Siege of Chaesterlyn

Category:Events
== Overview ==
The Siege of the Chaesterlyn was the climatic battle which ended the Uprootings. Occurring across 3 days in September 202 AG. the battle saw the death of King Barren II Grenthyx as well as key Fellowship figures. The siege followed a tumultuous period of fighting in the Invasion of the Chaestlands, and, as such, represented the end-goal of the conflict for the Fellowship. Notably, one day after the conclusion of the battle, Jorjaeryn III Grenthyx signed the Chaesterlyn Accord, marking the official surrender of the Grenthyx Dynasty and ultimate capitulation of power to the victorious Fellowship forces. Despite victory however, the impact of various events of the siege left a lasting effect on some disgruntled members of the Fellowship, notably Forkoux Fyth and Tíras Theôs, who were reticent to declare the conclusion to the Uprootings a victory for anyone as a result. 
== Sequence of events ==
=== First day ===
The Chaestish castle was not laid siege to until late in the day. In the daytime, Forkoux Fyth, Tíras Theôs, Airibi I Root, Barra Figgan and Teagus Nora (standing in for the incapacitated Contran ruler, Lythe Armitage) reviewed strategy, most of which relied upon a coordinated nighttime siege to catch remaining fortifiers off-guard. Officially, it was agreed that this would be done with the aim of apprehending the King pending trial - though Teagus Nora, Airibi I Root and Barra Figgan had quietly began to figure out a way to circumvent this. Meanwhile, generals and other high-ranking officials in the Grenthyx Dynasty who had not fled or surrendered secreted themselves within Chaesterlyn with the King, including Jean Arrelar. The King recalled all remaining Chaestish Knights as well as its inquisitors, including the cardinal inquisitor, Ladriani Andrade. In addition, Opian Duke, Caldon Witcher discreetly left the ongoing Opian Advancement against The Borrows to aid the King at his request. The mood was nonetheless gloomy within the historic castle, with many fearing and expecting the worst. As a result, key interior rooms thought to be viable spaces to ride out the battle (should the dynasty be victorious) were fortified and barricaded. Though many retreated to these rooms as a result, some knights and Andrade insisted that they remain on patrol in corridors to secure the castle and apprehend any first intruders. 
As the afternoon waned and the evening set in, the Fellowship's forces, aside from some Helmontan and all C'thardji forces who remained committed in the Last Stand of Floralys to the south, were ready to lay siege. Llanoreid's Barra Figgan, The Borrows' Airibi Root, Mhordyn's Tíras Theôs and Contra's Teagus Nora led the advance of their forces, while Forkoux Fyth remained slightly behind, being far less adept at fighting than the others. In response, the dynasty mounted a strong defencive operation around the grounds of Chaesterlyn, repelling the Fellowship fiercely from gaining any foothold that would allow them to summit its outer walls. Towards the end of the night, little progress had been made by the Fellowship, much to the pleasure of Barren and his hidden advisors. 
=== Second day ===
With the siege seemingly turning into a far harder effort than the Fellowship had anticipated, many on the Fellowship had come to fear the worst regarding the forces of C'thardji duchess Ch'mazi and Helmontan matriarch Ophellaer Fyth. Speculation was rife in the morning of the second day of the siege, ranging from Teagus Nora's suggestion that they had surrendered to the dynasty, judging them to be cowards, to the Lord of Dùnhal, Artair Veiôs with his Archon Tíras Theôs fearing that they had suffered defeat in the Last Stand of Floralys. However, by noon, and much to the relief of the rest of the Fellowship, the remaining C'thardji and Helmontan Gryhskor Guild forces joined the Fellowship's besiegement of the Chaestish castle. Though welcome, they were depleted in number, not least in the loss of the late Gryhskor Guild general, Glossop Eckashel and many close to Mazi in Her Royal Guard. The former particularly grieved Forkoux Fyth, being unaware that a tumultuous battle between Cúrovi's General Seiį and his general had resulted in both of their deaths. However, the Matriarch and Patriarch of Helmont themselves were unable to meet, with Ophellaer remaining secreted in Castle Garadé on the coast to the west.
