The Nuem have Returned

By Dan Fellows.

This piece was written as a marketing piece for the week running up to the Nuem being officially released as a playable faction. It was split into four pieces with one piece being posted each day until the day of release.

One thing we do with our fluff is not shy away from the darkness and brutality that is war in Relicia - even if it is in a game setting. As such, some of our fluff could be seen as more raw than you would expect for a wargame.

So, here's a warning: This piece contains scenes of torture of an Orcnar Nappa. The Nappa are the Orncar's children...... If you are squeamish, you may not want to read this piece.

Thantos stalked slowly through the undergrowth ahead of the main Cohort searching for a pathway that would be less troublesome for his kin to travel on. The journey had been treacherous thus far and their numbers had been thinned along the way but as Thantos walked out into the clearing and the blinding light of the sun beamed down upon his pale sunken face he felt a strange twinge of a feeling that he had almost forgotten, hope.

He stood and enjoyed its warmth for a moment but as he looked down into the valley something startled him and he suddenly ducked behind the nearest boulder. His heart raced with anticipation as the adrenaline shot through his veins, he had not felt this urge of excitement in years but he managed to keep his composure and remained hidden and waited for Cerctes to join him.

“Why have you stopped Thantos? It’s not safe here!”

The young Dolor ranted his words and sprayed Thantos with an unhealthy dose of spittle.

“Shhhh!”

Thantos stared him dead in the eye and lifted his left drill arm to his lips like one might do with a finger when hushing an unruly child.

“Keep low Cerctes and tell me I am not imagining things, take a glance out over that clearing there.”

Cerctes faintly nodded and gingerly moved to look out where Thantos had directed him. As he looked out into the valley he saw them, Orcnar, hundreds of them in all shapes and sizes. He slumped back down out of sight and grinned at Thantos.

“What did you see Cerctes?”

Cerctes paused for a moment and then smirked.

“Fresh meat for us to butcher my dear Thantos!” Thantos sniggered at the unexpected response.

“Indeed Cerctes, their agonising screams will ring out long into the night and all of Relicia will know the Nuem have returned from the darkness. Ready yourself for war; I can almost taste their torment.”

Cerctes surveyed the carnage of the battlefield and roared victoriously. All around the battered bodies of the Orcnar lay twisted and mutilated; they had not been prepared for the Nuem ambush and had been quickly overwhelmed by their savage assault.

Sticky splatters of crimson glistened upon Cerctes pain suit, a testament to the suffering he had unleashed upon his hated Orcnar enemies. The sickly sweet smell of death lingered heavy in the air and Cerctes stopped for a moment to appreciate the magnitude of the carnage before him, a deranged expression fixed upon his gaunt face.

It was strangely quiet in the valley now and Cerctes was enjoying the unusual silence when suddenly Pietor of the Paenitentiam cried out excitedly.

“Look here quick! This one’s still alive!”

Cerctes initial annoyance at the interruption quickly faded and he rushed over to Pietor to see what all the fuss was about. Pietor was beside himself with rapturous joy and could barely keep still with excitement as Cerctes approached him, his flails flapping wildly towards the pile of bodies stacked before him.

Cerctes hushed him with a dismissive hand gesture and scanned the pile of corpses ahead. It did not take him long to locate the unfortunate survivor. One of the Orcnar spawners lay face down in the dirt, its belly had been crudely ripped open by the chains of the Paenitentiam and its guts had spilled out onto the floor in a bloody tangled mess of entrails and gore. The creature was long dead but it was clear it had suffered sufficiently. Upon its back though, struggling to break free from its protective sac was a tiny malformed spawnling.

Cerctes solitary eye widened with delight and he lunged forward and ripped the squealing creature free. It was tiny but it had an impressive set of teeth for one so young, its left arm was much smaller and less developed than its right and its legs did not seem to work at all. There was a bestial look in its eyes though and Cerctes could sense that there was some fight left in the creature yet, he turned to his gathered peers and flashed them a wicked grin.

