AAR: The Seven Year War of Ascencion, AAR from Celebrities from Ermor's POV

[Numahr]

Mid Summer (28): Pangean wall of frenzied flesh, spear, hoofs and blades at Birman Highs

Orders of battle

Mors Erit Tua Sponsa (“Death will be your bride” *) is the first Ermorian Grand Thaumaturge commanding in a battle. He possesses exceptional magic powers.

(*) name inspired from the song "Death will be my Bride" by Brandan Perry, very “MA Ermorian” singer



He commands over a large army to storm the fortress, although smaller than the army winner of the Werk Enum battle five months earlier. It has 2 regiments of undead cavalry instead of four. Sappers and Lion Tribe Archers of the Werk Enum battle are here to provide ranged support. Ermorian heavy infantry and Shadow Vestals are deployed at the forefront to secure the breached gate. A wave of skeleton infantry re-animated during the siege is expected to absorb the first shock of contact. Eight Thaumaturges provide additional magic support to Mors Erit Tua Sponsa.


Ermorian deployment

Pangea, on the other hand, fields a new army, composed of soldiers not yet deployed in large engagements: Revelers.



Revelers look life the Satyr light infantry who played the role of cheap cannon fodder during the last battle, and were underestimated by Ermorian strategists. They present two unique and decisive characteristics. First, the ability to realize hoof attacks at the same time than a spear attack is overwhelming for their opponents, and creates a very strong impact on a limited space. Second, they share the same berserker ability than Minotaurs. These two martial characteristics are reinforced by their unnatural vitality and the enchantments they receive from Pans commanding them. Among Pans, one of them has been equipped with powerful war gear and leads the defense of the gate as a warrior rather than mage.



Finally, the superior arcane power of Pangea has unlocked two new powerful offensive spells for Pangean mages: Blade Winds, repeatedly thrown at the Ermorian infantry bottlenecked in the breach, and Strength of Giants, giving a new strength to each reveler’s spear or hoof blow. Ermor’s research, in comparison, has not made significant progress in terms of battlefield magic.


Battle

The result is an unbreakable wall of frenzied flesh, spear, hoofs and blades against which the Ermorian army lacks shock power.


Ermorian infantry stopped by the Pangean wall of frenzied flesh, spear, hoofs and blades.

The Lion Tribe archers rout from the battlefield, hit by rocks thrown from the walls, even before the first contact of Ermorian infantry with the revelers. Shadow Vestals and the crossbow-equipped Sappers, fighting with determination, inflict some casualties on the Pangean Revelers, but too few. The Ermorian undead cavalry and the re-animated soulless warrior horde are bottlenecked by the limited space of the gate and cannot bring any decisive contribution; they get slaughtered at the gate by Blade Winds, banishments and ranged attacks from the walls before reaching contact with the enemy.

The Pangean revelers finally push back the Ermorian infantry, while Pan mages now throw their Blade Winds from afar on the Ermorian back line of mages, killing several of them. At this point, the brave mercenary sappers prove their worth by lunching a suicidal charge on the counter-attacking revelers.


Out of arrows, while Shadow Vestals are either killed or are routing, the mercenary sappers charge the victorious revelers with their pick axes. The few surviving sappers finally routing are the last from all Ermorian soldiers leaving the battlefield.


Aftermath and the new strategic situation

The Birman Highs battle is a disaster for Ermor, burying the grand ambitions of conquering Pangea for a long time.



Ermorian strategists understand that siege battles cannot be won with the same weapons which dominate open battlefields. Ermor’s Grand Thaumaturges decide the development of new weapons strengthening the shock potential of Ermor’s legion, in view of future siege battles: Banes, Wights and Behemoths.

This defeat is somehow alleviated by a minor victory obtained the same month in the Sea of Boat Eater.


Underwater engagement won by Ermor in the Sea of Boat Eater.

But more importantly, a new Bandari offensive has been lunched in the South with guerilla forces.


Bandari troops lunching a new (desparate?) attack on Fort Batimor while Ermor is defeated by Pangea in the Northern front

In this challenging context, the Ermorian headquarter revises down its ambitions and orders a general retreat from Pangea. The new objective on the Pangean front is simply to hold the “natural” border line, while recovering the two Bandari provinces.

The new conflict in the South is not considered as a high-level strategic threat. Ermorian strategists are rather surprised by the monkey’s warmongering, as Bandar Log is considered too weak to sustain a new war with Ermor. Bandar Log’s war capacity seems exhausted as the monkeys are already fighting against both Abysia and Pythium. A relatively large Abysian army is seen conquering back Abysia’s natural border with Bandar Log.


Overview of the chaotic Southern Front in mid summer.


Abysian army securing their sphere of influence against Bandar Log.

Ermor has kept strategic assets in the area: the reserve army which just conquered the Sea of Boat Eater, assassins and volunteer militia. Ermor decides to keep a strong army at the Pangean border as a deterrent for new Pangean invasions, and to send all new resources to the Bandari front.

