Fall of the Shadow-King ...sode VII: The Quest for the Trinity of Migh...isode X: The Shadow-King Reborn ...e the fortress like a coruscating sea, painting the stygian heavens the colour of flame. And the high summer's night passed swiftly. At length, the dawn approached tentatively, and with the first signs of the newborn sun etching its promise upon the skies, the martial preparations commenced in earnest. A brief and perfunctory exchange between the Imperial Herald and the fortification's Watch Commander held no surprises, and the Emperor's banner was duly driven into the seared earth before Gul-Kothoth with a chilling finality. Vast siege engines and powerful ballistae were hauled inexorably into position, alongside a battery of katapelte and petrobolos. The one hundred thousand strong Imperial Frontier Army, having planted their regimental blazons into the arid soil, waited with a disciplined patience born of never having met defeat in pitched battle or siege, the dreaded Imperial War-Leopards straining noisily against their iron-link leashes to the rear of the cohorts of conscripts and auxillieries. The pitiless Iron Phalanx and their Lord Militant Commander had assumed position at the head of the army's Alpha Wing, polished swords, spears and poll-axes reflecting the glow from the myriad torches and braziers which still burned about the Imperial Host. And behind them were drawn up the legendary Legion of the Ebon Tiger, Pride of the Emperor, the infantry and cavalry famed throughout the Great Northern Continent, personal regiment of the feared general Baalthus Vane. True to their martial reputation, the six thousand strong Legion were inscrutible in their jet black armour, their sable banner billowing in the chill breeze which skittered over the plain. And finally, astride his azure-shaffroned warhorse and surrounded by his elite guard, the silvern-armoured Emperor Koord himself studied the precipitious gates with a disdainful scrutiny. At the Emperor's right hand was the renowned Swordmaster of Kyrman'ku, an eastern bladesman of preternatural skill and the most revered and expensive mercenary in the Imperium. At his left, the infamous Ogre-Mage of the Black Lake brooded silently, swathed in a stygian cloak and fuliginous cowl and exuding an aura of implacable malevolence which unerved even the bravest of the Imperial troops. The Emperor had deemed the services of these two nefarious renegades pivotal to the execution of the Final Campaign, for they alone had know...war which has raged for decades shall final...ne of the many foes a general must face u...And yet I am vexed, for as you well know, the sorcerous emmisary I despatched to the Court of the Over-King has warned that the Vyrgothians may have recovered one of the artefacts comprising the fabled Trinity of Might; the legendary Obsidian Crown itself! In the hands of a skilled thaumaturgist, it is said that the Crown may be used as a weapon of unparalle... the Trinity is but a myth! No antiquated trinket weilded by a religious fanatic will prevail against the Legion, sire. Our steel is proof against such diabolism! Behold! Gul-Tryarch has fallen, Gul-Azlaan has been given to the earth, Gul-Nomedes is naught but smouldering rubble, and soon we shall surge over the shattered remnants of Gul-Kothoth's renowned walls! The Vyrgothian Alliance shall crumble when these gates are breached, and the Over-King himself shall stand...t enough to prepare a contingency should ...And so it was that a terrible and inestimable carnage was unleashed upon the field of battle. Colossal stones, firebrands and howling iron-tipped missiles rained pitilessly down upon the hero-hewn walls of Gul-Kothoth. Vast and serpentine cracks appeared in the ancient cyclopean edifice, and hundreds of warriors, both attackers and defenders, perished in the fray, either crushed beneath the ceaselessly assailed testudo, hammered