Atrocity at Asshuran

The Battle and Siege of Asshuran, and the subsequent Betrayal and Massacre, is one of the largest and most pivotal battles in the Fall of Aydinir, also known as Jashor. The battle itself lasted 12 years due to grueling sieges, slow advances, and the tenacity and endurance of both sides in general. As for the troop composition of both armies, the Aydiniri most likely had 900,000 men of mixed roles (archers, swordsmen, and spearmen) guarding the city, 300k for each of its three concentric walls, as well as a hundred thousand men in cavalry. As for the “Barbarian” coalition of Bero, Rusklandr, and various Marmadhim (“Butchers”) tribes and their troops, they consisted mostly of light infantry armed with iron swords and spears, as well as archers consisting mostly of converted huntsmen. As for siege weaponry, they mostly reused Aydiniri siege machines, as well as creating a few of their own from stolen prints. For cavalry, they mostly were made out of Marmadhim nomads as well as Rusklandr using stolen Aydiniri horses. Their numbers amounted to 1.5 million men.

Background
The three factions were mostly divided at the start of Jashor, with the Bero moving in from the east, while the Marmadhim tribes and migrating Rusklandr generally came from a northward direction. The first group destroyed anything that they didn’t want, such as small villages and towns, while keeping major cities as well as stealing anything of value and studying them, the Marmadhim only attacked when provoked, and from what they’ve experienced while moving through Aydinir, they could only afford attacking any Aydiniri in sight. The Rusklandr tribes, under the guidance of their enigmatic leader, “The Preacher” would threaten any settlement they came across into converting with the threat of destroying the city, as seen by their destructive warpath, most didn’t convert, and thus were destroyed and looted of valuable knowledge, to be studied.

The Birth of the Coalition and the Battle of Djyazhoar
The three groups met at the Great Library of Nanive, and before partaking in the sacking of the city surrounding it, they made deals, and traded knowledge of each other and of what they looted. In the Battle of Nanive, they would forge brotherhoods in the fires of battle, one such example being the famously strong friendship between the Bero general, Jonas Grenwit, and The Preacher, as well as the latter’s unbreakable bond with the female leader of the Marmadhim, of which he sired a son with during the Battle of Asshuran, both their names have been lost to time. The united group would then begin encroaching upon the very capital of the Aydiniri itself, Djyazhoar.

The two would be famous for the Eightfold Charges early in the battle, which secured strategic positions for the Coalition near the city, allowing them to unleash the Ninth Wave, which would break the city walls and allow the troops of the Coalition to flood into the city. The general and the Preacher would try to rein in the slaughtering aspect of the sack, however, Commander Rendov of Cardinalo, a vile man, would let his men slaughter as much as possible, these vile acts the Preacher himself witnessed.

Then the very castle of the Aydiniri Emperor was breached by a rather devastating advance spearheaded by Commander Plumm, a subordinate and friend of Grenwit. From there the latter’s forces flooded into the complex, exterminating any male that resisted, those who didn’t as well as the women and children were spared and brought back to camp as prisoners. Jonas Grenwit himself dueled the Emperor Sudjaris of the Aydiniri himself, a duel for the ages it was, and after being wounded multiple times, he finally felled the Emperor with a thrust through the helm. After that, he blacked out. Commander Rendov would use this opportunity to slaughter the entire city, though that wasn’t planned, nor was it legal, there was even friendly fire between Marmadhim and Rendov’s troops.

When the General finally woke up, he found out about the massacres under Rendov’s illegal orders, and thus, judged him and prepared to execute him, the man however, had asked for a trial by combat, in which the Preacher would dispatch him in a brutally painful manner, in front of the man’s twin and closest confidant and friend, Renan. This seeded a feeling of hate that gnawed on him every day, and that seed would bloom. Renan was appointed the Commander of Cardinalo’s forces with the death of Rendov, and those who were loyal to Rendov, were highly loyal to him now. He maintained a guise of loyalty to the Coalition, he would play his hand and avenge his brother when the time came.

