Daemonic Invasion of Magincia
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In the middle of the 364th year SR, Magincia's moongate became corrupted, and hellish hordes began an attempted conquest of the isle.
Contents |
The First Wave
A great many civilians were subsiquently evacuated to the east and interior of the island, and some, the nobility in particular, to the safety of the mainland, and their off-shore estates. With call-to-arms sounded out by the likes of Edmund Fairholm, Commander of the Britannia Guards, men and women from all corners of Sosaria rallied to aid the local militia in the island's defense. The Mayor, like many of the Magincian elite, was somewhat dismissive of the whole scenario. After the initial wave of daemons had been defeated he released the following statement:
- "This morning I was apprised of an unexpected and unprovoked invasion of daemons near the moongate. My staff and I immediately surveyed the battlefield, and our excellent field commanders were quick to repel the invasion and defend our city's borders. A few residents are reporting minor structural damages, but we're reporting no loss of life. I'm proud of the way our militia handled themselves, and have politely declined offers of assistance from the mainland government. At this time I would like to reiterate that while there may be a few daemons left to hunt down, there is no major, sustained threat to the city. This so-called 'invasion' is over."
- — Mayor of Maginica
Immediately after the first great battle, Lord Mord Mhor, of the Bloodguard released his own memoir in reprisal:
- "I believe the Mayor may have underestimated the situation, as we have now seen three days of continuous assault by these daemons. Although the local Militia has performed well, they will be needing reinforcements if this is to become a war of attrition. If it were not for the good hearted citizens of Sosaria lending a hand tonight, the good Mayor would be a refugee this very eve."
- — Mord Mhor
The Invasion Proper
With magic still tainted on the island and it's moongate permanently damaged, many rightly feared that Lord Mhor spoke true, though not, apparently, the peoples of Magincia itself. On the night of the island's great victory celebrations many citizens returned to their mostly undamaged homes. It was during this brief window of inattentive joviality that the tainted black gate once more erupted, spilling forth a second wave of daemons. "Sherry the Mouse" wrote the following report of the island's situation:
- "A night of revelry amongst a celebrating populace has turned into a nightmare as daemons poured through the forest and into the city in the early hours. Dozens are dead and hundreds are missing in what may be the most incredible assault on Britannian soil since the Ophidian invasion of recent past. The western forest is aflame and smoke hangs over the entire island, blotting out the lights of ships sailing away from the isle, desperate to escape daemons of every description heaping destruction upon them from the shore. The docks remain a safe haven for now, and the town populace is racing to evacuate the city even as the local government breaks down. The Mayor is missing, Council-Members are rumored to have fled aboard merchant vessels, and the city’s renowned healers and mages were amongst the first to perish in the onslaught."
- — Sherry the Mouse
Preparation and Fortification
With an armed ferry established by the Royal Navy in Trinsic's quayside, transport to the isle became even easier. In the Badlands this attempt proved to be something of a failure, due to rogues, cultists, taints, and pirates ambushing those en route to the isle and at it's docks. For the most part, however, it proved a success, allowing a greater number of people to arrive from the mainland. Citizen militias, sellswords, adventurers, and autonomous guilds successfully held the hordes at bay long enough for the Royal Army to mobilise. Ducal forces, who had thus far been the foremost guardians of the all important Docks were freed of duty by their Royal counterparts, who promptly set up make-shift barricades around the major streets and alleyways of the city. Magincia's main promenade was effectively turned into a bottle neck, with it's exit to the docks guarded by a hefty cannonade, manned by the King's finest Bombardiers. The Sosarian Red Cross were also joined by the Royal Army's medical corps, a host of volunteers, and wandering healers at the quayside area. A civilian ferrying service, likely under guard by the Royal Navy, was abruptly established by the Bank of Britannia; allowing salvaged items to be transported to the safety of the mainland. Lord Francesco of the Royal Treasury soon afterwards put out the call for donations; asking all loyal citizens of Britannia to forgo a share of their wealth to keep the army and auxiliaries in the isle's defenses both well supplied and constantly armed. A similar request was made by the Duke of Trinsic, Irvyn Middlethorn. As a result of these factors, the island's future seemed, for the time being, much brighter.
Invaders Make Headway
This streak of good fortune would not last, however. The daemons – realising that their main point of entry to the city had been for all intents and purposes, retaken - managed to successfully manouver into the Northern Quarter. The aforementioned rodent reporter, Sherry the Mouse, wrote the following:
- "The northern quarter of Magincia was flanked today by daemons pouring from the corrupted moongate west of the city. Valiant citizens and militiamen alike are resisting the relentless hordes at the city’s borders, forcing the harried denizens of darkness to seek less direct routes into the city. Defenses established alongside the docks and western part of the city have held firm so far, and officials hope to improve them over the coming days."
