[Defence] Shadow Gate - Church

[Adder]

The doors of the first church of Zerdargia were open as usual but this brightening it was somewhat more crowded than usual and the congregation were quite a lot more militant than normal. Indeed it seemed that all of the congregation were armed for the church was a natural focus point for the militia to gather, in part so that they could offer up their prayers, in part because of the nature of the priest here but mainly because it was a place where they felt comfortable to gather.

The open streets near the church were also busy with people who had already been into the church, were waiting to go in or simply had stopped by to chat. Some were not armed but the majority were, for all the non combatants had been evacuated from the city in the brightenings before the siege began.

The shadows when they suddenly gathered were thus immediately noticed and the outcry alerted those who had not seen them arrive and the doors of the church were immediately congested as the congregation exited the church in a hurry.

As orcs suddenly erupted from the gates, they were met with shouts of hatred and a mass of dwarfs and hobbits charged forward to meet them. As the sounds of battle joining echoed into the church, Father Mikah came out of the church and studied the fighting calmly before moving forward towards the fighting.

[Avanthar Dra'Aran]

There were certainly reasons for Avanthar’s actions. With fighting in several parts of the city, it was certainly difficult for reinforcements to arrive, and even if they were they would be hard pressed. Avanthar’s savage host was entering the city slowly, yet finally the fighting had reached the next stage. Reinforcements would not arrive in great numbers towards the main gate, as even as Velerean and the others sought to fight back against the advancing host, several key locations of Zerdagia were under attack.

It was questionable just how effective the citizens of Zerdagia were, especially those that were simply trained to the basic level… would their courage falter against such a host, many proving to be untested warriors whom rarely had the chance to see true bloodshed. Only time would tell if the entire population were as valiant as many boasted themselves to be… or would they too fall under heavy fear.

Communication was the key, and as forces entered Zerdagia, scouts returned with what they had encountered. Decisions had to be made.

As with the other gates, fighting had begun almost immediately. What numbers they were fighting against was still questionable, yet at least no reinforcements would be sent to several key locations, ones that were under attack themselves. The Church was a haven, and now that haven would suffer against Avanthar’s host. The Dracolord did not care for losses, all he sought though was to win, win in the sense that a sufficient amount of death had been caused due to his attack. If Zerdagia was to remain, it would not remain unscathed. They would pay a heavy toll…

Goblins and Orcs wielded their savage weapons without flaw as they sought to engage the citizens of Zerdagia in close combat. Pockets of fighting were erupting throughout the city. This was but the first wave, for there were many others to come. Undead too began to filter in, though the necromancers chose to lead them elsewhere rather than confront those of the church just yet. Fighting brutally, bestial howls and roars mingled with that of clashing steel, the green skins charged towards the doorway of the church, seeking to halt those from within coming as more of Avanthar’s host filtered out, spreading along the streets like a green inky blot.

Father Mikah… he too would face Avanthar’s wrath in due time…

[Adder]

The undead that had come through with the first wave and mixed in with the orcs as they spread outwards from the gates with the intention of meeting together and forming a solid bridgehead. The necromancers filtered out as best they could the undead leaving the orcs to form the main assault on the forces coming out of the church. However the church forces were but a small part of the total that were in the immediate area. Certainly if the bridgehead could be established then they would begin to overwhelm the defenders but for now the attackers were outnumbered and their assault bogged down in the face of the anger of the defenders.

The defenders would need to prove themselves, prove that they could live up to the reputations of both the dwarfs and the Veldar. Of course, it was many eras since many of them had formed part of the Veldar but they had been well trained at the time. Vague memories came back to them and they formed rough formations, but the reality was that they didn’t really work for they had no shields and their natural reactions came to the fore and they fought as individuals, but since many were using the axe that seemed so synonymous with the dwarfs this was not as much of an issue as it might otherwise. The confines of the streets served to make this a toe to toe battle with little opportunity for flanking attacks and the various alleyways that led off from the fighting were quickly blocked.

The fighting was ferocious, Avanthars forces fought because they were driven and because they hated the races they fought against. No weaklings the orcs and not lacking in fighting skills, long had they been deadly adversaries of the dwarfs, evenly matched in many ways in strength and skill, lacking only the experience that the longer lifespans gave the dwarfs.

For the time being the fighting stalled, with the necromancers concentrating on marshalling the undead and Father Mikah marshalling his strengths and with his axe at his side prepared to rid the world of both undead and their necromantic masters by applying his thaumatagic prowess.

