Battle of Thorngate

The **Battle of Thorngate** was a battle in the Rys-Nevrakis Conflict, in which Queen Kenna Rys attacked the castle of Thorngate, in order to liberate it from Vassilios Nevrakis's control, and restore Rowan Thorn as the rightful ruler of the Kingdom of Bellmere.

## Prelude

A few months after retaking Stormholt, Kenna and her allies decide to liberate the rest of the Five Kingdoms from the Nevrakis family. Her army is now positioned outside of Thorngate Castle (the seat of the Thorn family), which is now ruled by Vassilios Nevrakis (the brother of King Luther). Kenna waits for Vassilios to show up from the castle's walls in order to negotiate with him, but he's late. Kenna laments that she can't afford to lose any more time, since Luther's army could be returning from the Iron Empire any day now. Val is not convinced that they should help the other Kingdoms, suggesting they should wait for them to rise up on their own. Raydan tells her that they could do that, but if they don't fight for themselves, then Luther would crush them all.

Suddently, Vassilios appears from a balcony and greets Kenna and her companions. Kenna asks Vassilios why is he yelling from the castle walls instead of speaking to her face to face. He answers by asking her why should he leave his castle just to hear her terms, since she has to win for those to matter. After saying this, he goes back inside his castle.

Inside her command tent, Kenna plans for the coming battle. Whitlock tells her that the should be careful, since the people of Thorngate will be involved in the fighting, but Kenna believes that when they see her fighting against the Nevrakis Soldiers, they will join her. Whitlock is still not convinced, so he tells Kenna that he built a shock emitter, a weapon that can stun enemies without killing them. Shortly after, Kenna addresses her army and tells them that together, they will liberate Thorngate, and soon, the rest of the Five Kingdoms. She asks her soldiers if they are with her, and her army roars.

## Initial Assault

Kenna and her army rush forward to meet with a contingent of Nevrakis soldiers. During their charge, the thorny vines that surround the castle block their path, but Kenna's soldiers easily cut through the vines.

The two armies clash together. A Nevrakis soldier attacks Kenna, but she quickly slays him. Across the battlefield, Kenna spots enemy archers coming near her position. She realizes that they are not Nevrakis soldiers but the soldiers of Thorngate. They are lead by a mysterious woman covered in vine tattoos. The archers fire their arrows upon Kenna and her soldiers, but she manages to take cover under a patch of thick brambles. Kenna is surprised as she thought that the people of Thorngate would support her, not attack her. Val condemns their cowardice, while Raydan speculates that perhaps they don't know the real reason why Kenna is laying siege to Thorngate.

Kenna decides that the best course of action is talking with their leader, but before she can act, she notices a massive catapult being wheeled into place. The catapult fires, killing numerous Stormholt soldiers in the process. The catapult operator immediately starts to load the catapult with other shots. It becomes clear that Kenna's forces will need a longbow to disable the catapult, since none of their bows can shoot that far.

## Capturing Rowan

Kenna, Val and a squad of Stormholt soldiers fight their way towards the Thorngate archers. The archers immediately scatter as soon as they see Kenna and her soldiers approaching. However, their leader doesn't escape in time, and Kenna tackles her to the ground. Val yanks her up, pinning her arms to her back from behind.

The leader demands to be released, but Kenna asks for the motive behind her attack on the Stormholt soldiers. The leader angrily tells her that Kenna is attacking her home with an army, and that she has no reason to trust Kenna. Kenna attempts to introduce herself, but the leader interrups her by stating that she knows the Rys Family far too well: her entire family went to Stormholt under a supposed alliance, but no one came back. Hearing her statement, Kenna realizes that the woman is Rowan Thorn, daughter of Daphne and Ewan Thorn. Kenna tries to explain that it was Luther Nevrakis who betrayed the Five Kingdoms that day, not the Rys family. She also tells Rowan that she can't bring Rowan's loved ones back to life, but she can help free the people of Thorngate if Rowan joins her side. Rowan is still skeptical and refuses to join Kenna.