Then the 1st Battle of Asshuran came, and ended. The Siege was on.

The Siege of Asshuran, Wall 1
The first moves in the siege against the first wall involved a massive battering of the walls with various siege machines, and on the suggestion of Commander Renan, people infected with the plague that ravaged Aydinir earlier of Jashor were to be catapulted over the walls. Not knowing any better and with a severe lack of knowledge of bacteria back then, they accepted, and pelted the inside of the city with plague infested bodies, as well as flaming rocks. The siege took two and a half years, and they ended the first wall with a massive charge into a gate which showed weakness, it was breached and they were greeted by a ruined outer city. The subduing of the outer city by itself took half a year, and even then, there were pockets of resistance, the destruction of which was given to Rendov.

This is where he played his first hand, upon killing the resisting Aydiniri troops, he looted their bodies, wearing their armor and wielding their weapons, their standards were also taken, but these he stashed at strategic positions, to be used in due time.

With the movement of siege machinery into the outer city, the first wall was concluded, and they had to deal with the second, bolstered by retreating troops that were battle-hardened.

The Siege of Asshuran, Wall 2
The second wall was a bloody one, taking five years. Thousands of men and hundred thousand of rocks were thrown against this wall. And again, living or dead, plague-bearers were thrown past the walls. With the intent of destroying their morale. But, as it turns out, they had learned, and the Aydiniri had whole groups scouring the city for corpses, and burnt them to ash. Of course, they weren’t perfect, and some corpses were able to cause some amount of destruction. Gates actually were broken during the five-year siege, but these were quickly patched up by the rapid response of the elite Aydiniri troops. This was due to the front of war shortening as the Coalition advanced, and as a result, response times began shortening as well, especially for the Aydiniri.

Then something occurred at the north gate, continuous bombardment of stones upon that place had caused it to collapse, and from there, troops under Plumm, Renan, and a group of Marmadhim chiefs charged and devastated the defenders, which again, made a strategic retreat to the final wall.

In here the second hand of the traitor was played, Plumm, a mere man, made a blunder that cost the chiefs a lot of their men, and this angered some influential people inside the Marmadhim federation. Renan, being the snake that he is, played the strings of these chiefs, and was able to seduce them to his cause, he also told them to only try recruiting others if they were a hundred percent sure of these others joining his cause. And so, traitors grew in the Marmadhim ranks. They were also told to wear as much Aydiniri equipment and stash as much of their enemy’s banners in strategic areas. He also took over some important gates as a possible retreat route, as well as a way to trap his soon-to-be enemies in.

The front moved, and the final wall was in sight.

The Siege of Asshuran, Wall 3
The usual happened, plague-bearers thrown over the walls, boulders thrown at the walls, and men being thrown against the defenders of the walls. All this took four years, and at the eve of the fourth year, they had breached the western wall by making a portion of it collapse under heavy bombardment by catapults. Around this time, word of possible Aydiniri reinforcement reached the ears of Renan, who killed all messengers upon receiving them, keeping the troops he would betray under an information blackout. He however, escorted Aydiniri messengers to the third wall. Around this time reinforcements began slowing down to a trickle, as manpower reserves started to become dangerously low.

Thunderclouds flashed lightning and poured rain upon the attackers on the last day of the siege, and it was upon that day that hope was crushed and the traitor struck.

