left him in solitude for a while
After feeling a bit better, Elias asked for all the information they had about the current state of affairs. He was shocked to know that his best friend, whom he had a thousand year friendship with had betrayed the Imperium to the service of a twisted god. He began to analyse the events that had unfolded, and came up with a spectacular plan

Overloading the Demons

"This idea does sound insane, but i have seen some of those demons reacting violently when i used my newfound powers against them. They go berserk, killing everyone that comes in front of them and that includes other demons and even the ones that summoned them. If we could replicate this in a wide scale, we may be able to turn the tide of the war"
Elias, talking to the emperor on his plan to turn the demons against Carolus

A rift in the void by ShahabAlizadeh

After observing the situation and devising a plan, Elias talked to the emperor and the high ranking commanders of the imperial armed forces, telling them of his plan. Despite numerous objections that the plan could backfire horrifically, Elias managed to convince them that this was their best shot at stopping Carolus and his followers, seeing as no other means had mad even a permanent dent in their strength.
As per the plan, Elias would use the entirety of his powers and project a cloud of his acquired energy over the entire continent, which would be thicker in areas with higher concentrations of cultists and demons. This would hopefully cause them to go berserk and turn on their masters, who would proceed to then rip each other apart. The plan was eventually given the green signal and Elias began to execute it. It turned out well at first but soon backfired for everyone

The Reapers Arrive

"I told you it would backfire! Now we have these giant armoured demons butchering everyone they see! For all of this and you using the same powers as them, i should be fucking beheading you!"
"At least we could weaken our main enemy! I can get them back in control but its going to be hard. Moreover, the he seems hellbent on opening this giant rift of sorts. We have to stop him first. You can court martial me as soon as this damned war is over. We just need to save ourselves first"
Elias, in a heated scuffle with the emperor after his plan caused the demons to open up more void rifts and begin a full scale assault on the Imperium

The plan did succeed but only partially. Reports began to surface that rifts were opening up at an exponential rate, the result being that demons were flooding the entire continent and were even beginning to get a foothold on other continents too. The war had now almost become a world war, and such was the carnage that even the Aegean Empire volunteered to help the Imperium by sending in military contingents and soldiers
The war had marked the very first and only time that the Imperium and the Aegean empire had collaborated militarily, against a unified threat. It saw a golden age of cooperation between the two species that would alas, be shattered by the outbreak of the great war a few years later. Nevertheless, in their short period of camaraderie, the argonite troops helped tremendously and slowly, the war became more of an even footing for the alliance of these two empires

The Final Battle

"Today is the day brothers and sisters! The day we finally eradicate this nightmarish cult and their god from our world once and for all! This has been the deadliest war for my people, and the undead legion is almost extinct. So many have died, and yet we have to finish the goal they died for. If we have to go extinct, we will go extinct but by the grace of Regulus and the gods, we shall never let this twisted god rule the world!
Elias Maltoran, delivering a speech to the combined armies of the Imperium and the Aegean empire before the final battle against Carolus

The Final battle begins by Blazbaros

Meanwhile, Carolus had retreated back to his main base, to the surface of Mount Himmelgard, the tallest mountain on the continent. He had planned to open a gigantic rift from where the forces of Arkanos could begin a full scale invasion of Elladia. On the slopes and the way upto the mountain, stood the remnants of the corrupt legionnaires and numerous demonic hordes.
The combined forces of the Imperium and the Aegean empire had assembled at the site, determined to finish off the dark gods forces once and for all. Before the battle began, Elias gave a speech alongside Meridius Lancaster, the argonite general in charge of his forces. The two proclaimed that this would be the last battle Elladia would have with the forces of the dark god, and that he would be eradicated this time, never to again haunt the mortal realm. The speech had greatly inspired the troops, and they charged into battle with all the fervour they could
The battle was bloody. It pitted nearly two million alliance forces against the much smaller yet equally deadly legionnaires and their demonic masters. The battle would see fully eighty seven percent of the alliance force killed and most of the remaining wounded to various degrees. The demons clawed out the hearts of the human and argonite soldiers, even as they died as a final act of vengeance against their mortal enemies. The battle would not end however until the battle of the two champions

