The fall of Alfric the Cruel

Revolution

The day that Ravgaal, Terierin and Pogvuyuk marched their army of former slaves on the stronghold of the mighty Overlord known as Alfric the Cruel. While he was not as great as Gorax the Destroyer, he defended a mighty hold of dread, and was ruling the Human Kingdom in Gorax's absence at the time. Alfric's forces famously consisted mostly of Humans, Elves and Dwarves: an extreme rarity for the times. He painted the revolution as 'dark hordes menacing the kingdom', but historians would find the truth in accounts from former slaves from the same time period.

Hoever, the bad publicity wouldn't stop Ravgaal, and she would soon arrive at the stronghold with an abolitionist army in tow. They mainly consisted of the three commonly enslaved races, but many sympathizers had joined the cause over time. Alarm bells rang in the city of Brineview as her longship arrived, and her men leapt off its starboard to charge onto its docks. Word of her actions had preceded her: It is said the men at the bells quaked in their boots once they laid eyes upon Ravgaal herself landing on the docks. The Chainbreaker had arrived, and her Hoarfrost Orc blood would boil until she would have Alfric the Cruel's head on a pike.   With the rage of the Orcs behind a battering ram, the gates of the stronghold quickly fell. Thousands of all mortal races charged inside: the Dwarves and Orcs formed her army's footsoldiers, while the Wood Elves and High Elves rained down hell upon the enemy forces from the freshly conquered stronghold walls. The Dark Elves leapt upon enemies from the rooftops and other unexpected places, while the Humans and Goblins swarmed the stragglers.   With the initial guard near the walls overcome, the villagers feared the worst when this ragtag group of Orcs, Dark Elves, and Goblins broke through into residential areas, dressed in the dark garbs they were taught to fear... Many ran, only to look over their shoulder and find that the invaders ignored them completely. This so-called dark army harmlessly charged past their houses and past their stores of valuables, attacking only the routed squadrons of Alfric's men along their way. Only to nod to the startled Human next to them before moving on. Some of the commoners quickly realized that these so-called monsters were not as Alfric's men explained them to be, and appeared to be sparing them. Some of these Humans, Dwarves, and Elves who had now realized their king had lied to them this entire time picked up arms, and joined Ravgaal's army. Alfric would now had to deal with both an invasion and revolution at the same time.   Once at the palace gates, Ravgaal picked up the battering ram along with her men. With every order to charge that she shouted, the fear amongst Alfric's men within grew. The Chainbreaker herself had reached the gates. Some fled their post due to word of Ravgaal's deeds, and only those who truly believed his propaganda remained to hold the line. The pounding on the front gate intensified, and they heard the angry battle cries of the Orcs outside. However, just as it gave way, they were faced with Tarierin and his squadron of his fellow Dark Elves dropping from the ramparts above them. Splinters flew as Ravgaal marched in with her fellows, Pogvuyk's smoke bombs obscuring their sight. Tarierin's trusted general shouted that they'd hold Alfric's men off, and to not give the tyrant the chance to escape.   The three heroes who had started the revolution left the chaos of slurs, insults and battle on the ground floor behind, and rushed up the stairs to fight their way through the final few elite soldiers blocking their way... eventually reaching the throne room. The group paused, and Ravgaal felt the Hoarfrost half of her blood boil. She knew a tyrant was behind that door, a ruler that cared not for the ones within his grasp. And the Hoarfrost Orc within her would not rest until his blood had flown. This is where she would earn her Chainbreaker name, as this would be the day that the unjust chains of the cursed races were broken. However, she would earn it in a more literal way as well: as she kicked in the doors with a mighty battle cry, Alfric shut the door to a trapdoor under the throne, and latched the lock. However, the chains on it would not keep Ravgaal from him: it took her but a single swipe of her double blades to completely shatter both them, and the hardwood of the trapdoor itself.   Once she had grabbed hold of Alfric's hair in his flight, she hauled him out of his escape tunnel with only one hand as he begged for his life, the coward that he was. And she flung him back up to the surface so hard, that his heavy armor cracked the marble stone floors in the throne room upon landing. His hands clearly shook as he drew his blade to fight the three heroes, but he proved a formidable opponent despite his cowardice: he managed to incapacitate Tarierin and Pogyvuk in the battle, and managed to wound even the mighty Ravgaal. However, this offense on her long-time friends only served to anger her even more. He also made the crucial mistake of taunting her as she was incapacitated on the ground and disarmed, believing her to already be dying: a common practice amongst Overlords at the time. But Ravgaal proved as wise as she was strong: she scrambled to a sitting position as he was talking, and grabbed his ankle as he laughed at her, yanking him to the ground with her. Despite her wounds, she got back up as he attempted to scramble to his feet as well, picked her blades up again, and steeled herself. She was injured, but so was the tyrant.   Ravgaal attempted one final charge, and managed to disarm Alfric. This moment in history is what Hoarfrost Orcs hearken back to when quoting her famous words in their old saying. Alfric begged for his life, but as Ravgaal gazed into his fearful eyes, she only replied: 'A slaver only pleads to keep his chains whole. He cares not for the lives in them.' After delivering the final blow, she turned to her friends, who were only now regaining consciousness, and scrambling to their feet. Outside, it was oddly quiet. She walked outside on the tyrant's old balcony, holding the Alfric's head, only to see the fighting stopped, and her men waiting with bated breath. As Ravgaal held up the head, cheering erupted. The tyrant was finally slain. They were free.