Siege of Clochdor Castle

The principality of Sabersycha gladly accepts the Yokun Empire’s tribute of 15,000 men at arms to protect the lordship of Clochdor. We assure you that they will find themselves at home for eternity.

— Dara the Deathless, reanimating fallen Yokun soldiers.

The siege of Clochdor Castle was a battle between the Principality of Sabersycha and the Yokun Empire as a part of the Yokun Grausur Campaign.

The Conflict

Prelude

See: Battle of Eallard Stronghold
After declaring war on both the Diarchy of Peraserasia and the Principality of Sabersycha, the Yokun Empire annexed the Diarchy and set its eyes on the neighboring principality. The lordship of Clochdor was deemed as a possible invasion route as they could no longer be flanked by the Peraserasian forces from the south, but intelligence had to be gathered. Thus, they hired the services of Messenger, which began looking for adventurers to scout Clochdor Castle. Coincidently, the Andorian Inquisition took note of a rumor about a necromancer that set up within the castle and its general area, and opted to send an inquisitor, who was traveling with an Adventuring Party at the time, to investigate. The group left Panta on the 12^th of Coppernium, and reached Clochdor forest on the 15^th but were arrested that evening by Renault le Renégat, a Saineolaí of House Colcamin.
Much to their surprise, they were arrested for assaulting Renault, and they've learned that the necromancer was in fact Lord Dara, reclaiming his land. Unlike the rest of his group, the paladin was found guilty of only minor offenses and was eventually set free; after traveling back to Panta where he met with Messenger on the 23^th, he delivered a detailed report of the castle's layout and speculated manpower.

Conditions

With undead being able to see in the dark and some being considerably less powerful during daytime, the Yotsereg utilized the full extent of its savaspikeris; with the enchanted hematite banners rallying the soldiers to move at greater speed and their drums of war allowing them to exert themselves while avoiding fatigue and exhaustion, the forces arrived within range of the castle five hours earlier than anticipated. Mojigin chose to strike fast with overwhelming force, and within a few minutes after their arrival the ballistae were already deployed and began calibrating.
A few hours into the battle, some moments after Dara was decapitated, Baravor caused a miracle and turned the sun into a moon and day into night. Since the yotsereg was prepared for the fight to rage on into the night or at least until dusk, they enchanted their ballista bolts with light spells, a decision which allowed them to continue fighting with unhampered vision.

Outcome

With prospects of victory diminishing with each passing moment, the Yokun forces began escaping through the gateway, throwing caution to the wind and moving directly through the wraiths who drained their vitality. The few hundreds who managed to fall back were picked off by the forces sent from Ardcathair.
The loss was doubly detrimental as the Yokun empire lost a remarkable commander and all of his 15,000 soldiers, over half of whom were professionally trained, while their enemies gained the exact thing for themselves. Uneager to fight the reanimated corspes of their brethren and fearing every force might meet with the same fate, Zhebaghi Kopjakhan determined the Arit Highlands to be a less feasible route of invasion.

Included under Conflict

Yokun Grausur Campaign

Conflict Type

Siege

Battlefield Type

Land

Start Date

Coppernium 25^th 1050 AB

Ending Date

Coppernium 25^th 1050 AB

Conflict Result

Loss of the entire yotsereg.

Location

Clochdor

Deployment

The Hematite Yotsereg camped behind the northern ridge of the Arit Highlands since the 14^th of Coppernium, waiting for orders to move into Sabersycha. While initial plans were to send two thirds of the Yotsereg (circa 10,000 soldiers), the possibility of a considerable force already being amassed by Dara prompted the Yotsereg's commander, Mojigin Khanboroldi, to march with the entire Yotsereg as soon as he got word from Messenger on the night between the 23^rd and 24^th.
The forces of Clochdor were comprised purely of reanimated dead, as Dara wanted no loss of lives regardless of the siege's outcome; the skeletons were equipped with longbows, stationed on the castle's walls and prepared to replace any that were destroyed. Every 250 skeletons were commanded by a wight, with every 10 wights being commanded by a greater wight. The skirrs were held back, ready to swoop in on the savaspikeri, and the entombers began burrowing under the ballistae.
The hulks were personally led by Dara, and Renault began rounding up the wraiths from all around the lordship. The defenses on the walls were improved following the advice of a member of the adventuring party, a Sabersychan sorcerer called Vamos Teinteach, who proposed heating sand and pouring it over soldiers who attempted to scale the walls or breach the gates.

Belligerents

Yokun Empire

• Hematite Yotsereg

Led by

• Mojigin Khanboroldi

Strength

7,000 levies
3,000 Diilenkharis
1,500 Jargakhaasi
3,500 Savaspikeris

Casualties

7,000 levies
3,000 Diilenkharis
1,500 Jargakhaasi
3,500 Savaspikeris

Objectives

Conquer Clochdor Castle and establish a foothold in the Principality of Sabersycha.

Principality of Sabersycha

• House Colcamin
• House Stríbheatha

Led by

• Balaesus Stríbheatha
• Dara Colcamin

Strength

27,500 skeletons
500 wights
200 wraiths
100 entombers
50 skirrs
25 hulks
300 werewolves

Casualties

None

Objectives

Maintain control over Clochdor Castle and prevent the Yokun Empire's advancement into the principality.

Restless Dead

Led by

Strength

1,500 ghouls
The Queen With No Name
Birghiva Cailltbhaile

Casualties

Unknown

Objectives

Varied