[Phase 4] Grassland vs. Zexen at Amur/Brass [Concluded]

[Vextor]

A crescent moon shone pale over the edges of the Amur Plains, providing poor illumination for the sentries on the walls of Brass Castle. Thousands of black clad warriors made their way across the plains, moving with one single-minded goal. "Take Brass Castle," the Flame Champion ordered. "Take Brass Castle," the western Commander ordered, before riding south to face other invaders. "Take Brass Castle," theNeclord ordered his men, and with blinding devotion they stormed the field in darkness to make it so.

Inside the walls, the Zexen Knights slept peacefully, resting before their battle the following morning. Gaara, Chairman of the Council, ordered that the Amur Plains be taken from the barbarians, and held as a buffer against incursion into Zexen lands. The Chairman commanded, and so the Knights would ride.

Before the war girded Grasslanders reached the walls, the moon shone particularly bright for just the wrong instant, and an alert sentry spotted the invaders. Quickly, Man In Black, the renowned Zexen, the Tamer of Darkness, was roused. Ordering his elite warriors to him, all skilled in the arcane arts, he made his way quickly to the gates, before the enemy could find a way to breach them and bring the fighting inside the walls.

Throwing open the gates, Man In Black and his 11,000 magicians rode to meet the invaders. The pale moon's light was nothing compared to the explosions wrought by the Zexen mages, but they were outnumbered by theNeclord's 16,399 infantry. Even by the light of their fires, the Zexen warriors were quickly overwhelmed by the black clad Grasslanders, and Man In Black called the retreat after 8,200 of his men were slain. His sentries reported theNeclord's forces likewise withdrawing to tend to their own wounds, taking with them as many of the 5,500 bodies of their fallen comrades, already on their way to meet the spirits of their Ancestors.

As dawn crested, a second wave of Grasslanders appeared on the horizon. Man In Black, shaken from his initial loss but confident in the strength of his men, sent Nichtwar onto the Plains. Another 11,000 Zexen magicians followed him onto the Plains. Holding tight at the heart of the Plains, MMan9000 and his 15,964 followers fanned out, waiting their commander's word. The armies closed on each other as the sun rose further in the sky, and by some sign unknowable to the uninitiated, both sides simply knew to unleash their power. The battlefield roared with fire and lightning, wind and water. The ground itself coursed, threatening to split beneath the two armies. When all was still, thousands lay dead or dying, unable to call upon their Runes any longer. Exhausted, both armies pulled back. Amongst the dead were 5,500 Grasslanders; but 7,982 Zexen mages would never again see their homes. It was costly to both sides, but the Clans of the Grasslands claimed victory a second time that day.

[Vextor]

Late the following night, once again under the pale light of the waning crescent moon, theNeclord gathered his fellow commanders around him. "Abyscal, I need you to buy me time." The cavalry commander simply nodded. "We will take Brass by the time the sun sets tomorrow." He spoke quickly to his other commanders, and set out for the battlefield long before the sun rose.

Before Brass Castle, enormous bonfires burned, lighting the night into the distance. Zexen mages kept the fires burning all night long; the snuffing of a single bonfire would be a sign to the defenders that the enemy was trying the same trick again as the night before. Inside, the Silver Knight gathered his men to him. The Tamer of Darkness joined him, as did many of the greatest of the Confederation's Knights. "We must push them back come morning, or we risk losing the chance to take Amur away from the heathens." He gave his orders, and told everyone to be vigilant, in case the so-called "Spectral Nightmares" returned under the cover of darkness.

The night came and went, and not a single flame died on the Plains before Brass Castle. The expected attack did not come. Marshmallow smirked; clearly, the Grasslanders used up all their tricks on the first day of battle. He ordered his veteran Knight, Drummsta, to take the field. She rode in front of a legion of soldiers six thousand strong. The enemy was nowhere to be found, and so she rode forward to make her fortifications on the Plains. While she rode out, inside the castle, a muffled cry went up and was silenced just as quickly. On the Plains, far now from the Castle, Drummsta drew rein and motioned for her people to fan out: the enemy lay before her. Trying to sound confident for her men, she shouted, "They are only barbarians! On horseback or not, they do not have our training, our discipline! For Saint Loa, we fight! Let their blood water their precious plains!" Across the field from her, Abyscal merely rose a hand, and charged.

