Nox

## The Nightmare Forces of the Void

A Nox creature attacks a fortified settlement c. 1277

> *"So came the vile creatures of Nox, who hungered greatly for the flesh of man and hunted those skilled in the trees of magic. It was hard not to think this was a curse brought down by God to avenge the twisted who fell at Mont'namor." - Unidentified Human Mage, c. 1395*
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**The Nox** is a term used to describe any voidic entities who come from the Void itself. While they are referred to as forces of Nox, **Nox Domini** are not technically Nox and are their own Voidic species. They first made their appearance on Earth as a result of the battle at Mont'namor, which resulted in a drop in the number of Void Walkers present and the belief that beings on Earth were becoming too powerful.

## Purpose and Structure of the Nox

The Nox were used as the Void's military forces, and invaded worlds to keep populations of supers low to avoid any anomalies from threatening the Void or Deus and his council of Gods. Though they may be helping Deus and his gods in a certain manner, it is completely unintentional and many Nox look at Deus and his underlings with great hate. The Nox are structured into two categories.

**Nox -** These are various creatures who act as the backbone of the Nox army, with their numbers spanning into the millions. Many of the Nox are corrupt and bizarre versions of species that already exist, and some are simply beings who have been corrupted in a way similar to how a Void Walker is cursed, with the only difference being one retains their life and mind, and the other does not. As a result of the Spellplague, the Nox population has exponentially increased and grown to be much more strange in design and nature than the Nox found before the rebirth, with many even having corrupted and warped cybernetics as part of their design such as arm cannons or metal claws.

**Nox Domini -** These are the beings who are put in charge of Nox armies, and are extremely powerful enforcers of the Void. Nox Domini have varying degrees of power, but regardless are almost always considered a large enough threat that the Black Watch tend to deploy one or more Magistratii units when the presence of a Domini is confirmed. They are a related, albeit different species to the Nox, often possessing humanoid forms and having a high degree of intelligence, which they use to command Nox armies.

## History of the Nox (1275-2060)

Most worlds had already felt the touch of the Nox, but Deus had asked that Earth-1 remain untouched so that it may grow without interference, and so it did. The Nox did not set foot on Earth-1 until around three years after the fateful battle of Mont'namor in the year 1275. The first civilized country to meet their touch would be the kingdom of England, as the Nox had sailed eastwards from a region in Canada. The English had foreseen their arrival with help from the Council of Mages, and prepared for their initial invasion which became known as the Battle of Newquay.

## The First Battle of Newquay

Commander Galanor standing against the Nox Domini dubbed "Zuvimas the Hollow" March 13th, 1275

#### Preparing for the Battle

The Nox approached the port of Newquay in ships of similar design to those found at the time, but made of strange dark wood with massive hulls filled with the Void's horde of soldiers. Commander Galanor, a representative of the Council of Mages, was given command of the English forces intended to be used in the battle with the support of his own group of mages. Using what time they had left, as the Nox were approaching abnormally fast, the English forces set up pikes among other various traps in and around the beach. In the meantime the Nox Domini given command of the Nox, who the English named Zuvimas The Hollow, had sent a portion of his landing party farther down the beach to flank the English positions and ensure that upon making it onto the beach they would force the English to fight on two flanks, and cut off the artillery stationed on the hill that divided the beach.

#### The Battle

The Nox later made their first landings on the primary beach and were initially caught off guard by the immediate aggression they were met with. Human sorcerers and artillery destroyed several of their ships and war parties, while a constant rain of arrows and a plethora of traps made it difficult to navigate through the beach. The English's initial advantage did not last long once both forces met further inland and they struggled to keep up against the Nox due to their superior strength. Further north, the second division of Nox landing parties invaded through the English's right flank, throwing off the English's momentum. As Zuvimas had planned, the English were now fighting a battle on two fronts. Commander Galanor and his contingent of Mages joined the fray and provided much needed assistance to the English, fighting back the Nox horde. Zuvimas saw that Galanor posed the biggest threat to the invasion, and cleared a bloody path through the battlefield to get to him. At this point, with having to focus on two flanks and their artillery now unable to assist the defense due to having been cut off, the English forces began to retreat en masse, leaving only Commander Galanor, his mages, and a few brave men. Galanor, upon seeing that Zuvimas only wanted him dead, ordered his men to retreat so that hey may face Zuvimas alone. The two would then fight through the night, with Galanor eventually losing his life and Zuvimas standing victorious. The port of Newquay would become a hub for Nox activity, until it was eventually retaken ten years later in 1285.

### The First Decline (1286) and The Second Resurgence (1337)

After years of waging wars against each other and the Nox, Europe and a portion of the Middle East would finally know peace as the Nox population on Earth-1 began to decline as a result of major victories against Nox forces and the defeat of three high ranking Nox Domini's in a span of ten years. This would be known as The First Decline, with Nox populations on Earth-1 now only consisting of wild creatures and one Nox Domini known as **Excalibur**. Excalibur would later betray the Void, and taught factions dedicated to protecting societies from the Nox effective tactics against his own people. He would later be captured and punished for his deeds during the Second Resurgence at the start of the Hundred Years' War. His teachings allowed for a more effective handling of the Nox invasion.

WIP