Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Krivax was glad Hadix had given him permission to access the Circles historical records because reading about the Nerubian-Vrykul Wars was genuinely fascinating.

Millenia ago, when the nerubians were not quite so isolationist and the vrykul still roamed the continent, skirmishes between the two races were common.

The first war lasted for several years and started when Azjol-Nerub began expanding into vrykul territory. The nerubians leveraged their superior mobility and ability to navigate underground to harass vrykul settlements before their Warriors could respond. The vrykul were superior Warriors in a straightforward fight, and they had tamed powerful proto-dragons, but that mattered little when confronted with nerubian guerrilla tactics.

Several times the vrykul managed to cleverly ambush nerubian forces and strike solid blows against Azjol-Nerub, but with their farms burned, their craftsmen killed in their sleep, and their civilian population living in fear, it seemed as if they would lose the war.

However, that began to change when the vrykul runeseers managed to develop magic that would allow them to map the tunnels that the nerubians used to navigate their territory. From that point on, the vrykul managed to ambush nerubian forces with far greater frequency, yet they still lacked the ability to directly attack nerubian strongholds.

Every time the vrykul Warriors would attempt to enter the tunnels and take the fight to their enemies, the nerubians would simply collapse the tunnels and quickly dig new ones with their jormungar. This, combined with the damage they had already taken meant the vrykul were still likely to lose the war.

Fortunately for the vrykul, the tides of war changed in their favor when Magnar Icebreaker discovered he could find the weak points in glacier walls and use his vrykul strength to dig tunnels directly into nerubian strongholds.

At the time, Azjol-Nerubs military was almost exclusively centered around defeating their enemies through the use of superior mobility and hit-and-run tactics. When that advantage was lost, they hardly stood a chance against the superior combat forces of the vrykul.

The first Nerubian-Vrykul War lasted several more years, but Azjol-Nerub eventually saw that they would not be able to win the war without reforming their military doctrine, so they retreated to the safety of their underground kingdom.

For the nerubians, who believed themselves to be the greatest species in the world, this was a humiliating defeat that had immense political consequences.

The High King of the time, AnubZikith, lost much of his popularity with the various Underkings, Queens, and political factions throughout the kingdom. Reading between the lines, it was obvious to Krivax that AnubZikith only managed to hold on to power by purging his political enemies and promising a renewed war with the vrykul.

The High King whipped up Azjol-Nerub into a jingoistic zeal and focused the nerubians on reshaping their military into one that could defeat the vrykul. Interestingly, these efforts are how some of the nerubian Flyers and nerubian Skitterers managed to gain their sapience.

When the leaders of Azjol-Nerub realized they needed to develop the capability to fight their enemies in head-on engagements, they struggled to find a way to do so. Simply put, the vrykul Warriors outclassed the nerubian Warriors to a tremendous degree. After all, the vrykul spent their entire lives cultivating their strength and learning how to become better Warriors. The only Warriors amongst the nerubians who could stand toe-to-toe with the vrykul were the Spiderlords.

Understanding that they could not overcome their enemies with quality, the leaders of Azjol-Nerub instead decided to overwhelm the vrykul with quantity, a tactic their people were well suited for.

However, a problem quickly arose.

While the Queens could produce large numbers of nerubians, and those newly born nerubians were able to be trained to an acceptable level within only a few years, they still could not sustain a swarm capable of overwhelming the vrykul.

The reason for this was simply that they did not have enough food.

A baseline nerubian had significantly more body mass than a human and required more food to sustain themself as a result.

Azjol-Nerub was able to sustain a large population due to careful planning and the use of magic to significantly increase the amount of food they could produce.

In order to overcome these limitations, High King AnubZikith directed the Queens to create a new caste of nerubians that could be both produced in large numbers and required less substance. This was a difficult task for the Queens, given the nerubians they created still required a proportional amount of energy to sustain their biomass.

Their efforts were mostly fruitless until Queen Zilnara the Fleshwarper stumbled upon a method to modify the nerubian Flyers and Skitterers in ways that allowed them to subsist partially on magic.

Previously, these templates of nerubians had limited intelligence and were generally used for repetitive menial labor. However, after Zilnaras modifications, these nerubians could be produced in large enough numbers to be useful to Azjol-Nerubs military.

While Intuitive Magic allowed the vrykul to rely on the quality of their Warriors to fight back the nerubians, the large quantity of nerubians that the Queens could now produce would prove to have a quality of its own.

