Secret citadels

*You are right here in your story. Don't skip ahead.*
Massie Burnson, *The Wreck and Rise of Whitson Mariner*, p. 32
**WARNING: SPOILERS FOR *PRINCE LANDER & THE DRAGON WAR* ARE AHEAD; CAUTION IS ADVISED.**

*You are right here in your story. Don't skip ahead.*
Massie Burnson, *The Wreck and Rise of Whitson Mariner*, p. 32
**WARNING: SPOILERS FOR *THE ARCHER'S CUP* ARE AHEAD; CAUTION IS ADVISED.**

The **s****ecret citadels** of Natalia are hidden communities of rabbits loyal to the fallen kingdom of King Jupiter, and thus, were also domiciles of the Resistance. They were refuges for those rabbits who were oppressed by the terrifying Redeye Garlackson and Morbin Blackhawk, concealed cities that housed rabbits of all trades and kinds. The majority of them were also places of military preparation, where soldiers were trained in preparation for the War for All Natalia.

## History

### Formation

The oldest known secret citadel was established at Kingston, under the leadership of the Blackstar family, in the time of King Whitson Mariner. It was created primarily as a first line of defense against the Lords of Prey inhabiting the High Bleaks.  However, the forces of Kingston, also known as Black Star Company, were later called upon to take part in the Dragon War. They took part in the Battles of Barren Point and Dragon Mountain, playing a crucial role in each victory.

Over a century later, following the murder of King Jupiter Goodson, additional secret citadels were established. These included Cloud Mountain, Blackstone, Halfwind, Harbone , Vandalia , and Chelmsford.  With the exception of Cloud Mountain, some if not all of these had, like Kingston, been established rabbit settlements prior to Jupiter's death, including Halfwind  and Blackstone.  Each citadel was presided over by a citadel lord, though the lord shared authority and responsibilities with a council of representatives at Cloud Mountain , Harbone , and Blackstone.

Any of the citadel lords could, as they saw fit, call for a meeting of representatives from the other secret citadels, known as a Citadel Congress. However, various citadel leaders were apparently free to refuse the invitation under the terms of their alliance.  At the third such congress, Harbone Citadel-then led by Lord Hews-agreed to take on the task of preparing for the hoped for retaking of First Warren.  In the event of a lord's death, the Lead Captain of a citadel would typically take over their duties until the appointment of a successor by a council of lords.

Where the lord lacked an heir prepared to take his place, it was not unheard of for the Lead Captain himself to be elevated to lordship. This was the case with Ronan of Blackstone, who assumed the authority of lordship while his predecessor, Lokken, was still alive at the behest of the rabbits of the citadel. Lokson, who was only a child at the time, was eventually sent to Harbone Citadel to further his education after his father's passing.  Vandalia, another of the northernmost citadels, suffered greatly during the tyrannical rule of Morbin Blackhawk and was thus left with forces that were diminished, but faithful to the Cause.

As part of the effort to prepare for war against the predators and their traitorous rabbit allies, the citadels required the vast majority of healthy bucks to receive at least some combat training if not active military service. Though Cloud Mountain was protected only by the elite Forest Guard and most bucks would have to travel to one of the other citadels if they wanted to pursue a military career , a training program was also in place for resident bucks once they reached maturity.  In the event of medical emergencies, it was also common for citadels to call upon each other for assistance, as occurred when Blackstone was affected by a flu  and Harbone was afflicted by a devastating outbreak of Blue Fever.

### Division

In the years following their establishment, the secret citadels became divided over various issues, including suspicion of the Longtreader family as a whole due to Garten Longtreader's role in the king's betrayal and murder. By the time Heather and Picket arrived at Cloud Mountain, one source indicated that there were traitors throughout the citadels seeking to destabilized conditions at the behest of the Lords of Prey. Though all the citadels professed a willingness to follow Jupiter's rightful heir in the event that he revealed himself, the truth was that they were also divided on this topic. Some advocated for forming a protectorate under a lord until the heir was prepared to assume leadership, while others supposedly preferred the idea of a valiant but futile attack against the Lords of Prey.

Some even advocated supporting Jupiter's eldest son, Winslow, but this option was unappealing to many due to Winslow having accepted a place in Morbin's regime. Many of Jupiter's other sons also supposedly vied with each other and the leaders among the citadels for power, further hampering the effort to organize against their raptor and wolf enemies. The situation became so bleak that Harbone Citadel, at least, feared that the citadels would all soon be betrayed and destroyed. The other citadels were also plagued by distrust of others and internal division, including based on the desire to hold Wilfred Longtreader accountable for his brother's treason.

