Mission 03 - Horrors of Izlar

## 03 - Horrors of Izlar

The hours of the Izlar's most ancient beings are numbered...

## Belligerents

* Children of the Izlar.

* Horrors of Izlar *(Destroyed)*.

## Commanders

* Karak

* None

## Forces

* Guard and Ventator warrior breeds.
* Mind interchangeable breed.
* Astray Impalers, Spawns, Guards and an Argus called into Karak's pack.
* Withered Zhogarn colony, replenished afterwards.
* Mind Fungi and Symbions for Arguses.
* Karak
* Mondor

* Guard and Ventator warrior breeds.
* Mind interchangeable breed.
* Impalers
* Horrors of Izlar *(Destroyed)*

## Objectives

* Destroy all of the Horrors of Izlar.

* Destroy all hostile creatures.

## Casualties and losses

Substantial
Substantial

## Involved Characters

* Karak
* The Source
* Mondor

*Horrors of Izlar*, named after the creatures of the same name, is the third mission of Chapter 03 - Cataclysm in the Five Nations campaign.

## Setting

A human week (seven days) after the successful ascension as the Testament of the Source, Karak asked the Source herself for the next step. The Source had decreed that Karak was to head to the Graveyard of the Elders, an ancient site for the oldest of Zhogarn, to eliminate the Horrors of Izlar, the most ancient creatures which no longer heeded the Source's voice.

The Horrors lied dormant for eons until recently, when an outsider race, the Athraels, had invaded the Izlar not so long ago, attacking the Zhogarn colonies and destroying the Cradle Stone, a monument that allowed the Source to "breathe life" into the Izlar, awakening both the Source and the Horrors, which now only concerned with increasing their living space.

In addition, the Horrors were to be killed, according to the Source, if the Zhogarns were to ever have a chance of leaving the Izlar, as the Horrors interfered with the Source's constant attempts to get the Zhogarns off the ChromoSphere...

## To Slay the Beasts

Karak, accompanied by Mondor, had arrived to the Graveyard with a small pack, where they had come across a Zhogarn colony long withered and out of use. This did not remain for long, as the Children of the Izlar did encounter a hiding Argus, herding it back to the colony, awakening the constructs once again. With this, the pack could start expanding this colony and start growing minions, in preparation to hunt down the Horrors.

Safety was an illusion, however, as one of the three Horrors present was in command of a Zhogarn nest as well, and started sending it's minions against Karak's forces, which held firm and eventually overran this dominated colony. The threat of the Horrors remained as even the closest to Karak's position, despite being barely guarded by a few stray Zhogarn, were individually dangerous and could slay Zhogarn beyond number before they fell under the numbers of the Children of the Izlar. Eventually, out of the three, the remaining one did not lie in wait for Karak and his forces to come, and instead charged forward to it's final fate.

With all the Horrors perished, Karak informed the Source of his victory, wishing for the next task at hand. Instead, the Source congratulated Karak on his triumph, assuring him "the realm where the Athraels and other doomed beings live" would be his, but it would not come from her hands, but from the Athraels themselves. The Source then shared on some of her knowledge - As a being older than the Izlar, the Source can foresee thoughts from different species linked somehow to hers, seeing them like events that haven't occurred yet, in essence being capable to predict possible outcomes.

With this, she foresaw an Athrael leader, Zeraphim, would soon return in desperation to try and tame the Zhogarn to use as weapons against their enemies, opening a gate to allow the Zhogarns to leave the Izlar. However, she also foresaw the Horrors would also interfere if they were to be alive, killing Zeraphim and ensuring the Zhogarns would remain trapped in the Izlar, hence why she had sent Karak to eliminate them.

With the Horrors now out of the way, all the Children of the Izlar could now do was bide their time for when this time would come...

## Walkthrough

The player starts with Karak, Mondor, a couple of Ventators and four Workers, and should start moving northwest. The player will come across a Digestivator and some Metabolists, an Agaric and couple of Nutrient Colonies that can be rescued. Due to the lack of an Argus or Helias nearby, all of the structures except the Digestivator will be withered *(disabled)* and thus unable to produce units, research technologies, generate energy or supply or even defend against attacking enemy units. This is the reminder to the player of the most critical weaknesses of the Zhogarn faction that can be exploited, the other being unable to produce units or build structures without an Argus, where Spawns come from.