The only problems Azjol-Nerub faced in integrating the nerubian Skitterers and Flyers into their military were due to their lack of intelligence. While the more intelligent castes of nerubians were capable of controlling their less intelligent brethren, the non-sapient nerubians simply werent smart enough to execute complex battlefield maneuvers.

Fortunately, the problem was easily solved by the Queens granting sapience to the most capable members of the caste.

The newly sapient Flyers and Skitterers were not only very capable of controlling and directing the rest of their caste, but they also developed a form of Intuitive Magic that increased their strength while leading a swarm.

With this, Azjol-Nerub succeeded in forming an army that consisted of large swarms of Nerubian Flyers and Skitteres, arachnathids, and baseline nerubian Warriors. The army would quickly overwhelm their enemies with their numerical superiority while the traditional nerubian forces focused on ambushing vulnerable targets.

After reforming their military, Azjol-Nerub might have succeeded in defeating the vrykul in the second Nerubian-Vrykul War, if they hadnt made a fatal mistake.

For reasons that remained unexplained in the historical records, High King AnubZikith made the extremely foolish decision to attempt an assault on Ulduar with the intention of stealing its secrets.

In a single day, a large section of the army that had been painstakingly prepared by Azjol-Nerub was destroyed by Ulduars defenses, and the vrykul immediately took advantage.

Despite losing a large portion of their forces, the second Nerubian-Vrykul War lasted for many years as the nerubian Flyers and Skitterers proved their worth. Powerful vrykul Warriors would find themselves covered in innumerable Skitters and proto-dragons would fall from the sky as Flyers webbed their wings.

Unfortunately for Azjol-Nerub, however, their efforts were made futile when Magnar Icebreaker entered the war with a large host of powerful vrykul Warriors.

By then, Magnar was a legend to both the nerubians and the vrykul which meant that the resulting shift in morale became a death sentence for Azjol-Nerubs war effort.

The nerubians suffered a series of humiliating defeats against Magnar that forced them to once again retreat to their underground sanctuaries, except this time the High King did not survive his failure.

AnubZikith was immediately deposed and his successor instituted a series of isolationist reforms and propaganda campaigns that served as the basis for their current insular policy.

For many centuries, nerubians were completely banned from leaving the underground kingdom and all mention of Ulduar was purged from the records. The only reason Krivax knew that the location they had attacked was Ulduar, was because of his meta-knowledge. In the records, the location AnubZikith decided to attack is only referred to as a place of forbidden knowledge and artifacts.

Reading Azjol-Nerubs propaganda was almost as interesting as reading about the war. It boggles the mind how the kingdoms leaders were able to successfully paint the surface simultaneously as a land of existential danger and pathetic life forms unworthy of consideration.

Though I guess I shouldnt be surprised, back on Earth lots of regimes were not shy about painting their enemies as both weak and a grave danger, Krivax mused as he put away the historical documents Hadix had given him. I suppose I should just try to be grateful theyve eased up on their isolationism enough for Hadix to get me permission to travel to the surface.

For the past few months, Krivax had been studying as hard as possible to reach the requirements Vizier Hadix said he needed to reach before he would be allowed to seek out the surface races.

While Krivax was a bit annoyed, he was still grateful he only needed to convince one Vizier rather than the citys government.

Krivax spent the next few minutes reading the Tome of Introductory Spatial Magic that Hadix assigned him to study before he was interrupted by a loud sound coming from his chest.

With a burst of speed he should not be capable of after tanking three Frostbolts, Masruk quickly closed the distance and swung his spear into Krivaxs side.

Krivax winced but didnt panic. Normally, such a blow would fully interrupt his spell and decide the result of the spar, but this time he had a trick up his sleeve.

Instead of his casting being interrupted when the blunted blade struck him an icy barrier materialized and absorbed a portion of the blows strength.

Krivax could see Masruks surprise as he finished casting the fourth Frostbolt directly into his chest.

He was also sure Masruk could see the surprise in Krivaxs eyes when that failed to end the spar.

For a moment, he worried that his friend was continuing the spar past a safe point out of a desire for victory, but he quickly dismissed the thought. Masruk was far too honest and cared too much about the safety of those around him to allow a friendly spar to become unsafe.

From there, the fight devolved into Krivax scramblingand failingto fight off a fully armored Warrior in melee range. Imagine how surprised he was when a lucky blast of unrefined arcane magic to the face actually resulted in Masruk conceding.

The two young nerubians spent the next few minutes catching their breath and hydrating in companionable silence. Not for the first time, Krivax wondered how the nerubian cardiovascular system functioned and how his body managed to not overheat without sweat glands.

