The dawn's light smothers the remaining night darkness, rays ascending over the battlements in Hadar. All across the various southern Islands, Regalian troops, poised and decorated in their uniforms, prepared for battle and skirmish. The Marshal Cabinet had used the last couple of weeks to devise tactically precise plans to attempt a large scale ejection of Sendrassian forces from their occupied areas, both in land and at sea. The clanking of steel echoed throughout the numerous encampments as soldiers collected their weapons and armor, sailors grabbing supplies and loading cannons aboard their War Vessels as the next phase of the war was about to unfold. Que Division Admiral Tehrathel Avalorn.
The roaring waves of the Hadar sea exploded against the wooden hull of Division Admiral Tehrathel Avalorn's command ship as he and 11 warships, 10 State Ships and his own personal flagship, as they made their way across the coastline of Dreguz until they situated themselves upwind from the Sendrassian occupied portion of Dregux. Sailors scoured the decks and situated themselves on the rigging, holding themselves steady with spy glasses in clear expectation of some sort of attack. Seamen from all walks of life, diverse of race but all unified in discipline saw themselves to their positions as sails appeared in the distance. A deckhand relayed a message to Tehrathel that at least 7 Warships were escorting numerous smaller troop transports to the Southern Dregux shores and, with unabashed poise, he gave the order to flag signal the flotilla of 11 warships to divide in two, 5 and 5 with the Avalorn flagship at the centre. Despite holding a blockade the Sendrassian warships prepared for battle, beelining for the Regalian vessels and firing.
The Regalian warships returned fire in an almost perfectly rehearsed naval maneuver, firing then kiting back, returning and firing again. As winged serpents ascended from the decks, the crewmen aboard Tehrathel's ships readied their crossbows, waiting for the perfect opportunity to fire. The shots flew strong, striking serpents out of the air in waves with precise shots downing wave after wave. As the hour went past, the Sendrassian ships after losing 2 of their own and multiple transport vessels eventually called for retreat, heading back into the direction of Tinhazt. This move was crucial (or lucky) as it prevented an additional 15,000 reinforcements from arriving in Dregux to combat the Regalian occupied territories there.
Meanwhile back in Bhoszzhaal, Field General Markus Delmotte rallies his 15,000 troops and prepares for them for the hard march unto the coastline to sever the Sendrassian supply lines. The next two hours were spent with Markus on horseback, riding across the columns of his army, readying them into position and organising the two Mercenary Companies led by Lyonel Deceres and Lazarus Lumpenzi into adequate formations. With a rise of his sword, the thundering of boots on soil boomed throughout the surroundings as 17,000 soldiers set off to catch the reinforced 8,000 Sendrassian Allar with their proverbial pants down, who had dug in in preparation of a counter assault. Lazarus and Lyonel helped the General navigate the unforgiving terrain with Lazarus' Drahl familiar scoping out the area from above while Lyonel mapped ahead, with his knowledge of pathfinding, the most operative route to bring them to their destination. Abad Hussaini noted that some of the fallen trees around them as they came across an area which had recently been marched through by the Mu-Allar shocktroopers and deduced that they had recently been in the area gathering supplies for their fortifications. With this information, Markus was able to call upon his officers to gauge what sort of approach they ought to take.
Both Abad and Wulf Grofsmid assisted and advised that it was likely that, during the time between skirmishes, it was likely that palisades had already been erected and that a full attack from the Delmotte host would be difficult. With that knowledge, Markus devised a clever plan: ordering that Lyonel and Lazarus' men begin harassing the Sendrassians from the Northern part of the jungle to draw attention away from the areas in the west which surprisingly worked effectively. Both Lazarus and Lyonel's men managed to use the jungle to make it appear as if they had triple the men they had, diving between trees and foliage and firing arrows and striking hard before falling back again to draw attention away from their poorly occupied western flank. As soon as Markus was advised that the sentries had dropped in number, the full 15,000 state host pushed through the pallasades and swept through the Southern fortifications, forcing the 8,000 to either turn and meet them head on or flee further inland. They chose the latter, and for what felt like a full day the Delmotte host harassed and harried the Mu-Allar Sendrassians without falter, cutting down 1,000, leaving 7,000 troops remaining, before being completely cut off from their supply routes; ripe for the taking.
