LiT - The Siege of Winterhaven
Many of you seem to be very curious about how many things work in Theria and one of the biggest pool of topics comes from the missing 17 years. So how bout we talk about one of the larger events that happened on the western portion of Theria in those 17 years: The Siege of Winterhaven.
Now before I begin, I want to say that I’m still working on a full timeline for the site and until that’s done I won’t be mentioning specific dates. Don’t worry though, that will be up soon enough. I will also not be giving any spoilers here. This is just to provide insight and give you a better understanding.
In my last article I talked about King Zannon Carter and his rise to power in the groups absence. Shortly after Overdale won the war against the uprising of surrounding towns and hamlets, he changed the name of the town to “The Overwatch”. This was a clear message to everyone that he was not only keeping an eye on his people but on anyone he would deem a threat to his city. With his new warforged army he began to spread his influence to the areas outside of Overwatch. The Evergreen for example, a massive forest that’s home to all manner of elves, dryads, gnomes and several other races. Carter ordered sections of the forest to be clear cut for two reasons. It would give him the massive amount of lumber he would need for the expansion he was planning and it push the border of the elves back further away from the city. The elves had a very distinct way of fighting, they would use their fleet footed nature and thick tree line to their advantage when defending their homeland. In the years of of attempted deforestation by The Overwatch the elves would constantly use their knowledge of the area and their stealth to ambush the cities warforged and human workers. This lasted for nearly 5 years. The Overwatch had to fight for every inch of forest they would take from the elves and the loses started to pile up. Carter needed a quicker and more secure way of cutting down forest area.
Carter got that in The Titans.
The Titans were huge, armored beasts that only existed to destroy. The lumber collected from The Evergreen was tripled in mere months after the production of the first batch of Titans. Lord Daniel Padraig took notice of the elves plight years before but could do very little to help them directly. He still had what many would consider a small military force compared to many cities the size of Winterhaven. Their sturdy walls offered a large amount of protection and they very rarely got into confrontations with the neighboring towns and cities. Warforged patrols would never come so far north as to encroach on Winterhavens borders and Padraig eventually made the decision to aid Brettana Moonshadow and her elves in direct combat. Several battles were waged on the edge of The Evergreen over a period of several weeks. The massive Titans were a dangerous new challenge but with the combination of the elves ambush tactics and Winterhaven’s added numbers, the pair managed to take back a large chunk of ground from The Overwatch and also reduce their army in the area significantly. Feeling confident that The Overwatch would now be forced to leave the forest permanently due to the massive losses, Padraig and his men returned to Winterhaven.
Carter however, would not give up so easily. He decided that it would be far easier to sack Winterhaven and take away any support from the elves then to deal with the two armies at once. Two weeks after their final victory in the Evergreen, Winterhaven came under attack by a large band of Overwatch soldiers. A force of both humans and warforged marched on the city in the middle of a blustery winters night. The bells of the city sounded at the first sight of the attackers and every Winterhaven citizen roused from their sleep. A panic swept through the city as the first fire bombs hit the large wooden walls of Winterhaven and the structure began to burn. The large wooden gate that stood so proudly as the entrance of Winterhaven was taken off it’s hinges as a massive explosive charge, placed by the outside army, tore the gate apart and littered the area with debris. Lord Padraig took every available soldier and headed the Overdale invaders off at the front gate. The two mobs clashed at the entrance in an orgy of violence.
Ian Serverus, who had been living in the city for over six years at this point with Talia, fought side by side with Padraig at the gate. Ian had knowledge of battle fields and his relationship to Talia and previous experience as guard captain made him a natural choice as Daniel’s right hand (so to speak). Ian had become a true member of the Padraig family and a valued member of Winterhaven. In a show of trust, Daniel had Ian stay behind for the two weeks of fighting with the elves to guard Winterhaven in the off chance of attack.
While an attack on Winterhaven would have seemed almost impossible two weeks prior, it was definitely happening now. Padraig had an advantage in the fact that the attackers had to funnel through the gateway and thus narrowed their forces and weakened their attack. However, every moment that they fought, the walls of the city would continue to burn. Everyone who was able bodied fought valiantly at the gate while the rest of the city did what it could to extinguish the walls and catching buildings. Among the many who helped defend Winterhaven that night was Martin Ebelmare, Briahna’s father. He had never been much of a fighter but he could hold a sword and that would have to be good enough. Sadly, in the chaos of the fight, many good men and women were cut down. Daniel, Martin and many more never got to see the sun crest over the distant mountains that morning as the Overwatch horde were finally driven back.
Ian Serverus took up the mantle of Lord and became the reluctant leader of Winterhaven. Construction began immediately of a new set of walls to outline the city. Made of heavy stone this time instead of wood. The walls took almost 3 full years and thousands of man hours to complete . During this incredibly tense period, The Overwatch warforged took up a permanent place in the north and established patrols along the roads. Seemingly satisfied that Winterhaven had been taken out of the equation, Carter left the city alone and focused fully on his deforestation efforts. The attack was the darkest time in the cities history and is a black mark to its people. A monument stands in the cities center honoring all that fell defending the city that fateful night. Every effort has been taken to ensure that nothing like the siege could even happen again to Winterhaven. The city tripled it’s military efforts and almost every young man and woman is encouraged to at the very least be trained with some kind of weapon. Under Ian’s command the city has almost completely withdrawn from the outside world except for the basic necessities like hunting and some local trade.
