It had been nearly two months since the Regalian Army made its last move in the war against the Dread Empire on the Elven Moors, and the question that lingered in everyone's head was: "What has the Marshal Cabinet been doing?" As a result of the stagnation, the Dread Empire forces sprung into action, wasting not a day of time to fortify their defences in the southern areas of the region. Scouts had also reported that the Kathar forces had been relaying messages across the Black Mountain Pass to-and-fro frequently in preparation for something large. There was, however, an outlying general who had been preparing and putting his plans into motion. On the evening of the 28th of September, General Reimar Typhonus, with the assistance of Aldwyn Howlester, two notable military families overseen by Field Marshal Dietrich von Drachenburg, had finished the last of their preparations for a large scale assault of the City of Lurlavan, and with final approval from the Imperial Court Marshal, the orders went ahead.
Within a matter of hours, a grand total of 13,000 men comprised of Dwarves, Tenpennies, Allar and Altalar forces began their march with Typhonus banners flying overhead. Shadowing the Typhonus force was Aldwyn Howlester and his army. The Silverwolf banners of House Howlester hung over the heads of his 7,500 men, comprising of mostly Tenpenny troops but also a couple of Altalar High Guard contingents, and a single force of Altalar spearmen. Both Generals had been proactive over the last few weeks, coordinating with Scouts and organising subterfuge missions against their target: Lurlavan. The combined force headed West toward the jungle that had been the centerpoint of many large force movements over the last three or so months, however this time a way had been properly cleared at least somewhat the full way.
The Typhonus force took point as they entered the jungle, comprising of three major columns: The right flank column consisted of Dwarven soldiers of varying disciplines and 1,000 Tenpenny troops totalling 2,500 units, and were primarily led by Field Commander Seraphine von der Ebene. The Dwarves, having a speciality in countering ambush squads, were tasked with fending off a potential ambush by Kathar troops while the main force trudged through the jungle.
Column two, which was the center column consisted of 3,000 Tenpenny footmen, backed by 2,500 Altalar from an Expeditionary force and totalling 5,500 troops, were, to the confusion of many, Field Commanders Garth Viduggla and Shane Marth, taking over for Roland Typhonus who, while designated as the column's principal Commander, seemed to have been absent for the last few weeks and did not show up that morning. However, the Altalar didn't seem to mind, as their own liege Vivana Avalorn was to be fighting alongside them.
Finally, the Third Column which, similarly to the first, housed 1,500 Dwarven Units and 1,000 Tenpenny footmen, totalling yet another 2,500 troops which were led by Field Commander Vulmar, formerly of House Ravenstad. Like Column One, this would act as a buffer against any attempted ambush by Wolond and provided the central column some security in terms of getting their larger number to the gates of Lurlavan for the overall siege of the city.
Notably however, while these buffers were in place, they were also further supported by a force of 2,500 Allar from the Digmaan Cro-Zzhin, who would lead them himself in hunting and dispersing any Wolond ambushers in the jungle. An hour after entering the jungle, the Digmaan gave the order for the force to divide into two groups: Delta Group, which consisted of 1,000 Allar, remained with the larger combined Ailor, Altalar and Dwarven force on the main march to act as a hammer against any strong attempts by the Wolond to route the incoming force with guerilla tactics, while Echo Group, which consisted of the remaining 1,500 split into 50 individual groups of 30 Allar, spread out into the jungle to counter-ambush the potentially awaiting Wolond attackers.
Following behind the Typhonus force was the smaller Howlester one. Comprised of 5,000 Tenpenny Men-at-Arms and 2,500 Altalar soldiers, making up three columns and under the leadership of Aldwyn Howlester, it shadowed behind the Typhonus force by a half mile or so to prevent congestion within the restricted forest road, to provide additional support from behind, and in securing the city after the walls had been breached. The far left flank was to be commanded by Field Commander Thaddeus Jude, while the central column was under the control of female Field Commander Faraine Olawenys, with the final right flank commanded by Edmure Howlester. The crucial element of their force ultimately was to arrive at Lurlavan after the siege had effectively begun and prepare artillery strikes against the cities large walls to allow for easy access to the city. Nevertheless, with the logistics for the siege in place, the Battle of Lurlavan could effectively commence.
