Editing Autia (section)

==='''First Battle of Poole Harbour'''===

Location:

Poole Harbour is a small subtropical island almost a thousand kilometers south of Eritroans, dangerously close to the forbidden continent of Ignis. Several decades ago, the Alkorian Empire established a naval base there to support their ongoing efforts to colonize the Emerald Isles, as well as support discrete investigations to the continent of Ignis.
Although they were capable of resupplying the island themselves, its main advantage was that it could be supplied by neutral or allied nations along the west coast of Autia, particularly Ercaenmedi and Aesanaeria.

The principle community on the island was the harbor town, also known as Poole Harbour. The hills surrounding the town had been cleared as pasture land, but much of the rest of the island was dense jungle and large rock formations. Several communities of harpies lived in cave networks in some of the larger rock outcrops.

In addition to military personnel, about 2,000 civilians lived in the town, working as laborers, bureaucrats, fishermen, and shepherds. The number of harpies is unknown but estimated in the hundreds.

Background:

Although the Belkor War ended in a stalemate, it heightened tensions between Belkan and Alkor, as well as solidified the alliance between Belkan and the Soukos Republic. Eager to put the new alliance to the test, military leaders in Belkan and Soukos came up with a plan which would involve forming a task force from the Soukos Omega Fleet, several elite land units, and the Belkan Third Air Fleet (still in Soukos after the war). The task force would head west before looping back south in order to bypass the naval patrols of Alkor and her allies along the western coast of Autia.

Forces:

Attackers:
8 Soukan War Galleys
6 Soukan Transport Vessels
4000 Soukan Sailors (no armor, equipped with gladius and javelins)
400 Elite Hoplites (heavy armor, spears, gladius, and shields)
550 Soukan Amazons (light armor, gladius, shields, short bow)
50 Satyr Skirmishers (mixed equipment)
3 Belkan Carrier Zeppelins
6 Combat Zepplins
30 Griffons
500 Air Crew (light armor, pistols, assorted one-handed melee weapons)
500 Belkan Aerial Marines (light armor with blunderbuss and assorted one-handed melee weapons)
500 Belkan Regular Infantry (medium armor with rifles and assorted one-handed melee weapons)
500 Belkan Shock-Halberdiers (heavy armor, shock halberd

Defenders:
Assorted naval and anti-air cannons
12 Griffons, 3 small Zeppelins (recon and courier)
500 Alkorian Marines (no armor, rifles)
500 Colonial Auxiliaries (Bridge Tribesmen, no armor, assorted melee weapons and bows)
50 Elite Ercaemedian Skirmishers (mercenaries awaiting deployment to the Fantal Islands, assorted weaponry and magical abilities)
30 Brass Knights (Day 3 onwards)
80 Privateers (Day 3 onwards)
40 Horsemen (Day 3 onwards)
3 Unravelers (Day 3 onwards)
Kujira No Seieki (Napanese Elder Dragon, Day 3 only)

Sartyrians (Day 7 onwards)
Large number

Day 1 - Siege/Retreat

Thanks to their risky strategy of crossing the open ocean, the Soukos-Belkan task force was able to attack Poole Harbor largely unexpected. Unfortunately for them, the Alkorian fleet they wanted to ambush had left over a week ago. Unwilling to abandon the element of surprise, the task force leaders decided to raze the town instead.

Although not a major port, Poole Harbor was still had extensive defenses, and the initial battle lasted several hours as Combat Zeppelins, Griffons, and War Galleys gradually wore down the gun emplacements so that firebombs could be safely dropped on the town proper.

Guessing the Belkan's strategy, the commander of Poole Harbour ordered the evacuation of the town, including most of the defenders aside from those manning the gun emplacements. Although most of those manning the guns died at their posts, the heavily fortified nature of the defenses and potent fire power allowed them to destroy 3 Combat Zeppelins, 6 War Galleys, as well as down 8 Griffons.

Outraged by the heavy losses for minor gain, Belkan political attaché Lord Wagner ordered the execution of the three highest ranked Belkan officers and ignored the sensible advice of Soukos Admiral Aetos to leave prior to the arrival of an incoming storm.

Night 1 - Panic/Intrigue

An unexpectedly powerful storm sweeps over the island as the leadership of the Belkan-Soukos force continues to bicker, and 6000 odd soldiers and sailors try their best to take shelter in the remains of the town.

