Medieval: Total Combat (Closed/IC)

[The Grand Fourth Dominion]

Varnathox: the White Fortress.
Overlooking a plain, by the great Varna River, Varnathox had never had its walls breached by any enemy.
Even the Fourth Dominion had to starve its defenders out to take the city for honour and glory.
Rich farmlands surrounded the city and its peasants toiled.
On the river, the Grand Fleet was docked, great galleys of war bobbing up and down on the river's tide.
The Great Market in the city center was overflowing with activity, with people going to and from their daily businesses.
But high above the masses, the Town Guard watched from the Towers, inside for signs of trouble, and outside for any sign of attack.
Yes, there had been a temporary truce with the Fifth Dominion, but old grievances stayed:
The Grand Dominion did not trust the Fifth.
Even now, deep within the Nobleman's Quarter, in the Imperial Palace, the Emperor was drawing up war plans for the year. In the Royal Academy, the Imperial Guard were fine tuning their combat skills. All over the Empire, peasants were flocking to join the Army, after hearing of good wages and free shelter and clothing.
Yes, it was peaceful for now....
But the Grand Dominion was gearing up for WAR.

[The Fifth Dominion]

The Dominion Delegation sailed up the Varna River.
Perhaps, after 3 months of peace, a trade agreement could come to place between the Dominion and the grand Dominion?
The ship furled up its sails as it approached the docks of Varnathox.
Grand Dominion Navy sailors eyed them suspiciously, and the Merchants stole a glance at the rich offerings the Delegation had brought. They set off, up the Merchant Quarter, and towards the Great Market.
Varnathox was a thriving city, and encircled by 7 walls, Prince Farathorn couldn't imagine how on earth the Dominion was ever supposed to take it. Varnathox's walls were strong, and its Guards sleepless.
The Delegation eventually stopped by the Gates of the Grand Imperial Palace, when a Guard stepped forward to question them.
"We are here to see his Most Imperial Highness," the Prince replied.
The Delegation was led to the circular Throne Room, and were told to wait.

[The Grand Fourth Dominion]

The Emperors of the Grand Dominion had a reputation for being fierce Warrior-Kings. The Emperor could see the Fifth Dominion Delegation from here, disguised as an Imperial Guard. Prince Farathorn, the cunning diplomat. Captain Granis Darkhammer, a veteran of many a land struggles. Lady Aerith Gainsborough, a seductress. Marshal Pontiff Gray, the Supreme Commander of the legendary Paladins.
Perfect.
With such talented individuals gone, the Grand Dominion would be able to sweep aside the Fifth Dominion.
The Emperor performed a prearranged signal: a slight lean to the left and the cocking of the head right.
The 10 Imperial Guard stationed around the circular Throne Room snapped to attention and advanced, drawing their swords.
The Delegation's escort quickly responded, but were no match for the greatest swordsmen from all across the Grand Dominion. Within seconds, the delegation had been slaughtered.
This was most certainly an act of war. However, this act also gave them a tremendous advantage over the Fifth: unlike the Fifth, the Grand Dominion still had its most talented individuals alive.

[The Fifth Dominion]

Scouts had spread far and wide over the Dominion.
"Betrayal! Those rats at Varnathox murdered our Prince!" they cried to all the villagers and townspeople they could see.
Eventually, the Dominion returned to fighting strength. Troops on leave were recalled, non-essential peasants forcibly conscripted. The Cities and Towns were garrisoned fully, and able bodied workers were to apply for militia service.
The Dominion Host stood ready for war.
From the town of Haven, some 20,000 assembled troops, composed of heavy infantry and crossbows, as well as some elements of spearmen, marched north into the Grand Dominion.

[Iievius]

The contingent of mounted archers thundered over the northern steppes as they continued their training exercises. Group after group of archers wheeled around a small post and back down the line, drawing their, bows, the small weapons creaking with tension. With a hiss, the arrows released almost simultaneously, whizzing through the air to smash into the small, plate sized targets around two hundred meters away. As the first group rumbled past, the second rolled down the line to release a second volley, this time arching high into the sky, coming down onto the same target, except this time embedded in the upper target that faced skywards. As the first group continued to gallop, they passed yet another group of targets, and having already drawn their bows, fired again. The arrows, unmistakably smashed into the small targets, one piercing through the thick wood and almost coming out the other side. In another area, more sinister soldiers were training.

