[b][i]Joint-Kingdom of Belmorn[/i][/b]
[hider=Nation Status]
[b]Current Leader/Government:[/b] King Marhorn Dryadson I (Elven) and Queen Alistine III (Human)
[b]Settlements Owned:[/b] 2
[b]Provinces Owned:[/b] 2
[b]Population:[/b] 72,000 humans/44,000 Elves/11,000 Half-Elves
[b]Population Happiness:[/b] 50%
[b]Imports:[/b] Cattle (Erimir), Iron (Elslen)
[b]Exports:[/b] Wheat (Jouria), Lumber (Erimir)
[b]Wealth:[/b] Poor
[b]Alliances:[/b]
[b]Trade Pacts:[/b]Erimir
[b]Cease Fires:[/b]
[/hider]

Army Status Cards

[hider=Dryadson's Host]
[b][i]Fengarde Militia[/i][/b]
[b]Current General:[/b] King Dryadson I & Countess Anya Meadowsong
[b]Location:[/b] Elslen-Belmorn Borders
[b]Morale:[/b] 100%
[b]Strength/Unit Breakdown:[/b] 
[indent] - <Troop Type>/<Number of Troops>/<Bonuses>/
-<Elslen Berserkers>/<1,000>/<Frenzied>
- <Glade Watchers>/<600>/<Superior archers, well trained, will not break>
- <Archer Militia>/<1,000>/<No bonuses>[/indent]
[b]Current Action:[/b] Marching east along Elslen’s Southern Border.
[/hider]

[hider=Fengarde Garrison]
[b][i]Fengarde Garrison[/i][/b]
[b]Current General:[/b] Queen Alistine III
[b]Location:[/b] Belmorn
[b]Morale:[/b] 50%%
[b]Strength/Unit Breakdown:[/b] 
[list] - <Troop Type>/<Number of Troops>/<Bonuses>/
- <Women’s Spear Corps>/<500>/<No bonuses>
- <Fengarde Watch>/<1,000>/<No bonuses>
- <Militia (Melee)>/<2,800>/<No bonuses>
- <Militia (Archers)>/<1,000>/<No bonuses>
- <Queen’s Guard>/<300>/<Elite, Mounted, Heavily Armoured>
- <Rangers>/400>/<Superior archers, Strong morale>

 [/list]
[b]Current Action:[/b] Fortifying Western Fengarde.
[/hider]

[center][u][b]The First Battle of Fengarde[/b][/u][/center]

The siege of Fengarde happened as many had expected: with refugee columns swarming out of the city’s western bounds, whilst Jourian Stone Thrower catapults unleashed their deadly fury. Boulders, bigger than a man’s chest, crashed into house and hastily-erected palisade, crushing those unlucky enough to be in their path. Again, and again they fired, for three hours, until they had used up their available ammunition. 

The Fengarde militia, driven into hiding by the barrage, emerged from their hiding places to take their positions upon the low-lying wooden parapets, and at the edge of freshly dug trenches. King Fek’Nassa responded in kind, and sent forth his Yellowfang Crossbowmen in one large wave. 

For the next hour, the air was thick with crossbow bolts and arrows, and the milita, despite their cover, fought a losing skirmish against the superior training of the Yellowfang lizards. Hundreds perished, stuck like pigs, as they gave life and soul for the defence of their home and their Queen. The human Rangers, skilled in the use of the Elven longbow, added their weight to the fray, and bit back at the increasingly over confident Yellowfang Crossbowmen. This was not enough however, and whilst ranger and milita man fell, King Fek’Nassa ordered his Sword Dancers to advance under the cover of crossbow fire. The Fengarde militia met their charge, and the two sides gorged at each other in a thirty-minute blood soaked fury. The battle line travelled several meters one way, and then the other, and this carried on for some time. However, it was evident that the lightly armoured, yet nimble Sword Dancers had a significant advantage against Fengarde’s untrained masses. Queen Alistine III ordered a general retreat into the city, in an attempt to avoid the pointless loss of many. 