Meanwhile, out in the jungle, the Alkorians and their allies plot. Commander Tweedle accepts a strategy devised by the Ercaenmedians Kyun and Neugdae (a necromancer and a ninja respectively) as well as Bridge Tribe witch doctor Hai. The necromancers were able to summon spirits of deceased soldiers, and aided by the curses and hallucinations of the witch doctors, and the mind controlling abilities of the Ercaenmedian enchantress Nolae, were able to cause mass panic among the Belkan-Soukos force. At the same time, Neugdae and his fellow ninja managed to destroy several zeppelin and ships with magic explosives. His greatest success of the night was detonating the magazine of the Carrier Zeppelin Fortitude while it was still being unloaded.

Much to the fury of Admiral Aetos, Wagner, and his senior Storm Mage Heinrich proclaimed that the storm was a sign that Ace wants them to remain on the island. During a brawl, Heinrich incinerates Aetos and several others with lightning. Hoplite Champion Drakos (a political rival of Aetos) declares Aetos a coward and traitor, and became the de facto Soukos leader with help from the Belkans. Amazon Princess Antiope, Senior Captain Karisa, and Satyr Mystic Ocnus grudgingly accept this, though Ocnus makes an oblique reference to foreseeing doom.

Between the storm, sabotage, and infighting, the Belkan-Soukos force loses nearly a thousand men, all ships save a war galley and two transports, and one of their carrier zeppelins. However, more importantly, several water supplies are spiked with subtle concoctions brewed by the witch doctors, and perhaps most importantly of all, Kyun is able to bind the spirit of Aetos, providing a huge advantage in terms of intelligence.

Day 2 - Harassment/Consolidation/Rescue

Relatively little combat happened on the second day, as both sides grappled with the fact that they were now trapped on the island.
There were several clashes between scouts and light skirmishers, but the elite skirmishers of the Belkan-Soukos force, the satyrs, have lost their will to fight thanks to the prophecies of Ocnus. Instead they capture several dozen Alkorian civilians, hijack one of the remaining Soukos transports, and flee the island to seek sanctuary in Afrozil.

Against the advice of his scouts and foreign advisors, Tweedle consolidates most of his forces in an abandoned fishing village on the far side of the island from the main town. He uses his mages and remaining griffons to send word of the attack to a number of allies in the region. He is able to convince a nearby Brazilistan cargo ship to sell them much needed supplies and evacuate 400 women, children, and elderly civilians, but further reinforcements aren't expected until the next day.

Meanwhile, Wagner and Heinrich carry out a purge of "traitors and doubters" many of them in fact suffering from the effects of hallucinogens and mild poisons slipped into their water during the night before. The Belkan-Soukos army is also forced to come to terms with the fact that fighting in armor is almost impossible in the humid, rocky jungles, particularly after the storm.

Night 2 - Massacre

Unable to rely upon armored infantry tactics, Wagner and Heinrich instead default to good old fashion air power, storm magic, and high explosives. The remaining airships are packed with aerial marines, firebombs, and storm mages, and sent to raid the main Alkorian camp at the old village. Showing definite signs of megalomania by this point (a hereditary trait that shows up occasionally in his family), Wagner callously has most of his marines drop into the village with help from their trademark rappelling balloons, before destroying the village from above with firebombs and storm magic while his men were still fighting in it. About 600 Alkorian and allied soldiers, and 1000 civilians (many admittedly armed by this point) are killed for the price of 400 marines.

Day 3 - New Arrivals/Retaliation

The first of the Alkorian reinforcements arrives with a bang. The massive Napanese dragon Kujira No Seieki (an old friend of Kyun's) seemingly arrives from nowhere, and does several strafing runs on the Belkan-Soukos army camping in the ruins of Poole Harbor, before being driven off by a kamikaze griffon rider with a casket of gunpowder. He destroys the remaining zeppelins, griffons, badly damages the remaining ships, destroys almost all the remaining supply stockpiles, and kills nearly three hundred soldiers.

