The Misty Battle

The siege of Leelside which took place in extremely thick fog, leading to the city being taken but the Elves continuing to attack, causing massive casualties all round.

The Conflict

Prelude

The Second part of the Elvish assault into Human territory came as heavy fog was rolling in off The Icy Strait and covering the land in thick mist. The advancing army reached the river and followed it along to the city, awaiting the order to begin the attack, which would involve a more substantial force than that of the Arbor siege, this time including many skilled mages.

Deployment

The army positioned itself close to the bridge, using the fog to its advantage, completely invisible to the guards. The Elvish mages moved closer and finally got close enough to the bridge to strike...

Battlefield

The city of Leelside is one of the better defending in the continent. The only main way into the city is across a large bridge with two guard towers, one at each side. The only other way in is through the foothills to the North and West, which is very difficult even in good weather conditions for an army.
The actual city has decent defences, with strong, high stone walls surrounding the inner city and low wooden ones the outer part. There are several gates into the city but only one major gate is accessible via the bridge, the others would require a route around the city, allowing defending soldiers to fire upon invaders for the entire time.

Conditions

The heavy fog had started a few weeks earlier, on and off since then. On this day it was particularly heavy, it was cold and fairly wet, although it was not raining.

The Engagement

The siege began when the front Elvish mages advanced on the first guard tower, quickly firing bolts of energy at the guards higher up, the spells bouncing between the Humans and killing them instantly. Some of the mages sent here were trained in Arcane magic, the most powerful and difficult school of magic. After the first guard tower was taken with ease the bridge became the task to manage. The fog was thick but the guard tower would likely see the approaching army and sound the alarm. The mages slowly moved across and reached the point where they would be visible, they decided to try and trick the guards, two of the mages cast a spell to cause lightning to strike the top of the tower and set it ablaze. The guards evacuated and called for the men to fetch buckets of water, many more guards came out but it had worked, none of them thought it was suspicious, that was until a senior guard came out and shouted for the men to take up positions, it is not clear whether he saw the mages on the bridge, or whether he was just being cautious, but either way the Elves thought they had been seen and began to fire fireballs and lightning at the Soldiers.
The Elvish army began to advance across the bridge under heavy arrow fire, suffering substantial losses. As they reached the other side they saw that the mages had completely destroyed the watchtower, and had begun to fire at the gate. The outer wall was damaged and on fire, but the Humans had control over the entrance, with several spearmen holding the line. The Elves clashed with the Humans at the city walls and the fighting properly began.
After a while of fighting the Humans had lost enough of their numbers to call for a retreat into the city. They had already sent messengers into the hills to get word to the other settlements and get aid. The Elves had sent soldiers along the river to try and cut off any such attempts, but the fog was making it impossible for the Elves to see them.
The Fighting continued into the city, as mages continued to fight along the walls and bombard the city from the walls. As the humans lost more and more the fighting became spread across the entire city, with soldiers holding out in individual houses and shops. Night came and the mages began to set houses alight to make vision easier, but the fires spread and soldiers had to work to control it, as the goal was to control the city, not destroy it.
Eventually the fighting started to die down and the Elves began to gather together to receive their next orders, take prisoners and repair the damage, but the mages at the edges of the city were still under the impression the battle was continuing, so the fireballs continued. The Elves had to believe that it meant there was fighting going on somewhere else in the city and searched homes and shops, went down each street and a few even fought with other Elves, not realising they were on the same side until after a few had fallen.
The Humans took this chance to either escape or fight back, continuing the fighting for a few hours after the battle could have been over, meaning hundreds more were killed.

Outcome

• The city of Leelside taken by the Elves.

• Heavy damage to the city

Aftermath

City has heavy damage to many buildings, one of the watchtowers and the city walls.

Historical Significance

The Humans see this as the second instance of the Elves causing massive destruction and unnecessary damage.
The Elves view this siege as a general success, with the damage to the city being the fault of the weather.

