Difference between revisions of "War:Scyfling Invasion of Hanseti-Ruska"

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|'''Scyfling Invasion of Hanseti-Ruska'''
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[[File:3dpdKcl.jpg|300px|center]]
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| ''<span style="font-size:x-small;">Siege of Valwyck, circa 1768 (Painted by UnBaed)</span>''
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| <span style="font-size:small;">'''Date''': 1768 - 1771</span>
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| <span style="font-size:small;">'''Location''': Northern Lands, [[Kingdom of Hanseti-Ruska|Haense]]</span>
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| <span style="font-size:small;">'''Result''': Haense victory
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* Bralt the Boar killed
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* Scyflings flee from Arcas</span>
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|'''Belligerents'''
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|<span style="font-size:small;">'''Kingdom of Hanseti-Ruska:''' <br> [[File:BackgroundHaenseCoatBiggerCrown.png|20px]] [[Kingdom of Hanseti-Ruska]]
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|<span style="font-size:small;">'''Scyflings:''' <br> Scyflings</span>
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|'''Commanders and leaders'''
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|<span style="font-size:small;">'''Kingdom of Hanseti-Ruska:''' <br> [[File:BackgroundHaenseCoatBiggerCrown.png|20px]] [[Sigismund II of Haense|King Sigismund II]] ✝ <br> [[File:BackgroundHaenseCoatBiggerCrown.png|20px]] [[Joseph I of Haense|King Joseph I]] <br> [[File:vidaus.png|20px]] [[Viktoria of Metterden|Queen Viktoria]] <br> [[File:Barbanov.png|20px]] Prince Nikolas, Duke of Alban <br> [[File:baruchsimple.png|20px]] [[Peter I, Duke of Valwyck|Duke Peter of Valwyck]] <br> [[File:BarclayCOA.png|20px]] Duke Erwin of Reinmar <br> [[File:FredrickCOA.png|20px]] Count Frederick Ludovar <br> [[File:Barbanov.png|20px]] Prince Otto, Duke of Galahar <br> [[File:HouseAlimarNormalCrow2.png|20px]] Grand Prince Godfric of Muldav ✝ <br> [[File:VanirCoatOfArms.png|20px]] Margrave Brandon of Vasiliand ✝ <br> [[File:stafyrcoa.png|20px]] Count Alaric of Nenzing ✝ <br> Ser Robin Kartyr, Knight Paramount ✝ <br> Lazlo Korsakov, Governor of Johnstown ✝ <br> Ser Erik Othaman </span>
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|<span style="font-size:small;">'''Scyflings:''' <br> [[File:scyflings?.svg.png|20px]] Bralt the Boar ✝ <br> [[File:scyflings?.svg.png|20px]] Yva Stoneguard <br> [[File:scyflings?.svg.png|20px]] Luvir Ironrain ✝ <br> [[File:scyflings?.svg.png|20px]] The Vile Tooter (until 1769) <br> [[File:scyflings?.svg.png|20px]] Ago Stonespear ✝ <br> [[File:scyflings?.svg.png|20px]] Taro the Tower ✝  </span>
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* Siege of Valwyck - Haeseni Victory
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== Prelude ==
* Battle of the North Sea - Haeseni Victory
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* First Siege of Vasiland - Scyfling Victory
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=== Voyage of the ''Geltenkaros'' ===
* Storming of Fort Buck - Scyfling Victory
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When the Paladins of Xan declared they were to sail to Athera to hunt the Drakaar Gudour, most Descendant nations decided to journey with the Paladins to the ruined continent to visit their ancient capitals and retrieve lost relics. Haense was no exception; with the young King Sigismund II just a child, his Regent Tiberius Barrow assembled the crew of the Geltenkaros - the expedition ship - led by Prince Rupert Bihar, Godfric Alimar, and Alaric Stafyr. It was only once the ship had left that the crew discovered that their boy king Sigismund II had stolen away on board the ship.
* Skirmish at Metterden - Haeseni Victory
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* Second Siege of Vasiland - Ongoing
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=== Bralt the Boar ===
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Once the ''Geltenkaros'' landed on Athera, the crew immediately set out for the ancient Haeseni capital of Siegrad. As they crossed over a ravine into northern Athera, the bridge suddenly collapsed, and it did not take much investigation for the crew to figure out it had been rigged to collapse. They proceeded with caution into the valleys leading to Old Ayr, but it was there that they were ambushed. Their ambushers - camouflaged skirmishers wielding bows and spears - called themselves Scyflings, and raucously proclaimed to the confused crew of the ''Geltenkaros'' that the Haeseni were their ancient enemies. Clueless as to what the Scyflings were talking about, the Haeseni fled deeper into the valley, pursued by the Scyflings. It was not long before they were cornered, though. The leader of the skirmishers identified himself as ‘Bralt the Boar’, and he seemed ecstatic at the notion of killing the young Sigismund to fulfill something he called ‘Crowslayer’s Vow’. Cornered, Prince Rupert challenged Bralt to a duel, and the warchief readily accepted. Rupert, however, was quickly overwhelmed. Before the Prince was dealt a mortal blow, young Sigismund II rushed forward and stabbed Bralt. As the surrounding Scyflings began to attack, another tribe of natives arrived in the valley, but these warriors fought off the attacking Scyflings. Lost in the chaos, the Haeseni accepted the offer of help from these friendly Scyflings and fled from the valley with them.
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=== The Voliks ===
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After their narrow escape, the friendly Scyflings introduced themselves as the Voliks -- a tribe of Scyflings who, in ancient times, had made a pact with the Barbanov lords of Siegrad to protect them, and they sought to honor this old oath. The Voliks explained that Bralt the Boar and the other Scyflings relished the arrival of the Haeseni on Athera so that they could fulfill a prophecy of their people called Crowslayer’s Vow. According to the prophecy, the Scyfling who kills the descendants of the Barbanov of Siegrad will be anointed by their people’s gods to unite and lead all Scyflings into peace and prosperity. The Haeseni proceeded to learn that for generations since the Descendants left Athera, the Scyflings have been locked in constant infighting for power and resources, and Bralt hopes to use Crowslayer’s Vow to unite them as a single, peaceful people.
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=== Pursuit on Athera ===
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Despite the danger, the crew of the ''Geltenkaros'' and their boy king continued their quest to reclaim lost Haeseni treasure on Siegrad, but this led to multiple deadly encounters with Bralt the Boar. When the Haeseni ventured deep into the lair of a Wyrm outside Siegrad in search of a key to the ancient city, they even dared to venture inside the sleeping Wyrm’s mouth where they found the corpse of Saint Karl. While in the lair, however, Bralt and his Scyflings dropped metal pots and pans down into the pit to wake the Wyrm. The great beast lashed out, killing Dame Primrose Kortrevich of the expedition, before the Haeseni narrowly escaped the onslaught of both the Wyrm and the Scyflings. They next met the Scyflings when they emerged from the ruins of Siegrad, and found Bralt waiting in ambush. If not for the aid of the Voliks - which led to most of that clan being slaughtered - the Haeseni would have undoubtedly perished. Their escape bought by Volik blood and Bralt badly wounded by Godfric Alimar, the Haeseni retreated back to the ''Geltenkaros'' with the surviving Voliks and sailed back to Arcas.
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=== Aftermath ===
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Upon their return to Arcas, Sigismund II honoured the sacrifice of the Voliks by allowing them to settle outside New Reza, but their people were gripped by despair from the slaughter at Siegrad. The Voliks did, however, warn that Bralt would likely seize the opportunity to follow the Haeseni ships back to Arcas.
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== Preparation for War ==
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Ten years passed, and many Haeseni thought the threat of Bralt and the Scyflings attacking Arcas would never come to fruition. This sense of security, though, was soon shattered; after another expedition to Athera, Dame Celestine Herbert reported that the Scyfling clans appeared to be readying for battle - freshly-carved longships lined the shores, the clans were no longer raiding each other, and Dame Celestine discovered odd bone chimes hanging from trees that the Voliks later identified as ritual charms the Scyflings carved before war.
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Haense remained divided on whether the Scyflings would really cross the sea to Arcas ten years later. King Sigismund II, however, chose to believe the warning signs, and began to erect several coastal defences, most prominently Fort Buck and Camp Rock, both of which guarded the Almanland in northern Haense.
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Sigismund’s caution soon paid off.
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== The Struggle for Almanland 1767-1768 ==
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[[File:Phase 1.png|thumb|450px|''The Kongzem of Hanseti-Ruska at the start of the Struggle for Almanland (Original map by Esterlen)'']]
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On a calm spring evening, a sitting of the Haeseni court was interrupted by HRA scouts claiming that fishing villages on the coast of Almanland - Haense’s rural northern province - had been raided. King Sigismund II immediately rallied a retinue of soldiers, and ventured north with the Hounds of Johnstown.
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When the party arrived at Valwyck, at the northern edge of Haense overlooking the sea, they were greeted with a chilling sight: in the bay, dozens upon dozens of Scyfling longships have moored, carrying several thousand Scyfling warriors. As the bitter sea wind beat at them, the Haeseni watched as a lone longship approached the castle. A figure mounted the head of the longship, and, in a thunderous voice, declared himself to be Bralt the Boar.
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Bralt announced that his fleet had come to fulfill the Crowslayer’s Vow prophecy, and the Scyfling warchief claimed he only sought a single life to do so -- King Sigismund’s. The Boar’s tone grew oddly solemn as he compelled the King to lay down his life and die so that both Scyflings and Haeseni could be spared from a war. King Sigismund II’s answer, though, was to order the archers to fire on Bralt’s ship, which promptly retreated to the fleet.
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From that moment on, the Scyfling Invasion began.
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=== The Fall of Camp Rock, 1767 ===
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*150 Scyflings v. 200 Haeseni
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*'''Scyfling Victory'''
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In order to attack New Reza and corner King Sigismund II, the Scyflings needed a foothold on land before moving their ships south to Lake Milena, and they began their offensive by dispatching small bands of raiders into Wickwald - the thick forest that cloaked most of Almanland - where the HRA’s forward base of Camp Rock lay.
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As the HRA began to fortify the camp, it came under attack by a Scyfling warlord known as the Vile Tooter. The sound of a flute echoed from within the Wickwald, much to the confusion of the Haeseni soldiers defending the Camp, before it turned out to be a distraction as Scyfling slingers attacked the other side of the fort. They first hurled small casks of oil onto Camp Rock’s palisade walls, and they lit it with fire arrows. The fort went up in flames.
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The HRA scrambled to douse the fire as Scyfling archers began to fire from the woods - and lit several other fires on the walls with the same oil & fire tactic - before they quickly decided to retreat. Abandoning the burning fort, however, was the easy part, as they found Scyfling skirmishers waiting in the woods. As the Haeseni began to fall back towards Fort Buck, a detachment of HRA fought the Scyflings in the forest to buy their comrades enough time.
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In the fighting that followed, Scyfling slingers lit more fires which quickly spread to the surrounding trees. Both Scyflings and Haeseni fell back as the fire spread quickly throughout the Wickwald, leading to a massive inferno that burnt down the entirety of the forest. The Haeseni Army repositioned itself at Fort Buck, while the Scyflings made small camps throughout Almanland’s hilltops.
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=== The Siege of Valwyck, 1767 ===
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*5,000 Scyflings v. 4,500 Haeseni
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*'''Haeseni Victory'''
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 +
The first major battle of the war came when the Scyflings attempted an assault on the castle of Valwyck - seat of House Baruch. The attack was a three-pronged assault:
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::'''Assault on the Walls:''' Scyfling raiders who had encamped themselves in Almanland after the Fall of Camp Rock earlier that year led a direct assault on Valwyck’s walls with siege ladders.
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::'''March through the Wickwald:''' King Sigismund II led a large force of Haeseni soldiers through the burnt and smoking corpse of the Wickwald to fight off the Scyflings besieging Valwyck. In the Wickwald, however, Scyfling skirmishers laid traps beneath the ash and attacked from the burnt trees to slow their advance.
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::'''Naval Assault:''' In the bay of Valwyck was a Baruch warship which stood as Valwyck’s sole defence against naval assault from the many Scyfling longships. A contingency of both Haeseni soldiers and the Hounds of Johnstown manned the warship against several attacking longships.
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::The walls of Valwyck held as King Sigismund II’s force pushed through the Wickwald. It was only on the other side that they realized a group of Scyflings had flanked around the forest to attack Fort Buck at the same time. King Sigismund II split his host, sending half back through the Wickwald to defend Fort Buck while he advanced to Valwyck with the other half. The King’s retinue was successful in arriving at Valwyck in time, and fought off the castle’s attackers.
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::In the bay, Scyfling ships had rammed the Baruch warship to immobilize it. The naval defenders managed to destroy several of the longships, and captured one. Masquerading as Scyflings, they sailed back to the main Scyfling fleet before setting fire to several ships once they were close enough. The ship sailed off before the Scyflings could retaliate, and landed near Fort Buck right in time to assist the Haeseni in defeating the Scyflings there.