- — Sherry the Mouse
Adding to this set back was the recall of the Royal Archers brigade stationed on the isle. Allegations of treachery, foul-play, and possible collaberation spiraled to such an extent that those Generals in command of the King's forces in Magincia had little choice but to order the Archers' immediate withdrawal. Their current status is unknown, and the truth of the claim remains unproven. Either way, a gap had been created in the defenders' ranks. Plans to send new, and supposedly more loyal forces were soon announced to be under way. Rumours meanwhile developed of the moongate's tempestuous reaction to blackrock, causing it to spew out waves of taint and destruction. Some scholars and academics soon thereafter theorised that the mysterious stone may prove the only answer to halting the invasion.
Daemonic Infighting
In following days and weeks, the invasion would move constantly back-and-forth from ferocity to stagnation and back again. New forms of daemon would emerge from the gate over this period. The first to emerge were wild and hideous beings that would slay all in their path, friend and foe alike. Though their primary target, it seemed, were those healers and physicians gathered to tend the wounded and dieing. This, teamed with the daemons' advance ever south and westwards, saw the defenders pushed back towards the safety of the docks. Following these accurately termed "berserkers" were a breed of colossal and stunningly powerful fiends shaped, seemingly, from shadow. From the start of their arrival reports were being made of in-fighting between the two hosts. It was quickly discovered that the beasts would fight amidst themselves if drawn together. For the remainder of the invasion this would be a common tactic. This knowledge would prove small conselation, however, as the damage caused by daemons, cannon-fire, and increasingly common black-gate "excretions" were swiftly reducing the north of Magincia to rubble.
Stalemate
With most of the city shattered and broken, and the invaders keeping to their warped and fire-scorched northern holdings, the war had passed into it's final stages. The defenders continued to make small skirmishes and the cannons rarely ceased their firing, though it seemed that no progress could truly be made. Scouts and brave sailors soon afterwards described how the moongate had wildly changed shape, and now crackled visibly with energy. Researchers of the Mage's Council put out a public warning, urging continued vigilance in the face of a very real threat.
- "The moongates have been warped into a form they were never intended to hold. The etheric disturbance is tremendous, and we fear that it will get worse before it gets better."
- — Mage's Council Spokesman
The Royal Guard concluded that it was in both their's and the island's best interests to evacuate all none-essentiall personnell, and order the bulk of their forces to withdraw. A small, token defence was maintained incase of further assaults.
- "Daemons - even big daemons - my men can handle. But once the mages start talking 'unstable planar rift' this and 'etheric resonance crisis' that, I get my people out of the area before they get blown clear off the map."
- — Sir Brendan of the Royal Guard, Commandant of the Magincia Expedition
The Sortie Plan
Fighting continued with little progress for some days, until the tacticians and generals of both Britannian and Magincian forces drew up a plan of extermination. Magincia would be divided into a collection of zones, each centred on a different wave of daemons. The plan stated that to truly damage the daemons' siege the defenders would be required to sorite out in force, bludgeoning their way through the zones in a specific order, to cut off the fiends' reinforcements, leave stronger daemons deserted, and to reach the tainted gate in great enough numbers to assault it. After successive attempts by adventurers and professional soldiers alike, a clear line to the moongate was finally cut through the ruined city.
The Rift
With the invaders finally put on the back foot, many felt that victory was assured. The defenders now had almost complete control of the city's main boulevards, and nigh all of the invaders had been cut down or driven off the isle. It was at this point that the moongate ruptured, becoming a so-called "Rift". The moongate itself had shrunk and turned a deep, shimmering grey, guarded on all sides by an octet of strange ethereal beings emerging from rips in existance. Surrounding each were rings of foul grey flame, removable only by way of magic. These "Rift Guardians" each held unspeakable power, hurling barrages of spells at all who approached and summoning hordes of berserkers. With every minute the rift grew - swelling and elongating, permenantly encaged in a crackling hail of lightening bolts, and pouring forth ever greater numbers of daemons. Once again the tables had turned, and the defenders were forced to fight for their very lives. Eventually small parties of adventurers pushed their way through, tackling the ghostly Rift Guardians one at a time, many falling in the attempt. When the last monstrosity fell the entirety of northern Magincia seemed to erupt, the moongate spewing a vast ring of fire, blue gasses, and bursts of untapped mana.
The Aftermath
Those who survived the explosion set about slaying the few remaining daemons, in an eerily quiet bloodbath. The bombardment had ceased, the vast throng of hellish creatures had been culled, and the gushing winds and low hum of the rift had been silenced. Victory had been achieved, though the cost had been dear. Children had been made orphans, families had been left homeless, and the once grand walkways of Magincia were now littered with corpses, debris, and ash. Only the docks were truly untouched. It is said by those present that the land surrounding the former moongate, once lush jungle, had been reduced to a wasteland of dead grass, cinders, bared stone, and - surprisingly - lumps of blackrock, thrown into the air by the blast.
Magincia had been saved, though it would never be the same.
