A Renewed Insurgence.
After a few years of peace widely referred to by historians as the Respite, the Kingdom of Zegon once again found itself plunged into strife. Barbarian Warrior leader Heldar found an excellent opportunity for the Barbarian Insurgence to resume when King Xath sent his Grand Army westwards in an exploration expedition.
Widespread Destruction.
Heldar ordered one of his followers to register an assignment with the Guild. The assignment, which will be heavily rewarded with gold, requires the Guildmaster of the Guild to assassinate the leader of the Barbarian Warriors. Using the cover of a wealthy merchant living in Znyke, Heldar's follower provided the Guild with the whereabouts of the Barbarian Warriors on the pretense of having accidentally but secretly stumbled on.
Heldar's first action was to send the entire Barbarian Warriors horde to destroy the Zegon Monastery, located in the north of the kingdom near the mountains. Heldar planned to deprive the Kingdom's forces of the priests' healing abilities in the coming conflict. Caught off guard and possessing no offensive capabilities, the Monastery lost many of its priests in the battle. Abbott Fryna was escorted away from the Monastery. By the time the Protectors arrived, the Monastery was already destroyed and few survivors were around to bury the dead and clean up the mess.
Heldar's next target was the Hall of the Anointed, the headquarters of the Knights, located in the northwest of the kingdom, near the borders of the mountains and the forest. The Knights were part of King Xath's expeditionary force and the only ones left behind in the Hall were the instructors and trainees, guarded by a platoon of Protectors. When the Barbarian Warriors struck, the Hall was swiftly overwhelmed. The Knights and Protectors fought valiantly, taking down many Barbarian Warriors, but were all killed that day. Heldar set fire to the Hall and burnt it down to ashes.
Setback.
Despite having scored two major victories, Heldar suffered a major setback.
Heldar had planned to destroy one of the Protectorate's Division Headquarters in the city of Znyke, located in the north of the kingdom. The headquarters's destruction would allow the Barbarians to establish a foothold in the north, from which they can launch their attacks. Heldar divided his Warriors into three groups. Two of the groups will create diversions in two different locations inside the city to draw out the Protectors and split them up, while the third group will launch an attack on the headquarters.
However, the third group never made it to the Division Headquarters. After a long battle which ended up with heavy casualties on both sides, Heldar still had not received news of the headquarters being taken, and he had to order a retreat.
Heldar later discovered that his brethren in the third group were killed by operatives of the Guild shortly before start of the attack on the headquarters. With his plan failed and the Protectors alerted, Heldar had no choice but to bide his time. He decided to focus his attention on revenge to satisfy the Barbarian Warriors' bloodlust.
Retaliation.
Heldar prepared a decoy for the Guild by planning for a new attack on the Protectorate's Division Headquarters in Znyke, one that will never happen. Enough breadcrumbs were laid to attract the Guild's attentions. When the operatives of the Guild made their move, they were promptly ambushed by the Barbarian Warriors. Thirty operatives were captured and gruesomely tortured for information regarding the Guild. Twenty nine of them were slowly maimed and excruciatingly dismembered for refusing to reveal any information. The last operative was purposely left untouched to witness his fellow operatives' fate. When it was his turn to be interrogated, he revealed everything he knew about his Guild. Heldar had all thirty operatives killed after he gotten the information he needed. In the middle of the night, the Barbarian Warriors hung up the body parts of the operatives around Znyke as a warning to the Guild.
Guildmaster Morok decided to seize the chance. He believed that even if it was a trap, he could still beat the young Heldar at his game. He led an elite group of thirty of his finest Phantoms to Znyke on a sneak attack on the Barbarians Warriors. Morok was too arrogant and underestimated Heldar. His group of Phantoms were slaughtered by a large number of Warriors and Morok himself was killed in a duel with Heldar.
Heldar cut off the head of Morok and displayed it before the gates of Lord Kelsius's castle. This act signified the beginning of a full-scale attack on Znyke as Heldar escalated his plans to conquer the north of the kingdom.