Killing as many as they could, the Spectral Nightmares of theNeclord made their way through the halls of Brass Castle; late in the night, they went over the walls in small groups, seeking out and finding hiding places to wait for the dawn. Now, while a regiment of Ironheads were on the field dealing with Abyscal, theNeclord roamed freely. He had a small contingent with him, his most loyal warriors with him. Rounding a corner, however, he nearly ran headlong into a cluster of Knights. From their ranks, a grinning man stepped forward. "So you are their leader. I have looked forward to this. I, the Silver Knight, will be your enemy, Vampire." The Silver Knight Marshmallow drew his blade and stepped forward, his armor glittering in the torchlight. Hissing, theNeclord ordered his men to engage the other Knights. With only his claws, he leapt forward, eager for Zexen blood. But even under the thick stone walls of Brass Castle, he could feel the sun's influence, and his movements were sluggish; he was only just fast enough to keep ahead of the Knight's sword, and was slowing by the moment. Still a lightning blur compared to the humans he fought, he lacked Marshmallow's training and more importantly his reach. First blood went to the Silver Knight, and theNeclord's men were being cut down by the superior number of Knights. Soon, it was only him against five Knights, a fight he could not win. He fled, and the Silver Knight followed.

Throughout the castle, the Silver Knight's Auro Swordsmen fought theNeclord's Spectral Nightmares. Up and down the corridors they fought, neither side showing true advantage. Twice more, the Silver Knight himself came face to face with theNeclord; the Vampire had found more of his own followers, however, and drove off the Knights. Sensing victory, theNeclord gave chase, and soon met Marshmallow one final time. The Silver Knight lay in ambush, and his Knights surrounded him and his men. Loyal unto death, the Nightmares charged forward, sacrificing themselves to allow theNeclord time to escape. Marshmallow ran forward, taking a swing that should have removed theNeclord's head; instead, he found only air, as his opponent suddenly became a cloud of bats that flew off. Cursing, the Silver Knight ordered his men to gather in the Hall and for a casualty count to be made. Overall, he had been vastly outnumbered, it appeared, but the superior training of the Auro Swordsmen meant that they still took far fewer losses than they otherwise would have. He was oblivious to Drummsta's annihilation on the plains, but he claimed victory there in the castle.

While the Knights met to discuss their next move, the last hidden cell of the Spectral Nightmares made their move. Killing the guards at the gate, they opened the great Gates to the Castle. In stormed archers under the lead of a man known only as the Tenko Star. Legend claimed that the man was once one of the fabled Stars of Destiny; but whether or not it was true, the man seemed possessed of an otherworldly luck. On the Plains, waiting for word, theNeclord was counting on that luck one last time. The Grasslands forces made their way into the castle, and were met by the Shadow Sun, an elite cadre of Knights under the command of the Marshal Captain Unknown. Inside the corridors, though, the archers were at a disadvantage; likewise, Unknown's men were on foot, when they were trained to fight primarily on horseback. Both sides robbed of their greatest advantages, the fight came down to a simple matter of numbers. Outnumbered, the Shadow Sun was driven back. Tenko sent word that they were successful in pushing the enemy back, and theNeclord ordered the full advance of all Grasslands warriors. As vanguard, Tenko's men took the heaviest losses — a full three thousand — but over four thousand Zexens of the Shadow Sun were amongst the dead.

Faced with the entire of the Grasslands armada inside the walls, Marshmallow had no choice but to surrender. Unable to properly police so many Knights, theNeclord allowed them to withdraw from the castle back to Zexen controlled lands. The citizens who lived in the castle, mostly there to feed the Zexen war machine, were likewise exiled back to Vinay del Zexay. By nightfall, a thorough sweep of the castle showed it devoid of Zexen holdouts. Abyscal woke theNeclord, who slept through much of the cleanup process; the celebration was to begin shortly. But first, theNeclord summoned the Grassland mages. "Send the signal flares. Let the Commander know: Brass Castle is now ours."

Grasslands vs. Zexen at Amur/Brass Castle
Grasslands
Abyscal - 8422 Cavalry soldiers
TheNeclord - 10899 Infantry soldiers
Tenko Star - 8862 Archer soldiers
Zexen Confederation
Drummsta - 6000 infantry
Marshmallow - 6000 infantry (RG)
Unknown - 6000 cavalry

Results:
Abyscal (0 soldiers lost) defeats Drummsta (annihilated)
Marshmallow (2724 soldiers lost) defeats theNeclord (3000 soldiers lost)
Tenko Star (3000 soldiers lost) defeats Unknown (4431 soldiers lost)

Grasslands win 2-0.

Grassland wins this turn. With two victorious turns, Grassland successfully takes Brass Castle.