Seren's Defel Campaign

Seren’sDefel Campaign

Seren's Defel Campaign was an event that occured during his attempt to conquer the world. Being classed as King of Sula and Whitoper, he wished to add his homeland to his empire. The two forces meeting were Defel under King Henry II and General Finley while Seren's horde was commanded by General Alec.

Background

Seren had originally been from Defel, as a young man he often did various jobs such as clearing out caves or fighting bandits. After visiting an old library from the First Era with his father, Seren's good-nature turned evil and he killed him. When his mother found out she escaped and alerted the guard but the young man had already left for the forests of Sula to research and grow an army.

In 534AB Seren and his horde left the forest and faced the forces of Sula, under Aymon, and Whitoper, under Zian. The confrontation was named the Battle of Chaos, and was a decisive victory for the mage.

The rest of the year resulted in his General Ronigar raiding and defeating the army of Whitoper and leaving the nation with no defences.

In 535AB Seren and Ronigar begun their Sula campaign and defeated King Aymon. After crowning himself King of Sula, he begun planning for new campaigns.

In 536AB Seren and General Alec set forth through Aral to reach the lands of Defel with an invading force. High General Ronigar went forward with defending the lands of Whitoper from Kura's army.

King Henry II had heard of the forces coming to invade his island and begun raising two forces, one an army and the other a defending group. While the army took a while to prepare, the defending group of 20,000 soldiers were sent to disrupt and deal damage to the landing troops.

The Landing near Twisted Pine

Seren's landing was a difficult encounter with the soldiers of Defel, Duke Oscar placed many obstacles for the boats to overcome. When Seren's forces did arrive the only suitable place to land was a beach near a lone Pine Tree on a cliff nearby.

As the boats came closer they were fired upon with arrows. Seren tried shielding some of the ships but with so many firing he was unable to block them all. Duke Oscar made sure to place three groups of shield walls to block any of the paths coming up from the beach, leaving the rest of his soldiers as reserves or archers to fire at the enemy. Duke Oscar held the middle path, while he split his personal bodyguard in two to cover the other paths. While the troops the Duke had were relatively new and fresh, they felt confidence standing with their leader.

Finally the boats came upon the shore and the soldiers of Seren began pouring out. Seeing the three paths all of them focussed on getting closest to the archers, and ran up the middle. Duke Oscar wasn't prepared for the entire force to charge solely at him, rather believing they would use the easier routes up the sides. Calling a war-cry his soldiers brought their spears forward and were hit with a wave of Orcs. Seren by this time had reached the beach, sending fireballs at the archers. While he was far away, he still managed to chunk a serious number and the arrows felt light compared to before.

Duke Oscar and his recruits Edit

With the entire horde facing him, Duke Oscar and the recruits began giving ground. While they were in a short space, the sheer overwhelming strength of the enemy caused them to be pushed further uphill. Orc's poured in all around the formation, causing cracks to break and the first two lines to be swarmed. Continuing to fight, the Duke made his way to the front to relieve some of the tired recruits. Slashing down Orc's left to right he realised that the lines of his soldiers were faultering.

Yelling a war-cry the Duke began pushing forward against the enemy army. Cleaving through the Orc's and Goblins, he began gaining the momentum for his group. The recruits with renewed vigour and morale began using their spears like veterans and grew in confidence.

The Flanks Edit

What Duke Oscar had not realised was that the momentum he gained was due to the horde breaking off to the other sides. With very little arrows being fired down on them due to Seren and his flying units, the soldiers on the flanks became the new target. All various manner of animals sprinted and began attacking the right side, while ogres carrying goblins on their backs attacked the left. The soldiers, though experienced, were not trained for this type of warfare and fell under some of the pressure.

Petros was even seen fighting some of the Defel troops, slashing through and opening up room in the left flank while General Alec did the same to the right. Soon a retreat was called, leaving the Duke and his recruits in the middle.

Duke Oscar's Death Edit

Unaware that his experienced bodyguard had abandoned him to the overwhelming might of Chaos, he fought on bravely. Taking some wounds from battle, his plate armour kept him relatively safe as he continued pushing forward. It was only until the enemy charged down from behind did he realise his mistake. Surrounded on all sides, the Duke and his soldiers fought like a cornered beasts. Each one of them managed to kill a member of the horde, but after so much fighting they withered and died to constant wounds.