Next are a trio of powerful Unravelers who arrive by unknown means for unknown reasons. Powerful spells are unleashed on the Belkan-Soukos army for the next two hours. Hoplite Champion Drakos is transformed into a Horseman and kills 30 of his own men before being brought down, demoralized, his men hijack one of the remaining ships, but it sinks an hour later due to fire damage from Kujira, and all hands are lost. The other ship is commandeered by Karisa to flee the battle as well. It is captured by Afrozil privateers two days later. Karisa is ransomed back to her family who later throw her down a well due to the shame she has caused them. In a titanic battle of magic, Heinrich kills one of the Unravelers, causing the other two to flee.

The final group of reinforcements are a band of Brass Knights who arrive by catamaran and simply join the Alkorian force rather than attack the Belkan-Soukos directly.

Emboldened by the reinforcements and Belkan-Soukos losses, the remaining Alkorians launch an aggressive raid but are driven off by the Belkan-Soukos force, who still possess superior numbers. With barely 500 soldiers left, many very elite, but many others nothing but armed civilians, the Alkorians retreat back to the jungle. Down to 3000 men, badly demoralized, and unaware of the limited strength of their opponents, the Belkan-Soukos force hunkers down for the night under the uneasy alliance of Wagner, Heinrich, and Amazon leader Antiope.

Night 3 - Parting of Ways

That night, the leaders of both the Alkorian and Belkan armies found their positions challenged.

In the Alkorian camp, Alkorian Commander Tweedle was under pressure from the Ercaenmedians, Brass Knights, and Bridge Tribers to continue an aggressive strategy, while several of his own senior officers plus a few leading civilians believed that now that Belkan air power had been destroyed, it was safe to hunker down in the hills and wait for further reinforcements. In the end, Tweedle took about 300 soldiers (mostly former civilians) and when to hide in the hills, where a junior officer from Hagarta had managed to establish friendly relations with the local harpy clans. The remaining 200 soldiers, a mix of Brass Knights, Ercaenmedians, Bridge Tribers, and a surprising number of Alkorian Marines, spread out to lay siege to the remains of Poole Harbor. An unstable triumvirate of Ercaenmedian Necromancer Kyun, Brass Knight Commander Lord Duba, and Witch Doctor Hai.

In the Belkan-Soukos camp, things are even worse. Evidence has come to light that Wagner is secretly a demon worshipper manipulating the course of the battle to advance a hidden agenda. Already unpopular due to his purges and wasteful tactics, he is locked up on the orders of Antiope and Heinrich. In return for his support, Antiope permits Heinrich to lead a small expedition to one of the Sartyrian ruins on the island, where he claims he can unlock an artefact of great power.

The Ercaenmedians and Bridge Tribers carry out harassment tactics throughout the night, much like they did on the first night.

Day 4 - Orchestra of Death / Duels / Victory Denied

In the early hours of the fourth day, Lord Duba proclaimed the need for another assault on the Belkan-Soukos camp, as he was sensing the use of increasingly powerful daemonic magic from the camp in the name of Gogotha, a rival of his own demonic overlord, the Brass Lord. Despite their significantly reduced numbers from the day before, Lord Duba convinced the others this attack was more likely to succeed thanks to the large numbers of Belkan and Soukan soldiers incapacitated by Bridge Triber poisons and curses, as well as the a promise that the Brass Knights would unleash their full power this time.

Surprisingly, the attack almost did work. Only about a 1000 Belkan and Soukan soldiers were able to mobilize for battle, the rest suffering from illness, chronic fatigue, depression, hallucinations, and other effects of Bridge Triber curses and poisons. The Brass Knights unleashed the full power of their sonic weapons; thunderous booms shattered rock and splattered soldiers, shrill screeches shattered minds and burst eyeballs, and warbling tremors liquified guts and emptied stomachs. Tendrils of pure darkness weaved through the battlefield, thrashing, binding, and crushing. Worse of all was the indestructible Lord Duba himself, who strode through the battle crushing all in his path, seemingly immune to even the power shock halberds. Gunpowder and arrows were in short supply by this point, and fighting degenerated into a brutal melee, with the Belkan and Soukan force eventually driving off the opposition with sheer numbers.

