Battle of the Undead

The Battle of the Undead was a battle that occurred during Roderick’s War and is known as a major part of South-East Arlec’s history. It was fought between the Vampire Roderick standing against the Nirvan Republic, Gonarundu, Tamwull and some guilds and independent organisations.

## Background

In **622PR** Roderick and a group of his supporters led an army of the Undead against the city of Tarsalk. After the successful capture of the city they decided to look elsewhere in revenge. Already having a troubled relationship with the Nirvan Republic, Roderick decided it was a perfect target.

In **623PR** a consul from the Nirvan Republic named Servius Hilaris decided to reach out both internally and externally for temporary military alliances to deal with the Roderick threat. In the end, the call was accepted by Tamwull, Gonarundu and guilds such as the Viper’s Fang, Lucent and a group called Valkan.

By the end of the year both sides were prepared for a major fight.

In **624PR** the allied armies marched out to meet Roderick and his forces in combat, splitting their forces up to better deal with the Undead along with command and other logistics.

## Command

### Roderick

For Roderick’s forces, it was primarily led by him, leaving only a small council to lead the rest. This wasn’t primarily an ego thing but rather to do with magic, dealing with so many Necromancers at once it was easier if he used his creations as the main force. The main necromancers included: Anurn, Eadulf, Sander and Zita.

### Allies

The bulk of the forces were led by Nirvan General Decius Sellic, a capable commander that had been dealing with border skirmishes for most of the time. His wings were led by Aulus Hilaris and Oppius Felix.

The Gonarunduns only had a smaller detachment, using their cavalry and ranged specialty to their advantage. They were led by Prince Afshin, a cousin of the current King Markel Fidalgo.

The Tallians sent a group of generals to the battle, hoping to garner as much experience as possible. They even volunteered to make up the centre, led by Einar Norberg. The rest of the generals were sent to accompany the more experienced Nirvan officers.

Finally came the others. The guilds chose to be led by the Nirvans, believing their martial capability would be better suited rather than putting green adventurers in the officer positions. Instead they just had two representatives (for each guild) to make the final say. This was the opposite for the Valkan, who were led by the immortal warrior named Seeker, one of the strongest warriors on the battlefield she led from the front.

## Battle

The battle commenced with the advance of both sides. Eager for battle, they had each marched across vast distances just to fight the other. One out of heavy devotion to their leader, the others out of loyalty to their nation and South-East Arlec.

Expecting a battle of attrition, Decius decided to call for all his troops to approach with a defensive formation, not needing to take any unnecessary risks in the centre. As the undead approached, projectiles were thrown with little impact before melee commenced.

With both sides committed the commanders could begin to work their magic. Prince Afshin was called to harass the enemy on the flanks, using his ranged cavalry to escape when things got too hostile. Along with dealing damage to the enemy they had a secondary objective: Information. Decius had no clue where the Necromancers were in Roderick’s army and knew by killing them, the Undead would slowly return to mindless beings. It took some time but Prince Afshin eventually spotted Sander, sending in the Valkan.

Led by Seeker in the front, the Valkan showed their martial prowess immediately and tore through the enemy, reaching Sander in no time and taking his head. Before Roderick could react he was forced to change locations, the Valkan deciding to push ahead and attack Zita instead.

Seeing the battle already turning in his favour, Decius called for both Aulus and Oppius to push ahead, exhausting their resources for a massive push for an early victory.

Not exactly a capable military commander, Roderick was too distracted by the Valkan to take notice, throwing followers and Undead in their way. When they got close again, Roderick found the fight too difficult and fled with his other Necromancers, sacrificing Eadulf to buy time.

## Aftermath

In only an hour the battle was a victory for the Allied armies, cleaning up the rest of the Undead and allowing the Guild Clerics to burn and stop them from returning. The rest of the troops were told to march ahead and chase the routing forces of Roderick, though at a steady pace in order to keep stamina somewhat well.

Losing this battle became the beginning of the end for Roderick.