Duke Oscar at one point faced a bugbear himself, but succumbed to his wounds and was beheaded.

Aftermath Edit

With Duke Oscar's death there was no rallying of troops, rather most ran to their homes to protect their family while others left the country.

Duke Oscar's head was held up as a trophy and sent to King Henry, while his signet ring was given to Alec as a gift. The King of Defel saw how serious a threat the invasion was, seeing that the force that fought in Whitoper was only a small amount of what was on his nation.

Seren was used to the continuous victories and gave Alec and his soldiers the credit. Making a base they raided the surrounding area for food and loot, waiting for the army under King Henry to make their way to them.

Alec was happy with his victory, though believed it was mainly down to the troops and wished to make himself better known with the battle. He was a strange, compassionate, human in Seren's army.

Losses Edit

Alec (Seren): 17,500 Dead. 9,000 Wounded.

Duke Oscar (Defel): 8,900 Dead. 4,000 Wounded.

A King facing a King Edit

Seren, not wishing to see the complete destruction of Defel's army like others offered a diplomatic meeting with the man. King Henry agreed and the two met on an open plain near Devela. Both men were allowed two bodyguards, so the mage chose Alec and a Wood Elf named Daeron. The Defel King chose two humans, General Finley and his Champion Dominic.

Seren offered to the King a place in his personal court if he were to surrender now without bloodshed, all it would cost is that he would have to bow to the mage and allow Seren to hunt and kill his mother, Isabelle. King Henry II did consider the offer but was too proud to stand and bow to a person above him. Seren offered the King governance over the lands of Defel and Ralia when they were taken but Henry refused once more.

King Henry had a counter-offer for the man, leave now or die. When Seren simply laughed, the Defel King returned to his troops and prepared for battle. The mage did the same, choosing to personally fight in this battle.

The Battle of a Kingdom Edit

In mid 536AB the armies of Seren and Defel faced for the second time, under the leaders of King Henry II and General Alec. The forces of Defel managed to reach a number of 175,000 while the horde of Seren reached a total of 550,000.

Formations and Leadership Edit

On the side of Defel, they held a very simple formation. Placing spearmen with shields in the front and the archers behind, while the cavalry were off the side in the flank. The leadership was split into three groups, with General Finley taking the left/North side, while General Jensen took the right/South side. King Henry II was leading the group of Knights that were positioned on the far right side, numbering 15,000 heavy horsemen.

On the side of Seren the leadership was split into three parts as well. While their formation was muddled, the commanders of the right/North and left/South sides were under Brigaider's Daeron and Armin respectfully. Seren and Alec had their own group of soldiers hidden amongst the muddle, consisting of various Demons such as Armanites and Shoosuvas, a large dragon was even seen, but it is quite skeptical.

Clash on the North flank Edit

When initial combat begun with the two armies there was no significant movement in power. Seren's horde held the push but the formation by Defel managed to hold them off with effective use of spears and archery. With both sides not gaining an edge, Daeron and General Finley made a move.

Daeron an archer begun firing arrows to direct her soldiers to different movements, knowing they would not be trained and disciplined long enough to remember tactics the arrows worked well. The Hobgoblins she commanded followed the arrows and begun a series of attacks against the enemy lines. Using the stronger ogre's and orcs to break the shield wall the hobgoblins screeped through and begun killing the mostly human soldiers with greatswords and longswords.

General Finley moved himself to the very edge of his soldiers, charging around the lines of Seren he hit the side with a vicious swing of his glaive. Cleaving through a group of Hobgoblin's, he gained some momentum. As his own soldiers followed behind him, he continued slicing through the enemy troops before pulling back to safety and letting his soldiers continue.

On the outskirts looking down the very centre, Finley could see the pinpoint accuracy of cracks that begun turning the tide of battle. The Hobgoblin's commander had managed to see where the weak links were and push through, breaking forward enough to reach the third line of soldiers. While Finley's tactic worked well, he would eventually be overwhelmed.

A King's Charge Edit

Seeing that his left flank was faultering, King Henry II and his armoured knights moved to charge into the right. The Bugbears and Goblins were too distracted with their fighting to set up a spear wall, thus they were taken by heavy surprise when the thunderous warhorses sounded along with lances impaling the soldiers. Armin could only look on as the charge caused devastating damage to his side. But the human was quick-witted and used his reserves to try and cut off the escape route of the Knights.

