Chapter 6

The Way of Things

"Heed what I have to say Gloag as the very fate of Paz hangs in the balance. You and your army stand now at a crossroad in Pazz’s, nay Kregen’s history. Due to luck (good or bad) and circumstance, you have been chosen to stem the oncoming invasion from Schan, of which the Schturgins were just the first wave. While you and your forces have stemmed this initial onslaught admirably, there are greater menaces from over the horizon facing Paz. And even over that horizon, the ultimate foe gathers its hideous strength. So listen to the tale of Schan:

For seasons unnumbered the various races of Shanks have dwelt on the coast of Shar and Scakiadrin to the north. Fiercely independent and frequently preying on each other, yet was a rough status quo maintained. The numerous communities are made up by various subspecies denoted by different types of fish heads. Barracuda, cod, chank, and bass among them. Each is as aware of the difference between each other like that between Numins and Fristles or the various species of Rapas and Relts. Whether a race of Shank is two and red-blooded or four armed and green blooded , is a question only the Star Lords or those of like power can answer. It is enough for us to know that there are such distinctions. Savage they are but aside from their interspecies strife, they have had to defend their coastal haunts for eons against the snake-headed Shtarkins of the interior of Shar. Far south and west in Gah, apims hold against their reptillian foes, though cut off from Paz. We of Aphrasoe hope to change that, as you will presently hear Gloag.

The Shtarkins though ancient of heritege were not indigenous to Shar but had fled there from their homeland in Thyraxia across the Sea of Spirals. Striking inland they had conquered and exterminated all before them until rebuffed at the coast by the Shanks who would loosely ally with one another, as an act of preservation. Because the fish heads were vastly more numerous and savage warriors in their own right, they held out until eventually an oft broken peace descended on Shar. From the cental plateau they had set their capital in the city of Ansharger. From their they ruled their so-called Empire of Shar. Only the coastal homelands and outlying islands were free from their opressive yoke.

But why had the Shtarkins invaded Shar at all you may wonder Gloag? The truth of it is that these snake heads were the losers in an ill-fated civil war in their ancestral homeland of Thyraxia, the seventh and last continent of Kregen. As to the four Islands of Schan, they will have to wait for the nonce. Thousands of seasons ago the Shtarkins had been the commoners of their snake man empire that was continent encompassing. They were of the species of constricters like boas, anacondas, and pythons. Their Overlords, the Neeshargs were of the poisonous species: cobra and rattler chief among them. It was from their sadistic nobility that the Shtarkins learned the cruelty which they later unleashed on the Shanks in Shar. It was all they knew, so don’t judge them too harshly. The human sacrifices demanded of by the related priesthood to honor their cruel god Kleesharg weighed heavily on the parents of the children chosen. If there were no captive Shanks available the young of the poor were chosen, all female. As if the death of the sacrifices was not enough to satiate the bloodlust of this savage diety, hours of torture preceeded the quickly desired demise. Such wanton cruelty Gloag could not be endured forever and finally the long hoped for throwing off of the yoke of religious and tyrannical bondage arrived.

In their attempt to overthrow the Neesharg ruling class the army rose in revolt but after years of bitter conflict were routed by the special forces of the empire’s nobility who utilized every savage technique of warfare, both militeristic and psychological to achieve their ultimate victory. Though numerically superior to their snake headed brethren , they were slowly pushed to the far western shores of Neesharga where in a desperate battle for the ages, they managed to inflict a huge defeat on their former masters but could not follow it up. And so things stood for generations, with some of the more aggressive Shtarkins striking out for Shar and immediately coming into conflict with their Schannisch speaking foes, the Shanks.

Licking their wounds, which bled green, the Neeshargs bided their time but forgot not their foe that had inflicted the dire but hardly fatal defeat. Their numbers grew over the years and plans were made for the final Jikai to overwhelm the final bastion of resistance to their despotic rule. Plans which bore fruition in the fullness of time and resulted in the final expulsion but not annihilation of the Shtarkins by the Hellshargs as they were sometimes known. For a fleet had been cobbled together. Oh, not a fleet to vie with the Shanks in speed and maneuverability, but one which sufficed for the evacuation of the citizens and most of the army from the blood soaked coast of Thyraxia. Of the heroic force that fought the final rear-guard battle that allowed this escape, well, the lucky ones died in the final whelming. The Hellshargs watched the retreating armada and vowed to follow, and wreak a final and horrifying vengeance. But that was for the future when their dark hegmony was consolidated and a fleet of their own constructed.

