EL: The East Bank

	“In the days of axe and shield, when our Lord first spoke to us, He said ‘Be strong of  arm, strike your enemy with iron!’. And so it was, by the Declaration of Valor, that the Valsenar stood as lords and commanders over the mountain peoples!

	Even over the clamor of battle, ringing metal and bestial screams, the priest’s voice carried to every ear, booming with impossible clarity. Five Knights-Venturer had led the charge over Sothfala’s only whole remaining bridge, pressing back the teeming masses which had slithered from their shadowed dens to repel the Order’s most recent assault on their domain. More than a thousand Armsmen followed with them, a wall of spears to hold the contested pocket against nightmarish apparitions while the knights struck deeper into the city.

	“When the clans united and the first Knights-Householder led their retinues into the foothills, He said ‘Be clear of mind, defeat corruption with purity!’. And so it was, by the Declaration of Valor, that the Houses asserted their claim on all the land they stride and the people they defend!”

	Among the throng of writhing tentacles and snapping beaks, the red-pupiled eyes and lamprey mouths, human forms not yet twisted beyond recognition shambled forward to run their bodies onto ichor-slick speartips. To be pitied, unlike their monstrous brethren, but not shown mercy. These too were cut and stabbed, joining the swiftly growing half circle of corpses, a barrier to all who would deny the Order’s conquest of the east bank. Tyrnallians joined the dead in their own turn, the zealous braziers of their souls departed forever, and others were dragged from the lines by orderlies. In the latter case, their wounds were tended by Knights-Attendant empowered by their god’s Love, healing in minutes what would take years for nature to put right.

	“When the Order gathered strength and besieged the fallen city of Sothfala, He said ‘Be not afraid, and if all else fails, kill them with fire!’. And so it is now, as we press towards the conclusion of this Declaration of Valor, that we kindle the flames of purgatory. Drive your spears deep, Soldiers of Tyrnall! The Lord of Battles is with us, and our cause--”

	Snaking through the spearwall without regard for the pricking it received along its length, a ropy, spine-encrusted tentacle whipped at the priest on his perch. Thich as a large man’s thigh at its narrow tip, it made as though to encircle him and drag the man back to the main body of whatever enormous creature possessed it. Instead, with a furious cry, the priest raised the morningstar that was his staff of office overhead and brought it down. Crackling with divine blue fire, the steel head struck flesh in a gory burst, severing six feet from the limb at a blow to fall twitching on the bloodied stones.

	“Our cause is righteous! Strong, pure, fearless, with iron fist and armor of proof, we will strike down the enemies of God!”

	With a synchronous roar, the armsmen pressed out and into the force arrayed about them, driving the horrors back or killing them where they stood. Friend and foe alike trod underfoot, they climbed atop the wall of flesh they had made and assaulted over it. Another battalion, waiting for their moment on the bridge, moved in to take their place in the widening gap. Within minutes, the wide boulevard along the river was secure to either side, the Tyrnallian lines anchored against the stone of waterfront buildings. It had taken the Order ten years to completely cleanse the western bank of Sothfala, but they had learned their lessons well. By summer’s sweet shine, the east of the city would be well in hand.