Since the beginning of time, the angelic hosts of the [[High Heavens ]] and the demonic hordes of the [[Burning Hells ]] have been locked in a struggle for the fate of all creation. That struggle has now come to the mortal realm...and neither [[Man ]] nor [[Demon ]] nor [[Angel ]] will be left unscathed....

What was to have been a victorious last stand against the demonic invasion of [[Entsteig ]] has instead become a massacre. Only [[Siggard ]] remains, a warrior unable to remember the final hours of the battle, driven by the carnage he experienced and the void in his mind to avenge those slain by the army of darkness. As he hunts the demon lord who butchered everything dear to him, Siggard also pieces together the truth of that terrible battle...and finds that his nightmare is only just beginning.

An original tale of swords, sorcery, and timeless struggle based on the bestselling, award-winning M-rated electronic game from [[Blizzard Entertainment]]. Intended for mature readers.

During the [[Night of Souls]], [[Siggard ]] awoke with barely any trace of memory of how he got there, or what happened to him. His last memory was to be with [[Earl Edgewulf]]'s army at [[Blackmarch ]] defending [[Entsteig ]] from an invasion. Just he couldn't remember who the enemies were.

He made a campfire, and shortly fell asleep. In his dreams he saw his [[Earl Edgewulf ]] and his army. He is a shield-man and he was part of the shield wall at Blackmarch. The enemy approached, and in terror he gazed at demonic doglike creatures wielding axes and goatment goatmen among other horrors.

With a shake, a hooded figure with gray vestments woke him up asking if he could share the campfire. [[Tyrael ]] asked Siggard what brought him here of all nights. Siggard doesn't remember how he got there. Last he knows, he was at the battle of Blackmarch, and based on the Night of Souls being today, that battle took place two nights before.

Siggard continued his journey toward [[Blackmarch]] through the roads, and while resting a vizjerei mage woke him up, asking permission to joinhim. [[Sarnakyle ]] was an adventurer, exploring the country. He didn't hesitate offering his aid to Siggard and decided to follow him toward Blackmarch. Sarnakyle had heard that the army of Entsteig had fallen to demons. As a master of magic, he was well versed on the demon lore and had manipulated demons himself. He considered he could be useful to Siggard on whatever he would face in Blackmarch.

After two days of travel, they stopped by a nearby village, not too far from Siggard's village. Demons had ravaged it. The buildings were ablaze, and a pile of decayed skulls were found at the townsquare. This bore ill thoughts for Siggard about the fate of his family. They continued their journey toward [[Bear's Hill ]] village.

When it was time to sleep, Sarnakyle asked Siggard to prepare for battle, to his surprise. Sarnakyle thought there would be treachery. First, how could there be ten survivors when the demons had killed everyone everywhere they had gone. And how did they know he was a [[vizjerei ]] and more importantly -- one of the [[Spirit Clan]]. Only two possibilities here could have known him for what he was: other [[Mage clan ]] members or demons.

Sarnakyle's experience with demons told him this demonic force was led by an [[archdemon]]. A baron of [[Hell]]. Lesser demons won't follow one of their own kind. One of great power had to led them. Siggard swore for the blood of his wife and that of the ten he had slain that he would find this archdemon and destroy it.

Half-way to [[Brennor]], there was an inn where Siggard's father once took him to in his childhood. He took Sarnakyle there to rest before continuing their journey, but the Inn was burned and its inhabitants dead. A storm approached, and Siggard told Sarnakyle the only thing between the Inn and Brennor was a barrow-ground to the south of the Inn. The barrow was where the ancient kings were buried.

There they protected themselves from the weather and lightning. One of the crypts had strange runes and skeletons merged down onto the walls. One of the tombs had a runed sword. Sarnakyle identified it as forged by [[Velund]]. The swords were forged by him to be great allies to its owner. If the sword chooses its master, and it serves him to death. If Siggard was chosen, the sword would call to him and if Siggard said the true name of the sword, it would be his.

The sword sung to Siggard in his mind. It sung of glory and battles, of armies of angels and demons. A battle at the gates of Heaven, and a word formed in Siggard's lips. The skeletal limbs on the walls rose as if ready to strike the intruders. Siggard said the name: [[Guthbreoht]]. The limbs and skulls rested back to their former position. Sarnakyle said these were the guardians of the sword.