The first notable feeling that fell upon the collective Regalian force was unsettling. Both Generals had been right in their assumptions that Wolond still occupied the jungle, and deeper inside of the jungle itself, the war cries of both Allar and Wolond, coupled with blood curdling screams from both sides that harmonized with the monotonous trodding of armored grieves as they advanced toward their target. The Digmaan all the while remained with the larger force to ensure the siege would be successful and that the Ailor wouldn't misuse his loyal followers as they had in the past. Still, the sound of his men claiming victory over the corpses of the Wolond that had attacked and decimated the Ailor force months prior brought a sinister smirk to his lizard lips. The remaining few Wolond forces did very little to harry the large mobilisation and were quickly dispatched by the Dwarven buffers that Field Generals Typhonus and Howlester had set up.
When the Typhonus army finally arrived in view of the city walls, the Kathar rushed to mount a defence. From their movements and organisation, it seemed that they had expected some sort of large force but underestimated the sheer size of the Typhonus army, as most of their troops still remained inside the city walls and on its battlements, consisting predominantly of Wolond and Shenath. The Wolond were the first to begin their counter attack but were naturally severely outnumbered. Its force of 4,000 outside the walls erupted into manic war crying as it charged towards the Regalian host. Immediately both the left and right Regalian Columns began moving into formation, charging forward. Column One was the first to clash with the raving Kathar force. Under the command of Field Commander Seraphine von der Ebene, Valkari Lothgard, Isak Atwood and Frejnir Viduggla hurried forward to meet the quickly approaching host. Frejnir Viduggla expertly drew first blood in the battle by decapitating the first three Wolond in one sweeping motion of his axe which caused many of the Wolond around him to recoil. Valkari Lothgard took advantage of the momentary falter in the Wolond line and, under Serephina's orders, struck forward alongside a dozen or so Dwarven skirmishers, hacking and slashing at the Wolond attempting to break through the Regalian assault, stopping the attack in its tracks. Seraphina von der Ebene then rallied the nearby Dwarves into a 'flying wedge' formation to smash through the Wolond line with Isak Atwood as its foremost 'tip' attacker, which proved successful. Isak Atwood performed excellently in his task, dispatching the foes that were immediately put on the defensive, allowing the wedge to ease into the Wolond line and shattered the respective Wolond column and split them into two for the left column to rout.
Meanwhile, elsewhere in that column, a duo of Eldradon Deredda and Lau'rella, the Manathar, found themselves caught up and surrounded by a flurry of ambushing Wolond from the nearby treeline. Eldradon Deredda performed adequately, but it was Lau'rella that prevented the ambush attempt from invariably succeeding by bludgeoning numerous Wolond to death with his staves, no doubt saving the lives of many of the Dwarven soldiers fighting alongside the Regalian host in the process. By this point in the battle, the third column, under the leadership of Vulmar, had been pushing, akin to the first column, the Wolond troops back, routing them toward Lurlavan's walls and making encircling attempts to prevent any of the troops from escaping back into the jungle. Vulmar, in his pride, raised his weapon and signalled that he would lead the crushing rout attempt to collapse the Wolond force in toward their center column and create a domino effect. Rallying Leufred du Brierust, Valarosta Baalial and Isya to his side, Vulmar executed his plan, signalling to his officers to raise the banners to initiate formation, forming a wing to prevent outflanking. However, in Vulmar's confidence he was knocked down by spear tossed in his direction which hit him in the shoulder. Thankfully his armor took the vast majority of the blow but the small amount of blood that did seep from his half plate most certainly meant he had been injured. With Vulmar temporarily dispatched, the Wolond officer ordered that the remaining troops begin to scramble in retreat toward the treeline.
Leufred du Brierust and Isya then tried to target the officer in return, however, they were met with overwhelming resistance. The du Brierust took a spear in the ankle, leaving him on the floor incapacitated. Adding insult to injury, the Duke had to be pulled out of harm's way by the Dwarves at his back, escorting him to the backline overhead. Isya all the while was hit even worse for wear. While Leufred's wound would certainly heal within a day thanks to various light mages and the like, but Isya would not be so lucky. Left to deal with the retreat with only a token Dwarven force and Valarosta Baalial, Isya found himself overpowered and impaled by a Wolond spear, right through the gut. His cries of agony alerted Valarosta who came to Isya's rescue. Using her magic, she cast back Isya's assailant by 10 feet, saving his life, before then engulfing the area around her in thick, black smoke to allow Valarosta to whisk Isya back behind the lines to be seen to. Valarosta's magic stunned the Wolond whom had little idea of what was going on, which allowed the Dwarves to clear up the last of the remainder, pincering in on the Wolond Central column albeit with about 200 of them managing to escape into the jungle.