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::After a bloody and brutal clash at Fort Buck, the Scyflings were overpowered, and the Siege of Valwyck was hailed as a decisive Haeseni victory.
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=== The Battle for the North Sea, 1768 ===
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*2,000 Scyflings v. 1,800 Haeseni
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*'''Scyfling Victory'''
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Denied the land foothold he so desperately needed, Bralt the Boar then sought to use the strength of his fleet to establish total control of the sea. On a summer’s night of 1768, the Scyfling fleet sailed south where they were met by several Haeseni warships launched from the Vanir harbour of Vasiland.
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The two fleets clashed in the semi-frozen water of northern Haense. Though many in number, most Scyfling longships were slender, agile vessels better suited for transport than naval warfare. The Haeseni ships, though fewer, were sturdier and equipped for combat on the water. As a result, only the stronger Scyfling warships met the Haeseni fleet in battle.
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After hours of fighting, the battle reached a stalemate as several ships from both sides were lost. It was only after the fighting ended, though, that Margrave Brandon Vanir - commander of the Haeseni fleet - noticed that a swift Scyfling ship had sailed around the battle towards Vasiland.
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=== The First Siege of Vasiland, 1768 ===
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Occurring immediately after the Battle of the North Sea, the First Siege of Vasiland was the first major Scyfling victory.
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After flanking the Haeseni fleet to sail to Vasiland, a warband of Scyflings under the command of the Vile Tooter reached the harbour and stormed the undefended Vanir keep. Haeseni ships rushed back to defend, and, after a brief and failed negotiations with the Vile Tooter, proceeded to fight within the castle to retake it. The Haeseni were successful at first, and pushed the Vile Tooter into the castle’s attic, where a fire soon started. Before the Haeseni could finish off the invaders, they were abruptly attacked from outside.
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As they rushed to the newly-retaken walls, the Haeseni found that Bralt the Boar had marched a unit of Scyflings through Almanland during the Battle of the North Sea, and now attacked Vasiland from outside while the Vile Tooter attacked from within. As fire spread through the keep, the Haeseni were left battered and weary from going straight from the Battle of the North Sea to fight at Vasiland -- they declared the castle lost, and began to retreat.
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Fire consumed much of the keep, and the Vile Tooter’s forces reorganized to push the Haeseni outside of the castle where Bralt and his archers lay in wait. The Haeseni command collapsed, and soldiers fled blindly in a bid to escape the deathtrap that Vasiland had become.
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Vasiland was lost, and Haense sustained several notable casualties -- Carolina Barclay perished inside the keep where a floor collapsed beneath her, Dame Arianne Helvets died while protecting Godfric Alimar with arrow fire, and Aleksandr Vanir was killed after being taken captive by Bralt, alongside the wife and son of Margrave Brandon Vanir.
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== The Four Year Offensive 1769-1773 ==
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[[File:Phase 2.png|thumb|right|450px|''The Kongzem of Hanseti-Ruska at the start of the Four Year Offensive (Original map by Esterlen)'']]
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The Kongzem of Hanseti-Ruska at the start of the Four Year Offensive
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At the beginning of the Four Year Offensive, their territories stretched from Vasiland to a multitude of camps across Almanland, and their control of the Vanir harbour made it very easy to land troops from their fleet of longships. The Four Year Offensive began as Bralt and his warlords began to target other key Haeseni settlements, while also raiding as far as New Reza in an attempt to draw out King Sigismund II.
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=== First Siege of Metterden, 1769 ===
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*500 Scyflings v. 1,400 Haeseni
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*'''Haeseni Victory'''
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While collecting medicinal herbs in the now-conquered Almanland, Princess Alexandria Barbanov was kidnapped by the Vile Tooter. During captivity, however, she learned that the Vile Tooter - whose name she had learned was Segn - had grown disenthused with the bloody war, and sought a way out. Princess Alexandria was released, and set up a meeting between King Sigismund II and Segn through which Alexandria hoped the war would end.
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King Sigismund II and a small host of Haeseni soldiers met with Segn by moonlight by Boot Bridge, at the edge of Almanland. Before tense negotiations could continue, they were attacked by a band of Scyfling archers who had learned of Segn’s treachery. As the party and Segn retreated together in a panic, Segn explained that these were no archers - they were Luvir Ironrain’s warband, the most dangerous archers of all the Scyfling clans. Under heavy fire, the Haeseni and Segn retreated up the hills and made a mad dash towards the nearby keep of House Ruthern - Metterden.
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Though Haeseni fled behind the walls, they proved little respite against Luvir’s onslaught as his archers began to grapple over the walls, spelling certain doom for the party inside. It was only thanks to the arrival of the Hounds of Johnstown, sent for by bird once inside the keep, thank the Haeseni survived; the Hound cavalry crashed into Luvir’s warband from behind, catching them by surprise. Though the horsemen sustained several losses, they successfully killed Luvir and his warriors with King Sigismund II’s help from inside the keep.
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The battle narrowly won, Segn was taken back to New Reza and cared for by Princess Alexandria. Thereafter, he became an important font of knowledge on the Scyflings.
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=== Storming of Fort Buck, 1769 ===
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*7,000 Scyflings v. 2,500 Haeseni
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*'''Scyfling Victory'''
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In the Almanland, the bulk of the Scyfling army had landed in the burnt husk of the Wickwald and encamped themselves in the abandoned farms and hamlets of the region. Under the command of Yva Stoneguard - Bralt the Boar’s second-in-command - this large army prepared to deal with Fort Buck to establish near-complete dominance over northern Haense.
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The Scyflings began by raiding the remaining villages in Almanland. They deliberately let most villagers escape as Fort Buck, and strategically-placed Scyflings in the woods herded the panicked refugees towards Fort Buck to safety. A mass of panicked villagers arrived at Fort Buck, begging for safety. Despite the fact that the Fort did not have enough rations for so many people and the surrounding land was now swarming with Scyflings, the Haeseni Royal Army let the refugees into the Fort.
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It was only after the horde of refugees entered Fort Buck that Yva’s army closed in. The Scyfling warchief made her intention clear - she did not want to slaughter all inside the Fort, but rather force them out of it through peaceful surrender. She rightly called that the Haeseni did not have enough food to feed both their soldiers and the refugees. While the Haeseni contemplated the offer, the Scyflings hurled the heads of slain villagers inside the Fort, igniting panic among the refugees.
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Ultimately, the Haeseni defenders contended that they could not fight Yva’s large host and lacked the rations to withstand a siege because of the refugees. The Haeseni retreated amidst some fighting, during which the Knight Johann von Remsburg was captured.
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Fort Buck was lost, and taken by the Scyflings, further cementing their control of northern Haense.
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=== The Second Siege of Vasiland, 1769 ===
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*3,000 Scyflings v. 3,500 Haeseni
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*'''Scyfling Victory'''
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The loss of Fort Buck fuelled the Haeseni determination to strike back, which came in the form of the Second Siege of Vasiland carried out by the Haeseni Royal Army and the Hounds of Johnstown in a two-pronged assault. Since taking the castle, the Scyflings had greatly fortified it with stakewalls, oil casks, and spike pits.
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::'''The HRA Assault:''' The Haeseni Royal Army began by approaching the castle using smokescreens to limit the effect of the Scyfling archers on the castle walls. However, the HRA greatly struggled to cross the stakewall as they were bombarded with arrows and fire-traps. Though they managed to place some siege ladders, these were quickly shot down by the Scyfling defenders after the HRA sustained multiple casualties. After the death of Brytanov Brackish, the HRA called a retreat. 
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::'''The Hounds Assault:''' On the other side of Vasiland, the Hounds carried out a more stealthy attack. From the nearby trees, they used a scorpion to shoot a grapple onto one of Vasiland’s hoardings and began to cross. The Scyflings noticed only after the first of the Hounds reached the castle walls, and a desperate fight ensued on the battlements. The Hounds narrowly pulled through, but only after the grapple was cut, limiting them to just a handful of fighters. Despite that, they proceeded deeper into the castle while the bulk of the Scyflings fought off the HRA assault. The Hounds pushed far into the castle as the surprised Scyflings scrambled to defend, and enemy losses quickly mounted. However, once the HRA assault was beaten off, the Hounds were quickly overwhelmed. It was only through the arrival of an Imperial State Army relief force that the Hounds managed to retreat from the castle.
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The Second Siege of Vasiland, though a far closer fight than the first, was another Scyfling victory.
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=== The Third Siege of Vasiland, 1770 ===
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*2,000 Scyflings v. 3,000 Haeseni
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*'''Haeseni Victory'''
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The second loss at Vasiland and the fall of Fort Buck spread despair among Haense as her territories were subjected to increasing Scyfling raids. After the second defeat as Vasiland, Haeseni forces surrounded the castle in a conventional siege that eventually led to a third and final assault in 1770. This time, the Haeseni performed conventional warfare. After initial bombardment failed, Ago Stonespear of the Scyflings led the defence against the Haeseni Army as they attempted to place siege ladders on one side, and push a siege tower on the other.
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Having sustained many losses in the second siege, the Scyfling defenders were too few to fend off the Haeseni assault. Though Ago Stonespear destroyed the siege tower, the Haeseni were successful in scaling the walls with ladders. The Scyflings were pushed back inside the keep, where they faced off in one final and bloody assault in close combat that the Haeseni eventually won.
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After three battles, Vasiland was finally retaken by Haense.
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=== The Shaman Year Raid, 1770 ===
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*120 Scyflings v. 200 Haeseni
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*'''Haeseni Victory'''
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Many scouting expeditions and patrols led to small-scale clashes between Haense and Scyfling in Almanland. In 1770, one such clash led to the capture of Lauritz Christiansen, a close friend to the Haeseni royal family. When Lauritz was taken back to a nearby Scyfling encampment led by a warchief called Taro the Tower, a scouting party including Princess Alexandria and Lord-Treasurer Rennard Amador tracked down Lauritz and rallied a rescue party to save him. 
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The morning after his capture, a Haeseni rescue force attacked the small encampment. They scaled the walls by surprise, only to be absolutely massacred by the Scyfling defenders. Several Haeseni sustained critical injuries from Taro’s javelins as soon as they appeared over the wall, placing them at a severe disadvantage. The true issue, however, came when Taro the Tower revealed himself to be a Scyfling Shaman -- to date, the Haeseni had only heard wayward reference of these powerful Shamen, but now they saw firsthand that Shamen were capable of ingesting strange toxins that made them extremely fast and inhumanly strong.
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Empowered by these Shamanic toxins, Taro proved as dangerous as ten Scyfling warriors in cleaving apart the rescue party. If not for the late arrival of reinforcements led by [[Edvard Amador]], the entire Haeseni party would have been slaughtered. Edvard finished off the wounded Taro the Tower, and Lauritz Christiansen was very narrowly saved as the badly wounded party retreated to New Reza.
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=== Raid on New Reza, 1770 ===
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*70 Scyflings v. 3,000 Haeseni
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*'''Haeseni Victory'''
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In 1770, Haense faced one of the most dangerous blitzkrieg assaults of the war. A party of Voliks - who, thus far, had been providing scouting assistance to Haeseni forces in the Almanland - arrived at the gates of New Reza with Scyfling prisoners in tow. The Haeseni welcomed them inside the city, and took the prisoners to the dungeon to interrogate  them. The Voliks warned that Bralt’s Scyflings may attempt a rescue raid, and the Haeseni accepted their aid in guarding the cramped dungeons of New Reza.
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As a duo of HRA intelligence officers began to torture one of the Scyflings, the Voliks were left alone to guard the dungeon. It was then that they attacked, revealing themselves to be Bralt’s Scyflings in disguise; donning damp rags, the Scyflings set a smoke fire in the dungeon, clogging it with smoke. The intelligence officers were taken hostage, and through using their lives as leverage, the Scyflings spread into the nearby Haeseni palace as they tried to find and kill King Sigismund II.
 +
 
