Battle of Red Lake
Rise of the 14th Lord
What was meant to be a battle between the forces of freedom and the forces of order swirled out of control, killing powerful commanders, opening power vacuums throughout Eregoth, and heralding the return of a long forgotten Lord.
The Conflict
Prelude
Heros from all across Eregoth were recruited to fight for the Tri-Lord Alliance against House Oakenshield after Emril was lost to Oakenshield forces. As Oakenshield prepared to march, Lord Fenheart sent these heros to recruit nearby orcish tribes and modify the battlefield to better suit their purposes.
Deployment
The main body of Fenheart's forces remained at Aynor for the first part of the battle, prepared to respond as needed to difficulties that may have arisen. The Dulithir Regulars marched eastward towards Aynor, attempting to protect the refugees from the destruction of Emril. Near to half of the ground forces moved with Commander Vint to Kenelly to destroy the bridge and hold the river. The sailors went out onto Red Lake with Commander Thrask, while a small portion of warriors moved to Hawthorne with Commander Darius to set up a field headquarters.
Lord Oakenshield divided his forces into four parts. A portion drove southward with Commander Redbraid to try to ford the river at Kenelly, while the Silver Shields attempted the same further to the north. The Yuan-ti swept into the Keep of the 14th Lord from their caves below, fortifying it as a fallback position and a staging ground for their later assault to the south. The main body of Oakenshield's forces marched eastward, attempting to overtake the Dulithir Regulars.
Conditions
Though chilly in the late autumn air, the skies were mostly clear throughout the battle itself. At the very end of the conflict, however, the skies were shrouded by dark clouds that rained corrosive blood, heralding the coming of the 14th Lord.
The Engagement
While Redbraid's forces were held off at Kenelly by Commander Vint, the Orcish Tribes joined the Tri-Lord Alliance and hammered Redbraid from the north, driving him southward to ford the river west of Wakefield. Little did he know that Commander Skellexi had laid a series of powerful traps throughout Wakefield, preparing for exactly this event. Commander Vint cannibalized the village of Kenelly to make fortifications along the river to protect his men in the meantime.
The Silver Shields managed to ford Kenelly River and surge eastward, where they linked up with the Yuan-ti forces flooding out of their caves to the north. They moved on Hawthorne, a powerful Yuan-ti illusionist slaying Commander Darius in the guise of Lord Fenheart. They then laid seige to Hawthorne, forcing Lord Fenheart to ride with the remainder of his forces to Hawthorne to face them directly.
Lord Oakenshield's main force, accompanied by Lord Oakenshield himself, was given a Mass Haste spell by an artifact he had secretly stowed away, overtaking the Dulithir Regulars and the refugees, decimating them entirely. They then took a high hill northwest of Aynor, setting up three trebuchets to rain fire down upon Aynor.
Commander Redbraid was harried into Commander Skellexi's trap, fired upon by a combination of Commander Thrask's forces from the lake and Skellexi's archers from the north, forced into the boobytrapped meat grinder that once was Wakefield. Wakefield was utterly destroyed, Redbraid slain, and none of Redbraid's forces survived.
The Silver Shields and Yuan-ti were eventually repelled by Lord Fenheart's forces, allowing Lord Fenheart to retake Hawthorne and forcing a full retreat of the Silver Shield forces. The Yuan-ti returned to their caverns, hiding in the Underdark to recover.
Skirmishers were sent to deal with the Trebuchets, and managed to collapse one of them, but by then the city of Aynor had been completely destroyed.
The blood running into Red Lake in such copious amounts awakened Lord Sozkeden Valkar, the 14th Lord, from his slumber at the bottom of the lake and provided him with the strength to break free from his dimensional shackles. He rose from the lake, draining Commander Thrask and all his sailors of blood. He then took to the battlefield, flying to Hawthorne where he charmed Quethon Abot Jayvos to serve him. From there he flew to Lord Oakenshield, draining him of blood and taking up the Rod of the Burning Lash. From there he turned Quethon Abot Jayvos into a vampire in service to him, branded Lord Fenheart with the Rod, demoted him to the rank of knight, and retook his ancestral lands.
