Siege of Yomero

The Siege of Yomero was an event that occured in 534AB during the event of Seren's Evil. The clash was between the forces of Seren under General Ronigar and the forces of Whitoper under King Zian and General Petros.

Background
Seren and King Zian had previously clashed before, which led to Whitoper's defeat caused by the overwhelming number the mage had to offer.

Returning to Fogran, Zian attempted to raise the full army of Whitoper but was thwarted once more by the armies of Chaos who held the chase. The King retreated once more, falling to the major city of Yomero, where the high walls would offer protection for him to raise the army. During this time the armies of Chaos burnt and raided the lands around the forest.

Seren caught wind of the plan near the end of the year, sending his force out to encircle and besiege the city while he recruited more soldiers.

Encirclement
Zian's scouts reported the Seren army marching towards the city. Realising he would soon be encircled, Zian left Yomero under the command of a human named Petros while him and a portion of his soldiers would leave and return to break the siege. General Petros was a capable man, and took the role and 60,000 soldiers he was given seriously. With the short time he had before the enemy came, he managed to fill the city with food and weapons, strengthened the gate, rose the balista's for the dragons and placed hidden markers along the surrounding plains.

Soon came the armies of Chaos, burning the lands as they walked and spreading fear. Though Petros was not scared, holding the hope of the entire nation, he stood at his post and counted both the enemy and their units. Ronigar looked at the cities beauty, marking their defences and formulating various strategies to breach the walls.

The first day saw no conflicts, as the forces of Seren set up their camps all around the city, being sure to stay out of their range.

Day 2: The Initial Attack
With his soldiers rested, Ronigar begun the attack on the city.

Dragon's flew up and high to attack the archers, while trolls, orgres and bullettes attacked the gate. But the attack was not as simple as one would believe, as the preprations done in advance did their job in spearing the large monstrosities and slowing them down. The gate also held true against the onslaught of various rams and beings trying to break through.

Upon passing the second marker, the enemy were rained upon with bolts and rocks shot from the cities walls. While passing the third marker meant arrows from the archers of both Sula and Whitoper poured onto the enemy.

When the armies of Chaos did reach the wall, they spread out and raised their ladders. By the gate murder holes were open for the defenders to fire arrows directly into the top of the ogres and trolls smashing against the door. Hot oil was also poured down and the screams and cries accompanied by the smell of burning flesh filled the air.

The ladders on the walls quickly streamlined a way for the orcs and goblins to get up, pouring over to fight the garrison. Though this is where one of the cities old defences came in handy, near the ladder placements were small holes where defenders pushed sticks through into the ladder. The defence worked and various ladders began falling, sending the enemy crashing into the soldiers down below.

The hour was late by this time but Ronigar continued attacking the city, giving no chance of rest for the outnumbered defenders. He ordered more ladders to be brought up to the walls and began resting some of his troops in order to keep it up all night.

Losses
Petros (Whitoper): 1,100 Dead. 2,500 Wounded. Of 60,000.

Garrison (Yomero): 2,300 Dead. 1,400 Wounded. Of 14,000

Ronigar (Armies of Seren): 32,000 Dead. 17,000 Wounded. Of 600,000.

Night 2: Onslaught
With the onslaught and siege still continuing, the morale of the defenders began falling. Noting the potential surrender of his soldiers, Petros rode around the walls and gave out advice and compliments to the exhausted men. He also ordered his officers to create a roster so that the men could rest.

Very little damage was done to the defenders during the night, as the archers continued firing volley after volley, some even showing bloodied fingers by the time their roster was done. The armies of chaos felt their numbers were dwindling at a slower rate as the siege came to a somewhat grinding halt. The only advancement made was the gate was growing weaker by the hour.

Losses
Petros (Whitoper): 400 Dead. 200 Wounded. Of 56,400.

Garrison (Yomero): 900 Dead. 650 Wounded. Of 10,300.

Ronigar (Armies of Seren): 14,000 Dead. 5,800 Wounded. Of 551,000

Day 3: Breakthrough
After an entire night of fighting, the attackers finally had a breakthrough. During mid-day after a non-stop attack on the gate a Bullette and a Hill Giant managed to break through.

The opening of a gate sent the pouring of various goblins, orcs, undead and even demons through the first section of the city. Thankfully for Petros the walls were safe, their entrances all easily blocked off. Civilians still remaining were tortured and eaten for the sick pleasure of the Chaos soldiers. While a line of soldiers held the defence to buy time, they were defeated by a Chimera who burnt through them. Any remnants of soldiers within section one were found and killed, their heads taken and thrown at their allies on the wall while their bodies were skinned and hung in the street.