The exciting inaction on Zzonzeer kept up at a healthy pace. While waiting for new supplies from the Empire's long reach the soldiers had spent their time wisely playing ball games out in the mud or playing cardgames in their tents with pieces of rations as wagers. It was a relatively bright mood over the fortified camp, rowdy military songs being sung around fires and friendly banter being exchanged between the Regalian and local forces. While all the morale and leisure flourished to the best of their ability there were some who had caught glimpses of an Allar interpreter's assistant warily brushing past an officer tent throughout the afternoon. The large sa-allar helper was as inconspicuous as can be, lumbering back and forth while mumbling quiet somethings to himself. The more eyes fell on the Sa-allar the more secretive he became, eventually leaving their sight. His mysterious appearance and disappearance became a topic of discussion, leading to many theories of his allegiance.
The army's brief vacation came to a halt a week later, when shipments from the Empire reached Zzonzeer. Twenty thousand regals' worth of building supplies being divv11ied up to the battalions, transported with blood, sweat and tears off to the fortresses through the jungle underbrush. Cranes and pulleys were already assembled on the sites, allowing for most of the supplies to go simply to the construction itself. Thanks to the massive teams working on each fortress the progress went at a remarkable speed. The work was finished two days before the expected time, with all honours. Control over Zzonzeer was unquestionable, and the chances of invasion are slim. General Eledhwen's rigid defensive measures became a talking point for much of the Marshalry and Admiralty, officers and commanders on both land and sea starting to refer to the island as "Cinna's Citadel", and at the strong urging of Lord William Howlester it would become the Imperial Military's frontline headquarters from this point on.
Meanwhile, in the medical tents, work was going rather slow. Lily Jamesson and her team worked so tirelessly on researching the strange, foreign disease known as Yellow Palement. At dawn they would wade into the mire to catch flies with large nets, which only provided results such as countless boots getting lost to the mud and frustrating patches of itchy sores from the bites of multitudes of nasty bugs. The captured flies back at camp weren't of much use to the sake of research either, their use having already been fully discovered as they've learned what there is to learn from them. Understandably weary and stressed out about perceived missing links Lily finally sits down to write out a full report of her findings to the Qar-Digmaan himself to enlighten the lizard king of the native disease. The reply was less than pleasant. Cro-Zzhin was by no means a man of vulgarities, yet he still managed to express a deep disappointment and dissatisfaction in the Regalian medical teams with a use of words that could rip paint off a wall, or in this case, the confidence off of a used boat salesman offering you a two hundred regal insurance on a wreck. An abridged account of the letter would simply state, lacking all the eloquence and the psychological damage inflicted by the Qar-Digmaan, "Yeah, I know. It's the flu. Do you think we're stupid or something?". Whether or not the Regalians would take this to heart and end the pursuit of a cure is unsure yet, to be discovered in due time.
Waves slosh against the great warships of the Regalian Empire outside of the island of Xutaal. The hypnotic sound lulled sailors and officers alike to sleep on their posts, which, all things considered, wasn't such a bad thing. The line of ships hadn't seen any other activity on the seas for two weeks. A complete and utter silence only broken by the idle chatter of the sailors and squawking of seabirds gathering around the vessels. It was quiet. Too quiet. Well, not really. There was nothing suspicious about the situation at all. An entirely uneventful two week stint off the coast of a foreign island. The tranquility allowed the Admiral some time to think about things, more profound facets of life. One thing in particular crossed his mind. It gnawed on him like a poorly fitting shoe. His imagination ran rampant as he speculated on the mental gymnastics that would be required of the Marshal Cabinet to give him hell for doing nothing at all when there was nothing to do. Life's great mysteries.