After a moment, Krivax dismissed the matter as magical bullshit, like the rest of his bodys oddities.

Once the two of them caught their breath, they started to discuss the details of the spar and give each other advice. Krivax curiously asked his friend how he was able to withstand so many Frostbolts.

Apparently, one of Masruks teachers taught him how to use his Intuitive Magic to dampen incoming damage.

Masruk, dont you know that using multiple specs is too overpowered?

Krivax had no room to complain, however. He was perfectly capable of using ice, fire, and arcane spells, even if he did favor ice.

Masruk then asked him about the Ice Barrier spell, and he explained that Vizier Hadix had insisted that he learn it.

Krivax, what drives you to learn magic with such fervor? You have explained to me that your mentor requires this of you, but you have not shared your goals.

Krivax shifted nervously as he considered his friends question. Until now, Masruk had never outright asked about his future goals and Krivax had never volunteered the information.

He would be disappointed if his friend shared the xenophobic attitude of the rest of their people. However, he knew this wasnt something he could hide forever, so it was best to just rip off the bandaid.

Well, you know that I asked to be designated to the Surface World Research Division, right? I want to connect our people to the other races that live in this world because I really believe we can all benefit a lot from dialogue and cooperation. A lot of our people consider the other races primitive and unworthy of attention, but I want to change that kind of thinking

Masruk was quiet as he processed his friends words. He was aware that other kinds of people existed, but he had never put much thought into them. Unless they were a threat to his home, then why should he care about them?

His friends interests seemed strange to him, but Krivax had always had a different perspective compared to the rest of their cluster. Masruk had long grown used to his friend's eccentricities, so he would try to show interest in Krivaxs passions.

These other races. Do they have strong Warriors?

When he heard Masruks question, Krivax couldnt help but chuckle in surprise and relief.

Well, I think they should. I dont know for certain, but neither does anybody else. Seems like something worth figuring out, no?

Krivax tried to persuade his friend to be interested in the world outside of Azjol-Nerub with stories about dragons, the Drakkaris Loa, and foreign magic, but it was only when he started talking about the vrykul that Masruk became visibly interested.

These vrykul, they are powerful Warriors who all went to sleep? They defeated us in a war?

The nerubians were aware of the slumbering vrykul and generally did their best to stay away from their resting grounds. Even after many millennia, Azjol-Nerub was not interested in a third Nerubian-Vrykul War after how poorly the first two went.

Yes, theyre very strong. They even forced the kingdom to change its military doctrine, Krivax said excitedly. Even if their interests were a bit different, it was nice to see Masruk curious about something outside of Azjol-Nerub.

Eventually, after exhausting his knowledge about the documented feats of strength displayed by vrykul Warriors and then explaining what he knew about Drakkari Warriors, Masruk made a surprising announcement.

I will join you when you go to the surface, said Masruk.

Why? Krivax asked, befuddled. Youve never expressed an interest in the surface before today, why would you want to go there now?

The surface seems unexpectedly dangerous. If I go with you to the surface world, not only will I be able to meet the Warriors of the other races and see their skill with my own eyes, but I will also be able to protect you from these threats.

Krivax was not quite sure how to react. Nerubians did not often express concern for one another, so he was touched by Masruks worry. He was not certain if Hadix would agree to allow Masruk to accompany him to the surface, but it shouldnt be too much of an issue.

Over the long years of peace, the Viziers had accumulated significantly more political power compared to the Warriors. Assigning a relatively unimportant Warrior like Masruk to protect Krivax on the surface should not be too much of an issue.

Really? Im touched. Thank you, Masruk. I will be much safer on the surface if I am accompanied by Masruk, Defender of the Weak.

For some reason, I feel like you are mocking me, Masruk said evenly.

Why would you think that? Anyone with sense would feel safer in the presence of Masruk, Guardian of the Helpless.

Given you are indeed weak and flimsy, I feel like these titles are appropriate.

Krivax and Masruk spent the rest of their meeting bantering and catching each other up with their respective training.

When Krivax left to return to his studies, he felt a little more eager to finally finish his training. He was very close to fulfilling the requirements Vizier Hadix set out for him to be permitted to travel to the surface.

Krivax was already motivated to learn as quickly as possible by the threat of the Lich King, but now that his friend wished to join him, he was feeling even more impatient to finally set foot outside the underground kingdom for the first time.

I wonder how Masruk will react when he sees the sky.