Battle of Agora Hills

It was the battle at Agora Hills which cemented our destiny, and set our path for ages yet to come. I find myself unable to truly weep for the fallen, for few of them truly deserved death - there had to be a better way.

— Sage Kirilan of Myrisia

The Battle of Agora Hills was one of the points in early Imperial history which defined not only the Imperium, but the rest of the continent's path for centuries later. The armies of the Imperium clashed with wielders of arcane magic from the east, intending to crush them and add those lands to the Empire. However, they vastly underestimated the strength of the opposition, as well as the adaptability of arcane magic to purely combat roles. After the battle, the lands which of both Myrisian and Zurithan people stood independent. Seeing the powerful impact of arcane magic, the Imperium outlawed the study arcane magic. This ban would stand for many generations, until a later emperor would rethink the edict and instead focus more on loosely regulating it.

The Conflict

Prelude

Emperor Laurent Rhyliss had been steadily advancing the borders eastward for almost a decade at this point, while those who objected were forced steadily back at each advance. Each advance was punctuated by dismantling temples devoted to "heathen gods" who were outside the Rhyliss Pantheon, and destroying any knowledge of these sects which were left behind. General Helen Varstena led this procedure, thoroughly sweeping through the regions her forces conquered and putting any resistance to the sword. Amidst the forests and mountains of the eastern reaches were several small groups of arcane practitioners who were mostly self-taught, insular, and prone to distrusting any outsiders. The refugee situation, however, was putting a great amount of pressure on them to adapt our make a stand. One of these groups, calling themselves the Arcane Fist, chose to make a stand.

By now, General Varstena had grown quite arrogant about her forces' prowess through the continued victories against unprepared and under-equipped opponents. When the Arcane Fist dispatched a messenger to demand she halt her advance, she laughed and had them killed as a message: there would not be peace other than on her terms, which was a complete surrender. On discovering the messenger's body, the Arcane Fist chose instead to use this as a significant motivator to the other groups of arcanists - the Legion would not be swayed, and could not be reasoned with. They must, instead, be crushed. The Arcane Fist followed this by finding all the groups willing to deal with them and delivering their secrets so there might be more than a small force of arcanists ready to fight.

The Arcane Fist had developed magic specifically as an offensive force, tapping into elemental energies, harnessing them to great effect against opponents. These spells were capable of either focusing magic into a single target or spreading it out over a wide area with a slightly lesser effect. It took a few weeks to arrange this, during which the Legion had begun concentrating its forces for a push through a region known as the Agora Hills. This was where the battle would happen, and only one side would be victorious.

Outcome

As a result of the battle, the Imperium withdrew its armies back into the Scapen Hills while the arcanists quickly spread the secrets of "battle magic" through their fellows. A second, lesser, battle was fought weeks later and solidified the extent of the Imperial power at that point in time. Almost immediately as news trickled back to the Empire's cities, those who practiced arcane magic either were victims of mob justice or were able to flee to a place they could be safe.

Aftermath

Within the year, the remnants of the Imperial Legion were replenished and training began to spread teachings on how to combat battle magic. Interviews and discussions with those who survived the battlefield led to a number of realizations and strategies to avoid granting the same sort of advantages as at Agora Hills. Emperor Laurent Rhyliss issued a proclamation outlawing practice of arcane magic within the borders of the Empire, as well as imposing punishment on the governors who allowed the mob violence earlier in the year. The border was stabilized roughly two days from the battle site, with the line following natural boundaries north and south across the continent, and a treaty was written out which prohibited either Myrisia or the Empire from expanding across the "Helenic Line".

Historical Significance

Legacy

There are a number of things springing from this battle and its outcome, some of which are very clear and others which are less simple. As a result of the battle and the aftermath, arcane practitioners are not entirely welcome in the Empire. Even many centuries afterwards, there is a bias against them which became ingrained into the cultures throughout the Imperium which is hard to shake. In recent generations, this has dulled down to merely an initial distrust which can be overcome over time, and curiosity of how to use arcane magic productively led to the formation of the Imperial Arcanists as well as studies on how to apply arcane enhancements to various aspects of everyday living. It bears noting there is no such stigma for divine magic, though even that has a small kernel of distrust in the cultural bias; it's not often easy to tell the difference between the two for the common person.

Myrisia soon divided into two factions, one of them wanting to develop and pursue making battle magic safer to use on the battlefield for precision strikes. Zuri, the leader of the Arcane Fist, chose to take those who wished to further these studies into an organization which would become known as "Zurithan's Hammer", while Myrisia resumed studies on more circumspect aspects of arcane magic. Today, many specialized battle magic spells bear the names of notable Zurithan wizards as a testament to those who shaped the craft in the past.

More interestingly the "Helenic Line" which was the very uncertain boundary between the two realms became the name of a region devoted to recovering the lost divine lore. Such is a certain irony the name of such a destroyer of those ancient sects is attached to a land which now is mildly obsessed with recovering and honoring the very thing she tried to wipe out. With this said, many divine beings who were forgotten in the intervening centuries have faded beyond obscurity into oblivion and become supplanted by much more sinister beings seeking to gain more power through deception and misdirection.

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Table of Contents

1. Prelude
2. Outcome
3. Aftermath
4. Legacy

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Conflict Type

Battle

Belligerents

Order of the Arcane Fist

Imperial Legion

Strength

Arcane Warcasters
Warriors of the Fist
Priests of the Eternal Flame

Four Legions
Order of Thienne

Casualties

Most of the Warriors of the Fist perished, along with a significant portion of the Warcasters. The Priests were a favored target, and thus were completely wiped out before the Legion was forced to withdraw.

70% of the Legion's forces were outright killed while another 10% were injured so gravely they could not fight again.

Objectives

Primary: Force the Imperial Legion to withdraw.
Secondary: Secure the battlefield after the battle.

Primary: Kill all opposing combatants.
Secondary: Hold the battlefield afterwards.