Hoping to boast the morale of her soldiers, Antiope issued a challenge to that she would fight anyone who dared to in a one-on-one duel. Over the course of the next hour she defeated Boxing Champion Ian Murphy, Chain Sword Mistress Victoria Aki, and Hook Fighter Red Scar Kahananui. Worried about the moral of his own forces, Lord Duba challenges Antiope himself. The duel lasts nearly 10 heartstopping minutes, but eventually Antiope is able to wear Duba down with multiple stab wounds from her powerfully enchanted spear. However, unwilling to allow the Soukans this important symbolic victory, sharpshooter Alex Hawthorne uses one of the latest functional firearms on the island to shoot her in the knee from 100 yards.

Meanwhile, the forces commanded by Tweedle and Heinrich slog through the jungle to their respective destinations.

Night 4 - Long Knives

At the ruins of Poole Harbour, the Ercaenmedians step up their harassment tactics. Necromancer Kyun has the spirit of Admiral Aetos possess the second in command of the Amazons, Androdameia, and assassinates Antiope while she is recovering from her injury. Androdameia-Aetos then blames "Belkan demon worshippers", leading to a brief fight between the Belkan and Soukan soldiers. Wagner and his inner circle are executed, and Androdameia-Aetos forms a new leadership council consisting of herself, senior Amazon Maia, Storm Mage Sofia Muller, and dashing Captain Hans Kruger (her lover since early in the campaign). However, having decided that he had secured his revenge against Wagner, Aetos instead breaks free of his bonds and possesses his former master Youra Kyun.

Meanwhile, back at the siege camp, fighting breaks out among the surviving Brass Knights, Ercaenmedians, Marines, and Bridge Tribers. Several groups want to rejoin Tweedle's camp, but others want to stay to disrupt the alleged daemonic ritual. Adding to the confusion, Youra Kyun (possessed by Aetos) urges everyone to join her in investigating an old ruin (at the time simply a ploy to form a third faction and encourage bloodshed). After several deaths, the camp splits into three groups. A handful of Alkorians and Ercaenmedians under Ian Murphy leave to rejoin Tweedle, Kyun-Aetos leaves with 7 soldiers, mostly Ercaenmedians, to investigate the ruins, and about 40 soldiers, mostly Brass Knights, stay to find a way to disrupt the demon worshipper's plans.

Heinrich's group is the least fortunate. As most of them slept, one of the Unravelers returns seeking revenge on Heinrich for killing his master. Most of the group is either zombified or turned into horsemen, or both, but Heinrich (in zombie-horseman form) retains enough will power to brutally kill the Unraveler. The sole survivor is the Amazon Phoebe, who records the events in her journal, but dies sometime afterwards slipping on wet rock. Her journal is recovered by harpies, who later trade it with the Alkorians, providing our only record of the fate of Albrecht Heinrich, one of the most notable Storm Mages of his generation.

In contrast to the infighting of the other groups, Tweedle establishes peaceful relations with the local harpy clan.

Day 5 - Evacuation / Ritual / Failure

At the ruins of Poole Harbour, Androdameia (who wisely never mentions she was possessed, or was responsible for Antiope's death) splits her forces up. About a thousand (mostly wounded or incapacitated) stay at the camp under the supervision of senior Amazon Maia, while 200 soldiers under the command of Storm Mage Sofia Muller investigate the site of the Second Night Massacre for supplies. The remaining 1300 form up under the command of herself and Captain Hans Kruger to assault Tweedle's camp, which had been spotted by an airborne Storm Mage scout.

Tweedle had managed to make contact with the Afrozil privateer Queen Sonia, and arrange for the evacuation of his remaining forces. However, they find themselves cut off from the beach by Androdameia's much larger force, and come up with the highly unusual plan of using harpies to carry his followers to the ship one man at a time. Lacking any ranged weapons by this point, Androdameia orders her forces to scale the cliff to the plateau on which Tweedle made his camp, with assistance from her three remaining Storm Mages, who were capable of both flight and using wind magic to lift others over tricky areas. Unfortunately, this plan falls apart when Hoshi Kagayakia, a powerful Ercaenmedian witch mounted on a flying broom who was part of Ian Murphy's group, joins the battle part way through. She blasts the three Storm Mages to pieces in a vicious aerial duel, then starts picking off the Belkan and Soukan soldiers trying to scale the cliff. She is aided by some of the harpies, who capture some of the soldiers, and knock others to their deaths. Tweedle is able to safely evacuate all his forces and leave the island, while Androdameia can only scream in frustration as her quarry escapes and her best soldiers fall to their deaths.

