Post by Bluestorm on Jan 21, 2018 18:38:53 GMT
The Human Arrival
Scouts began to arrive to Eldyr from the human continent during the elven unification attempt, and, following their routes, tygoshi raiders. The elves of the north began to have trouble with tygoshi raids, and, as their empire collapsed, the humans watched and waited.
Lord Gareth Lytton’s first strike was decisive and swift. With the tygoshi tying up most of the elven forces to the north, the human armada was able to make their landing on the border between the Gnummish Marsh and the Pinewoods, and their troops stormed the unsuspecting Tiri-Ni-Viel within days. It could have all been over then, if not for Lord Lytton’s deal with the gnomes.
The traitor’s accord, the other races called it at the time. Lord Lytton met with the gnommish king, and agreed that the gnomes would not harass their flank, in return for some of the humans’ copious amounts of gold, and amnesty from Lord Lytton’s army. It gave Lord Lytton the freedom to focus on the northern elves, and his armies marched through the woods mostly unopposed.
Icara’s fall came mere weeks after the human landing. Lord Lytton’s forces laid siege to the city and the defenders, though they had prepared for the attack, were unused to fighting against the well-drilled human forces, and their siege engines, and the city quickly fell. Cut off from the rest of Eldyr, the northern cities quickly surrendered.
The humans had a strong foothold in Eldyr by now, and began building on a new town, ‘First Landing.’ By winter, human merchants had arrived, and established a strong trade with the gnomes. The demand for new and exciting Eldyrian goods was huge on the human continent, and the humans soon had the gnomes in a financial grip much more powerful than any military conquest. They were still nominally independent, but the human trade control over them was, and remains, extremely powerful.
Meanwhile, the humans encountered their first true obstacle in the Peragun Plains centaurs. Their lightning speed was unlike anything the humans had ever faced. However, it only took a few skirmishes before the humans realised they had to change tactics.
They began a slow advance, establishing ‘control camps’ with trenches dug around them to stop the high-speed centaur raids. Slowly but surely, they marched forwards over the centaur lands. Kanarstan Tieri, king of the centaurs, saw that the humans would, if allowed to continue their advance, take over the whole of Eldyr. He mustered his forces to face them in one decisive battle, on ground that favoured the centaurs – wide open plains.
He had underestimated Lord Lytton’s tactical brilliance, however, and when the centaurs made camp, one of the human scouts spotted them. Lord Lytton marched his forces through the night, and by morning they reached the centaur encampment just as its inhabitants were awakening. The centaurs barely had time to grab their weapons before the human army was upon them, and what had been intended to be the first Eldyrian victory in the war against the humans became a rout. Kanarstan Tieri was killed, and his army scattered.
But Ryaina proved to be a greater challenge than the humans had anticipated. Having had time to prepare for the human assault, and knowledge of their style, the defenders had made ready to repel them. Many rebel elves had come from the north and the pinewoods, too, to fight for Eldyr’s freedom. The siege of Ryaina lasted five long months, but while the defenders were becoming more and more desperate, the humans’ resources only grew. Finally, the defenders surrendered, and the humans took control.
The next human target was the Haran Rainforest. Having heard of the elves’ guerrilla tactics, Lord Lytton tried the same strategy as he had tried with the centaurs, building control camps as his forces slowly advanced. But what had worked on the open plains did not work in the forest. The camps took to long to build, and the elves viciously attacked the builders while they were building.
It was obvious that this strategy was not going to work, and as Lord Lytton re-evaluated his approach, the tribes of elves launched a sudden, united offensive. Never before had the tribes fought as one, and together they pushed the humans out of their forest. Lord Lytton had wanted to take the forest before the coming winter, but the first true success against the human forces sparked rebellion in the north. For three short days, rebels took back control of the Icy Citadel, but the rebellion was already doomed. Human armies descended quickly on the city, and crushed the rebels, making examples of them.
When spring came, the humans marched once more into Haran Rainforest. This time, they were better equipped for the close-quarters fighting the forest demanded, leaving behind their unwieldy spears in favour of swords. They came in much greater numbers, too, and pushed through the forest elves’ defence with ease.
Almost all of Eldyr had fallen. Most of those who still resisted had fled to the Great Desert, the final free region of mainland, or the broken isle. Now, Lord Gareth Lytton gathers his forces once more, for a final assault, to take control of Eldyr once and for all.