Valley of Martyrs (The Lepoean Crossing)

Military: Battle

As the Rhine marched south toward the the border of Silesia at breakneck speed General Marcus Vedici and his vanguard company of Cosa Sicuri mercenaries charge to take position across the valley from their bitter rivals from Metra. As the battle begun, an ambush as the conscripted Leponese and Lower Rhine soldiers crossed the river in what is now known as the Valley of Martyrs caught the Rhine slave-drivers off guard and in the minutes of terror, many of the Leponese who had only been on the march for a week since the conquest of Lepo by the Rhine were slaughtered. During the slaughter fell a friend of Oliver de Lepo, the man who would eventually become the right hand of the General. This death would impact Oliver for the rest of his life.

Oliver de Lepo was confronted by the murderer of his friend, Otto Verner, as he fled as well. Otto had murdered Rion as part of an effort to keep the poorly-armed Leponese from breaking ranks and fleeing for their lives. Otto had been blessed by the Fruit of the Moon, a supernatural power originating from an Upper Rhine mountain that was inhabited by a cult of monks, the power could enable the person to perform many extraordinary deeds at the cost, eventually, of their life, sanity, and soul. Oliver stood fast and prepared to receive a lethal slash from the man. Only when the blade of light that was descending upon him was inches from contact, it shattered like glass against pavement. The shards struck and embedded themselves into Otto. He eventually he dropped to his knees, abdomen and chest covered with blood. He perished as he lived, brutally. The massive explosion and the abnormal death of one of the Rhine's fiercest warriors caused a massive swell in fear amongst both soldier and conscript, the ranks of the Rhine shattering in two.   Marcus Vedici, thousands of meters from the explosion, watched as the Silesian General Ilyo Vander fell from his horse, struck by Rhine artillery as the rest of his contingent continued onward to break the back of the Rhine amidst the chaos. Marcus rallied his soldiers and abandoned their post at the crossing, charging to the left flank as the Rhine mounted cavalry fired into the right. With a deft tactical maneuver and skilled artillerymen Vedici was able to reset their firing line and support the Silesian Charge. The Leponese appeared to have rallied some fighters and turned back, taking potshots and easy coup de graces against their captors. This action was probably what saved De Lepo and his fellow city-dwellers as the momentum of war covered their initial forced allegiance.   As the battle waned Marcus Vedici eventually was able to ambush and capture Oliver de Lepo and the rest of his counterparts as they fled south into territory de facto controlled by the Cosa Sicuri. From here, Oliver and Marcus were able to discuss what had been seen by the Leponese and what the C.S. had uncovered in their espionage. Oliver signed on as a aide de camp under Vedici a few days later after promises of the return of the Leponese to Lepo after it had been freed from the now-retreating and slightly-terrified Rhine.   It would be a few more years before the effects of the battle really matured in Oliver but nonetheless Marcus needed to know what was going on and Oliver was the only lead they had left.