BLCC-16

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BLCC-16

Lageta after CC-16

Set 1

First Order Of Business

Set 2

Brotherhood

Set 3

Pushback

Set 4

So Close But Yet So Far

Set 5 (Two Round Tiebreaker)

Battania Stands Unbroken

# The Frontier

## Lore

*The frontier must be reclaimed.*

*Before the Imperial Civil War had even begun, the legions of the Calradic Empire were facing difficulties. In the years following Neretzes’ Folly, Emperor Arenicos had attempted a punitive campaign to finally bring the Battanians to heel. Unfortunately for Arenicos, his forces were brutally defeated by the Battanians, which allowed the Battanians to claim Gersegos Castle as their own.*

*Ever since then, the Battanians and their new High King have used their ownership of Gersegos Castle to mock the Imperial claimants, none more than Emperor Garios. Garios has been distracted away from the frontier by the continuing Imperial Civil War, which has been a mixed endeavor for his forces.*

*No longer shall he be distracted away from the Battanians, however. Garios has amassed a large host at his capital of Lageta and has declared his intention to rid his rightful lands of the barbaric Battanians. If Garios is able to finally defeat the Battanians where both Neretzes and Arenicos failed, none will be able to deny his martial prowess.*

*The Battanians, though, intend to teach Garios a deadly lesson. Following the assassination of High King Caladog by an unknown bowman, High King Botarán has wasted no time solidifying his domain and centralizing power. Despite the fact that some petty kings have outright betrayed Battania because of this centralization, the High King is confident in his ability to crush his enemies. With recent victories against the Vlandians to rally behind, the Battanians are unlikely to give up their only recent conquest without a good fight.*

## Post Event Lore

*There is one surefire way to secure legitimacy for a claim, be it the High King's seat at Dunglanys or the (non-monarchial) throne of the Calradian Empire: follow in the footsteps of a beloved leader, or succeed where they had failed.*

*Autokrator Garios was to do the latter, to take back Gersegos Castle from the Battanians after Arenicos had lost it in a failed punitive expedition. He would not repeat his predecessors' mistakes either, taking his newly reorganized legions and making sure that his native auxiliaries and scouts were fully integrated. They would not walk into another ambush.*

*For the Battanians, the time had come for the newly crowned High King Botaran to follow in the steps of the late High King Caladog and defend against the Calradian menace. Recent defections had brought great shame to the clans, but the Wolflord and his warriors remained loyal, and a returned exile had already led a triumphal raid against Garios' men. Now, they would face the Imperial threat amongst the highlands and ruins of old.*

*Both armies arrived in the shadow of these ancient towers, massing on opposite sides. Garios' vanguard moved in first, to sniff out any ambushes before the main force was committed. The vanguard found them, only to take staggering losses. Garios committed his forces to reinforce them and extract who he could, losing many of his horsemen in the process, and changed tactics. He pulled the fight away from the central ruins, destroying savage warbands that isolated themselves from the main host and employing his personal guards with crossbows to suppress the Battanians or having light archers engage from the flank, catching the Battanians in pincers.*

*This recovery slew many Battanians, but they had not lost all initiative. Garios had brought his best, and now the Battanians would rally for one last show of defiance. Wrangling the warbands back together, High King Boataran prepared to resist one final push from the Imperials. Garios committed his full forces, ensuring to flank the Battanian position as he pushed their front, but in the end good tactics were not enough. The Battanians had kept a cavalry reserve alive in the fighting, and now it cut his flanks to ribbons. Many on both sides lay dead, but none could doubt the legion got the worst of the fighting.*

*High King Botaran was not satisfied with merely defending his lands, however: he intended to send a message - not just to the Autokrator's traitor legions, but to all the claimants who might seek to indulge in the old Calradic pastime of stealing sovereign Battanian land. He would do what Caladog had not: he would take an Imperial Capital. And with his field army destroyed and other troops tied down fighting the civil war, Garios' own capital of Lageta was vulnerable.*

*What happened after would spread like wildfire, reaching the desks of spymasters as far as the Nahasa and as close as Epicrotea. The Battanians built siege towers with which to storm the walls, slaughtered the undermanned garrison, and those who could rode away. Soon standing atop of what is now "Botaran's Gate", the High King declared three days of looting before the city was to be granted to the Wolfskins. An Imperial City had, for the first time in living memory, fallen to barbarian invasion.*

*Garios' Folly was complete.*

## Aftermath

The Kingdom of Battania took Lageta from the Western Empire.

## Link

Event post: [1]

Wrapup: [2]