Open Chronicles Battle of Shay Tirloc

Shay Tirloc or "the Twin Stalagmites" was so named for the pair of massive stalagmites that sprung up from the city center, extending all the way from the base of the cavern it occupied to the ceiling. At over fifty meters thick, the solid stone had been hewn out by Drow slaves many centuries ago. Stairs and rooms filled the towers from bottom to top and long suspensions and wooden platforms had been strung between the stalagmites that made up the center of the city.

Only those of highest honors were permitted within the tunnels and suspensions of the towers and status was measured by the proximity that one found themselves to the towers. At the far edges of the city, slums overflowed even spreading beyond the walls that had been erected to protect the occupants from the dangers of the underrealm beyond.

It was into this place that Zathria marched the army of the Onyx Throne. Company on company spread out through the tunnels before her. Already the scout companies had engaged in a few scattered skirmishes and the light Vornyx cavalry had driven off a few probing attacks of the forces of Shay Tirloc. The lead Matriarch of the city - a woman whose name Zathria could neither remember nor did she care about as she would soon be without a head - would know they were coming and would be ready. The city at the behest of their leader had reportedly strung up Vyx'aria's messengers by their entrails and hung them from the upper levels of the suspensions as a message of defiance and support for that traitor Dalrithia.

Zathria would make her wish for such a quick death.

Her face was almost glowing as the walls of the tower came into view. The skirmishes and scavenging of the surface was nothing compared to the thrill and even fear (though she would never admit the latter part aloud) of leading a full-scale assault.

I want scouts probing the walls for weaknesses or entry points and light cavalry set up on the flanks to screen, she said, starting to issue orders to the captains gathered around her who had been selected as command staff for the march against the city.

First Siege Company will batter the gate under cover of ranged companies and the catapults Siege Companies Two and Three. Infantry and heavy cavalry in reserve until we've found our breach point. Go. Make it so! she said and the officers began to scatter to their posts and the army came into position. She knew they had some tricks up their sleeve for this battle and she could already feel her heart beginning to beat a little quicker.

As the army came into position, Zathria, right hand of the Queen and Rahi’Valsharess, rode forward to the front of the army, rubbing the small stone in her hand to activate the spell that would carry her voice to be hold by all nearby.

I look out at this city and I see a reality that I refuse to accept. A reality where my comrades... she pointed out to the bodies hung far in the distance, where she knew they were food for the cave carrion ...are strung up and defiled for the greed of an absent ruler! Where our people are broken and scattered, driven about by the whims of foolish leaders who would tell you to squander your birthright! she said, pausing just a moment to let the memory of what the Onyx Kingdom had once been settle into their minds. To let them remember the dominion the Drow had once held over all the Underrealm.

But I look out at you and I see another reality. A reality where the Drow once again stand unified. Where we can stand shoulder to shoulder in pride knowing that we not only met but surpassed the exploits of our ancestors. Where we no longer live in fear of the other kingdoms because none would dare raise a sword against us! she shouted, the emotions rising within her with each word because it was truth. She fought for a vision of what had almost been and could yet still be.

We each heard the call of the Onyx Throne, and when my Queen asked who would go to change reality, I said "here am I, send me!" Because the world I see when I look out at you is one that I will fight for! One that I will die for! And whoever bleeds alongside me today does so for that future! For unity! For the Onyx Throne! she said, pulling free her sword and thrusting it into the air. Her cry poured out as if from her very soul, a visceral part of her poured into the sound that reflected what lay at her heart: true belief.

The chant was taken up by the ranks as the yells echoed and reverberated off the walls, shaking Zathria's bones as it carried unmistakably up to the very peak of the twin spires. It washed like a wave over the city and its enemies, shaking resolve and morale before even the first arrow was fired.

The reclamation of the throne was won, but the battle for Shay Tirloc was only beginning.

The roar of the battle cry rose as the army began to march forward, preparing to lay siege to the city. The siege companies pressed onward and Zathria's attention came to the massive dragon that had accompanied them.

It was one of the secret weapons that they had brought with them into this fight, and though Zathria's face was icy and stoic, there was a discomfort within her at the massive creature. She had fought dragons before and she knew how dangerous they could be. It was an ally now, but she knew better than to trust.

We will bring justice to this city and purge it of the traitors, she said, cool confidence in her voice. It was a statement and a promise of what was to come. It would require a trade on blood, but that was simply the way of warfare. Zathria wouldn't flinch.

And that was when things took a left turn.

The male she had met on the surface all but collapsed before her, blood dripping and Zathria's face turned, its intensity falling onto him, barely able to make out the sounds of what he said over the cacophony of the battle that was now raging.

Arrows were being exchanged and even a few more wild spellcasters had unleashed a bolt of lightning or a wave of flame into the ranks.

We will not have time to collapse it, she said, knowing the spells and equipment needed for such an endeavor would take more than the minutes they had to prepare. That left only one choice. One agonizing, awful choice.

Captain Acharan! she shouted over the roar of battle as the realization of the threat dawned on her. A sick dread settled in her stomach and she felt like ice rushed through her veins. They were double crossed and outmaneuvered, suddenly on a back foot that could easily result in their destruction if they were not careful.

Take the heavy infantry into the Northeast tunnel and form a phalanx. There is a natural chokepoint just past the entrance. There is an orc horde coming to outmaneuver us. Do not let them through. If you do not hold that line, we all die, she said.

We will see it done, Commander, the woman said, her face set in stoic stone as moved her company along with two other companies to plug the hole.

Zathria's brows furrowed, her upper lip crunching up in a sneer as if she had just ingested vomit. Disgust and nausea settled in the pit of her stomach and she pushed it away. It came, she knew, because she had just sent four hundred of her troops to their death. She knew Captain Acharan. They had served together for decades. She knew that Acharan would hold. She knew they would sell their lives dearly for the cause.

And she knew that they would all die.

That was the burden of command. Four hundred of her soldiers would die so the rest could live.

Lady Hebemarri! Break their morale! Go to the stalagmites and begin burning the nobles out of their hiding tunnels. Make the cost of resistance too high, she said. Zathria was furious. She wanted blood. She would have her vengeance and deliver the Queen's justice. So it shall be.

She motioned for one of the apothecaries to bring a healing elixir to the male, getting him back on his feet and not entirely out of hospitality.

You! Salamander! she shouted Sazalam. It wasn't actually his name, but maybe it could be seen as a nickname of sorts.

That elixir comes with a cost. I need a path into this city; a gap in the armor. You were cunning enough to survive on the surface. Find a way to get these gates open or my soldiers inside. Go! she said.

Sazalam Hebemarri