---

Falcon flicked his wrist, and a small, silvery knife flew out of his sleeve, several others flinging out simultaneously, thudding heavily into the human shaped manikin below. The underground tunnels beneath Aescol had long been the location of the ASCOU; the Assassination, Sabotage and Covert Operations Unit. They had for time immemorable been the boogeyman of Iievius' enemies; lurking in the shadows, here, then there, never really spotted except from the corner of your eye before you fell to the ground with blood choking your throat. Falcon was one of the best. OF course, no one knew if he was really Falcon; each and every ASCOU member wore the exact same facemasks, a frowning opera mask, crisp white porcelain, that cried fresh red tears. Of, course, this was just an intimidation tactic; but over time it had become a symbol of imminent death or failure. And tomorrow, Falcon supposed, he might take a holiday to the Fourth Dominion. He heard the weather was nice this time of year.


OOC Note: Just to make sure, when this happens, nobody knows about it. Not even half of the most important people in Iievius know about it, so I doubt any 'hidden spies that were just revealed to be hidden in the rafters of the tunnels which dont have rafters do' OK? This stuff is so secret you could stick a Giant in those tunnels as a marker and never find the entrance again.

[The Grand Fourth Dominion]

The town of Drakon was a popular resort town for noblemen. It had an excellent view of the ocean and the nobles liked going on pleasure cruises out towards the horizon.
But not today.
The noblemen who usually lived and rested here were away fielding their armies.
That, and the fact that the Fifth Dominion Navy had blockaded the port town again, meaning that the days of pleasure cruising were over.
Drakon's fishermen were hatching a bold plan: they would take their vessels out to sea to "beg for mercy" and "offer surrender," and then board the Fifth's ships. Hopefully, the blacsmith would hurry up and forge the weapo-
Oh goody.
The Fishermen grabbed their newly-forged swords and sailed out to the long line of galleys out in the horizon.

[The Fifth Dominion]

The fishing ships were approaching the Dominion line, very suspiciously.
"We surrender!" one of the fishermen cried.... holding a sword.
The Captain was not convinced.
"Ram them."
"Aye, sir!"
The Galley rushed forward, and rammed the fishing boat.
The craft's left hull was holed, and it sank, dragging the crew with it.

[Iievius]

Falcon lounged outside the rooms of the 'very talented members' of the Fourth Dominion. The Emperor of the Dominion seemed to enjoy making his life hard, and had the important people of his government placed in different areas of the castle. Looked like there would have to be a week of terror instead of a night of silence. Barry of Sun, the teacher of the Imperial Guards and the war hero of the fourth dominion, was first. Falcon had never missed a kill, and tonight would be no exception. He slipped into a small room which he jimmied open quite easily as he waited for his target to sidle around the corner. Thud. And then a louder one, Barry collapsing to the floor, before slight gurgling noises rose in the nobleman's throat, the war-hero choking on his own blood. Falcon rose and calmly flicked his wrist again, disposing of the Imperial Guard accompanying his target within seconds. For the next few days, terror would reign in the palaces of Varnathox. He left a small silver coin in the mouth of the victim; a single imperial credit, as blood began to pool around the bodies. It looked like the Fifth Dominion had a very good friend out there; or perhaps the Fourth had simply antagonized too many people. The latter seemed more likely.

[Davatria]

Lan popped out of the newly constructed guard house and pulled his extra pack of javelins from the weapons rack. Grabbing his flask, he settled down for another night of guard duty.

[The Grand Fourth Dominion]

Varnathox was in uproar.
Why was this man allowed to die? Is security really that weak? What good do 7 walls do if they don't protect one person?
Things were not so much better within the palace.
In the Halls of Reflection, the various Lords of the Empire had gathered around a conference room.
"The Guards tell us that there was only one man," the Emperor told the assembled nobility.
"One? Are you sure?"
"Yes," the Emperor said, annoyed at being questioned by a Baron, "they called him.... the Masked One."
The Lords started murmuring to each other.
At last, one of them spoke up.
"Why was he not killed with the rest of his Order?"
The Emperor shrugged.
"We believe that the group we killed was a mere splinter faction of the main group."
The Halls of Reflection was now filled with the same outrage the rest of the city had been infected with.
The Emperor then seized his chance.
"If this was anyone's fault, it was Barry's own. He failed to determine the fact that this was merely a small group before he sent the Guard in. And he also let one get away."
The chatter died down.
"What must we do now?" one of the Lords asked.
"We must destroy the source of this...Masked One" another Lord said.
The Emperor then decided.
"This.... Iievius. Will be destroyed. Its fields will burn, its cities will be levelled, its people destroyed! After this war, NONE shall remember iievius even existed!"
There was a roar of approval.

[Iievius]

OOC: Question-How do you know it was me? ^-^ Besides, I'm an island up north where its real cold, and you're being blockaded by Fifth so you can't get your navy out.

