The Battle of Hollow Crown

Military: Battle

On the blood-drenched fields of Hollow Crown, the rebel army mounted its desperate final stand against the Crown's overwhelming forces. House Syltharis' masterful archers unleashed torrents of death from tactically secured hillocks, while Valcairn battle-mages conjured shimmering protective barriers and hurled cascades of arcane fire into the advancing infantry columns. Caerthall's remaining knights—a mere three hundred where once thousands proudly rode—held the central line with grim determination against the relentless loyalist forces.

The battle raged unabated for three days and two nights, a ceaseless storm of steel and sorcery. On the first day, the rebels successfully repelled seven major assaults, their resolve hardened by the certainty that defeat meant nothing less than an end to their hopes of victory. The dawn of the second day heralded the arrival of House Varadyn's cavalry, savagely tearing through the vulnerable rebel eastern flank. By the blood-red dusk of the third day, the once-formidable rebel perimeter had collapsed into a dwindling circle of haggard, desperate defenders.

As twilight descended and rebel formations disintegrated, Lord Karolis Duskbane—the King's Champion and most feared battlefield commander—carved a crimson path through the chaos. Before hundreds of horrified witnesses, he personally executed the rebellion's heart and most honorable leader, Lord Garran Caerthall, the sole leader of a Great House to perish in the rebellion. Survivors recount that Caerthall and the other rebel leaders had surrendered but Lord Duskbane executed him regardless.

Outcome: The rebellion was utterly crushed, its embers extinguished beneath the Crown's boot. Over seven thousand rebel fighters perished on that accursed field, their bodies forming grotesque monuments, while another three thousand were captured. The Crown's victory proved complete, though devastatingly costly—nearly five thousand loyalist soldiers fell in service to their king.