Hoping to resolve most if not all the disputes, Lord Rake of Cloud Mountain called for a Citadel Congress. Word quickly spread to Halfwind , as well as to the various other citadels and the traveling Wilfred. Wilfred and his companions arrived some time prior to the actual congress, and word of their presence also spread and aroused hostility among the other citadels. Lord Ramnor of Halfwind had to convince not only Lord Ronan but also representatives from his own citadel to attend, and many voices from among the various citadels began calling for Wilfred to be put on trial for his supposed crimes. Lord Rake and the Cloud Mountain council refused to go along with this in spite of Wilfred's own willingness, though Ramnor warned that their refusal would mean little if the other citadels decided to take Wilfred into custody by force.

Fortunately, cooler heads among the leaders and residents of the various citadels prevented things from reaching a boiling point during the congress. The Battle for Cloud Mountain also helped to quell the infighting, with soldiers of the various present secret citadels joining together to fight the invading wolves. During the conflict, Wilfred's ward Smalls was revealed as the rightful heir of King Jupiter. His rescue by Picket, and the account of these events subsequently made by Heather, helped dispel much of the distrust of the Longtreader family as a whole and remove that obstacle to the citadels forming a truly unified force.  Chelmsford Citadel's delegation arrived too late to take part in the battle, but Lord Felson was quick to acknowledge Prince Smalls as the heir and to pledge the support of his citadel.

Under the prince's leadership, at least one joint operation between rabbits from multiple citadels-including at least Cloud Mountain and Kingston-was soon carried out. However, some citadels remained partly or wholly unwilling to either trust the Longtreaders or recognize Smalls' claims, most notably Blackstone. As such, the prince and his advisors soon determined that another congress must be held, this time at Kingston. A force consisting of rabbits from most if not all of the newly allied citadels thus departed Cloud Mountain for Halfwind. Later, newly promoted Doctor Emma-secretly Smalls' sister and heir-made her way to Harbone Citadel to help with the Blue Fever outbreak, thus winning much support among the populace of that citadel.

### Building a coalition

Smalls' growing coalition eventually faced a surprising new complication when a strange force of unknown rabbits was spotted approaching Halfwind from the southwest. Fearing them to be allied with Morbin, Smalls and the faithful lords organized preparations for an anticipated assault against either the citadel or Cloud Mountain. Smalls also ordered that word be sent to Blackstone, in spite of their ongoing resistance, but was prevailed upon to proceed to Kingston for the Citadel Congress. Regrettably, his decision to lead an attack on a slave mining camp in the Shade Hills resulted in his party never reaching Kingston, and the congress thus did not take place.

Halfwind, meanwhile, was saved from a wolf attack by the strange army, which proved to be rabbits of the lost city of Terralain led by King Jupiter's estranged older brother, Bleston. The Silver Prince, as he became known, assumed leadership of Halfwind, and later led the march of its army and his own to Cloud Mountain when word reached them of an imminent attack by Morbin's forces. Bleston, however, planned treachery, and it was only by unheard-of heroism that the Halfwind and Cloud Mountain defenders were not slaughtered after the Terralains failed to join them on the field.  Unable to confront either Morbin's army or Bleston's, which came under the command of his son Kylen and advisor Tameth Seer following Bleston's death, the forces of the Cause were forced to flee.

Though they had been apprised of these events, the rabbits of Harbone Citadel were unable to take part due to how quickly things had progressed. Moreover, their own citadel was imperiled by the Wild Wolf Pack, and their forces were diminished by struggles with both this enemy and losses from the blue fever outbreak.  Moreover, a number of Harbone's finest archers had been recruited to Lokson's army, a private force loyal to the son of the previous lord of Blackstone Citadel. Having trained his followers to his satisfaction, possibly in the mountains near Corby, Lokson led them north to his old home citadel.

Lokson's arrival added to the existing division of Blackstone Citadel, which included continued suspicion of the Longtreaders and all rabbits who claimed them as friends. Following the death of Keymaster Stovall Ganes, Lokson ascended to his vacated position on the Lord's Council. This brought him into direct conflict with not only Ronan and Truff, his Lead Captain, but also the power-hungry Matron Breelia Wilder and her followers. Possibly as a result of these intrigues and the threat posed by a villain naming themself as Bane Graveheart, Ronan was left ignorant of full details of the Battle of Rockback Valley that included the death of Lord Rake

With Smalls presumed dead, leadership of the allied citadels fell to Emma, who soon set about endeavoring to fully unify the rabbits of the Cause. She began by visiting Vandalia with an escort that included rabbits from Cloud Mountain, Halfwind, and Kingston, before setting her sights on the last great holdout against her: Blackstone.  Emma split her party, sending the majority south to the Great Wood and leading only a small group to Blackstone. They were soon joined by the Bracers of Halfwind, who-together with Lokson's army and various visiting archers from Vandalia and other locations-took part in the Ultimate Archer's Cup. The efforts of Emma and her court proved successful in bringing the rabbits of the citadels together at last.

