The skies above were laced with shadows by the wings of dragons, drawn by the siren song of the athanc. There above the world began once again the wurms’ ancient and terrible war.

Who can know if any but the mighty Toruk took notice of the insects on the earth beneath those dragons. For while gods clashed above—their blood and blight raining down from the heavens—Toruk’s unliving agents fought against mortal men to reclaim what was rightfully his: a shard cut from his very essence. A gift squandered and wasted by an ungrateful progeny in eons past.

Though many had fought and bled to lay claim to this prize, few truly understood the grave implications of its existence. In truth, perhaps only our order, that of Circle Orboros, fully realized the world-shattering consequences held at bay within the mystic containment field of the athanc wagon.

So it was as battle was joined that we sacrificed everything to keep the shard from falling into the hands of either the Dragonfather’s agents or the foolish mortal armies that sought to claim the athanc for their own misguided purposes. Through dragon fire and a blighted rain of blood,our forces fought with blade and stone, lightning and storm, tooth and claw. One by one the greatest of our number fell, but their sacrifices were not to be in vain.

Never shall we forget the last stand of Baldur the Stonesoul, who allowed himself to be consumed by the fires of the Wurm within him in order to strike down the colossal black-iron Kraken that stood between us and victory. Nor to can we forget the loss of Morvahna the Autumnblade, who gave everything to break the stalemate when all seemed lost.

But most of all we must always remember the deeds of Krueger the Stormlord. When our order was paralyzed to inaction, it was he who made us realize our failings through his harsh words and brash actions. While apocalypse thundered above, he stood at the center of the maelstrom below, driving back our enemies with lightning, wind, and hurricane forces. It was he and no other who orchestrated of our ultimate victory over our foes, he who understood that sacrifice is the very root of our order—roots that must be watered with blood if it is to continue to thrive and grow.

By blood have we claimed the athanc shard and kept it from the dragons, but only by blood shall we continue to keep it. It is a heavy burden that our order takes on. But it is one we shall endure.

So read the final email I was to send after six months of glorious campaigning with my fellow Privateer Press Staff members.

(For those of you just joining us or in need of a refresher, make sure to check out the Setup and rounds 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7/8, 9, 10, and 11)

For those who may not have seen it yet, I highly recommend getting your hands on a copy of No Quarter #65, as the huge multi-table finale of Round 12 was one of the most epic and memorable WARMACHINE and HORDES experiences I’ve ever been a part of. It was the perfect event (with a rather incredible ending, worthy of the greatest narratives) to close out the campaign. It also includes the full rules and scenarios for the complete campaign.

While controlling the wagon at the end of the campaign provided a huge boon to the player who managed to own it, it did not, in and of itself, guarantee victory.

Final VP Scores

	Retribution of Scyrah Michael Plummer	28
	Circle Orboros Lyle Lowery	27
	Cryx Ed Bourelle	26
	Trollbloods JR Godwin	18
	Minions Will Hungerford	14
	Khador Simon Berman	12
	Convergence of Cyriss Charles Agel	10

Though Lyle had managed to end the campaign with control of the athanc wagon (and in doing so, netting himself a hefty 20 VPs), he simply hadn’t done enough throughout the rest of the campaign to put himself ahead of the campaign victor Michael Plummer and his Retribution army. Though Plummer had suffered setbacks early on, he had attacked his secret objectives with full force in addition to going after as many VP-granting athanc rumors as possible, and thus he narrowly edged out Lyle as the final winner.

Special mention must also go to Ed Bourelle, who was barely knocked out of second place by Lyle’s success in the final round. Indeed, only a single point separated each of the top three players from one another. This is a true testament not only to the skill Ed and Plummer displayed throughout the entire campaign but to the incredible importance of securing the athanc wagon by the end of the campaign.

I hope you’ve enjoyed following our Insider series over these many months. More important, I hope you,too, are inspired to go out and try your hand at creating a unique, compelling narrative experience with your friends and gaming group.

So, muster your troops and march forth to create your own war stories!