The fate of Sofia Muller's group is shrouded in mystery. A strange formation of alternating crispy black and withered white bodies is spotted in a clearing by Hoshi as she does one last fly-over of the island looking for Kyun's group. An ominous red glow is seen coming from part of the island at dusk by those leaving the island by ship. A succubus resembling Sofia Muller along with several thralls is encountered by Kyun's group two days later.

Night 5 - Things That Go Bump In The Dark

By this point only a few groups remained on the island (aside from the indigenous harpies and the prisoners they took). The survivors of Androdameia's force are believed to have set out for Poole Harbour at dusk, following their defeat at the cliffs. Around a 1000 soldiers under Maia squabble among themselves at Poole Harbour over the few remaining supplies. Sofia's group was likely "harvested" around dusk, along with the Brass Knights who tried to stop them, though several thralls who were likely recruited from these groups are later encountered fighting alongside Succubus-Sofia. Finally, Kyun's group was lost in the jungle and never joined the evacuation, unlike Ian's group who made it just in time.

According to survivors from Kyun and Maia's groups, Androdameia's force encountered something, likely one of more summoned demons, around 2:00 am. Screams could be heard for the next two hours, but no trace of Androdameia's force is ever seen again. At Poole Harbour, mass panic occurs, and nearly half of Maia's group either disappear into the jungle, or drowns trying to swim out into the ocean, yet those who stay in the ruins of the town never lay eyes on their tormentors. Kyun's group, largely made of hardened mercenaries and adventurers, keep their cool and lie low in a small cave network for the night.

Day 6 - Stranded

Very little happens on this day.

Morale has completely collapsed at Poole Harbour. Maia's surviving soldiers spend the day virtually paralyzed with fear assuming whatever destroyed Androdameia's force would come for them, but it never did.

Kyun's group faired better. Enchantress-Singer Nolae Supasuta does an impromptu live performance of her three best hits, which not only raised everyone's moral, but also inadvertently banished Aetos's hold on Kyun. Realising they have been deceived, the Encaenmedians resolve to join Tweedle's group, but after several hours of searching, they encounter a friendly harpy, who informs them that Tweedle had evacuated the island. Realizing they are now stranded on an island filled with enemies, Kyun comes up with the desperate plan to send several bound spirits to find the ships Tweedle's followers boarded, in hopes that they could communicate with fellow necromancer Awai, who they (correctly) believed to be aboard the evacuation ship.

Succubus-Sofia's group is also on the island, but their activities on this day are unknown.

Night 6 - Anticipation

Maia's soldiers continue to be paralyzed with fear, and Sofia's group's activities continue to be a mystery.

Kyun's gambit pays off and Awai sends back a spirit with instructions to enter the Sartyrian ruins on the highest point of the island and wait for evac by wyvern. Sartyrian ships had been encountered in the area and turning around Queen Sonia's privateer ship was seen as too dangerous.

Day 7 - Fire and Death

In the early hours of the morning on the seventh day, several Sartyrian ships entered the ruins of Poole Harbour. Either not recognizing the design of the ships, or too desperate to leave the island to care, Maia's soldiers make little effort to organize a defense, and many soldiers simply gather at the beach hoping for evac. Many others are bedridden by infected injuries, lingering curses, and a wide range of illnesses. The Sartyrian force sweeps over Poole Harbour in minutes. Most prisoners are either burned alive, flayed, and/or deliberately infected with Smelter's Disease, but about 30 or so of the healthiest and most capable looking individuals are deliberately released into the jungle to be hunted for the Sartyrian's idle amusement.

Meanwhile, Kyun's group encounters resistance at the Sartyrian ruins. Several zombies and horsemen (likely the remnants of Heinrich's group) ambush the group, and only Kyun, Nolae, the ninja Neugdae, and Bridge Triber La'akea survive.

Night 7 - Predators and Prey

Kyun's group fortifies a section of the ruin as best they can with old debris, then hunker down for the night, but are interrupted around midnight by a group of fellow survivors seeking shelter; Alkorian Marine officer Rebecca Haines, Alkorian Marine sharpshooter Alex Hawthorne, Bridge Tribe Witch Doctor Hai, and three unidentified Belkan soldiers. Rebecca, Alex, and Hai were all known to be members of the group that accompanied the Brass Knights to attempt to prevent alleged demonic plot, and Kyun's group grudgingly accepted their story that they are the last survivors of a demonic ritual.