“Shall we keep it? For a while at least?”

“Well don’t just stand there like a bunch of cretins! Subdue the beast!”

The infant had managed to struggle free of Cerctes grasp and was gnashing desperately at the Paenitentiam as they struggled to capture it again.

It had already suffered horrendous injuries at the direction of Cerctes but its torture was nowhere near finished yet. It was missing an eye and its left ear had been torn away by the barbed hooks of the Paenitentiam. The flesh had peeled off completely along the side of its face and flapped loosely in the middle of his head, the bare bone of its skull could be seen beneath splattered with mushy flesh; it was as if its entire face was one large open wound.

Cerctes did not feel any pity for the tormented youngling but he did admire it for its resilience. A lesser creature would have admitted defeat long ago yet this tiny infant still fought with every last breath, driven by pure instinct alone, its urge for survival overcoming the agonising pain. Cerctes wondered how resilient the Orcnar species were as a whole for a moment before returning to the matter at hand.

He leaned in close and struck the creature hard in its face, a sickening crack rang out as its cheek shattered echoed soon after by the jeering taunts of the bloodthirsty Nuem mob. The tiny creature shrieked in agony as the pain shot through its body.

The Paenitentiam released the pathetic creature from its bondage and viciously prodded it, cruelly taunting it to escape. The Nappa was almost done for though and it lay still on the ground, sobbing and clutching itself.

“Do not cry child! It is such a terrible waste of good suffering!”

Cerctes had a satisfied smirk on his face as he mocked his victim, much to the amusement of the assembled rabble.

“Pietor! Go and find Kalgorn! I think it is time for the final suffering!”

“There is no point in struggling wretched little beast, none can resist the blessed sanctity of the final suffering!”

Cerctes plunged his thumb deep into the creatures hollow eye socket and held it outright at arm’s length, avoiding its desperate gnashing jaws.

“Pietor, unscrew the standard of champions from Kalgorns shoulder and hand it to brother Harthus, quickly please!”

The skinny pale skinned Paenitentiam leapt into action at once and began frantically unscrewing the thick spike that was set into the shoulder of the ancient Ruinas armour. It was fitted perfectly and he struggled at first but he eventually managed to secure his chain flails in place and was able to winch it free with his teeth. His gums and teeth were bleeding heavily when he passed the rusty spike to the assisting Dolor but he did not seem to notice at all and was far too captivated by the suffering before him to care.

“Look now brothers and sisters see here. The soft fleshy skin beneath the jaw is thick but is not protected by bone and is quite easy to penetrate with minimal force. More importantly there are no vital organs located beneath the jaw either and any damage done will not shorten the creatures suffering, though it will make its remaining time alive incredibly uncomfortable… Harthus, would you please?”

Cerctes pinched the skin beneath the creatures jaw and nodded to his brother Dolor. Harthus did not hesitate for even a second and swiftly plunged the spike underneath the creatures chin and out through its mouth, cruelly twisting it in a final stab of malice. There was a sickening crunch as the creature was impaled and it struggled desperately to break free. It was pointless though, it was firmly speared in place and in such an awkward position it could not even scream. Cerctes took the banner from Harthus and held it high for the Cohort to see.

“Behold, the newly enlightened! May the sacred fires of the eternal suffering cleanse its filthy soul!”

Cerctes kept the creature held high for a while and allowed the cohort to enjoy the despicable moment. After much jeering and sadistic taunting he beckoned Pietor closer to him once again.

“Put the standard back on Kalgorn now Pietor. “

He sniggered as he passed the snivelling creature to Pietor and laughed loudly as the Paenitentiam fitted it to the shoulder of the gigantic Ruina. As the cohort readied themselves to move out Cerctes looked up into the Nappas eyes and shouted a final sinister taunt.

“Don’t die too soon youngling! Your agony is absolutely exquisite!”