Year 45

"It's no use Master, I tried to speak with the mayor, but they refuse to deal with us anymore. They said it is no longer a good idea to trade with us anymore since they depend on other the trade of other villages and they're more important." Brother Gannon tells you.

And that was the last of the known places in Rask to cut ties with you. Now you're truly on your own. This has been going on for quite some time now ever since citizens of those enslaved towns you freed managed to make contact with the other towns south of you. There were always rumors, but nobody ever knew for sure, they may not have even cared, but when those ex-slaves told them of the exact horrors they faced, well it put you in a pretty bad light and you weren't exactly on the honor list to begin with. One by one the towns started banning shadows from even entering and stopped trade with you.

Normally two such things wouldn't mean a lot, but given that were currently attempting to recruit through missionary work again, that is no longer an option at all now. As for trade, the shadows are self reliant, but the land is pretty harsh and sometimes a little trade for things you need helps a lot. You don't have that option either anymore.

The shadows are divided on their opinions. Some say none of it matters as long as they trust in Dendrin to provide. These are mostly from the older human shadows. Some of the ones with families are a little more concerned, but most of them have taken it upon themselves to become dedicated hunters and gatherers. Cyrus surprisingly is in this camp. He and Draven have been responsible for bringing in most of the basic supplies you need. Though sometimes they come back with things that don't seem to come from the "wild". You can only guess they've taken to thievery of some of the closer villages. Doesn't matter to you, whatever works and as long as they don't get caught.

The eternal shadows on the other hand are militant as usual about things. They believe the villages should be paying you tribute for freeing them from the Empire in the first place. In a way, you can understand their frustration, but launching an assault on the Raskians isn't going to help anything. In the meantime you've been trying to keep them occupied with killing giantkin that lumber down from the northern mountains. It helps a little, but there have been times you've had to stop one or two of them from starting fights with the human shadows.

You've spoken to Talia repeatedly about their behavior, but she tells you that she's done all she can. She thinks part of the problem is that they never heard Dendrin's voice or been in his presence, so while she has attempted to indoctrinate them as best she could, only Dendrin could make it absolute. Barring finding a book (which no longer exists) to perform that same ritual that you, Talia and Cyrus experienced long ago, you'd have to speak to Dendrin himself about it, and he still hasn't seen fit to speak to you for a long time. It's been quite a while now, you wonder if he's finally lost interest in you.
Of course since you've wondered if that's the case, he ends up popping up a few days later during your sleep.

"Should've known better than to think you'd left for good." You say.
"Well, I did leave for quite awhile, I can see where you came up with that conclusion, sorry about that, but I was preoccupied with other matters. No need to worry yourself about them and anyway I'm here now! So rejoice that I may help you in your time of need!" Dendrin replies.
"Yeah, don't think that'll be necessary."
"Oh no? From what I can tell you're having a bit of trouble keeping those eternal shadows of yours under control. I would've expected better, but no matter as I've said I'm here to help."
"And just what did you have planned, were you going to offer to indoctrinate them like you tried to do with me?"
"A possibilities, is that what you'd like me to do?"
"Would it work?"
"Of course, but loyalty to the shadows or to me isn't their problem. Your mate has done an excellent job indoctrinating them herself. In fact they're so loyal they're ready to start kill the local population because of it. I say why not let them?"
"Because you don't have to deal with the headache of the situation and starting a potential war isn't what I had planned."
"Well why not? You're obviously failing to keep the order thriving under peace, you might as well go for more violent means. It is what you Eternals are good at and what you know isn't it? I'm sort of surprised you've shied away from it."
"Does everyone believe me to some sort of warmonger? Look, yes its true I enjoy battle, I probably always will. I will also probably always feel a sense of boredom or dissatisfaction when going for long periods of time without doing it. However, I was never one to seek it out on a whim. I fought the Empire, because it was the right thing to do, I took out Flog for similar reasons and to correct mistakes of the past."
"You killed Flog because he wasn't useful anymore and he was becoming a thorn in your side, don't fool yourself, Eternal."
"Very well, but there was still a purpose. Attacking the Raskian people just because they distrust us or hate us? What is the purpose? Some sort of petty revenge because they won't bow down? Why should they, and I can't say as I blame them. Even not counting after they found out about the slavery incident, we were attempting to convert their people. People aren't too fond of others pushing their beliefs on them. We were also part of the Empire too at one point. The shadows willingly aided it as a sort of secret security force in the hopes of betraying it one day. Sure there was always the claim that it was for "everyone" but at the core it was ALWAYS for the shadows first and foremost and you KNOW it because YOU were the one that set the rebellion in motion centuries ago."
"And? What if it was?"
"Yes, the ends justify the means and I understand that, but I see no justification in attacking the Raskians. If my goal had been to carve out some sort of Shadow version the Empire I might as well had fought for the other side instead and saved myself the trouble. Besides if we did start attacking, they would see us exactly as how we saw Flog; A thorn in the side, which had outlived its usefulness. Sure we could easily subjugate them all, but only at a great cost of stretching ourselves very thin and we all saw how that worked out for the Empire."
"Those are all interesting things to think about, but I think your real problem is clear enough and quite basic. You've primarily got a division of the flock and that's your biggest concern. You've got normals and you've got Eternals. You aren't going to be able to settle anything properly until get rid of one or the other and if you have any intention on keeping this order together like you're trying to do…why are you at this point?"
"Good question, but I think the only answer is the same one as usual."
"Oh yes, your mate…well I suppose that does make things a bit harder for you doesn't it? I don't even think she would want you disposing of her "children." Might make for an unhappy marriage I suppose. Then again, the normal shadows are the only ones who can breed. Yes, looks like you're going to have an interesting decision to make."
"I'm not ordering half of the shadows to death just for your amusement."
"You might not have to, events may thrust you into such a position where you'll be forced to choose one side or the other anyway. Well I leave it in your capable hands as usual shadow. As usual I'll be watching."

