The Luna War
From Atlantic Roleplay Wiki
(Date of Conflict: January 2004)
Contents |
Background
In an era where Lightbringer forces were strong and unyielding, there was a shortage of forces of Darkness ready to openly stand against the proponents of Virtue and the Light. Capable of exerting their influence as they pleased it was an unsafe time to openly profess any creed that countered the standing rhetoric of the forces of "Good". In that era, foremost amongst these guardians of Light, stood the Order of Sanctus under King Talon Skyfire. A breakaway nation from Stormhaven, it had presented itself to Sosoria (Malas specifically) as a beacon of power. Situating themselves near the midpoint between the paladin city of Luna and the necromancer city of Umbra, they fancied themselves as the gatekeepers between the lands of Light and Dark.
However, against this standing bloc of power arose a new force. In utter opposition to all that Sanctus stood for rose the Dark Order, under the command of a demonic creature known as Tarothin Armunn. Bringing forth the corrupt and ruthless warriors of the age, Tarothin set his eyes against that great bastion of the Light, Sanctus. Various skirmishes and conflicts would arise between the two forces as they vied for supremacy in every place they met. It was only a matter of time till these conflicts gave rise to something greater.
Prelude
Having grown stronger and confident, the Dark Order (D|O) began plans to level a truly devastating blow against their hated foes. Tarothin had considered options for invading through Umbra which was firmly in the hands of the sympathetic forces of the Shadowform Empire (TSE) and the re-emerging remnants of the Order of the Ebon Skull (OES), but had ultimately rejected using Umbra/Sanctus border as the main front for his invasion. He wanted to do more than simply sack Castle Blackguard. He wished to send a message to all Lightbringers, that even their greatest fortifications and most holy sites would fall before the forces of the Dark Order. And in that era, there was but one city that so closely represented all that Tarothin Armunn wanted to strike at: Luna.
Luna fell under the protection of the House of the Gauntlet (H*G) and the Order of Sanctus (O|S) at the time, with several other guilds directly supporting their claims. If Luna could be taken, then not only would a magnificent blow be struck against the nations of the Light, but the homelands of H*G and O|S would be left open to invasion from whatever quarter Tarothin desired. Amassing a force of Stormreaver Orcs (Orc), TSE and several other forces of darkness, Tarothin set out with D|O to bring terror and destruction to the center of virtue. Countering them were a number of guilds allied to the forces of Light. O|S and H*G being chief amongst them, but guilds like the Order of the Praetorian Guard (OPG) and even forces drafted from Yew came to serve. The scene was set for war.
First Battle There were two major battles and an endless number of skirmishes that characterized the Luna War. The first battle was for the moongate itself. Making use of the Feluccan moongate between Minoc and Vesper which the Dark Order had claimed from its base in Cove, the forces of Darkness poured into Luna. The forces of Light had already positioned themselves around the moongate and at the entrance way to the central Luna facilities. In a mad tide of rage and violent intent the forces of Darkness surged outwards towards the waiting defenders. The battle almost instantly became one of utter chaos as man, orc and undead clashed in a titanic explosion of fury. For several minutes it was unclear who had the upper hand as no battle lines existed in the midst of the frenzy. It wasn't until the forces under Tarothin dislodged the defenders (mostly archers and mages) at the top of the stairs and the forces of Light began to scatter that the battle became more clear.
With the Dark Order in command of the moongate, but multiple Sanctan and Gauntlet forces still strewn around the inner city in pockets of resistance, bands of warriors were organized to hunt them down and disperse the last of the surviving defenders. Chases began all over the city as Light warriors made heroic stands against mobs of Dark forces before retreating and then reforming again. It wasn't until the timely arrival of reinforcements allowed Tarothin to post checkpoints around the city that the guerilla strikes were brought to heel. With the field cleared, though at reasonable cost, the Dark Order took possession of the inner city of Luna.
The Endless Strikes
Soon after the battle, Tarothin prepared to carry out the next phase of the operation and force the Lightbringers out of the city all together. However, a series of logistic issues in his own supply lines as well as trouble pinning down the force of Light in a place for a decisive engagement, Tarothin held off on the attack. However, neither Tarothin nor his allies were content to simply sit around while things happened to fall into place. If the forces of Light would not bring him the war he desired, he would bring it to them.
Sending forces back through the gate and into Umbra, the forces of Darkness surged through the Shattered Isle and into the homeland of Sanctus. Directing their attacks against any citizenry and soldiery they could find, the dark alliance laid effective siege to Sanctus in a series of ongoing raids that came every day and night. Tarothin intended to either force the hand of the Lightbringers into attacking him or getting them to abandon the defense of Luna altogether in defense of the homeland. The attacks carried on relentlessly in what one member of the Shadowform Empire called "The Endless Strikes". Most of the raids focused around Castle Blackguard itself, derisively referred to as the "House of Doors" due to its primary defense being a series traps and blindspots from which to ambush interlopers.
Multiple battles occured in the castle; and while the dark alliance succeeded in bringing terror and destruction to the lands of Sanctus, it did not succeed in crushing the will of the Lightbringers who stood fast time and time again. Battles of legend raged between heroes and villians of the age. It was during this time that a new force, the Legion of Justice, appeared from within the Crystal Fens east of Luna and joined the struggle against Tarothin and his ilk. Seeking to end the strikes against his people and shoring up his alliance against the armies of D|O, TSE and Orc, Talon Skyfire ordered the army to be made ready to enter Luna once again.
The Final Battle: AKA - The Fields of Mud
With an army finally materializing somewhere where Tarothin could strike at it, he recalled the raiders and made preparations for combat. As darkness began to gather on the far horizon each side urged its lines forward until battle began. It was apparent that the D|O still held the advantange numerically, though the Legion of Justice was still an unknown factor at this point. As the two sides collided an unseasonally powerful storm broke in the skies above them. As the battle raged, more and more members of both armies began to become bogged down in the rainwater and mud. The Orcs in particular were badly effected to the point that nearly their whole force could not move nor give chase in the ensuing combat. As the battle swirled on, it soon became apparent that there was no true fight to be had. Unable to press forward and with the forces of Light continuing to dodge and dog his army, Tarothin found himself coming under an increasing number of requests to disengage, much to his irritation. However, with the Orcs effectively out of the battle and casualties mounting, Tarothin eventually called for his alliance to retreat back to the inner city, leaving the forces of Light in command of the outer courtyard.
Aftermath
Though Tarothin made plans to continue the war, things began to fall apart fast. The orcs, frustrated with the smell of flowers and their inability to give proper pursuit of their prey, departed from Luna and returned to Felucca Yew, taking a good portion of Tarothin's stealthers, berserkers and dismounters. The Shadowform Empire likewise found itself increasingly busy with internal intrigues and seemed less ready to provide support to the continued operation. Finding himself quickly losing forces and in a position of numerical and tactical inferiority, Tarothin begrudgingly made the decision to pull back from Luna all together. He despised allowing the Lightbringers to reclaim Luna again, but knew he couldn't finish out the war with D|O resources only.
This would be far from the last that Sosoria would hear from the D|O, however. Their forces continued to extend their influence in Felucca and bring death to the lands of all who opposed them. It would not be until the mist in Dark Cove appeared that the war parties of the D|O would finally dwindle, leaving the lands to peace once more.