[Avanthar Dra'Aran]

The will to prove themselves was important, yet whether or not they could hold fast against an increasing swarm of undead and orcs. Goblins too swarmed out as those from outside continued to make their move. It was certainly important for Avanthar and his armies to gain sufficient footholds within the city so that more of his horde can break through. He cared not if he lost, all he sought was for slaughter. As of yet his thirst for it had yet been satisfied. Much more would be needed before Avanthar would give up his invasion.

Fighting against a battle bred race whom had fought ever since their birth, the Zerdagians fought against the brutal orcs and cunning goblins empowered by inherent hate. Banding together they sought to work in unison, striking repeatedly as a force. With the orcs they delved in with their fearsome axes, cruel blades and crushing hammers, whilst the goblins struck out with their spears and bows. What the Orcs gained was superior strength and ferocity, their cruelness and savagery evident, their eyes were aglow with murder!

A small band of goblins situated themselves at the gate entrance, firing off their arrows towards the Church doors, peppering any possible weakness within the lines. Holding the gate was the key. Firing into the press of hobbits and dwarves while also fighting off enemy archers, they would continue to hold. Every second counted…

With every death, the necromancers worked, and, with the main shadow gate closed, more of Avanthar’s forces were eager to filter in through the other portals. Little did those of Zerdagia know that the great Dracolord was ready to act in another way… for now orcs and goblins sought to overwhelm the opposition, gifting the necromancers with more dead to raise!

From the outside, a surpised Avanthar watched as his main gateway was dispelled. A questioning glance and a moments thought brought many possible reasons... yet one could very well be Duncan. It was difficult to trust the man, a man that did not believe in the gods... he was... difficult.

With a grimace he drew his immense powers once more and made another portal to the Church, weaving a gate with surpising efficiency and speed and linking it with the shadows at the same vicinity. Another surge of undead and goblins would begin their ravaging onslaught within the city.

Remembering the odd results of his spells, Avanthar readied his senses, placing added attention to the end result within Zerdagia. Whatever was there, he'd need to deal with it...

OOC: ^^ can we like... have some numbers at the bottom with OOC posts so i can see whats happening numerically?

[Adder]

Avanthar was finally displaying the true extent of his archmage powers and yet another gate snapped into existence, the shadows appearing and solidifying so that there were now three portals in this one place. A third gate would start to make it difficult for the local militia to handle. It would not prove impossible by any means since this was a major staging point for the militia and in truth several thousand were in the immediate area.

Militia they were but with a sprinkling of Veldar to provide the command structure, but even so it was possible that their organisation and discipline would allow a bridgehead to be established and that in itself would cost lives. So they were determined that this would not happen and the new portal was quickly surrounded, with orders sent out to the reinforcements.

The existing forces battled hard, the orcs throwing themselves into the fray with abandon and their love of battle drawing them on. The battle was however to take a new twist and to the frustration of Avanthars plans for from the south side of the church came two new figures, and the dwarfs gave way automatically to them. A slim and girlish figure appeared through the crush of reinforcements along with an older elf, who appeared to be her guardian. In truth, it was more likely that the young woman would protect him for despite the disparity in ages and his Mastership of Song, it was Dhwae who possessed the greater power.

Her face was already drawn by the strain of being in a city and away from the nature that was her home and the presence of the undead, orcs, goblins and necromancers was a stain that her very soul objected to. Despite being in a city with its artifical surfaces and buildings covering the clean earth, there were still many parts of nature that she had ready access to.

As they came within range of the fighting she grimaced, and her rosy lips narrowed in the golden hues of her face. Dropping easily into clara, she wove the spells of rock skin to deflect any arrows or other weapons that might come her way whilst she was distracted, trusting to Auhren to handle any physical protection. She was unhappy at leaving the rest of the Naturan contingent but she had sensed the disturbance in the ara caused by these repeated spells and had come to the nearest to investigate.

Her grimace grew as she observed the first of the original gates and a moue of distaste blossomed on her face at the necromantic arcana displayed there. ”This shall not be,” she said and opened herself to the ara of the area, loosing herself to the elements of nature that still filled the city for all its lack of vegetation and access to the earth. She drew it in and channelled it back out and into the first gate, overloading and disrupting it so that it disappeared in a flutter of shadows and then moved forward and then channelled again into the second of the original gates, dispelling that one too.

She placed her hand on Auhrens arm, ”there is one more to close and then we must assist in removing any remaining necromancers here. The forces of evil that remain afterwards we must leave to the soldiers here to deal with as there are other gates throughout the city that I must close too.”