The storm stopped abruptly, and they left the crypt to find a better place to sleep through the night. Siggard slept while holding the sword Guthbreoht. It sung to him during his dreaming. Memories assailed him. At Blackmarch, the shield wall was crushed in some places as boulders were thrown into the crowds of Entsteig soldiers, flattening entire groups. Spear-men kept holding their ground against the demons though. Lots of doglike demons and goatmen carrying axes, clubs and bows killed various shieldmenshield-men. Siggard killed a goatmen, and more kept coming. Suddenly, a giant demon came through. Archers hit it but the arrows would just bounce off its crimson chest.

It had bright glowing red eyes, and hornes horns protruded from its shoulders, elbows and knees. It wore a primitive loincloth, a belt and a giant sword. On its chest an emblazoned glyph. The creature bellowed he was the favored of the Lord of Terror, Assur. He asked the army of Entsteig to surrender or they would die.

[[Prince Hrothwulf]] screamed they would not surrender to darkness. [[Assur ]] smiled and said everyone would die then. Suddenly, various shield wall soldiers from the back of the lines started dying, blood splashing everywhere. An invisible force went through the army as a slaughtering force. The line was broken. The creatures wielding daggers started to materialize. [[Old Banagar ]] was among the victims near Siggard. He continued killing the creatures, but the army was falling to panic by dozens.

Siggard awoke in the morning to see Sarnakyle preparing for their journey to [[Brennor]]. At midday, they reached Brennor -- a huge fortified town that was said to be impenetrable. Soldiers wore deep blue tabards and shining mail armor. The guards halted them and asked what their business was. Siggard wanted to talk to the Earl of Brennon, [[Earl Edgewulf]], and to sleep the night before heading south to the [[King's Road]]. They were taken to the stone castle in the middle of Brennon. There they were welcomed by the Steward of Brennon, [[Hunfrith]].

Hunfrith refused to bother [[Earl Tilgar]], and wished to know first what they wanted to tell the Earl of Brennor. They had no trading in the past days, and the King's son and Earl Edgewulf had been slain along with their army at Blackmarch. Earl Tilgar was now busy with trying to reestablish power in a kingdom with no prince to lead the future of Entsteig. Siggard and Sarnakyle could be assassins for all they knew , wishing to slay Earl Tilgar.

Siggard and Sarnakyle explained that demons had invaded their lands, and that their strategy was to cut off any supplies and trading before attacking the main fortification in the area. In this case, the demons might be preparing to attack Brennon any minute. Siggard said he was there at Blackmarch as a shield-man of the army of Earl Edgewulf and [[Prince Hrothwulf]].

Both ran to the southern gate, and with his newfound sword [[Guthbreoht ]] singing to him, he slayed demon after demon as if the sword controlled him. Sarnakyle the wizard called down lightning from the sky and hurled fireballs to slay the demons. [[Captain Hagan ]] thanked both of them. If the armory had been destroyed, Brennor would be defenseless.

Shortly after, Earl Tigal and Steward [[Hunfrith ]] arrived to survey the attacked area. [[Captain Hagan ]] told him the visitors had stopped the initial attack. [[Earl Tilgar ]] thanked them, and offered any rings from his personal treasury as reward. Earl Tigal asked both visitors to meet him next day in the morning at the castle.

Earl Tilgar welcomed them in the morning and presented them to a war council composed of [[Captain Hagan]], [[Commander Wulfgar]] and [[Commander Guthwulf]]. Siggard told what happened at [[Blackmarch]], describing the goatmen, the doglike demons, the archdemon and the shadowy beings. Sarnakyle said that these shadowy creatures were known among the [[vizjerei ]] as the [[Hidden]]. They had attacked [[Viz-jun ]] when [[Bartuc ]] the [[Warlord of Blood ]] summoned them and used the same tactics that the archdemon that attacked Blackmarch used. Sarnakyle theorized that the Hidden were already among the army of Entsteig at Blachmarch, awaiting the order of the archdemon to strike.

The demons could now be visible in the horizon marching toward Brennor, carrying strange flags. Once the flags were more visible, Sarnakyle noticed the flayed corpse against a black moon mounted under a human skull. Sarnakyle was horrified and said: "No. Everyone, but him." Siggard asked who were they facing. Sarnakyle answered: "[[Assur]]. The favored baron of the [[Lord of Terror]]."

Sarnakyle became a wreck of nerves. They had already lost the battle if this was Assur. He can't be defeated. Both ran toward the War Room to alert Earl Tilgar to evacuate the town citizens through the underground tunnels. When reaching the War Room, Siggard noticed a fourth man along with Earl Tilgar. A robbed figure he very well recognized ... [[Tyrael]], the man that shared a campfire with him during the [[Night of Souls]]. He thought him to be a ghost that fainted along with the other souls during the dawn.

