Helm's Shieldhall
Helm's Shieldhall is a fortress temple dedicated to the god Helm and the citadel of the Hellriders.
Purpose / Function
Helm's Shieldhall was constructed next to the western gate of Elturel to serve as the base of operations for the Hellriders. Its location was chosen as a response to to location of Baldur's Gate, Elturel's historical rival.
Architecture
The citadel was built to stand apart from the rest of the city, surrounded on all sides by four walls and four gates. The only entrance into the shieldhall proper is through a door on the southern side of the building.
The entrance of the shieldhall leads to a temple of Helm, where services are regularly conducted for Hellriders and others. Behind the temple is the Hellrider messhall. The floor above contains training rooms and the armory while the top floor is for officers and commanders.
The shieldhall does contain a basement with a large, protective metal door behind which things can be hidden, but it is only accessible through a hidden door on the uppermost floor. This was done in the event of a siege, so that civilians could be hidden in the basement and attackers would be required to fight through the entire citadel before arriving in the basement.
History
During the early days of the Damnation of Elturel in Eleasis of 1497, Helm's Shieldhall quickly became the primary base of operations for the surviving Hellriders that did not become Hell Knights. These surviving Hellriders were led by Alcor Miursa, and they prioritized bringing as many civilians as possible inside of the shieldhall's walls. The defenders were also joined by Vindicator Onthar Frume of the Order of the Gauntlet.
Soon, Alcor decided to take a contingent of Hellriders and escape to Avernus proper to try and find a means of salvation, turning over command of the Hellriders to his son Kaiden. At the same time, Janfire Mistmore, leader of the Hell Knights, identified Helm's Shieldhall as the last bastion of true resistance in Elturel, believing that if the shieldhall fell and its defenders were raised as Hell Knights, the defenders of High Hall and Shiarra's Market would be easily overwhelmed.
On the 19th of Eleasis, Janfire's forces began the Siege of Helm's Shieldhall, which lasted for 14 days. After near endless fighting, the walls of the shieldhall were breached on the 3rd of Elient. The Hell Knights swarmed inside, slaughtering Hellriders as they met them, until the defenders were pushed to the basement of the citadel. However, the shieldhall was saved at the last moment by the timely arrival of the Lost Star Detectives, though one of the Detectives, Xifira Mistmore, daughter of Janfire, was killed by her own father during the final fight.
Following the siege, Helm's Shieldhall served as one of the four bastions of safety in Elturel, alongside High Hall, Shiarra's Market, and Maiden's Leap. During the Battle of Elturel, Kaiden Miursa again led its defenders in a brutal and protracted effort to hold back the tide of demons that attempted to get inside, managing to keep Yeenoghu's forces at bay until Elturel was teleported back to the Material Plane.
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