Meanwhile, over on Shar the warfare between the Shanks races and their snake-headed enemies continued unabated and with a ferocity unknown in Paz’s wars. For it was war of survival, not conquest. The Shtarkins needed to consolidate their hold on Shar so as to prepare for the horror looming over the horizon in Thyraxia. With a ferocity that shook the coastal fish heads, the desperate diffs from far Schan continued their assault. To no avail as the Shturgins and Shants dug in and coalesced their heretofore fragile alliance. Help from Scakiadrin insured this. Stalemate and an uneasy truce between the two reptilian species results.

But that stasis was not to last as the invasion from Thyraxia came far sooner than expected. Earlier than the Shargs themselves wanted and born out of necessity not blood lust and vengeance. To the dismay of the Neeshargs they finally met a foe that overshadowed them in terms of ferocity, cruelty, lack of humanity, and pure blood lust. They call themselves Ngalugas and it is thought that the mysterious Others control and compell them in this invasion latest onslought in Schan. They have already devestated the heartlands of Thyraxia and the snake heads are systematically being pushed to the west, toward Shar. Their cut-off counterparts are beseiged on the east coast and face total destruction, as the concept of prisoners or slaves is apparently unknown among the . Those other species of Schan are beneath their contempt and fit only for obliteration. It is the lands of Kregen that they desire and Schan will do as the opening gambit.

Now Gloag, I know you feel over whelmed by all that I have related, but there is yet more and you must absorb it all. The fate of all Kregen relies on this. So, in desperation the Shargs have started landing in Shar and frantically begun their race across that continent. For soon they will be expelled from Thyraxia, as they have not the numbers nor technology to defeat their savage foes. Most of the army will make way to Shar , leaving most of the civilians to die and utilized as fodder in the slow continental retreat westward. Those trapped on the eastern shore have one choice of survival, to flee by boat to Paz, most likely Turismond. Even now they attempt in their blind horror to build an armada capable of just this. But that is not our immediate concern dear Gloag.

As this tale of terror in Schan reaches the present, we now see that the the Shtarkins and Shanks have banded together to combat the horrific Hellsharg onslought. But this a battle they are losing and so the emmigration to Paz began in the last generation. First , there were sorties designed more for exploration than conquest. The initial snake-headed onslaught had been responsible for these piratical forays. The marvelous ships of the Shanks had allowed them ocean supremecy wherever they sailed and reived and only the numerical superiority of the diffs and apims in Paz and the evolving leadership of our Lord of Strombor, as the Warlord of Paz has stymied these incursions and ultimately their invasion. For the Shanks and their Shtarkin allies had tried to establish bases on the off- shore Vallian islands in the Southern Ocean a generation or so ago. Then they made a grab at power in Hamal and later Pandahem. In all cases Dray Prescot played varying roles in denying them the victory and the land they so desired.

But when the almighty Curshin saw fit to leak the secret of voller propulsion to their chess pieces on Kregen, the game changed. After the Witch of Walfarg, Csitra and Dray united in combatting the threat from Schan in Yumapan, the retreating fleet , both aerial and nautical landed in Loh and even now Dray and his armies strive for the final victory there and in Tambu. Only then will they be free to offer much needed aid. And it may be that aid is directed to Turismond and the Eye of the World. Such is not yet known.

So now Gloag, the forces of Shanks and Shtarkins are close to defeat and they will try again, as you guessed, to invade Paz. The Hellshargs will be ensconced in Shar but will undoubedly look southward to Gah and westward to Paz. For the armies of the Ngalugas will not be appeased with a mere continent or hemisphere. It is the whole of Kregen they desire, with the complete erradication of all other diffs and apims living there.

Can you see what needs doing here Gloag? Can you? "

Gloag swallowed audibly and then returned Klarg’s fierce gaze. " I think, I think that my thirst for vengeance must be sated with my victory here on Mehzta. It seems that the Shargs must be persuaded to join the Shanks and Shtarkins, along with those of Paz and Gah, in combatting the menace from Thyraxia. And I believe I know the only type of persusion such people will understand. I must make plans and write letters. This will take some time, even though that is obviously lacking."

The savage Chulik countenance only smiled in response but then added, "Yes Gloag, you shall have a space to prepare, but you will not be alone in this, oh no my faithful Gloag, far from alone. For I represent one greater than even those of the Swinging City. I’ll have to introduce you to Zena Iztar. Surely Seg has mentioned something of her to you. Hmm? Think on that and farewell for now. Make arrangements for the journey to Schan. We will discuss the details later. But remember well all that you have seen and heard today. Make a map of sorts for your commanders, as it will be invaluable.

As the mingled suns rays of Antares sank behind the craggy hilltop, Shusha’s ib took leave of Klarg’s body whose eyes blinked and resumed their owners vision.

"Well Gloag, it really looks like the shit has hit the proverbial fan!"