[Numahr]

Autumn: Decline the Southern kingdoms

From late summer to autumn, the two Southern nations of Bandar Log and Abysia, exhausted by constant warfare, have stopped fighting with each other: they now have to defend their lands against their three more powerful neighbors.


Overview of the Southern kingdoms in late summer. Their relative weakness attracts more and more attention from their more powerful neighbors (arrows)


Ermorian and Pythian pressures on Bandar Log

The Agarthan progress on Abysia does not benefit Bandar Log, now engaged against two more powerful nations: Pythium in the East and Ermor in the West.

Ermorian strategists clearly see in the weakness of Bandar Log an opportunity for expansion. This opportunity could have been neglected for other potential ventures, if Bandar Log had not forced Ermor’s hand by lunching a new attack on Fort Batimor. Stabilization of the Pangean front lets Ermor engage with Bandar Log with full forces.

The Bandari army besieging Fort Batimor is easily defeated in two steps: assassins murder the only two commanders, letting veterans from the Pangean front, led by the Grand Thaumaturge Redemptio, rout the Tiger Riders in early autumn. The army moves on to liberate the neighboring province of Morn Woods against the small force of Tiger Riders occupying it.


The small force of Tiger riders responsible for the attack on Fort Batimor and the new war with Ermor bravely charges the Ermorian army, in vain. They get encircled, rout but get almost all slaughtered

In Mid-autumn, now that Ermorian field armies are mobilized in this area, with no immediate threat elsewhere, field Thaumaturges decide to push their advantage forward.


Situation on the Bandari front by mid-autumn. The Ermorian legion does not seek contact with Bandari armies and targets poorly defended provinces, while Bandar Log has to engage Pythian armies in the East

In the East, Pythium resists Bandari counter-offensives and consolidates her position with a new fort in the bandari sphere of influence. Bandar Log seems to have deployed important resources to this front, to no avail.


Bandari field army defending Western provinces against Pythium, as observed in late summer

Pythian tactics, as observed by Ermorian spies, seem to revolve around combining heavy infantry with magic communions throwing thunder strikes.


Pythian army observed in late fall

By late fall, pushed back by Ermor and Pythium, Bandar Log only controls a few provinces around her capital. No major engagement still took place between Ermorian and Bandari armies.


Bandari kingdom by late fall. Ermor intends to continue progression in provinces the furthest away from the Bandari capital, on the former Abysian/Bandari frontline, expecting Bandar Log to concentrate her forces against Pythium who seem to target more directly the Bandari heartland.


Agartha’s conquest of Abysia

In late summer, a scarce intelligence report speaks of Agarthan ownership over a province considered to be Abysian. In Early autumn, more detailed intelligence confirms a large-scale invasion of Abysia by Agartha.

Agartha is a nation of strange cave-dwellers with a strong connection to Earth Magic.




The Agarthan invasion army as observed in early autumn.

The Agarthan main weapon is veteran Ancient One soldiers receiving a double Fire (attack skill) – water (defense skill) bless. Mages grant them additional enchantments increasing their strengths and re-enforcing their armors.



The army observed has many human mages known as Golem Crafters, but the real leaders of the Agarthan armies are the Oracles of the Ancients.



Abysia seems totally overwhelmed by this unexpected onslaught. Agartha progresses very quickly, reaching the Abysian capital before the end of Fall.


Progress of the Agarthan invasion by late autumn (black-colored area shows provinces conquered throughout autumn)

At this point, Ermorian strategists, busy with Bandar Log, begin to think that they have to anticipate Abysia’s fall to Agartha soon. They hesitate between invading Abysia neighboring provinces and refrain from intervention so that Abysia can defend herself against Agartha. In any case, it looks like Ermor will soon share a very long border with a powerful Agartha.


Ermor’s new weapons

The new weapons designed after the lesson of Werk Enum start to get fielded by Ermor. A small number of Behemoths, of Wights and Banes with magical weapons should provide additional shock power in the confined areas of breaches, during fort storms.







Ermor plans to use these new shock troops for a possible storming of Bangar Log’s capital.

Additionally, the recent discovery of the Crystal Academy in one of the Ermorian province, on the border with Agartha, opens up new perspectives in combining Earth Magic with Astral magic.





Crystal Mages allow the addition of a new, unexpected weapon: War Minotaurs. They identify the mythical Labyrinth just East of Ermor, a very powerful site allowing the recruitment of the savage half beasts. Ermorian strategists esteem that their main strength is to be unexpected in an Ermorian army: Ermor's enemies will prepare counters against Undead Hordes but probably not against large berserk beasts.





Finally, the Ermorian Grand Thaumaturges have started to enchant simple wooden statues into telestic animates. The statues have limited unholy powers and can re-animate large numbers of skeleton foot soldiers.