---

[The Fifth Dominion]

Exhausted from a full day's march, the 20,000 strong Fifth Dominion Expeditionary Force had camped on the Fields of March, by a road leading to Aconar, a key military fortress in the hands of the Fourth Dominion. It is still 10km away, and there were concerns that a Fourth Dominion Knight had galloped back to warn the Garrison.

[Davatria]

(concept for Praetorians)
Deflecting the storm of arrows, they rushed forward smashing the wicker barricades. Deflecting and dodging thrusts from spears and pikes the Praetorians smashed into the recruits, with their large shields absolutely destroying the formations. Lazlo smiled at the Praetorians, soon enough the recruits would reach their level. Now he winced as a the Praetorians broke into the javelin throwers positions.

[The Fifth Dominion]

The Army had arrived at Aconar the next day.
The men toiled about constructing siege weaponry and making camp.
The Fourth Dominion, for the time being seemed to be content with sitting in their Fortress.
With a couple of men placed on watch, the ones not toiling took a moment to rest. They would then change shifts with the workers.

[Iievius]

Three days had passed. Falcon supposed now was as good a time as ever. He approached the rooms of the Noble's Quarter. Today, he was going in a bit less deep than before. He supposed that if they were dead, they couldn't relate their story- right? So he lounged against the far wall of the corridor, waiting for her. His next target was Lady Tifa Lockhart, skilled martial artist, advisor to the Emperor, and also his consort. Yawning, he licked his lips, though his mask remained impassive, looking a little out of place on the slouching figure of Falcon. The target came around the corner, escorted by three guards. That was certainly more than last time. He nonchalantly flicked the blades out, but the woman dodged the two he chucked at her, though two of the guards fell. Falcon dashed up to the second guard and slashed his throat just as he was about to scream for help, and met the eyes of Lockhart, smiling under the mask in a perverse glee. He advanced on her, preparing to attack, before dropping the blade and going for a loud "BOO!" She was startled, and he casually flicked his wrist. As he walked away, he tossed a small coin over his shoulder, which would land on her nose. Perhaps he would need to work on that a bit more. As he walked back to fix the offending position, a guard walked around the corner on patrol. Immediately he burst into action as the guard screamed, bursting through the windows and jumping on roofs and sliding along clotheslines, climbing over the first inner wall before dropping into the outer city where he could sneak away into the night. They never found him.

[The Fifth Dominion]

ORDER OF BATTLE
[*]The Holy Empire of the Fifth Dominion
20,000 troops
[*]2,000 Heavy Infantry
- 1,200 Amoured Swordsmen
- 800 Heavy Axemen
[*]3,000 Knights (Dismounted)
[*]1,000 Paladins (Warhammer)
[*]2,000 Pavise Crossbowmen
[*]4,000 Skirmishers (Sword)
[*]500 Siege Crews (Siege Towers, Rams, Trebuchets)
[*]7,500 Staff, Reserve

[*]The Empire of the Grand Fourth Dominion
18,000
[*]3,000 Spearmen
[*]2,000 Archers
[*]2,000 Knights (1,200 Dismounted and on Walls)
[*]3,000 Longswords
[*]2,000 Imperial Guard
[*]6,000 Local Peasant conscripts

The Dominion formation consisted of a line of troops, with a line of pavise crossbowmen in a line 100 meters in front of the main formation. The main line has Heavy Infantry in the center, flanked by spearmen, who are falnked by Skirmisher units. 800 meters to the left is the siege team, escorted by the Paladins and a small contingent of skirmishers, crossbowmen and knights.

[Iievius]

The Iievian delegation had sailed into the ports of Ostagar with much pomp and splendor. Flags of both nations hung from the balconies, and trumpets blew to announce the arrival of the delegation including diplomat Princess Teresa herself, and also several important members of Iievian society including the war hero Mikael Foremest and tactician Kevin Loxur. They had hoped for an alliance to fight against their mutual enemy of the Fourth dominion as a coalition where the Iievian light troops could support the heavier Dominionites. If all went well, the Illidari might join them. The Fourth would fall soon.

[Old North Fish]

What would you have me to do? questioned Huntsman Philip. 'Scare the peasants. Don't leave any trace!', growled Elder Florillo.

Off he went, setting houses on fire, stealing crops, animals and supplies. After this, he planned to make the peasants revolt against their own Emperor, of the Fourth Dominion.

... ...