Kenna notices Rowan's Thorngate longbow and Rowan tells her that her longbow is impossible to use. Nevertheless, Kenna is able to pick it up, aim an arrow, and shoot the catapult operator in the head. Rowan is incredibly surprised.

## Retaliation with Shock Emitter

All of a sudden, a hail of arrows rains down from above. Kenna and her companions take cover while Rowan joins her soldiers. A Thorngate army flanks Kenna and her men, but before they are killed, the Thorngate Soldiers are stunned by bolts of lightning produced by Whitlock's shock emitter.

On the other side of the battlefield, Whitlock is trying to make the shock emitter work while Dom and Sei protect him from the Nevrakis soldiers. He realizes that the machine is going to explode unless someone retrieves a six-pronged tool from his tent so that he can repair it. Dom rushes to get it in time. He enters Whitlock's chest and searches for the tool. After a while he manages to find it and goes back to Whitlock, who is then able to fix the machine. Now all Thorngate soldiers will be stunned without suffering grave injuries.

## Vassilios Sets Fire to Thorngate

Moments later, the routing Nevrakis army falls back inside the castle, but suddenly, smoke begins to rise from the castle. Dom realizes that Vassilios must have put the castle to the torch out of spite rather than let Kenna take it.

Suddenty, a squad of Thorngate archers led by Rowan Thorn appears behind Kenna and her team. She blames Kenna for setting fire to Thorngate and invading her land, but Kenna explains that she did nothing, and that it's all Vassilios's fault. She tells Rowan that she only came to Thorngate to put an end to the Nevrakis occupation. Rowan believes Kenna, but she still thinks that she's a spoiled queen and nothing more. She also asks Kenna to name one impressing thing that she did during her life, Kenna replies by telling her of her journey to the Technocrats's Labyrinth and her duel with the Mechataur. Rowan is amazed and starts to think that she has underestimated Kenna, but she then states that none of it matters anyway: no rebellion against Vassilios has ever succeeded, so Rowan and her people have no reason to risk their lives for Kenna and her cause. Kenna argues that assisting the Stormholt offensive will help Rowan to regain her kingdom, and Rowan orders her archers to fire on the Nevrakis Soldiers.

Rowan explains that to get Kenna's army inside the castle she will have to let her people inside the castle know about Kenna's true intentions. She later leads Kenna to a shadowy alcove where two sections of wall meet, where, hidden within the decorative carving, there is a thick vine that stretches to the top of the wall. After a difficult climb, Kenna, Val, and Rowan manage to get inside the castle's courtyard.

## Final Assault

Meanwhile, Dom, Sei, and Whitlock wait for the gate to open. Whitlock is afraid that the people of Thorngate might die, but Dominic encourages him. Shortly after, the gate opens, and they find the castle courtyard ablaze. Leon comes forward and orders the Stormholt soldiers to protect the civilians and kill the Nevrakis soldiers.

They realize that they can't hope to extinguish all the fire in time, but Sei has an idea and says she needs Dom's help in order for it to work. Together, they come close to each other and draw all the fire to their position in order to absorb it. Their plan works and Thorngate is saved. Later, Kenna and Leon get back to their tent, where they discuss about Thorngate and Rowan.

## Aftermath

Leon wants to take control of Thorngate castle instead of giving it back to Rowan, in order to be better prepared against Luther when he comes back from the Iron Empire. After he says this, Rowan comes in and challenges his argument. They almost argue but Kenna manages to calm them down.

Later, Kenna decides to move any surviving Nevrakis soldiers to the castle's dungeon, Vassilios included. Just then he lets out that Luther and his army will be back soon. Kenna wants to know more specific details about his return, but Vassilios refuses to say anything else. Rowan suggests using a truth potion called Blueblood to force him to speak. If Kenna uses the potion, Vassilios reveals the exact date that Luther will return, and the potion then wears off. Kenna commands a guard to take him away. Suddenly, he pushes free of the guard, takes a hidden dagger, and tries to attack Kenna. Before he can kill her, Dom blasts him with a powerful fireball, killing him instantly. However, the hit is so strong that it injures Kenna and she collapses, unconscious and covered in burns.