King Henry II saw the oncoming encirclement and rode to escape. While many of his knights managed to break the formation, some fell to the quick maneuver of Bugbears who targetted the horses. Preparing for another charge, Henry watched as the Bugbears prepared their spear wall.

Seren's Fury Edit

Seeing the effects of the charge, Seren and his demons made their move. Charging into the enemies right flank from the middle they cleaved a path. Bodies and Limbs went flying as the demons the mage made company of ripped and tore a path for him. When the group managed to reach the outside Seren and Alec faced the King once more. General Jensen tried moving more troops to reinforce the position but only could watch as they were killed in merciless fashion.

King Henry II was shocked to see the forces that Seren carried by his side, but nevertheless held up his lance charged at the open Mage. The thunderous galloping of over 10,000 horses rung throughout the battlefield and even made some of the soldiers question why they were fighting. But Seren and Alec rather smiled, and ran forward to the enemy.

As the Knights grew in speed, they were met by a roar many thought myth. A large Adult Green Dragon flew into the battlefield and exhaled it's poisonous gas across the armoured horsemen. King Henry was close to getting hit by the gas, but one of his own men got in the way of it for him. Continuing the charge the Knights of Defel and the demons of Seren clashed.

Horses flew into bodies, while men were pulled from their heights and killed. Seren himself had to duck under a lance, as the fighting came close. Alec managed to take down two soldiers that came too close, while the dragon from before came down to feast on the men of Defel. After some time of skirmishing, the two Kings met face to face. Seren prepared a spell and fired, hitting the Defel Monarch's horse and grounding him. Henry swung his sword at the mage, but hit a wall of magic. All around men and fiends died to the onslaught of war, but the two monarchs were too distracted with one another. Seren managed to prepare another spell in time, blowing off the leg of King Henry II completely. Ensuring he had no chance to reclaim it, Seren placed a curse on the monarch. Bringing out his dagger, Seren smiled as he watched King Henry squirm. Stepping closer the fury in his eyes became everymore apparent. As he was about to stab the King in the neck, he was blocked by a charging horse. In the confusion King Henry II was taken and saved by his soldiers.

Rising back in the air, the Green Dragon continued to breath death on the Defel nobles. While Alec used the King's injury to turn the tide and kill. Swinging his longsword he managed to behead another Knight, stealing his horse he charged forward. During the fight between Kings, Armin and Daeron pushed forward into the enemy. The Warhammer bearing human could be seen laughing and smiling as he tore through the enemy lines, reaching even as far as General Jensen's base. Striking down the man he continued his tear, turning around to face more enemies.

Daeron personally kept General Finley at bay, firing arrows at the man anytime he tried to move around. Unable to do anything, the General called for his troops to give ground in hopes that King Henry would pull something off. But when he saw the dragon fly once more, he called for his troops to retreat.

Full Retreat Edit

With the King's banner falling, and the Knight's he was with under constant attack from a flying Dragon, the Defel soldiers thought the worst. General Finley now took command of the entire army, calling a tactical retreat. Having heard of the previous battles, he left two lines of soldiers while the rest ran. The soldiers left behind tried their best to hold the enemy but were overwhelmed and even ran.

Turning now into a full retreat, the Defel soldiers were left to the mercy of Seren's horde. The Green Dragon even took his share in feasting on the enemy, before returning to the Mage who held his allegiance.

Aftermath Edit

The Victory was close for Seren, though they cheered and partied as if it were decisive. Henry's crown was found

amongst the loot, being gifted to the mage for him to wear. General Jensen's head was also gifted to Seren by Armin.

Losses Edit

Seren (Seren's Horde): 71,000 Dead. 46,000 Wounded.

King Henry II (Defel): 82,000 Dead. 39,000 Wounded.

The Escape to Devela, and loss of Charlon Edit

With his forces in full retreat, the troops and the injured King ran to the walled city of Devela. Some more were killed along the way, but most of the remaining troops entered the city.

Seren, while not fully trusting the capabilities of Alec decided a long-siege was not worth it. Rather he left a force to block the Defel army if they came after him. He chose to leave the 75,000 strong army under Daeron, knowing that she would not be too eager to attack unlike Armin.

With King Henry II and his troops blocked within the city, believing they were encircled by a much larger force, they were helpless and begun making preparations to leave Defel and group up in Courler. The Zheng Monarch had given them an invitation previously, but they declined, believing themselves enough to stop the force.

