Princess Evanit
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This moment in history will forever change our world.
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Post by Princess Evanit on Apr 23, 2007 8:13:18 GMT -5
The young and beautiful Princess Evanit watched from the prow of the ship "Spirit of Resilience" as the troubled city of Angenmar Paven came into view. Her raven hair blew in the wind.
She sighed with heavy heart and thought of the men aboard the ship who would likely die there.
When the ships carrying the soldiers from Tanan arrived at the port, Princess Evanit was one of the first to disembark. All her soldiers from both kantora from Tanan came after her. Dressed in a fine blue dress, she seemed out of place among the soldiers.
When the men were ashore, she gathered them around her and gave a speech that she had rehearsed in her mind as the ship sailed.
"This moment in history will forever change our world. Will you be ruled by a kindly grandfather or will you be ruled by a dark schemer who has never married or had children, who has never loved anyone, whose only lust is for power, power over you? Would you let him rule this Empire that was never meant to be his? Would you stand by while he usurps the destiny that belongs to another? Would you see him wear a stolen crown? Wouldy ou see me cast into his dungeons? Would you see all who oppose his vanity slain? I would rather die than see that. Draw your swords, men of valor. Fight for me or cut me down now where I stand. Save me from the tortures of Levorek's dungeon. Fight for what must be defended!"
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Post by Gamemaster on Apr 23, 2007 8:29:18 GMT -5
There is a moment of silence after the princess finishes her speech.
Ekanor Falan Dulimuk calls out to the soldiers from Tanan, "Will you fight?"
The soldiers roar back their answer in unison, "YES!"
"Will we be victorious?"
"YES!" the soldiers shout in reply.
Dulimuk smiles and looks at the princess, then he orders the Gurikans of each kantora to take their men and advance into Angenmar Paven.
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Princess Evanit
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This moment in history will forever change our world.
Posts: 31
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Post by Princess Evanit on Apr 25, 2007 16:29:26 GMT -5
Despite Princess Evanit's impression that a battle was raging in Angenmar Paven and that the troops she brought with her from Tanan would join the fight immediately, she learned that there was no fighting currently going on. She stayed at the home of a friend of her father's while the troops made camp.
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Post by Gamemaster on Apr 25, 2007 16:42:06 GMT -5
Angenmar Paven Salan Kajakan Folon
5/1/41 Cledman VI
The next morning, dawn breaks on Angenmar Paven cold and pale. It is overcast and flurries of snow are falling, but not sticking to the ground. Soldiers make cooking fires and prepare for the day. Civilians keep a watch on the soldiers. Most of them warily avoid the troops. A few have a different reaction and linger around the campfires, talking with the soldiers.
Ekanor Falan Korinyva is holding a council of war in his tent with various officers from his units, Gurikan Falan Havimuk, commander of the Imperial Navy fleet that brought them there, and Ersolan. He also invites Ekanor Falan Dulimuk, commander of the Tanan garrison, but not Princess Evanit.
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Princess Evanit
New Member
This moment in history will forever change our world.
Posts: 31
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Post by Princess Evanit on Apr 25, 2007 17:16:38 GMT -5
Princess Evanit arrives at the tent where Ekanor Falan Korinyva is meeting with his officers. She is dressed in her favorite dress which is dark green and white with golden embroidery. He head is covered by fancy white head covering that looks somewhat like a crown on top (but isn't) and has white cloth trailing down her neck in back and on the sides. Four servants walk behind her, two bodyguards and two ladies in waiting.
Korinyva says, "Princess Evanit, how are you this morning?"
Princess Evanit says, "I am well. When does the battle begin?"
Korinyva smiles patronizingly and says, "We are in the middle of discussing it. Is there some way that I may be of service to you?"
"Not at the moment," Princess Evanit replies.
"Very well, your highness. If you will excuse us, we will return to our discussion," Korinyva says.
"By all means, do so," Princess Evanit says.
There is an awkward moment where Princess Evanit is standing there and the men seem to be expecting her to do something. They all stand around silently.
"Is something expected of me, gentlemen?" Princess Evanit says.
Ekanor Falan Korinyva says, "I would think you would not care to trouble yourself with the details. I will be more than happy to report to you the results of our deliberations when we are finished."
Princess Evanit looks around, "Are you asking me to leave?"
Korinyva says, "No, your highness, I only thought that you would want to."
Princess Evanit steps further into the tent, right up to the table where a crudely drawn map of Angenmar Paven is laid out, "I do not care to leave. I wish to attend your council of war."
Ekanor Falan Korinyva exhales with an expression of exasperation.
"This does not trouble you, I trust?" Princess Evanit inquires.
