The Tale of Laurien and Alastair

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NonnoSte
Bladesinger
Bladesinger
Posts: 904
Joined: 07 Oct 2013, 14:59
Armies I play: All kind of Elves.
Location: Turin, Italy.

The Tale of Laurien and Alastair

Post by NonnoSte »

Disclaimer: I'm a bit nervous about this, since I'm not an English native speaker and, in general, it's been years since I last wrote anything (apart from the shopping list).

Our local store started the second chapter of a serie of Campaigns based on End of Time.
This chapter will be rightfully centered on the advent of Glottkin, therefore scenarios, as well as some special rules affecting the battlefield during the match, are studied accordingly.
In the gaming group, we also decided to write some short stories about our characters to create a background for them and to make a sort of storyline connecting the battles played (there will be 5 of them and I'm planning to write all the battlereports about them too).

Since I quite enjoyed the challenge, I decided to go further, trying to translate my story in English and sharing it with the Asrai community since, obviously, I'm playing Wood Elves in the campaign with this particular armylist.
Please, remember it will be an attempt at translating a text written in Italian, for which I doubt I have the necessary competences, but I'm going to try it nonetheless.
Be nice if it's written with bad grammar or with debatable word choices, tell me and help me to improve in my English. It will be very much appreciated!!


Anyway, enough chatter! Let's get into it.
NonnoSte
Bladesinger
Bladesinger
Posts: 904
Joined: 07 Oct 2013, 14:59
Armies I play: All kind of Elves.
Location: Turin, Italy.

Re: The Tale of Laurien and Alastair

Post by NonnoSte »

The mist was not unexpected in that season.
Alastair, tough, as far as his memories could recall, never felt such a chill spreading from the coil of the haze.
It whispered of death.
The fog whirled and wove intricate patterns around the fragile figure advancing towards him.
“The Weaver asks we move today, Alastair”
His sister Laurien was distant and cold in the last days and Alastair couldn’t help but thinking that the time spent with the Weaver was the cause.
“She gave me the Power of Metal.”.
“Has it begun, then?”.
She never replied and Alastair stood still, watching her figure vanishing trough the mist.

“Father, the Weaver wants us to go.”
“I feared this day would have come soon.”
“But we’re not ready. We don’t even know where to go looking for help!”
“There won’t be time to get ready. You’ll have to find help where Elves are not welcome. The End of Times is getting closer and closer.
It’s time for the Treemen and their kin to walk alongside our people. It’s time for Him to help us.”
“But... Father, it’s impossible! He is..”
“I know Alastair, but we have no choice. Nagash and his minions already taught us how weak we are. We can’t afford to succumb to the hordes of Chaos. We’ll have to trust the Weaver.
Bring forty Guards with you: I can’t afford to send more of them away from these halls. Not all the Evil comes from North.
Take care of your sister, Alastair, she will be important in the days coming. All of us will. Only if we stay together we will have the stregth to face what’s awaiting us.
And beware, Forest Spirits are wayward Alastair...”