to crimson pulp by the merciless storm of unforgiving stone, or burned to blackened husks by the nightmare onslaught of flaming quicklime and saltpetre. Scaling ladders raised and repulsed in turn, storms of razor tipped shafts exchanged by the combatants, isolated skirmishes raging upon the ramparts, men blade to blade and clarions bellowing embattled defiance. For seemingly inumerabl...ers while I prepare a reception worthy of...d at the command of a decurion, a volley of armour-piercing shafts screamed skywards to rain down mercilessly upon the foe. And even as this transpired, the Emperor's Prime Sorcerer, emissary of the Imperial Court and master of those arts which speak to man in narcotic dreams from the darkest and most silent places, summoned forth that black potency which lay entwined in stygian tendrils within his mind... an ireful power born of they who writhed upon the shores of Pangaea before man's progenitors ever erected their lofty spires to the restless skies. And yet Vyrgothia's Master Wizard, unrivalled Arch-Mage and adept of that lost Eastern order who journey beyond the boundaries of time and space upon those nebulous wings born of the sacred Azure Lotus, rose to meet this power which lapped at the periphery of his mind like a midnight tide, and ...sk painting the sky a deep crimson exceed...Like the prow of a blood-hungry vessel of war rending the waves of a midnight sea, a luminescent blade of shrieking cerulean light lanced from the legendary black circlet locked tight within the gnarled hand of the Master Wizard, and clove mercilessly into the glorious ranks of the Imperium. And all who were touched by this ruinous arc of coruscating radiance knew no more... Men and beasts reduced to blackened husks, charred shells of smouldering ash, lifeless effigies which toppled to the seared earth to be dissipated by the whispering breath of the wind. Again and again the ravaging radiance smote the ranks of the Empire, leaving a noisome charnel-pit of nightmare in its crackling wake. The forces of the Imperium were plunged into a howling vortex of disarray, and, faced with the unthinkable prospect of defeat, the unprecedented first routing of the Emperor's glorious army began to become a grim reality. Yet for all the unparalleled carnage which had erupted about them, there was one regiment of Imperial troops for whom the taste of f...our souls are bound for the Pit this day, we'll damn well take a few of these bastar...Now, I charge thee, for the glory of the Im...r fearsome words in a tongue which was ancient ere the gleaming stars shifted upon the fathomless countenance of the distant heavens, words which in truth were not words, but rather a resonant key which would aspire to unlock a dire power which had reposed shackled since the fall of the legendary Shadow King himself, whose ebon circlet's power they even now sought to thwart. The incantation they gave voice to in the midst of that sanguineous turmoil which engulfed them was not so much heard by those within earshot as perceived, sensed as a vague disturbance in the fabric of reality, as fuliginous ripples on the surface of a hitherto still and placid pool, growing ever larger and more far reaching; an unnerving and unnamable sense of change which insinuated itself into the mind of the listener and suggested with a cold and disturbing quasi-certainty that something of preternaturally ineffable magnitude was transpiring, as surely as a festering and gangrenous corpse would split to spill its noisome gore. And as that maddeningly implacable incantation reached its resounding climax, a momentary silence enshrouded the battlefield, swathing the vista of chaos in an aura of noiselessness more pure and untainted than the tranquility of the boundless and stygian void. It was as if time itself had halted for one immemorial mome...isode X: The Shadow-King Reborn ...AN / ROBERTS, BYRON A.

