Runelord Kagrim stood before the Throne of the High King in Karaz-a-Karak. He had seldomed been addressed personally by Thorgrim Grudgebearer, but he knew that whatever task Thorgrim had in mind, Kagrim was the Dwarf for the job.

As he waited patiently for the High King to arrive, he thought he noticed a Dwarf with a pure face and a white beard slip out of the council chambers behind the throne. The Dwarf had a mystical look to him, and it was hard to get a good look at him. Suddenly, Thorgrim was upon Kagrim. Working his way to his throne, he lay down a map in front of Kagrim with some runes scribbled along the edges. Kagrim could see clearly it was a map of a portion of Lustria.

Speaking with a deep baritone voice slightly muffled by his massive beard, Thorgrim began to speak, "Lustria. It has been brought to my attention that the Lizards there are responsible for a great tragedy that befell Dwarves many years ago. One Slann in particular was responsible for the tectonic plates shifting long ago, causing the loss of many great Dwarf holds." Kagrim's eyes widened. This was no ordinary grudge.

Thorgim continued, "I have already dispatched a contingent of experienced Rangers to arrive ahead of you and scout out the area. You will be arriving within the week at a small Dwarf outpost on the eastern coast of the continent. I have assigned to your command my finest Thunderers, an ancient and powerful Grudge Thrower many centuries old, as well as some... volunteers. Giant Slayers Keggi and Loggi are leading a troupe of Slayers at your disposal. Remember that the Lizardmen themselves are a powerful ally, and that the Slann himself is your target. When the Slann is slain the grudge is settled and there need not be any further bloodshed. That is all." Thorgrim stood up from his throne and calmly left the room. Kagrim glanced back down at the papers that lay in front of him and then left to ready himself for travel.

Two weeks later.

Upon arriving in Lustria, Thorgrims scouts had returned with some important information. Apparently the Lizardmen already knew of Kagrim's attack and were on their way to burn the outpost down. Kagrim sent out the Longbeards to set up the Grudge Thrower in a fortified tower on the east side of the outpost. He couldn't for the life of him figure out where the Thunderers had gone until Korgel, his faithful guard and Battle Standard Bearer notified him that they were waiting for the call to arms in a nearby pub. The slayers had joined them.

Suddenly, the hairs down Kagrim's back began to tingle. The winds of magic were shifting in the air. He glanced to the northwest tower in the town and noticed some movement where there shouldn't be any.

"TO ARMS!" He roared! Instantly rank upon rank of Slayer poured out of the nearby pub and rushed towards the tower he had noticed movement in. As if on cue, instantly a score of Kroxigor poured through the north gate. Two regiments of Saurus warrior were on either flank. Salamanders and Skinks surrounded and filled the tower that was so bustling with activity earlier. Then he noticed something that made him shudder. No wonder Thorgrim picked him for this job. A regiment of Temple Guard stood off to the east, marching slowly to battle. In the center of the regiment sat a great fat toad with unfathomable magical power, his palanquin protecting him and lifting him and his banner to a highly visible position within his regiment.

Instantly, Kagrim's multi-tasking mind was at work. Magical energy began flowing into two key points in the battlefield. There must be a Skink priest in the tower to the North west, as a bit of the energy began to swirl over there. As he felt it spiral downwards towards the tower he knew he had to act fast. Reaching down to his two-sided medallion, he closed his eyes and focused. Instantly the magical energy in both areas dissipated. The croaks and groans of the lizards grew louder.

Kroxigors thundered towards the pub fast. Guns and pint glasses lined the window sills, and a few brave Dwarves stood in the doorways. They began firing their handguns and ripping huge chunks of lizard flesh off of the monstrous infantry.

The Slayers had already sprinted off to their doom straight at the tower. Something behind the tower made Kagrim chuckle. Some skinks began prodding a Salamander as if goading it to attack the Slayers with its powerful fiery breath. Instead, the Salamander spun around and gulped down the poor skink. It seemed the ancestor Gods themselves were watching over the Dwarves today.

Kagrim noticed something to the east that made him smile, "Look Korgel. Thorgrim's scouts! They are advancing!" Rank upon rank of white bearded warriors were advancing toward the Temple Guard. Blood was about to be spilled. Ranks were about to clash upon ranks. Brave warriors were about to assault buildings with much ferocity. Dwarf lives would be taken today. Kagrim held his medallion close.

The winds of magic began to swirl once more. Kagrim winced as they seemed stronger than last time, and they seemed to focus over the one area he wished that they did not. The Slann mage priest was holding a ball of purple energy inside his hands, meditating. The winds seemed to stream straight into this fiery point of focus, and Kagrim was having trouble resisting it. He gripped his medallion so tight his knuckles turned white, but something was wrong. The winds began to increase to the point that even the Slann seemed surprised. The Slann lifted his hands high over his head and the ball of energy grew larger. Kagrim had heard of this particular spell before, but had yet to witness it in battle. The Purple Sun of Xereus.

It was as if time stood still. The Slayers were still charging forward, as were the Longbeard Rangers of Thorgrim's. Kagrim's Hammer Guard braced themselves. The Slann lowered his arms slowly, aiming the ball of energy towards the regiment of Longbeards.

For a moment, it was as if everyone on the battlefield was waiting to see what would happen next.

What did happen next took everyone by surprise.

The Purple Sun flashed back and engulfed the Slann, and then rolled at all sorts of odd angles over his Guard before dissipating. The Slann was gone, as was half of his regiment. And then as soon as they arrived, the Lizardmen slinked away.

A lone Thunderer walked up to Kagrim, "Zero casualties sir. We scratched some Kroxigor's but the only lives that were taken today were the lives Lizards. And I believe they caused those themselves."

Kagrim nodded. Just wait until Thorgrim hears about this!