Though far from easy or clear, the fortifying Grenthyx Force began to lose the edge they have gained, mostly thanks to the persistence of remaining Chaestish Knights and the sheer strength of the herculean Caldon Witcher. From within the confines of his secure chamber, Barren and his remaining advisors present ensured that the King remained in good comprehension of tidings from the siege, most of which only served to heighten the now scared king's fear. This had the unfortunate effect of lowering morale yet further for those in contact with the young king, whose increasing nervousness began to percolate into the minds of those who offered him increasingly futile counsel. In spite of this, the Opian Duke and remaining knights persisted on, united by a common sense of the fulfilment of their duties to the King. 
=== Third Day ===
As the third day of the siege dawned, the outer walls began to be penetrated. Though this pushed the dynasty back, such was the size of the castle's grounds that many defensive positions remained at the dynasty's disposal. On the Fellowship's side, a tightly defined formation was to proceed into the grounds, needing finely tuned distributions of their total force to apply pressure to key weak areas in the dynasty's defence. By the afternoon, one such arm of the Fellowship's siege, consisting of Borrosians and C'thardji, had begun battle by a smaller entrance to the castle. Though most in the Fellowship ostensibly agreed to a plan that would see a highly coordinated effort to gain access to the castle take place prior to such access was gained, Teagus Nora and Airibi I Root had hatched an altogether different plan. It was at this juncture, by this entrance, that the Contran and Borrosian forces led by Nora and Root abandoned the present battle without the knowledge of the C'thardji to perform a sudden storm of the castle. For the pair, this represented an unexpected move and would strike the castle's defences when they would least expect it, assuming that the dynasty would anticipate and plan for a plan such as their official strategy. 
When the forces parted, leaving the C'thardji alone, the few defending the smaller entrance crumbled against the combined strength of the Contran and Borrosian effort. Shortly thereafter, led by Root and Nora, the entrance buckled and resistence crumbled. Entering through a wine cellar, Root and Nora reminded the forces that they were to pillage the castle, but, moreover, locate the King and execute him against the wishes of both Fyths, Mazi and Tíras. Though this had endowed the Borrosian and C'thardji forces with great resolve, the now abandoned C'thardji forces still engaged in a battle they were now outnumbered in despaired. Upon making a successful push into a fortified section of the castle, the duchess was spotted by Duke Caldon Witcher who felt compelled to enact a wrathful vengeance for both for the harm done to his children by C’thardji forces in the Battle on the C'thardji Strip. An almighty duel ensued, which would see them traversing both the ruined and the pristine sections of the castle wall, and well into its grounds. While her C'thardji force, ever occupied, resisted the relentless resistence of the Grenthyx Force, the Borrosians and Contrans advanced further into the castle itself. 
Within the castle, the Borrosians and Contrans began to encounter scant knights for the onslaught to the King's chambers, while Teagus Nora wandered off with a few guards in search of valuables and heirlooms to flaunt at what she saw to be the Fellowship's impending victory. Upon summiting the second floor, Nora and her guards were greeted by Cardinal Inquisitor, Ladriani Andradi - who had been on her guard since the entry of forces into the castle. Nora's guards attempted to apprehend the acrobatic inquisitor to no avail, with all being roundly knocked unconscious from her staff. Overconfident as ever, Nora unsheathed a small knife she haphazardly stabbed into the air, clumsily missing Andrade as she did. As they backed down a corridor, the Grenthyx inquisitor hoisted herself suddenly around her staff, using her momentum to attempt to dislodge the small knife out of Nora's grasp. Nora, more by luck than anything else, had found her hand too extended for her knife to dislodge, yet the force of her powerful kick sent her backwards into a veranda overlooking the grand main ballroom of the castle. After a couple of scant exchanges on Nora's behalf, her knife slipped from her own sweaty palms, resulting in the following kick from Andrade allowing for the knife to fly into the nearby central chandelier feature of the hall. Nora was sent flying through the veranda's banister, with her short stature assisting in her easy passage to the ballroom's floor below. Ladriani looked down to her, then noticed that the chandelier had untethered itself, sending its sparking perils into the body of Teagus below, killing her. 
Just as this occurred, more Contrans and Borrosians poured in from now spoilt windows that lined the grand hall, smashing through them to storm the castle. Andrade, satisfied, fled the scene. Now just beyond the hall's great windows, the battle between Caldon and Mazi was nearing its conclusion. Landing off the great wall and onto the inner lawn, strewn with bodies, Caldon raised himself from his fall while Mazi attempted to deliver a finishing blow to his chest. In her exhaustion fighting off the Opian, however, Mazi underestimated his own strength when she was grabbed by the neck. Even as the C'thardji duchess threw her sword into Witcher's right thigh, his grip tightned, unnerved. Thrusting her onto the ground, Caldon brutally crushed the duchess, even underestimating his own strength when he offered an almighty thud of his leg to her chest, ending her life there and then. Witcher paused, removed the sword that had lightly pierced his thigh, and rejoined the fray, determined as ever.