Sarnakyle warned Tyrael that the archdemon attacking them was Assur. Tyrael already knew and said it would be a hard battle. Sarnakyle asked if the Lords of the Heaven would come to aid them. Tyrael shook his head and said it was hard for the most powerful of Angels to appear on the mortal plane. Even for Tyrael it was hard to appear in [[Sanctuary]], briefly, once every evening.

Sarnakyle said they were lost then, and requested Earl Tilgar to evacuate the townsfolk. Tilgar asked what was so special about the archdemon Assur. Sarnakyle revealed that he was one of the Lords of the Vizjerei. For decades he had studied the summoning of spirits and demons, and led many of the Spirit Clan in the Council of Viz-jun. They recently learned the names of most of the barons of [[Hell]]. Their lords, the Lesser and Prime Evils, who they know only by title. Of all the barons, Assur is the most feared. All they know is that he is the favored of the Lord of Terror. And he is enchanted with a [[Glyph of Invincibility]], which can be cast once per millennium.

[[Commander Wulfgar ]] asked if he summoned demons he could send them to battle Assur. Sarnakyle said he didn't have the power he used to, and that it would not be recommended. For centuries, the Vizjerei had summoned demons with ease, thinking they could control them. When Bartuc and his demons sieged Viz-jun, the vizjerei discovered they had been misled. The demons they summoned to fight Bartuc turned on the vizjerei. They had ten times more vizjerei to fight Bartuc's army, but a third of the vizjerei were slain not by Bartuc and his forces, but by the demons the vizjerei summoned themselves. These summoned demons couldn't be vanished. The lesser clans turned the tide with their elemental powers and defended the city of [[Viz-jun]].

Tyrale said they had to fight this battle using their own resources. This battle has been fought for millennias between Heaven and Hell, and for the most, Sanctuary had been protected from the higher and lower planes. The [[Prime Evils ]] had used the vizjerei to weaken that protection through summoning of demons.

Earl Tilgar asked Siggard to come with them, he would need his arm and sword. Siggard declined. He would stay and rest. And in the evening, he would return to Brennor ... alone. He had swore to kill the archdemon responsible for the death of his wife and baby, and of their villagers. Sarnakyle snapped at him, he knows what the glyph of invinsibility invincibility meant. Siggard told Tilgar he had taken his final decision, and asked Sarnakyle to not come with him. He wouldn't want to endanger the wizard's life. The Earl and the refugees would have better use of his magical abilities.

In the evening, Siggard walked toward Brennor, passing the gates past the crumbled external walls of the city. Only demon and soldier corpses were about. Two goatment goatmen passed nearby with torches. Siggard's sword sung wanting to slay more demons, but Siggard was patient. Soon he would have his vengeance. A thought came upon him, remembering Tylwulf. He drew a smile. The traitor of his village would be useful after all.

The door to the war room was unguarded, but Siggard knew better. With his sword [[Guthbreoht ]] he slashed through thin air, and shortly two Hiddens heads fell to the ground. Siggard opened the door, and found Assur within. Assur unsheathed his own sword, and bellowed to Siggard that no living man could kill him, and remarked that not even with a sword forged by [[Velund]].

Siggard said in rage he was Siggard of [[Bear's Hill]], whose family and village he had slaughtered. He died inside the day his wife and daughter did, his soul was empty of all but lust for revenge. He was a dead man this day, and he would have his revenge.

The destruction of Baron Assur in Brennon happened on year 302. It was one of the most significant victories in the early days of the [[Sin War]]. Earl Tilgar reclaimed Brennor from any surviving demons. Siggard served Earl Tilgar to help rebuild Brennor for many years. The land was free of demonic forces for at least two hundred years. Earl Tilgar founded the dynasty that would rule Entsteig until the capture and binding of the [[Prime Evils]], six hundred years later.

As for Sarnakyle, after the death of Assur, he traveled the western lands for five years, and returned to Viz-jun in Kehjistan to lead the vizjerei into elemental magic practice. Twenty years later, he left [[Kehjistan ]] once more, to wander the world, and he was never seen again. There is no record of his death. He was known in legend as the Red Wizard. The vizjerei think that on a day of great need, the legendary [[Red Wizard ]] will come to their aid.