Massacre at Anchorage

I remember only two days ago I had gone to the Anchorage to trade with the happy yet hard-headed citizens. Made quite a bit of coin from their water-based superstitions, I did. When I went back today... it was like I was never there. No one remained, except for hollow-eyed children and spirits of protection that lingered o'er them. Whatever happened there no true god would have sanctioned.

— Kelor, Elven Trader

The Massacre at Anchorage was a short military conflict that happened in the Third Age. Initiated by Eureka against the people of Anchorage of Red Sands in order to suppress the populace's military might, the civilians and their militia fought against the organisation in an attempt to protect themselves and their settlement.

Preparation

Eidolon, an Admin of Eureka, was tasked by Marielle to go to Anchorage of Red Sands with their band of magic-wielding mercenaries. She was told to lay waste to the port town and kill everyone that moved within its walls as well as to destroy their naval fleet. Dealing extra property damage was seen as a bonus, and even more accolades were promised if Eidolon successfully made the town uninhabitable in the future.

Eidolon rounded up all of the fanatical mercenaries she could find and equipped them with as many offensive spells as she had access to. She travelled with them by a local trading caravan straight into the heart of the town and told her forces to open fire on the unprepared civilian populace.

Conflict

The initial assault on the citizens of Anchorage was incredibly devastating since it started in a crowded central area. Resistance was small at first because of the shock of the situation, but the militia was quickly formed and brought to the scene to try and repel the attackers. Spears, swords, and makeshift pistols only work for so long against people with fire and electricity at their fingertips, however, and the militia was quickly dispatched.

Early into the invasion, Eidolon commanded her crew to spare the children, but to try to imprison them if possible. While it was a good distraction, it ultimately proved useful. Eidolon used her Awakened ability to force the children to want to protect their homes from anyone that would return, including their parents. The mercenaries made their way through the town, slaughtering most adults. The few that Eidolon found that remained, she made them do similar things as she'd made the children do.

Aftermath

In the days that followed, nearby towns heard from travelling caravans that Anchorage of Red Sands had been utterly devastated, with their leader's ship nowhere to be found. Out-of-town families returned to try to see what became of their homes and friends only to be faced with the children their children had played with try to banish them from their own hometown.

One of the other Admins of Eureka, Rachel Rose, came back to Anchorage after a couple weeks of being out at sea to find her hometown destroyed. Marielle had hoped this would have gotten Rachel to focus more on the organisation's business rather than looking after her own people, but this was proven extremely unsuccessful. This is the tipping point for Rachel where she decides to defect from Eureka entirely and find out who did this to the place she loved the most out of all the places she had ever been.

Date
3E60Y 3M22D
Location
Anchorage of Red Sands
Also Known As
Day of Red Bay
Result
Success for Eureka

Belligerents

Eureka (Eidolon)

Anchorage Militia

Strength

28 Mercenaries (Rogue Magic Users)
1 Awakened

~120 Melee-armed persons
~25 Shoddy handgun-armed persons

Casualties

21 Mercenaries

~145 Deaths (plus thousands of civilians)

Objectives

Eliminate as many inhabitants as possible
Make the port as inhospitable as possible

Survive