#128 - The Ostensible Crusade of Lord Tzunaak

Lord Tzunaak had only ever bowed the knee to one other creature: Manfredd Von Carstein himself. So as he tried to kneel now, his legs resisted and his blighted soul screamed in defiance. Yet he knew he had no choice but to perform this pretence for the sake of his mission, and so with gritted fangs, the secret Emissary of Sternieste knelt before the Pontifex Surrexit.

The Lord Crusader of the Rose was - as always - aloof, encased in glossy plate armour the colour of venous blood and decorated with the ancient sigils of the Order of the Blood-Drenched Rose. The Pontifex Surrexit believed himself the divinely-appointed Lord of Barfunweltz. There was no questioning the Lord Crusader's power as a warrior and as a general, but his political naïvety was an open secret. So single-minded was he with regards to his great mission, that he was blissfully unaware of the machinations of his advisors and the plots and whispers that surrounded him. For some time now, Lady Beauvoir and her Bloody Pilgrims had been the power behind this throne, and the Brotherhood of Manfredd had proved powerless to thwart them. And so the Legion of Blood had been steering the Crusading Lord of Barfunweltz to do the will of Queen Neferata. Like them, Lord Tzunaak had nothing but disdain for the Pontifex Surrext, but there was no question: if the Legion of Night was to rise to power in Barfunweltz, this mighty Gravelord had to be brought under his control. Where Jean de Majeure had failed, he would succeed.

Only the Pontifex's mouth was visible under his helm; sharp, ivory teeth stained blood red at the roots.

"Aqshy?" 

How could the utterance of one word carry such hubris and arrogance?

"The skaven fight to control the Ravaged Coast, my Lord Crusader, but many factions are gathering there to assert themselves. We shall open all of their feeble eyes to the truth - to the Way of..." despite himself, the false piety of his words caught in Tzunaak's throat. The Pontifex Surrexit instantly stiffened, but Tzunaak swifty continued: "... of the Rose!"

The Pontifex's mouth appeared to smile. It seemed religious zeal had overcome suspicion.

"I shall lead a great crusade!" (this time the religious pretence came more easily) "As well as the Obsidian Brethren, I have recruited Heisenberg's Panthers to accompany our quest."

"You may also take a detachment of my Templars Ascendent."

"You are gracious, my Lord Crusader." Tzunaak would never have chosen to enlist the Pontifex's own blood knights, but he had anticipated this 'offer' and the Templars were undeniably prodigious warriors, albeit staggeringly arrogant.

As the realmgate loomed before them, Lord Tzunaak wheeled his steed around and silently ordered his knights to halt. The Emissary of Sternieste took a moment to contemplate his quest. His foray into the Realm of Fire was for one purpose only: to establish his status as a mighty general in the eyes of the Pontifex Surrexit. 

Three orders of Blood Knights were arrayed before him, banners twitching occasionally in the breeze. He did not doubt the martial prowess of any of these vampires, but the black-armoured Obsidian Brethren were the only ones he really trusted. They were led by Kastellan Trutz, another member of his secret Brotherhood who had already proved herself a loyal, if rather needy ally. 

The Templars Ascendent sat stiffly to attention, following his orders simply because their Pontifex had commanded them to do so. They would fight viciously, but Tzunaak would do well not to test their loyalty.

Heisenberg's Panthers were a strange, savage breed of vampire. The hulking physiques and bestial features of these former knights of chaos terrified their foes, and they had turned up for the crusade accompanied by a pack of howling dire wolves. Boritz had assured the Brotherhood of Manfredd that their thirst for blood would easily overcome any political intentions of their Heisenberg mistress.

As he tugged on the reins, Lord Tzunaak's steed reared up. "To Aqshy!" he cried. 

And then, for the sake of pretence before the Templars Ascendent: "For the Rose!"

And under his breath so only Kastellan Trutz could hear: "For Sternieste!"

My local gaming group is soon to embark on another Path to Glory campaign, this time using the Ravaged Coast ruleset. We have gained quite a few more Age of Sigmar players over the last year so I'm really looking forward to seeing how Lord Tzunaak fares in his attempt to win the approval of the Pontifex Surrexit...