[donaldscrankshaw] Donald:

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http://www.donaldscrankshaw.com/posts/1191083833.shtml


   The Rest of the Story: The rest of The History of the Domini can be
   found [1]here.
   This is the fourth part of Randall Aurelius's unpublished draft of The
   History of the Domini.
     _________________________________________________________________

                         The History of the Domini
                            by Randall Aurelius

   Part IV: The First Legion
   The details of the magic involved in the calling of the First Legion
   are long forgotten. We do know that it was the first of only two times
   that the disparate magics of the Shades and the Amaranthine were
   combined. The Circuit involved hundreds of magic-users, and many of
   them died in the effort. But when it was done, an army had been
   summoned to our aid.
   From where they were summoned is still a mystery. The First Legion
   neither spoke our language, nor understood what we wanted from them.
   They were angry at being ripped from their own land, but terrified of
   the magic we wielded. With great difficulty, we found a way to
   communicate. From what we were able to learn, they came from a land
   similar to ours in many ways, but there they had no contact with Orcs
   or Goblins or Malwer. Instead humans warred upon each other for
   control of the land and the sea. It is difficult to understand now how
   strange that was to us then, humans fighting wars against each other.
   We were far from a peaceful people even then, but we had no
   understanding of conflict on such a scale. The First Legion did, and
   we needed that understanding. After a great deal of bargaining, with
   threats on both sides, we were able to reach an agreement.
   The numbers which the First Legion added to humanityâs beleaguered
   forces were small, but the expertise was considerable. They were among
   the best trained and most disciplined soldiers in their land, and they
   shared their training and experience with us, first strengthening our
   defenses against the Orcs and Goblins, and then leading the assault to
   drive back the invaders. Unprepared as they were to face competent
   warriors, the Orcish advance faltered and then collapsed, and their
   conquests were quickly retaken. Emboldened by our successes, we
   pursued the Orcs and Goblins as they retreated, and may have succeeded
   in eliminating both races entirely, had not the Malwer themselves
   taken the field.
     _________________________________________________________________

   This is the latest 336 words of a 2,531 word short story in progress.

References

   1. http://www.donaldscrankshaw.com/posts/chain_1157331053.shtml