The Battle of Castle Hyperios
The Battle of Castle Hyperios is the sister battle of The Battle of Brox Crossing, the two major, and only, battles of the Third Virnosian War.
Orchestrated by ex-Atresan Lord Thannor and mage Lindra Thalsor as revenge against Guild Hyperios the battle turned out to be a huge boon for Atresa despite being the invaded party.
The Conflict
Prelude
After losing the election Lord Thannor fled to Virnos, coming to some sort of agreement with the Grand Magus. The agreement granted him nearly a third of the Virnosian military. The general gist from the Virnosian side was that an victory would be attributed to the Virnosian's, and a failure to the "crazed" Lord Thannor. In reality it was all a pretext by Lord Thannor's right-hand-woman to get revenge on Guild Hyperios. So when the invasion began half of the Virnosian force headed straight for Atresa proper to keep the main Atresan army distracted, while the rest of it marched on Castle Hyperios. At the same time Hyperios had somehow managed to marshal a small force of about 25 defenders.
Deployment
The Virnosian Army arrived the day before the battle and set up camp, in no particular hurry to begin until they were properly entrenched and prepped for bombardment. They set up approximately 25 gunpowder long-range artillery, 5 gatling guns, 10 gunpowder short-range artillery, and 10 arcane-cannons. All with the aim of taking down most of the castle before the army even approached it properly.
This was good because after a (brief) parley between Lord Thannor, Guildmaster Arnell Blackstone, and their subordinates ended the castle rose a good twenty feet up on a created hillside and surrounded itself in 10 foot long, 6 foot deep, trenches. Trenches filled with ancient but still sharp spikes. Apparently the castle was filled with Elven magic and Dwarven engineering
Battlefield
The area around Castle Hyperios is mostly open plains, road, and some smaller rolling hills.
Conditions
The day of the battle the skies were mostly clear, were it not for the battle it would have been a beautiful summer day.
The Engagement
The day after the failed parley Virnosian artillery brigades began to bombard the castle. They were immediately deterred by the activation of an arcane shield that protected the fortress from bombardment.
Adjusting strategy Lord Thannor ordered the newly-roused conscript militia to set an initial charge against the castle, which failed spectacularly. The Virnosian's adjusted strategy and started to throw heavy infantry, trained line infantry, and event the famed Knights of Virnos at the Castle, incurring heavy casualties on the attackers. However after fierce fighting the defenders of the castle were left exhausted and with losses, leaving the inevitable outcome all too clear.
However, a large contingent of Atresan Army forces led by General Lastimora and Baralas Oakenhollow arrived from the East, having bypassed the Battle of Brox Crossing to beeline for the Castle. The two armies clashed in magnificent fashion and all semblance of military order quickly evaporated as both the Virnosian and Atresan leadership failed to keep ranks and order straight. Units were commanded, at best, on a regimental or company level.
In general several key moments have been recorded. Including members of Guild Hyperios killing the leadership of the Virnosian military and stopping key Virnosian pushes including an attempt to disable the Atresan airships. These pushes allowed the Atresan military to both secure Castle Hyperios from further attack as well as slowly surround the Virnosian army, even if they weren't aware they were doing it.
After Lord Thannor, Lindra Thalsor, and Lambros Sosistas all fell in battle to Guild Hyperios command of Virnosian forces fell to Quinn Cam, the infantry commander. He quickly appraised the situation as bad based on what he had been hearing from his subordinates for the past hour, as well as general lack of conviction in the need for the battle at all. After Thalsor had died the majority of Virnosian forces had surrendered to the Atresans.
Outcome
Combined with the dual defeats of Brox Crossing and Castle Hyperios the Virnosian's had about a third of their military either captured, killed, or on the run. This led to a quickly changing position between the two Fallen Cities as Atresa was suddenly in a position of strength compared to Virnos militarily. Hostilities were quickly ended, making the "war" last less than a fortnight.
Aftermath
Virnos found itself militarily embarrassed and weakened, and faced many internal pressures. The new Primor of Atresa, Tutiro Cam, used the opportunity to send aid and support to Virnos. While not popular with the upper echelons of society it was a huge winner for the tension-weary and trade-loving populace. Within a month the respective power of the two cities had almost completely reversed.
Historical Significance
Legacy
The legacy of the battle is still being debated. Will it be the marking of a new era of peace, or simply the prologue to a longer and bloodier war to come?
Technological Advancement
The Battle of Castle Hyperios and Brox Crossing was the first official use of Tanks, a new Atresan invention. Built as a counter to the increasing technology of Virnos Tanks proved to be vital to the success of the Atresan military. Nothing short of a full on cannon barrage of dedicated efforts by mages could take down a Tank. Even the Knights of Virnos had issues against these new treaded weapons.
Included under Conflict
Conflict Type
Battle
Battlefield Type
Land
Start Date
Summer of 752 2A
Ending Date
Summer of 752 2A
Conflict Result
Tactical and Strategic Atresan Victory
Belligerents
Atresa and Allies
Led by
Virnos
Strength
2500~ Infantry and Line Infantry
500~ Cavalry
100~ Warmages
50~ Battlemages
35~ Torva'Ne Druids
25~ Guild Hyperios Members
10 Tanks
6 Light Airships
2 Heavy Airships
3000~ Infantry
200~ Cavalry
35~ Artillery Pieces
15~ Virnosian Rangers
6 Knights of Virnos
3 Heavy Airships
1 Death Knight
Casualties
600~ Dead
1000~ Wounded
500~ Dead
1200~ Wounded
Remaining Forces Captured
Objectives
Secure Castle Hyperios and Rout the Virnosian Army
Destroy and flatten Castle Hyperios and kill all Guild Hyperios members
