A Dawn of Darkness (PLOT)
Jun 6, 2012 23:04:21 GMT -5
Post by Kender Bard on Jun 6, 2012 23:04:21 GMT -5
Karau had taken his time reaching this point. Though he was eager to bring the children of Love to their knees, he was no fool. Strategy was as important as strength, and though he was terribly strong, he would need a force to command. So he'd spent his time gathering up thralls, willing and unwilling. For every new thrall he gained, he could snap up two more, and so his army multiplied. Many were travelers, farmers, poor and unlucky folk who had been in the path of his destruction. It wasn't as large of a fighting force as most of the human standing armies. Karau had doubted that would have been the case--but it wasn't necessary. Thralls were bigger, stronger, deadlier than humans. He didn't need as many.
He'd sent his demons out, fleet and quick ones, to scour the surrounding area for signs of any major force that was trying to get the drop on him. It seemed unlikely. Even as his scouts looked for opposition, he gave the order to move forward. Karau and his thralls stepped into Anarlina soil, crossing into Widor's territory.
Karau had underestimated the willingness of the Narutan leaders to work together. Despite his cautions to avoid major cities and to obliterate whatever little farming village he came upon completely, his passage had, of course, not gone unremarked upon. No one was certain which of the northern nations would be strike, or if he would suddenly change course, but word was given to Caelium and Anarlina as they seemed the most likely. What reached Reave came too late--Karau's demons had barely touched upon that corner of the nation before moving on. Most of the damage had been wreaked upon Naurorod, which was already under heavy demonic attack. What was one more group of demons to prey on the clans? By the time Karau's movements were being reported, he had pressed into the thin strip of land of Caelium that protected Anarlina. By the time that the nations had been warned, he was almost to the Anarlinan border.
But Emerald was nothing if not fast to act. She'd kept her Beloved Knights and the army trained all through peacetime just for if such a situation ever arrived. Admittedly, at the time she'd expected Morilanta to be the one to attack them. Nevertheless, despite having little time to react, she'd split the Knights up into four sections and sent each section to a province that was likely to see demonic incursion--Kalina, Duintha, and Widor. The fourth was kept in Neo'anar. Next, she sent a platoon of soldiers to follow the Knights, though kept half of the main army in the capital so that the soldiers sent to the provinces were small in size. The idea was that it would be a force strong enough to keep the defense until reinforcements could arrive.
The knight in charge of the Widor forces was Helia Goranson, a high ranking Beloved Knight. She had three junior Knights and 700 soldiers under her command. As Karau entered Anarlina that morning, she was breaking the soldiers up to begin a southward patrol of the border, as she had done for the past week that she'd been stationed in Widor. Once the orders were sent out, she headed to go make her daily report in the log journal she'd brought with her. No more than half a page into her work, she was interrupted by a soldier who was riding hard and fast, working his horse into a lather. Vaulting off the horse's back quickly (and almost falling flat on his face for it) the soldier scrambled to Helia. "They're here!" he gasped out, breathing heavily. He sported a bloody gasp on his forehead and his clothes were ripped in spots. "They're here, I ran into one just as I drew near to the border!"
"Love preserve us," Helia whispered, her journal forgotten. "Fetch my subordinates." The soldier nodded and scrambled away. Once her three junior knights were gathered, she made her orders clear--one would go to the scouts and gather them up, having them fall back. The other two would take the men still at their base and send them out in formation to meet the enemy forces.
She took a fast horse out of their picket line and tore a path towards Widor's heart, to seek out the district lord--Lord Wintersong--and inform him of the impending invasion.
[[People playing soldiers, individuals of Widor caught up in the events, or one of the three Beloved Knights (which are all NPCs) are to post in this topic. Anyone else who wishes to be involved may make a new thread and mark it as a plot post.]]
He'd sent his demons out, fleet and quick ones, to scour the surrounding area for signs of any major force that was trying to get the drop on him. It seemed unlikely. Even as his scouts looked for opposition, he gave the order to move forward. Karau and his thralls stepped into Anarlina soil, crossing into Widor's territory.
Karau had underestimated the willingness of the Narutan leaders to work together. Despite his cautions to avoid major cities and to obliterate whatever little farming village he came upon completely, his passage had, of course, not gone unremarked upon. No one was certain which of the northern nations would be strike, or if he would suddenly change course, but word was given to Caelium and Anarlina as they seemed the most likely. What reached Reave came too late--Karau's demons had barely touched upon that corner of the nation before moving on. Most of the damage had been wreaked upon Naurorod, which was already under heavy demonic attack. What was one more group of demons to prey on the clans? By the time Karau's movements were being reported, he had pressed into the thin strip of land of Caelium that protected Anarlina. By the time that the nations had been warned, he was almost to the Anarlinan border.
But Emerald was nothing if not fast to act. She'd kept her Beloved Knights and the army trained all through peacetime just for if such a situation ever arrived. Admittedly, at the time she'd expected Morilanta to be the one to attack them. Nevertheless, despite having little time to react, she'd split the Knights up into four sections and sent each section to a province that was likely to see demonic incursion--Kalina, Duintha, and Widor. The fourth was kept in Neo'anar. Next, she sent a platoon of soldiers to follow the Knights, though kept half of the main army in the capital so that the soldiers sent to the provinces were small in size. The idea was that it would be a force strong enough to keep the defense until reinforcements could arrive.
The knight in charge of the Widor forces was Helia Goranson, a high ranking Beloved Knight. She had three junior Knights and 700 soldiers under her command. As Karau entered Anarlina that morning, she was breaking the soldiers up to begin a southward patrol of the border, as she had done for the past week that she'd been stationed in Widor. Once the orders were sent out, she headed to go make her daily report in the log journal she'd brought with her. No more than half a page into her work, she was interrupted by a soldier who was riding hard and fast, working his horse into a lather. Vaulting off the horse's back quickly (and almost falling flat on his face for it) the soldier scrambled to Helia. "They're here!" he gasped out, breathing heavily. He sported a bloody gasp on his forehead and his clothes were ripped in spots. "They're here, I ran into one just as I drew near to the border!"
"Love preserve us," Helia whispered, her journal forgotten. "Fetch my subordinates." The soldier nodded and scrambled away. Once her three junior knights were gathered, she made her orders clear--one would go to the scouts and gather them up, having them fall back. The other two would take the men still at their base and send them out in formation to meet the enemy forces.
She took a fast horse out of their picket line and tore a path towards Widor's heart, to seek out the district lord--Lord Wintersong--and inform him of the impending invasion.
[[People playing soldiers, individuals of Widor caught up in the events, or one of the three Beloved Knights (which are all NPCs) are to post in this topic. Anyone else who wishes to be involved may make a new thread and mark it as a plot post.]]
