The Dark Alliance

My Lord Commander of the Imperial Army,

I have disturbing news to report. There is a new enemy that threatens the Empire. They call themselves the Dark Alliance.

One of my Legion's patrols brought me the news. Ulveblod led a routine training patrol. They came to a clearing filled with fetid corpses. Cautiously, they investigated. Suddenly, a figure emerged from the shadows. Dressed in black with black armor, his face was skeletal. A death knight!

Mocking the Legion, the death knight stated that the dark elves were angry at our thwarting their plans. They have formed a Dark Alliance to destroy the Legion and the Empire. With that, the knight commanded his minions to rise. The corpses reanimated and attacked our patrol!

It was a short, sharp battle. Our forces were severely outnumbered and their blades did little damage to the enemy. How do you kill what is already dead? The patrol fought valiantly, but ultimately succumbed to superior numbers. Soon, only Ulveblod remained.

The horde surrounded Ulveblod, striking repeatedly until he fell. The death knight approached, grabbed Ulveblod and pulled him to his feet. The knight spoke to the wounded Ulveblod, warning him that the Dark Alliance was coming. Then the ghastly warrior and his minions melted into the shadows.

Ulveblod managed to stumble back to camp. I sent another force to retrieve the fallen. Through the efforts of our gifted healers have revived them all.

We are now readying ourselves for battle. We await further orders.

By my hand and seal,

Comes Elias Artocopus

Commander of the Chimera Legion

Servant of the Eternal Aurelian Empire

GAME NOTES

I ran a short scenario as an introduction to the season. Next week, the campaign begins in earnest.

I messed up the teams, accidentally stealing someone from the Legion side. As a result, they were outnumbered 6-3. Apologies to the legionaries for that slipup. On the plus side, I think this scenario did an effective job of setting the stage for the new season.

We also had another new player. Welcome Chris!

By the way, here is the original photo of me as the death knight. I used Chat GPT to jazz it up.

Shaking Off the Rust

My Lord Commander of the Imperial Army,

I have the honor to report the that the Chimera Legion has reassembled. After a summer's rest, we have recovered from our strenuous efforts against the dark elves. We are now ready to serve the Empire again.

Preparations

We have begun sparring exercises to remove the rust of idleness and restore martial readiness. The Legion carried out these exercises with vigor, and the our spirit remains unbroken.

Recruitment

We have welcomed some new recruits to our ranks. These recruits include some promising fighters - Jesper and Echo, seasoned warriors from the island of Tortuga, and Bentley and Wren. We hope to convince them to join us in our next campaign.

Tournament

To test the strength of our fighters, I ordered a tournament held. The combat was fierce and worthy of our standard. The warrior Howl emerged victorious, with nary a loss to his name. He, and all the combatants, demonstrated exceptional valor and mastery of arms. I awarded Howl a sword as a memento of his victory.

The victor

Promotion

Ironically, I awarded Howl promotion to Kentarch prior to his victory. Over the past year, he has shown exceptional leadership. His victory in the tournament is just further testament to his ability. I believe he will be a boon to the Legion.

Conclusion

The Chimera Legion stands ready for whatever threats may arise. With our veterans hardened and our new blood tempered, we remain loyal servants of the Empire, ever vigilant against the schemes of any who would threaten the peace wrought by Aurelian steel.

By my hand and seal,

Comes Elias Artocopus

Commander of the Chimera Legion

Servant of the Eternal Aurelian Empire

OOC GAME NOTES

Today was our second practice of the season. I decided to run a tournament, with a sword as a prize.

Everyone faced everyone else once. This gave everyone plenty of fighting!

I also added a little twist. Bouts were best of 3 points. Combatants could use the weapon of their choice for the first point. Then they had to switch with their opponent for the second point. If the bout went to 3 points, it was decided by a knife fight!

Howl was undefeated and took home the sword.

Jayden tries to claim the sword

We were joined by 4 new (to Valiant) fighters, as described above. Hopefully, they enjoyed the experience and will return. We could use the help with this year's enemies!