 +
Through no small amount of luck on the part of the Haeseni, they managed to dispatch the Scyflings inside the palace and eventually pushed into the smoke-clogged dungeon in a high-risk attack. Though they successfully killed the Scyflings inside, this high risk reaped its consequences - the Knight Paramount Robin Kartyr was killed in the fighting, and King Sigismund II himself was severely wounded when a Scyfling hacked an axe into his shoulder which later led to the amputation of his left arm.
 +
 
 +
=== The Razing of Fort Buck, 1771 ===
 +
*10,000 Scyflings v. 2,000 Haeseni
 +
*'''Haeseni Victory'''
 +
 
 +
With Vasiland reclaimed, Haense turned its attention towards the Scyfling-occupied Fort Buck, which still held many Haeseni prisoners including the knight Johann von Remsburg. Besides Valwyck in the far north, all of Almanland remained under Scyfling control, and so the Haeseni Royal Army sent a small group of soldiers to infiltrate the fort.
 +
 
 +
They had two objectives: the first was to liberate the prisoners, and the second was to ignite a store of gunpowder under the Fort that the H.R.A. had left behind when they surrendered to Yva. The infiltrators split into two groups -- the first, and larger, were led by Count Alaric Stafyr through the Fort’s hidden escape tunnels to get inside while the smaller second group prepared to detonate the gunpowder stores.
 +
 
 +
The gunpowder was, however, detonated prematurely and triggered a cave-in that almost killed Count Alaric’s party. Smoke and fire engulfed the Fort, reducing visibility to practically nothing. The Haeseni infiltrators proceeded blindly through the smoke; some Scyflings fought them, but most ran out of the thick smoke. The Haeseni managed to free Johann and the other prisoners, but not before they were set upon by Bralt the Boar himself.
 +
 
 +
Ser Bjornolf Sturm stayed back to fight Bralt, but was quickly killed as the warlord pursued the Haeseni. He duelled several of them in the smoke, wounding most, but the Haeseni were able to use the smoke and lack of organization among the panicked Scyflings to flee into the forest. Bralt pursued, though, and archers fired at the Haeseni until they finally reached Johnstown. After sustaining injuries from arrow fire, Johann von Remsburg died.
 +
 
 +
Despite his death, the Haeseni had robbed the Scyflings of Fort Buck.
 +
 
 +
=== The Second Siege of Metterden, 1771 ===
 +
*6,000 Scyflings v. 4,000 Haeseni
 +
*'''Stalemate'''
 +
 
 +
With both Vasiland retaken and Fort Buck destroyed, the Scyflings retaliated with a vengeance. They marched a large host across Boot Bridge and over the hills into the valleys surrounding Metterden. Due to their large force, Haeseni scouts carried word to Metterden in advance to allow them to brace for the assault.
 +
 
 +
Archers lined the walls of Metterden in anticipation of the attack, but when the Scyflings approached, they did so with overturned, unmasted longships that acted as huge turtles. The turtles proved highly effective at negating the Haeseni archers, and allowed the Scyflings to attack the walls with ladders and grapples. The ladder assault was successfully beaten off by the defenders, but several dozen Scyflings scaled the walls using grapples and infiltrated the keep.
 +
 
 +
With the ladder assault failed, the Scyflings inside numbered too few to take the keep. Instead, they took the young Aleksandr Ruthern - heir to Metterden - hostage, and used him to retreat safely back towards Almanland.
 +
 
 +
Though Aleksandr was later released, his father - Count Konstantin Ruthern - died searching for his son.
 +
 
 +
=== The Raid of Valwyck, 1772 ===
 +
*800 Scyfling v. 2,000 Haeseni
 +
*'''Scyfling Victory'''
 +
 
 +
Despite the ongoing war, the Duchy of Valwyck hosted the wedding of Katarina Baruch and Vorion Sturmholm. Naturally, the festivities attracted the attention of the nearby Scyfling armies. A massive military presence at the wedding did not stop a lone Scyfling named Ako entering the party in disguise. It was only once inside that Ako revealed himself to be a Shaman, and began slaughtering guests at the reception before he was eventually overpowered.
 +
 
 +
Immediately after, a horde of Scyflings led by Bralt the Boar arrived at Valwyck. However, Bralt claimed he had no violent intent -- he came to Valwyck to retrieve Ako, who appeared to be close to Bralt, and had apparently gone rogue. It was only once the Scyflings learned that Ako had been killed that they were enraged, and attacked the castle. A feint assault was launched on the main gate, buying enough time for Scyflings to grapple inside the castle and ransack the wedding reception.
 +
 
 +
The Scyflings kidnapped the young Matyas Baruch - heir to Valwyck - and fled, leaving many wedding guests dead in their wake.
 +
 
 +
=== The Raid on Monstadt, 1773 ===
 +
*50 Scyflings v. 300 Haeseni
 +
*'''Haeseni Victory'''
 +
 
 +
On a summer’s evening in 1773, a small party gathered at the Amador seat of Mondstadt to celebrate the birthday of Baron Ruslan Amador. As the celebrations began, though, some of the guests noticed that shrubbery on the hillside outside the manor appeared to be getting closer. It was not until the shrubbery was much closer did they turn out to be camouflaged Scyflings, who scaled the walls and attacked the keep.
 +
 
 +
Taken completely by surprise, the guests were forced inside the manor as they exchanged projectiles with the stealthy Scyfling skirmishers, whom they dubbed ‘Bushlings’. Inside the manor, the guests sent word to New Reza for help before they attempted to strike back against the Scyflings, but were ultimately unsuccessful. King Sigismund II arrived alone and late to the party, unaware of the ongoing assault, and was struck by a javelin from behind, sustaining yet another critical injury that almost killed him.
 +
 
 +
The Bushlings proceeded to engage in a close-quarters battle with the guests, who successfully held them off long enough until HRA reinforcements arrived from New Reza and re-secured the manor after driving the Bushlings out.
 +
 
 +
=== The Battle of the Flooded Forest, 1773 ===
 +
*2,000 Scyflings v. 3,000 Haeseni
 +
*'''Haeseni Victory'''
 +
 
 +
Major Scyfling incursions began to die down following the Haeseni victory at Metterden. Almanland remained mostly under Scyfling control, and in 1773 Bralt the Boar began to move massive parties of Scyflings down towards the border of Almanland and the crownlands of New Reza. Fearing that Bralt was preparing to push on the capital, the HRA ventured north in the hope of regaining a foothold in Almanland.
 +
The Haeseni force dispatched initial enemy encampments, but the main Scyfling army soon deployed a forward force to drive back the Haeseni. As a storm struck the forest, the Haeseni fortified an abandoned Scyfling onslaught and faced off against several waves of Scyflings, including Shamans. Throughout the battle, the rain hammered down like a monsoon, and before long the forest was completely flooded, greatly frustrating the movement of both forces.
 +
 
 +
After withstanding the Scyfling offensive and killing hundreds, the Haeseni counted the engagement as a victory and pulled out of the Almanland before more Scyflings arrived.
 +
 
 +
== The Push for New Reza, 1774-1777 ==
 +
[[File:Phase 3.png|thumb|450px|''The Kongzem of Hanseti-Ruska at the start of the Push on Reza (Original map by Esterlen)'']]
 +
Following the Battle of the Flooded Forest, Scyfling raids stopped entirely as Bralt consolidated the entirety of his forces in Almanland. It became abundantly clear that the Great Scyfling Army was preparing to push on New Reza at last. This final phase of the war featured only four major events, but each of them was incredibly consequential.
 +
 
 +
=== The Moonfire Massacre, 1774 ===
 +
*2,000 Scyflings v. 1,400 Haeseni
 +
*'''Scyfling Victory'''
 +
 
 +
In the absence of Scyfling raids, a Haeseni party ventured north into Almanland for the first time since the Battle of the Flooded Forest to investigate Scyfling movements. Upon crossing Boot Bridge, however, the Haeseni heard music and celebrations from the nearby Scyfling camp. As the HRA approached, they were stunned as the Scyflings welcomed them into the camp and offered them food and drink.
 +
 
 +
The confused Haeseni learned that it was the day the Moonfire festival, the key holiday of the Scyfling calendar on which it was forbidden to fight. Feuds and wars were forgotten for that one day, and enemies ate and drank together. The Haeseni warily accepted the Scyflings peace, and participated in the celebrations.
 +
 
 +
Upon leaving, however, another band of Scyflings led by Bralt the Boar arrived and began to fire on the Haeseni. The Scyflings who had celebrated with the Haeseni, on the other hand, rushed out to defend them and fight Bralt, as it appeared to be a very grave sin to break the peace of Moonfire. As Scyflings tried to help the Haeseni retreat, Bralt’s archers fired on them, killing dozens of Haeseni and Scyflings. The Haeseni defence broke as they fled in a panic over Boot Bridge, at the mercy of Bralt’s archers.
 +
 