As the afternoon sun hit the Regalian encampment in Dregux, so too did the orders from Field General Julius Vicieux that Fiorella Vicieux, Exuro Weismann, Sophie Perrot, Anathema, Henrik Norrvakt and Jared Silverhand, with the later accompanied by his 1,000 ranger attachment into the jungle terrain to scout ahead. The troupe's main objective was to provide overwatch and intel as to the movements of Digmaan Drogaax's army and, thanks to the efforts of Fiorella and Anathema, they were quickly able to establish that the large host of 22,000 were pushing inward. The group spent a time examining the nearby area, noting the position of broken branches and twigs which signified that the army was on the move and changing positions. Jared Silverhand noted something that made his stomach churn. A footprint, a dreadfully large footprint, something that the man had never seen before. With how deep the print was, it was large. Really large and just as he was about to pipe up, his voice was drowned out by an ear deafening roar which Anathema was able to discern was about a mile away. Without a second thought, the group returned to the collected Vicieux led host.
The Marshal was immediately alerted and began to rally the forces and as he rode down into the encampment, silence fell amongst the ranks. All talk ceased, everyone froze into place as the ground rumbled beneath them and the tree line contorted and twisted. Exuro Weissmann plucked up the courage to investigate, taking a horse through the dugout trenches to the front line where he saw it amerge. With a mighty roar that echoed for miles around, a corrupted 50 foot long and 28 foot tall Sendrassian Long Maw Saurian smashed through the trees and beelined for the encampment. Exuro and his horse were swept up into the creature's gigantic mouth, teeth tearing through both his steed and Exuro himself, though luckily only a fang through his right leg. He screamed out in utter pain and agony, only escaping when Oscar Theodard called out for catapults to be loosened, bombarding the creature with large rocks and boulders. Exuro fell from its maw and was swept up by Henrik Norrvakt who pulled him back into one of the trenches and shielded the man with his body as the creature stormed into the Regalian encampment to cause utter chaos.
The battle plans were put into place to deal with this reptilian titan and 27,000 troops split into three groups, one of 13,500 men under Field Commander Lyall Howlester her cousin Field Officer Iain Howlester alongside Lyall's 1,000 Royal Highland contingent; one group under Field Commander Vivana Avalorn and her 1,000 personal regiment and the other under Field Commander Ferikh Cervantes with their 1,000 personal regiment. The army clashed with the creature, hundreds of soldiers being tossed around through the air and crushed beneath its unforgiving bodyweight. Vivana rallied her men, signalling to Lyall Howlester to group up with her, charging into the fray with a rag tag group of men and a massive dock chain they nabbed from Oscar; galloping right for the monstrous beast and circling its two massive feet, ensnaring its legs. The creature struck the floor with a mighty boom while all three Field Commanders set upon it with their men to overpower it, striking it with their weapons in the creature's underbelly. Over 1,000 men met their end, crushed, devoured or ripped apart by the beast before the encampment could be returned to normal. While the Regalian force was distracted, the Sendrassian force spread out across the lower areas of Dregux, capturing villages and strongholds that the Pro-Regalian Allar had tried to maintain.
Back on Zzondaal, Field Marshal Rodrigo Peirgarten prepares the two Field Generals under his command: Theopold Kreiburg and Pellegrino di Caitagna to march on the last remaining Sendrassian troops in the province. The entire army spends an hour mourning the dead from the last battle; candlelight flickering amidst the early morning light before the orders to march were given from higher command. Field General Pellegrino di Caitagna footslogged out into the fray first with command of 25,000 State Soldiers and 3,000 regimental units from Field Commanders Florian Peirgarten, Boromar Gyshara and Pellegrino's own personal contingent. The mud stuck to the soldiers boots and kept them logged, slowing the army down but only strengthening their resolve. Rodrigo had planned with Pellegrino to establish another fortified camp at 'black point', a position in the middle of the Northern Island on Zzondaal. With direction from Siege Engineer Pavel Tarknid Al-Vyzal, catapults and siege crossbows were created along with some very basic makeshift fortifications around the area such as pallasades and wooden barriers. Here the force would rest until an opportunity arose for them to sweep south.
