Siege of Maehrnor

Siege of Maehrnor
Part of the Lurak-Vikela War
Previous Battle: Opening Battle Date: 187 S.A. Place: Maehrnor, Queendom of Vikela Result: Luraki Victory Maehrnor is Conquered Belligerents Lurak & Allies: Rexdom of Lurak Ilmurin Vanguard Vikela & Allies: Queendom of Vikela Duchy of Brabant Commanders Daahd'Lur, Autark of Lurak Galahad, Prince of Malinor Cerrick Fenifaer, Field Marshal of Vikela Artorious, Marshal of Vikela Ser Sterling Whitewood, Duke of Brabant Strength ~3,200 Infantry ~1,900 Infantry Casualties ~600 Dead or Wounded ~1,900 Dead or Wounded

The Siege of Maehrnor, sometimes called the Sacking of Maehrnor, was the opening battle of the Lurak-Vikela War and initiated the Orcish invasion of Vikelan soil. Under the command of Autark Daahd'lur of Lurak, Father of the sitting Rex Rue'lur, the Luraki host had entered Vikelan territory from its southernmost flank and encircled the castle. Defending Maehrnor was a garrison of 1,900 men under the command of Vikelan Lord Marshal Cerrick Fenifaer with the inclusion of 200 Brabantine soldiers led by Duke Sterling Whitewood.

Prelude

The Vikelan Perspective

Prior to the Luraki encirclement of Maehrnor, numerous political and spiritual events would shape how the events of the battle would transpire. The year prior to the siege, Queen Medea I of Vikela had transferred emergency powers and effective control of Vikela over to an Elf by the name of Cerrick Fenifaer who was thusly appointed as Lord Marshal of the Elven realm. Not long after his appointment, Lord Marshal Cerrick issued an edict dubbed "Emergency Measures" in which the Lord Marshal decreed that Marshal Law, which instated curfew and prohibited free speech/protesting, was in effect as well as the conscription of all able-bodied citizens of Vikela. Still, the mobilization of the Vikelan citizenry for war took a considerable amount of time. Furthermore, the frontier castle of Maehrnor was crucially understaffed, and the Lord Marshal made immediate efforts to send as much reinforcements as he could.

Despite Vikela's allies for the most part having refused to join or backed out of the war prior to the Siege, the Duchy of Brabant - A human realm residing in a birch forest of the same name - answered the call to arms. The Duke, Ser Sterling Whitewood, marshalled a vanguard of 200 Brabantine knights to aid in the defense of Castle Maehrnor whilst the rest of the Brabantine army mobilized. Even with the bolstering of the garrison by the Brabantine vanguard, the majority of the Vikelan garrison was undertrained and inexperienced. Most, if not all of Vikelan's citizenry, had mostly known an era of peace and were thus inadequately prepared for the horrors of war. Still Lord Marshal Cerrick, to his credit, attempted to train his new recruits for as long as he could up until the arrival of the Luraki forces.

The Luraki Perspective

Although the Rexdom of Lurak was in principle a new nation, it inherited most of the military, diplomatic, and administrative experience of the previous Krugmar and was largely seen as a reformation of the same nation. Therefore, the Rexdom had thousands of hardened battle-experienced warriors who had fought previously in the southern frontier of the Aevos Coalition War against the Hyspian nation as well as in the various defensive campaigns against the Covenant. Their experience in warfare gave the Luraki leadership, particularly Autark Daahd'Lur, the confidence required to initiate the invasion of Vikela. Prior to the siege, Lurak had made several diplomatic overtures to the allies of Vikela. This primarily consisted of threatening that should Vikela's allies intervene, Lurak would exact vengeance upon them for their interference. Furthermore, the Rexdom was joined by a variety of militant groups with their different ambitions including the Ilmurin Vanguard who sought to create a Luraki friendly nation out of the Vikelan lands post-conquest.

With the plan to invade the southern border of Vikela in place, the Luraki host made preparations to begin the encirclement of Maehrnor. However, problems came in the form of religion. The Orcish Shamans in communication with the spirits claimed that they had received a message from the extraordinarily powerful Red Spirits, the masters of the Blue Spirits. The Shamans proclaimed that the Red Spirits forbade the Luraki host from marching forth, claiming that the Rexdom must wait one year before marching onto Maehrnor for favorable terms of battle. The Luraki leadership, heeding the alleged omen provided by the Red Spirits, called off their encirclement of Maehrnor for the next year. After the provided period of time had passed, the Luraki host continued as planned with the blessing of their Shamans.

The Battle

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The Aftermath

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