Outcome
Aynor is destroyed, Lord Oakenshield dead, and Lord Fenheart reduced to a simple Sir. The 14th Lord is risen, retaking his ancestral lands with a vampiric golden dragon at his back. The darkest age in Eregoth's history has only just begun.
Aftermath
The Circle of Light has divided the remaining heroes recruited by Lord Fenheart throughout Eregoth with hopes of stopping the 14th Lord before he becomes too powerful. Sir Fenheart is missing, as are his living commanders. The 14th Lord has retreated to Kendal Keep with Jayvos to gather his power and plan for the future.
In the meantime, Eregoth has been thrown into chaos. Without a King to unify the realm, the Tri-Lord Alliance and the forces aligned behind House Oakenshield have collapsed into their component parts. Eregoth has become an every-House-for-itself land of political turmoil. Historical alliances have been utterly forgotten as old Houses are overthrown, the new seek to fill the power vacuum, and family ties are tested to the maximum. Alliances forged in the coming age could last generations or only a day, depending on the actions of the powerful players during this time.
Included under Conflict
Included Conflicts
Conflict Type
Battle
Battlefield Type
Land
Start Date
16th Day of Morgion, 1944
Ending Date
23rd Day of Morgion, 1944
Conflict Result
Eregoth in Chaos
Location
Maps
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The Battle of Red Lake
The Battlefield used during the Battle of Red Lake
Belligerents
The Tri-Lord Alliance
Led by
Strength
Dulithir Regulars: 1000 Light Infantry, 250 Light Cavalry
Fenheart Troops: 500 Light Infantry, 200 Heavy Infantry, 100 Ranged Infantry, 100 Light Cavalry, 50 Heavy Cavalry, 200 Sailors
Commanders: Lord Sylas Fenheart, Commander Lumyar Darius, Commander Kroglag Skellexi, Commander Geoffrey Thrask, Commander Robert Vint, Quethon Abot Jayvos
Casualties
Dulithir Regulars: 1000 Light Infantry, 250 Light Cavalry
Fenheart Troops: 246 Light Infantry, 42 Heavy Infantry, 64 Light Cavalry, 19 Heavy Cavalry, 200 Sailors
Commanders: Commander Lumyar Darius, Commander Geoffrey Thrask, Quethon Abot Jayvos
Objectives
Stop the Oakenshield forces from reaching Aynor & Kill Lord Oakenshield
Strength
House Oakenshield Forces: 4000 Slave Infantry, 1000 Light Infantry, 50 Divine Infantry, 200 Light Cavalry
The Silver Shields: 100 Elite Heavy Infantry, 10 Arcane Artillery
Yuan-Ti: 300 Light Infantry, 100 Illusionists, 30 Abominations
House Beaufort Forces: 500 Light Infantry, 500 Light Cavalry, 500 Heavy Cavalry
House Valen Maru Forces: 200 Goliath Tribal Warriors
House Medici Forces: 500 Light Infantry
House Inmar Forces: 800 Light Infantry, 400 Ranged Infantry
House Blake Forces: 600 Light Infantry, 300 Ranged Infantry
Commanders: Lord Farin Oakenshield, Commander Varrus Redbraid
Casualties
House Oakenshield Forces: 2045 Slave Infantry, 525 Light Infantry, 36 Divine Infantry, 77 Light Cavalry
The Silver Shields: 63 Elite Heavy Infantry, 10 Arcane Artillery
Yuan-Ti: 186 Light Infantry, 63 Illusionists, 8 Abominations
House Beaufort Forces: 489 Light Infantry, 121 Light Cavalry, 140 Heavy Cavalry
House Valen Maru Forces: 74 Goliath Tribal Warriors
House Medici Forces: 154 Light Infantry
House Inmar Forces: 402 Light Infantry, 92 Ranged Infantry
House Blake Forces: 164 Light Infantry, 34 Ranged Infantry
Commanders: Lord Farin Oakenshield, Commander Varrus Redbraid
Objectives
Take Aynor & Capture Lord Fenheart
Strength
1 Dread Vampire Lord
Casualties
None
Objectives
Retake Ancestral Lands
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