Fresh Hope in the War Against the Undead?

Vampire Counts (Tim) vs the Knights of Tempest Falls (Gill)

The forces of the Vampire Counts commanded by the dread arch-necromancer Nagash were doing well, marching north, racking up victory after victory and drawing ever closer to Tempest Falls. Their advance had almost reached the Old Silk Road, half way point to the southern border of the Empire, but their good fortune was about to change. Nagash had used vast amounts of energy to draw huge warpstone meteorites down to earth to prepare the way for his allies from the Realm of Chaos. For a long moment his power levels ebbed and his armies grew still. Throughout the southeast region of the Border Prince, every shambling zombie and every marching skeleton shuddered to a stop.

It was at that moment that his enemies seized the initiative.

Charging south from the Old Silk Road came the Knights of Tempest Falls, ploughing into the ranks of the undead, hacking down the filthy unliving creatures as they tried to engage. However despite initial grievous damage the undead made a counterstrike. Nagash had only needed a moment’s respite. Reaching out with his vast power from his dark castle through his unwitting vampire pawns he caused multiple units of zombies to rise from the ground, surrounding his enemies. Flanked on all sides the Knights of Tempest Falls reformed their ranks to knuckle down to fight the battle of attrition that was coming.

But Methusala, the lord of the knights, was completely undeterred. He spurred his hippogriff, targeted the vampire general and swept down into the ranked-up skeletons defending him, calling the general out for a challenge.

The vampire general strode forward, wielding a sword that could kill with only a scratch but Methusala ripped into him, hacking with his own magical sword. He parried every incoming blow, slicing down over and over again against the vampire lord’s weakening defence until finally he lopped the vampire’s head from its ungodly shoulders.

Instantly the undead army started to crumble, no longer supported by the will of its master. The knights pushed into the faltering ranks, finishing them off, and as the field of battle became theirs, they burned the remains.

In his castle, far to the south, Nagash bellowed in anger. With the undead reserves withdrawing to defend his citadel from the Skaven army approaching from the west and this force scattered, almost the entire northern border  of land conquered by the vampire counts was left undefended. Should the Knights of Tempest Falls push south now, crushing the last remaining vampire army before them then all might be lost and every mile of ground gained would fall.