Itana surveyed the battlefield. Much had happened, only six
fortnights into the war. The Long Rider had lost his two villages and
his mountain town. Now the armies of the Khand had burned the town of
the Blind Sorceror and were at the chokepoint of eastern Mordor. The
slave fields of Nurn lay before them and a motley rabble of dog lord
troops were all that stood in their way. A falcon flew in with
news. It appeared that the Blind Sorceror had hired an army in
Urlurtsa Nurn - a desperate attempt to stall the inevitable. The war
council was convened. Kionid spoke first: "Should we battle the dog
lord? If we do not they may hold us here. Sooner or later those
fools will send their cursers to battle our armies instead of picking
off heroes in our capital one by one while their homeland burns! Some
day they will realize that the Khand are made of sterner stuff than
they can imagine; with every fallen leader two rise to replace them!"
Itana paused. "They will rush us, and the forces of the Blind
Sorceror will march along the Sea to delay us. We will ignore the
rabble and march through the desert. We are on a mission of vengeance
now."
As the Dog Lord troops swarmed towards them the Khand warlords raised
their scimitars and rode into battle. A scant fortnight later they
stood at the walls of the Blind Sorceror stronghold of Urlurtsa Nurn.
A grinning scout reported back. "It is empty. They have left to
chase us!"
Itana roared with laughter.
"Burn it!"
Another falcon came in, and the news was good.
Minas Morgul lay in ruins. Urig to the south stood poised over the
Adunaphels major town, soft and vulnerable with a scant few defenders.
And the Northmen stood ready to sack the mountain stronghold of the
dragon lord to the east. Mordor was in flames, and all that remained
in eastern Mordor were scattered camps. The heart of the kingdom of
the Dark One surrounded them, ripe for the torch. And the mighty
fleet of the Corsairs had more than met its match from the brave
sailors of Southern Gondor.
Onwards men! The Easterlings will repay the debt from their mistakes
in earlier ages!
Itana Ovan, warlord of the Khand...