Authors Note: So just to be clear none of this actually happened on this server, it was a bit of a meme I had on a different server where it was a "Siege the Fort" style server. What ended up happening was for 6 hours we were able to hold the same fortress which was unheard of at the time since most matches only lasted 20 mins before the Attackers won. It became a meme among us veterans and I forget why we named the fort Al-Utumno (this was after Utumno btw) but we ended up agreeing it sounded cool. Much of the context behind this is just made up creativeness I've been wanting to express for a month now. Anyways, enough rambling, lets get into the story.
Long ago in a land that is far distant from Loka, there lay a singular continent. Many different nomadic tribes settled on this singular continent and began warring over land and resources. The most notable war happened 20 years after the Creator made the continent for the people to live on. It was between the largely desert tribe of the Al-Anshe and the massive tribe in the plains known as the Zareth. To avoid detail, the warriors of Zareth united together with other tribesmen, most notably the tribe of Elquin to form an iron alliance against the Al-Anshe. In the end, after a year of fighting, the Zareth managed to land a decisive victory which lead to the destruction of a majority of Al-Anshe's army, and later the death of the leaders of Al-Anshe.
With Zareth victory in the war, they easily managed to control the central plains and the northern half of the "Scorched Desert" for many years after. Mass segregation occurred between the conquered tribes people, who were seen as less than the Zareth, and the citizens of Zareth itself, which had just declared itself to be a nation, rather than a large tribe. With the people in the desert being enslaved and given no rights, tensions were always high between Zareth and the northern desert people. The Zareth themselves were known to be cruel to newly conquered tribes, many being enslaved and sent to do hard labour in the south, or, if you were lucky, a lifetime of servitude under a Zareth citizen.
Needless to say, once rumours spread that the great grandson of the High Chief of the Al-Anshe was uniting southern desert tribes under his banner to liberate the north, many slaves began running away from their plantations, or even trying to start open rebellion. This, of course, angered he Zareth warlords who reformed the alliance with the Equin (which had been disbanded 4 years after the defeat of the Al-Anshe) in an attempt to ward off open rebellion, and add numbers to their vast armies. Soon after the reformation of the Iron Alliance, Zareth sent thousands of troops to occupy plantations and such in the south, and build border forts in fear of invasion.
All the while the great grandson of the High Chief of the Al-Anshe was constructing a singular fortress to hold his entire army. It was true that he had succeeded in uniting some of the souther tribes under his banner and to liberate the Zareth occupied north. Many of the tribes had feared that the ever expanding Zareth would start looking further south and cross the Flaming Path which marked the halfway point between north and south of the desert. He had put all his money and resources into it, and it had turned out to be strategically brilliant. It was set up in the Dry Cliffs where many ravines lay, and where there was only one path through. It reached up towards the heavens, it was rumoured if one were to go to the top of it, he could speak with the Creator himself. Its' massive walls and tight structure allowed it to only be attacked from one choke point, which he had set up to be very narrow.
Once the final tower had been constructed, he made an official declaration that he represented the Al-Anshe and any people living in former Al-Anshe land were his people and therefore under his rule. His first act was to free all slaves that were taken by Zareth. Naturally, Zareth denied these claims and instead went to war. What the leaders of Zareth did not realise, was the people within the former Al-Anshe lands saw this as a sign to rebel, and immediately abandoned the plantations and fled to the banner of the great grandson. Zareth soldiers slaughtered the people by the hundreds. Over three days a massacre that would be known as "The Wrath of Zareth" occurred, in which thousands of slaves were hung, struck down, or even tortured to death.
At the same time thousands more were able to flea past the Flaming Path and into Al-Anshe territory. Many made it to and past the fortress to establish the city of Bar'astad, which would become the capital of the Al-Anshe. Some former slaves became enlisted men to fight the Zareth on the front line. Over a week the Al-Anshe doubled its population from former citizens returning, as well as tripled its' army number. In the same week, the Wrath of Zareth ended and thousands of Zareth and Elquin troops began marching south to fight and destroy the Al-Anshe. Even with the massive immigration and beefed army numbers, the Al-Anshe only had 2000 men to defend the fortress. Zareth alone marched with an army of 10,000 men, as well as the Elquin army of 7,500, totalling 17,500 troops in total. The following week they were within striking distance of the fortress, and were preparing an all out assault to overwhelm the defenders and permanently destroy the Al-Anshe.
The stage was set for an epic battle that would be remembered for centuries. It had been 120 years since the Creator had created the continent, a whole century since the initial declaration of war between the Al-Anshe and the Zareth. Now this battle would determine who would remain superior, and whom would be forgotten in the history books, never to exist again.
