Last Stand of FallingstarThe Rise of Fallingstar
Thanks to the arrival of allies from across Theavia, Fallingstar not only endured the two-month-long siege by Xocrian knights but managed to force them to retreat south, driving them back across the border and into the protection of their own territory. Despite the losses, it is a victory - the first one the Land of Rivers has seen since the time of Adeodatus.
Discite, the brave leader of the town and the main target of the assault, not only survived but proved to those who doubted her that she and her town can stand up to the knights and win. For the first time in a century, Fallingstar is safe from attack, and in the days following more sturdy and permanent defences are raised, something that they never quite had the time and security to erect before. Discite reaches out to other mayors in the south, forming an alliance to defend the Land of Rivers known as the "Southern League". Fallingstar may, finally, be able to recover. Meanwhile, word travels across the Land of Rivers, Theavia, and even faraway Cyr of this unprecedented event…
Table of Contents
Event Ending Participants Prizes Lore Updates Aftermath of Fallingstar What’s Next?
The town of Fallingstar and its mayor, Discite Justitiam Moniti, is the heart of the Land of River’s small resistance to attacks by Xocrian knights, and she has done everything in her power to keep her citizens alive and fighting, but her resistance drew the attention and ire of many a Xocrian noble.
A large-scale dragon hunt was called against her, with knights from across the nation travelling towards Fallingstar to fight and earn the honour and prestige that would come with slaying an individual as infamous as Discite. Their attacks have turned into a mix of outright battle and a siege of the town. The mayor would not go silently, though, and called for assistance from outside the Land of Rivers. Allies and enemies alike trickled into the ruined former city beginning in late November, but the battle only began in earnest in December. On the side of Xocrium, the knights and soldiers Madro Althalos, Galen Brown, Harper Malachite, Dunstan Arkwrighte, and Jericho arrived on the outskirts of the city to assist in various ways in the siege. Although they were not warriors themselves, the alchemist Iliyana Miroslava Yankov-Voronin and the tanner Ciaran Mundy accompanied them, helping with activities back at camp. Locals to the Land of Rivers also arrived to assist in the defence of the city. Among their number was the alchemist Auli Caerulem as well as the Moon Children Elysian, Nementia, Arcana Imperii, Sovereign and Vivere Militare Est. Under the command of Toivo Aalto himself, a group of Redwings arrived in the city; two members of the royal family, Princess Coatli and Prince Xipil, as well as Ilta Sunstone Ad Astra, a healer. Over the course of the battle, two new Redwings were recruited; the Marsh-Blessed moonviper Anura Anguis Pyrrhic and a young man named Ceri. From High Heart, the Empress Usva Kesätuuli of Ilma asked each Perhe to send some supplies or otherwise aid Fallingstar; Ukkonen sent two warriors, Aurinko Jade Ad Astra and Kieunta 'Zoom' Varislaulu. From Sundrake territory arrived the two Shades Rastaban and Eirene, the mercenary Fortune and her familiar Wyndham, the runaway noble Ikaros, and the Scion of the Sun, Altair. A few individuals came from Meros to assist as well; the alchemist Alia and the Harvest Mage and healer, Vesa. Mercenaries arrived to support both sides. For Fallingstar, that was Arwin and his Familiar, Birdie, as well as the twin windwyrms Slipstream and Permafrost. For Xocrium, the Merosian dragonling Kassandra Alaya Aetos Makris came to help. A few others came; Morse, who had been assisting with defence in Fallingstar a few weeks prior to the battle, Lyra, a darkling, Harper and Thatcher, two of Captain Meridian’s adopted children, and a mysterious springsinger found and taken in during a raid on the Xocrian camp’s supply tents. In the early days of the siege, Discite’s son, the runesmith Padus Justitiam Moniti and his earth Familiar, Verity, was tracked down and attacked by the knight Irving Ashdown. Although he was injured and forced to take a less active role in the city’s defences for the next few weeks, he managed to evade her and survive the battle. Sir Sol and the other warriors serving under Discite fought long and hard for the entirety of the month of December 503 to the end of January 504. Although she did not fight herself, the old moonviper Grandma Ramus served an essential role protecting the town’s children and providing emotional support to soldiers who needed it. Fallingstar not only endured the two-month-long siege by Xocrian knights but managed to force them to retreat south. They drove them back across the border and into the protection of their own territory. Despite the losses, it is a victory - the first one the Land of Rivers has seen since the time of Adeodatus. Discite, the brave leader of the town and the main target of the assault, not only survived but proved to those who doubted her that she and her town can stand up to the knights and win. For the first time in a century, Fallingstar is safe from attack, and in the days following more sturdy and permanent defences are raised, something that they never quite had the time and security to erect before. Padus and Verity have begun to rebuild the Old Walls that once protected Fallingstar from attack. Using their ability to manipulate stone, they repurposed rubble from the city and engraved runes into the new defences with the help of the other runesmiths who had congregated in the city to help protect it. Word of events in Fallingstar has travelled across the Land of Rivers, proof perhaps that the moonvipers and riverlander people can stand up to Xocrium and win. They do not have to hide and allow the knights from the south to do as they please for fear of provoking them… maybe, just maybe, if they stand up for themselves, they can stop the raids for good. Discite has been taking advantage of this small shift in perspective and reaching out to other cities in the Land of Rivers, foremost being Maiestas and its militia, to create alliances. The Perigee fears that she may attempt to supplant them in the region, but contrary to their official declaration that they condemn the violence in the city, one of their number, a Moon Child named Haffligiensis ex Nihilo, has declared her support for Fallingstar