The return of the group marks a huge threat to Ian’s way of leading his city but could also eventually lead to a sense of true safety that the people of Winterhaven have not felt in years. Only time will tell.
Now before I begin, I want to say that I’m still working on a full timeline for the site and until that’s done I won’t be mentioning specific dates. Don’t worry though, that will be up soon enough. I will also not be giving any spoilers here. This is just to provide insight and give you a better understanding.
In my last article I talked about King Zannon Carter and his rise to power in the groups absence. Shortly after Overdale won the war against the uprising of surrounding towns and hamlets, he changed the name of the town to “The Overwatch”. This was a clear message to everyone that he was not only keeping an eye on his people but on anyone he would deem a threat to his city. With his new warforged army he began to spread his influence to the areas outside of Overwatch. The Evergreen for example, a massive forest that’s home to all manner of elves, dryads, gnomes and several other races. Carter ordered sections of the forest to be clear cut for two reasons. It would give him the massive amount of lumber he would need for the expansion he was planning and it push the border of the elves back further away from the city. The elves had a very distinct way of fighting, they would use their fleet footed nature and thick tree line to their advantage when defending their homeland. In the years of of attempted deforestation by The Overwatch the elves would constantly use their knowledge of the area and their stealth to ambush the cities warforged and human workers. This lasted for nearly 5 years. The Overwatch had to fight for every inch of forest they would take from the elves and the loses started to pile up. Carter needed a quicker and more secure way of cutting down forest area.
Carter got that in The Titans.
The Titans were huge, armored beasts that only existed to destroy. The lumber collected from The Evergreen was tripled in mere months after the production of the first batch of Titans. Lord Daniel Padraig took notice of the elves plight years before but could do very little to help them directly. He still had what many would consider a small military force compared to many cities the size of Winterhaven. Their sturdy walls offered a large amount of protection and they very rarely got into confrontations with the neighboring towns and cities. Warforged patrols would never come so far north as to encroach on Winterhavens borders and Padraig eventually made the decision to aid Brettana Moonshadow and her elves in direct combat. Several battles were waged on the edge of The Evergreen over a period of several weeks. The massive Titans were a dangerous new challenge but with the combination of the elves ambush tactics and Winterhaven’s added numbers, the pair managed to take back a large chunk of ground from The Overwatch and also reduce their army in the area significantly. Feeling confident that The Overwatch would now be forced to leave the forest permanently due to the massive losses, Padraig and his men returned to Winterhaven.
Carter however, would not give up so easily. He decided that it would be far easier to sack Winterhaven and take away any support from the elves then to deal with the two armies at once. Two weeks after their final victory in the Evergreen, Winterhaven came under attack by a large band of Overwatch soldiers. A force of both humans and warforged marched on the city in the middle of a blustery winters night. The bells of the city sounded at the first sight of the attackers and every Winterhaven citizen roused from their sleep. A panic swept through the city as the first fire bombs hit the large wooden walls of Winterhaven and the structure began to burn. The large wooden gate that stood so proudly as the entrance of Winterhaven was taken off it’s hinges as a massive explosive charge, placed by the outside army, tore the gate apart and littered the area with debris. Lord Padraig took every available soldier and headed the Overdale invaders off at the front gate. The two mobs clashed at the entrance in an orgy of violence.
Ian Serverus, who had been living in the city for over six years at this point with Talia, fought side by side with Padraig at the gate. Ian had knowledge of battle fields and his relationship to Talia and previous experience as guard captain made him a natural choice as Daniel’s right hand (so to speak). Ian had become a true member of the Padraig family and a valued member of Winterhaven. In a show of trust, Daniel had Ian stay behind for the two weeks of fighting with the elves to guard Winterhaven in the off chance of attack.
While an attack on Winterhaven would have seemed almost impossible two weeks prior, it was definitely happening now. Padraig had an advantage in the fact that the attackers had to funnel through the gateway and thus narrowed their forces and weakened their attack. However, every moment that they fought, the walls of the city would continue to burn. Everyone who was able bodied fought valiantly at the gate while the rest of the city did what it could to extinguish the walls and catching buildings. Among the many who helped defend Winterhaven that night was Martin Ebelmare, Briahna’s father. He had never been much of a fighter but he could hold a sword and that would have to be good enough. Sadly, in the chaos of the fight, many good men and women were cut down. Daniel, Martin and many more never got to see the sun crest over the distant mountains that morning as the Overwatch horde were finally driven back.
Ian Serverus took up the mantle of Lord and became the reluctant leader of Winterhaven. Construction began immediately of a new set of walls to outline the city. Made of heavy stone this time instead of wood. The walls took almost 3 full years and thousands of man hours to complete . During this incredibly tense period, The Overwatch warforged took up a permanent place in the north and established patrols along the roads. Seemingly satisfied that Winterhaven had been taken out of the equation, Carter left the city alone and focused fully on his deforestation efforts. The attack was the darkest time in the cities history and is a black mark to its people. A monument stands in the cities center honoring all that fell defending the city that fateful night. Every effort has been taken to ensure that nothing like the siege could even happen again to Winterhaven. The city tripled it’s military efforts and almost every young man and woman is encouraged to at the very least be trained with some kind of weapon. Under Ian’s command the city has almost completely withdrawn from the outside world except for the basic necessities like hunting and some local trade.
The return of the group marks a huge threat to Ian’s way of leading his city but could also eventually lead to a sense of true safety that the people of Winterhaven have not felt in years. Only time will tell.