With the smaller Wolond force on the retreat, the center Typhonus column was ordered to then hold position. As they did so, the Howlester force entered the fray. Accordingly, after corroboration with the commanding officers of the Typhonus Army, the central column of the Typhonus army split to the left and right, allowing the central column of the Howlester force to press forward in escorting Howlester artillery and siege equipment. With the Wolond having lost the forward defence and either killed, captured or having escaped, Lurlavan was ripe for the siege to begin.
Field General Aldwyn Howlester gave the signal to prepare the firing line of the artillery segment of the force. While they did so, Field General Reimar Typhonus coordinated with the Prince Marshal to initiate stage two of the attack. With very little warning, the Prince Marshal shot into the sky in dragon form, roaring aloud and carrying an Imperial Banner within his claws. With wings spread wide, the Imperial Dragon soared over the walls of Lurlavan, avoiding arrow fire and spells alike as it roared to alert the Altalar inside that the time was nigh.
Like flowers emerging in rapid bloom, the cries of rebellion fell into fruition. With them came the clash of weaponry which thundered against the thriving combat. Altalar young and old were roused into fierce action by the flurry of infiltrators that darted through the city, undetected, from the work of Reimar Typhonus. The Altalar who chose to retaliate against the Kathar entered combat with vicious tenacity and began striking against any Kathar they found inside the city. The forces on the walls were met with stampedes which flung them from their vantage points to the other side, where they fell and landed--either badly injured or lucky enough to die upon impact. Blood sprayed from both sides and painted red anything and everyone it touched. Havoc ensued. The Imperial Dragon infiltrated amidst the crisis; its roar mingling with the cries of rage, rebellion, and retaliation. As a Shenath regiment began to gather and make for the gate, their lines were carved down the middle by a beam of the Dragon's breath, electrocuting and killing the Shenath caught in the surge of electricity, thus dismantling their plans for reinforcements in a single sweep.
Now that the Altalar had fully joined the battle from inside the city, Field General Aldwyn Howlester gave the order to begin the bombardment of the cities front gates. One by one the explosive power of mortars blasted through the steel beams keeping the Regalian force from impregnating the defences. Taking opportunity, Reyes Velasquez as Field Commander ordered a contingent of Regalian soldiers, including Lilianne du Blanc, Julian Keymorne, Maridenne Morgann, and Saffaen, that began charging the walls with siege ladders at their back. Lilianne and Julian prepared the first in exceptional time, predominantly as a result of Reyes Velasquez's direction. Taking point, Reyes ascended the ladder followed by Lilianne du Blanc, Julian Keymorne, and then finally Maridenne and Saffaen. The first three leapt the wall at the top and immediately set about assisting the Altalar rebels in dispatching what was left of the Kathar wall defences with fervent efficiency. The clashing of steel and war cries bellowed as the Regalian Force ascended, ladder by ladder. Little could be done as the combined force of Reyes, Lilianne and Julian decimated any attempts to push back. Unfortunately however for Maridenne and Saffaen, they would not join the fight. The scramble atop the walls dislodged their siege ladder whilst they were half way up, sending them to the ground with a thundering crash, which broke multiple bones in both of their bodies and leaving them out of the fight.
Noting the structural weakness of the gate, Field Commanders Edmure Howlester and Thaddeus Jude issued orders for both Howlester left and right columns to begin encircling the city to prepare defenses against any possible counter attack from the forest. Both Field Generals operated effectively, however there was a marked difference between Edmure Howlester's formations and that of Thaddeus Jude's. Edmure's men established themselves in adequate lines, disciplined and ready while Thaddeus's orders seemed to occasionally fall on deaf ears, leaving structural weaknesses in his divisions. Nevertheless, their task had been achieved, all they needed to do was wait. Their fortitude was then tested by loud rumblings from the jungle's edges. Instead of Kathar however, the Allar appeared in droves, successful in their attempts to cleanse the nearby jungle from any Wolond threats. Their numbers were notably less, but not to such a great extent that would be concerning. Taking up command, the Digmaan Cro-Zzhin prepared his troops right behind the Ailor force, ordering his Allar to turn to face the jungle path to assist Edmure and Thaddeus in protecting the rear.
