Glaehron Turaanen
Regular
Part I - Ousting the Dead
Glaehron rode through the woods as his mind lingered. He met Ranger-lord Haelthn two weeks ago. A good friend of his father's, Haelthn always kept close ties with the Turaanen line, however, Glaehron didn't expect to be needed this soon. He and his band of Rangers retreated to the reclusive safety and rest of Sentinel, after hunting brigands and other troublemakers in the nearby woods. Blood always flowed freely through the dense layer of grass and vines as the unprepared outlaws fell swiftly to their arrows. He and his rangers were born and raised in these lands, and they knew every tree and river.
Glaehron Turaanen riding through the Woodlands.
However, rest didn't seem to last as he was summoned to the citadel. There he had a conversation with Healthn who urged him to ready his men for war, as they were planning to destroy the Plague and Feron oppression once and for all. The Blighted Plague was on an unstoppable onslaught in Shaleria and they required the aid of the Marilion Planelords should they want to survive the coming months, but the Marilions had troubles of their own with the Ferons to the south and the Plague owning a keep right at their doorstep. Thus their first step would be besieging Nextralis Keep and removing the Plague foothold in their lands. Haelthn had already gathered a reasonable force of about three-hundred-fifty men strong, marshalled by the Lords Windwhisper and Hua, but they required more, and more bows were welcome.
Thanks to Everwatch, the Plague was partly occupied on their eastern flank, constantly harassed by the Illorian navy. Haelthn urged Glaehron to ride for Haelenor Palace in a week. There they would gather up and march for Nextralis Keep. They would need to be swift and take the Keep fast for their plan required the withdrawal of various border groups in the south who were guarding the woodlands from Feron incursions. The border groups successfully fended off a raiding party of about two-hundred heads a month earlier, and a new attempt was expected.
Thus he found himself in front of Haelenor Palace's gates, the Guards opened them and a courier went off to note the other Lords.
Welcomed by the Guards.
Glaehron wandered inside and was greeted by Hua. Haelthn and Windwhisper had already ventured in direction of the Keep to secure the surrounding woods in preperation of their siege. Hua's company was ordered to stay in Haelenor Palace and meet up with Glaehron so they could move up to the Keep together. 'Greetings Glaehron, I trust your journey has been a safe one so far?' Hua informed. 'Indeed, I have had no trouble on the way here, your men do a good job of securing the woodlands, Hua. Are we moving soon? My company is ready.' he replied while slightly bowing for the Lord. Hua had been the guardian of Perilia's southern woodlands for ages and Glaehron held a lot of respect for the veteran, he was honoured to get the chance fighting alongside heroes like Hua. Hua nodded "We will move out at nightfall we don't want to draw attention on our way there. We will reach the Keep by dawn." he said while gesturing at Glaehron to follow him. Glaehron followed Hua down the stairs to the resting quarters. 'Use the remaining hours to rest. Come see me at the front gate as soon the sun goes down.'
At the Council.
Their march to the Keep had been one without trouble so far. Planelords were difficult to see in the woods, even more so at dark, when they were invisible to the human eye. Their thread was an amazingly light one as well, a trait some humans referred to as "wizardry", it wasn't unusual for Feron raiding parties to venture into a forested area to be surrounded by another forest of bows a couple of seconds later. They had always been able to ward off invasions so far, but the Marilion numbers were diminishing while the Feron had fresh troops coming forth from their strongholds. This time however, they would battle the Blighted Plague and not the greenskins. They were a completely different adversary, combining ruthless strength with the twisted and wicked strategies of their masters.
A man suddenly appeared on the road. 'Greetings my Lords. I bring word from Ranger-lord Haelthn. They are encamped three miles further up ahead and are awaiting your arrival, please, follow me.' without awaiting a response the courier turned around and started to move in the direction he came from. Hua ordered the two companies to follow the man, and they were on their way again. In a couple of minutes they saw some of the tents and banners marking the location of the camp. They were greeted by Haelthn and Windwhisper. 'Welcome my friends.' he said 'Come, join us in my tent, we will have to go through our plan.' Haelthn led them inside his decorated command tent where a large map occupied the biggest part of a round table. 'I have had a report from our scouts at the Keep. They tell us there is only a small garrison defending the walls, about a hundred men strong. Considering we have about three-hundred-fifty men it should not be too much of a trouble.' the other Lords nodded. 'We will attack from the south.' Haelthn pointed at the map 'I don't want to assail their walls directly as they will simply throw us off the battlements. However, we will use our numerical advantage and express this in arrows. They will most likely have a few dead crossbowmen so take these out first. Glaehron, I expect you and your Rangers to help us here.' Glaehron nodded 'We will keep shooting until you see nothing moving on their walls, then we will move in and slaughter any dead souls still inside the Keep. No rams, no ballista's, only a ladder. Let our bows do the work. Prepare your man to move out, we will free Perilia from the dead tomorrow!' the Lords let out a cheer and then moved out to rally their troops. Within a couple of minutes they were formed up into a colon and started marching north, towards the Keep, towards their fate.
