Battle of the Forgotten Kingdom

"*The world is full of evil and lies and pain and death, and you can’t hide from it; you can only face it. The question is, when you do – How do you respond? Who do you become?*"
—Executrix Iseult

**The Battle of the Forgotten Kingdom** was a climatic battle between the denizens of Torrance and the minions of the Burning Hells, with most of the fighting taking place within the region of Tree Top Hill.

## History

### ***Prelude***

In the days following his emergence in Sanctuary, Charun and his minions began scouring regions of Torrance that remained untouched by the Baroness' campaign of destruction. Charun made his first appearance to the kingdom's denizens, attacking several small villages on April 20th. After the Battle of the Broken Bell, and the death of Lady Idril, word spread quickly of Charun's presence as several surrounding villages evacuated and began a long march to the Eastgate Keep for safe haven.

Days proceeding Charun's emergence, a series of skirmishes resulted in the defeat of several Goatmen Tribes that later lead to the Battle of the Fallen Tower on April 22nd. Executrix and her remaining forces began their long retreat to Eastgate Keep following their defeat. Maria of the Fallen Feathers was bestowed the quest to send swift word to the Sisterhood for reinforcements.

With the help of the Rune Rogues, Maria arrived at Eastgate Keep on April 24th and informed Captain Kashya of the whereabouts of the Baroness and her actions; the Sisterhood contacted and summoned all their warriors to combine forces with the remaining warriors of the Eternal Companions, Undersky Militant, and the forces under the Entsteig Monarch. Meanwhile, Executrix Iseult and her forces continued to march for several days to reach the Eastgate Keep and avoid another conflict with the Baroness.

A war council began on April 25th at Eastgate Keep with all the leaders of the coalition force agreeing to take combined action against the Baroness. Looking to send immediate aid to Executrix Iseult, Ikeda took on the role as temporary Executor and ordered the Entsteig cavalry to swiftly rendezvous with Iseult and her forces. After the council ended, the Sisterhood and the Eternal Companions held a funeral for Lupita Laheera.

Shortly before the war council began, High Priestess Akara sent a telepathic message to the Oracle Caste on the Skovos Isles in a desperate hope to recruit the Amazons. In a surprise move Warmatron Cassia and several of her Valkyries arrived at the Rogue Monestary via Waypoint less than a day later; Cassia, having a history and friendship with Akara, offered her support to the Sisterhood. Alec was also glad to reunite with the Warmatron who he had befriended a year prior, but was reluctant to inform her on the death of Lady Idril.

Meanwhile at the Rogue Monastery, Morwu infiltrated the Eastgate Keep with a disguise; through his efforts of spying on the war council he learned of Ikeda's decision to rally any denizens in the surrounding area to the Rogue Monastery for safe haven, which was to be lead by Khardan the Barbarian. Khardan took with him a splinter force and departed immediately on his quest, however Morwu followed the group and pretended to be a soldier of Entsteig.

Two-hundred miles north of Eastgate Keep, Monica and Jakob investigated the whereabouts of Monica's friend and mentor Howler, who had gone missing several weeks prior while gathering runes. Sent by Alec to aid them was Jasmine, Jorn, Hector and Luis, and they prepared for any hostiles that scoured the region. The group announced themselves in Irwindale, the last confirmed sighting of Howler, and searched for his whereabouts in the hidden cave that held the multiple runes. On April 21st, Jakob discovered the cave and encountered hostiles inside, thus he retreated back to town; later that same day Jorn established a militia to prepare the town's defenses.

### ***Tree Top Grotto Massacre***

Before dawn on April 27th, after preparing an ambush within the grotto of the canyon, Charun and the Midnight Order slaughtered a majority of the forces and civilians commanded under Khardan, many of which were struck down by Charun himself. Carlo the Summoner was present during most of the fighting and dueled briefly against The Acolyte of Pain. The attack lasted a short duration as most of the assailants met little resistance due to the warriors who were either unprepared or unaware of the ambush.

After the massacre of civilians was over and the Eternal Companions defeated, Khaldar was detained and forced to watch as Charun executed the injured and collected the corpses of several of his companions, including Brian and Midori. Carlo, who was gravely injured in his fight between Morwu, feigned his death. Morwu was ordered by Charun to torture Khardan for information, and threatened to kill more of his companions if he did not give up information regarding the Sisterhood and the runes they collected.

Khaldar stalled Charun and the Midnight Order long enough for his cousin Khardan to engage them in a surprise attack. Khardan leaped into the the center of the confrontation and focused on fighting Charun in single combat while ignoring the Midnight Order. Khardan's attack was swift enough to catch Charun off guard, his heavy blows forcing the demon to go on the defensive. Whilst they dueled, the Baroness encouraged her comrades not to interfere so that Charun may prove his might against a Child of Bul-Kathos. Initially, Khardan had the upper hand in the fight, but the demonic overlord proved he was only playing with him; after enduring a beat down from the barbarian Charun proved to be the stronger one and effortlessly brutally beat him to a pulp.