Battle of the Champions

"We meet again friend. Yet it seems like you have changed"
"So have you. Even though you fight on the side of those filthy parasites, i still have honour and respect left for you. For you taught me what i knew not and we fought together in so many battles"
"If you have the conscience to understand this, why don"t you understand that you were tricked by that unholy abomination you call a god?" He requires the souls of innocent people for fucks sake!" Never in my life have i seen such a twisted god like the one you worship"
"To you, he may be twisted but alas, every hero is the villain in the eyes of their enemies and vice versa. It is only the winners that write history and decide what is good and what is wrong. None of your speeches can move me from the path of the lord. And mark my words, i am to be the victor in this war! None of your weakling armies can stop the light of the lord from enlightening these lands"
"If light is like that, i would rather embrace the holy darkness than ever come out in front of the unholy sun! May Regulus have mercy on you, for i certainly won"t
Elias and Carolus, exchanging some words before fighting

Champion of the Dark God by Justin Gerard

At the summit of the mountain, Elias and Lancaster found his old friend, corrupted beyond restoration. He still had a shred of humanity left inside of him however, as he acknowledged Elias as his friend and even spoke to him softly and asked him to politely join his side. Elias had refused and argued with him as to how he had been corrupted, how that artifact had twisted him to do its bidding. Nothing could make Carolus stand back however, as he proclaimed that the gods never do anything for mankind and demand prayers in return for nothing
Elias tried one more time to convince him that there was still time to turn back. He would not be tried or executed and he would certainly lead a peaceful life if he just went away from the ideals of his twisted god. Carolus harshly rebuked him, and instead told him that no matter what would happen, he would go wayward from the path of his lord
At the suggestion of Lancaster, the two then fought against the corrupted legionnaire, and managed to get him beaten down at first. Until he revealed his true form. Channeling the combined energies of the void and the underworld, he transformed into a gigantic demon, his wings spanning entire miles in distance. Elias knew that this was a situation which called for him to be transformed into Umbra again and told Lancaster to stay away for the sake of his own health before transforming into the being who had started the undead legion
The two titanic beings then clashed. The entire landscape was desolated in the midst of these two titans battle, and both sides just prayed that their champion would win whilst they battled with adversaries closer to their own size. Yet, it seemed that the demonic champion would emerge victorious, seeing as he had severely wounded Umbra and killed all of the shadow elementals he had summoned
In a last ditch effort to kill the titanic demon and end the war, Elias called upon the powers of the void. Suddenly, Umbra had gotten new life and began to fight again with renewed vigour. Carolus, sensing his powers weakening suddenly awakened the true powers inside of him, and in a short span of time, even the Umbra possessed Elias couldn"t keep up with him and was knocked down by a powerful kick from Carolus
As Carolus went to finish him off, Lancaster suddenly appeared and tried his best to distract Carolus. The result was Carolus simply stomping him like a bug, turning him into a mixture of red, semi liquid paste. This had given Elias enough time however to charge up for a final attack and hopefully finish off Carolus. As Carolus turned his attention to Elias, he found him glowing a deep purple and his hands glowing brighter than the sun. The last thing he saw was a flash before his entire self was nearly obliterated by Elias
As Elias stood up and looked at the charred and yet still breathing body of his old friend, the demon made one last attack. This was not something physical however, as he knew that it would be in vain. Instead, he had channeled his energy and warped reality in such a way that the blast would eliminate all traces of the connections to Arkanos including written notes, memories and every sort of record so that they couldn"t prepare for a future invasion. The plan was successful, but it would cost the life of the demon and also that of Carolus

Start Date

8995

Ending Date

8997