The Old World Army Challenge: James' Dark Magic in Norsca (211pts)

Slange had been in the wilderness of Norsca for days, trudging ever northward through the snow and ice. One of his tribe's raiding parties had just returned from a labor recruitment effort, and he had overheard some of the new elven 'volunteers' discussing an artifact of immense power somewhere beyond the village. The elves must have assumed, in their typical arrogance, that none of these human savages could understand them.

He may have been a son of Norsca, but Slange had a keen mind and a penchant for sorcery. He also had a questionable moral compass. And so he here he was, looking for some abandoned ruins, dangerously close to the borders of the Wastes, hoping to find something to quench his thirst for Total Power.

When he finally found the ruins, he wasn't disappointed. Whoever had lived here was long gone, but they had left behind records of their work. One book in particular caught his eye, an odd necromantic spellbook. He had practiced some necromancy; the raiders would bring back the occasional scroll from the Empire and toss it his way, but this was far more powerful. There were names and locations in the book he hadn't heard of, pictures of strange temples that looked nothing like buildings he had seen, but there was also a map. He wasn't familiar with the land mass pictured, but he did understand the arrow at the top of the map pointing north, with the word 'Ulthuan' next to it.

If a book like this existed, then maybe there was more. He wasn't sure what he'd find, but Slange knew he was headed south of the realm of the High Elves. He wouldn't make it there alone, though. Slange looked at the book and decided it was time creatively encourage his people to help.

The tribe would never agree to an expedition to an unknown land like this. Norsemen sailing the seas to search for Newfound Land just wasn't a thing, not when there was plenty of good sacking to be done in the Empire. Upon reaching his village, Slange unleashed the power of his new tome and began turning his own people into his unwilling minions. The tribe's warriors tried to stop him, but the book's power was too much.

Slange had assembled the beginning of his expeditionary force, and was ready to strike out toward unknown lands and find out how much power this race known as the 'Old Ones' may have left behind. Surely they couldn't still be around after all this time...