It was early in the morning when the horns blared. It could only mean one thing for the defenders of the fortress, today was the first day of battle. The army was based mainly of archers mixed with with light infantry. Every Al-Anshe child was taught to ride as soon as they could walk, and even some of the slaves had managed to learn it. Riding was in their blood and they had been mastering it for a week now, making all of them semi-effective cavalry troops.
The Zareth and Elquin armies consisted mainly of light infantrymen and only a few hundred archers, and no cavalry whatsoever. The leader of the Zareth saw this as an easy victory, and the fortress would be captured within the first day of assault. He had not even bothered to review reports or the terrain before planning his push. He put his weakest men at the front to work as arrow fodder, with veteran troops in the rear to actually assault the wall. When he went to view the charge of his men, he did not realise his fatal mistake yet.
At one choke point in the Dry Cliffs, only 3 or 4 men could fit in at a time, which made it easy for archers to shoot them down. As the weakest men started going across the short bridge that was the chokepoint, arrows rained down and struck them. Many men who were on the bridge fell off or dove off trying to look for cover, while the men behind them continued to charge. Much training made it easy for the Al-Anshe archers to shoot in volleys after each other, and they were all aiming for the same spot.
The head of the charge broke after two minutes of this arrow fire, as men realised what awaited them and halted before the bridge, or even tried to retreat. During this pause even more arrows rained down, wounding and killing men fast. The men were confused, most of them began trying to charge again, only to be shot down while others frantically tried to retreat, only to be cut down by their comrades for retreating. After the first ten minutes of fighting, the charge was called off by a senior officer and the men retreated beyond the range of the Al-Anshe arrows.
Seeing this, the Zareth commander took an hour to reorganise his force, before sending his strongest men with shields to charge at the front, thinking it would negate the arrows. The Al-Anshe had expected this, and had been trained to shoot at the dead centre of shields in order to pierce the arm and send enough force to send men toppling off the bridge and into the cavern below. The charge proved to be as fatal as the last and even more men fell trying to break through. The commander of the Zareth called of the attack and told them to pull back.
Deciding he would need to plan better, he spent the rest of the day and night plotting in his tent while his men rested. They suffered from the screams of the wounded, echoing off of the cavern walls. They could not retrieve them due to night watches. Anything that moved was shot and therefore no man could easily pull the wounded away.
The next day the Zareth commander decided on a different tactic. He chose to put men with light shields in the front, but have them single file sprinting over the bridge to throw off the Al-Anshe when they fired. When the men did this, they managed to hold the charge for twenty minutes and nearly made it to the edge of the bridge and into cover, but didn't quite make it. The Zareth commander was convinced it could be done and for 6 hours the men would charge for ten to twenty minutes, reform for ten minutes, then charge again. Each charge would prove to be fatal as more men fell and died. That night deserters from both the Zareth and Elquin armies up and left. Hundreds of men leaving in a short time threw off the commander, who decided he must win today or not at all.
Seeing that he had pack horses, he ordered his men to get on them and gallop across the bridge. He knew if this did not work, nothing would and he would have to concede victory to his enemy, which he was not prepared to do. He put the fastest horses he could find with the best riders he could find and had them charge. Unbelievably the charge worked, and they made it across the bridge and into cover. Not expecting this, the commander sent more foot soldiers in as the men on horses dismounted and charged the wooden gate, preparing to bust it open with their swords.
Several hundred men made it across the bridge and strangely there had been little arrow fire. The commander was too busy enjoying the success of the charge to care about the archers not firing, and watched as his men charged the gate. Hot oil was poured on some of them, and rocks dropped on others. However there were too many men at the gate for that to do. Once they had hacked through the gate, they ran into the courtyard screaming the Zareth war cry expecting to fight. Instead they were shot down by the dozen, every man that entered endured a death trap of inescapable arrows and spears being shot and thrown down at them. By the end of the charge and the end of the siege, the commander barely was able to flea with his life after being pursued by the Al-Anshe men.
During that siege not a single Al-Anshe man died, but the Zareth and Elquin men were slaughtered. Of the 17,500 men that initially set out, only 500 ever made it back home. This would cause the Iron Alliance to sue for peace and give up all lands in the desert. The Al-Anshe would later set up a puppet government and rule the Zareth for the next two centuries. The fortress was a sign to the people that a smaller force could crush a larger force. It showed them that the Al-Anshe were still a people and not ones to be trifled with.
The fortress was bestowed the name Al-Utumno, which in the Al-Anshes' native tongue means "The Unbreakable Fortress". For hundreds of years the three day siege would be remembered. Other generals would learn from it, some would make the same mistake, and others would use it to their advantage. The battle itself changed the entire history of the Continent, and even the Creator himself could not have predicted the outcome. Al-Utumno would only every be forgotten by the sands of time, as the world began to fade, and the desert itself buried it within the sand.