Once the duel between Khardan and Charun ended an injured Khardan was then forced to watch his demonic opponent slaughter Khaldar in front of him; Charun's fight with the barbarian cousins kept him distracted from Carlo who - moments before being executed by Morwu - used his summoning magic to send Khardan to the Rogue Monastery with the last of his strength, thus allowing the Sisterhood to find out about the recent massacre.

### ***The Attack on Irwindale***

On April 24th, waves of hellish creatures were sent in intervals by The Midnight Order to an attack Irwindale in an attempt to create a diversion and draw out the Sisterhood from the Rogue Monestary. The tactic failed to fool the Sisterhood, as they did not take the bait. The multiple attacks however proved devastating against the denizens of Irwindale, as dozens died and hundreds more were injured. Jorn and Monica's attempts to call for reinforcements from Entsteig and the Sharval wilds were not answered; the group sent by Alec to aid Monica and Jakob proved to be pivotal in the conflict, and most took on a leadership role to strengthen the defenses and keep moral among the militia.

Attacks continued daily, and on April 27th a massive offensive was launched by several minions controlled by the Hellfire Vanquisher; hellish creatures and nightmarish monsters ran rampant through the city, and the members of the Eternal Companions who remained in the town splintered off to defend regions of the town. At one point, Monica and Jorn barricaded themselves away from a swarm of ghouls, leaving them trapped and vulnerable. Jakob and Jamise worked together to free their allies by collapsing a portion of the roof to crush the ghouls. Later, Monica's agility allowed her to climb and utilize rooftops as a vantage point.

Fighting occurred all throughout the town; as the chaos grew worse most of the defenders were separated and the militia leaderless. Hector and Luis remained inseparable during the fighting however, and both managed to kill dozens of hostiles through the use of their power and dexterity. A climatic fight occurred within the chapel after the Hellfire Vanquisher killed Hector; mourning the loss of his friend, Luis fearlessly attacked the Vanquisher and defeated him, but not before suffering grave injuries himself.

Elsewhere, Jasmine and Jorn were among the defenders to fall, as creatures swarmed and devoured them in an ambush within an alley way. Jasmine attempted to flee through teleportation, but when she did the creatures that remained attached continued to eat her alive; moments before her death, Jasmine unleashed a destructive deathrattle that blew the creatures into flame and ash. The blast caused by Jasmine after her death inadvertently collapsed the chapel that Luis and the Vanquisher fought, leaving Luis crushed and trapped alone. In addition, Jasmine's deathrattle alerted a nearby raiding party of the Ashmore Tribe.

In the midst of the chaos, one of the experienced militiamen, former soldier Quinn, began acting as a field commander by gathering the remaining warriors. Under Quinn's leadership the militiamen launched a counter-attack against the rampant attackers, and in doing so drove many of the attackers out of the city and in the outskirts. The creatures that fled ended up running directly into the Ashmore Tribe for a skirmish engagement.

As the attack came to a close, Quinn lead the majority of the militiamen to the town hall to liberate the trapped denizens inside, including the mayor. A climatic battle took place in front of the town hall as the gathering creatures launched one final attack against the militiamen, alas Quinn and the militiamen prevailed against their foes. Afterwards, Quinn and other able bodied militiamen looked for survivors and found Jakob and Monica both injured near the courtyard.

The Ashmore Tribe triumphed over the creatures that had fled during the assault; their chieftain, Angar, saw fit to enter the city unchallenged due to the weakened state of the Irwindale warriors. Upon confronting the denizens within the town hall Angar demanded all the fertile women to be rewarded to his tribe, but Quinn denied his request. Both men entered a heated argument eventually leading Angar to concede his idea and instead take the town as his own, a decision that made the chief to kill one of his own warriors due to insurgence. Angar gave Quinn and all the denizens one hour to leave in peace.

A day later, Entsteig forces under Sir Noah intercepted the retreating citizens of Irwindale and their cavalry then rode swiftly to the city to reclaim it. Once the Entsteig forces entered the city the Ashmore Tribe quickly surrendered. Quinn was present during the trial of the tribesmen and spoke heavily in the defense of Angar, stating that his malevolent actions should be dismissed for his part in slaying the creatures and for his peaceful leniency. Ultimately, Angar and his tribesmen were released and granted clemency by Sir Noah. After a grand funeral was held for the fallen warriors in Irwindale, the surviving Eternal Companions returned to Fort Volonte. In the following weeks after the battle, Irwindale began reconstruction and established a peace between the Ashmore Tribe.