The KGB Oracle Forums General Public Discussion (PUBLIC) The Pub What was...

Go rattle his cage yourself

I'm sure Zorak would agree

These guys might show up too

If so having some of these in your alliance helps

from what little I know of those days (I was financially and technically unable to play by the time I finally got my beta) as a former member and Elder of CQ was that skill was primary, since often times CoS forces were outnumbered with 3:1 odds or better, the scouting forces which had originally been my responsibility fell to Swiftkill and he (as I predicted) did a splendid job leading these skirmishers, collecting intel, and and leading lighting raids

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Treachery: The Campaign of Banes

GUEST SUBMISSION
Fragment: Treachery
Nation Name: Covenant of Swords
Author Name: Megadas Suresight
Article Date: July 1, 2003

As the dust settles from the great battles that occurred on Treachery recently, one can see a marked change in the land. In the heart of Tyrranth Major, great fires continue to burn as four once great cities are completely consumed. In the far north, the great city of Val'Haven hosts an army of defenders who are busy repairing their equipment and cleaning their weapons of the blood of their enemies, in anticipation of the next great campaign. And another city, only hours old, springs up dangerously close to Val'Haven. Its citizens comprise a massive alliance of those who follow the evil god Morloch and the Dragon.



Calling themsElves the Alliance for Treachery's Protection, a vast army of those who would see the Elves destroyed fashioned a great alliance and placed a Tree of Life to the northwest of Val'Haven. This alliance's members and it's allies include the Knights of Glory and Beer, The Shadow Legion, Dracul, Crimson Dawn, Chaotica, and the remnants of the once mighty Shadowclan, Combine, and Redemption nations, among many others. Its numbers are swollen with the dispossessed and deposed, refugees of the cities Skye, N'Kharu, Redemption, and other nations who dared to rise up in open conflict with the Elves of Valthanor.



This alliance is lead by many old leaders of the destroyed cities, and by one who had, until recently, been a member of the Covenant of Swords. TheFather, the guild leader of The Shadow Legion, is believed by many to have struck the bargains and made the deals required to fashion such an alliance, and in fact he was seen at the command of almost every army the Alliance fielded during the Campaign of Banes. Many among the Elves of Valthanor speculate that his recent fall from worthy ally to arch-nemesis may be the work of the Dragon, for now TheFather consorts and collaborates openly with the Irekei of the Shadowclan, and the minions of Morloch and his Chaos Horde. Dracul, who openly swear fealty to Morloch, is one of the largest members of the Alliance.



The Campaign of Banes began with the razing of Sanctuary, ancient home of the Knights of Glory and Beer. This city was the third founded on Treachery after the Turning, and many a tear was shed into the beers of KGB as the ancient Tree of Life was destroyed. The nation of KGB was only able to muster a small token force for Sanctuary's defense, and those brave souls were quickly overrun as the Elves and their allies ripped through the city and began destruction of its Tree. After Sanctuary fell, a KGB officer who parleyed with the Elves spat bitterly, "Does it not strike fear into your heart... that we would allow our homes to burn so that the true battle may be joined? KGB has paid its price, and gladly." Obviously this meant much strife was still in store for the citizens of Treachery.



The scene of Alliance troops desperately massing what forces they could muster to defend a member nation's beleaguered city would repeat itself twice more as Death Valley and Arcania fell under attack by Covenant of Swords forces. And like the Alliance city Sanctuary, Death Valley and Arcania were also reduced to a smoking pile of rubble by the Army of the Covenant.



On this day, four Alliance cities would fall, but only three were crushed by an army. Treachery, it seems, is not just the name of the fragment of Aerynth to which we souls are confined to, but it is also the means by which the city of Terra Forraine was sundered. Details are sketchy, but it seems that internal strife and infighting lead to a trusted member in the Inner Council of the guild War and Retribution to forsake his nation and destroy the vast majority of the city. Counting this is a blessing and an opportunity to exact more damage on the Alliance, KVent of The Professionals, a core CoS guild, and his strike force headed straight to Terra Forraine as soon as it was clear what the intent of the scorned IC was, and participated in helping destroy the city.



As we have seen so far, already this day had brought with it many battles and the destruction of great cities, but the Campaign of Banes had not yet reached its fever pitch. As the forces of the Alliance began marshalling to Khar Th'Sekt, the forces of the Covenant of Swords realized that an attack upon Val'Haven was imminent. With lightning speed, KVent and the other battle leaders of the Covenant gathered all available forces and raced to the ancient runegate that lay in the southern lands of the Elvish nation. For the next two hours they would fight off two major attacks as Alliance troops came through the runegate from the desert northeast of Khar Th'Sekt. Each battle involved more and more troops, as the members of each side heard the calling of thier commanders and raced to join thier armies. The stage was being set for the greatest battles in the history of Treachery.