 +
Massive casualties were sustained by both celebrating Scyflings and the Haeseni at the hands of Bralt the Boar. Princess Amelya Barbanov fell off Boot Bridge and died from arrow wounds, while Grand Prince Godfric Alimar was killed charging Bralt.
 +
 
 +
=== The Battle of the Shoals, 1774 ===
 +
*8 Scyfling Ships (400 Scyflings) v. 3 Haeseni Warships (2,000 Haeseni)
 +
*'''Scyfling Victory'''
 +
 
 +
After the Haeseni scouting party known as the Wonkmen, led by Juan de Lyons, made contact with the seemingly-insane Scyfling Shaman named Qeun the Quiet, they struck a deal with him. In return for helping with a Scyfling ritual, they learned that a detachment of Scyfling longships were heading out to the open ocean to refuel their oil supplies at an oil shoal. Intent on denying the Scyflings the oil they used for their beloved fire tactics, the Haeseni launched their own fleet to intercept them.
 +
 
 +
Haeseni ships sailed for two days into the ocean north-east of Arcas, at Qeun’s direction, until they encountered the Scyfling ships completing their restocking at the shoal. The ships engaged, though the swift Scyfling longships succeeded in boarding and destroying several of the Haeseni ships, though they did indeed lose some of their own. Still, the Haeseni losses forced them to sail back to New Reza in defeat.
 +
 
 +
In the naval clash, Juan de Lyons - captain of the Wonkmen - and Anastasiya Stafyr were killed.
 +
 
 +
=== Sigismund's Peace, 1774 ===
 +
Bralt’s slaying of his own people at the Moonfire Massacre triggered mass fallout among the Scyflings. Many of them began to fear that Bralt had gone mad, and that he was not the prophesied hero who would fulfill Crowslayer’s Vow. After the Massacre, rumours reached New Reza of continued infighting among the Scyflings caused by Bralt, and that a large branch of the Scyfling forces under Yva Stoneguard had broken away from Bralt.
 +
 
 +
In New Reza, King Sigismund II continued to worry that a full assault on New Reza could not be repelled and instead sought to capitalize on the dissent among the Scyflings. He began by meeting with Ori Halfmoon, elder of the Voliks, and agreed to give the Voliks their own protected land within Haense if they joined their remaining strength to Haense in battle.
 +
 
 +
A contingent of the HRA ventured north through the bloodsoaked Almanland, and met Yva Stoneguard and her dissenters. Though negotiations were tense and violence almost broke out, eventually Yva and the Haeseni struck the same deal -- her Scyflings would fight alongside Haense against Bralt in exchange for peace and land.
 +
 
 +
The Haeseni people were conflicted over so readily promising land to Yva, who had so recently fought against them, but ultimately accepted the reality they needed more troops to withstand Bralt’s impending assault.
 +
 
 +
=== The Great Battle of the North, 1775 ===
 +
*15,000 Scyflings v. 11,000 Haeseni
 +
*'''Scyfling Victory'''
 +
 
 +
Despite the major Scyfling losses through the Moonfire Massacre and Sigismund’s Vow, Bralt’s forces remained largely intact if diminished, and they began to march on New Reza. King Sigismund II marshalled his Scyfling-bolstered forces in preparation to meet him on the field and keep him away from the city.
 +
 
 +
The Great Battle of the North was actually composed of three separate clashes as Bralt tried to puncture the Haeseni lines to march on New Reza -- the HRA cavalry fought off a Scyfling advance force near Metterden, the ‘Bushling’ clan pushed through the woodlands north of Vasiland, and the main assault against the Haeseni frontline at Valles, just north of New Reza.
 +
 
 +
::'''Clash at Metterden:''' The Crow Lancers - the HRA cavalry - fielded themselves in the plains surrounding Metterden to defend against bands of raiders that had crossed from Almanland to the north-west. There, they were faced with a smokescreen tactic as the Scyflings tried to bait the cavalry into charging into the smoke, but careful planning by the Haeseni horsemen eventually allowed them to corner the raiders and dispatch them, painting the fields red with blood and bodies.
 +
 
 +
::'''Clash at Vasiland:''' The Bushling skirmishers attacked from the woods north of Vasiland, and engaged the Haeseni unit defending there in an intense guerilla battle. Eventually, the Bushlings pushed through the defence and inflicted serious losses on the Haeseni, including the death of most of the Kazirov family.
 +
 
 +
::'''Clash at Valles:''' The main fight occurred at Valles, the seat of House Othaman just north of New Reza where Bralt the Boar led the bulk of his Scyflings against an army of five-thousand Haeseni commanded by Lord-Marshal Erwin Barclay, Yva Stoneguard, and King Sigismund II himself. The Scyflings began by sending a raging bull charging at the Haeseni lines, but Rennard Amador succeeded in killing it with Water Evocation before the Scyflings charged. A bitter and bloody melee ensued, in which the Scyflings gradually forced the Haeseni back. The situation was worsened when the Bushlings who had won at Vasiland arrived and pincered the defenders. When the Haeseni lines broke, Yva Stoneguard and her Scyflings covered the Haeseni as they retreated back to the walls of New Reza.
 +
 
 +
::The Great Battle of the North was lost, and Bralt the Boar finally was able to march his army to the walls of New Reza and besiege the capital itself. Among those slain at the Great Battle was Alaric Stafyr, Count of Nenzing.
 +
 
 +
=== The Raid of Valles, 1775 ===
 +
*900 Haeseni v. 3,000 Scyflings
 +
*'''Scyfling Victory'''
 +
 
 +
Following the devastating loss, the HRA attempted one last scouting expedition of the Scyfli army on their doorstep, but it ended in disaster. Despite attempting to approach Valles stealthily by flanking through nearby Ostrov, Scyfling archers harried them through the region and the main army was quickly alerted. Despite managing to infiltrate the keep of Valles, the Haeseni were quickly forced to retreat back to New Reza once Bralt the Boar arrived.
 +
 
 +
=== The Battle of the Bay, 1776 ===
 +
*24 Scyfling Longships (2,000 Scyflings) v. 5 Haeseni Warships (2,500 Haeseni)
 +
*'''Haeseni Victory'''
 +
 
 +
With Scyfling siege lines established around New Reza, Bralt the Boar sought to land the remainder of the Scyfling fleet at Vasiland. Hastily-built Haeseni ships were launched by House Vanir and the castle’s garrison in a desperate bid to stop them, and thus began the penultimate battle of the Invasion on the waters outside Vasiland.
 +
 
 +
Under Brandon Vanir’s command, the last of the Haeseni ships collided with Scyfling longboats in an aggressive naval assault. However, the Haesenis ships numbered too few from their previous losses at the Battle of the North Sea and the Battle of the Shoals, and the Scyflings pushed through to Vasiland once more. Margrave Brandon Vanir's ship was boarded and after a fierce melee he along with most of his crew were killed. The last survivor James Avery managed to carry Brandon's body back to shore.
 +
 
 +
The Scyflings themselves had suffered many losses -- upon retreating to Vasiland, the Haeseni forces manned artillery on the castle walls and fired on the Scyfling ships as they attempted to land. They successfully sunk the remainder of them, and butchered the crews as they attempted to disembark, narrowly winning the battle.
 +
 
 +
=== Siege of New Reza, 1777 ===
 +
*10,000 Scyflings v. 7,000 Haeseni
 +
*'''Haeseni Victory'''
 +
 
 +
The entire war climaxed with its final battle as Bralt the Boar attacked New Reza itself. Attacks were launched on the main gate, the dock gate, and the west gate before the conflict culminated in a confrontation in the Ekaterinburg Palace.
  
Notable Deaths:
+
::'''The Main Gate Assault:''' At the main gates, the Scyflings produced Aleksandr Ruthern and Matyas Baruch - taken hostage at the Second Siege of Metterden and Raid on Valwyck respectively - and used them as meat shields as they advanced on the gates. After slinging oil casks on the defenders and setting them alight, the Scyflings and Haeseni clashed. The HRA reclaimed both the captive noblemen, though badly injured, before the Scyflings broke through the outer gate and were eventually held at the inner.
* Princess Arianne Helvets of Kaedrin
 
* Lady Karolina Barclay
 
* Lord Aleksandr Vanir
 
* Ser Björnolf Stjörn
 
* Ser Robin Kartyr, Knight Paramount
 
  
Scyfling Leaders:
+
::'''The Dock Gate & West Gate Assaults:''' Though happening on different sides of the city, both assaults on the smaller gates fared similarly as Scyfling attackers attempted to batter down the gate and scale the walls with grapples and ladders. The Haeseni defenders, aided by their allies in the Voliks and Yva Stoneguard’s dissenters, successfully held them off.
* Bralt the Boar
 
* Yva Stoneguard
 
* Luvir Ironrain
 
* The Vile Tooter
 
  
Haense Leaders:
+
::After a final attempt to scale the walls using Shamen on the north-western side of the city, the Scyfling forces attacking New Reza began to surrender as they failed to breach the city’s walls. It was only then, however, that alarm bells rang from the Ekaterinburg Palace as a small Scyfling force attacked it by surprise after scaling the walls undetected. The Haeseni defenders rushed to the throne room to find Bralt the Boar and a band of Shamen inside. One last fight occurred, during which the throne room was lit on fire. Unable to contend with Bralt and his Shamen in close quarters, the Haeseni instead pulled out of the Palace and barricaded Bralt inside.
* [[Sigismund II of Haense]]
 
* Prince Nikolas Stefan Barbanov, Duke of Alban
 
* Lord Palatine Peter Baruch, Duke of Valwyck
 
* Lord Marshal Erwin Barclay, Duke of Reinmar
 
* Prince Otto Rupert Barbanov, Duke of Galahar
 
* Godfric I Alimar, Grand Prince of Muldav
 
* Brandon Vanir, Margrave of Vasiland
 
* Alaric Stafyr, Count of Nenzing
 
* Ser Robin Kartyr, Knight Paramount ✝
 
* Ser Erik Othaman
 
* Lazlo Korsakov, Governor of Johnstown
 
* [[Lauritz Christiansen]]
 
  
 +
::In the throne room of Haense, Bralt the Boar burnt alive and died. The Scyfling Invasion had, after ten years of fighting, finally ended.
  
 +
== Major Confrontations ==
 +
* Siege of Valwyck - Haeseni Victory
 +
* Battle of the North Sea - Stalemate
 +
* First Siege of Vasiland - Scyfling Victory
 +
* Storming of Fort Buck - Scyfling Victory
 +
* Second Siege of Vasiland - Haeseni Victory
 +
* Assault of Metterden - Haeseni Victory
 +
* Battle for the North - Scyfling Victory
 +
* Siege of New Reza - Haeseni Victory
  
 
== Timeline ==
 
== Timeline ==
Line 43: Line 354:
 
** News of a Scyfling fleet arrives in Reza. [[Sigismund II of Haense|King Sigismund II]] orders the construction of a defensive fort to guard the coasts of the Kingdom.
 