hed my homeboy die, day by day body tired ...hey tell me there's a peaceful place, I w... satisfy the hunger for those who want to k...t to see is heavens a place like we thoug... to think it's just a mind state ...e I put my trust in a man I'll just wait ... I take the journey for myself ...Put a bullet in my own he...Just as I thought, a bright light ...I been a pawn and I been a king ...nd through my quest for the answers, know w...hooters gotta do it day for day ...I had a dream and seen a double sun, a different world was...It's impossible for scientists to make

n on chrome looking for some hoes ...us some hundreds in a burned out blosses ...n see some socas in a Blazer ...the one outstanding a.k.a. Capone ...Give it up to the day we fucking die ...y cause we ride all day ...alles in Californ-i-a ...Give it up to the day we fucking die ...ne thirty hit the 7 11 ...ot some zigzags and a bottle of Bacardi ...ight bubbly looking for a party ...through a motion and we coast... again which one ?? for the looks of Virgin...Bouncin for the homies, the one...R, DENZIL/KING, JAY A

They won't call me a nigga...They won't call me a nigga...can't hear you with a mouth full of pig's...Your body is a mess but you're ble...Lookin' for survival...The Devil made you a slave an' he gave you a Bible...But I'm a watch 'em burn in t...See I'm a G, that's why I ain...h ain't nuttin' but a fashion show...Get the Devil do a 187... they won't call me a nigga when I get to...They won't call me a nigga when I get to...You're waitin' for the Devil to come f...Clown, take a look around...A beast in sheep's cl...'Cause you'se a crook an' I'm a brother...King James had sex with ...man, you gotta make a decision...se God is comin' on day number seven... they won't call me a nigga when I get to...They won't call me a nigga when I get to...They won't call me a nigga when I get to...'Cause God is a killer from the sta...An' God is a man from his feet t...But Elijah's got a plan...'Cause one day these babies'll upr... they won't call me a nigga when I get to...They won't call me a nigga when I get to...They won't call me a nigga when I get to...They won't call me a nigga when I get to...They won't call me a nigga when I get to...They won't call me a nigga when I get to...They won't call me a nigga when I get to...They won't call me a nigga when I get to...They won't call me a nigga when I get to

can't hear you with a mouth full of pig's...Your body is a mess, but you're bl...With a father, son, spirit...Lookin' for survival ...The devil made you a slave and he gave you a bible ...I watch 'em burn in a fire ...See I'm a g, that's why I ain...h ain't nothin' but a fashion show ...Get the devil to a 187 ... they won't call me a nigga when I get to...You're waitin' for the devil to come f...Clown, take a look around ...A beast in sheep's cl...'Cause youse a crook and I'm a brother ...King James had sex with ...man, you gotta make a desicion ...se God is comin' on day number seven ...nd he won't call me a nigga when I get to...'Cause God is a killer from the sta...And God is a man from his feet t...But Elijah's got a plan ...'Cause one day these babies are up...kin' knowledge at 7-11 ... they won't call me a nigga when I get to

If you find a bag of weed on the ...While I crack a cold Beck's and kee... your nose and take a deep breath, recess... mic's, three times a day ...Three times a night, it all equal...Lyrics for years that run more...e fuck up, ya still a dick-ridah ...ep that back-in-the-day shit when that othe...ind me of school on a Sunday ... class, beatin' all King's down ...n' over seventy, in a Hyundai, blast ...Give em a good reason to open...Been a weirdo ever since t...If you see a bag of weed on the ...If you see a bitch passed on out...hen we buy G's with a half a pound of dope MC's ...We bag for cheese just to get ...Guzzlin' quart for sports of all sorts...nt, drop shit, it's a microscopic topic ...ad ass hoes with 54-11 Reeboks ...y this hip-hop shit for real ...mera crew and I had a chance to visit ...lthough we suffered a minor setback this ...someone about to go for their drugs

If you find a bag of weed on the ...While I crack a cold Beck's and kee... your nose and take a deep breath, recess... mic's, three times a day ...Three times a night, it all equal...Lyrics for years that run more...e fuck up, ya still a dick-ridah ...ep that back-in-the-day shit when that othe...ind me of school on a Sunday ... class, beatin' all King's down ...n' over seventy, in a Hyundai, blast ...Give em a good reason to open...Been a weirdo ever since t...If you see a bag of weed on the ...If you see a bitch passed on out...hen we buy G's with a half a pound of dope MC's ...We bag for cheese just to get ...Guzzlin' quart for sports of all sorts...nt, drop shit, it's a microscopic topic ...ad ass hoes with 54-11 Reeboks ...y this hip-hop shit for real ...mera crew and I had a chance to visit ...lthough we suffered a minor setback this ...someone about to go for their drugs

If you find a bag of weed on the ...While I crack a cold Beck's and kee... your nose and take a deep breath, recess... mic's, three times a day ...Three times a night, it all equal...Lyrics for years that run more...e fuck up, ya still a dick-ridah ...ep that back-in-the-day shit when that othe...ind me of school on a Sunday ... class, beatin' all King's down ...n' over seventy, in a Hyundai, blast ...Give em a good reason to open...Been a weirdo ever since t...If you see a bag of weed on the ...If you see a bitch passed on out...hen we buy G's with a half a pound of dope MC's ...We bag for cheese just to get ...Guzzlin' quart for sports of all sorts...nt, drop shit, it's a microscopic topic ...ad ass hoes with 54-11 Reeboks ...y this hip-hop shit for real ...mera crew and I had a chance to visit ...lthough we suffered a minor setback this ...someone about to go for their drugs