Beaten back twice by the Elves at the Tyrranth Major runegate, the army of the Alliance was commanded to hold in the ancient Irekei fortress of Khar Th'Sekt. By some bargain with the forces of the Dragon, TheFather ensured the protection of his forces while they swelled in number and prepared to march to the Elven city of Val'Haven. As the minutes slipped by on the countdown to the bane circle at Val'Haven going active, more and more Alliance troops rallied to Khar Th'Sekt. At the appointed time, the great host of the Alliance began marching toward the runegate in the desert wastes to the northeast of the Irekei fortress, apparently planning on yet another assault into the Elven-held runegate and the awaiting Covenant forces.



The leaders of the Covenant had by this point mustered all available forces at the Tyrranth runegate, in preparation for yet another assault, this time expecting to fight a force over twice their size. As the few CoS Scouts who remained alive in the desert wastes reported the enemy host aproaching the desert runegate, the leaders of the Covenant forces, Swiftkill, Zorak, and KVent, all began planning the battle around the runegate. However, much to the surprise of the CoS, the Alliance forces did not teleport through the runegate. Instead, there was a secret group of Alliance summoners stationed to the northeast of Val'Haven working furiously to summon in the great Alliance host in a surprise maneuver designed to get behind the Elvish defenders.



The Alliance plan would have worked had it not been for the outstanding skill and dedication of the Covenant Scouts, many of which died several times in an attempt to keep the battle commanders with up-to-the minute knowledge of the whereabouts of all enemies surrounding Val'Haven. It is not clear who exactly discovered the surprise attack to the northeast of Val'Haven, but what is clear is that by the time the leaders of CoS realized the threat, there were already 50 Alliance troops forming a perimeter from which more could be summoned. Once they realized this, Zorak and his commanders ordered an immediate forced march of all forces at the Tyrranth runegate north to attack the Alliance forces staging near Val'Haven. Only one small group of volunteers were left at the runegate, with orders to hold it at all costs.



As the Army of the Covenant ran desperately north with reckless speed, its size slowly dwindled as members fell victim to hostile terrain and exhaustion. Rest was only ordered after the army reached the eastern gates of Val'Haven, and set up an emergency perimeter on the shores of the great northern ocean. Already the word had come that the Alliance army had began its march west towards Val'Haven, and the Alliance numbers were swollen to well over one hundred.



As Swiftkill and the other commanders rallied their troops and began marching east to meet the Alliance forces head on well outside the gates of Val'Haven, troubling news arrived. Far to the south, a Scout reported seeing the graves of the runegate defenders and the tracks of another great Alliance host moving north from the Tyrranthian runegate, directly toward Val'Haven. Now came the moment of choice for the leaders of the Covenant; should they press on to the northeast and meet the rapidly approaching threat head on, or should they order an immediate retreat back to Val'Haven to begin the preparations for defense on the city's walls, and face the combined might of both armies of the Alliance? The Covenant had just performed a forced march, and the fatigue it had endured was showing, for as much as a tenth of its forces were lost on the long road north from the runegate. Could a force of 70 hope to stand a chance against the horde of enemy pouring towards it? After a brief discussion, the order came down; "Move northeast, prepare for immediate contact with Alliance troops!" The Covenant would attempt to crush the army threatenining it from the east, and then rush back to Val'Haven in the hopes that they wouldn't be too late to defend thier city against the approaching enemy from the south.



It didn't take long for the two great armies to collide head on. At first, HeRog, Kvent, and the others were heartened by the reports from the front lines; it seemed that there were fewer enemies that they had expected. However, soon came the realization that they had simply ran into the advance guard of the marching Alliance army, and soon the forces of the Covenant were in a death struggle with those of the Alliance.



Minutes passed as hours while the forces fought and died on the grasslands of the Elvish nation. Shouts from both sides rang out, and one could hear TheFather shout as he urged his force on, "Kill them one by one!" Slowly the forces of the Covenant began pressing further into the van of the Alliance army, and eventually split the force in two, driving a wedge of steel into the enemy army's heart. As the Alliance forces began to crumble, shouts rang out from Swiftkill, "Do not loot the enemy, leave them on the field. When they are defeated get back to Val'Haven as fast as possible and form on the southwest corner! This fight is far from over!"



And truly it was far from over, for the bane circle had less than an hour to complete its spell and make the Tree of Life at Val'Haven vulnerable to physical damage. There was a massive Alliance host moving north rapidly from the southern lands of the Elves, with thier eyes set squarely on the prize; Val'Haven. No Scout had any idea where the Alliance host moving north was exactly, and KVent and the other battle commanders frantically sent orders that all scouts were to fan out from Val'Haven and find the location of the enemy. Soon a report came back that the enemy force was to the southwest of Val'Haven, skirting the shoreline of the Island Sea. However, the scout who found them was discovered quickly and killed, and soon the light of knowledge was extinguished, and once again the Covenant was in the dark as to where the Alliance army was heading to next.



