The Awsrankan Revolution: Battle of Mt Ashblood
The Awsrankan Revolution was popular and successful revolt agianst the government and person of the Red Empire, Fornradur Infernospit, The Red Emperor. While the revolution from the initial resistance to final defeat of the powers which had supported the emporor took nearly four years, one battle turned the conclusion from a dream to reality. The Battle of Ashpeak was fought by a coalition of resistance groups from all over Awsranka, lead by the Eagleswatch, an unlikely band of heroes who are now imortalized in Awsrankan history.
The Conflict
Prelude
Previous revolts agains Fornradur had failed due to the dragon's movement between several lairs. Every attempt that got close was eventually quashed because the dragon retreated and then marshalled his forces from a different lair.
The Eagleswatch, a local band of adventurers, had caught the imagination of the common people, and became the focal point for resistance groups in each city. Eventually, over many skirmishes and gorrilla actions, each member of Eagleswatch became the adopted leader of a different city resistance. These "flights" (as the resistance groups called themselves) were ultimatly able to coordinate and remove Fornradur from his throne.
Deployment
Eagleswatch commanded a resistance contingent from each city in Awsranka.Each of these cities in Awsranka had been conquered by the Red Empire. The atrocities and abuses committed by Fornradur and his allies did all the recruiting the resistance needed.
- Gwen Lillycaller led the Vantage flight; codenamed litlikonsk squad.
- Rhalyf Pamaris led the Spangle flight; codenamed jackalope squad.
- Khegrarlun Brightforged led the Chelan lfight; codenamed unicorn squad
- Cori Noaksburrow led the Kavallos flight; codnamed griffen squad
- Mattias Engstrom led the Mosfellsbær flight ; codenamed siren squad
Each squad was deployed to assault and secure one of Fornradur's five known lairs. The goal was to deny the dragon access to refuge, and trap him in one with the hope of destroying him with the least loss of civilian life. Any of the squads by themselves had little chance of defeating the Dragon. The plan was to keep the dragon engaged until the other squads could join the fight. Lots of hand waving was employed to detail just how to distract a dragon for the days it would take for all the squads regroup. There were too many unknown quantities, so it was left to each squad leader to devise a distraction.
Gwen admitted to her squad that their strategy would have to be improvised. She made each fighter swear on their father's blood that when she ordered it, they would secure the exit and send for the other squads. That and take no other action. Of course, she had a seed of a plan, but not yet the fruit.
Battlefield
Four of the five lairs were sucessfully sealed off, made inaccessible to the dragon. These assaults were carried out in good order, with no loss of life. The squads mainly defeated the lair's defenses, swept it for belligerants, and sealed the entrances from outside with magical detonations.
The final lair, at Mt Ashblood, was the objective of litlikonsk squad. The volcano itself was capped with rock and snow, also the location of a great icefield. Simply achieving the entrance - an old lava tube that opened out just below the treeline - was a difficult climb. A classic example of a red dragon lair, an enlarged lava tube cave wound through a series of cavern rooms, sometimes bordered by lava flows. After defeating a portion of the defending belligerents, the squad engaged Fronradur and his demonic ally in the main pillared hall.
Conditions
Once in the caves, fighting was much as you would expect in an enclosed urban area - fighting room to room, securing all exits and in constant danger of tunnel collapse.
By the time the squad gained the Pillared hall, volcanic gases were starting to weaken even the most hardy fighters. By the grace of Ilmater, Gwen was able to protect her squad from the Dragon's moral attacks. The Dragon, however, was skilled at manipulating the magama flows in the enclosed cauldura, and the squad was in danger of being wiped out to the last.
The Engagement
At this point, Gwen Lillycaller sprang her plan to engage and distract the dragon. She instructed her squad to follow her for a beat of three battle rounds and then break for the exit in a semblance of a route. Once out of the caves, they must secure the exit and send for the other squads. To their credit, the fighters were faithful to their oaths, and abandoned Gwen in the dragon's hall.
Gwen then taunted the dragon as it pinned her to the cavern floor. Gloating that other bands of thieves were raiding his lairs in other locations, stealing his best prizes, and hiding them where he would never find them again. She admitted that she knew all the details; who had payed for the heist, where the thieves' families lived, where the treasures were being taken, etc. She also deliberatly taunted him that he would never make her devulge any of these details.
Thus Gwen contrived to be captured by the dragon, and distracted him by enduring 7 days of torture while he tried to drag from her information the imaginary thieves raiding his hoards.
Her courage and spirit allowed the resistance, led by Eagleswatch, to gather their forces, and engage the dragon and his allies in his lair, instead of in a population center like Waterdeep.
Casualties
Killed in nitial contact and retreat
- Fazil Afxentiou
- Philippa Vassiliou
- Notger Goodsong
- Wistevar Phinelis
- Sigurdór Álfsson
killed in final battle
died of injuries recieved
- Gwen Lillycaller : succombed to her injuries recieved at the hands of Fornradur and his ally, shortly after witnessing Fornradur's death.
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