The sun had set above the mountains, letting light fall on the trees and the cold stone walls of the keep. Shadows were chased off, at least, most of them. Some shadows remained on the walls... the dead. Suddenly, new shadows appeared from the forest south of the keep. As their numbers grew they stepped into the sunlight. Three-hundred-fifty bows came forward and greeted the day. Three-hundred-fifty bows to release a hundred times larger amount of arrows upon any who would claim Perilia as their own. As they formed a line in front of the southern wall, the shadows on top of battlements started to move. They grabbed their shields and glaives and formed a wall of doom and despair of a hundred heads strong. The attackers were formed up, no words were said, no voices disturbed the silence enveloping the keep...
Then, as hundreds of bows were strung, one command was shouted. Hundreds of arrows were fired and the whistling sound was the herald of death. The defender had no means to fend off that many arrows. Wooden shields and rusted armour was penetrated. Only the cold stones could survive the feathered death.
Marilion Forces forming up and unleashing death. [Upper Left] Right Flank - [Upper Right] Center - [Lower] Left Flank.
The continuous volleys did their job, as the Planelord bowmen had a nack for finding unarmored pieces of flesh, and if the sharp head did not send them to Fellath for eternity, the impact would send them tumbling off the wall, battering and mangling their bodies in such a way they were unable to stand up again. As of the hundred defenders only about fifty remained, Windwhisper, the leader of the melee forces rode to Haelthn who was constantly marshalling his ranged forces at the centre. 'Haelthn! Only half their force remains. Let me and my druids move up to the wall to force our way into their keep.' Haelthn looked at him and thought for a moment, then replied. 'We better hang back here and let our rangers do the work, we will put down the other half as well.' But Windwhisper, considering the dirty tricks of the Plague masters replied. 'We better not stress our ranged forces too much, Haelth. You know what the Dreadlords are capable off, if any of them is commanding these troops we better keep some of our forces behind. We already used more then half or our force's arrows.' Haelthn nodded. 'You are right my friend. Get Glaehron and his company from the right flank, order him and your troops to assail their walls!' Windwhisper rode to the right flank where he finds Glaehron adjusting his company's aim. 'Glaehron! Follow me to the wall, we will charge them up front. Haelthn will cover us from the center and Hua from the left flank.' Glaehron orders his men to hold their fire and to follow him towards the battlements. With Windwhisper and Glaehron up front, they begin the first charge.
'On to the battlements!'
With Hua and Haelthn’s companies covering them from behind. Windwhisper and Glaehron lead their men towards the walls. Any Blighted crossbowman that managed to survive the volleys is pinned down upon the battlements. Windwhisper and Glaehron both know however that fighting the Blighted Plague up front is where they will lose many of their man, despite their great numerical advantage. As they reach the base of the walls Windwhisper starts shouting orders. ‘Druids on me! We will push them from the walls! Onwards!’. The Marilion melee forces move up the ladder where they are confronted by a wall of glaives and spears. The rangers seize fire to prevent hitting their allies. To the unpleasant surprise of the Marilion troops, there are several Headless Horsemen leading the undead defence. Many druids are cut down trying to force a breach. As many Planelord corpses tumble down the walls it’s clear a direct assault will cost too many lives in this stage. ‘Windwhisper, we have to fall back! They are too strong on the walls!’ Glaehron shouts while pulling some of his men from the ladder. Windwhisper nods and pulls back his men as well.
The Blighted Plague firmly holding the walls.
Windwhisper and Glaehron retreat to the base of the wall. Glaehron looks up at the breach. ‘The price already has been too high…’ he whispers while looking at the many corpses of men he held dearly. He sees two bodies on top of the ladder and he recognises them as Jehlun and Nehnon, two brothers who had been with him for years.
The two brothers lay broken.
Haelthn and Hua had seen the retaliation on top of the battlements and order the volunteers forward to support Windwhisper and Glaehron. The volunteers are all men of different nations, either freed by the Planelords from captivity, or volunteering into their service. This time they mainly consist of men from Asaleth, freed from a Feron raiding party. Their heavy armor is known to withstand quite some blows, and it’s what they need today.
