August's Tower
The Fall of August
During the Ascension Wars, many princes attempted to gain the upper hand over their rivals through technological innovation, arcane practices, even divine intervention; and then there was Prince August. Not much is known about August's rulership in times of peace, but that is more than made up for by the many stories of his wartime exploits.
Perhaps the most famous incident was the creation of the world's first known siege tower. August was infamous even at the time for his eccentric ideas concerning military technology, and dozens of self-proclaimed siege engineers had flocked to his court, eager to make their mark on the world. Of these, August selected three to design what he called a "wall-scaling tower." This wheeled tower would allow for an entire company of soldiers to stand inside it while a team of draft horses pulled it adjacent to the enemy wall, at which point a drawvridge at the top of the tower would open, allowing the soldiers to walk across to the top of the wall. The three engineers quickly set to work designing the prototype, and almost as quickly set upon each other in arguement. Neither of the three could agree on even the smallest detail of the design, and the bickering continued for weeks until August gathered them and their teams in his war room and locked the door, declaring that they could only leave once they had produced a working prototype.
After another month of work, August was summoned to the war room and presented with a fully functional scale model of the siege tower, which he immediately approved. He commisioned a full sized tower and put the trio in charge of the construction. Once the tower was finished, August mobilized his army against the nearby city of Fortuna, hoping to use the tower to quickly bypass the city's famously impenetrable walls.
Once the battle started August deployed the tower with a full company of soldiers inside and, despite the protests of his advisors, insisted on joining them in the assault, declaring that he would be the first man to breech Fortuna's walls. As the tower was being moved into position, a well-placed ballista bolt from atop Fortuna's walls broke the front axel of the tower, causing the entire construction to pitch forward and shatter against the bastion. August's body was later discovered hanging from the crenellations, having either leapt or been thrown from the top of the siege tower as it fell.
Bards still tell tales of August, the first man to make it over the walls of Fortuna.
Perhaps the most famous incident was the creation of the world's first known siege tower. August was infamous even at the time for his eccentric ideas concerning military technology, and dozens of self-proclaimed siege engineers had flocked to his court, eager to make their mark on the world. Of these, August selected three to design what he called a "wall-scaling tower." This wheeled tower would allow for an entire company of soldiers to stand inside it while a team of draft horses pulled it adjacent to the enemy wall, at which point a drawvridge at the top of the tower would open, allowing the soldiers to walk across to the top of the wall. The three engineers quickly set to work designing the prototype, and almost as quickly set upon each other in arguement. Neither of the three could agree on even the smallest detail of the design, and the bickering continued for weeks until August gathered them and their teams in his war room and locked the door, declaring that they could only leave once they had produced a working prototype.
After another month of work, August was summoned to the war room and presented with a fully functional scale model of the siege tower, which he immediately approved. He commisioned a full sized tower and put the trio in charge of the construction. Once the tower was finished, August mobilized his army against the nearby city of Fortuna, hoping to use the tower to quickly bypass the city's famously impenetrable walls.
Once the battle started August deployed the tower with a full company of soldiers inside and, despite the protests of his advisors, insisted on joining them in the assault, declaring that he would be the first man to breech Fortuna's walls. As the tower was being moved into position, a well-placed ballista bolt from atop Fortuna's walls broke the front axel of the tower, causing the entire construction to pitch forward and shatter against the bastion. August's body was later discovered hanging from the crenellations, having either leapt or been thrown from the top of the siege tower as it fell.
Bards still tell tales of August, the first man to make it over the walls of Fortuna.
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