Siege of Sheland

The Siege of Sheland was an event decided by Solomon during the First Uhekian Mage War. The Templars required the capture of the city, which was slowly turning into a fortress for the mages.

## Prelude

After the abandonment of Gartaca in the war, the mages retreated to Sheland to prepare for a counter-attack to swing the momentum to their side.

Solomon realised that leaving the mages in the city for too long would allow them to gather more power and build better defences. So preperations and siege equipment were built to take the city, training soldiers in siege warfare at the same time.

Hosmer at the same time enhanced his position, using magic to strengthen the walls and placing guards all over the walls. In case of a long siege and to avoid a reliance on magic, Shelands food stocks were also increased. Out of sight from his troops to keep up morale, Hosmer also prepared the teleportation circles in case of a defeat.

In Septim 2 **451PR**, Solomon and the Templars marched towards the city, leaving behind General Engel and Division 3 for being too green.

## Location

The location of the siege was the Uhekian city of Sheland, a large city with strong walls built as a secondary capital if Gartaca were ever to fall. With access to the sea and a river, it is difficult for a long-lasting siege to occur.

There was also a Hosmer College in the city, making a good headquarters for the Mages council.

## The Siege

In Septim 20, Solomon and the Templars began their siege on the city. Building their camps and resting while being watched from the Mages on the wall.

### First Assault

Septim 27 **451PR** is when Solomon and his Templars attacked the wall. They attacked with siege towers all along the walls, with around 200 troops in each, mostly from Division 1 for their experience.

While the siege towers pushed forward, Division 4 had a battering ram on the main gate.

The defenders made sure to use both their magic and ballista's to try and stop the siege towers moving, which Solomon had prepared by covering them in water for a resistance to fire.

Of the 4 siege towers that moved their way to the towers, only one was destroyed, costing the lives of the 200 men. Nonetheless, the first assault was a success, with 600 troops immediately on the walls, attacking the defenders. On the wall, Bernard used her magic to some success, first blowing away some soldiers with a quick fireball before sending a lightning strike down the line. While the Templars could deal with the guards, who stood no chance against the heavy infantry, Torilda was a different story. It is said it took 45 minutes for them to finally cut her down, costing many lives in the process.

The other siege towers had more success, charging out with lightning speed and cutting down many of the soldiers still preparing for melee. Once the walls were captured, Trevarthen and Solomon came up the towers, planning their next move.

### Over the Walls

With the walls taken within an hour of the assault beginning, Solomon and his council had scored a major victory. Though normal cities usually surrender once the walls were defeated, Hosmer had other plans. He and his mages instead retreated to Hosmer College, where the long process of using the teleportation circles had begun (different to Gartaca where it wasn't as many troops).

Wanting to defeat the mages and end the war here, Solomon sent his divisions over the walls to open the gate, where he could regroup before rushing towards the college.

Along the way the roads continued to be blocked by retreating troops, causing some skirmishes. It was here where the civilian casualties rose quickly, with mages using large explosive spells to try and escape. A first-hand account of a survivor named Edward Jeffer states that the Templars pushed slowly, instead choosing to defend the civilians in the crossfire, even dragging him and his family outside a burning house caused by a fireball.

### Attack on Hosmer College

After 2 hours of delays, Solomon and his troops finally got to Hosmer College where they begun the attack. By this time, Hosmer and his mages had retreated a significant portion of their soldiers through the portal to fight for another day. The rest were used as a distraction.

Unaware that so many of the mages had already left, Solomon chose to lead the charge on the building.

Before the defenders could act on the fact they were used as a distraction and abandoned, they were mercilessly struck down by the Templars, who were exhausted and bloodthirsty from a 3 hour long siege.

Solomon managed to break through the college and reach the teleportation circle, only to find Hosmer leaving, destroying it with the transition.

## Aftermath

Yet again the Templars managed to score an important victory over the Mages, forcing them to abandon another city and hurt their reputation. Solomon and Hosmer knew the war was pretty much won, as Hosmer required the city and its defences to launch counter-attacks and was quickly losing supplies and with the death of one of his generals, his leadership was beginning to be questioned.

The Templars also took the chance to make it clear they were the defenders of Uhek, spreading that many of the civilian casualties were caused by the Mages recklessly attacking.