High Harvest Slaughter

The High Harvest Slaughter (1st of Eleasis, 1447), was the greatest tragedy of the Reign of Vampires and occurred when the vampiric forces of High Rider Klav Ikaia attacked

The Conflict

Prelude

Following the reveal of High Rider Klav Ikaia as a vampire by High Watcher Naja Bellandi, the Reign of Vampires began. The citizenry of Elturel was thrown into a panic. Many attempted to fight back and were cut down. Others began boarding up their homes or joining their neighbors in more defensible locations.
The followers of Chauntea in Elturel holed up in the High Harvest Temple to pray to their goddess for salvation. For 18 days, the congregation prayed, taking shifts guarding the doors and holding back the hoard of vampires, waiting for salvation.

The Engagement

On the 1st of Eleasis, the vampires managed to break through the temple's hastily constructed barricades. The creatures fell upon the mostly defenseless civilians in a blood-crazed frenzy, killing every last member of the congregation while suffering no losses themselves.

Aftermath

The High Harvest Slaughter was the final and greatest tragedy of the Reign of Vampires before the Companion's appearance over the skies of Elturel. The vampires wanton slaughter effectively ended the worship of Chauntea in Elturel, and for years after the temple was left abandoned.
Years later, the temple was converted into the complex for Elturgard's Imperial Commission, which managed the kingdom's administrations in settlements outside of the capital. While the interior of the building, now called Old High Harvest Home, was heavily altered, the sanctuary where the slaughter took place was preserved as it was and turned into a memorial to the tragedy. The sanctuary was also decorated with hundreds of faceless, ashen-white statues, representing the victims that were killed that terrible day.

Historical Significance

Legacy

While the Reign of Vampires, short-lived as it was, was filled with horrible tragedies, none is more remembered than the High Harvest Slaughter. In public consciousness, the slaughter serves as a synecdoche for the entire conflict and the losses the entire city of Elturel felt during those twenty horrific days.

Included under Conflict

Reign of Vampires

Battlefield Type

Urban

Start Date

1st of Eleasis, 1477

Conflict Result

Annihilation of the entire congregation to Chauntea in Elturel

Location

Elturel