Battle of Thetens

The Battle of Thetens was the first military confrontation of the Great Northern War, a military conflict between the Tiberian Commonwealth and a coalition of Sahriya, Nordisium, Corry and Beepeck. One of the largest battles in Abexilas history, over 200 soldiers participated in combat.
== Prelude ==
=== The War for the North Begins ===
The origins of the Great Northern War are a result from an escalation of a conflict between Vladistan, a prominent Tiberian nation, and Nordisium, a nation squatting on Vladistan territory. This localized conflict escalated when the nation of Corry, allied with Nordisium, providing support and drawing the ire of Vladistan and its allies. In response, the Tiberian nations formed a coalition, uniting under the banner of the Tiberian Commonwealth to oppose Corry's interference. The Commonwealth subsequently declared war on Corry, as well as the allied nations of Beepeck, Sahriya, and Nordisium, deeming their actions as a necessary stand against external colonization of Tiberia. 
=== War Preparation ===
The city of Thetens was transformed into a heavily fortified battleground as Nordisium forces where on the defense, in preparation for the battle, the majority of the city’s buildings were systematically destroyed to deny, reducing Thetens to an empty field. The surrounding countryside next to the large rivers was reshaped into a network of massive trenches, known as ganks, which surrounded the city entirely. Underneath the city, a small network of tunnels were constructed, allowing for Nordisium forces to launch attacks throughout the battle to any part of the gank, as well as escape if overwhelmed. 
In anticipation of battle, the Vladistani city of Maringrad, located across the large river to the south, was also fortified and was turned into a center of operations for the Tiberian Commonwealth army. Despite a closer location to the battlefield at the city of Turundal and with it being more fortified with a wall, it was not the city Tiberian Commonwealth forces would launch their attack from. Maringrad would become the location of Tiberian forces offensive movements against the Nordisium Coalition.
== Battle ==
=== First Contact ===
Prior to the first contact at the city defenses, one of the Tiberium generals would take an unexpected and risky gamble; the rush towards the city would be massively hastened, knowing the sheer numerical superiority the Tiberian forces had, with not only the united armies of the continent but the additional forces of Aragotha, the decision to ready an attack hours in advance left several soldiers of the Tiberian forces unable to properly equip in time, but would massively pay off. As the Sahriyans and Corrians were aware of their numerical disadvantages, they had intended on exploiting the size and defenses of the city to stall out an attack - but with the unexpected Tiberian rush, their defenses were largely left unarmed. This would prove to be a catastrophe for the Nordisium coalition. such strategy never occurred, this is just an in-lore explanation behind a stoneworks queue failure that locked out half of the Tiberian forces and most of the Nordisian forces from participating. 
The battle began at 2:00 PM EST on December 15th, 2024, with Aragothan Mercenaries leading the charge north towards the city of Thetens. crossing the icy river between the two cities and arriving at the large gank surrounding Thetens. Aragotha would jump down into the gank unharmed, being able to destroy ice blocks turning them into water allowing for safe passage down and begin to take control of the town via claim blocks while main Tiberian coalition forces would begin to jump down and assist Aragotha in claiming the city. 
The initial push into the gank saw heavy combat between Tiberian and Nordisium Coalition forces. However, using the immense numerical superiority, combined with the improperly set up defenses in the gank, Tiberian forces quickly able to repel attempted counter attacks by Nordisium forces and began to slowly push throughout the gank. 
=== Tiberium Advances ===
As the battle progressed, Tiberium forces, mainly hired Aragothan mercenaries where able to successfully wipe out a majority of Nordisium forces inside the cities gank and began rapidly capturing the city, however, repeated attempted counter attacks by Sahriyan forces, mainly conducting hit and run tactics using TNT to destroy the claim blocks, would slow progress. Regardless, the sheer size of the Tiberium, coupled with the quality of the Aragothan mercenaries allowed them to press further and further into the city. 
=== Battle Conclusion ===
As the battle drew to a close, the Nordisian coalition had managed to counterattack, and hold onto the southern half of the city, although most of the city grew to fall under the Tiberium coalition.the Tiberian coalition actually achieved a score of 160-50, meaning the city should have been transferred to them, however many of their points were suspected to be illegitimate, with 30 of them being confirmed as obtained via illegal methods. This earned them a siege point but not a transfer. The Nordisium fighers were able to generally prevent the rest of the city from being fully captured through guerrilla tactics, although the Tiberians had undoubtedly destroyed many of the city's defenses and fighters. The Battle of Thetens ended with the Tiberian Coalition forces successfully having conducted the attack on the city of Thetens, leading to small celebrations after the battle's conclusions. While still in Nordisium hands, the city still remained under Tiberian siege. 
== Aftermath ==
Battle of Thetens would be decided with Tiberian Coalition forces claim victory, successfully deliver a deep blow into Thetens, yet the city still remains within Nordisium hands, forcing Tiberian forces to launch a second successful attack if they wish to fully capture the Nordisium city. Following two days later, after what would be the first battle, Beepeck would fracture into multiple successor states, resulted in them withdrawing their troops from Tiberia territories to be shipped back to Talasi, thus removing them from war. 
Despite being a large success for the newly formed Tiberian Commonwealth, many in Sahriya and Corry also saw this war as a success given the spending difference. Although unconfirmed, the Sahriyan Shura claimed the Tiberian price was well over 6 million, while Tiberian officials denied this, however given the price of the Aragothan mercenary contract, the overall estimated Tiberium expenditure can range from 4 million to 6 million, while the Nordisium coalition spent barely under a million, with the bulk of their spending going into the raw materials for equipment to last the war and city defenses. Surprisingly, the Nordisium coalition opted not to spend a single penny on mercenary hire, which was deemed like unorthodox for a war. For this reason, the Nordisium coalition deemed their continued hold on Thetens whatsoever a success, although many around Abexilas considered this perspective laughable, and to some even pitiable. 
Category:Abexilas