** News of a Scyfling fleet arrives in Reza. [[Sigismund II of Haense|King Sigismund II]] orders the construction of a defensive fort to guard the coasts of the Kingdom.
 
*'''1768:'''
 
*'''1768:'''
** Bralt the Boar arrives at the Northeastern coast of Haense, and his [[Siege of Valwyck|siege of Valwyck]] is repulsed.
+
** Bralt the Boar arrives at the Northeastern coast of Haense, and his siege of Valwyck is repulsed.
** The Haeseni begin a counter attack, launching a [[Battle of the Northsea|naval attack]] to destroy the Scyfling fleet in the bay.
+
** The Haeseni begin a counter attack, launching a naval attack to destroy the Scyfling fleet in the bay.
** Scyfling survivors of the previous battle sneak through and [[Sack of Vasiland|capture Vasiland]]. Margrave Brandon escapes, but his wife, son, and kinsman Aleksandr are killed.
+
** Scyfling survivors of the previous battle sneak through and capture Vasiland. Margrave Brandon escapes, but his wife, son, and kinsman Aleksandr are killed.
 
*'''1769:'''
 
*'''1769:'''
**Bolstered by their victory at Vasiland, Scyflings turn to the North and [[Storming of Fort Buck|occupy the lightly defended Fort Buck]].
+
**Bolstered by their victory at Vasiland, Scyflings turn to the North and occupy the lightly defended Fort Buck.
 
**The evacuation of the North of the Kingdom begins, with all Haeseni urged to retreat to Reza for safety.
 
**The evacuation of the North of the Kingdom begins, with all Haeseni urged to retreat to Reza for safety.
 
**Scyfling scouts engage in small skirmishes with Haeseni patrols.
 
**Scyfling scouts engage in small skirmishes with Haeseni patrols.
**The Vile Tooter defects, but his betrayal is met with an assassination attempt by Luvir Ironrain. The Haeseni sent to protect him are forced back to Metterden, where they defeat Luvir with the help of the Hounds of Johnstown.
+
**The Vile Tooter defects after secret negotiations with Princess Alexandria of Haense convincing him to turn sides; his betrayal is met with an assassination attempt by Luvir Ironrain. The Haeseni sent to protect him are forced back to Metterden, where they defeat Luvir with the help of the Hounds of Johnstown.
 
*'''1770:'''
 
*'''1770:'''
**A joint Haeseni-Johnstown [[Second Siege of Vasiland|siege of Vasiland]] begins. Initial assaults are repulsed... TBD
+
**A joint Haeseni-Johnstown siege of Vasiland begins. Initial attempts to quickly assault and take the keep fail, and a Scyfling relief force arrives to join to defenders in the castle.
 +
**The Haeseni surround the fortress, deciding to perform a conventional siege of the castle.
 +
 
 +
*'''1771:'''
 +
**A year long siege ends when the Haeseni assault the fortress again. Bombardment fails, but well placed siege ladders permit the Haeseni to climb onto the walls and retake the castle.
 +
**The Scyflings attempt a two-wave assault on Metterden, but are beaten off by Haeseni defenders.
 +
**The Haeseni launch an attack on a Scyfling camp to rescue [[Lauritz Christiansen]], who had been captured during an earlier expedition. The attack is successful and the camp is destroyed.
  
  
 
[[Category:Battles]]
 
[[Category:Battles]]
 +
[[Category:Wars]]

Latest revision as of 16:49, 1 January 2023

Scyfling Invasion of Hanseti-Ruska
3dpdKcl.jpg
Siege of Valwyck, circa 1768 (Painted by UnBaed)
Date: 1768 - 1771
Location: Northern Lands, Haense
Result: Haense victory
  • Bralt the Boar killed
  • Scyflings flee from Arcas
Belligerents
Kingdom of Hanseti-Ruska:
BackgroundHaenseCoatBiggerCrown.png Kingdom of Hanseti-Ruska
Scyflings:
Scyflings
Commanders and leaders
Kingdom of Hanseti-Ruska:
BackgroundHaenseCoatBiggerCrown.png King Sigismund II
BackgroundHaenseCoatBiggerCrown.png King Joseph I
vidaus.png Queen Viktoria
Barbanov.png Prince Nikolas, Duke of Alban
baruchsimple.png Duke Peter of Valwyck
BarclayCOA.png Duke Erwin of Reinmar
FredrickCOA.png Count Frederick Ludovar
Barbanov.png Prince Otto, Duke of Galahar
HouseAlimarNormalCrow2.png Grand Prince Godfric of Muldav ✝
VanirCoatOfArms.png Margrave Brandon of Vasiliand ✝
stafyrcoa.png Count Alaric of Nenzing ✝
Ser Robin Kartyr, Knight Paramount ✝
Lazlo Korsakov, Governor of Johnstown ✝
Ser Erik Othaman
Scyflings:
scyflings?.svg.png Bralt the Boar ✝
scyflings?.svg.png Yva Stoneguard
scyflings?.svg.png Luvir Ironrain ✝
scyflings?.svg.png The Vile Tooter (until 1769)
scyflings?.svg.png Ago Stonespear ✝
scyflings?.svg.png Taro the Tower ✝

Prelude

Voyage of the Geltenkaros

When the Paladins of Xan declared they were to sail to Athera to hunt the Drakaar Gudour, most Descendant nations decided to journey with the Paladins to the ruined continent to visit their ancient capitals and retrieve lost relics. Haense was no exception; with the young King Sigismund II just a child, his Regent Tiberius Barrow assembled the crew of the Geltenkaros - the expedition ship - led by Prince Rupert Bihar, Godfric Alimar, and Alaric Stafyr. It was only once the ship had left that the crew discovered that their boy king Sigismund II had stolen away on board the ship.

Bralt the Boar

Once the Geltenkaros landed on Athera, the crew immediately set out for the ancient Haeseni capital of Siegrad. As they crossed over a ravine into northern Athera, the bridge suddenly collapsed, and it did not take much investigation for the crew to figure out it had been rigged to collapse. They proceeded with caution into the valleys leading to Old Ayr, but it was there that they were ambushed. Their ambushers - camouflaged skirmishers wielding bows and spears - called themselves Scyflings, and raucously proclaimed to the confused crew of the Geltenkaros that the Haeseni were their ancient enemies. Clueless as to what the Scyflings were talking about, the Haeseni fled deeper into the valley, pursued by the Scyflings. It was not long before they were cornered, though. The leader of the skirmishers identified himself as ‘Bralt the Boar’, and he seemed ecstatic at the notion of killing the young Sigismund to fulfill something he called ‘Crowslayer’s Vow’. Cornered, Prince Rupert challenged Bralt to a duel, and the warchief readily accepted. Rupert, however, was quickly overwhelmed. Before the Prince was dealt a mortal blow, young Sigismund II rushed forward and stabbed Bralt. As the surrounding Scyflings began to attack, another tribe of natives arrived in the valley, but these warriors fought off the attacking Scyflings. Lost in the chaos, the Haeseni accepted the offer of help from these friendly Scyflings and fled from the valley with them.

The Voliks

After their narrow escape, the friendly Scyflings introduced themselves as the Voliks -- a tribe of Scyflings who, in ancient times, had made a pact with the Barbanov lords of Siegrad to protect them, and they sought to honor this old oath. The Voliks explained that Bralt the Boar and the other Scyflings relished the arrival of the Haeseni on Athera so that they could fulfill a prophecy of their people called Crowslayer’s Vow. According to the prophecy, the Scyfling who kills the descendants of the Barbanov of Siegrad will be anointed by their people’s gods to unite and lead all Scyflings into peace and prosperity. The Haeseni proceeded to learn that for generations since the Descendants left Athera, the Scyflings have been locked in constant infighting for power and resources, and Bralt hopes to use Crowslayer’s Vow to unite them as a single, peaceful people.

Pursuit on Athera

Despite the danger, the crew of the Geltenkaros and their boy king continued their quest to reclaim lost Haeseni treasure on Siegrad, but this led to multiple deadly encounters with Bralt the Boar. When the Haeseni ventured deep into the lair of a Wyrm outside Siegrad in search of a key to the ancient city, they even dared to venture inside the sleeping Wyrm’s mouth where they found the corpse of Saint Karl. While in the lair, however, Bralt and his Scyflings dropped metal pots and pans down into the pit to wake the Wyrm. The great beast lashed out, killing Dame Primrose Kortrevich of the expedition, before the Haeseni narrowly escaped the onslaught of both the Wyrm and the Scyflings. They next met the Scyflings when they emerged from the ruins of Siegrad, and found Bralt waiting in ambush. If not for the aid of the Voliks - which led to most of that clan being slaughtered - the Haeseni would have undoubtedly perished. Their escape bought by Volik blood and Bralt badly wounded by Godfric Alimar, the Haeseni retreated back to the Geltenkaros with the surviving Voliks and sailed back to Arcas.

Aftermath

Upon their return to Arcas, Sigismund II honoured the sacrifice of the Voliks by allowing them to settle outside New Reza, but their people were gripped by despair from the slaughter at Siegrad. The Voliks did, however, warn that Bralt would likely seize the opportunity to follow the Haeseni ships back to Arcas.

Preparation for War

Ten years passed, and many Haeseni thought the threat of Bralt and the Scyflings attacking Arcas would never come to fruition. This sense of security, though, was soon shattered; after another expedition to Athera, Dame Celestine Herbert reported that the Scyfling clans appeared to be readying for battle - freshly-carved longships lined the shores, the clans were no longer raiding each other, and Dame Celestine discovered odd bone chimes hanging from trees that the Voliks later identified as ritual charms the Scyflings carved before war.

Haense remained divided on whether the Scyflings would really cross the sea to Arcas ten years later. King Sigismund II, however, chose to believe the warning signs, and began to erect several coastal defences, most prominently Fort Buck and Camp Rock, both of which guarded the Almanland in northern Haense.

Sigismund’s caution soon paid off.

The Struggle for Almanland 1767-1768

The Kongzem of Hanseti-Ruska at the start of the Struggle for Almanland (Original map by Esterlen)

On a calm spring evening, a sitting of the Haeseni court was interrupted by HRA scouts claiming that fishing villages on the coast of Almanland - Haense’s rural northern province - had been raided. King Sigismund II immediately rallied a retinue of soldiers, and ventured north with the Hounds of Johnstown.

When the party arrived at Valwyck, at the northern edge of Haense overlooking the sea, they were greeted with a chilling sight: in the bay, dozens upon dozens of Scyfling longships have moored, carrying several thousand Scyfling warriors. As the bitter sea wind beat at them, the Haeseni watched as a lone longship approached the castle. A figure mounted the head of the longship, and, in a thunderous voice, declared himself to be Bralt the Boar.

Bralt announced that his fleet had come to fulfill the Crowslayer’s Vow prophecy, and the Scyfling warchief claimed he only sought a single life to do so -- King Sigismund’s. The Boar’s tone grew oddly solemn as he compelled the King to lay down his life and die so that both Scyflings and Haeseni could be spared from a war. King Sigismund II’s answer, though, was to order the archers to fire on Bralt’s ship, which promptly retreated to the fleet.

From that moment on, the Scyfling Invasion began.