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Post by Gamemaster on Apr 25, 2007 18:55:16 GMT -5
"As you wish, your highness," Korinyva says.
Korinyva now turns his attention to the officers, "Alright then, what does the navy say about the Vummese and the others?"
Gurikan Falan (Admiral) Havimuk says, "We have confirmed that the 3rd Kantora Iluvan Shasif and the 2nd Kantora Vumman have arrived in Yishil and could be redeployed here. The 2nd Kantora Iluvan Shasif is also available, but it's at Kast Natosamuk in Iluvan Shasif.
It will take about one velasik (9-day week) for the ships to get to Kast Natosamuk, load up troops there and return. It is about the same to Yishil and back."
Korinyva says, "That should give us three more kantoro, two from Iluvan Shasif and one from Vumman. At that point we should have approximately double the number of troops that the enemy has. It's still not enough to take a fortress by storm, so we will attempt to bring in troops from other provinces as soon as we can. In the meantime, we should begin siege operations on both the palace and the garrison fortress."
Ersolan says, "I went inside the palace walls and we even captured the ground floor of the Ulor's palace itself with a third of the men you have now. I say we should attack the palace now. The enemy is better prepared for a siege than we are. My men are already going hungry and the siege hasn't even begun yet. Direct assault is our only option."
Korinyva said harshly, "Ersolan, you're not even a member of the Imperial Army. Please refrain from disputing my decisions."
Ersolan says, "As soon as Ulor Kortelan responds to my latest message, that will be resolved."
Korinyva says, "As soon as the Imperial Regent responds to my latest message, you will be relieved of command."
Ersolan gives Korinyva an angry look, but falls silent.
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Princess Evanit
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This moment in history will forever change our world.
Posts: 31
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Post by Princess Evanit on Apr 25, 2007 19:47:03 GMT -5
Princess Evanit says, "I was told by my grandfather that there was not a moment to lose when he sent me and a few guards out into the night on a desperate trip up to Tanan. The soldiers who arrived with me marched as fast as they could all the way from Tanan to Yishil and then we sailed here, hoping we were not too late. Now, you talk of waiting for reinforcements, of sieges? This is ridiculous! Yishil is weak while we are here. I know my grandfather agonized over how many kantoro to send here and how many to keep at Yishil for his own protection. We cannot wait another week for reinforcements. We have thousands of men here already. We should not wait another day. We should have attacked yesterday!"
Princess Evanit notices Ersolan nodding in agreement and her spirits are lifted. She presses her point as Korinyva starts to object, "I don't need you to inform me of what you decide. Not if your decision is to wait and sit around in a tent, hiding from the snow. The battlefield is out there and the day of destiny is today!" she points dramatically in the direction of the enemy.
"Are you quite finished?" Korinyva asks.
"No. Here is my decision," she turns to Ekanor Falan Dulimuk, the commander of the Tanan garrison, "Dulimuk, prepare the troops to attack in half an hour."
"Yes, your highness," Dulimuk says, but looks to Korinyva uncertainly.
"You're an Ekanor Falan, the same rank as him," Evanit says, "and I am your Ulor. You take orders from me, not from him. Go now. Prepare to attack."
"You can't just attack like that with your troops! Your men would be slaughtered," Korinyva objects.
"Not just the men, general, I am riding with them. If you fail to attack with us, we will attack anyway. If we succeed, we may save the empire from an evil that you obviously do not understand the gravity of. If we fail, you may explain to the Imperial Regent why you let his granddaughter go into battle while you sat in a tent and awaited reinforcements."
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Post by Gamemaster on Apr 25, 2007 23:48:38 GMT -5
Ekanor Falan Korinyva was obviously outraged and he seemed to be trying to think of some kind of retort. At length, he said, "Very well, we shall attack. You leave me no choice. If the attack fails, I shall be happy to tell your grandfather who was the author of the calamity."
The princess merely nodded and then left.
Ersolan ran to catch up to her.
"Your highness, a word, I beg of you."
The princess turned and stopped walking.
Ersolan said, "Your highness, I agree that we should attack now. I have urged that course for three days now. But we must attack the Ulor's palace. That is where he is. The troops in the garrison will waiver if the palace falls. The palace is much more lightly defended, its walls are shorter and we have already shattered its gates once with battering rams and they have not been properly repaired."
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Princess Evanit
New Member
This moment in history will forever change our world.
Posts: 31
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Post by Princess Evanit on Apr 26, 2007 14:41:46 GMT -5
Princess Evanit says, "Very well. We shall attack the palace."
When she returns to the camp of the Tanan troops, she informs Ekanor Falan Dulimuk of the change in plan.