The player will find the Argus by heading to the southwest corner, blocked by an enemy Mind and a couple of Ventators that can be dealt with easily by spawning three Banshees and suiciding them against the enemy group that will group up. After this, the player can send a lone Ventator to first rescue a group of Spawns, a pair of Guards and a couple of Impalers, and then shortly north for the Argus itself, which the player should move back to the colony and reactivate the structures. In the meantime, the player should set the Workers to mine the Metal asteroids to then start hatching additional Workers (8 - 10 for the Metal line and 4-6 for the Helium-3 resource field that will require it's own Digestivator as well) and send the Guards to the northwest corner of the minimap - sticking to the west minimap corner *(see image for direction)* to avoid the guards getting caught by an Agaric guarding a Helium-3 expansion. Reaching northwest, they should find a group of rescuable Spawns and Impalers, that should be brought back to base in the same fashion and be put to use. The player should also consider constructing one additional Nutrient Colony and two more Metabolists, as well, while morphing a Pond and starting to research upgrades. The player can also morph the Mind Fungus, allowing Minds to be assembled, as well as the Symbion to allow additional Arguses to be constructed.

After the economy and infrastructures are established, the player can get to the mission of eliminating the enemy Izlar Horrors (green), the first being directly north of the player's base, guarding a Metal and Tachyon expansion the player may take if wanting to research Level 2 upgrades at the Pond or the respective Tachyon-related upgrades at the Symbion and Mind Fungus. As Karak hints well, the Izlar Horror is an extremely dangerous opponent for multiple reasons - it possesses a high health and armor count, a dangerous melee attack that can kill the player's units with a single hit and can also regenerate health in a faster rate. However, it has a weakness, that being no anti-fighter attacks. As such, the player should assemble a large quantity of Guards (above 20) and research Funnel Glands and at least the first level of Agression before sending them against the first Horror, guarded only by a few Impalers and a couple of enemy Guards. The player should only watch for potential enemy attack waves from the base where the second Horror is stationed.

When that Horror is destroyed, the player can expand, by sending in a Spawn and hatching an Argus directly on the site, or sending the original Argus as the second is hatched at the base, remembering that all structures except Digestivators will be withered and disabled until the second Argus hatches. The player can also send in additional Spawns to hatch a Digestivator and Workers if desired, noting only that defenses will only be buildable when an Argus is on site, not before.

The second Horror, by the enemy base, will require drawing out the original defenders for the player's forces to neutralize, so the player can hatch more Ventators and Minds in preparation. When ready, the player should have the Guards fly into the western side, where the enemy Helium-3 site will be, attack the enemy Workers and pull back immediately as the defenders will start giving chase, on which the player's other units can ambush and eliminate them. When that is done, the player can fly the Guards to the northwestern side and neutralize the single defending Agaric, and then focus fire on the Argus until it's destroyed, which will wither most of the enemy base except for a couple of Agarics south and southeast, powered by a Helia each. From there, the player will need only whittle down the second Horror.

However, the player should have a large number of units and extra Guards in preparation as, by the time the second Horror falls, the third and final Horror will charge the player's position. This final Horror is guarded by a trio of Minds that will always outrun this Horror, so the player can wait a bit until they are away before sending in the Guards, whom should have taken down over half the Horror's health before the remaining units can destroy it. This is where Mondor can be of use, as one of his attacks is the Sticky Phlegm, which slows down enemy units caught in the target blast, allowing the player's units to kite the Horror for a while.

When all Horrors are destroyed, the mission is finished.

## History and Background

The Source's prediction of Zeraphim's return would indeed come to pass true later in *Visitors*, also in Chapter 03 - Cataclysm, inevitably setting off the Zhogarn Onslaught phase of the First Galactic War.

The revelation of the Source's ability to "predict" the future by reading the thoughts of others beyond her reach would also set the circumstances for the end of Chapter 03 and the start of Chapter 04 - Endgame.