As usual Dendrin has not helped you at all. Nice to see some things never change. Still, the new eternals are the ones that have caused problems and will probably continue to do so in the future. It would be nice if they just went away.

You flirt with the idea that maybe whittling down their numbers might at least make them more manageable. Unfortunately they've proven quite capable in combat, so you'd have to find some sort of excuse of sending them deep into giant country, namely the actual mountains. You'd probably have to lead them yourself too, just to make sure everything goes "right."

Of course if you did this, you're not only potentially causing problem between you and Talia if she ever found out, but also you'd be engaging in double dealing on a level equivalent to selling out those villages to Flog and you just learned the hard way on how wrong that was.

You engage the plan

Given that you were supposed to be loyal to the Empire and then backstabbed them in probably one of the most traitorous acts in history. What's one more betrayal? Your situation with Flog, is much different than your situation with the new eternals. With him, you originally caused more problems by keeping him alive. With the new eternals you'll actually be solving problems by killing them off. It's going to be tricky, but you're pretty sure you can do it.

You decide to call a meeting that you have received a message from Dendrin himself and how he has warned you of an impending invasion of giants. Dendrin has told you that you need to march into the mountains and thin out the population as much as possible in a pre-emptive strike since they'd never expect it.

Since this would be a "mission" for the best warriors, several of the new eternals are perfect for it, doesn't even take much convincing since they're all practically begging to go. You don't take them all however, since that might be a bit suspicious. Instead you take all of the ones that you know have been showing the most signs of disruptive behavior. (Which is still most of them). As far as you can tell all of the shadows, human or eternal take you at your word and suspect nothing. The only two you're concerned about is Talia and Cyrus.

Talia, is a little concerned, that you're embarking on this dangerous undertaking with several of her "children", but using the excuse that it is "Dendrin's will" stirs up no suspicion from her. Cyrus volunteers to go, indeed he assumed he was, but you tell him that he's needed at Evergloom in case something major happens while you're away. Cyrus is probably so honored that you'd put him in charge of something so important that he doesn't get suspicious either.

You set off with around thirty of the eternals and head straight for the Raskian Mountains. You don't really have plan at this point, other than to wander the mountains long enough killing giants that attrition will take its toll. When the survivor number gets low enough, you'll take care of the rest personally, and make the trek back to Evergloom alone claiming how you eventually fought a giant king and that everyone died gloriously in Dendrin's honor.

Before you even reach the mountains you get into combat with ogre tribes, then mixed tribes with a couple giants and ogres. No problems so far, but you're noticing that a few of the eternals are starting to get a little tired because the fools have been over using their shadow magic. This is going to be over sooner than you think if they continue to not pace themselves.

Tracking giant lairs in the mountains really isn't all that difficult, just like for the large footprints in the snow and the really big caves. The first few battles go well, but after that, people start getting wounded. A few days go by and exhaustion starts setting in along with hunger. It's not just tough on the eternal shadows, it's a challenge for you as well since you're right there along with all of them. Things start to get interesting when you start facing something more than giants, namely lizard like creatures that breathe gouts of ice at you. These ice drakes are the cause of your first casualties.

A couple more days pass, and you've lost a little more than half of your people. Most of them in battle, but a couple of them have died due to the treacherous terrain of the mountains like falling off the side of it. You sort of expected them to whine or at least grumble by this point. They haven't done any of that, and they've followed your orders without question. You're a little impressed. The fact that so many of them have died on this mission is probably a humbling experience for them; perhaps it has even changed them a bit. You decide that maybe you don't need to kill them all and just an experience like this is enough.

When you wake up the next day, you call the remaining eternals to order and tell them that Dendrin has visited you and has said that your mission is finished and that the invasion will no longer take place. (You actually feel pretty safe saying that considering how many giant you really did kill!) You then also tell them that Dendrin has looked favorably on all of them for carrying out his orders and obeying their Shadow Master without argument. They seem to like the idea that their god has given them some praise.

As you make your way back to Evergloom, you begin to think about this plan you came up with and while you don't feel bad about it, you do wonder if there was another way that might not have involved so much death. Still, what's done is done now, and it seems to have had a desired effect. Probably for the best that you did cut the plan short though since even you are feeling very tired after this ordeal and would like to get some rest in a proper bed. Also reminds you of how you aren't as young as you used to be either.

The rest of the trip is fairly uneventful until you step into Kragen Pass and then you start to get an uneasy feeling half way through…

A rumbling is heard on both sides of the pass and then several large snow covered boulders are flying over your heads.

"GIANTS! RUN!" you shout.

During your bloody march through the mountains, some of the giants figured you were trying to kill all of their kind. It would appear that when facing potential genocide, the big brutes are able to employ a little strategy in their usually dim noggins, like retreating from the mountains and ambushing you in this pass by throwing big ass rocks at you. Crude, simple, but effective.

Before anyone can speed their way through the pass, the giants block it off by causing a minor avalanche on both ends while continuing to hurl boulders at you. In everyone's current state of exhaustion, it isn't long before some of the eternals are crushed.

You try your best to find a potential hiding spot or even a small cave, but there are none. Eventually the barrage of boulders being thrown crushes you too.

The irony in all this is your actions actually cause a massive giant attack on Evergloom in the next few weeks as they seek to preserve themselves from being killed, by destroying Evergloom and the remaining shadows.