The Fall of Camp Rock, 1767

  • 150 Scyflings v. 200 Haeseni
  • Scyfling Victory

In order to attack New Reza and corner King Sigismund II, the Scyflings needed a foothold on land before moving their ships south to Lake Milena, and they began their offensive by dispatching small bands of raiders into Wickwald - the thick forest that cloaked most of Almanland - where the HRA’s forward base of Camp Rock lay.

As the HRA began to fortify the camp, it came under attack by a Scyfling warlord known as the Vile Tooter. The sound of a flute echoed from within the Wickwald, much to the confusion of the Haeseni soldiers defending the Camp, before it turned out to be a distraction as Scyfling slingers attacked the other side of the fort. They first hurled small casks of oil onto Camp Rock’s palisade walls, and they lit it with fire arrows. The fort went up in flames.

The HRA scrambled to douse the fire as Scyfling archers began to fire from the woods - and lit several other fires on the walls with the same oil & fire tactic - before they quickly decided to retreat. Abandoning the burning fort, however, was the easy part, as they found Scyfling skirmishers waiting in the woods. As the Haeseni began to fall back towards Fort Buck, a detachment of HRA fought the Scyflings in the forest to buy their comrades enough time.

In the fighting that followed, Scyfling slingers lit more fires which quickly spread to the surrounding trees. Both Scyflings and Haeseni fell back as the fire spread quickly throughout the Wickwald, leading to a massive inferno that burnt down the entirety of the forest. The Haeseni Army repositioned itself at Fort Buck, while the Scyflings made small camps throughout Almanland’s hilltops.

The Siege of Valwyck, 1767

  • 5,000 Scyflings v. 4,500 Haeseni
  • Haeseni Victory

The first major battle of the war came when the Scyflings attempted an assault on the castle of Valwyck - seat of House Baruch. The attack was a three-pronged assault:

Assault on the Walls: Scyfling raiders who had encamped themselves in Almanland after the Fall of Camp Rock earlier that year led a direct assault on Valwyck’s walls with siege ladders.
March through the Wickwald: King Sigismund II led a large force of Haeseni soldiers through the burnt and smoking corpse of the Wickwald to fight off the Scyflings besieging Valwyck. In the Wickwald, however, Scyfling skirmishers laid traps beneath the ash and attacked from the burnt trees to slow their advance.
Naval Assault: In the bay of Valwyck was a Baruch warship which stood as Valwyck’s sole defence against naval assault from the many Scyfling longships. A contingency of both Haeseni soldiers and the Hounds of Johnstown manned the warship against several attacking longships.
The walls of Valwyck held as King Sigismund II’s force pushed through the Wickwald. It was only on the other side that they realized a group of Scyflings had flanked around the forest to attack Fort Buck at the same time. King Sigismund II split his host, sending half back through the Wickwald to defend Fort Buck while he advanced to Valwyck with the other half. The King’s retinue was successful in arriving at Valwyck in time, and fought off the castle’s attackers.
In the bay, Scyfling ships had rammed the Baruch warship to immobilize it. The naval defenders managed to destroy several of the longships, and captured one. Masquerading as Scyflings, they sailed back to the main Scyfling fleet before setting fire to several ships once they were close enough. The ship sailed off before the Scyflings could retaliate, and landed near Fort Buck right in time to assist the Haeseni in defeating the Scyflings there.
After a bloody and brutal clash at Fort Buck, the Scyflings were overpowered, and the Siege of Valwyck was hailed as a decisive Haeseni victory.

The Battle for the North Sea, 1768

  • 2,000 Scyflings v. 1,800 Haeseni
  • Scyfling Victory

Denied the land foothold he so desperately needed, Bralt the Boar then sought to use the strength of his fleet to establish total control of the sea. On a summer’s night of 1768, the Scyfling fleet sailed south where they were met by several Haeseni warships launched from the Vanir harbour of Vasiland.

The two fleets clashed in the semi-frozen water of northern Haense. Though many in number, most Scyfling longships were slender, agile vessels better suited for transport than naval warfare. The Haeseni ships, though fewer, were sturdier and equipped for combat on the water. As a result, only the stronger Scyfling warships met the Haeseni fleet in battle.

After hours of fighting, the battle reached a stalemate as several ships from both sides were lost. It was only after the fighting ended, though, that Margrave Brandon Vanir - commander of the Haeseni fleet - noticed that a swift Scyfling ship had sailed around the battle towards Vasiland.

The First Siege of Vasiland, 1768

Occurring immediately after the Battle of the North Sea, the First Siege of Vasiland was the first major Scyfling victory.

After flanking the Haeseni fleet to sail to Vasiland, a warband of Scyflings under the command of the Vile Tooter reached the harbour and stormed the undefended Vanir keep. Haeseni ships rushed back to defend, and, after a brief and failed negotiations with the Vile Tooter, proceeded to fight within the castle to retake it. The Haeseni were successful at first, and pushed the Vile Tooter into the castle’s attic, where a fire soon started. Before the Haeseni could finish off the invaders, they were abruptly attacked from outside.

As they rushed to the newly-retaken walls, the Haeseni found that Bralt the Boar had marched a unit of Scyflings through Almanland during the Battle of the North Sea, and now attacked Vasiland from outside while the Vile Tooter attacked from within. As fire spread through the keep, the Haeseni were left battered and weary from going straight from the Battle of the North Sea to fight at Vasiland -- they declared the castle lost, and began to retreat.

Fire consumed much of the keep, and the Vile Tooter’s forces reorganized to push the Haeseni outside of the castle where Bralt and his archers lay in wait. The Haeseni command collapsed, and soldiers fled blindly in a bid to escape the deathtrap that Vasiland had become.

Vasiland was lost, and Haense sustained several notable casualties -- Carolina Barclay perished inside the keep where a floor collapsed beneath her, Dame Arianne Helvets died while protecting Godfric Alimar with arrow fire, and Aleksandr Vanir was killed after being taken captive by Bralt, alongside the wife and son of Margrave Brandon Vanir.

The Four Year Offensive 1769-1773

The Kongzem of Hanseti-Ruska at the start of the Four Year Offensive (Original map by Esterlen)

The Kongzem of Hanseti-Ruska at the start of the Four Year Offensive At the beginning of the Four Year Offensive, their territories stretched from Vasiland to a multitude of camps across Almanland, and their control of the Vanir harbour made it very easy to land troops from their fleet of longships. The Four Year Offensive began as Bralt and his warlords began to target other key Haeseni settlements, while also raiding as far as New Reza in an attempt to draw out King Sigismund II.

First Siege of Metterden, 1769

  • 500 Scyflings v. 1,400 Haeseni
  • Haeseni Victory

While collecting medicinal herbs in the now-conquered Almanland, Princess Alexandria Barbanov was kidnapped by the Vile Tooter. During captivity, however, she learned that the Vile Tooter - whose name she had learned was Segn - had grown disenthused with the bloody war, and sought a way out. Princess Alexandria was released, and set up a meeting between King Sigismund II and Segn through which Alexandria hoped the war would end.

King Sigismund II and a small host of Haeseni soldiers met with Segn by moonlight by Boot Bridge, at the edge of Almanland. Before tense negotiations could continue, they were attacked by a band of Scyfling archers who had learned of Segn’s treachery. As the party and Segn retreated together in a panic, Segn explained that these were no archers - they were Luvir Ironrain’s warband, the most dangerous archers of all the Scyfling clans. Under heavy fire, the Haeseni and Segn retreated up the hills and made a mad dash towards the nearby keep of House Ruthern - Metterden.

Though Haeseni fled behind the walls, they proved little respite against Luvir’s onslaught as his archers began to grapple over the walls, spelling certain doom for the party inside. It was only thanks to the arrival of the Hounds of Johnstown, sent for by bird once inside the keep, thank the Haeseni survived; the Hound cavalry crashed into Luvir’s warband from behind, catching them by surprise. Though the horsemen sustained several losses, they successfully killed Luvir and his warriors with King Sigismund II’s help from inside the keep.

The battle narrowly won, Segn was taken back to New Reza and cared for by Princess Alexandria. Thereafter, he became an important font of knowledge on the Scyflings.

Storming of Fort Buck, 1769

  • 7,000 Scyflings v. 2,500 Haeseni
  • Scyfling Victory

In the Almanland, the bulk of the Scyfling army had landed in the burnt husk of the Wickwald and encamped themselves in the abandoned farms and hamlets of the region. Under the command of Yva Stoneguard - Bralt the Boar’s second-in-command - this large army prepared to deal with Fort Buck to establish near-complete dominance over northern Haense.

The Scyflings began by raiding the remaining villages in Almanland. They deliberately let most villagers escape as Fort Buck, and strategically-placed Scyflings in the woods herded the panicked refugees towards Fort Buck to safety. A mass of panicked villagers arrived at Fort Buck, begging for safety. Despite the fact that the Fort did not have enough rations for so many people and the surrounding land was now swarming with Scyflings, the Haeseni Royal Army let the refugees into the Fort.

It was only after the horde of refugees entered Fort Buck that Yva’s army closed in. The Scyfling warchief made her intention clear - she did not want to slaughter all inside the Fort, but rather force them out of it through peaceful surrender. She rightly called that the Haeseni did not have enough food to feed both their soldiers and the refugees. While the Haeseni contemplated the offer, the Scyflings hurled the heads of slain villagers inside the Fort, igniting panic among the refugees.

Ultimately, the Haeseni defenders contended that they could not fight Yva’s large host and lacked the rations to withstand a siege because of the refugees. The Haeseni retreated amidst some fighting, during which the Knight Johann von Remsburg was captured.

Fort Buck was lost, and taken by the Scyflings, further cementing their control of northern Haense.

The Second Siege of Vasiland, 1769

  • 3,000 Scyflings v. 3,500 Haeseni
  • Scyfling Victory

The loss of Fort Buck fuelled the Haeseni determination to strike back, which came in the form of the Second Siege of Vasiland carried out by the Haeseni Royal Army and the Hounds of Johnstown in a two-pronged assault. Since taking the castle, the Scyflings had greatly fortified it with stakewalls, oil casks, and spike pits.

The HRA Assault: The Haeseni Royal Army began by approaching the castle using smokescreens to limit the effect of the Scyfling archers on the castle walls. However, the HRA greatly struggled to cross the stakewall as they were bombarded with arrows and fire-traps. Though they managed to place some siege ladders, these were quickly shot down by the Scyfling defenders after the HRA sustained multiple casualties. After the death of Brytanov Brackish, the HRA called a retreat.
The Hounds Assault: On the other side of Vasiland, the Hounds carried out a more stealthy attack. From the nearby trees, they used a scorpion to shoot a grapple onto one of Vasiland’s hoardings and began to cross. The Scyflings noticed only after the first of the Hounds reached the castle walls, and a desperate fight ensued on the battlements. The Hounds narrowly pulled through, but only after the grapple was cut, limiting them to just a handful of fighters. Despite that, they proceeded deeper into the castle while the bulk of the Scyflings fought off the HRA assault. The Hounds pushed far into the castle as the surprised Scyflings scrambled to defend, and enemy losses quickly mounted. However, once the HRA assault was beaten off, the Hounds were quickly overwhelmed. It was only through the arrival of an Imperial State Army relief force that the Hounds managed to retreat from the castle.