Authors End Note: I want to thank you all for slogging through this (I understand it is quite a bit to read) and I hope you enjoyed it. If you dislike this style of writing or think theres something I can improve on, please say so in the comments, I truly do value constructive criticisms. Once again thank you all for reading this and see you in the next story!
-jmeatball
Long ago in a land that is far distant from Loka, there lay a singular continent. Many different nomadic tribes settled on this singular continent and began warring over land and resources. The most notable war happened 20 years after the Creator made the continent for the people to live on. It was between the largely desert tribe of the Al-Anshe and the massive tribe in the plains known as the Zareth. To avoid detail, the warriors of Zareth united together with other tribesmen, most notably the tribe of Elquin to form an iron alliance against the Al-Anshe. In the end, after a year of fighting, the Zareth managed to land a decisive victory which lead to the destruction of a majority of Al-Anshe's army, and later the death of the leaders of Al-Anshe.
With Zareth victory in the war, they easily managed to control the central plains and the northern half of the "Scorched Desert" for many years after. Mass segregation occurred between the conquered tribes people, who were seen as less than the Zareth, and the citizens of Zareth itself, which had just declared itself to be a nation, rather than a large tribe. With the people in the desert being enslaved and given no rights, tensions were always high between Zareth and the northern desert people. The Zareth themselves were known to be cruel to newly conquered tribes, many being enslaved and sent to do hard labour in the south, or, if you were lucky, a lifetime of servitude under a Zareth citizen.
Needless to say, once rumours spread that the great grandson of the High Chief of the Al-Anshe was uniting southern desert tribes under his banner to liberate the north, many slaves began running away from their plantations, or even trying to start open rebellion. This, of course, angered he Zareth warlords who reformed the alliance with the Equin (which had been disbanded 4 years after the defeat of the Al-Anshe) in an attempt to ward off open rebellion, and add numbers to their vast armies. Soon after the reformation of the Iron Alliance, Zareth sent thousands of troops to occupy plantations and such in the south, and build border forts in fear of invasion.
All the while the great grandson of the High Chief of the Al-Anshe was constructing a singular fortress to hold his entire army. It was true that he had succeeded in uniting some of the souther tribes under his banner and to liberate the Zareth occupied north. Many of the tribes had feared that the ever expanding Zareth would start looking further south and cross the Flaming Path which marked the halfway point between north and south of the desert. He had put all his money and resources into it, and it had turned out to be strategically brilliant. It was set up in the Dry Cliffs where many ravines lay, and where there was only one path through. It reached up towards the heavens, it was rumoured if one were to go to the top of it, he could speak with the Creator himself. Its' massive walls and tight structure allowed it to only be attacked from one choke point, which he had set up to be very narrow.
Once the final tower had been constructed, he made an official declaration that he represented the Al-Anshe and any people living in former Al-Anshe land were his people and therefore under his rule. His first act was to free all slaves that were taken by Zareth. Naturally, Zareth denied these claims and instead went to war. What the leaders of Zareth did not realise, was the people within the former Al-Anshe lands saw this as a sign to rebel, and immediately abandoned the plantations and fled to the banner of the great grandson. Zareth soldiers slaughtered the people by the hundreds. Over three days a massacre that would be known as "The Wrath of Zareth" occurred, in which thousands of slaves were hung, struck down, or even tortured to death.
At the same time thousands more were able to flea past the Flaming Path and into Al-Anshe territory. Many made it to and past the fortress to establish the city of Bar'astad, which would become the capital of the Al-Anshe. Some former slaves became enlisted men to fight the Zareth on the front line. Over a week the Al-Anshe doubled its population from former citizens returning, as well as tripled its' army number. In the same week, the Wrath of Zareth ended and thousands of Zareth and Elquin troops began marching south to fight and destroy the Al-Anshe. Even with the massive immigration and beefed army numbers, the Al-Anshe only had 2000 men to defend the fortress. Zareth alone marched with an army of 10,000 men, as well as the Elquin army of 7,500, totalling 17,500 troops in total. The following week they were within striking distance of the fortress, and were preparing an all out assault to overwhelm the defenders and permanently destroy the Al-Anshe.
The stage was set for an epic battle that would be remembered for centuries. It had been 120 years since the Creator had created the continent, a whole century since the initial declaration of war between the Al-Anshe and the Zareth. Now this battle would determine who would remain superior, and whom would be forgotten in the history books, never to exist again.
It was early in the morning when the horns blared. It could only mean one thing for the defenders of the fortress, today was the first day of battle. The army was based mainly of archers mixed with with light infantry. Every Al-Anshe child was taught to ride as soon as they could walk, and even some of the slaves had managed to learn it. Riding was in their blood and they had been mastering it for a week now, making all of them semi-effective cavalry troops.