During this downtime, Field Medic Noelle Peirgarten assisted with any sore or wounded soldiers, showing great care for the downtrodden and weary of the host which helped to raise morale amongst the Pellegrino force. Meanwhile in the command tent, plans, strategies and tactics were being debated. Despite Pellegrino's plans to sweep, it was War Tactician Eilaria Peirgarten who stepped up and showcased her brilliance, opting to advise against a sweep and instead perform an island wide pincer maneuver. This essentially split the force in two, with Eilaria in charge of 14,000 and the Field General in charge of the other 14,000. Heading south, Eilaria's force met the Sendrassian Mu-Allar head on in a feat that could only be described as magnificent. The Peirgarten tactfully managed to route the entire 4,000 Sendrassian force up the coastline, badgering them and breaking their route every other hour to shepherd them right into their ambush. Meanwhile in the north, the Field General di Caitagna mirrored Eilaria's plan, performing well and pushing the 5,000 Sendrassian force into the east where both armies were able to force them onto the coastline. It was too hasty of a move to allow for the Sendrassian led force to retreat and being surrounded they were forced to make a last ditch effort on the dunes. Field Commanders Florian Peirgarten, Osira Lae'rinsyr and Boromar Gyshara organised the troops into a trident formation with a kiting maneuver that would have made even decorated General Ulric Typhonus blush as they pressed inward and out again, attacking and falling back, cutting down wave after wave of Allar troops that desperately tried to retreat to their transports. By the end of the battle, 7,000 Sendrassian troops lay fallen on the beachhead, the first major catastrophic defeat for the Sendrassians and securing the eastern part of Zzondaal for the Regalians. 2,000 Mu-Allar were able to escape though on smaller transports but this mattered little in the grand scheme of the war. Digmaan Deridess in the West was soon made aware of this defeat and in a fit of blind rage, he prepared a counter assault on the Kreiburg troops on the nearby peninsula.
While the fighting had been ongoing in the East, Field General Theopold Kreiburg had been preparing in the West. Artillery such as Howlester donated Field Cannons, bombards and ballistas decorated the beachfront across the narrow strip of land near Digmaan Deridess's held territory, all at the command of Field Commanders Gerard Kreiburg and Mosmo Duviri. The Field General personally oversaw much of the artillery being fired, readying the cannons in line to fire in unison before the bombards took over to allow for the previously emptied cannons to reload. The Mu-Allar on the other side responded in kind; launching their catapults which flung large glass containers filled with volatile substances which exploded upon the Regalian lines. Hours of bombardment on each side passed before an opening arose for the Digmaan to make a hasty attack on the Regalian fortified position. Upon his Two-Clawed Raptor, the Sendrassian General led the vanguard into an offensive maneuver, charging through cannonfire and ballista fire to smash through the Regalian lines.
With the solidarity provided by War Tactician Cro-Maarx, the lines held, despite great attempts by the Digmaan's forces to push through into the Regalian encampment. Mosmo and Gerard held fast, pressing any advantage that fell upon their doorstep. Theopold ordered the cannons to be fired again, decimating lines of Mu-Allar men-at-arms which desperately tried to avoid the bombardment. As the cannons loosed again, so too did the ballistas. In a stroke of luck, the bolt caught Digmaan Deridess in the shoulder; his right arm and part of his upper shoulder being ripped from his body and flinging him back off of his mount and into the lines. With the General down, the Mu-Allar Field Commanders called for retreat. Theopold took the opportunity to press, forcing the Sendrassian troops back down through the island while the Mu-Allar host dug in, tending to their wounded and working to save the life of their general. Zzondaal was close to liberation at this point, another 2,000 Sendrassians lay dead while the Regalian losses numbered only 500. Back at the base, Rodrigo found his lips tugging into a satisfied line. Redemption? He pondered. No. Not yet. However, this was a step in the right direction and he was content to have been partially the puppetmaster behind it all. The regalian injured were tended to by Aya Drevis and a team of medical officers, all of which worked around the clock to help ease the wounded back to fighting fit status; which undoubtedly kept manpower high and kept an additional 200 men in the war effort on the Regalian side.