Included under Conflict

First War

Conflict Type

Siege

Battlefield Type

Urban

Start Date

5102 - Juldir - 23

Ending Date

5102 - Juldir - 24

Conflict Result

Victory for the Elves

Location

Leelside

Belligerents

The Elves

• Elvish Crown

Leelside

• Human Crown

Strength

6000

~550 Soldiers ~24 000 civilians

Casualties

4100

~500 Soldiers ~14 000 civilians

Objectives

Take the city of Leelside .

Defend the city

Maps

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  The Central Continent

  The most populous and politically important continent in the known world. Home to the majority of Humans and many High Elf families. There are groups of Wood Elf in the North and Centaurs across the southern woods and forests.
  Key:
  1-Yarrin, Capital of the Human crown 2-Queenstown, Major Human city 3-Ozryn, Large Human city 4-Laketon, Large fortified Human City 5-Kings Manor, Residence and royal castle for the monarchs family 6-The College, Large complex of schools and scholarly houses 7-Ashton, Human City 8-Pran, Human city with a large High Elf population 9-Carhill, Large Human town 10-Springmount, Human town 11-Solstice Castle, Large Human castle to strengthen the Northern border 12-Amberhall, very old town dating back to Elvish times 13-Nordpass, Small human city isolated on Tide Isle 14-Tidebreak Castle, Incredibly fortified castle on Tide Isle 15-Ridgemot, Human town 16-Leelside, Medium Human city 17-Arbor, small Human town with a keep 18-The Nightfort, Large fortress that protects the Southern border of the North 19-Balmar, Large Human city built onto the lakes 20-Alcove, Large Human town built in large clearing in the woods 21-Fieldfire Castle, Damaged castle built on the site of a great battle 22-Goldside, medium Human mining town 23-Mountmend, Large Human mining and trading city 24-Oxhost, Small Human town 25-Oxforth, Human town 26-Rivermot, Human city with a lot of damaged and ruins 27-Cetari, Centaur stronghold and holy site 28-Vaes Dor, Elvish ruins of a large city 29-Halgen, Small Human city 30-Estford, Human town 31-Forpass, Small Human town 32-Northshore, Very small Human town 33-Winthaven, Medium Human city 34-Stormarch, Small Human city 35-Bleakmount, Large Human town 36-Winter's Edge, Large Human city that acts as the capital in the North, very fortified 37-Snowmelt, Small Human town 38-Craghar, Human town 39-Briewind, Human town 40-Erast, Medium Human city 41-Ecrin, Large Human city 42-Clayton, Large Human town 43-Oakmore Castle, Small but very fortified castle 44-Southgate, Human town 45-Midmount, Large Human town 46-Oakheart, Large Human city 47-Zeffari, Large Human city, acts as capital in the South 48-Baredale, Medium Human town 49-Westwend, Large Human city 50-Ruins of Andlis-Harh, Ancient Elvish capital destroyed hundreds of years ago 51-Oldtown, Supporting town to Andlis-Harh, now Human town 52-Andrie, Once independent Human isle that now submits to rule 53-Red Heart, small Human town 54-Tydespire Castle, Small Human castle 55-Tarrin, Large Human trading city 56-Pavv, Large Human city 57-Littlehill, Medium Human town 58-Three Fingers, Large Human fishing and trading town 59-Thornwood Fortress, Very large fortress and prison, acts as the main prison for the continent 60-Northforge, One of the dwarven cities and mines, is open to trade/diplomacy 61-Southforge, The other dwarven city, closed its gates many years ago and silent since 62-Nuxvar, Large Human trading city, home to the largest naval force 63-Sudhere, Small Human coast town 64-Rinas Mal, Elvish ruins of a fort and town 65-Tris Dorne, Elvish ruins of a large town 66-Rias-Dori, Main home on the continent of the Tarfen, a minotaur like race. Many were brought to the continent by slavers and traders. 67-Wydwin, Small Human town.