The center columns of both armies began to rush the city through the collapsed main gate. Taking the lead in that endeavor was Field Commanders Garth Viduggla, Shane Marth and Faraine Olawenys. Garth Viduggla entered the city with Vivana Avalorn, Finnaeia Llomani, Gwenyth Zylmoira and Bel-gyarhyabrin Tibaerthus. Garth quickly took strategic advantage of the situation and commanded his men with incredible aptitude, quickly engulfing himself in the fighting, pushing through the flurry of Shenath soldiers that stood in their way. Finnaeia Llomani attempted to assist her Field Commander, fighting at his side for the first few waves, watching his back and repelling any attempts at his life. Bel-gyarhyabrin Tibaerthus veered off, convincing some of the Tenpenny to follow him as he shot down a narrow street within the city, managing, miraculously, to come out right behind a smaller Shenath force and catch them off guard. Vivana Avalorn pushed leftward with Gwenyth Zylmoira and a small but formidable Altalar regiment to assist the rebels in their skirmish. Vivana went straight into the fight, surrounded by the corpses of her kinsmen. She cut into Shenath soldier after Shenath soldier but could not shake the screams of Altalar echoing around her. The cries of mothers and daughters boomed as their fathers and brothers fell, some clutching no more than mere pitchforks as weapons, hit her hard despite her years of battle experience, and she ultimately let her guard down when she went to intercept a killing blow to a young Altalar boy. While she saved the boy, she felt steel pierce her through the back, straight through the gut. She fell to the ground in searing pain. Gwenyth, noticing Vivana being overtaken in combat, lifted from the street by a foot, lighter than air. Her fingers danced along the strings of her magical harp and, after charging it, aimed the harp out and struck the chords with her hand. An opalescent wave soared outward with the sound of a heavy organ, causing all caught in its wave to fall to the ground with gravity. She returned to the ground and grabbed onto Vivana, pulling her desperately out of combat while Tenpennies flew in.
By now Shane Marth's regiment had fully entered the city. By his side sprinted Leironse Jacyrin, Klaus Typhonus, Aksasha and Aeawyn Hállëvandëia. Their endeavors to assist were soon cut short when they came face to face with a corrupted magical golem within the center of the city. The stone beast had clearly been fighting back Tenpennies for a while by the time they had arrived. With a sweep of its arm, it sent Shane Marth flying into a nearby building, breaking near-every bone in his body, taking Aksaha with him but the latter was only partially wounded, a broken right arm in fact, as she had landed on something soft: Shane.
Klaus Typhonus then took over, rallying Leironse and Aeawyn at his side. Being mindful of these golems from a previous battle, Klaus Typhonus gave the command for Aeawyn and Leironse to distract the golem while he and a small fighting force of Tenpennies sought out the altar from which it was being controlled. Aeawyn and Leironse put up a decent attempt, dodging attacks for a solid couple of minutes before both lost their footing after it caused a tremor against the ground and smacked them sideways into a wall, leaving Aeawyn seriously injured with a head wound and Leironse with a broken shoulder. Thankfully, Klaus and the Tenpennies located the altar just in time and dispatched the Shenath in control, causing the golem to crash to the floor. Both Leironse and Aeawyn were escorted to Jocelyn von Duerr and Noelle Peirgarten for medical assistance, but seemed to have their conditions worsened as Jocelyn made a critical mistake in operating on Leironse's shoulder, worsening the injury and increasing his healing time to at least two weeks. Noelle was not much help either, causing Aeawyn's condition to worsen as well while inducing mild memory loss, erasing any recall of the battle.