Seren and his armies instead chose to go and attack Charlon, taking the crown with him. When the citizens of Charlon saw the masses of Orcs, Gnolls and Goblins at their walls they surrendered. They had heard of the luxuries offered to surrendering to the Mage and what occured if he didn't. The gates of the city opened and Seren walked in with his higher soldiers, killing any who blocked his way but allowing the others to survive.

When he reached the palace, he used the officials and crowned himself King of Defel and half the realm.

Run to Watergate Beach Edit

After hearing that Seren was the new-crowned King, Henry II and his troops made a break for the beach, getting the message from Ralia that they would safely transport them. Henry was hoisted up and onto General Finley's horse and rode in the middle of the army.

Daeron and her army reacted accordingly and chased after the escaping army. Riding a horse, she managed to catch up far enough to send a few arrows across to the King. Henry was able to block one, but was hit in the shoulder, while Finley was hit with the other. The horse began to faulter, but was saved by Dominic who brought the King over to his mount instead. General Finley was able to regain his composure once more but took another of Daeron's arrows, this time hitting his leg.

For the rest of the army it was not so easy, the last of the troops to leave the city were surrounded and killed while the end of the running group were also struck down. As a last glimpse of hope for Defel at least was that Daeron and her army were too distracted by the stragglers to hit the city on the beach.

When the remaining Defel forces did reach the beach, they were brought onto Ralian ships and given transport to Courler. By the time Daeron had reached the escaping troops, most of them were already gone. Still, her and her soldiers managed to take a few more and rained down arrows on the boats at water.

Henry II and General Finley were heavily wounded, but managed to thank the Ralian soldiers for saving them.

Losses Edit

Defel: 6,800 Dead. 1,300 Captured.

Daeron (Seren): 300 Killed. 200 Wounded.

Aftermath Edit

The Defel campaign was seen as a complete victory for Seren, with the man even crowned King.

Seren Edit

Seren stood high and proud that he had been the victor of this campaign, along with King of another country he added more wealth to his treasurey. He gave respect where it was due though, giving gifts to Armin, Alec and Daeron for their prowess.

Calling for Ronigar to return to him, he gave the armies held there over to Ronigar's second in command, a demon named Brifon.

Ronigar Edit

Ronigar was given the royal sword of Defel to add to his collection, along with a share of coin. After Seren claimed the throne, Ronigar was sent a summons which he gladly accepted. Meeting back with the mage, Ronigar and Seren planned for their next course of action, which was the sacking of Middle-Alrec city-states.

Armin Edit

Armin was given his own army and was purposed with helping the armies held in Whitoper to raid the nations of Kura. It was a task he happily accepted, loving any idea of war and violence. Seren also imbued his warhammer with magic and gave him a new set of plate armour.

Daeron Edit

Daeron was honoured and gifted well after news spread of her shots that hit the King and General from over 100 metres away. She was given a position under Ronigar, leading her own group of troops consisting of Wood Elves of the deep and the beasts they used to hunt. Her bow was also given a magical purpose by Seren personally.

Alec Edit

Alec was rewarded for his efforts in the battle and campaign, being given the position to protect the realm of Sula. Holding an army of 75,000 troops he was to go through Aral and check on it's progress, helping wherever he could. His spear was given a magical enchantment, along with a new mount.

Whitoper Edit

Whitoper fully fell under the power of Ronigar before his depature. Preparations were made to the cities to defend from potential invasions while most of the army returned to the Great Forest to rest and heal for the time-being. Their return also allowed less-raiding and general reconstruction of the nation.

Defel Edit

Defel fell to the full might of Seren, but unlike previous, most were spared. The people were scared originally but fell content under the mage's leadership. Any who opposed their new King were met with public lashings and death. Many of the original citizens fleed to other nations, taking their riches and heirlooms away from the raiders.

King Henry II and General Finley Edit

King Henry II was able to recover from his wounds, but the loss of his Royal Sword, Crown and even his leg was devastating. Though he was welcome in the new alliance named 'The Confederation of Defence'. He gave any fighting duties across to his Champion, with his cursed leg unable to return no matter the magic.

General Finley was given full command over the Defel Army, becoming the first ever High Lord. He was welcomed into the Confederation and given a seat at their table, discussing the tactics and weaknesses of Seren's horde.