“Alastair.”
His sister’s call shook him from the last words of their father. She had been silent the whole journey and the nervous note in her voice worried the young Elf.
“Alastair, they can feel me. They know we are here.”
“What are you saying Laurien? Who are you talking about?”
“The Weaver gave me the power of Metal and they can feel I’m carrying it in their realm. They fear and hate me, brother. I’m scared.”
“You don’t have to. Stay with me and nothing will harm you.”
She reached his hand and let slip a locket on it.
“What is this stone? – Asked Alastair – It looks like a Moonstone.”
“The Weaver gave me this. She said that through it, we will always find a safe path, an hidden way to get back.”
“I don’t understand, Laurien. What’s this supposed to mean?”
“We don’t need to understend. Just trust her. Promise me you’ll use it only to get back.”
“But...”
“Promise! You mustn’t use its power. Not even if I’m in trouble.”
Alastair was up to protest, but suddently a bundle of vines clutched to his arms and anopther one started to climb up his legs.
All the Glade Guards were immobilized by similar plant ropes and at the edge of the glade where they stood, a bunch of figures appeared.
One of them walked forward. It looked like a wooden statue modeled with the appearance of an elf.
The creature spoke and the noise it prudeced seemed to come from all the surrounding trees at once. It had an hissing edge that made it menacing and unnatural.
“Begone weaklingssh! You sshall not go further! You’re not allowed to passh!”
With Alastair’s surprise, Laurien replied with a voice as much mystical as the one coming from the creature.
Her voice rang like a brass bell, cold like a steel plate, heavy like a lead ball and clear like the purest gold.
“Step aside, Wraith! You have no power on us. We must proceed, since it’s you’re King we’re looking for.”
“Sshilence foolissh elfling! You’re not worthy to sshpeak in my presshence! – The Dryad spit out to Laurien, hitting her chick with a limb. She didn’t bleed. – Sshe!? You don’t even have any more blood in you. I can sshmell the reek of iron coming from you, elfling! I’ll let the Dwellers Below to have you.”
“You cannot!” the voice of Laurien was even more frightening than before and at those words the creature backed off, bending on itself.
“You’re barely able to awaken these woods. You’re no match for my powers, twisted creature!”.
The Wraith crumbled further back and started crying: a sound of nails scratched on a slate. It bended more and more, unitl it was an unrecognisable tangle of branches and wooden splinters. The noise rised in a surge of shrieking up to the point it was unbearable to hear.
Then, suddenly, there was silence and where a moment before stood the Branchwraith, a golden statue of a curled Dryad lied to the ground.
Immediatly the vines restraining the elves fell to the ground and the warriors drew their sword and nocked their arrows simultaneously. The surrounding Dryads started to fall to the deadly accuracy of the elven weapons, enhanced by the powerful magic flowing from Laurien's hands.
In few minutes there were no Forest Spirit standing and the dust was settling, when Laurien fainted.
Last edited by NonnoSte on 22 Jan 2015, 18:22, edited 1 time in total.
NonnoSte
Bladesinger
Bladesinger
Posts: 904
Joined: 07 Oct 2013, 14:59
Armies I play: All kind of Elves.
Location: Turin, Italy.

Re: The Tale of Laurien and Alastair

Post by NonnoSte »

I had a sort of narrative match, set up especially to show the encounter of Laurien and Alastair with the Branchwraith and its Dryads.
It was clearly unfair since the two armies featured:

Laurien. Metalsinger L2 with Dispel Scroll (Enchanted Blades, Final Transmutation)
Alastair. Glade Captain BSB with Moonstone of the Hidden Ways
19 Hagbane Glade Guards, full command
10 Trueflight Glade Guards, musician
10 Trueflight Glade Guards, musician

Branchwraith (Awakenings of the Woods)
3 x 25 Dryads, champion

The match was quite uneventful (shoot, back off, shoot, teleport, some Final Transmutation, shoot again and then a combo charge in the last turn), but it was significative in the narration of the Tale, since it actually took place and I wrote the story knowing what happened in this match.

It doeasn't deserve a full Battle Report, but here's a quick replay of the flowing of the battle:
(I stole the idea of the animated gif from Swordmaster of Hoeth, who started to add it at the end of his reports on ulthuan.net)
Image
Last edited by NonnoSte on 22 Jan 2015, 19:22, edited 1 time in total.
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Mollesvinet
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Re: The Tale of Laurien and Alastair

Post by Mollesvinet »

This is a nice idea, however, can you delay the speed of which the gif changes pictures?

I have only used dryads once since the new book, and this mini-report shows them fail again. Such a shame, used them every time in the old book.
NonnoSte
Bladesinger
Bladesinger
Posts: 904
Joined: 07 Oct 2013, 14:59
Armies I play: All kind of Elves.
Location: Turin, Italy.

Re: The Tale of Laurien and Alastair

Post by NonnoSte »

I edited the image slowing the speed.

I think that this match can't be taken in account to rate Dryads.
3 big blocks of infantry against 40 Wood Elven shots packing a Moonstoning Final Transmutation is not an even match under any circumstance.
The seme points spent in 3 blocks of Warriors of Chaos or Plague Bearers (arguably the best infantries in the game) wouldn't have any different outcome.
Probably 800 points of Slaves or Goblins could have been a problem, since I couldn't possibly shoot through all of them, but anything else with no range threat wasn't that scary.
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