Turn 5 Events (Part I of IV)
In which Seheron is the site of yet another battle
Count Noctilus and his pirate vampires fortified the Isle of Sehron yet again. They would be the third conquers of this place in its history, and it showed. The island was lucky to inhabit a couple or so of inhabitants, as most of its population had died, or were driven off as refugees. It was all good for Noctilus in the end, as he raised the dead to fight once again for their undead necromatic masters.
There would be two factions that would attempt to take control of the Isle. One of them was the combined might of Nevarra and Antiva, who combined sought to remove the vampire presence in the Isle. This was a fleet that was modified with canons and gunpowder, and led by Isabella, a sailor, now captain of renown. This was a concern for the forces of Noctilus.
But it would be the second faction that would give anyone pause. Yet another Empire made it's presence known. Uriel the Fifth led an expedition to remove the undead from the Island as well. They came with a naval force that was of equal in strength to the Antivan and Neveresse faction, although it was at a general disadvantage due to their lack of gunpowder.
In the end, both the fleets of Thedas and Tamriel had an uneasy alliance as they attacked the Vampires and expelled them from Seheron. Count Noctilus was defeated as he faced overwhelming odds, but he also managed to deal heavy blows to the Imperial Tamrielic fleet. The Vampyrate would retreat to friendlier waters with half of his forces, and some remnants of the pirates he managed to attract to Seheron.
Seheron itself would be further divided between the Imperials and the Antivan/Nevaresse alliance. Both sides have managed to land troops and capture key settlements and forts in the Island. A standoff now exists between these two opposing armies. An arrangement is expected to be made, as diplomats from both sides meet.
WAGH!
There were a lot of Greenskins in Arlethan, a lot of Greenskins. Scores upon scores of goblins, orcs, and worse infested the forest. Doubling their initial number. With these forces, they would outnumber their attackers and push them back out of the forest, as Grimgor would unleash WAGH upon the men, elves, and dwarves.
There would be some stand out strategies that prevented this from becoming a unwinnable fight. Teclis, with help from the Daelish Keepers, would finally crack the secret of the Eluvian mirrors. With this knowledge, they would unleash devastating hit and run attacks that bought valuable time and kept their enemy disorganized in their assault. Teclis even unleashed the ancient elven defenses of the forest, as even the ancient
Varterral joined in the fight on the side of the Daelish.
It would be a brutal battle, with huge casualties on the side of the Greenskins, and major casualties on the side of the Daelish and their allies. Even with all their preparation, and all their magic, the Greenskins were slowly but surely winning key engagements. Grimgor himself would slay yet more giant beast, with many a Varterral falling before him, and even the mighty
Asarnil the Dragonlord and his dragon Deathfang were brought low by him.
In the final stages of the battle, Gotrek and Felix would play a decisive roll. After some intense arguing with the leaders of the alliance, Gotrek and Felix would be convinced to help against the Orcs. With the Spirit of Grungi overhead and Teclis unleashing magic from up top, they would make battle against the Orc warboss. It was here, where Grimgor Ironhide would finally meet his end by the combined might of all of east Thedas and the help of Gotrek, Felix, and Teclis.
The end result would not be pretty. All forces that took part in the battle would be decimated and spent. It was a narrow win, and one that would scar the survivors for generations to come. The threat of the Green Tide was finally over for at least decades to come.
Changes in Orlais
Vlad Von Carstein quickly started making changes early in his new reign. He began trying to implement a system of public education. He cited the replacement of child labor with state sanctioned zombies and skeletons. Of which this was very poorly received. After spending a lot of political and social capital, the labors of his work began to show some promise, but not much. Many peasant were not willing to use zombies or skeletons to do their work for obvious reasons. And those that did, were simply the most desperate of the population. As a result, the only children going into public education would be the lowest of the poor. The scum of the streets.
But not all is bad news, the newly founded Academie Impérial de nécromancie, is a huge success! Social and economic advancement is now possible as the Academy receives hundreds of applicants, eager to finally be free from the tyranny of the Circle of Magi.
In unrelated news; the Chantry and Orlesian rebels have been escorted out of Orlais. They are currently looking to set up shop somewhere safe where they could reorganize the Chantry and take stock of the situation.
The Fifth Blight and the Battle of Lothering
The arrival of the Darkspawn came at an inopportune time for the Nation of Ferelden. With most of its army at the Orlesian border, they would be powerless to stop them from advancing straight into Ostager and later Lothering, and the ruins of Orzammar. Luckily for the Grey Wardens, this would allow them to kill two threats with one (spiritual) stone.
The Wardens under the command of Enchantress Fiona would make a ritual with some of their last supplies of lyrium. They would use the Fade to contact as many benevolent spirits of Justice and Vengance and unleash them upon what remained of Orzammar. These spirits would consume any Skaven that remained among the ruins and a whole Darkspawn army that had just arrived to claim it for its own. This would have the unfortunate downside of making Orzammar a permanent wound on the veil. Forever to be tainted by the spirits of those long gone.
When the Darkspawn forces made their way to Denerim they would be met by the forces of the Inquisition, Ferelden, Grey Wardens from many a nation, and mercenaries hired by Antiva. It would be in Lothering where they would do battle and defeat the Darkspawn armies. A major reason for such a decisive victory would be the heavy Grey Warden presence who forced the Archdemon from showing in the battle. As it stands, the Darkspawn armies are on the run, and the final battle for the fate for Ferelden is at hand.
The Sixth Blight
Skaven under the command of Ikit Claw would attempt to capture a Old God with their strange and unusual technology. With their experimentation, they devised a way to warder off Darkspawn in a limited fashion. They thought that this would be enough to prevent the Darkspawn attention. When they found the Old God
Lusacan deep under the deep roads of North-Eastern Orlais. They would attempt to mutilate and change the Old God so that they would gain access to the Dark Spawn hive network. This would end in tragedy. It is not known how exactly the Old God got corrupted. Perhaps because it sensed the presence of red lyrium usage, or perhaps it was the limited use of their repellents, but the fact of the matter is that the sixth blight is upon Thedas, making this the first time multiple Blights happen simultaneously.
Siege of Minrathous
The backbone of the Drucchi fleet has inexplicably left the assault of the Tevinter Imperium. Rumor had it that the order came from the King of the Drucchi himself. This was fortunate for the defenders, since they got all their remaining forces to relive the siege of their capital.
Before they did however, the Drucchi finally managed to crumble the defenses of Minrathous and his
Khainite Assassins infiltrated the city and made coordinated attacks against the Magisters. They were aided by the many elven slaves, many of them led by
Fenris who took pleasure in using his kinsmen's knowledge of the city against their oppressors.
In the end, the Drucchi forces would be repelled thanks to overwhelming reinforcements, but not before they did irreparable damage to the city. All of their elvish slaves have been either killed, or freed by the Drucchi, and the magical defenses and enchantments that have shielded the city for millennia have come undone, with no sure way to remake them again. Also the Tevinter leadership have been depleted, with only a handful of Magister families left. The city stood a shell of its former self.
