The battle at Lux Peak

"We are stuck; surrounded.
No matter on which side you are looking, tents of Duvara got stationed there.
They try to starve us to death in this godforsaken desert. And each of my moves gets countered as if it was nothing.
As if ... they are amidst our rows.
They have spies! But who could be the spy?
Who do I tell all my plans ... it couldn't be her, could it?"

Field commander Cosly losing his cool

The Conflict

Prelude

The war, which later got popular under the name 'the battle for Lux Peak', began with a straightforward premise. Carry out revenge for what happened at the peace summit in 4977, General Field Marshal Ingratus Fide ordered his most entrusted commander of the south-eastern army Elsoi Cosly to carry out an onrush on Lux Peak, the northern portal to Duvara's capital city Illox.

"They want to continue having it so easy after abusing our trust?
I want you, commander Cosly, to take Lux peak with all you got annexing the portal to their precious capital city rendering it into a dead zone.
If they don't want to cooperate and we can't force our way into Illox missing the genetics to actually pass the portals, we can at least trap them in their dimension.
Understood?"

Marshal Fide

Deployment

Commander Cosly and his right hand woman Field sergeant Vaani Mox prepared in cooperation with the north-eastern army an onrush on the heavily guarded portal located in solitude somewhere in the desert of Duvara. The northeast army supported the foot souldiers of Cosly with transportation as well as some initial aerial support until they were forced to retreat due to fuel sabotages of Duvara. Cosly and his 5000 men were now trapped in the desert, and Duvara changed their defensive tactics to prevent the hostile intruders from backing up and regrouping. The worst two months of the southeast army were about to begin.

"Commander, we have a problem. We weren't accounting for such a situation, we only have rations for one month with us and the soldiers are having issues with their mechanical limbs and the ever blowing desert sand."

"I tell you, Vaani. The sand, it is their doing. We are facing sorcerers, nature itself is on their side. Concerning the rations ... if my next move won't work to turn the tables we will have to half them for now. Understood, sergeant?"

Mox and Cosly

Battlefield

The tactics of the 'master tactician' didn't work out and the numbers of the southeast unit diminished. After 20 days of being under siege did Cosli's unit shrunk down to 4100 souls, further 20 days later only 3400 remained. The situation got dire, especially as their high tech weaponry slowly was in need of getting maintained losing precision through the ongoing sandstorm. It was only when Vaani spotted and sniped one of the mages responsible for the sand, that they were able to respire using the end of the storm for some final preparations to fulfil the siege on Lux peak. Commander cosly, however, being a salamander, slowly felt the burning heat causing his mind to go irrational. He started blaming his errors on his four sergeants and began talking about the possibility of a traitor amidst their rows. Lacking medications, Cosly found no peace, neitherday nor night.

Sergants! Cosly needs our smarts to turn the table, he is slowly losing his grip on reality.
We need ideas, we need a witty and reckless plan for a final charge to cut off their supplies.
Them having control over Lux Peak means they get reinforcements from all over Duvara sent through the portal.
We need to either shut it down or turn it hostile.
Ideas? Good!

Sergeant Mox

Climax

The Sergeants managed to create a promising tactic with aid of their Lieutnants, but the morale was too low to actually convince the troops to split up generating distractions for the main unit to capture the gate.
On a fateful night, however, happened the unthinkable. Commander Cosly, having recovered a bit, finally thought he had figured out, who the traitor was; his most trusted, she who was at his side since he became commander. Vaani Mox! To test his theory, Cosly took the Jackal for a walk seemingly wanting to get involved in their newest tactic. He lead her to one of the only places in the camp, where an assassination could happen unseen; he wanted to assure himself if he can trust her or not. They began discussing the possibility of a traitor and Vaani assured her commander, that she already interrogated everybody with influence in search of something to confirm his worries.
Cosly's doubts were indeed correct, but not in the way he assumed them. One renegade has teamed up with an arcane assassin breaching the safety barrier. They planned to assassinate Cosly and treat Vaani as necessary causality.
Cosly got impatient with his sergeant and was about to ask Vaani out with a barrage of sharp questions. But the jackal saw the curved Duvarian blade blinking in the shadows, ready to strike. With unnatural agility, she leapt over her commander and threw herself into the ongoing assault. Vaani got hit by a blade covered in arcane acid in the back and fell. Cosly immediately pulled out of his mantle two pistols with his forked arm and incapacited the aggressors.
He called for help and did everything to assure keeping Vaani alive until help arrived treating her slowly dissolving spine turning her paraplegic.


That act of cowardness, Cosly regaining his compassion wanting to avenge Vaani, and her life now hanging on a thin thread, the morale got boosted enough to mobilize everything they had left conquering Lux Peak against all odds sacrificing over 1000 brave men as a distraction. Taking the Duvarian Lord captive, the morale of Duvara was gone and they surrendered to the victors of Lux peak.


Clerics of the captured Duvarians were treating Vaani until marshal Fide sent back up to complete the capture of Lux peak taking her into a hospital.

Outcome

Duvara losing control over Lux peak had a great influence on follow-up skirmishes, like the siege on Lixor, having weakened the desert nation enough to annex the coast of the country.

"So we have lost Lux peak ... tolerable.
They know nothing about the true riches of our realm; this only slows down our connection to Lixor and our war efforts against Etherium.
They cause annoyances, but don't strike us, where it hurts."

prince Crux Oribates

Included under Conflict

Lux Peak

Conflict Type

Battle

Battlefield Type

Land

Start Date

04.11.4989

Ending Date

02.02.4990

Conflict Result

Lux Peak was conquered

Location

Duvara

Casualities
3800 men of the southeast army died

"I just don't get it.
Why are they trying to take over our northern portal?
It is not like anybody of these unworthy fools can ever pass it."

King of Duvara

Commander Cosly

Salamander with tree arms, cool-headed, cold attitude.
The battle at lux peak shifted his view of his soldiers being chess figures to them being disposable chess figures.
Follow-up skirmishes involving him had from that point onwards a substantial amount of casualties on both sides, with him not wanting to get put into a pat-situation ever again. His stand with Marshal Fide grew over time, as such did his relationship with Vaani Mox. With him, financing her new spine and its maintenance, and her feeling guilty for his change of heart is responsible for their suicide tactics, the duo slowly grew together into a unit protecting each other like a true Commander-First Sergeant relationship.

Commander Cosly by Soulwing

Sergant Mox

Vaani did survive the battle at lux peak and was able to recover from being a paraplegic getting implanted a cybernetic spine meant to battle the everpresent acid, repair her back and allow her to walk again. She rejoined the remains of the army in 4992 balancing out Cosly's self-destructive new way of leading. With him having not given her up allowing her to continue living, she gave it her all to get Cosly back on track.


Vaani's Cyber spine

Sergeant Vaani Mox by Soulwing

Blurred due to artistic nudity

Hero of Lux Peak