If you find a bag of weed on the ...While I crack a cold Beck's and kee... your nose and take a deep breath, recess..., mics, three times a day ...Three times a night, it all equal...Lyrics for years that run more...e fuck up, ya still a dick-ridah ...ep that back-in-the-day shit when that othe...ind me of school on a Sunday ...o class, beatin all King's down ...in over seventy, in a Hyundai, blast ...Give em a good reason to open...Been a weirdo everysince t...If you see a bag of weed on the ...If you see a bitch passed on out...hen we buy G's with a half a pound of dope MC's ...We bag for cheese just to get ...Guzzlin quart for sports of all sorts...Drop shit, it's a microscopic topic ...ad ass hoes with 54-11 Reeboks ...y this hip-hop shit for real ...mera crew and I had a chance to visit ...someone about to go for their drugs

Cross Nevada at a 110... carouse around all day...Than move into a home ...King of the trailer cour...Waiting for a nice young man...Who'll love me for my car ...b cornered at the 7-11

Forgive me for my sins, cause I'm ...use even though I'm a soldier, I feel pai...Got a nigga paranoid arou...motherfuckers, just for crossing that line...ieve retaliation is a must, I'ma bust wit...A military minded mot... Vs. the World, and King of Da Ghetto is whe...Save me from being a drug dealer, but still a guerrilla...A young Mexican broug...laying with me, I'm a down ass G...n't even relax, Mac 11 by the jacuzzi... see, another fu-fu day...Can't I get a piece of mind, ever... like flies, it got a nigga scared...Bullet proof and a automatic, come wit

oud, Wu-Tang's back for more ...Prepare for mic fights (and plu...More than a thousand times one,...I hold a title, enhanced how...You asked for it, shot up the jam...With a freestyle, sharper ...it back and let the king explore ...A duffel bag full of ...d attacks just like a vulture ...Be on the lookout for this mass murderous...utopsy show, it was a Shaolin blow ...s with the grips of a python ...for the sun of song, I ...ifocal on, watch me a-cometh ...urse applause, like a black that to that ...Every other day my whole dress code...Can't get a nigga like Don dime a dozen ...And smoke a blunt, and dial 9-1...1-6-0-4-9-3-11 ...like a porcupine, I part backs like a spine ...Cut you like a blunt and reconstru...Trying to get a title like Wu Killa..., we paid our debts for mad years

r cruise around all day ...Than save up for a move ...King of the trailer cour...Waiting for the perfect chick ...Who'll love me for my car ...b cornered at the 7-11

oud, Wu-Tang's back for more ...Prepare for mic fights (and plu...More than a thousand times one,...I hold a title, enhanced how...You asked for it, shot up the jam...With a freestyle, sharper ...it back and let the king explore ...A duffel bag full of ...d attacks just like a vulture ...Be on the lookout for this mass murderous...utopsy show, it was a Shaolin blow ...s with the grips of a python ...for the sun of song, I ...ifocal on, watch me a-cometh ...urse applause, like a black that to that ...Every other day my whole dress code...Can't get a nigga like Don dime a dozen ...And smoke a blunt, and dial 9-1...1-6-0-4-9-3-11 ...like a porcupine, I part backs like a spine ...Cut you like a blunt and reconstru...Trying to get a title like Wu Killa..., we paid our debts for mad years

oud, Wu-Tang's back for more ...Prepare for mic fights (and plu...More than a thousand times one,...I hold a title, enhanced how...You asked for it, shot up the jam...With a freestyle, sharper ...it back and let the king explore ...A duffel bag full of ...d attacks just like a vulture ...Be on the lookout for this mass murderous...utopsy show, it was a Shaolin blow ...s with the grips of a python ...for the sun of song, I ...ifocal on, watch me a-cometh ...urse applause, like a black that to that ...Every other day my whole dress code...Can't get a nigga like Don dime a dozen ...And smoke a blunt, and dial 9-1...1-6-0-4-9-3-11 ...like a porcupine, I part backs like a spine ...Cut you like a blunt and reconstru...Trying to get a title like Wu Killa..., we paid our debts for mad years