Artery Strike Manual

“Carnifex was not a large or particularly imposing man. Yet there was something in his eyes that you quickly learnt to fear. Bloodlust. He controlled it well among his friends, but in the heat of battle he showed his true colours. I once witnessed some Teutonic mercenary challenge Carnifex to a duel, for one perceived slight or other. The challenger was a hulking figure, a head taller than our quiet Silesian. That is until said head rolled on the ground after Carnifex ended the duel with one swift cut of his sword. The surprised look was still visible on Teuton's face as we dumped the body into a nearby ditch.”

“So prolific was Carnifex in his head-cutting art that even Duke Casimir himself took notice of the Silesian warrior. One day I was privy to a conversation between the two. ‘Other men tell me that you are quite skilled at lifting heads from your enemies’ shoulders,’ said the duke. ‘But I’m certain you wouldn’t be able to do so with more than one opponent at the same time. I’d even bet my best horse on it.’ It was quite a challenge. I could see Carnifex pondering our liege’s words for a longer moment. And then the quiet man simply nodded, accepting the bet.”

“It took some time, but Carnifex finally got his chance to prove himself to our Duke. In AD 1047 we took part in the war against Masovia. It was in the final battle, in which we faced Pomeranian forces, that my Silesian friend did what many considered impossible – cut off the heads of not one, not two, but three enemy warriors in one mighty swing! We couldn’t believe our own eyes as three headless bodies toppled on the bloodied ground. Carnifex, on the other hand, behaved as if nothing extraordinary had happened and moved further into enemy ranks, hacking away. Unfortunately, he was never able to collect his reward from Duke Casimir. During the same battle, one of the Pomeranian archers got lucky and sent his arrow straight into Carnifex’s right eye. But before he died, the quiet Silesian was able to find the archer, charge him and… well, I’m sure you know what he did as his last act in life.”