To the West of the Hadarian theatre, Field General Eddair Mac Conall pressed forth to clutch a victory at last from the month long struggle against the Sendrassian aligned Mu-Allar that had been playing a game of cat and mouse with the Regalian troops, pressing and retreating and generally giving the Highlander the run around. Surprisingly, the General opted to form a defensive position, maintaining a fortified encampment. Here, the Field General Mac Conall conferred with Field Commanders Fraidh Mac Conall, Valentino di Callegari and Qin Uyr Saian Singha about how to properly prepare the battlements and prepare for an assault which he seemed to expect would be knocking at their front gates within the next few days. Trenches were dug by the already tired Regalian force of 25,000 and traps were prepared by Yautja Urzin, laying pitfalls, snares and other rudimentary trapping utilities to help turn the tide of battle should it eventually come. The Field Generals formed columns of three, each at the head of a separate division of troops with the aid of Alasair Lachlan, Bera the Url, Murielle-Barkhardt, Batu Kemphala and Arien Pavise amongst the general Regalian soldiers which shook with anxiety. Minutes turned into hours, hours into days until eventually it became apparent that an attack was not coming. At least not yet. The encampment was ripe with tension however, there was one individual doing her part in helping Regalia combat the Sendrassian menace in more practical means. Winifred Marth sat and pondered over the alchemical substance that had been used on the Mac Conall army three weeks prior; testing an abundance of different concoctions to try and simulate what had happened however, with very little in terms of supplies on hand, she was left only with mere theories and nothing concrete.
Off on Xutaal there were spotted dozens of ships, Regalian ships, loaded with thousands of troops readying to disembark on the small island. No disembarkment is ever simple, the hectic mess of an enormous logistical chore like it getting to even the most level headed people. Valarosta wandered off her ships and down to the docks, relieved to stand on solid ground yet again. Through all the overlapping chattering and creaking of docking ships she picked up a familiar voice sneaking through the crowd. Soon enough the voice would connect with a face as little Zzofia snuck out from between two sailors. The allar girl ran right up to Valarosta with an overfamiliar confidence, jumping up to take her into a heartwarming embrace. Zzofia dropped back down to her feet after she felt satisfied with the prolonged hug, smiling brightly enough to make the sun green with envy. She took Valarosta's hand, peering up into her eyes without a shadow of prejudice. An innocent soul who treated her as if there were not a single thing different about them, or could for some reason divide them. Zzofia didn't understand hateful concepts such as the ones Valarosta has toiled through, and even if she did she explained that she'd never see why anyone would be so mean to a nice lady like her because of something silly like looks.
Zzofia brought Valarosta up to the battlements of the local fortified position, holding her hand tight as she daringly climbed along the side of the wall. The girl would sometimes give her a scare as she stumbled on a pebble, forcing a gasp out of the Suvial general who would make every reassurance that Zzofia's alright. The allar girl had nothing but affection for Valarosta, their friendship growing stronger with every interaction they shared. The afternoon came to a close with Zzofia and Vala making flower wreaths for one another. "Y'know, you're like a big sister to me now. Would you be my sister, Miss Vala?" Zzofia asked Valarosta with a tilted head. The question caught the general off guard, bringing out a flustered "Yeah." which spurred on a wildly enthusiastic hurray from the girl. Her cheering was cut short though as her mother shouted for her to come home for dinner, but it made a swift return as she invited Vala to join her with the most adorable pleading puppy eyes on this side of Xutaal. Valarosta, unable to break the little girl's heart, forgoed her duties to join her for dinner. Zzofia excitedly brought her away then, eager to tell her mother and father all about her new sister.