Over confident in his victory of the first stages of the battle, King Fek’Nassa mounted upon his horse, and led his Grim Guard into a charge. They crashed through their own ranks of Sword Dancers, and entered the city, crying bloody murder to those who would resist. It was fortunate that the Lizard King was too keen to end the battle quickly, for otherwise he may have seen the trap.

Surging from streets and alley ways, the Fengarde milita launched a counter attack, and Fek’Nassa’s army became divided and set upon by all sides in the criss-crossing suburbs of the city. Denied their force cohesion, the Grim Guard found themselves struggling to fight off the attack, though they dished out plenty of casualties. 

Reluctant to see he was at peril, the Lizard King galloped forwards – too far away for his dismounted kinsmen to aid him, where he was promptly gutted by a squadron of the Queen’s Guard. Seeing their leader dead in the streets before them, the Grim Guard made frantic howls composed of savage hisses, and renewed their attack. The human defenders suffered bitterly for their minor victory, and hundreds were ripped to pieces by their enraged adversaries. 

As the day drew to a close, the Yellowfangs finally broke off their attack and retreated back to the city’s outskirts; their fallen King safely in their possession. It had been a moral victory for Belmorn, but a clear defeat for her army. 

It is now uncertain what the remnants of the fallen King’s invasion force will do, however, they have not broken or been deterred by the death of their leader. No. They have been very much riled by it, and the beleaguered humans expect the onslaught to resume within a week. However, the defenders bought themselves enough time to finish Fengarde’s evacuation, diminishing the devastation of a potential future Jourian victory. 

[u]Battle Summary[/u]

Outcome: Jourian Victory

Belmorn Losses: 5,500

Jourian Losses: 3,000 + King Fek’Nassa the Grim
---------------------------------------------
[hider=The Host of Fek’Nassa]
[b][i] The Host of Fek’Nassa [/i][/b]
[b]Current General:[/b] Prince Snar’Nassa the Winged
[b]Location:[/b] Belmorn
[b]Morale:[/b] 75%%
[b]Strength/Unit Breakdown:[/b] 
[indent] - <Troop Type>/<Number of Troops>/<Bonuses>/
- <Yellowfang Sword Dancers>/<2000>/<Blood Drunk>
- <Yellowfang Crossbowmen>/<2000>/<No bonuses>
- <Yellowfang Grimguard>/<2000>/<Elite, Disciplined, Unbreakable Shieldwall>
- <Yellowfang Spear Band>/<6000>/<No Bonuses >
- <Yellowfang Stone Throwers>/<12>/<Siege Engines > [/indent]

[b]Current Action:[/b] Camped Outside of Fengarde.
[/hider]

[center][u][b]’The Mustering’ Gains Pace[/b][/u][/center]

Ten thousand Elfkin, clad in their characteristic green cloaks, and equipped with the finest longbows in the world. Ten thousand brave souls, who have answered the call of the Council of Nine, and are prepared to lay down their long lives in the defence of all they hold dear. Ten thousand hungry mouths, and ten thousand families who require state-aid in lieu of their mother’s or father’s presence. 

It is costly, to enact The Mustering, but desperate times call for desperate measures. Hadelmere’s treasury has been crippled by the expense required to equip so many warriors, and to take care of their families’ needs, but such is the way of war. 

King Dryadson I has still not dispatched a messenger to the council, and his moves are hidden from even his closest advisors. However, there are reports of his host on the northern borders of the Kingdom, directly above Fengarde. Many in the Kingdom are relieved that their absent monarch has not forsaken them, but many still are troubled that he has ignored their pleas. They fear the conflict in Elslen has changed him. Time will tell, and with the Jourian invasion undeterred by the loss of their very own King, there is time enough yet in this war for men to become monsters, and for monsters to become men.