By now, the Kathar had all but lost, but the battle raged on as the remnants of the force fought their way to the southern gates for escape. Field Commander Faraine Olawenys and her Altalar soldiers took point in hunting the last of the Kathar down and eradicating them from the city proper. At her side fought Mateo Silva, Baverax, Faust Solokov, and Zelgius Pavise. The united force under the Altalar Field Commander clashed with the Shenath retreating force just outside of the mercantile district at the far back of the city. Mateo swiftly entered the fight, impaling one of the Shenath soldiers through the chest with little mercy. Faraine then followed up from this, ordering her men to commence a full scale decimation of the Dread Force before assisting Mateo by decapitating a Shenath officer which threatened to catch Mateo off guard. After some nods of appreciation, they returned to the fight. Faust Solokov fell within minutes, the sheer tightness of the fight bamboozling the man, which created ample time for him to be bopped on the head with enough force that he would be out cold for hours, trampled upon and left with a broken right hand and a concussion. Both Zelgius Pavise and Baverax the shale Orc fought adequately also, cutting down and beating their fair share of foes, but Baverax clearly stole the show of it all with the Orc's might reining supreme and inspiring the remaining soldiers to push on for victory.
With the last of the Shenath now fleeing through the Southern Gate, Field Commander Jared Kade, Surlegtei Yesügeiin, Holden Soliseum and Yuri T'leuryn sought to cut the last few dozen Shenath in the city off from the retreating force by splintering the group in another alleyway. Jared and Holden blocked one end of the street and Yri and Surlegtei the other, back by a couple of squadrons of Tenpennies. The Kade lifted his scimitars to order a charge on the small force which ultimately led to his own undoing. Both Jared and Surlegtei were repulsed backward rather instantaneously when the Shenath began desperately slinging magical projectiles in their direction. Cross-fire was rampant, with Shenath murdering even their own in a last ditch effort to create a gap in the Regalian force to escape through. Jared took three intensely painful wounds to his upper body where the magic had struck, and Surlegtei suffered the same. Yuri didn't do much better himself, finding much of the right side of his neck burned from the magic being cast, the searing pain eventually making the individual collapse to their knees in agony, and out of the fight. Holden Soliseum was truly the magnum opus of the group however, as when the Tenpennies finally closed in on either side of the Shenath, it became a bloodbath of cuts and stabs with Holden having decimated the last of the Kathar there alongside the Tenpennies and a few Dwarves that had followed the Kade. Jared, Yuri, and Surlegtei where then swiftly whisked away to Margarathe Black and Gwenfrewi, whose medical skills combined were so great and expertly, that none of the three would experience much pain or inconvenience from their wounds for any longer than a couple of days.
Almost immediately after this confrontation, the bells within the city rang out in victory. The Imperial Dragon which remained soaring overhead, blasted lightning into the air in a show of victory, boosting the morale of the Tenpennies, which cheered below, whilst moderately frightening the locals and the Altalar troops. The battle was a decisive victory for Reimar Typhonus and Aldwyn Howlester, which would be the first grand victory for either young General and with plenty giving praises of their abilities to come. Field Marshal Dietrich von Drachenburg had proved to back the right Generals for the attack as well, with many peers citing his reinforced tactical mind as one of the major causes for the minimal loss of Regalian life in the conflict. Some were even impressed with the abilities of Faraine Olawenys, who despite being an Altalar woman, showed expert prowess and skill in the battle, proving to many that women could be just as competent as men in the command of war resources. Subsequently, all three Generals quickly established a control of the city, organizing patrols to root out any possibly remaining Kathar whilst also seeing to aid for the soldiers and Altalar that populated the city. Many of the Altalar rebels had fallen that day, and the streets ran red with blood and echoed the mournful cries of the Altalar women over their dead husbands, fathers, brothers and sons.
As the night rolled in, so did scouting reports. The reports were given to the Generals specifically and no one else and dictated that something big was happening in the South. Many Kathar in Nuthotehk, save for a similar sized garrison to Merkar'sarh, had departed to make for the Black Mountain Pass, and had done so at daybreak. Such information startled and confused the Generals, as Nuthotehk had been proven a difficult target for months already. What's more, the scouts urged for an emergency call of the Marshal Cabinet post haste, giving letters to Aldwyn specifically with instruction to place them into the hands of the Imperial Court Marshal and him only. With all this news, time would tell if the victory of Lurlavan would stand as reason for the Regalian Empire to truly celebrate, or if the true test of Regalian might was to come.