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Post by Gamemaster on Apr 27, 2007 0:12:41 GMT -5
Over a thousand soldiers from the Tanan garrison arrayed themselves in a battle line five ranks deep. Ekanor Falan Dulimuk rode ahead of them on a grey mare. Princess Evanit and her entourage followed closely behind the soldiers.
On both sides of the Tanan troops and behind them, more of Ekanor Falan Korinyva's soldiers were scrambling to prepare for the fight. A thin line of mostly Slythian soldiers from the 2nd Kantora Slythia were in front of the Tanan force. The Slythians and some troops from Trayavix were already surrounding the Ulor's palace. Other troops from Trayavix and Nassavix had been surrounding the garrison fortress, but now came running towards the palace to participate in the assault.
As the troops from Tanan marched towards the Ulor's palace, they could see enemy soldiers arrayed outside the palace preparing to resist them. There were more enemy soldiers on the walls of the palace.
They also saw more soldiers approaching from their right. There were about a thousand of them, armed and equipped as imperial troops, but looking dirty and ragged compared to the others. Princess Evanit caught sight of a large man on a horse at the head of them and was fairly sure she recognized him as Ersolan. She concluded that these must be the troops from Kajakan Tros.
Ekanor Falan Dulimuk reached the same conclusion. He led the troops straight towards the enemy, not waiting for the rest of the Trayavix and Nassavix troops to get in position. The line of Slythian troops parted to make way for the advancing soldiers from Tanan.
Now there was nothing between Dulimuk and the enemy except a few small buildings and a patch of open ground. He saw that the number of enemy troops between him and the wall was only a few hundred and he had over a thousand men under his command and more coming. With confidence, he led the troops until they were close to the enemy. He saw that the enemy had erected crude barriers from logs and wagons. The enemy were arrayed behind these barriers and inside the buildings.
Dulimuk raised his iron sword straight into the air so that the men behind him could see it against the grey, overcast sky. Then, Dulimuk lowered his sword to point towards the enemy and spurred his horse to a canter. This gesture with the sword was the signal to advance or, since they were already advancing, to charge.
A thousand soldiers let out a war cry that sounded like the roar of some beast of unimaginable size. The sound of their feet pounding the ground and their armor and weapons rattling and clanking could be heard at a distance and blended together like the rumble of a herd of stampeding animals.
The defenders crouched and held up their spears and shields. Some lost courage and fled as the screaming horde raced at them, spearpoints first.
The force from Tanan collided with the Kajakan Folon line like a hammer striking a pewter mug. The men of Kajakan Folon were pushed back, impaled and some were literally trampled underfoot.
More defenders rushed in to attack the men of Tanan from both sides while the elite Bears of the West prepared to defend the walls with battle axes.
Over the screaming and shouting of the men in the battle, it was difficult to hear anything, but Princess Evanit did hear one thing as she rode in behind the troops. From behind her and to the right another roar erupted from the soldiers of Kajakan Tros and she saw Ersolan riding ahead and urging them on. They seemed less enthusiastic than her men of Tanan, but still, they charged forward to join the battle.
Princess Evanit could also see more soldiers coming. From Slythia, from Trayavix, from Nassavix, all were coming to join the battle.
While she looked behind her, she did not see Ekanor Falan Dulimuk's grey mare get pierced with a spear and fall to the ground, throwing him into the sea of spearpoints and weapons of the fierce mele.
One of Princess Evanit's bodyguards said to her, "My lady, let us not advance any further unless you intend to join the fight yourself."
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Princess Evanit
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This moment in history will forever change our world.
Posts: 31
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Post by Princess Evanit on Apr 27, 2007 10:58:01 GMT -5
"No, I'm not going to personally fight. I don't even have a weapon," Princess Evanit said as she pulled on the reigns of her horse until it stopped.
Evanit watched the battle for a moment, then said, "At a time like this, I wish I were a man so that I could join the fight. I wish I were a very large man with arms as strong as tree trunks... like Ersolan. Were it so, I would be the first into the battle and hew down the enemy with a sword like a farmer with a scythe harvesting grain. But alas, I know that is not who I am. I am small and frail and a lady. So I'll stay back here and watch. I'll wear dresses and ride side saddle as a lady should. I'll do the proper things that a lady and a princess is expected to do. But I will not stay out of this. If by word or by deed I can inspire the troops or lead them or help them, I shall. I only hope it is enough."
Princess Evanit's bodyguard said, "You have the heart of a lioness..." but the rest of his sentence was drowned out by renewed shouts of battle as the soldiers of Kajakan Tros charged past.
