The Conflict
Prelude
The village of ????, home to nearly one-thousand, was on the border between the Patriarchy Haralon and the Holy Order of Isfa lying within Haralon. While of little political significance, the village traded mainly in masonry products harvested from the mines nearest to the village. While small in comparison to the larger cities within Haralon, the Lord Damrin held control of the territory. The land was his inheritence, given to him by his father during his passing and sanctioned by the Haralon Patriarch. While middle-aged, Damrin often viewed his position within the Haralon heirarchy false. Expressing his self-importance, Damrin was prone to offer promises and gifts to the other Lords. In an effort to continue this behavior, taxes were raised upon the workers within ????. This tax would eventually result in the stagnation and starvation of the people. As the production of the mine dwindled due to poor labor, morale, and other socioeconomic byproducts of their governance, Lord Damrin instituted a quota that would be taken from the people regardless of their total income. Outraged, a delegation of three of the men of the village went to petition the Patriach of Haralon for a reprieve.
During the petition, the Patriarch waved his hand. "This is an issue to be resolved with your Lord. I will hear nothing more of this." Rebuffed the delegation returned home to their families. Lord Damrin quickly heard of the petition. His anger at being embarrassed in the court and the disloyalty of his people caused him to return to the village. Finding the three men who went to Haralon to offer the petition, he brought the villagers out of the town. He proclaimed, "I ask for things, stone, wood, your time. I could ask for more!" Thereafter, the three men were executed.
Two men, witnesses to the execution believed that their salvation was in the hands of other kingdoms. One ventured toward Mashangist and the other toward Isfa. The scribed document, hereafter known as "Damrin's Descent" received a single reply. The Champion-King Illiam Castell sent a legion of five-thousand to the village with the villager. They carried with them the response from Illiam Castell himself, known as the "Protector's Oath". Indicating an intention to claim the territory as a Protectorate of Isfa.
As the soldiers of Isfa strode into the village, the people rejoiced and cried. By this time, the people were starving and were under the watch of Lord Damrin's guards. Upon seeing the soldier's arrive, the guards fled the city and informed Lord Damrin of what had happened. Lord Damrin, in a fury, returned to the village to find that the legion of Isfa had indeed claimed the city and refused entry to Lord Damrin. Lord Damrin spat a curse at the legion and returned to Haralon. He approached the Patriarch and declared:
"Father, the dogs from the south have claimed my lands. They salt my fields with their words. I cannot raise my armies against them alone. Lend me your aid."
At this time, Isfa and Haralon were at peace and Lord Damrin's actions had compromised that peace. The Patriarch, seeing this as the corrupted and rotting root of a fallen tree replied,
"You plowed this field and planted nothing. You drained the well and now have nothing to drink. You may now join the common man in his toils or return to your broken lands. The duty alone falls to you. Be gone."
Damrin was indeed broken. Fear and ferocity seethed with every step. With a final determination, he implored two other lords who had received gifts from Damrin. In made lofty promises in return for their aid. The lords, fearing that Isfa may claim their territory that was neighboring Damrin's, agreed to lend their armies. While the small lords could muster an army of nearly four-thousand men, far fewer than the legion currently watching over the village, Damrin laid a cunning strategy. "Like vermin, they will flee from the tide of war. The fires will burn them. The world will crush them. Before me, they will fall."
The peace of Haralon and Isfa remained intact, word quickly reached Isfa. Sending reinforcements to the village, the reinforcements wouldn't arrive in time. The stage of the battle had been set.
While the battle would commence on the outlying region of the village, the village itself would be consumed by the conflict. Whether by errant aggressors or ill-fated projectiles, the village would fall. The battlefield would include no more than a few hundred square meters. Initially, the battle would be congested. This would allow for the Abjurers to offer the greatest protection to their allies. As the battle would begin, the footholds would be made at some distance as individual battles broke out. As the Isfan legion outnumbered that of Lord Damrin, this would offer a greater advantage to the Isfan side. Lord Damrin, unskill in strategic planning, relied on the seige weapons to set fire to the buildings and cause a panic. However, by the initiation of the conflict, only a few hundred of the legion were distracted by the fires and supporting the populace. Instead, they held their lines. This was not entirely unsuccessful, as the many of the soldiers of Lord Damrin viewed this as the precursor to a greater war. Thus, there was added intensity to their zeal.
The village was set on a rough plain. While much of the surrounding area had once been cultivated for agriculture, the lack of material to effectively continue resulted in the fields being untended. Small hills rose and fell in the surrounding area. While the village periodically received rainfall, this was a particularly dry season. Large rock formations stood out of the ground where roads had been worn down around them. The village was mostly constructed of wood and rock. The wood was harvested from the small wooded areas nearby and the stone from the mines. The village was dense in the proxity of the buildings. By this time, many of the miners who had hidden belongings and other necessities within the mines had extracted their supplies. Many of the villagers had returned to their normal routines, though there was clear anxiety of the return of Lord Damrin.
Before the reinforcing army could arrive, Lord Damrin had set up seige engines outside of the town. The town itself was not fortified. Thus, the seige engines were present to level the village. The first volley of stones broke through the small wood and stone structures with a fearsome crack. The defending vanguard leveled a defense, but couldn't advance toward the back lines. Continuing their bombardment, the seige weapons devastated many of the homes. Quickly, many of the legion evacuated the village as abjurer's raced to reject the seige. While this slowed the onslaught, the bombardment continued to find purchase.
However, Lord Damrin saw the people of the village fleeing behind the army. To him, they were the enemy. They had delivered Lord Damrin's inheritance to another. Breaking with his strategy, he ordered his armies to advance. While the frontlines closed, war mages from the two sides waged in the distant battle. Colorful effects lit the sky. Bursting fire, shards of ice, concussive bursts, assaulted the soldiers. Still, the cacophony had yet to reach it's climax. When the two lines of soldiers skirmished, war mages continued their fervent battle. Abjurations flood the air as evocations spelled doom for their targets. The chaotic expulsion of essence soon became palpable. As soldiers felt themselves be cut down, their wounds seemed to heal. Tiredness and fatigue faded and was replaced by vitality. The exchange continued with neither side gaining ground.
Lord Damrin himself engaged in the conflict. Well-versed in the arcane arts, he contributed to the brutal exchange. Driven by his rage, he drew in a force never before attained. Piercing lances of fire streaked through the air as the ground beneath him sundered. As he righted himself, a soldier from the front of the line raced forward. Seeing the bearer of his fate, he shouted, "I am a fool!" A spear was driven through him.
As the reinforcing army arrived, passing villagers warned of the battle that was happening. For days, it seemed as though the skirmish continued. The army hastened to the battlefield and were surprised. Their allies fell and vanished. Their adversaries appeared and faded away. Spells flicked to life, cries for help resounded all around them. The perplexed army abandoned the site finding no survivors of their own and weary to venture into the chaos.
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