Two hours later, a small group of survivors, made up of "prey" released from Poole Harbour, also arrive at the tower; aircrewman Konrad Linder, journalist Viola Bauer, shock-halberdier Bernd von Rohr, sailor Aeschylus, and Amazon Thermodosa, and were grudgingly accepted as well, particularly when they revealed that Sartyrian hunting bands were roaming the island.

It is believed that all other groups of "prey" were hunted down this night, and by morning, the group sheltering in the Sartyrian ruins, and the Sartyrian raiders were the only living beings on the island. Even the harpies and their remaining prisoners had temporarily relocated to another smaller island by this point.

Day 8 - Last Stand

No one in the Sartyrian ruins group slept that night, and tensions ran high. By morning, several arguments had broken out. Rebecca's behavior was highly unusual to those who knew her, and Konrad correctly deduced that the wyvern coming to pick them up likely couldn't carry 15 people. When talk veered towards drawing lots for spots on the wyvern, Rebecca unexpectedly revealed herself to be a succubus and swiftly killed Neugdae and disabled Nyun and Nolae. La'akea managed to stab the succubus in the back with an enchanted blade, but is in turn killed by one of the Belkans who arrived with "Rebecca". Thermodosa finishes the succubus off, in the process recognizing that in her true form she resembles Sofia, the Storm Mage who led force that mysteriously disappeared around the time the demonic ritual was activated. She then slays Alex and Hai. Hai's death frees Bernd from the curse placed upon him (and many others), and he seizes a shock halberd from one of the corrupted Belkan officers before using it to slay all three corrupted Belkans, but not before one kills Aeschylus.

At this point the wyvern is spotted on the horizon, but so is a fast approaching band of Sartyrian raiders. Bernd valiantly sacrifices himself so that Konrad, Viola, Thermodosa, Nyun, and Nolae can escape. A true master of his art, it is believed he slew five Sartyrians in single combat in order to buy time for the others to escape, an impressive accomplishment given many Sartyrians are believed to have centuries of combat experience.

Epilogue:

Alkorian Commander Tweedle is awarded the highest military honours for successfully evacuating nearly 700 civilians and soldiers from the island in the face of overwhelming opposition.

Nyun and Nolae are also awarded high honours for securing valuable intelligence on the mysterious events that occurred during and after Tweedle's departure from the island.

As the only known survivors of the Belkan-Soukos task force (aside from those that successfully fled during the second and third days of the battle), Konrad, Viola, and Thermodosa are declared intelligence assets for their knowledge of the events that took place during the later days of the conflict from a Belkan-Soukos point of view. They are likely still held in a secure location.

Poole Harbour was investigated by Alkorian intelligence assets for several months, but aside from the minor win of determining the fate of Heinrich, no clues were uncovered explaining the nature of the events that occurred on the fifth night, nor the reason for the Sartyrian raiders. Due to strong traces of demonic energy, as well as the possibility of further raids by either the Belkan-Soukos Alliance, or the Kingdom of Sartyrian, there are no plans to re-establish a base at Poole Harbour anytime soon.

Aftermath:

Although a relatively minor skirmish compared to what followed, the fact that Belkan and Soukos were willing to cooperate in such a tight fashion greatly escalated the tensions between Belkan, Alkor, and their assorted allies, ultimately leading to the first truly global war as Belkan sought allies around the world to dismantle Alkor's colonial empire, while Alkor sought allies around the world to aid them. The instability also led to several unrelated wars between old rivals as various nations sought to take advantage of destabilized trade routes and other shifts in the balance of power.

The behind the scenes manipulation by followers of Gogotha was largely overlooked, but rumors of shapeshifting succubi and other demons manipulating both factions have persisted on many fronts of the ongoing war.

The raid on the seventh day by the Sartyrians was one of the largest acts of aggression by this reclusive race for decades, and was completely unprovoked as far as anyone can tell. Although some optimists at first believed that the raid was launched solely to eliminate the threat of the alleged Gogothan ritual, Sartyrian raids have continued, and some now believe they are on the cusp of launching a new wave of conquest against the world.