Purpose and background
In the late afternoon of the 20th day of the Moon of Sowing in 2502 ER, King Ulric sent a magical message to every duc, arl, and minor lord of the Summer Kingdom. In it, he described a terrible, world-ending threat brewing in the uncharted glacier at the north pole of Amanor, and requested noble knights to be sent to the capital city of
Caernarfon at a notice of only some hours.
King Ulric sent such an oddly urgent summons to his vassals in order to gather as many able warriors as possible as quickly as possible. He had pledged his aid to a famous group of adventurers known as the
Four Knights who had previously proved themselves through invaluable services to the Crown. The adventurers had since learned of terrible cosmic events that were about to unfold, and were gathering allies to face this world-ending threat.
Besides that of the king, the Four Knights had the assistance of the
High Templar Siriana Griffin, and they had gathered numerous other allies as well -- some of them from beyond the world of Amanor, even. The Four Knights had decided that haste was of the essence to stop the terrible plots transpiring on the north pole, and as such only a single day was allocated for preparations for the battle.
Resolution
King Ulric's summons were answered even on such a short notice by several dozen knights from houses both great and minor. Among them were venerated champions, seasoned warriors known for their valor and prowess, as well as landed knights acting under the orders of their lieges. Others yet were lords and ladies themselves, leaving the safety of their keeps to answer the call of king and country. Over the course of the night of the 20th, all such volunteers were teleported at the expense of the Crown to the capital city to rendezvous with the
Kingsguard, the
Templar Knights and a few militarized groups of willing adventurers and mercenaries. From there they were transported onwards to a staging ground on the
Endless Glacier where they joined forces with the rest of their allies.
Arrayed against them were two armies of astounding strength. Endless legions of undead, aberrations and
yuan-ti commanded by the
Dark Pharaoh and a dozen other Masks of Nyarlathotep faced off on the frozen wastes of the north against the assembled might of the
Disciples of Loviatar -- mighty goddesses of darkness and evil, each commanding diverse hordes of creatures more terrible than the last from dragons and vampires to monstrosities, valkyries and bloodthristy armies of barbarians from the Outer Planes of the cosmos. These awesome forces were poised to clash over the possession of the
Necronomicon and the Four Knights were attempting to make away with the artifact lest it fall into the hands of either side.
Outcome
Despite the mighty allies gathered by the Four Knights, the Battle of Godgrave was a crushing defeat. The divine might of Loviatar's Disciples could not be overcome despite the dredful goddesses being occupied with their battle against the Dark Pharaoh.
The only survivors of the battle to make it back to the safety of Caernarfon were King Ulric himself and the severely wounded High Templar Griffin.
Last Stand of Champions
The noble champions of Caraegwyn gave their lives to defend a strategic location on the battlefield. Standing their ground against the undead horrors of Samhain and the overwhelming power of evil valkyries, the knights held the foot of an arcane channeling spire long enough for the Four Knights to steal the Necronomicon from the goddess
Nepthys.
Doom of the Templars
The dozen deployed Templar Knights -- each of their legendary battle suits more powerful than a small army -- were cut down to the last defending the Four Knights focused on destroying the Necronomicon. Three Masks of Nyarlathotep -- The Iron King, The Acolyte and The Shadowy Figure -- unleashed their eldritch might on the templars assisted by a teeming horde of flesh-warped cultists. Performing what could be described as a mortal miracle, those alien forces of the Old Gods were laid low by the templars -- but at terrible cost.
The few templars that survived the fight were then ambushed by Loviatar's valkyries and soundly defeated. The Four Knights managed to destroy the Necronomicon revealing the
Arcanomicon within, but the cosmos-shaping artifact was quickly claimed by
Hekarti, the Goddess of Blood Magic.
End of the Kinsguard
The Kingsguard suffered terrible losses as they held their ground on the icy battlefield. Half their number was lost to a swarm of vampires, most of them young but some ancient enough to pose a terrible danger even to the most legendary knight. King Ulric rallied his bodyguards and the remaining planar allies of the Four Knights to a last desperate charge against the Disciples who had managed to capture
Arath-Sodan, the mysterious Goddess of Time herself.
Against the valiant attack stood a handful of valkyries and
Atharti, the Lady of Desire. The dark goddess afflicted the minds of the brave heroes with unholy urges, making Serah
Marian Thorne of the Kingsguard slay her own captain Ser
Elegorn Aodhain. Serah Marian was slain for this treachery in the heat of battle.
Next to fall was Ser
Edron the Bold, one of the greatest elven warriors of the Summer Kingdom, crushed and mauled despite his Kingsguard plate by a gargantuan dragon. After King Ulric was evacuated from the doomed battle, the last knight of the Kingsguard sacrificed herself to buy even the tiniest amount of time for the Four Knights to attempt some last desperate plan. Serah
Cilia Beldevere the Brightheart stood toe-to-toe with the goddess
Apollion, the Bringer of War and Herald of Ruin, managing to occupy the terrifying deity for several moments before losing her head.
Legacy
The Battle of Godgrave was not only a military disaster but it also soiled King Ulric's reputation. He was held responsible for throwing away the lives of dozens of noble knights as well as losing not only the manpower but also the priceless equipment of both the Kingsguard and the Templar Knights -- two of the most elite military forces of the nation. The Templar battlesuits were partially recovered later from the battlefield but all the legendary armaments of the fallen Kingsguard were lost.
King Ulric would retain his rule despite this disaster, becoming one of the most prominent leaders of the Heartlands in the terrible struggle against the reincarnated Goddess of Evil in the Age of Apocalypse. However, the Battle of Godgrave and Caraegwyn's participation in it would forever stain the king's reputation, resurfacing time and again in matters both diplomatic and martial to hamper his efforts.
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