Asaletheans in Marilion service.
Windwhisper welcomes the men into his ranks as he orders them to move up once more, this time with the Asalethians up front. They manage to reach the battlements without losing too much men to the spears and glaives, but the Headless Horsemen prove a tough adversary again and some Knights of Asaleth are cut down. Now the Marilions find themselves in a tough position as more dead bodies come tumbling down the battlements. Realising their error from afar, Hua rides from the left flank towards Haelth at the center and urges him. ‘Haelthn, we have to retreat for now! Our men need to rest and our bows are being overstrained, we are also running out of arrows.’ Haelthn nods. Hua always had a keen eye for surveying the situation.
Ranger-Lord Hua and Ranger-Lord Haelthn.
A night had passed without any killing. The Marilion forces had retreated into their woods when things were going awry and they now were ready for their last and final push. They agreed that their plan would be the same as the day before. They would continuously lay down volleys to slay the biggest part of the defenders, then move up the walls to clear the keep out of any still standing. They knew that waiting brought it’s risks, and it was no different today. Although yesterdays battle only left the defenders with about twenty men, the Blighted Plague’s practice of necromancy made them able to replenish their numbers as soon they had a moments rest. Now, with only one night without fighting, they restored their numbers up to forty. They had to destroy them now, or it would get worse. As bows were string and arrows filled the sky, the last push began. With cover of their rangers, Windwhisper and Glaehron and their men moved up to the wall. To his relief he saw the Headless Horsemen being put down by the volleys, so they would not have to deal them on the battlements. Getting confident, Glaehron orders the charge. Leading his men up the ladder, he firmly grabs his battle-staff and runs up the battlements to take the breach.
'Once more unto the breach my friends!'
Blows are traded. Plagued, Marilion and Asalethian corpses lay on the walls and on the ground. Blood seeps on the stones, smelting the snow away with it’s warmth. The battle is won, the first stage complete. And as the corpses are removed, Marilion guards occupy the walls and look down on the forests. Haelthn, Hua, Windwhisper and Glaehron are standing on the gatehouse.
If this is only a taste of what is too come, it will be hard times indeed.’ Haelthn said while breathing in the fresh air.
Nextralis Keep under Marilion control.
Glaehron rode through the woods as his mind lingered. He met Ranger-lord Haelthn two weeks ago. A good friend of his father's, Haelthn always kept close ties with the Turaanen line, however, Glaehron didn't expect to be needed this soon. He and his band of Rangers retreated to the reclusive safety and rest of Sentinel, after hunting brigands and other troublemakers in the nearby woods. Blood always flowed freely through the dense layer of grass and vines as the unprepared outlaws fell swiftly to their arrows. He and his rangers were born and raised in these lands, and they knew every tree and river.
Glaehron Turaanen riding through the Woodlands.
However, rest didn't seem to last as he was summoned to the citadel. There he had a conversation with Healthn who urged him to ready his men for war, as they were planning to destroy the Plague and Feron oppression once and for all. The Blighted Plague was on an unstoppable onslaught in Shaleria and they required the aid of the Marilion Planelords should they want to survive the coming months, but the Marilions had troubles of their own with the Ferons to the south and the Plague owning a keep right at their doorstep. Thus their first step would be besieging Nextralis Keep and removing the Plague foothold in their lands. Haelthn had already gathered a reasonable force of about three-hundred-fifty men strong, marshalled by the Lords Windwhisper and Hua, but they required more, and more bows were welcome.
Thanks to Everwatch, the Plague was partly occupied on their eastern flank, constantly harassed by the Illorian navy. Haelthn urged Glaehron to ride for Haelenor Palace in a week. There they would gather up and march for Nextralis Keep. They would need to be swift and take the Keep fast for their plan required the withdrawal of various border groups in the south who were guarding the woodlands from Feron incursions. The border groups successfully fended off a raiding party of about two-hundred heads a month earlier, and a new attempt was expected.
Thus he found himself in front of Haelenor Palace's gates, the Guards opened them and a courier went off to note the other Lords.
Welcomed by the Guards.