The Zareth and Elquin armies consisted mainly of light infantrymen and only a few hundred archers, and no cavalry whatsoever. The leader of the Zareth saw this as an easy victory, and the fortress would be captured within the first day of assault. He had not even bothered to review reports or the terrain before planning his push. He put his weakest men at the front to work as arrow fodder, with veteran troops in the rear to actually assault the wall. When he went to view the charge of his men, he did not realise his fatal mistake yet.
At one choke point in the Dry Cliffs, only 3 or 4 men could fit in at a time, which made it easy for archers to shoot them down. As the weakest men started going across the short bridge that was the chokepoint, arrows rained down and struck them. Many men who were on the bridge fell off or dove off trying to look for cover, while the men behind them continued to charge. Much training made it easy for the Al-Anshe archers to shoot in volleys after each other, and they were all aiming for the same spot.
The head of the charge broke after two minutes of this arrow fire, as men realised what awaited them and halted before the bridge, or even tried to retreat. During this pause even more arrows rained down, wounding and killing men fast. The men were confused, most of them began trying to charge again, only to be shot down while others frantically tried to retreat, only to be cut down by their comrades for retreating. After the first ten minutes of fighting, the charge was called off by a senior officer and the men retreated beyond the range of the Al-Anshe arrows.
Seeing this, the Zareth commander took an hour to reorganise his force, before sending his strongest men with shields to charge at the front, thinking it would negate the arrows. The Al-Anshe had expected this, and had been trained to shoot at the dead centre of shields in order to pierce the arm and send enough force to send men toppling off the bridge and into the cavern below. The charge proved to be as fatal as the last and even more men fell trying to break through. The commander of the Zareth called of the attack and told them to pull back.
Deciding he would need to plan better, he spent the rest of the day and night plotting in his tent while his men rested. They suffered from the screams of the wounded, echoing off of the cavern walls. They could not retrieve them due to night watches. Anything that moved was shot and therefore no man could easily pull the wounded away.
The next day the Zareth commander decided on a different tactic. He chose to put men with light shields in the front, but have them single file sprinting over the bridge to throw off the Al-Anshe when they fired. When the men did this, they managed to hold the charge for twenty minutes and nearly made it to the edge of the bridge and into cover, but didn't quite make it. The Zareth commander was convinced it could be done and for 6 hours the men would charge for ten to twenty minutes, reform for ten minutes, then charge again. Each charge would prove to be fatal as more men fell and died. That night deserters from both the Zareth and Elquin armies up and left. Hundreds of men leaving in a short time threw off the commander, who decided he must win today or not at all.
Seeing that he had pack horses, he ordered his men to get on them and gallop across the bridge. He knew if this did not work, nothing would and he would have to concede victory to his enemy, which he was not prepared to do. He put the fastest horses he could find with the best riders he could find and had them charge. Unbelievably the charge worked, and they made it across the bridge and into cover. Not expecting this, the commander sent more foot soldiers in as the men on horses dismounted and charged the wooden gate, preparing to bust it open with their swords.
Several hundred men made it across the bridge and strangely there had been little arrow fire. The commander was too busy enjoying the success of the charge to care about the archers not firing, and watched as his men charged the gate. Hot oil was poured on some of them, and rocks dropped on others. However there were too many men at the gate for that to do. Once they had hacked through the gate, they ran into the courtyard screaming the Zareth war cry expecting to fight. Instead they were shot down by the dozen, every man that entered endured a death trap of inescapable arrows and spears being shot and thrown down at them. By the end of the charge and the end of the siege, the commander barely was able to flea with his life after being pursued by the Al-Anshe men.
During that siege not a single Al-Anshe man died, but the Zareth and Elquin men were slaughtered. Of the 17,500 men that initially set out, only 500 ever made it back home. This would cause the Iron Alliance to sue for peace and give up all lands in the desert. The Al-Anshe would later set up a puppet government and rule the Zareth for the next two centuries. The fortress was a sign to the people that a smaller force could crush a larger force. It showed them that the Al-Anshe were still a people and not ones to be trifled with.
The fortress was bestowed the name Al-Utumno, which in the Al-Anshes' native tongue means "The Unbreakable Fortress". For hundreds of years the three day siege would be remembered. Other generals would learn from it, some would make the same mistake, and others would use it to their advantage. The battle itself changed the entire history of the Continent, and even the Creator himself could not have predicted the outcome. Al-Utumno would only every be forgotten by the sands of time, as the world began to fade, and the desert itself buried it within the sand.
Authors End Note: I want to thank you all for slogging through this (I understand it is quite a bit to read) and I hope you enjoyed it. If you dislike this style of writing or think theres something I can improve on, please say so in the comments, I truly do value constructive criticisms. Once again thank you all for reading this and see you in the next story!
-jmeatball
