In the year 863, on the southern plains of Britta Isle, a great new kingdom named Axalon was born. This new kingdom was led by a tyrannical king named Oswald I.
King Oswald I ruled the kingdom with extreme cruelty. He would not hesitate to hunt down and slay anyone who dared to defy him. He always did declare:
"Vita tua in manibus meis est."
Which may be rendered as:
"Thy life is in mine hands."
King Oswald I dwelled within Axalon's royal palace, known as Andriana Palace, along with his children, Osmund and Osnaria. Who the mother of these two children was, none did know.
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In the year 880, the Kingdom of Axalon did declare war upon the northern kingdom of Britta Isle, namely the Kingdom of Skoland, which was ruled by King Alistair V of Skoland.
The Kingdom of Skoland was amongst the most ancient kingdoms upon the northern plains of Britta Isle. Yea, and it was also the most influential kingdom in the Britta Isle archipelago.
With the declaration of war signed by King Oswald I and accepted by King Alistair V of Skoland, the conflict was then formally proclaimed by both great nations.
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There existed a group of super-elite royal knights of Axalon, known as The Eight Swords, being eight highly formidable elite warriors of King Oswald I. Their prowess was heralded throughout all Britta Isle.
These eight knights were:
Sir Orland – the Executioner
Sir Burgam – the Sadistic
Sir Orslando – the Enslaving
Lady Utopia – the Terrorizer
Lady Urslan – the Piercer
Dino – the Wrathful
Sir Plato – the Hermit
Sir Anor – the Sharpshooter
Their might extended beyond mere skill in battle; they were also capable of transforming any enemy territory they assailed into a veritable hell.
For this reason, they were oft referred to as "the Eight Knights of Hell."
Amongst the eight knights of The Eight Swords, Sir Plato was the leader, for he was also the mastermind behind all these massacres.
During the ongoing war with the Kingdom of Skoland, one of The Eight Swords, namely Lady Utopia, the Terrorizer, led an assault upon a fortified city of Skoland named William de Fort.
The forces of William de Fort, numbering ten thousand knights, could not withstand the ten thousand Axalon knights and the five thousand undead troops of Utopia, known as "The Crafter." The Crafter were Utopia's undead forces, which she acquired through the manipulation of spirits using dark magic upon the corpses of slain knights.
In but six hours, the city of William de Fort fell under the assault of Lady Utopia, the Terrorizer. The entire city was forthwith filled with profound terror and despair, for all knew they would perish, regardless of gender or age.
Amongst those ten thousand Axalon troops, there were many elite knights who refused to partake in such a massacre, amongst them being Sir Guinere, an elite knight of Axalon.
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Sixteen hours hence, before the conflict, whilst Guinere yet resided in the knight's tent, he did beseech Lady Utopia to abstain from the massacre.
"Oh, most noble Lady Utopia, pardon this audacious servant, who presumes to entreat thee not to commit such slaughter upon the enemy city. Pray, have mercy upon the women and children."
Guinere did plead with the Lady upon his knees, feeling an immense pressure whilst within the same tent as the Lady and certain of The Crafter.
Lady Utopia did respond to Guinere's plea, saying thus:
"Those who receive not the King Oswald's blessing are but refuse, fit only for death. Thou art fortunate to have gained such a blessing, for thou art amongst the kingdom's elite knights."
Guinere did swallow, saying, "Forgive me, Lady, for this foolish plea of mine. I crave leave to retire to my tent. Glory to King Oswald!"
Having spoken thus, Guinere swiftly departed the tent, which felt suffocating with dread.
Guinere entered his own tent, filled with great fear; indeed, he was too afraid to sleep, though the morrow was the very day of the assault upon William de Fort.
He spoke within his heart:
"Oh God, forgive the poor souls of William de Fort tomorrow. This day is their last to enjoy their lives. Oh God, forgive me also, for I could not prevail upon Lady Utopia to refrain from this slaughter. Amen."
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Upon the bright morn, the Axalon forces did march in formation, accompanied by their trebuchets. Trumpets were sounded by the Axalon troops. The trebuchets did cruelly hurl stones weighing 100 kilograms, which, without warning, struck the ramparts of William de Fort with great force.
The Skoland forces retaliated against this shower of stones with fiery arrows launched from great bows called ballistas.
These mighty arrows from the ballistas were set ablaze, striking the trebuchets, and not a few did catch fire.
Lady Utopia, on the other hand, commanded her Crafters to advance, whilst she prepared to cast a potent dark spell.
Guinere, with the other Axalon knights, did prepare to form a shield wall and advance slowly.
As the walls of William de Fort were surrounded by an artificial ravine, it was difficult to assault directly with infantry.
For this reason, The Crafters advanced by piling their bodies one upon another, forming a ladder for the Axalon forces to enter.
The Crafters were impervious to arrow attacks, and thus they were able to breach the volley of arrows with ease.
Guinere and the other elite knights began to tread upon the bodies of The Crafters and entered the city of William de Fort, engaging the Skoland knights.
Lady Utopia had finished her preparations and immediately unleashed a great energy that shook the very minds of Skoland. It was the magic of creating The Crafters, and it rendered The Crafters bloodthirsty.
The Lady witnessed all this slaughter from behind her cold mask.
Guinere and the elite knights already within the city felt disgust and fear at all the bloodthirsty Crafters.
"Oh, God... What is this? They are all mad..."
Thus spoke one of the elite knights who was with Guinere.
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Six hours passed.
The entire city fell silent, leaving only the Axalon forces, who had suffered but slight losses, yet with an addition of three thousand more Crafters, bringing their total numbers to eight thousand.
Guinere and the other elite Axalon knights also felt a profound terror, a torment that did consume and swallow them.
Guinere did utter, "Oh God, pray forgive these wretched souls, Amen."
Lady Utopia entered through the main gate of William de Fort; her cold smile could be felt, though concealed by her porcelain mask.
With a faint voice, the Lady did speak:
"Gloria Axalonis, mors Skolandi."