Glaehron wandered inside and was greeted by Hua. Haelthn and Windwhisper had already ventured in direction of the Keep to secure the surrounding woods in preperation of their siege. Hua's company was ordered to stay in Haelenor Palace and meet up with Glaehron so they could move up to the Keep together. 'Greetings Glaehron, I trust your journey has been a safe one so far?' Hua informed. 'Indeed, I have had no trouble on the way here, your men do a good job of securing the woodlands, Hua. Are we moving soon? My company is ready.' he replied while slightly bowing for the Lord. Hua had been the guardian of Perilia's southern woodlands for ages and Glaehron held a lot of respect for the veteran, he was honoured to get the chance fighting alongside heroes like Hua. Hua nodded "We will move out at nightfall we don't want to draw attention on our way there. We will reach the Keep by dawn." he said while gesturing at Glaehron to follow him. Glaehron followed Hua down the stairs to the resting quarters. 'Use the remaining hours to rest. Come see me at the front gate as soon the sun goes down.'
At the Council.
Their march to the Keep had been one without trouble so far. Planelords were difficult to see in the woods, even more so at dark, when they were invisible to the human eye. Their thread was an amazingly light one as well, a trait some humans referred to as "wizardry", it wasn't unusual for Feron raiding parties to venture into a forested area to be surrounded by another forest of bows a couple of seconds later. They had always been able to ward off invasions so far, but the Marilion numbers were diminishing while the Feron had fresh troops coming forth from their strongholds. This time however, they would battle the Blighted Plague and not the greenskins. They were a completely different adversary, combining ruthless strength with the twisted and wicked strategies of their masters.
A man suddenly appeared on the road. 'Greetings my Lords. I bring word from Ranger-lord Haelthn. They are encamped three miles further up ahead and are awaiting your arrival, please, follow me.' without awaiting a response the courier turned around and started to move in the direction he came from. Hua ordered the two companies to follow the man, and they were on their way again. In a couple of minutes they saw some of the tents and banners marking the location of the camp. They were greeted by Haelthn and Windwhisper. 'Welcome my friends.' he said 'Come, join us in my tent, we will have to go through our plan.' Haelthn led them inside his decorated command tent where a large map occupied the biggest part of a round table. 'I have had a report from our scouts at the Keep. They tell us there is only a small garrison defending the walls, about a hundred men strong. Considering we have about three-hundred-fifty men it should not be too much of a trouble.' the other Lords nodded. 'We will attack from the south.' Haelthn pointed at the map 'I don't want to assail their walls directly as they will simply throw us off the battlements. However, we will use our numerical advantage and express this in arrows. They will most likely have a few dead crossbowmen so take these out first. Glaehron, I expect you and your Rangers to help us here.' Glaehron nodded 'We will keep shooting until you see nothing moving on their walls, then we will move in and slaughter any dead souls still inside the Keep. No rams, no ballista's, only a ladder. Let our bows do the work. Prepare your man to move out, we will free Perilia from the dead tomorrow!' the Lords let out a cheer and then moved out to rally their troops. Within a couple of minutes they were formed up into a colon and started marching north, towards the Keep, towards their fate.
The sun had set above the mountains, letting light fall on the trees and the cold stone walls of the keep. Shadows were chased off, at least, most of them. Some shadows remained on the walls... the dead. Suddenly, new shadows appeared from the forest south of the keep. As their numbers grew they stepped into the sunlight. Three-hundred-fifty bows came forward and greeted the day. Three-hundred-fifty bows to release a hundred times larger amount of arrows upon any who would claim Perilia as their own. As they formed a line in front of the southern wall, the shadows on top of battlements started to move. They grabbed their shields and glaives and formed a wall of doom and despair of a hundred heads strong. The attackers were formed up, no words were said, no voices disturbed the silence enveloping the keep...
Then, as hundreds of bows were strung, one command was shouted. Hundreds of arrows were fired and the whistling sound was the herald of death. The defender had no means to fend off that many arrows. Wooden shields and rusted armour was penetrated. Only the cold stones could survive the feathered death.
Marilion Forces forming up and unleashing death. [Upper Left] Right Flank - [Upper Right] Center - [Lower] Left Flank.
The continuous volleys did their job, as the Planelord bowmen had a nack for finding unarmored pieces of flesh, and if the sharp head did not send them to Fellath for eternity, the impact would send them tumbling off the wall, battering and mangling their bodies in such a way they were unable to stand up again. As of the hundred defenders only about fifty remained, Windwhisper, the leader of the melee forces rode to Haelthn who was constantly marshalling his ranged forces at the centre. 'Haelthn! Only half their force remains. Let me and my druids move up to the wall to force our way into their keep.' Haelthn looked at him and thought for a moment, then replied. 'We better hang back here and let our rangers do the work, we will put down the other half as well.' But Windwhisper, considering the dirty tricks of the Plague masters replied. 'We better not stress our ranged forces too much, Haelth. You know what the Dreadlords are capable off, if any of them is commanding these troops we better keep some of our forces behind. We already used more then half or our force's arrows.' Haelthn nodded. 'You are right my friend. Get Glaehron and his company from the right flank, order him and your troops to assail their walls!' Windwhisper rode to the right flank where he finds Glaehron adjusting his company's aim. 'Glaehron! Follow me to the wall, we will charge them up front. Haelthn will cover us from the center and Hua from the left flank.' Glaehron orders his men to hold their fire and to follow him towards the battlements. With Windwhisper and Glaehron up front, they begin the first charge.