[Avanthar Dra'Aran]

Rising in confidence of his own abilities, Dra’Aran had only now begun to realize just what he was capable of. Working flawlessly and with incredible ease, more of his dark minions entered into the church district to begin their slaughter. Now fierce fighting erupted beyond and within the walls of Zerdagia. Surging forth like an unwarranted wave of brutality, steel rang against steel as dark arts were brought into the fray, raising the recent dead as the black army fought, seeking to secure the gate. Cruel arrows rained down, peppering the defense as the streets grew bloodier…

Working the art of nature, the meddling by the Archdruidess was noted upon the other side as two gates closed, though Avanthar’s attention was drawn towards the cavalry whom finally impacted upon his forces arrayed to meet the charge. With spells flying everywhere, all was chaos… for a time those within Zerdagia were safe… but how long would it be before undead cavalry entered the dwarven city…

Those whom were upon the gates showed no sign of dismay at the removal of the gates, knowing that their Lord would continue to sprinkle the city with his dark arts. Others would join them, and death was not something they feared, not when death itself was their ally. They continued their fighting as one lone gate continued to bring in more… the necromancers working vigorously as they stood near the gate, surrounded by a ring of minions as others sought to expand and fortify their bridge…

[Adder]

Having taken care of two of the gates, it seemed that the arch druidess and her protector had headed off to a different part of the city leaving one gate operational.

Even as the defending forces regrouped to meet the changed nature of the threat so did Father Mikah become aware of the CoF assault. Indeed almost any mage could hardly fail to be aware of it and they had a short while before the results of the assaults hit this part of the city.

Take cover! He yelled, pushing his way forward getting as much attention as he could. Word spread and the defenders fell back, ducking into houses and pouring back into the church.

It left the streets to the attackers, and protected by a strong a rear guard, Father Mikeh, concentrated on dispelling any of the arcanic overspill that came their way.

[Avanthar Dra'Aran]

Lashing out suddenly as the Church’s wild magic came to play, the entire area was indeed hit by powerful bolts of lighning, a hail of ice shards and whatever else the church magi had conjured into the war. Both the zerdagians and Avanthar’s forces were being hit and in an instant all was chaos. It was inevitably a race for shelter, as undead, orcs and goblins were commanded, entering into buildings and hiding between alleyways, seeking to escape as much of the arcanic wrath as possible… spreading throughout the district, seeking whatever shelter there was, it was interesting to see just how all of the large contingent of defenders here could all manage to find shelter in time… certainly if the Zerdagians could do it… then so could Avanthar and his lackeys.

[Niobe]

This post has been continued in ~This Thread~ to make things a bit neater all round

[Adder]

The evacuation of soldiers from the Veldar Compound had forced them out, by Oak Drive and the other small streets largely into Mainway, the largest and most important street in the city.

This was the heart of the mercantile district with its broad streets, though the main massing of the Veldar was in the expanse of the Honey Breeze, it could not all fit in there, especially with everyone taking cover from the arcanic assaults originating in the eastern residential part of the city and spreading across to the main assault outside the Medonian Gate in the South West.

The militia had always been based along the Mainway, which is why the gate outside the church which was a secondary rallying point, close to Circle Drive and its quick access to all parts of the city, had met so much resistance.

The proposed assault on the compound drew in most of the forces evacuated from therin but they had a ripple effect of displacing forces already massed there up the Mainway and towards the church.

For a while it seemed that the streets despite this were deserted. The attacking forces had retreated into the houses on the northern side of the street, seeping into the edge of the Dead End slums, and for once the rotting corpses of the undead actually outdid the smell of the Hang Man butchers shop, something that the locals would never have expected, had they still be alive to be surprised that is.

Inside the church, the defending commanders gathered and tried to put together some strategy whilst Father Mikah, collapsed on one of the pews and rested, trying to listen to the plotting.

[Avanthar Dra'Aran]

Empty streets littered with nothing but debris and corpses were abundant throughout Zerdargia, the air was plagued with unnatural magic as the stench of rotting and charred flesh grew stronger with ach passing minute. Oddly silent save for the occasional explosion, there was a tension upon the streets as what forces remained huddled within the relative safety of the buildings in anticipation for the next round. There were still forces here, that was abundantly clear… yet they remained in a period of respite.

A necromancer, one whom seemed to be the leader of what remained, considered in the darkness with his forces and began sending goblin scouts one after another to nearby buildings, seeking to determine and gather all that he could about him under his hold for a counter strike. Consolidating what remained of their forces and seeking to check numbers, their best bet now was to move and attack at the most opportune moment, thus even now the forces of orcs, goblins and necromancers moved in the storm, sheltering themselves in narrow alleyways and whatever covering they could find.