Part 9: The Pack-Mage Recap

Previously on Myth III



We killed a Myrkridian Pack-Mage.

This is another one of those levels that feels like an original Myth level - You against Thrall and Soulless, with a big, bloody battle at the climax. For the first time you don't have any heroes to help you out, and your healing supplies are fairly limited. Fortunately the addition of a second warlock helps out a lot with blowing up the weak and slow moving Myrkridian Thrall.

Screenshots:











The game film. Remember to download the image and open the image with winrar to find a filmy present inside.



The game does count Myrkridian Thrall differently from regular thrall, but I'd rather lump them in one group to attempt to keep my kill image more manageable. I killed 6 Wights that don't show up on the counter because the game can only display four rows of kills, even if there are more than 4 types of enemies.



So if I lost three archers and a Heron Guard in the good video, what happens in the bad one?




YouTube



Warrior

The standard Llancarfan soldier and melee unit. No remarkable weaknesses or strengths, other than the fact that their shields can maybe block any enemy attack randomly. Need to be used en masse to be effective.

Bedecked in dresses of chainmail, these stalwart warriors make up the majority of the Llancarfan forces. Armed with their steel longswords and tower shields, they make excellent defensive units. In groups, they can become a powerful attacking force. Each soldier swears an oath to protect the empire from its enemies with their life.

"…back to back we fought, the legion of the dead pushing at us from all directions. Mind-numbed and muscles burning, I almost longed for oblivion. Then, a sword blow shattered the corpse before me. Blinking in unbelief I stared at the mailed warrior before me. Slaying another walking dead, he turned to me and said 'I'm with the fourth division. We'll take it from here'…"

"…the splendid city of Llancarfan is the heart of the Cath Bruig Empire, the pinnacle of human civilization and knowledge. For a thousand years, the city's defenders have held its gates from siege, and protected its citizens with religious fervor. The soldiers of Llancarfan pledge their lives and their blades to the Emperor, the Cath Bruig and its peoples…"

Myrkridian Pack-Mage

Not at all a direct threat in the mission named after it, since all the Pack-Mage does is summon two groups of Myrkridian Thrall before attempting to escape. In multiplayer, Pack-Mages take on the same role as Fetch from the previous Myth games - casting powerful lightning bolts that can chain through enemies, set off satchels and cause havoc amongst tightly bunched enemy troops. Has the best pimp-walking animation in the game, hands down.

The most elusive of the Myrkridian race are the Pack-Mages - the intelligent bat-like leaders of the Myrkridian packs. Tall and slender, the Myrkridian mages are not the physical specimens of the majority of their race. They are, however, capable of producing powerful bolts of lightning that can paralyze or kill a foe outright. Few Pack-Mages have ever been spied by human eyes, and only a few are thought to exist. Many Pack-Mages appear to have the gift for powerful Dream magics and have been taught the Dream of Unlife. This spell is the key to all necromancy, raising dead from the very ground to do their bidding. (This ability is not used in multiplay gaming.)

"…the Figure in Black taught us the ways of strategy and magic…With his knowledge, we relearned how to hunt our new prey…efficiently. We learned how to manipulate the flows of magic governing this world. We learned how to conquer…We will one day learn how to extinguish the Eye of Light! On that day, we will hunt freely! Our packs will feast upon the very marrow of the world!..."

"Our oldest tell tales of the Time Before - a world without the Eye of Light - where we hunted and killed where and when we pleased…Like a dream, the Figure in Black appeared to us. He told us of this world of bountiful new prey to feed on. He bid us join him. We followed the dream, and thus came into this world…This is our Legacy…"

It's mentioned in the intro for the third mission that Moagim summoned the Myrkridia into the World of Myth from another dimension a thousand years ago, which is what that last flavor text is talking about.

Next time on Myth III
Connacht devises a plan to deal with Moagim Reborn and his armies gathering on the edge of the Dire Marsh. A pre-emptive attack could succeed in crushing Moagim before he threatens Llancarfan. The attack would have succeeded - if not for Moagim's terrifying new allies. Now, the surviving soldiers must commence a Flight From The Dark or be utterly destroyed.