The Meropian War
The most remarkable part of Merope's history, the Mind Flayer Invasion was an event that would forever change the land and transform it into Thauzuassk.
The Mind Flayer Invasion happened suddenly, and without warning. The people of Merope had no idea how to fight such a battle. How do you defeat an enemy that descends upon your fortresses and sieges them from the air?
The Meropian War encompasses several battles fought from 1 AK to 1 AB between the native denizens of Merope and the extradimensional invaders known as the mind flayers. While there are many skirmishes that make up the Meropian War, there are a few battles that are key- the Invasion of Falstaff and the Siege of Charmote's Egg.
The Conflict
Prelude
Early one morning, lookouts at the Meropian kingdom's capital of Falstaff spotted what looked like a large black blot in the sky. Over the course of the morning, the number of black dots hovering just above the clouds grew and grew, until about noon when they descended upon the city. What must have been at least 30 nautiloids came down, dispatching armies of thralls, aberrant constructs, and mind flayers to overwhelm the guards of the city. Confused and panicked, the defenses of the city quickly fell, and within the hour the royal family was captured.
Deployment
In response to the royal family and capital of Merope falling, the lords of Merope banded together quickly to try and liberate the city. Over the next couple months, the various houses of Merope sent messengers around, attempting to spread word that they must unite to defeat these alien invaders. The nautiloids of the mind flayers were far faster than letters on horseback, and many nobles were defeated before being able to even get word.
Thanks to magical messaging systems, several Meropian lords were successful in rallying their forces, although they had to abandon their cities in order to not be destroyed by the hunting illithid forces. The surviving Meropian armies would gather in the Forest of Kendall, where they enlisted the help of the less savoury people of Merope to aid them- the orcs, the goblins, and the fey that called Kendall their home. With the situation appearing dire, the goblin warbands and orc tribes united with what remained of the Meropian forces, and prepared themselves to fight the Mind Flayers.
Another few months would pass as the forces rallied at Kendall would send out messengers to attempt to elicit the aid of any other natives of Merope, including the lizardfolk, goliaths, tritons and more. Many would respond, but for others it was too late- the mind flayers had gotten to them first.
Battlefield
The inciting skirmish of the Meropian War occurred over and within the confined of Falstaff's walls. It was a largely urban conflict, although difficult to classify as a siege because of how many siege-based defenses were completely bypassed.
The following battles that occurred were also largely urban, since nautiloids would basically just hover overtop the castles of their enemies and drop troops onto them.
The final battle would begin on the hill known as Charmote's Egg, which overlooked the city of Falstaff. Over the course of the battle, it would transition into a siege within the walls of Falstaff.
Conditions
During the invasion of Falstaff, the weather was clear, wind minimal, but partially cloudy. The city itself was quite easy to navigate for both sides of the battle, since the residents of Falstaff took great care in maintaining the city.
The skirmishes across Merope happened in a variety of environments and weather.
The Siege from Charmote's Egg happened on a dark and cloudy day, which picked up into a thunderstorm during the evening. This was ideal for the Meropian forces, which were counting on such conditions to minimize the effectiveness of the mind flayers' nautiloids.
The Engagement
When the Meropian horns sounded, they charged down the hill and across the fields until they arrived at the gates of Falstaff. Swords, staffs, and bows alike decimated what patrols the mind flayers had put around the city's walls. The mind flayers had not been expecting a siege, and so they did not operate the city gates. This inspired great confidence in the Meropian forces, since there wasn't anything to stop them from getting their forces into the city proper. The illithids mobilized several nautiloids in response, but as the thunderstorm began to rage, lightning bolts struck 3 of them out of the sky. The remaining nautiloids were forced to retreat into the atmosphere to prevent further damage.
For a while, the outcome was looking good for the Meropian forces. They managed to push through the outer regions of the city, and even rescue several members of the royal family that were being held hostage. Unfortunately, the Meropian advance was quickly halted when they reached the inner wall surrounding the keep, where the mind flayers were evacuating into their nautiloids. The Meropians managed to batter the gate open and get inside, but by then it was too late.
This was the turning point of the battle. While the mind flayers that had evacuated to their nautiloids could not safely take off in the thunderstorm, they were safe while cowering aboard their vessels. The attacking forces lacked the siege engines required to damage the ships, and so the mind flayers were able to simply wait out the storm while preventing themselves from being boarded. The storm would dissipate just before dawn of the next day, and all at once the nautiloids lifted off and began to pelt the troops below with arrows, crossbow bolts, and other missiles. As the sun began to rise, a new, massive illithid spelljammer crawled through a portal to the astral plane- a dreadnought. Equipped with a psionic cannon, the terrifying illithid ship fired a single blast upon the city. The psychic energy of the weapon was immense, slaying hundreds of the Meropians at once. Dazed from the sudden explosions, the Meropian forces were once again thrown into confusion as the mind flayer forces flooded back out of their ships and through the city, forcing the remaining Meropians to retreat and escape the city. Many more of their men were routed during this time, and the survivors of the bloody battle were but a tiny fraction of those who had entered.
With only a sliver of the Meropian resistance army left, the mind flayers were able to crush them over the following month in a variety of pathetically one-sided battles.
Conflict Type
War
Battlefield Type
Urban
Start Date
1 AK
Ending Date
1 AB
Conflict Result
The illithids emerged victorious, conquering Merope
Belligerents
The Meropian Resistance Army
Strength
Casualties
Objectives
To conquer Merope and its inhabitants
To defend all people of Merope from the mind flayers
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