The Book of the Sword and the Changing of the World

Chapter 1

1. It was winter in the land of the gods and snow lay thicker on the ground even than the slain foes of Khoreg;
2. Even in the pits of hell Bane called for another elf to be thrown on the fire;
3. Baccus worried for his vines and the dryads slept;
4. The gods called forth The Blind King, greatest of the seers, to ask what this portent may mean;
5. But he would tell them not;
6. And so a great council was called.

Chapter 2

1. And Khoreg girt himself for war and ran to the council bearing with him Brightwoe;
2. “Well”, he cried, “Where are they?”;
3. And the gods replied, “Who?”;
4. “The demons, you bunch of wazzocks”;
5. “What demons?” chorused they, mightily peeved;
6. And Khoreg waxed wroth;
7. “You mean you called me here because it’s cold?”;
8. “But, but, the snow!” they said;
9. “Wrong sort, I suppose!” replied Khoreg;
10. “No,” said Baccus, “’tis worse”;
11. And Khoreg turned pale;
12. “Not The Taxman?” he whispered, aghast;
13. “No, Bane sorted him out yesterday. Let us explain”;
14. “OK, but give me a drink” Khoreg replied;
15. And he took his place amongst the gods.

Chapter 3

1. Lehrer the Bard, wisest of the gods, stood forth and spoke;
2. “This winter, unseasonable and long, is but a reflection of the dreams of mortals. As their minds grow cold to their gods and their hearts turn away, as does the sun in winter retreat from the land, so our land grow cold. We live in that mortal dream”;
3. And the gods were silent;
4. Finally Khoreg spoke;
5. “What the hell does that mean?”
6. And Bane explained it unto him;
7. “It means, father, that mortals no longer truly believe in us and drift into ungodly ways. Our land grows cold as it is the heat of belief that keeps it warm.”;
8. But Khoreg replied “My lot are fine and believe, so it’s your own silly fault.”;
9. And so saying he departed for the dwarven halls with Khorne to see what was happening there.

Chapter 4

1. Long into the night the gods debated what was to be done, but no decision was reached;
2. And in the halls of the dwarf god Khoreg said;
3. “Now about that new sword you promised me …”;
4. And the dwarves replied unto him;
5. “Swords, schmords, what is it with you? What’s wrong with a good axe?”;
6. And Khoreg said;
7. “Brightwoe will be jealous”;
8. So the dwarves smiths gathered and said;
9. “We will make for him such a sword that he will never bother us again!”;

Chapter 5

1. Long and hard laboured the dwarves at this work, and all the time the gods talked;
2. And at sunset on the twelfth day the dwarves rested and called for Khoreg;
3. Khoreg came and looked in wonder at the blade before him;
4. Black it was, and yet not so, for red and gold also were in the blade, but in no fixed pattern;
5. And Khoreg spoke;
6. “Bloody hell!”;
7. And Balin, Halinsson said;
8. “Not even my father, who made for you Brightwoe, could have forged a sword such as this”.

Chapter 6

1. As Khoreg picked up the sword it screamed and writhed in his hand;
2. “No master shall I have!”, it cried;
3. “I am sword, I shall not be owned!”;
4. And Khoreg said, “No bloody sword speaks to me like that!”;
5. So saying he grasped the sword in both hands;
6. But it fought against him;
7. Long and hard they fought, and the dwarven halls were rent asunder in the struggle;
8. And the dwarves cried out;
9. “Not again, you vandal!”;
10. For seven days and seven nights they fought before the sword was still and swore to serve Khoreg;
11. And Khoreg called out;
12. “Baccus, fresh beer!!”.

Chapter 7

1. As Khoreg stood in the ruins of the dwarven halls the other gods gathered about to see what the noise was;
2. And Khoreg asked them if they had sorted out their “little” problem;
3. And they replied that they had not;
4. But Baccus had discovered something he called “freeze distilling” which did something special to vodka;
5. So Khoreg said “That’ll do” and drank deeply;
6. And when Khoreg could again speak he said;
7. “You could have warned me”.

