Hundred Martyrs Memorial

Courageous in life, mythical in death

Cover by Daniel Case - own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=32215714

The Hundred Martyrs Memorial is a large obelisk built in the center of sacred forest on the island of Pakani. The memorial is for the one hundred loyalists who were killed in action during the Defense of Pakani.

Purpose / Function

To brotherhood and death! The Fatherland or the Grave! FOR THE FATHERLAND! DEATH!

– Olivia, Oracle of Pakani, leading the charge of the Great Hundred

The memorial and surrounding cemetery was built to commemorate those that were killed in action during the Defense of Pakani. There are actually a grand hundred (120) soldiers buried here, and it is in the center of the larger Desolation Heroes' Cemetery.

Architecture

Grey clouds hang over the black marble slabs surrounding the towering white obelisk engraved with names.

– Anonymous poet

The monument is made out of engraved black and white marble quarried from the mountains nearby. At its outer edge (purple in map), there are grey marble gravestones ordered by unit and rank and adorned with flowers at all times of the year. Then, proceeding down one of the grey footpaths towards the top of the hill, there is a sign with the name of the cemetery and the words: "Here lie the heroes of the Pakani Revolt, may they know peace as they delivered us."
Next, moving up the one hundred and twenty stairsteps to the top of the memorial, there are four black marble pavilions (red). These pavilions each have thirty names engraved on their inside, with a kneeling statue of a rebel commander in front of it. Then, we can journey to the top of the monument, where we observe a towering white obelisk, reading "Courage, Honor, Sacrifice".

History

Battle of Pinae Tais by ElementalShrike

During the larger Battle of Pakani, the third wing of the invading army of Ravana, Bandit Commander moved under orders to outflank the strong defenses on the Leylan Heights.

During the larger Defense of Pakani, most allied casualties (75) occurred in the smaller Battle of Pinae Tais compared to the trench warfare in the east. The battle occurred when a large flanking force of five hundred rebels was discovered by a small patrol of scouts, which were able to get the message to Olivia, Oracle of Pakani.
Olivia gathered what troops she could, which numbered about sixty plus forty others that had come from the city to give a report. She then charged the enemy twice despite her inferior numbers, giving them no time to get into phalanx formation and inflicting severe casualties. However, the unaffected right wing of the enemy, itself one hundred strong, flanked Olivia's forces.
Olivia, wanting to boost the morale of her embattled troops, drew her bow and fired at the enemy commander, hitting him in the neck and chest. Her forces, reinvigorated, formed a defensive arc directly outside the forest, firing longbows into the distance and spearing any who came close. Her numbers were now cut to barely sixty, and it seemed like all hope was lost when she fell to an arrow to the heart.
Then, out of nowhere, forty Pakani guards, commanded by Elder Kakalina Hang, charged out of the forest, hitting the right wing of the enemy from behind. The enemy forces were confused, throwing the entire enemy offensive into disarray. The unit then smashed into the main enemy force, which met them with a hail of arrows. Each soldier sold his life dearly, with Elder Hang slaying enemies first with sword, then with axe, then with knife. The enemies were able to repel this desperate assault, but by now their whole force had only sixty men in fighting shape, with their commander dead and lieutenant wounded. After the arrival of seemingly yet more troops from the west, they decided to surrender, dooming the assault on Pakani.
Elder Mui visited the battleground after the war, where three of Pakani's most venerated elders were killed. He commissioned the building of the Hundred Martyrs Memorial next to the city capitol, where these soldiers would be able to rest in peace.

Hundred Martyrs Memorial by ElementalShrike

Purple outer border represents graves, red represents the pavillions with names, silver represents footpaths, and blue represents the actual obelisk.

Alternative Names

Hundred Heroes Memorial, Hundred Martyrs Cemetery

Type

Cemetery

Parent Location

Pakani Island

Owning Organization

Free City of Pagka