### War for All Natalia

With all the citadels finally united behind her, Emma led them in an invasion of First Warren. Their way had been prepared in part by Picket and Lord Captain Helmer, working with resistance forces within the city. The unified forces succeeded in retaking the city and killing all the wolves and raptors occupying it at the time, insuring that the news of its fall reaching Morbin would be delayed as long as possible. The personnel of the citadels soon mingled with the denizens of the liberated city, showing kindness and compassion where they had so recently dealt out death to the enemies of freedom and goodness. In her first address to the populace, Emma noted the contributions of the citadels, mentioning several by name as she praised the traits each had brought into the conflict.

The forces of the citadels had little time to rest on their laurels, as they were soon put to work preparing the city for the forthcoming Siege of First Warren. Word was also sent back to the citadels themselves, calling upon whatever remaining personnel might be available to join the forces already assembled in First Warren. Emma's council admitted readily, however, that such reinforcements would do little to reduce the grave disadvantage they faced. Some of these soldiers arrived unbidden, however, from Halfwind, along with a party of healers, under Wilfred Longtreader and Jone Wissel.

In preparation for their final battle, the forces of the citadels were marshalled into armies, with every attempt being made to maintain the existing organizations from each citadel. However, recruits from the unified armies were also organized into three new forces: the Royal Warrenguard, Highwall Wardens, and Royal Fowlers Auxiliary. These forces spent the little time given them to drill and build defenses, as well as gathering whatever assets Harbone Citadel had been able to prepare over the years of waiting. Sadly, Harbone itself, chosen as a place of safety for refugees from the city, was brutally destroyed in an attack involving Preylords, members of Akolan's Longtreader Command, and the remnants of the Wild Wolf Pack.

The survivors of this massacre were brought back to First Warren, which continued preparations from assault by both Morbin's forces and the Terralain army, reinforced by additional troops under Bleston's younger son Naylen. However, on the day of the siege, Kylen and Naylen-having learned of Tameth Seer's treachery-joined their forces to the Cause. The armies of Terralain and Blackstone, along with a portion of the Royal Warrenguard, thus fought together against the wolf army of King Farlock outside the city. Meanwhile, the other citadel armies-having been pledged formally in service to Princess Emma by their lords and captains prior to the battle-remained in the city to await other wolf and raptor forces.

During the ensuing battle, many rabbits of various citadels were killed or wounded, including Lord Felson of Chelmsford. Despite this, their heroic efforts and those of their leaders ultimately saw victory. Joined in the final hours by the forces of Akolan's escaped former slaves, they successfully destroyed the Lords of Prey, wolves, and traitorous rabbits alike. This achievement brought about the long-awaited event of the Mending, and the survivors-though wounded in both body and spirit-would eventually find peace in the Mended Wood.

## Citadels

* Blackstone Citadel
* Chelmsford Citadel
* Cloud Mountain
* Halfwind Citadel
* Harbone Citadel
* Kingston Citadel
* Vandalia Citadel

## Trivia

* Despite being similar in concept and unified in purpose-with Heather even calling it "the greatest secret citadel in all of Natalia"-Akolan's Seventh District resistance movement is not considered a formal part of the alliance of secret citadels. This is also true of Terralain, who fought alongside rabbits from the secret citadels on at least two occasions before and after a period of hostility, and the resistance movement based in First Warren's Citadel of Dreams.

## References

1. ↑ As revealed in *The Black Star of Kingston*.
2. ↑ As revealed in *The Wreck and Rise of Whitson Mariner*.
3. ↑ As revealed in *Prince Lander & the Dragon War*.
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 As revealed in *The Green Ember*.
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 As revealed in *The Last Archer*.
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 As revealed in *The First Fowler*.
7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 As revealed in *Ember's End*.
8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 As revealed in *The Archer's Cup*.
9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 9.5 As revealed in *Ember Rising*
10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 As revealed in *Ember Falls*.
11. ↑ *Ember Rising*, p. 174

*This article has received The Green Ember of excellence.*