Chapter 8

1. Khoreg spoke unto the assembled gods;
2. “As usual, too much talk and not enough action!”;
3. And Khorne agreed;
4. “So what do you suggest?” they asked;
5. And Khoreg and Khorne spoke as one;
6. “Smite the godless ones”;
7. And the other gods groaned;
8. “We might have guessed”;
9. But Hecate had a different plan;
10. “Let us make for the godly a new world, but divided and sundered from the old;
11. The old world shall then be left a terrible place of darkness, demons and chaos;
12. There shall the ungodly dwell, cut off from the new world and from the gods;
13. But they shall be able to see the new world and what they might have been if they had remained godly.”
14. And the gods were impressed;
15. But Bane spoke;
16. “Mother, that is good but I have a suggestion”;
17. “Speak my son”;
18. “Let the new world  be created in the image of the old so as to really rub the unbelievers noses in it”;
19. And the gods said;
20. “So shall it be”.

Chapter 9

1. And so the gods made a new world in the image of the old and took their faithful followers to dwell there;
2. And when this was done it was the time of sundering;
3. The gods called on Khoreg to cut a rift in the void into which the old world may be cast;
4. So Khoreg drew forth his new sword;
5. And the sword murmured in anticipation;
6. Khoreg strode forth from the tower of the Hidden One to the void and readied his sword;
7. With a single mighty blow he cut the void and the Winds of Limbo howled through the universe;
8. But as Khoreg swung his blow the sword twisted in his hand and his aim was imperfect;
9. The wayward blow rent open the bricked up Great Gate of Hell;
10. And demons rushed forth into the new world;
11. And Khoreg said, “Bugger!”.

Chapter 10

1. With the rift open the gods took the old world and cast it through the void into the shadow realms;
2. And they called on Hecate to close the rift;
3. But she could not;
4. And so she called on her son to aid her;
5. Then did Hecate and Bane weave the greatest of all magics and between them closed the rift;
6. Almost;
7. For even the magic of the greatest of the gods cannot hold back the winds of Limbo;
8. And when the winds blow strongest it is still possible to cross the rift, although the journey is treacherous and mortals walked where the gods would not.

Chapter 11

1. Khoreg seeing what his sword had done was angered more than ever;
2. Even Khorne his oldest ally feared what he might do;
3. And Khoreg spake thus;
4. “Faithless and thrice accursed sword. Thrice named also shall you be and each name shall bear a curse. The first name you gave yourself. The second shall I give unto you. But you third and final name thou shalt not have until the end of the world when your final wielder shall name you;
5. The name I give you is Traitor, and you shall suffer the fate of all who break their word of honour!”;
6. And so saying he threw down the sword on the new world and broke it into a thousand pieces;
7. And tumultuous was its breaking;
8. Lands fell, seas rose and volcanoes spewed ash upon the face of the new world;
9. And the new world was changed forever.

Chapter 12

1. Then the gods feasted to celebrate the end of a hard day;
2. Bane returned to hell to order his demons and keep them from the land of the gods;
3. And again the Great Gate of Hell was closed, but this time with dwarf crafted gates enchanted by Bane;
4. But Khoreg did not feast;
5. First he collected all the pieces of the sword he named Traitor and cast them into his deepest pit;
6. But three pieces he found not;
7. And then he dwelt upon the day.

Chapter 13

1. After the next sunrise Bane brought news of hell to his father;
2. The demons who entered the new world were cunning and had taken on the form of mortals;
3. “This is grim” commented Khoreg;
4. “Indeed” replied Bane;
5. “And how will mortals recognise them?” asked Khoreg;
6. Bane replied, “Their form will be imperfect, there will be signs, and they have tainted spirits and so will appear to be immortal.”
7. Khoreg said “It is a start;
8. However, it is my fault and I shall make amends, it is the honourable way”
9. “As you wish father” replied Bane as he returned to hell.

Chapter 14

1. And so Khoreg spoke to his followers and those of his children;
2. “You are the guardians of the new world, all must be vigilant, there must be no shirking of duty;
3. I will aid you as I can, you have my word;
4. You will know and feel my gifts to you, prepare yourselves”;
5. And this his followers did;
6. But hearing this Khoreg’s daughter came unto him and said;
7. “But who will guard the rift?”
8. And Khoreg said;
9. “Thanks for offering, the job is still yours!”
10. And she agreed and went forth armed for war and watches the rift unceasingly.