The Second Siege of Vasiland, though a far closer fight than the first, was another Scyfling victory.

The Third Siege of Vasiland, 1770

  • 2,000 Scyflings v. 3,000 Haeseni
  • Haeseni Victory

The second loss at Vasiland and the fall of Fort Buck spread despair among Haense as her territories were subjected to increasing Scyfling raids. After the second defeat as Vasiland, Haeseni forces surrounded the castle in a conventional siege that eventually led to a third and final assault in 1770. This time, the Haeseni performed conventional warfare. After initial bombardment failed, Ago Stonespear of the Scyflings led the defence against the Haeseni Army as they attempted to place siege ladders on one side, and push a siege tower on the other.

Having sustained many losses in the second siege, the Scyfling defenders were too few to fend off the Haeseni assault. Though Ago Stonespear destroyed the siege tower, the Haeseni were successful in scaling the walls with ladders. The Scyflings were pushed back inside the keep, where they faced off in one final and bloody assault in close combat that the Haeseni eventually won.

After three battles, Vasiland was finally retaken by Haense.

The Shaman Year Raid, 1770

  • 120 Scyflings v. 200 Haeseni
  • Haeseni Victory

Many scouting expeditions and patrols led to small-scale clashes between Haense and Scyfling in Almanland. In 1770, one such clash led to the capture of Lauritz Christiansen, a close friend to the Haeseni royal family. When Lauritz was taken back to a nearby Scyfling encampment led by a warchief called Taro the Tower, a scouting party including Princess Alexandria and Lord-Treasurer Rennard Amador tracked down Lauritz and rallied a rescue party to save him.

The morning after his capture, a Haeseni rescue force attacked the small encampment. They scaled the walls by surprise, only to be absolutely massacred by the Scyfling defenders. Several Haeseni sustained critical injuries from Taro’s javelins as soon as they appeared over the wall, placing them at a severe disadvantage. The true issue, however, came when Taro the Tower revealed himself to be a Scyfling Shaman -- to date, the Haeseni had only heard wayward reference of these powerful Shamen, but now they saw firsthand that Shamen were capable of ingesting strange toxins that made them extremely fast and inhumanly strong.

Empowered by these Shamanic toxins, Taro proved as dangerous as ten Scyfling warriors in cleaving apart the rescue party. If not for the late arrival of reinforcements led by Edvard Amador, the entire Haeseni party would have been slaughtered. Edvard finished off the wounded Taro the Tower, and Lauritz Christiansen was very narrowly saved as the badly wounded party retreated to New Reza.

Raid on New Reza, 1770

  • 70 Scyflings v. 3,000 Haeseni
  • Haeseni Victory

In 1770, Haense faced one of the most dangerous blitzkrieg assaults of the war. A party of Voliks - who, thus far, had been providing scouting assistance to Haeseni forces in the Almanland - arrived at the gates of New Reza with Scyfling prisoners in tow. The Haeseni welcomed them inside the city, and took the prisoners to the dungeon to interrogate them. The Voliks warned that Bralt’s Scyflings may attempt a rescue raid, and the Haeseni accepted their aid in guarding the cramped dungeons of New Reza.

As a duo of HRA intelligence officers began to torture one of the Scyflings, the Voliks were left alone to guard the dungeon. It was then that they attacked, revealing themselves to be Bralt’s Scyflings in disguise; donning damp rags, the Scyflings set a smoke fire in the dungeon, clogging it with smoke. The intelligence officers were taken hostage, and through using their lives as leverage, the Scyflings spread into the nearby Haeseni palace as they tried to find and kill King Sigismund II.

Through no small amount of luck on the part of the Haeseni, they managed to dispatch the Scyflings inside the palace and eventually pushed into the smoke-clogged dungeon in a high-risk attack. Though they successfully killed the Scyflings inside, this high risk reaped its consequences - the Knight Paramount Robin Kartyr was killed in the fighting, and King Sigismund II himself was severely wounded when a Scyfling hacked an axe into his shoulder which later led to the amputation of his left arm.

The Razing of Fort Buck, 1771

  • 10,000 Scyflings v. 2,000 Haeseni
  • Haeseni Victory

With Vasiland reclaimed, Haense turned its attention towards the Scyfling-occupied Fort Buck, which still held many Haeseni prisoners including the knight Johann von Remsburg. Besides Valwyck in the far north, all of Almanland remained under Scyfling control, and so the Haeseni Royal Army sent a small group of soldiers to infiltrate the fort.

They had two objectives: the first was to liberate the prisoners, and the second was to ignite a store of gunpowder under the Fort that the H.R.A. had left behind when they surrendered to Yva. The infiltrators split into two groups -- the first, and larger, were led by Count Alaric Stafyr through the Fort’s hidden escape tunnels to get inside while the smaller second group prepared to detonate the gunpowder stores.

The gunpowder was, however, detonated prematurely and triggered a cave-in that almost killed Count Alaric’s party. Smoke and fire engulfed the Fort, reducing visibility to practically nothing. The Haeseni infiltrators proceeded blindly through the smoke; some Scyflings fought them, but most ran out of the thick smoke. The Haeseni managed to free Johann and the other prisoners, but not before they were set upon by Bralt the Boar himself.

Ser Bjornolf Sturm stayed back to fight Bralt, but was quickly killed as the warlord pursued the Haeseni. He duelled several of them in the smoke, wounding most, but the Haeseni were able to use the smoke and lack of organization among the panicked Scyflings to flee into the forest. Bralt pursued, though, and archers fired at the Haeseni until they finally reached Johnstown. After sustaining injuries from arrow fire, Johann von Remsburg died.

Despite his death, the Haeseni had robbed the Scyflings of Fort Buck.

The Second Siege of Metterden, 1771

  • 6,000 Scyflings v. 4,000 Haeseni
  • Stalemate

With both Vasiland retaken and Fort Buck destroyed, the Scyflings retaliated with a vengeance. They marched a large host across Boot Bridge and over the hills into the valleys surrounding Metterden. Due to their large force, Haeseni scouts carried word to Metterden in advance to allow them to brace for the assault.

Archers lined the walls of Metterden in anticipation of the attack, but when the Scyflings approached, they did so with overturned, unmasted longships that acted as huge turtles. The turtles proved highly effective at negating the Haeseni archers, and allowed the Scyflings to attack the walls with ladders and grapples. The ladder assault was successfully beaten off by the defenders, but several dozen Scyflings scaled the walls using grapples and infiltrated the keep.

With the ladder assault failed, the Scyflings inside numbered too few to take the keep. Instead, they took the young Aleksandr Ruthern - heir to Metterden - hostage, and used him to retreat safely back towards Almanland.

Though Aleksandr was later released, his father - Count Konstantin Ruthern - died searching for his son.

The Raid of Valwyck, 1772

  • 800 Scyfling v. 2,000 Haeseni
  • Scyfling Victory

Despite the ongoing war, the Duchy of Valwyck hosted the wedding of Katarina Baruch and Vorion Sturmholm. Naturally, the festivities attracted the attention of the nearby Scyfling armies. A massive military presence at the wedding did not stop a lone Scyfling named Ako entering the party in disguise. It was only once inside that Ako revealed himself to be a Shaman, and began slaughtering guests at the reception before he was eventually overpowered.

Immediately after, a horde of Scyflings led by Bralt the Boar arrived at Valwyck. However, Bralt claimed he had no violent intent -- he came to Valwyck to retrieve Ako, who appeared to be close to Bralt, and had apparently gone rogue. It was only once the Scyflings learned that Ako had been killed that they were enraged, and attacked the castle. A feint assault was launched on the main gate, buying enough time for Scyflings to grapple inside the castle and ransack the wedding reception.

The Scyflings kidnapped the young Matyas Baruch - heir to Valwyck - and fled, leaving many wedding guests dead in their wake.

The Raid on Monstadt, 1773

  • 50 Scyflings v. 300 Haeseni
  • Haeseni Victory

On a summer’s evening in 1773, a small party gathered at the Amador seat of Mondstadt to celebrate the birthday of Baron Ruslan Amador. As the celebrations began, though, some of the guests noticed that shrubbery on the hillside outside the manor appeared to be getting closer. It was not until the shrubbery was much closer did they turn out to be camouflaged Scyflings, who scaled the walls and attacked the keep.

Taken completely by surprise, the guests were forced inside the manor as they exchanged projectiles with the stealthy Scyfling skirmishers, whom they dubbed ‘Bushlings’. Inside the manor, the guests sent word to New Reza for help before they attempted to strike back against the Scyflings, but were ultimately unsuccessful. King Sigismund II arrived alone and late to the party, unaware of the ongoing assault, and was struck by a javelin from behind, sustaining yet another critical injury that almost killed him.

The Bushlings proceeded to engage in a close-quarters battle with the guests, who successfully held them off long enough until HRA reinforcements arrived from New Reza and re-secured the manor after driving the Bushlings out.

The Battle of the Flooded Forest, 1773

  • 2,000 Scyflings v. 3,000 Haeseni
  • Haeseni Victory

Major Scyfling incursions began to die down following the Haeseni victory at Metterden. Almanland remained mostly under Scyfling control, and in 1773 Bralt the Boar began to move massive parties of Scyflings down towards the border of Almanland and the crownlands of New Reza. Fearing that Bralt was preparing to push on the capital, the HRA ventured north in the hope of regaining a foothold in Almanland. The Haeseni force dispatched initial enemy encampments, but the main Scyfling army soon deployed a forward force to drive back the Haeseni. As a storm struck the forest, the Haeseni fortified an abandoned Scyfling onslaught and faced off against several waves of Scyflings, including Shamans. Throughout the battle, the rain hammered down like a monsoon, and before long the forest was completely flooded, greatly frustrating the movement of both forces.

After withstanding the Scyfling offensive and killing hundreds, the Haeseni counted the engagement as a victory and pulled out of the Almanland before more Scyflings arrived.

The Push for New Reza, 1774-1777

The Kongzem of Hanseti-Ruska at the start of the Push on Reza (Original map by Esterlen)

Following the Battle of the Flooded Forest, Scyfling raids stopped entirely as Bralt consolidated the entirety of his forces in Almanland. It became abundantly clear that the Great Scyfling Army was preparing to push on New Reza at last. This final phase of the war featured only four major events, but each of them was incredibly consequential.

The Moonfire Massacre, 1774

  • 2,000 Scyflings v. 1,400 Haeseni
  • Scyfling Victory

In the absence of Scyfling raids, a Haeseni party ventured north into Almanland for the first time since the Battle of the Flooded Forest to investigate Scyfling movements. Upon crossing Boot Bridge, however, the Haeseni heard music and celebrations from the nearby Scyfling camp. As the HRA approached, they were stunned as the Scyflings welcomed them into the camp and offered them food and drink.

The confused Haeseni learned that it was the day the Moonfire festival, the key holiday of the Scyfling calendar on which it was forbidden to fight. Feuds and wars were forgotten for that one day, and enemies ate and drank together. The Haeseni warily accepted the Scyflings peace, and participated in the celebrations.