Princess Evanit watched as they reached the enemy and winced as she saw men pierced with spears and chopped down with swords.
When the sound of it was a little less than during the initial charge, Princess Evanit's bodyguard leaned closer and said, "I can see why your grandfather appointed you Ulor of Tanan. You seem more determined than anyone to prevent Levorek from gaining the throne."
Princess Evanit said, "That is because I have known him since I was a child. He is my cousin."
Princess Evanit seemed about to say more. It was obvious there was much more to this story, but just then, the battle raging before her absorbed her full attention again.
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Post by Gamemaster on Apr 27, 2007 21:34:57 GMT -5
The battle raged as more troops from both sides poured in. But very quickly it was clear that the attackers held a vast advantage in numbers. The defenders outside the walls began to try to flee, but there was nowhere to run. Their position had been surrounded since before the battle began.
Many of them ran inside the palace, climbing over the temporary barricades that had been erected at the shattered gates. Most of them simply ran away from the main attacking force in any direction they could, rounding the corners of the palace and running towards the enemy soldiers on the south and east sides of the palace while the main attack struck from the north.
The attackers had not planned their attack. Indeed, Princess Evanit had given them no time to do so. The thin ring of troops of the 3rd Kantora Trayavix and the 2nd Kantora Slythia was still in place when the troops from Tanan and Kajakan Tros charged the enemy and the 4th Kantora Trayavix and the 3rd Kantora Nassavix piled in from behind. Mobs of desperate, armed men from the defending forces raced away from this onslaught and surprised the men of the 3rd Kantora Trayavix who had not even received any warning that an attack was to be launched.
The fleeing defenders broke through the encirclement and ran out into the town of Angenmar Paven and then on into the countryside.
Meanwhile, on the north side of the palace, soldiers of Kajakan Tros who had smashed the gates of the palace before, went straight for those same gates again and forced their way through the improvised barricades. Once the attacking troops were inside the palace, the defenders took flight, mostly out the east gate. The elite Bears of the West fought with their battle axes, but not for long. Very soon, they began to stream out the East Gate with the others.
When it was clear that the palace had been taken, Princess Evanit and her entourage rode to the palace, through the battlefield and Princess Evanit was horrified at the sight of the battlefield.
The sounds of battle faded, but the screaming of the wounded men begging for help were terrible. There were men impaled with spears, men with limbs hacked off or terrible gashes from sword blows or axes that cut deeply into arms, legs, chests, faces. Princess Evanit wanted to help them, but had no idea what could be done for men with such horrific wounds except perhaps to comfort their last minutes alive.
Then, she came upon the dead body of Ekanor Falan Dulimuk's horse. She became alarmed that he was also dead and searched for his body, but didn't find it.
In the distance, somewhere beyond the palace, she heard more fighting and screaming of wounded men. She rode towards the sounds of battle and saw Ersolan on his horse urging the men to continue to pursue the enemy. Then she was relieved to see Ekanor Falan Dulimuk alive, but on foot, trying to rally the men of Tanan around him. Other soldiers were also chasing the enemy. It was no longer clear which men were from which units.
As Princess Evanit and her entourage followed the army, they came upon well over a hundred dead and dying men. Eventually, the attacking troops turned back and abandoned the chase.
Princess Evanit found Ekanor Falan Dulimuk and some of the soldiers from Tanan, but more than half of them were missing. Dulimuk assured her they had not lost that many, but that they were simply separated from the group and would probably turn up back at camp.
As they passed the Ulor's palace, they could see soldiers and civilians alike looting it and carrying off furniture, tapestries, dishes, anything of value.
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Princess Evanit
New Member
This moment in history will forever change our world.
Posts: 31
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Post by Princess Evanit on May 10, 2007 3:11:54 GMT -5
Princess Evanit asked Ekanor Falan Dulimuk, "How well do you think we did today and when should we attack the main fortress?"
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Post by Gamemaster on May 10, 2007 5:11:40 GMT -5
Dulimuk says, "Your highness, attacking that fortress will be a much more difficult task than attacking the palace was. I agreed with you that attacking the palace was the right thing to do. I must insist, however, that we not make any similar attempt to storm the walls of the fortress. It would be suicide. A place like that must be taken by siege. It is the only way. To besiege the fortress, we must surround it and cutoff food supplies. Then, we should begin constructing siege engines, that is, devices designed to overcome the walls in various ways."
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Post by Gamemaster on May 10, 2007 6:37:48 GMT -5
Angenmar Paven Salan Kajakan Folon
6/1/41 Cledman VI
Ekanor Falan Korinyva orders his troops to surround the garrison fortress again and to begin seige operations.
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