It was well known through the continent that times would get hard. While at first it was denied, then ignored, there came a time where one had to be blind not to see the signs of time. Changes were ahead. They would range from simple people's lives and social structures to changes of the earth itself. New creatures came into existance, barely matched in cunning and danger. Old creatures rose from their graves, their dark sleep stirred by the new age that was to come. Creatures who could drive heroes and kings alike insane with a single glance. Oh, there were dark times ahead. Troublesome times. Times where anything could happen. The dices would be rolled again by the powers that be, for a future unknown.

Mankind spread, reached for new borders, expanded and conquered. Conflicts, wars and destruction were inevitable. This was the time where wise people would make their choices. Which side they would take, how their future was going to be. Some would blindly reach for everything. Other's would lay back and wait. For other's again, the time for waiting was over. It was time to start pulling the strings. Time to begin the fight for their place in the world.

There he was now, only a few steps away from this important meeting. Unseen. His firm grip around the hilts of his two blades, drenched in poison. Dark powers flowed through him. Powers which could bring an average person easily to the brink of insanity. But he had long mastered them to the point where they would do his bidding.

"So it is done. Let's seal it with a handshake."
"Aye, indeed."
The two heavily armored Cimmerians shook hands after they laid out the path for their guilds in the future. An alliance it was, and a broad grin crossed the unseen figure's dark face. It was a setup. But it wasn't his business and thus he kept to observing.

Arrows cut through the air, and through the men that were standing beside the taller of the two. Their arrow-ridded corpses went down, but the tall Cimmerian didn't budge. His hand lay on the hilt of his sword.

"Well, looks like you're in a tight spot."
Shadows appeared from the nearby thicket and bushes. Laughter.

The Stygian didn't want to act. He was only there to observe. But he knew better. This ambush created a major unbalance in the powers that be. They would give a bloodthirsty group of people power undreamed of. If you cut off the head of a snake, the snake dies. If another snake swallows the dead snake, it will grow bigger. And this snake was one that would swallow everything awhole. Regardless.

So the choice wasn't his, and the time for death had come.

"I'm best in tight spots." the tall Cimmerian replied, rose his shield and with one clean swing cut the other one's head off. Only a blink of an eye later two archers fell face-down in the dirt, knives in their necks. It was a bloody night, full of death, but in the end the tall Cimmerian and the Stygian prevailed.

The last ones standing looked at each other, injured and panting heavily from the fight, ready to take up arms again, if must be. There was a long moment of silence. And then came the time of talking.

And so the first stone for Vae Victis was laid. An agreement was made, signed with each other's blood. A new power would raise in Hyboria. The plan was to be always one step ahead of the others. Harmless as sheep, but fierce like a cornered wolf, when threatened. A strict codex was to be sworn by its members. Failure to comply would result in the loss of one's head. It was about survival. The most basic of instincts.

The dices were cast. The ranks of Vae Victis were filled slowly and carefully, and the only thing that remained now was patience.
Only time would tell wether their path would lead to success, or doom.