Upon leaving, however, another band of Scyflings led by Bralt the Boar arrived and began to fire on the Haeseni. The Scyflings who had celebrated with the Haeseni, on the other hand, rushed out to defend them and fight Bralt, as it appeared to be a very grave sin to break the peace of Moonfire. As Scyflings tried to help the Haeseni retreat, Bralt’s archers fired on them, killing dozens of Haeseni and Scyflings. The Haeseni defence broke as they fled in a panic over Boot Bridge, at the mercy of Bralt’s archers.

Massive casualties were sustained by both celebrating Scyflings and the Haeseni at the hands of Bralt the Boar. Princess Amelya Barbanov fell off Boot Bridge and died from arrow wounds, while Grand Prince Godfric Alimar was killed charging Bralt.

The Battle of the Shoals, 1774

  • 8 Scyfling Ships (400 Scyflings) v. 3 Haeseni Warships (2,000 Haeseni)
  • Scyfling Victory

After the Haeseni scouting party known as the Wonkmen, led by Juan de Lyons, made contact with the seemingly-insane Scyfling Shaman named Qeun the Quiet, they struck a deal with him. In return for helping with a Scyfling ritual, they learned that a detachment of Scyfling longships were heading out to the open ocean to refuel their oil supplies at an oil shoal. Intent on denying the Scyflings the oil they used for their beloved fire tactics, the Haeseni launched their own fleet to intercept them.

Haeseni ships sailed for two days into the ocean north-east of Arcas, at Qeun’s direction, until they encountered the Scyfling ships completing their restocking at the shoal. The ships engaged, though the swift Scyfling longships succeeded in boarding and destroying several of the Haeseni ships, though they did indeed lose some of their own. Still, the Haeseni losses forced them to sail back to New Reza in defeat.

In the naval clash, Juan de Lyons - captain of the Wonkmen - and Anastasiya Stafyr were killed.

Sigismund's Peace, 1774

Bralt’s slaying of his own people at the Moonfire Massacre triggered mass fallout among the Scyflings. Many of them began to fear that Bralt had gone mad, and that he was not the prophesied hero who would fulfill Crowslayer’s Vow. After the Massacre, rumours reached New Reza of continued infighting among the Scyflings caused by Bralt, and that a large branch of the Scyfling forces under Yva Stoneguard had broken away from Bralt.

In New Reza, King Sigismund II continued to worry that a full assault on New Reza could not be repelled and instead sought to capitalize on the dissent among the Scyflings. He began by meeting with Ori Halfmoon, elder of the Voliks, and agreed to give the Voliks their own protected land within Haense if they joined their remaining strength to Haense in battle.

A contingent of the HRA ventured north through the bloodsoaked Almanland, and met Yva Stoneguard and her dissenters. Though negotiations were tense and violence almost broke out, eventually Yva and the Haeseni struck the same deal -- her Scyflings would fight alongside Haense against Bralt in exchange for peace and land.

The Haeseni people were conflicted over so readily promising land to Yva, who had so recently fought against them, but ultimately accepted the reality they needed more troops to withstand Bralt’s impending assault.

The Great Battle of the North, 1775

  • 15,000 Scyflings v. 11,000 Haeseni
  • Scyfling Victory

Despite the major Scyfling losses through the Moonfire Massacre and Sigismund’s Vow, Bralt’s forces remained largely intact if diminished, and they began to march on New Reza. King Sigismund II marshalled his Scyfling-bolstered forces in preparation to meet him on the field and keep him away from the city.

The Great Battle of the North was actually composed of three separate clashes as Bralt tried to puncture the Haeseni lines to march on New Reza -- the HRA cavalry fought off a Scyfling advance force near Metterden, the ‘Bushling’ clan pushed through the woodlands north of Vasiland, and the main assault against the Haeseni frontline at Valles, just north of New Reza.

Clash at Metterden: The Crow Lancers - the HRA cavalry - fielded themselves in the plains surrounding Metterden to defend against bands of raiders that had crossed from Almanland to the north-west. There, they were faced with a smokescreen tactic as the Scyflings tried to bait the cavalry into charging into the smoke, but careful planning by the Haeseni horsemen eventually allowed them to corner the raiders and dispatch them, painting the fields red with blood and bodies.
Clash at Vasiland: The Bushling skirmishers attacked from the woods north of Vasiland, and engaged the Haeseni unit defending there in an intense guerilla battle. Eventually, the Bushlings pushed through the defence and inflicted serious losses on the Haeseni, including the death of most of the Kazirov family.
Clash at Valles: The main fight occurred at Valles, the seat of House Othaman just north of New Reza where Bralt the Boar led the bulk of his Scyflings against an army of five-thousand Haeseni commanded by Lord-Marshal Erwin Barclay, Yva Stoneguard, and King Sigismund II himself. The Scyflings began by sending a raging bull charging at the Haeseni lines, but Rennard Amador succeeded in killing it with Water Evocation before the Scyflings charged. A bitter and bloody melee ensued, in which the Scyflings gradually forced the Haeseni back. The situation was worsened when the Bushlings who had won at Vasiland arrived and pincered the defenders. When the Haeseni lines broke, Yva Stoneguard and her Scyflings covered the Haeseni as they retreated back to the walls of New Reza.
The Great Battle of the North was lost, and Bralt the Boar finally was able to march his army to the walls of New Reza and besiege the capital itself. Among those slain at the Great Battle was Alaric Stafyr, Count of Nenzing.

The Raid of Valles, 1775

  • 900 Haeseni v. 3,000 Scyflings
  • Scyfling Victory

Following the devastating loss, the HRA attempted one last scouting expedition of the Scyfli army on their doorstep, but it ended in disaster. Despite attempting to approach Valles stealthily by flanking through nearby Ostrov, Scyfling archers harried them through the region and the main army was quickly alerted. Despite managing to infiltrate the keep of Valles, the Haeseni were quickly forced to retreat back to New Reza once Bralt the Boar arrived.

The Battle of the Bay, 1776

  • 24 Scyfling Longships (2,000 Scyflings) v. 5 Haeseni Warships (2,500 Haeseni)
  • Haeseni Victory

With Scyfling siege lines established around New Reza, Bralt the Boar sought to land the remainder of the Scyfling fleet at Vasiland. Hastily-built Haeseni ships were launched by House Vanir and the castle’s garrison in a desperate bid to stop them, and thus began the penultimate battle of the Invasion on the waters outside Vasiland.

Under Brandon Vanir’s command, the last of the Haeseni ships collided with Scyfling longboats in an aggressive naval assault. However, the Haesenis ships numbered too few from their previous losses at the Battle of the North Sea and the Battle of the Shoals, and the Scyflings pushed through to Vasiland once more. Margrave Brandon Vanir's ship was boarded and after a fierce melee he along with most of his crew were killed. The last survivor James Avery managed to carry Brandon's body back to shore.

The Scyflings themselves had suffered many losses -- upon retreating to Vasiland, the Haeseni forces manned artillery on the castle walls and fired on the Scyfling ships as they attempted to land. They successfully sunk the remainder of them, and butchered the crews as they attempted to disembark, narrowly winning the battle.

Siege of New Reza, 1777

  • 10,000 Scyflings v. 7,000 Haeseni
  • Haeseni Victory

The entire war climaxed with its final battle as Bralt the Boar attacked New Reza itself. Attacks were launched on the main gate, the dock gate, and the west gate before the conflict culminated in a confrontation in the Ekaterinburg Palace.

The Main Gate Assault: At the main gates, the Scyflings produced Aleksandr Ruthern and Matyas Baruch - taken hostage at the Second Siege of Metterden and Raid on Valwyck respectively - and used them as meat shields as they advanced on the gates. After slinging oil casks on the defenders and setting them alight, the Scyflings and Haeseni clashed. The HRA reclaimed both the captive noblemen, though badly injured, before the Scyflings broke through the outer gate and were eventually held at the inner.
The Dock Gate & West Gate Assaults: Though happening on different sides of the city, both assaults on the smaller gates fared similarly as Scyfling attackers attempted to batter down the gate and scale the walls with grapples and ladders. The Haeseni defenders, aided by their allies in the Voliks and Yva Stoneguard’s dissenters, successfully held them off.
After a final attempt to scale the walls using Shamen on the north-western side of the city, the Scyfling forces attacking New Reza began to surrender as they failed to breach the city’s walls. It was only then, however, that alarm bells rang from the Ekaterinburg Palace as a small Scyfling force attacked it by surprise after scaling the walls undetected. The Haeseni defenders rushed to the throne room to find Bralt the Boar and a band of Shamen inside. One last fight occurred, during which the throne room was lit on fire. Unable to contend with Bralt and his Shamen in close quarters, the Haeseni instead pulled out of the Palace and barricaded Bralt inside.
In the throne room of Haense, Bralt the Boar burnt alive and died. The Scyfling Invasion had, after ten years of fighting, finally ended.

Major Confrontations

  • Siege of Valwyck - Haeseni Victory
  • Battle of the North Sea - Stalemate
  • First Siege of Vasiland - Scyfling Victory
  • Storming of Fort Buck - Scyfling Victory
  • Second Siege of Vasiland - Haeseni Victory
  • Assault of Metterden - Haeseni Victory
  • Battle for the North - Scyfling Victory
  • Siege of New Reza - Haeseni Victory

Timeline

  • 1753:
    • The Haeseni expedition returns from Athera, stories of their adventures spread throughout the Kingdom.
  • 1765:
    • News of a Scyfling fleet arrives in Reza. King Sigismund II orders the construction of a defensive fort to guard the coasts of the Kingdom.
  • 1768:
    • Bralt the Boar arrives at the Northeastern coast of Haense, and his siege of Valwyck is repulsed.
    • The Haeseni begin a counter attack, launching a naval attack to destroy the Scyfling fleet in the bay.
    • Scyfling survivors of the previous battle sneak through and capture Vasiland. Margrave Brandon escapes, but his wife, son, and kinsman Aleksandr are killed.
  • 1769:
    • Bolstered by their victory at Vasiland, Scyflings turn to the North and occupy the lightly defended Fort Buck.
    • The evacuation of the North of the Kingdom begins, with all Haeseni urged to retreat to Reza for safety.
    • Scyfling scouts engage in small skirmishes with Haeseni patrols.
    • The Vile Tooter defects after secret negotiations with Princess Alexandria of Haense convincing him to turn sides; his betrayal is met with an assassination attempt by Luvir Ironrain. The Haeseni sent to protect him are forced back to Metterden, where they defeat Luvir with the help of the Hounds of Johnstown.
  • 1770:
    • A joint Haeseni-Johnstown siege of Vasiland begins. Initial attempts to quickly assault and take the keep fail, and a Scyfling relief force arrives to join to defenders in the castle.
    • The Haeseni surround the fortress, deciding to perform a conventional siege of the castle.
  • 1771:
    • A year long siege ends when the Haeseni assault the fortress again. Bombardment fails, but well placed siege ladders permit the Haeseni to climb onto the walls and retake the castle.
    • The Scyflings attempt a two-wave assault on Metterden, but are beaten off by Haeseni defenders.
    • The Haeseni launch an attack on a Scyfling camp to rescue Lauritz Christiansen, who had been captured during an earlier expedition. The attack is successful and the camp is destroyed.