It was the Covenant Scout Monika who discovered the enemy again, after what seemed like an eternity of waiting. The bane on Val'Haven had forty minutes remaining when the information came through to the leaders; the enemy had turned due east after being discovered, and was now to the southeast of Val'Haven, in the ancient Elven ruins of Eglan Berriador. Immediately the Covenant commanders ordered a hasty march to meet the Alliance, believing that if they could destroy this threat, the bane could be quickly destroyed while the Alliance forces vainly attempted to march back towards Val'Haven.



Upon reaching the enemy, the CoS army discovered that a great battle lay ahead of them. The host of Alliance members was swollen with many of those who had died at the battle to the northeast of Val'Haven, and had been summoned back to join thier comrades. CoS commanders did not waste a second ordering an immediate charge into the ranks of the enemy, and soon the battle stood on a knife's edge. The initial charge stung the Alliance forces, but the leadership of TheFather held the army together, and beat back the Covenant soldiers. Victory seemed to pass from one side to the other as first the Covenant charged, only to be repelled and counter-charged by Alliance troops. Covenant forces were outnumbered easily two to one as they fought desparately to end the last immediate threat posed by the Alliance. As the battle raged, slowly the experience, organization and leadership of the Covenant began to show and the enemy began to dwindle, until finally the great host of the Alliance was routed from the field by the Covenant forces. There was scarcely half an hour left of the bane circle's spell at Val'Haven. All CoS forces were ordered to recall and prepare to defend at the city walls at all costs.



Again Scouts were sent out, and again came back word of enemies approaching Val'Haven, this time from east of Eglan Berriador and from the northwest shoreline. It became clear that an army lead by members of the defeated Shadowclan nation were moving as quickly as possible towards the city from the east, as they undoubtedly knew time was of the essence. In addition, the Tree of Life planted by the Alliance to the northwest of Val'Haven was being used as a forward base from which more Alliance troops were coming to link up with the Shadowclan led army.



A CoS siege force was assembled inside Val'Haven with the intent of destroying the bane as soon as it went live. The Covenant's shock troops, Half Giants, Minotaurs, and stony Dwarves, were issued siege hammers. Great siege engines were hastily erected. A force of casters was posted on the western wall, where enemies were already beginning to test the defenses. As the bane's spell neared completion, with five minutes remaining, the forces of the Alliance came into sight of Val'Haven from the southeast. Swiftkill ordered a small group of volunteers to rush into the enemy in an attempt to slow them down and give his siege forces time to destroy the bane. It worked. As the bane went active, any member of CoS withing sight of the bane descended upon it with a fury that cracked the evil stone into a thousand pieces. The siege of Val'Haven was lifted. Or so we thought.



With the bane shattered, the din of celebration inside Val'Haven was soon drowned by the screams and roars of the Alliance horde as it washed up the western walls of the city, around the edge of the northwestern corner, and began beating down the walls of the northern side of the city, where the bane had stood only moments before. Cries of confusion, and then anger and frustration from the Alliance forces were heard as they realized that their moment of triumph over the Elves would not come this day. In defiance of the Elves they hastily erected another bane circle and again the countdown for the survival of Val'Haven began. The great host threw itself at the city walls, to be repelled time and time again by the concentrated and disciplined fire of the mages of the Covenant. Outnumbered easily three to one, the defenders of Val'Haven relied on the cities walls for their survival. The fight for the walls of Val'Haven lasted over two hours, and at one point the Alliance had as many as thirty of their troops on the northeast turret. Things were looking grim indeed as the Covenant would kill Alliance soldier after soldier, only to see them return to the battlefield in five minutes, having bound to the Alliance forward base Tree of Life northwest of Val'Haven.



Soon, however, help would come from an unlikely source; a merry band of cutthroats calling themsElves Juevos del Diablos had happened upon the Alliance forward base Tree, and decided to perform some mischief. As the Covenant would kill each member of the Alliance, he or she would appear back at the Alliance forward base Tree of Life. As soon as the poor soul appeared, they would be slain again by the bloodthirsty members of J-D. Slowly, as the CoS forces killed more and more Alliance members, their numbers at Val'Haven diminished. Finally, the warriors and casters of the Covenant destroyed the Alliance forces on the northeast turret of Val'Haven and soon Covenant fighters began appearing outside of the walls. A glorious push west along the northern walls by the Elflords of Valthanor and their allies soon ended the Alliance's siege. Grave markers dotted the landscape, and broken armor and weapons gleamed against the blood red grass surrounding the city of Elves, but the city still stood.



After five major battles spanning over twelve hours the Campaign of Banes ended, with the alliance threat to Val'Haven broken and Alliance forces retreating. The defenders of Val'Haven roared in defiance of the will of Morloch's evil minions. Today the city of Val'Haven still stands as a gleaming gem of hope and order amid a world of burnt and gutted ruins, but the fragment of Treachery has not yet seen the last fight for Val'Haven's existence.

~Megadas Suresight, Scout
Covenant of Swords

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