'On to the battlements!'
With Hua and Haelthn’s companies covering them from behind. Windwhisper and Glaehron lead their men towards the walls. Any Blighted crossbowman that managed to survive the volleys is pinned down upon the battlements. Windwhisper and Glaehron both know however that fighting the Blighted Plague up front is where they will lose many of their man, despite their great numerical advantage. As they reach the base of the walls Windwhisper starts shouting orders. ‘Druids on me! We will push them from the walls! Onwards!’. The Marilion melee forces move up the ladder where they are confronted by a wall of glaives and spears. The rangers seize fire to prevent hitting their allies. To the unpleasant surprise of the Marilion troops, there are several Headless Horsemen leading the undead defence. Many druids are cut down trying to force a breach. As many Planelord corpses tumble down the walls it’s clear a direct assault will cost too many lives in this stage. ‘Windwhisper, we have to fall back! They are too strong on the walls!’ Glaehron shouts while pulling some of his men from the ladder. Windwhisper nods and pulls back his men as well.
The Blighted Plague firmly holding the walls.
Windwhisper and Glaehron retreat to the base of the wall. Glaehron looks up at the breach. ‘The price already has been too high…’ he whispers while looking at the many corpses of men he held dearly. He sees two bodies on top of the ladder and he recognises them as Jehlun and Nehnon, two brothers who had been with him for years.
The two brothers lay broken.
Haelthn and Hua had seen the retaliation on top of the battlements and order the volunteers forward to support Windwhisper and Glaehron. The volunteers are all men of different nations, either freed by the Planelords from captivity, or volunteering into their service. This time they mainly consist of men from Asaleth, freed from a Feron raiding party. Their heavy armor is known to withstand quite some blows, and it’s what they need today.
Asaletheans in Marilion service.
Windwhisper welcomes the men into his ranks as he orders them to move up once more, this time with the Asalethians up front. They manage to reach the battlements without losing too much men to the spears and glaives, but the Headless Horsemen prove a tough adversary again and some Knights of Asaleth are cut down. Now the Marilions find themselves in a tough position as more dead bodies come tumbling down the battlements. Realising their error from afar, Hua rides from the left flank towards Haelth at the center and urges him. ‘Haelthn, we have to retreat for now! Our men need to rest and our bows are being overstrained, we are also running out of arrows.’ Haelthn nods. Hua always had a keen eye for surveying the situation.
Ranger-Lord Hua and Ranger-Lord Haelthn.
A night had passed without any killing. The Marilion forces had retreated into their woods when things were going awry and they now were ready for their last and final push. They agreed that their plan would be the same as the day before. They would continuously lay down volleys to slay the biggest part of the defenders, then move up the walls to clear the keep out of any still standing. They knew that waiting brought it’s risks, and it was no different today. Although yesterdays battle only left the defenders with about twenty men, the Blighted Plague’s practice of necromancy made them able to replenish their numbers as soon they had a moments rest. Now, with only one night without fighting, they restored their numbers up to forty. They had to destroy them now, or it would get worse. As bows were string and arrows filled the sky, the last push began. With cover of their rangers, Windwhisper and Glaehron and their men moved up to the wall. To his relief he saw the Headless Horsemen being put down by the volleys, so they would not have to deal them on the battlements. Getting confident, Glaehron orders the charge. Leading his men up the ladder, he firmly grabs his battle-staff and runs up the battlements to take the breach.
'Once more unto the breach my friends!'
Blows are traded. Plagued, Marilion and Asalethian corpses lay on the walls and on the ground. Blood seeps on the stones, smelting the snow away with it’s warmth. The battle is won, the first stage complete. And as the corpses are removed, Marilion guards occupy the walls and look down on the forests. Haelthn, Hua, Windwhisper and Glaehron are standing on the gatehouse.
If this is only a taste of what is too come, it will be hard times indeed.’ Haelthn said while breathing in the fresh air.
Nextralis Keep under Marilion control.