[The Grand Fourth Dominion]

ORDER OF BATTLE
[*]The Holy Empire of the Fifth Dominion
20,000 troops
[*]2,000 Heavy Infantry
- 1,200 Amoured Swordsmen
- 800 Heavy Axemen
[*]3,000 Knights (Dismounted)
[*]1,000 Paladins (Warhammer)
[*]2,000 Pavise Crossbowmen
[*]4,000 Skirmishers (Sword)
[*]500 Siege Crews (Siege Towers, Rams, Trebuchets)
[*]7,500 Staff, Reserve

[*]The Empire of the Grand Fourth Dominion
18,000
[*]3,000 Spearmen
[*]2,000 Archers
[*]2,000 Knights (1,200 Dismounted and on Walls)
[*]3,000 Longswords
[*]2,000 Imperial Guard
[*]6,000 Local Peasant conscripts

The Grand Dominion deploys a 1,000 Spearmen, along with all Dismounted Knights, Imperial Guard and 1,500 Archers on the Walls. The rest will be deployed inside the walls, lest the gate and walls fall.

[The Fifth Dominion]

The Dominion Siege Team went to work. The Ram Crew, escorted by a few hundred skirmishers went for the closest section of the wall to them. As Grand Dominion walls had a reputation for being very tough, the wall was bombarded with Trebuchets, surrounded by Paladins to protect it. The Siege Towers were slowly pushed by the rest of the unoccupied Siege Team, towards an empty-looking section of the wall.

The Assault Team moved their crossbowmen forward to shoot down the enemy. They had deployed in front of the gate to make the Grand Dominion charge them. It worked. Seeing undefended crossbowmen, the Knights rushed out of their Fortress to run them down. A few were brought down by the volley, but it was clear that the crossbows needed support. The crossbowmen ran back towards allied lines, and the spearmen rushed forwards to meet the enemy. The Grand Dominion Knight-Commander realised his mistake and tried to circle back, but was too late. The Knights of the Grand Dominion charged into a wall of spears, and were decimated.

[The Grand Fourth Dominion]

The Archers set lit flames onto their arrows in order to try and burn the fifth Dominion siege equipment, but they were covered in ladder. The Ram was at the wall, pounding away, but any Archer foolish enough to take potshots at it was brought down by a hail of crossbow bolts.
Realising this, the Captain had ordered all troops not manning the walls to form up near the projected breach. The Dominion Trebuchets, were either out of stone to fling or changing position: either way they had stopped firing. He then realised that this meant that the Dominion was preparing a charge through the breach.
He debated whether to call down the Imperial Guard or not. In the end he decided to keep them at the wall, where the three Siege Towers were approaching.
May God help them all.

[Iievius]

Hey guys, this is just an announcement; the NSWiki Article for the Great Schism has been completed! Expect more to come in the future, and please contribute to the articles. The Empire of Iievius has also got a wiki article, but it is not yet completed. Thx!
The Schism War
http://nswiki.net/index.php?title=Schism_War
The Empire of Iievius
http://nswiki.net/index.php?title=Iievius
The Emperor's Harem
http://nswiki.net/index.php?title=The_Emperor%27s_Harem

[The Fifth Dominion]

The Walls of Aconar were breached, but unforunately, as soon as the wall came crumbling down, the Ram Crew were speared to death. Seizing the opportunity, Captain Gallows rallied the Army to charge the breach. The Armored Swordsmen made mincemeat of the peasants and spearmen guarding the gap, but found tough opposition in the Dismounted Knights.

Overhead, the Siege Tower had reached the wall, but the Imperial Guard were slaughtering the Skirmishers as they rushed out. They had to hurry up to the walls, or risk losing a quarter of the attack force. The Swordsmen carved a path through the peasants, who turned and fled. The Grand Dominion Spearmen tried to stop them, but only met minimal success. The Swordsmen rushed for the nearest Tower to get onto the walls, and the Courtyard Battle was taken by the Axemen and Light Infantry.

[Izsha]

OOC: Need some help there Fifth?

[Old North Fish]

Georgus Polentus was heaving at a thick wooden door, this village's belfry was a hard one to break in. Finally, he got in and, tugging at the rope fastened to the bell, called the villagers. All came out, frightened and whimpering.

'Do not be afraid, he said calmly'. 'Are you in need to comfort, warmth and assured security?

One old man whispered; yes. The others followed suit, moaning in bitter agreement. What do we need to do, wailed one fit looking youth.

Well, if you will call upon your friends and neighbours, come as one and we will, together fight against your oppressors, indeed, the Grand Dominion itself! Do you want freedom, nows your chance!!! LETS FIGHT FOR PEACE! LIBERTAS INFINITUS!

#####

Polentus has done well, said the great Fief-jarl himself. We need to cause division among our enemies, perhaps even make the peasants fight against their leaders, after all, the poor constituted quite a fraction of the Grand Fourth Dominion's populace.

This will be psychological warfare, remarked advisor Thomas Zerallo. We need not conquer with brute force.

... ...