While the enemy had broken through the gate, they still faced another wall within the city and another gate. Ronigar was unable to command his soldiers to attack the walls together and watched slowly as section one became a blood bath from both sides. The Chimera seen before flew up to the walls, killing many more defenders before being taken down by arrows.

The day ended as a small victory for Ronigar, who had broken through the main gates into the city and taken an entire section. His soldiers continued to attack the walls while he waited for a message from Seren which would come during the night. Petros was sharing stories with his soldiers on the wall and those who survived section one, he even fired his own bow at a stage and took down an ogre in a single shot. This greatly distracted the defenders from their impending doom.

Losses
Petros (Whitoper): 8,300 Dead. 5,000 Wounded. Of 55,800.

Garrison (Yomero): 4,600 Dead. 2,400 Wounded. Of 8,750.

Ronigar (Armies of Seren): 28,000 Dead. 13,100 Wounded. Of 531,200.

Night 3: Cracks
Night 3 saw Yomero's defense begin to show cracks. The morale of their soldiers were dwindling, and they were exhausted after 2 full days of fighting an overwhelming enemy. Smell was also a pivotal factor, as so many dead began to stink and spread some sickness.

The only positive the defenders had was the hope that King Zian would come ride through and break the siege, and their large stores of food.

But after a night of fighting, Ronigar was able to discern some of the weakpoints the wall held, where soldiers ran thin or where the new recruits were held. Seren had also informed the General of the new recruits coming from the forest, leading to a further 75,000 soldiers, including two new Chimera. '

The Half-Orc took a long, and much-needed rest and prepared for a final push on the city.

Losses
Petros (Whitoper): 700 Dead. 800 Wounded/Sick. Of 42,500.

Garrison (Yomero): 200 Dead. 500 Wounded/Sick. Of 1,750.

Ronigar (Armies of Seren): 14,000 Dead. 5,600 Wounded. Of 490,100.

Day 4: Disaster and Hope
With a new drive, and new strategy the Army of Seren was brought back during the morning and given time to rest up. While they were chaotic and evil people, Ronigar was still a capable general and understood that fighting with exhausted soldiers would cause him grief later on. The movement caused mass confusion amongst the defenders, Petros being awoken early to see what was occurring. But the General held firm that the city must hold, and used what little time he believed he had to rest his troops and try and repair the main gate.

Within two hours, the majority of Seren's army under General Ronigar charged at the city. Ladders and Siege towers were used on this day by the enemy, along with a ram fashioned from the bones of the dead. Witnessing the overwhelming number of soldiers charging at them, many of the defenders hid in terror while others stood brave and fired their projectiles.

Ronigar himself ran alongside two Giants who shielded him from arrows, spears and even boulders thrown in his direction. When he reached the gate, the General used Manticores to fly up and attack the soldiers guarding it on the top. With the attackers somewhat distracted he used a group of Ettins to break through the barely repaired metal door. Entering back into section 1, Ronigar had given enough momentum for his soldiers to go on without him. Slipping back, he returned to his post beyond the first marker.

Along the walls were a series of attacks from flying monsters and troops climbing up the various ladders. Drider's were even seen climbing the walls and surprising the defenders, slaughtering any who blocked their path.

By the time Ronigar had returned, the army he commanded had reached the gates of Section 2 and were most of the way through destroying them. Ettin's were used to carry and use various rams against the gate, smashing slowly through the wood but quicker than the defenders could repair them. On the walls, Section 1 had called for a retreat, as too many of the enemy had come over ladders and now outnumbered them on the smaller paths. The Manticores previously used on the gate now used ranged attacks against the defenders. The Hill Giants used to protect the general were also doing their role, as they had moved up and began smashing through the various houses found in Section 1.

Petros held on for dear life of the city, rallying his soldiers at the walls for Section 2 as he personally led them running across the walls at the enemy. He was seen slaying a drider single-handedly before pulling back as the gates cracked open. The garrison of the city had returned to section 3, the final stand, to avoid being completely wiped out. After another hour of fighting, the rest of the Whitoper army in the city were also retreating to the castle, Petros included.

On the horizon came the hope for the day however, as Ronigar soon found. Looking to the East on the hills, he was shocked to see a large group of soldiers and cavalry on the sightline, King Zian had returned.

