Ironsides Family/Bowie

Lord Bowie Ironsides
Status:	Living
Regard:	Demoniac
Continent:	Dwilight
Titles:	"Prince and Overlord, Demon of Dwilight, Fugitive of Fissoa, Outcast of Madina, Pariah of D'Hara, Badmouther of the Raivanlands, Temple Builder of Qubel, Champion of the Duchess of Diamonds, Lecher of Sallowtown and the Dean of History in the Dwilight University."
Aliases:	"Amilcare, Daedalus, Black Bowie, the Dark Count."

Black Bowie's Coat of Arms.

Demon of Dwilight

Chapter Four:

As the Demon of Dwilight leaves D'Hara for good he returns to Sallowtown for the first time since his expulsion. The Black Army searches the city for Bowie's son Winter, but instead find the resilience of the Sallowsians.

• The Last Stop in Sallowtown

Crossing the Desert of Silhouettes

The Black Army slowly marches across the bright desert. The heat and sand ache at them as much as the water rationing. Bowie had visited the desert once before, but only for a short time and never this deep. He was attempting to do something considerably very dangerous, he was going to cross straight through the desert.

Weeks pass, men starve and die, Bowie walks on. The sands rise and fall like waves and at times the wind blinds the caravan. They continue in the direction of the far off Divide Mountains. For the Black Army, this journey was both a test and a punishment. For Bowie, it was his only option.

Captain Volkrad heard Bowie speak about this desert. Bowie spoke cryptically and without explanation. He said,

“The desert cannot be conquered. Only those who are invited to pass may live. If the desert does not want you, you will never make it out alive.”

They pass near the suspected sunken citadel of Ishkantar, but they have neither time nor energy to explore it. Such mysteries and treasures will have to wait for an adventurer or a funded expedition.

Finally, after an unrecorded length of time the Black Army reaches the West Divide. Their trek across the unforgiving desert was complete but their labour up and over the mountains had just begun.

Over the West Divide

The cold and the unending uphill march are the pains of the Black Army. Such a drastic change from fierce sand to biting rock has lowered the morale of the Black Army. The pride they earned from surviving the desert has drained as they realize the height of their new obstacle. Bowie climbs on.

At the top, many of the men freeze to death and Bowie nearly joins them, but he knows fate will not let him perish on the forsaken mountain. It would be his welcome end but fate never provides comfort. Starvation, dehydration, malnutrition and frostbite plague the Black Army who descends slowly down the West Divide. At first, murmurs of dissent spread, but there is no other salvation except to march on. They share a common suffering and begin to mold into a community under their outcast commander. Cohesion rises.

Once again, after uncounted days and nights, the Black Army survives to face another challenge. They reach the bottom of the West Divide and gaze upon a far off castle, one that none of them knew existed before. Bowie looks and sees more than just an abandoned structure, he sees a possible refuge. He thinks he sees sanctuary. Has fate led him to this place? Was the castle in the mountains always destined for him? The Black Army is renewed with hope as the sun rises and melts the frost on their chilled armour.