The Greater Lich Ezekiel, Scourge of Nemiseth, First of his Kind, Conqueror of Worlds, sat on his Throne of Bone and exulted in his victories. None of the Liches he’d created and bound to him over the past century had been slain, and many of them had wiped out the native life in the cities they’d infiltrated, converting the living to join his undead armies. As opening gambits went, this one had been quite successful.

* * *

Batzorig, Khan of the Great Horde, was furious. Undead creatures had boiled out of the ground in many of the cities he had conquered and were killing his citizens and converting them to more undead. That damned Ezekiel had struck early and struck hard. Batzorig would have to re-conquer his existing territory and implement a policy of burning the dead going forward. This was a serious setback.

* * *

Amaraqjuaq, Overlord of the Green Death, was having a very bad day. Undead creatures had burst out of nowhere in many of his holdings, sacking his villages and storage depots, assaulting his armies. Ezekiel’s plan was masterful, and it would set Amaraqjuag’s plans back at least a century. He tore the head off his favorite concubine in a fit of pique.

* * *

Yleanora, Queen of the Dragons, looked down upon the world and smirked to herself. Ezekiel had made his play early. His undead moved on the living all over the world, enjoying surprising success in many places. The humans, in particular, were weak and vulnerable. Yleanora bespoke her minions, the great dragons of this world, telling them to raze the cities where the undead had won, to kill as many undead as possible. And to approach the leaders of the cities and nations still under siege, offering to help against the undead in return for tribute and fealty.

* * *

Zzyxxaxyzzyxx, primordial spawn of the Abyss, didn’t notice the undead assault on the living. Somewhere on this forsaken planet, he would find someone willing and able to open a portal for Zzyxxaxyzzyxx’s minions to enter the world. Somewhere.

* * *

Ragnar Ragnarsson, First among Beast Lords, raised his paw and allowed the defeated Bison King to return to its feet. Soon enough, the spirit beasts of the world would drive the tool-users out of the wilds they had encroached upon. Just a few hundred more Beast Lords to subjugate in this part of the world, and he could begin.

* * *

Dennis Michaels, anthropologist, saw the undead incursions as the trigger for step two of his plan to save the world. Step one had been to clone himself and inveigle his way into the confidence of many leaders throughout the human world. Step two was to use his influence to help those leaders overcome their hostility towards each other and unite in the face of a common threat. He had seven years of the finest university education money could buy, and thousands of years of practice. Surely, this time, he could make the nations of the world set aside their differences.