and Discite. In the weeks that follow this declaration, other Perigee representatives make similar assertions in the towns and cities of Maiestas, Attero, and Vincit, splitting the residents of the southern border regions firmly away from Perigee authority. To further prove that they can go on without the approval of Luna’s Perigee officials, Discite and her adopted son, Padus, visited Maiestas for a few days to cement their partnership with the city’s mayor, Lillianna Propria Manu; while he was there, Padus and his Familiar visited the city’s broken old Moondial and set about repairing the central moonstone. After days of effort, he was successful, and the stone began to glow with the same pale white gleam as the one in the Great Temple in Luna. A sign from the Sisters, perhaps, that those who fought to defend Fallingstar have their blessing. Following this, the cities of Fallingstar, Attero, Maiestas and the town of Vincit formally agreed to collaborate in the future defense of the Land of Rivers from southern threats. The “Southern League” is working now to form an official army and border patrols to stop knights before they can get too deep into their territory and go after civilians, using the Redwings, Fallingstar’s defenders, and Maiestas’ militia as models for tactics and organization. Only time will tell if they manage to succeed in standing up to their neighbour, but they are determined to try their very best. The Xocrian Perspective
Led by Lord-General Sulon ‘Caeruleum’ Thorfinn, Dame Audrada Godsven, and Sir Adam ‘Addy’ Kimbourgh, the northern knights of Xocrium marched on the crumbling city. It would be an easy siege they supposed. The city had been under fire from northern knights for years and most of its previous residents had abandoned it, leaving it wide open for the taking. This thought soon changed when they were first arrived and were met with surprising news - reinforcements had come. Dragons from just about every Theavian nation and even those from the infamous Padwell - Redwings - had come to the city’s defense.
The fighting soon started on December 1st, 503 AED. The knights of the provinces fought long and hard, despite the dangers from the heavy icy weather. With the several notable individuals - Harper Malachite: a young knight from a noble family looking to prove herself, Jericho: a griffin riding knight, Galen Browne: a young knight that was injured and captured by those in Fallingstar, Dunstan Arkwrighte: a young individual who wasn’t an official knight but did help with the efforts. Went missing unnoticing, Ciaran Mundy, a local tanner known to many in the camp that did not like to be touched - Was also the last individual known to have gone missing. One of the many notable things that happened early on in the siege would be when a hardened knight and her lightning familiar were successfully able to find and injure Fallingstar’s lead runesmith and the son of Discite, Padus. While this was called for a good cheer, it was short-lived when it became clear that the knight would not be able to find Padus for the rest of the siege to finish them off. While there were many drawbacks in the battle, such as the raid of their camp’s medical and supply tents, the knights made sure that these actions did not go unpunished and proceeded to fight harder than they ever did before. Despite their winnings, the large reinforcements in Fallingstar and the heavy weather proved too much to bear. The regime was forced to retreat to the safety of Everguard’s border. The retreat was swift and quiet, almost as if they had left overnight. A famous dragonslayer, Madro Althalos, and the head medic Edward Crowcomb made it their mission to make sure the wounded from camp made it back to Everguard safely and without much worry. A lot of knights can also thank Miranda Ashdown, Irving Ashdown, and their familiars - Uro and Tonitrua - for acting as a tight rearguard in the retreat. This surprised many from the northern provinces for they had all expected the knights to swiftly clear out the remaining residents of the city and declared discite as no more. When the knights and wounded returned to the walls of the Citadel, it shocked everyone, but definitely not those in the southern provinces. When the news of the results in Fallingstar reached the citizens of Barepond and Mosshold, many could only sigh and plant their hands in their faces. Those of the south are already dealing with those from the marshes of Padwell and know to expect those they attacked to fight them back with everything they had. Due to this, the leaders of Mosshold started to implement newer tactics for their knight schools and new armor for their knights. Many were also fully against the assault on Fallingstar, marking it as ‘too much’ and predicting that small and spaced attacks were one thing and better but a fully-fledged assault would only prompt the city to send for reinforcements from Xocrium’s enemies - such as the Sundrakes and those from the ‘kingdom’ of Padwell. The weeks following the lost siege have been quite the ride for everyone, even for those of the nobility. Lord Gunter Dauntless and Lady Ingram Basil of Mosshold have been recently urging the other leaders of the provinces to think about the tactics that their knights are using and figuring out what they could possibly do to change them up for the better. For those not of nobility, this battle is seen as quite a surprise and has definitely raised some concern as to the future of the dragon-hunts in the north, and whether the Land of Rivers might become a true threat to Xocrium's security in the future. While this concern is starting to become very widespread throughout the kingdom, most of Xocrium is still hopeful and will not let this battle define the kingdom’s future nor theirs.
The following characters took part officially in the Last Stand of Fallingstar event. Please @ an admin if you believe anyone is missing!
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Want to get one last event entry in?
Technically it won’t sway things either way, but draw/write about your character’s reaction to the ending of the vent and their return home - or perhaps their decision to remain in Fallingstar - after the battle is over. It will receive the Event Entry EXP and bits bonus. You may only do one 'Aftermath' entry per character that could've participated in the events of Fallingstar. Comments are closed.
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