War of the Woods - Turn 1 Aftermath

The conflict within the Dusk woods continues to heat up as the forces clash in small skirmishes while the leaders contemplate their next move. Gharatroz the Untouchable continues his raids upon the Riverwatch outpost, drawing the ire of the war council of Avelorn. Mara the Oracle of Avelorn can wait no longer and musters a task force to put the beastlord's name to the test. A dangerous tactic to play considering the terrifying toll that this foul creature has caused upon her forces already but backed by several trustworthy leaders and warbands, there is confidence that they can bring down the beast and deal a blow to the chaos warherd's morale. Her scouts have reported that Doomshank port stands nearly empty and devoid of defenders; most likely the majority of the forces stationed there have been called out with the four-horned beastlord's raiding parties. If they could deal a decisive victory against him, they could drive the entire army into a rout and sack the port with their momentum. Visions of a great burning fortress flash in her mind as the generals call for her attention: several war parties sworn to the warherds had been spotted and the alliance of Avelorn had begun the pursuit. This was their moment.
The mighty beastlord towered over many of the orruks that charged beside him. They were odd war companions for him; he had not met many that would fight with the same fervour and ferocity as his own warherd. More peculiar was the fact that while even his beastmen suffered from the trials of war at times, they orruks seemingly enjoyed the battle regardless of the outcome. He pondered over how he would deal with such opponents in the future, but for now, they were an invaluable force to him. Juxtaposed beside them were several legions of undead; a token force sent by Lady Katalina Valencourt. They were deathly silent but followed the commands of the great beastlord unerringly, something that gave him a sense of unease.
The dusk raids upon the Khornate encampment was a devastating success. Gharatroz did not know why the Khorne warriors had pledged their aid towards the knife-ears, but it mattered not for he did not care for the details. The green-skins made quick work in butchering their camp, snuffing out the majority before the alarm could be sounded. Among the chaos warriors, giant vermin warriors also encamped there and while their strange machinery made for an impressive display of force, they too were cut down quickly by the overwhelming numbers of orruks and beastmen.
Warhorns bellow in the morning sky as orange rays of daylight try to pierce the incessant umbra of the dusk woods. The third moon rose high into the sky with it came the morning shadow-rainfall; it was time for his forces to retreat back and await the enemy counter push. He signalled for his herds to pull back as well as roaring to the orruk chieftains to also rein in their troops; anyone left behind would surely be slaughtered for naught. The enemies would soon be in pursuit and they needed time set up the ambush. But as his forces turn, the warhorns are cut short and replaced by the sounds of panpipes and distant claps of thunder. Gutteral bleats of terror rise from the ranks as stormcast paladins burst through the woods wielding hammers blasting away enemies into piles of ash. A storm of arrows rain down upon the beastlord's location as the sisters of the watch let loose their volleys along with a barrage of artillery ballista fire directed by Lord Ordinator Lyonidaes Ven Clyeff.
Even in the gloom of the woods, one could not miss the shining shield wall of the phoenix guards with their glinting spears at the ready. Amongst the aelves of Avelorn, stood also the aelves of Taer Gyran, ready to lay down their lives to aid their brethren. The orruks amongst the warherd see this line as an open invitation as well as a good chance for a scrap and charge head first at the battle line despite the catastrophic results. Gharatroz watches as the chaos unfolds as if in an instant. He begins to back away, cutting his way through several enemy warriors when he deftly dodges away from a bolt of energy launched from above.
The oracle of Avelorn fluttered down on resplendant wings, energy crackling in her hands and fury in her bright emerald eyes. As his force crumbles around him he looks up towards this aelf and grinds his teeth. Of all the enemies that the beastlord had faced in his past, for the first time, he felt unable to win this fight. Not willing to fall here and be of no use to his sister, he takes his great axe and whirls it around him with all of his might, cutting down several trees with his swings and sending them collapsing around him. Mara is forced to fly further away to avoid being crushed and that was enough for Gharatoz to make his escape. Grabbing several gors with him and then tossing them aside as he saw fit, he fled the battlefield with his life. But in the back of his mind, the thought that motivated him most was how beautiful those emerald aelf eyes would look dangling from his sisters staff.
The battle raged on well into the afternoon and by then the warherd forces had routed and scattered, leaving and open path to Doomshank Port. The alliance took the port with ease as there was little to no resistance left. While the port itself was likely worthless from their point of view, it did open up avenues of attack for the next part of the campaign. Mara let her companions rest for now though, knowing that the next advances could be the death knell for the warherds or spell disaster for the alliance.
A Close Victory for the Alliance of Avelorn!
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Further upstream the Shadeflow River, the rumblings of war were only beginning as the Avelorn Alliance continued their preparation for their assault on the Bristlefort. The device that they had created was not unlike a cannon, but the scope of its power was of a greater magnitude. Channeling in arcane powers from various sources, it would be able to pierce any structure and likely destroy the target city in its entirety if not held in check properly. The creation of this device had taken several weeks of preparation and would all be for one shot at breaking the stronghold of the warherd vanguard. While built in secret, the funneling of power into this weapon has surely drew the attention of any magically inclined individual from leagues around.
The vampire Lord Konrad of House Ashe drifted listlessly near the artefact. He was a keystone piece of this weapon's activation as only he and four others had the mental fortitude to command such a magically suffused device. For lesser beings to wield it would shred their mind apart; no, it was only the steeled mind of the vampire lord that could contain the stress and destructive power. Yet, despite the catastrophic power contained within, he couldn't help but wonder about his tenuous allegiance to the Aelves of Avelorn. He had his own agenda and reason for siding with them, but with such a power within his grasps his avaricious mind entertains the thought of perhaps taking the power for his own....
His thoughts are broken though by the slow and lumbering march of undead. With his own forces standing at attention around him, he curses at the thought of a rival force attempting to assert themselves in his presence; it was insulting and not a sleight he would leave unanswered. With a shouted order, his legions advance in lockstep towards the approaching battle lines. Skeletal warriors clashed soon after and a slow war of attrition broke out as ranks of warriors fell and rose over and over. Lord Konrad thought the din of battle music to his ears until warcries in the flanks gave him doubt. The thunderous charge of blood knights decimated his battle lines and trampled his followers into piles of dust. In the distance, he could see not one but two vampire lords leading the assault, Lady Katarina Valencourt in her monstrous form and Lady Beauvoir atop her bloody palanquin, an unholy union of two powerful vampire houses.
Lady Valencourt wastes no time on the chaff, brushing them aside with her horrifying body. She reaches forth and snaps the chains binding the artefact to the altar. The power channeling through it wanes quickly; with the circuit of arcane force broken the artefact loses a large portion of its power but still retains enough to still be a fearsome object of might. "So this is what have been planning? Amusing." she laughs as she hoists the seemingly amorphous orb in her claws. Her blood knights continue to crush all beneath them and lay waste to any who dare stand before them. Looking around, Lord Konrad had already fled the battle, knowing fully well that no victory could be gained from staying here; far better to recuperate and plan the next scheme.
Major victory for the warherds!

Included under Conflict

War of the Woods Campaign Overview

Conflict Type

Military Campaign