Battle at the Temple of Shadow and Light

The Battle at the Temple of Shadow and Light was a battle in the Om campaign.

The Battle at the Temple of Shadow and Light proved to be a pivotal battle for the control of the Island of Socortia.

## Background

In 465 the king of the Umani, the native humans to Socortia had died. His daughter, Aziza, claimed the throne, but she was challenged by her cousin, Akembe. Akembe raised an army against her, allying with the pirates of the Brotherhood of the Coast to bolster his might. Akembe and the pirates raided villages loyal to Aziza and enslave the populations so to work in the emerald mines for the pirates.

Neither of the claimants, however, had performed a necessary ritual at the Temple of Shadow and Light that would symbolically cement their reign and, according to legend, also keep evil spirits and beasts from returning to the island to ravage the inhabitants. Reports from the fae on the island, brought by the centaur Atrayu, claimed that these creatures had already begun to return after the death of the king. Aziza, however, was unable to have the ritual performed as her shaman, Wyzad, had been captured by Akembe and enslaved in the emerald mines.

## Pre-Battle

To secure the release of Wyzad, Queen Aziza had sent a large force of warriors under Warchief Tariik to attack the Emerald Mines. Aided by a group of Gildornian scouts called the Royal Explorers, Tariik’s mission was successful, and they freed Wyzad as well as around one hundred slaves, all of whom marched to the Temple of Shadow and Light so the ritual could be performed.

Meanwhile, the Royal Explorers had previously attacked the pirate stronghold of Darsah, burning part of the town, freeing several slaves and stealing the pirate flagship while burning the rest of the vessels in the harbor.

When Akembe learned that Wyzad had been freed, he anticipated that the force would go to the Temple of Shadow and Light and rallied a force warriors under his command and pirates totaling around four hundred in number to meet them there.

Meanwhile, Atrayu and his Gildornian companion “Barnacle Brain” Bob Youngin had returned to the centaurs and rallied around fifty of their number to also ride to the Temple of Shadow and Light to help ensure Wyzad could perform the ritual.

## Battle

Akembe’s force arrived at the Temple of Shadow and Light first, and set up position along the causeway, the only landward approach to the temple. The force of warriors and escaped slaves under Tariik arrived a short time later, disorganized and seemingly unprepared for a battle, as they were unaware Akembe had rallied to the temple.

The battle started off poorly, Tariik had only around one hundred and fifty fighting men under him, but the thundering charge of the centaurs, led by Atrayu, arriving at the battle helped to bolster his numbers and morale.

As the battle raged the Royal Explorers and Wyzad swam to the Temple of Shadow and Light, climbing the tower from the rear and bypassing Akembe’s forces. Wyzad could not perform the ritual himself, but had schooled two of the Royal Explorers, Jasper Conroy and Fynnhanar, to do it his stead. The ritual completed successfully, but drew the attention of a pirates led by a minotaur named Zarrilak.

Wyzad held off Zarrilak and his force, buying time for the Royal Explorers to enter the temple to search for a weapon that was said to be there that would help Queen Aziza win the war. Wyzad died in this endeavor, but slew nearly the entirety of Zarrilak's squad. The survivors followed the Royal Explorers into the temple, but never emerged.

The battle was looking bad for Tariik’s forces. In spite of the aid of the centaurs, they were still outnumbered two to one, and Akembe’s force had set themselves up on the causeway, limiting the mobility of the centaurs and nullifying one of their chief advantages.

Fortunately the Royal Explores emerged from the temple with the fabled weapons said to be within, five stone golems that could be controlled. The creatures tore into the Akembe’s force with a relentless brutality that caused massive casualties and broke their lines. Akembe’s force fled the field, giving the victory to Aziza’s forces.

## Aftermath

With the golems in hand, and the momentum of the victory at the Battle at the Temple of Shadow and Light, Aziza was able to defeat Akembe and the pirates in a number of small engagements and push them ever closer to Darsah, the pirate stronghold. The cooperation with the Royal Explorers also paved the way to a future alliance with the Kingdom of Gildorn, which would give Aziza the strength to hold on to her throne even after Akembe and the Brotherhood of the Coast allied with Orlesea.