Admiral Sangiovese and his fleet flowed with the wind off to face the great threat to the western seas. Twenty eight warships of the finest sort, Regalia's favoured weapon, sailed with thousands of brave marines and sailors determined to crush this threat and establish the empire's naval supremacy in Sendrassian seas. Cutlasses were sharpened and ropes tightened, Sangioveses fleet was ready for whatever the enemy allar could throw at them. And, of course, with the knowledge of reinforcements coming close in tow they were confident of a decisive victory to wear proudly at the medal ceremony when this treacherous war was over.
Sir Valentino sat in the captain's cabin preparing for the coming battle when he heard the crow's nest shout down to the deck. "Sails! Sails!". The admiral and his tacticians marched across the deck on their way to the bow. Easily a hundred sails, just barely out of firing range. Good spirit, the sight was unnerving. Thirty two sendrassian warships ready to banish their foes to the deep, outnumbering the Regalians by four ships, a near even balance. Sangiovese's confidence wasn't struck just yet, feeling victory securely in his grasp already as Admiral Edrick Black's fleet was on its way behind them. A smirk and a turn to his officers later orders began flowing over the deck. The fleet assumes formation, broadsides at the ready and gun crews with attentive ears glare out at the enemy ships, waiting. It felt like hours passed from the time they assumed positions, just waiting impatiently. The admiral waited and he waited, until it was time. "Fire!" He shouted, and so shot volley after volley at the Sendrassians. The firefight lasted for several hours, a thick mist floating amidst the dozens of ships from the gunpowder's smoke. Cannons melted from overheating or simply broke down as the endless firing wore down on the wooden skeleton holding the barrels up. Four hours in and three Regalian vessels had been claimed by the seas, and every Allar ship still held firm in the face of the steadfast adversary. The admiral was furious. "Edrick Black! Where are my reinforcements!" He shouted while the cannons blared, his lungs filled with gunsmoke and wrath.
Meanwhile, three kilometers away, twenty-nine ships bearing imperial banners led by Admiral Black sailed into position. The cannons were painful on the ears even from this distance, the sounds of planks tearing to shreds and sailors being sent to their watery graves quite audible as they stood only a stone's throw away from the action. Yet, to the curiosity and soon the baffled shock of the Regalian marines, the Admiral chose to remain in position. Smoke billowed out of an increasing amount of Regalian ships as they fired for dear life, and Edrick Black remained still. One might wonder what went through his mind at that time, as lives needlessly went to waste, what plan could he have possibly concocted in the privacy of his head that he kept from his officers. Fortunately for Edrick the Sendrassians had spotted his fleet, convincing them of overwhelming reinforcements arriving to encircle the allar. Admiral Sangiovese, who was at the precipice of a sudden and vicious defeat as more and more ships struggled with fires and terrible damages, received relief as he saw the enemies break away from the combat lines. A brief smile creeped on his face as he staggered away from the side of his ship, insistent on finding a seat to rest at. The man had only taken a few steps when he started the grumbling of his crewmates. Edrick the Shy. Errant Edrick. The Late Lord Black. All sorts of names besmirching his ally and fellow commander of the sea. What could have possibly transpired, he wondered. His brows furrowed and his features hardened then as he spotted the source of his men's discontentment. Admiral Edrick's fleet, just within reach, sitting still.
The overall opinion on this phase of the war was good at home. The Regalian side had suffered practically inconsequential number losses while striking hard at the Sendrassian ones. The only cause for discontent was the stalemate between the Sendrassian Navy and the Sangiovese Fleet. All other Marshal Cabinet members on the front were awarded salutation and celebration when they returned home for the brief time in what appeared to be a complete turn around for the Regalian side of this conflict.
Current Theatre Map