Within the castle, Tommas Drummond had been killed valiantly defending the King's chambers against the advancing Fellowship, while Artair Veiôs had lost his life in an outside battle, where Helmont and Mhordyn's forces were still occupied, only just learning of the battle within. Root became enraged when his Great Counsel, Sella Delton, perished in front of him at the hands of a Chaestish knight. Root, now deranged for the King's blood, joined the effort to part a pair of great doors that granted access to the King's chambers, where he lay cowering inside with advisors. The battle lessened outside enough to allow Helmontan, Llanoreidic and Mhordynian forces to enter the castle. Barra Figgan headed to the underbelly of the castle to free his duke, Wilddar Braitbirn, who had been imprisoned for weeks. Shortly thereafter, the thudding against the door of king Barren's chambers had compelled a few advisors to attempt to jump, but were swiftly pierced by arrows even as they fell out the chamber windows by steady Contran archerers who had stationed themselves in sight of the chamber. Sure enough, moments hence, the great doors parted to permit a flood of Contrans and Borrosians to swallow up Barren, curled up in a corner, in their terrible embrace. 
Flowing through the corridors with the king hoisted above them, being pulled and cut as they did, Fyth, Theôs, and Braitbirn had convened in a safer place in the nearby town of Chaesterlyn, where the Borrosian and Contran crowds had began to descend with the King's body. The town, too small for the descending crowds, had clogged all alleyways and small passages. It was in one of these that the King was taken, and at hands of what was taken to be a Borrosian, there the King's now pained and bloody body was relieved of life. At an unknown point, the body was cast aside and trodden on in such a small alley, itself overshadowed by the bloody celebration of the Borrosian and Contran victors. Fyth, Theôs, and Braitbirn, positioned in the small central square, demanded to know what had become of the king at some time following Root informing them that he had been carried forth into the town. Upon a small search, his defiled body was discovered and its position reported to the leaders. In response, Braitbirn sat, looking aghast at the floor, suddenly burdened with the memory of his own Anlon Braitbirn. Theôs, wide eyed, took heavy breaths as he stared at Root. Fyth had begun a speech, expecting to be joined by the King, in which he would appeal to the decency of them all to establish a firm moral basis with which legitimacy could only then flow. Yet upon registering the voice of Root, he had become incensed, with his piercing eyes set upon Root, eyebrows furled in anger. After a dozen seconds, Fyth quietly spoke:"So be it."Upon this, Theôs and he turned on the spot, and the pair arranged to set off with immediate effect, ordering their own shocked forces to retreat back to their kingdoms. Both boarded The Murndorl, now docked at the town by Lionel Harthyx at Fyth's earlier request, and set off towards the Capital. The Llanoreidic Duke, utterly defeated by the last 2 years, secreted himself in The Absolutist, also summoned on his behalf by Lendyn Kelbur. Meanwhile, a partially recovered Lythe Armitage arrived at the scene in the late afternoon to join the Contran and Borrosian celebrations around the cobbled streets, strewn with bodies brought down from Chaesterlyn and the hue of blood. Many prisoners were taken to foul places and treated equally poorly during the evening. 
=== Aftermath ===
This marked the conclusion of the Siege of Chaesterlyn, and the following day, noted diplomat Jorjaeryn III Grenthyx, now the de facto head of House Grenthyx, signed the Chaesterlyn Accord, a document drafted by Lythe Armitage's head of the Advisory Council of Contra, Cesil Burnwyn. By the late morning, the Grenthyx Dynasty has surrendered and began to send out word to its garrisons abroad to cease resistence to the Fellowship and submit unconditionally to their authority. Jorjaeryn, recently summoned from exile after having heard of the events of the Siege, was devastated and vowed to do as much as he could to undermine the authority he had just granted the Fellowship in whatever form it would take. Though the Grenthyx Dynasty itself would fall a full week later following the full realisation of the Chaseterlyn Accord's conditions of surrender in order to maximise their humiliation in the eyes of Armitage and Root in particular, full this day marked the final day of the Uprootings conflict.