King Zian
King Zian had actually spent the past 6 weeks recruiting what soldiers he could from the cities of Edgar and even as far as Robtikar. Gathering what horses and men he could find, he immediately set forth his return to the besieged city but made sure to place honours towards Petros and even name his heir before his departure. While the court of Whitoper was originally concerned, they felt confident in the ability of their king to lift the siege and overcome the enemy.

Zian had spent the next 3 days marching towards Yomero once more, scouting ahead and ensuring the health and fitness of his soldiers remained. He had gained many new troops along the way, reaching a new number of 40,000 soldiers from the original 15,000 he started with.

The Charge for Whitoper
Ronigar, seeing the new enemy, immediately brought his soldiers into a multiple rank formation to defend from the incoming charge. Though, as many of his troops were monstrous and ill-trained the formation became a mess of monsters and humanods. It looked threatening enough, but it was likely to take heavy casualties.

Zian saw the movement and gave no opportunity to the enemy, sounding his horn and riding alongside his troops down the hill into the enemy. The sound of 40,000 soldiers charging drowned out the battlefield, as many people even from Yomero looked and watched what was happening. Cavalry began breaking rank as they picked up speed, holding their lances or spears forward at the line of Orcs and Gnolls who stood in their way. Ronigar tried sending some owlbears, hell hounds and even boars charging forward but he was too late. The horses and men crashed into the weak line, sending many of the orcs in the front flying all the way to the back. King Zian could even be seen with his lance impaled through an Ogre.

Ronigar tried pushing back the forces of the King but was unable to rally his troops and called for them to fall back and group near the base of his camp. Zian was unable to see the general calling the shots, believing he may have died during the initial charge and the force was simply retreating, so moved on to relieve the city. It was a risky move, but a decisive defeat was what they needed, and he was unsure how terrible a state the city was in.

Petros and his Soldiers
Seeing the sign of the King and the success of the initial charge helped renew vigour and morale in the defending soldiers. Rather than retreating they turned around and fought the various beings of chaos and began holding their ground once more. The taking of section 2 was even halted for a short time, as the soldiers stood unwilling to fall to the enemy.

Petros began formulating a strategy to help the city, calling for what archers he had left to return to the walls and fire inwards on the enemy. A struck of hope helped the army of Whitoper once more and Ronigar's forces began falling back into the section they safely held.

Ronigar's Final Chance
Realising he could potentially lose the battle, and thus his life from Seren, Ronigar made his move. Rallying and grouping the enemies together along with the reserves, he waited for the soldiers under Zian to make their charge into the city.

Zian was unaware of the danger brewing behind him, too focussed on saving the city and his friend General Petros. Forming a line once more, he charged into the backs of the confused enemy, splitting through and entering through the gate. While Zian was heavily outnumbered by the nearly 300,000 soldiers in and around the city, the initial charge allowed him to break through and keep his momentum. Though the danger was, at any time he was stopped or properly slowed him and his entire force would be surrounded and slaughtered.

Petros saw the will of his King and followed through on his end, bringing together his troops and charging into the enemy that held section 1. Being attacked in both flanks, the enemy soldiers in section 1 held their ground but were taking heavy losses.

With Zian and Petros distracted, Ronigar and his faster units moved along the same path the King took in a quick pace. Soldiers blocking their way moved to the side, allowing the General to pass through and even followed behind him. Soon the Half-Orc had managed to regain the momentum of the forces around the gate and began pouring them in behind Zian.

King Zian was quickly informed of his encirclement and cursed to himself, rather than help break the siege he caught himself in one and was surrounded on all sides. Turning around, the King left the attack on section 1 to his brother Alec, while he himself moved to face Seren's general.

The Death of Whitoper
Petros surged forward ahead of his soldiers, cleaving a path to keep the momentum going as he raced towards the King. But he was continuously blocked by the foul demons that Seren had employed, even avoiding spikes from a Manticore at some stages. Though, he was determined to see it through and save the King.

King Zian on the otherhand was charging directly towards Ronigar, whom he finally had in his sight. The two clashed against one another in such ferocity that their mounts, one a hyena and the other a warhorse, fell to the ground dead. Bringing out their preferred weapons, the monarch with his sword and Ronigar and his axe, the two begun their duel.

