Fuggit Khan:
Zharr-Naggrund was lost, defiled by the lesser races.
Word of the catastrophe spread among the Dawi Zharr strongholds that still had not fallen�?�not surprisingly, the news was greeted with a mix of anger and pragmatic acceptance.
The Dawi Zharr were patient, time was viewed as an asset.
But this was the End Times.
The three Dawi Zharr sat at their favorite local Zorn-Uzkul brew house. For 32 years they had come here to toss bone dice in games and celebrate victories.
Always expressionless, Vardch Stone-Chin sat holding a tankard of ash beer, pondering the news of the downfall of Zharr-Naggrund. Leaning back in the stone cut chair, he studied the sullen expressions of his two friends who sat with him at the wrought iron table.
With him sat Belk One-Eye, a Daemonsmith. Years ago he had cut out his own right eye, casting it upon a brazier of coals as an offering to Hashut. His eye was now a black obsidian prosthesis.
Also sitting was Narrakg the Slave Master. Retired from battles after taking an arrow to his knee, his tall hat was adorned in precious copper, a testimony to his stature and wealth now as a slaver.
Belk spoke first, breaking the gloomy silence.
�?oEverywhere it�?Ts the same news. The Gods have forsaken this world�?�the mightiest cities and empires destroyed�?�we�?Tll be overcome here as well.
Death knocks on all the doors of this world�?�.
�?oThen we should leave this place�?� replied Vardch.
Belk paused, then asked �?oYes, but where? We�?Tre heavily outnumbered by the hordes sweeping across these lands�?�.
�?oWe�?Tre always outnumbered, it�?Ts the same game story played out every time�?� replied Vardch. �?oThe current 8th era battle tactics don�?Tt favor our smaller elite numbers of warriors. It�?Ts not always a level playing field. We�?Tre always outnumbered, getting railroaded, suffering from poor initiatives. We would�?Tve had a chance back in the days of the 4th era tactics�?�but these 8th era days heavily favor the stubborn hordes of the lesser races�?�.
�?oWe could muster our smaller number of forces in one of the four corners of the world, play a defensive bunker strategy, castle up our units�?�wait it out till the end�?� said Belk.
�?oWe�?Tre limited to only two corners of the world for deployment�?��?� countered Narrakg.
Puzzled, Vardch asked �?oCorners of the world? What the frag you talking about?�?�
�?oOur world�?�it�?Ts flat with four corners�?� replied Narrakg, pulling a map out of his pocket. Made of leathered flesh and tattooed with the blooded ink of a thousand slaves, the map was laid out across the table.
�?oThis is our world, our lands are in the center�?� said Narrakg. �?oWestwards are the lands of men, south of that is Araby, and so forth�?�.
�?oThe bottom corners of the world are ocean, no going there, we�?Tll have to go to one of the two upper corners of the world�?�we�?Tre only allowed to deploy on one side of the four sided world. Perhaps if we had some vanguard units�?��?�
Vardch blurted out �?oYou honestly believe the world is square and flat? That if you go too far off the �?~edge�?T you�?Td fall into oblivion? Who first charted this flat world map?�?�
�?oThe Ulthuan elves�?� replied Narrakg.
Vardch Stone-Chin, whose face never showed emotion, suddenly frowned�?��?oYou believe a map from FRAGGIN�?T ELVES?!�?� he growled as he spat on the floor. �?oThose stinking, flower frolicking, smokers of tree bark?!�?�
Belk protested �?oVardch! The world�?Ts flat�?�with four edges�?�I�?Tve seen Goblins flee off the edge of our four cornered world, gone after they went through the firmament. And stories of mighty warriors, knocked off the flat world, their weapons shattered and their bodies broken from the fall�?�.
Vardch spat on the floor again. �?oFine�?� he grumbled.
Narrakg spoke again �?oWe�?Tll need to move fast�?�rumors say these End Times will usher in the 9th era next month�?�we will no longer be based on a square world. Our world will be torn asunder, become a floating ball in space�?�and that our feet will no longer stand squarely on a familiar base�?�.
�?oMove fast?�?� asked Belk. �?oOur resolute, contemptuous nature won�?Tt allow it. Where are these rumors from?�?�
�?oFrom the Realms of Chaos�?�these End Times are the manipulations of the Workshop Masters, who view our world and us as mere playing pieces in a greater game. They seek to recast our world for their own lucrative purposes�?�.
Frowning, Vardch crumpled the map into a ball, holding it up for all to see.
�?oSo, our world will become a floating bubble, drifting aimlessly and bumping into other bubbles of existence for the next 40k years?�?� Tossing the crumpled ball into the hearth fire, he grumbled �?oGame over�?�.
