Background:
In the year 1590, a coven of Scottish witches were tried for the crime of witchcraft and attempting to kill King James IV by the summoning of terrible storms with which to dash his boat against the shores of Denmark. The leader of this cult was claimed to be Francis Stewart, 5th
Only one person was known to have escaped from the mists that hand like death across the Accursed lands; an eight year old girl known now as The Blessed and Bloodied St Emma. She was found wandering alone along a country road near the town of Haddington, weeks after all contact had been lost with the town. Despite the tales of horror, and the disappearance any who went near the town, the girl remained content and happy, and was taken in by a local farmer and his wife. After the farmer learned of the origins of the girl, he rode with her to Edinburgh, and an audience with the King. She spoke of the great spectacle that was the Burning of the Earl. The whole town had turned out to watch as the man burned, on his last breath a great silence descend on the town, not a sound could be heard apart from the tolling of the church bell and the chanting of the Earl. Around him the flames grew wild and turned a ghastly colour of green, his face became demonic, bestial horns sprouted from his head and he laughed as he convulsed in pleasure, the townsfolk, frozen to the spot could only stand and stare as a fog rolled in from the sea, borne on chill winds. All was dark apart from a eerie light following the mist. As it approached closer, the light grew and the mist receded around it to reveal a dark, twisted, castle. Around the walls stupid vile creatures cowled and terrible, gruesome beaks, lined with sharp teeth jutted out from under their hoods. At the thirteenth toll of the bell, the creatures gave out a high-pitched screech and all was dark.
The Black Friars had come.
The girl had awoken three weeks later outside the town. She was awoken by a harlequin wearing a raven mask. Taking her hand, the harlequin lead her down a path, disappearing when the girl tired to speak to him. Shortly afterwards she was found by the farmer. When the girl had finished speaking there were great cries of anguish and despair, along with those denouncing her as a heretic and blasphemer. But all these cries were cut short, when a messenger burst into the Great Hall. All contact had been lost with the villages between North Berwick and Prestonpans, the fleeing villagers spoke only of mists that would appear from no where and a deafening screech that would freeze a man where he stood, before hooded bird-like creatures swooped down and dragged the petrified bodies back into the mists.
The Black Friars were on the move.
Five years since the arrival of the Black Friars Scotland is in chaos, The King, forced to flee North from his capital in Edinburgh, has regrouped in Perth, renamed The King's Refuge. Driven mad by the death and destruction the King has become deluded to his own mortality, declaring himself a God and forcing the people to worship him. Rarely now does he leave the confines of his quarters, and only a select few are granted audiences. It has fallen to his son Alexander to defend the country, but he too has begun to fall into obsession. His command of the Warden's Castle at Stirling has lead him to conduct more and more reckless attacks to repulse the demons of the Black Friars and the fanatics of Bloodied Saint. With ever greater pressure coming from the South and pressed from the North by the opportunist lord of The Isles and with their leaders a recluse or a bloodthirsty maniac, the Scots are beginning to look else where to deliver them from such hardship.
After the explosive audience with the King at Edinburgh, Emma and her adopted family fled to Iona seeking sanctuary with the Monks, but the rumours of what had happened travelled faster and they were confronted with a host of people declaring her a saint and offering their undying support. Despite her refusal the family were forced into abbey by the crowds of begging pilgrims chanting her name and asking her to save them. For the next three years the family lived within the confines of the Monastery walls, taken care of by the Monks of Columbus, while outside the shanty town grew and grew as pilgrims flocked to the island, drawn by the chance of salvation from the girl. Despite such growing pressure she refused to accept her sainthood until the night of October 31st when a darkness engulfed the Monastery. When the dawn broke over the horizon the next morning, the walls dripped with blood, the fearful pilgrims who went into investigate found no evidence of life until they came to the chapel and found Emma, lying unconscious on the altar and covered in blood, in her hand was a beautiful, gleaming sword that seemed to glow with flames of holy wrath. When she woke up three days later she was a changed girl, her blue eyes had become filled with Divine Vengeance, and her long black hair had become a brilliant white. Now gifted with a fervent oratory, it didn't take long for her to whip the pilgrims into a state of frenzy. Engaging in self-flagellation and fuelled by blood her followers, now known as The Order of The Bloodied Saint, began spreading throughout the land. With the help of sightings of beautiful, winged angels, Doomsday Cults began springing up around the countryside, all proclaiming the coming of the Child Saviour. Within two years, the Order had seized control of the entire South West of Scotland and even begun attacks into the Accursed Land themselves.
As the skies darken and dire omens being seen around the world, the war between the three planes is about to come to a climax.
Earl of Bothwell who was said to have performed his dark rituals on the Auld Kirk green in North Berwick. After a show trial and a confession drawn from torture the Earl was burned at the stake on a cold November day. From that day on the name Bothwell would be only whispered in the dark corners of the world, a by-word for the evil that would befall the Kingdom of Scotland.