Intially Ronigar held the upperhand, using his strength and speed to his advantage, sending strike after strike and battering the poor King. But once he began slowing, Zian pressed the attack. The King, like most of Whitoper's previous, had practiced the art of swordplay and pranced around countering the Half-Orc. Angry and growing wounded, Ronigar charged forward and knocked the King over with his shoulder. Swinging his axe a few more times, Zian managed to roll and narrowly dodged the wildman.

Letting the King stand once more, the duel continued between thw two combatants. Reaching a stand still, the two exhausted men continued to hit one anothers shield before the very armour that protected, brought them to their knees. Ronigar smiled at the King in delight, believing himself more powerful for reaching this far, while Zian only thought of Whitoper. The General offered a light word to the King before regaining his footing and embedding his axe in the Monarch's chest. Zian, too tired from the ride and the two consecutive charges, brought his shield forward but felt the axe of the Half-Orc breach his armour and pierce into his chest. King Zian offered a final word in hopes of Whitoper, before being beheaded by the general.

Petros during the duel continued his momentum with his troops, using archers from behind to send volley after volley into the enemy while he slowly moved forward. Finding a break, Petros was able to bridge together his soldiers and the Monarchs after an hour of pure fighting. The bridge between the two forces offered momentary relief, but it was not to last.

A roar filled the air, louder than any had heard before. Looking up on the walls stood a plate-armoured Half-Orc carrying the bloodied head of King Zian. With their monarch lost, along with their hope, the morale of the Whitoper soldiers were crushed and they were left to the mercy of Seren's army. Petros tried fighting back against the soldiers but was captured and brought to Ronigar.

Losses
Petros (Whitoper): 35,000 Dead. 6,000 Captured. Of the 41,000 left from Night 3.

Garrison (Yomero): 550 Dead. 500 Captured. Of the 1,050 left from Night 3.

King Zian (Whitoper): 28,000 Dead. 12,000 Captured.

Ronigar (Armies of Seren): 58,500 Dead. 20,000 Wounded. Of the 470,500 left from Night 3.

Aftermath
The Aftermath of the Siege of Yomero was catasrophic. Once more Whitoper had lost their Monarch, along with a prized General and a good portion of their army.

King Zian
King Zian's body was stripped of any royal attire or jewelry by Ronigar who kept them as his reward. Though the Signet Ring worn by any crowned King was given to Seren. His body was then thrown among the corpses that pooled around Yomero. The Half-Orc also began wielding the Royal Sword.

King Zian's head was personally sent to Seren by General Ronigar, as a gift. The Crown was also included, along with the ring.

Petros
Petros was kept in relatively good condition in the armies of Seren. Ronigar saw to it personally that he was made welcome, and even offered him a position as his advisor and bodyguard. When Petros denied the offer, he was sent to Seren.

Seren lashed the man for days on end, torturing him in brutal ways and making the once-proud warrior beg for forgiveness from the new god. Seren accepted the pledge and kept him by his side, though mainly used him as a mascot for the people, hiding any scars that magic couldn't heal on the man.

Yomero
Yomero was sacked and raided by the armies of Seren. While they did not care for most of the loot, the simple art of destruction was enough to satisfy their needs. When they found the civilians remaining in the city, they slaughtered them to the last.

The body were left inside the city to remain, along with the destruction of anything within the walls. Many years after Seren's Evil Yomero would once more be populated by the people of Whitoper, but currently it was a mass pile of bodies.

Whitoper
Whitoper was to fall within the next year, unable to raise enough troops to stop the armies of Seren. While the capital held, it was never seen powerful or a threat to the Wizard and left intact for a later date. Though the lands and people were still raided and slaughtered, that is, unless they joined his side.

Many towns, villages and even cities were heavily burnt or destroyed during Seren's raiding. Some major cities held on however, their walls detering a costly siege.

Losses
The total loss of soldiers for Whitoper totalled to 114,000 from the armies of Petros, Zian and the Yomero garrison.

General Ronigar
Ronigar was promoted to the right-hand man and main advisor to Seren. He was a proven commander and leader, and garnered a fair amount of respect and fear from the soldiers that followed him. Seren also showed a large amount of respect and interest in the Half-Orc male, and gifted him as such.

When the conquering was done, Ronigar was seen as the governor of one-half of Alrec. A worthy position he was grateful for.

Seren
Seren took the victory as a huge boost for his campaign. Proclaiming himself King of the Great Forest and even the new Whitoper King, though not seen officially. He set his next targets on the nation of Sula, where his Forest delved into.