Shadow War: First Blood

Queen Anna Flair sat upon her war-horse and looked down upon the tranquil lands of Gala. Behind her was arrayed a portion of her great force: knights on steeds, archers, pikemen.

don't let the enemy choose the battlefield or the time of engagement

North of her position was a second battallion - more archers, pikemen, axemen, and even the poorer farmers who carried only their pitchforks.

don't let the enemy anticipate the strength or the direction of your attack

South of the Queen's position lay yet another force of men - squadrons armed with spears, forks, morning-stars, swords, and other able implements of destruction.

don't let the enemy see you coming, strike without warning

The plan was simple enough; at the same hour, at as much the same moment as was feasably possible without direct communication, all of Gana's forces would attack the towns, villages, and cities of Gala. They had begun their march in the dead of night bt now the Queen watched with anticipation as the sun began to rise, the Queen of Gana knew that the hour had come, her moment of glory among the nations of men.

"AAAAIIIIIGGH!!!!!!" she screamed as she urged her steed to immense speeds, and with her flew her warriors - not only there by her side, but also her other battallions even as she had told her captains: when the sun rises in the east strike the heart of our enemy.

Castellan stood by the hearth while his friend Baron Zeitgeist sat at the table. Castellan looked at his friend. "So, you were visited by a helspawn servant of Erinye..."

"And you a sprite-thinge of King Oberon and Queen Mab..."

"Woods are full of thinges, the Fey Wood once spread across most of Havnheim, my own wood here has a touch of eternity to it as well."

"Elves be here - not faeries - dirty, nasty elves..."

"Elves who know how to fight from a distance and hide like the wind... Yes, nasty creatures they are, but not as fearsome as the Fey sprites."

"Ha!" cackled the Baron. "Sprites, faeries, spirit-walkers they are, at least the dirty elves are flesh and blood like us..."

"So much the easier to kill, when they are caught!"

"They hide too well, like they are invisible... almost like the other ones. When the time comes, when we make to save the bloody White Hand, you will call... them?"

"Of course I will call. You know me well enough to not even need ask. Our armies of men are nothing compared to them."

The Baron began to chuckle and hum, "Yes, yes, you cannot fight what you cannot see..."

"The shi'dheuom will save the Mage Guild and those s.o.b.'s will hate us for it! Haha! What sweet revenge it is to use the invisible spirits to save those who have renounced such things! The name of the Squadron Dheuom will resound across the land as the saviors of the civilized world! Bwahahaha!"

East of Allaria, within a well-defended pub in a town acceptable to all parties...

Count Phinneus Fog, the magnate of Fenring, sat at table with the other sovereigns: Duke Nikol Furie of Wi'Sdom, Duke Kylander D'Spare of Fluerin, and Duke Ridley Fallon of Lux.

"And so the die is cast, our lot is chosen," said the man most called Fury.

"We are united," said Kylander. "Our troops, our swordsmen, crossbowmen, spearmen, they shall march across the lands to our west and we shall come out VICTORIOUS!"

"Do not be so melodramatic, youngster!" quipped Count Fog. "We still must wait for our men to be joined by the... the... Black Army. Until that hour we cannot make a move."

Duke Fallon smiled. "How sweet it will be to see the arrogant prideful men of Allaria fall at the hands of the dark thinges, and to see the dark thinges fall as well."

"Do not voice your desire so loudly, friend," said Fury. "If those dark thinges do not all fall by the time this is over and done, they shall surely turn upon us."

"Aye," said D'Spare. "Yet if the black ambassadors think we foolish and stupid enough to trust them, they shall be in for a sore surprise when they try to take our own lands, our own people, our own lives."

"Aye," they all sighed, drank another tankard of mead, thought about what the near future would bring to them, and hoped that they would truly come out on top.

The armada of Hespan and the land forces of Hespan had had enough time to be mustered, weeks had passed and every last man - to the humblest farmer with fork and scythe - had been assembled. The armada had already been sent out and, according to the best time estimates, should have reached the shores of Allaria and the city of Collinsport. It was now time for the army to set out, their prime goal: to march to Allaria and attack; their immediate goal: to march across the lands of the nearest western duchy - Lux. At the head of the Hespan force sat Commander Cristobal Borrar, one of the great Cavaliers; commissioned by his King he will tell the lord of the land to let his mighty gathering of men pass, if the lord refuses Commander Cristobal and his men will make mincemeat of that lord and his people.

1. Although the many players do not all realize that they themselves are being played, though they know not of the various battles and battlefields, first moves are continued to be made...
2. far from the actions of outright war lie the reactions of a struggle for life...

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