Betrayal
As the siege commenced, Aydiniri reinforcements were spotted by Renan’s scouts, and he personally came to them, bedecked in darkened gray Aydiniri armor and flying high a stolen banner, and told them a lie, a lie that would benefit them. He told them that he was the leader of the resistance, and he would help them achieve total victory if they were to assist him. And they believed him, and the traitor cackled in glee in his tent. The Aydiniri surrounded the city and charged into it, all its gates were gaping open, by the time they hit the enemy troops, the darkness had been lifted with a strong gust of wind blowing the thunderstorm away, mud was still an issue, but that would be overcome. Enraged Aydiniri along with the hidden troops of the traitors hit the unsuspecting loyalists, who were busy dealing with a counter-charge by the defenders. The hammer and anvil were brutal for the loyalists, whose rearguard was slaughtered wholesale. Upon hearing this most grievous, General Grenwit, the leader of the Marmadhim, and the Preacher charged into the innermost city, and slaughtered all the Aydiniri within in desperation. From there they hastily fortified themselves in the middle castle, the gates were still open when they began digging in however, and in their adrenaline-pumped construction and thinking, they knew. Renan had played his whole hand, and was the center of all this. Rage consumed them, and they used that rage to good effect, destroying any enemy they came across during their defense of the castle.

Then their fortifications were breached by an enormous charge, and at the head of it was none other than the traitor himself, Renan.

Massacre and Murder
The relentless wave of Aydiniri and hidden traitor alike decimated anything it came across, though losses were felt on both sides. Around this time, Plumm was slain by the traitor himself in a duel, in which he ended dishonorably via having men shoot him with arrows when it seemed as if he was going to lose. His elite guard followed him around the mazelike castle like wolves on the hunt, and he entered an empty throne room. It was empty place, a throne in the middle, and balconies surrounding the room, allowing cold air to flow in, and, in his arrogance, he sat upon the empty throne of gold and red fur, and told half of his men to tell any loyalist they came across that he was in there.

Through this, he killed off half of his elite guard, although the messages were sent. And the first one to come was the firstborn son of the Preacher himself, via a concubine, although this child was loved all the same. He had flowing, silky brown locks of hair, and was armored in silvery armor. Draped upon this firstborn’s back were two capes of pure, white feathers and in his right, he held a fine sword, and his left was gauntleted by a wicked claw. He looked upon the one on the throne, Renan, whose gray armor had changed into a pitch black after much battle, and whose weapon was a wicked looking mace, the banner on his back was pitch black, with a gaping maw with eight teeth as its symbol. After mocking him, Renan “the Arch-Traitor” proceeded to engage him in combat.

It was an epic spectacle, sparks flew as spear and mace struck in a supreme demonstration of skill on one-on-one combat. But it was not to be for the firstborn, as after the traitor had blasphemed against Cthulhu in a strange language, his spear was broken by a devastating downward strike, and he was kicked to the ground by a black boot. Broken on the ground, the firstborn child could only weep as the traitor blasphemed. Then the mace went down upon his chest, and he was no more.

The Final Battle and Flight
This seemed to have attracted the Preacher himself, and he arrived, seeing the traitor gloating over his dead son’s corpse. Renan seemed to have changed, as his tan skin had changed into a deathly pale complexion, while his veins looked, unearthly, the man as a whole looked unearthly, and a dark aura was on him.

Feathers flew around the room, father wept for son, and a traitor laughed in glee.

The father charged the murderer, his cloak flying away to the wind, revealing a man with pitch black hair and light brown skin, bedecked in sea green painted armor, and in his hands a black sword and a shield with Cthulhu’s symbol. His sword met the traitor’s mace, and his shield blocked any counter. This was a duel to the death that would be enshrined in legend for millennia to come. Attack, parry, block, counter, attack, parry, block, counter, it went on and on, nobody had an advantage. The eyes of the traitor grew redder and redder as the battle went on. Outside, lightning flashed as the thunderstorm came back, and rain poured heavily, a scene for the stories.

As the duel continued, the traitor seemed to grow stronger in unnatural ways, and eventually, he struck the Preacher, tearing away his shield-arm with a wicked strike. He capitalized on the stunned state of the, now defending, attacker by striking at his leg, ripping it off its joint in one fell stroke. And the Preacher was thrown across the room, a few meters away or so. Before he could capitalize on it some more, a man arrived, a mere Aydiniri soldier, and he saw a man in black Aydiniri armor, and the fallen leader of the enemy.

Against his plans, he charged the dark man instead. History does not know the name of this soldier, but Cthulhism thanks him for his unpayable service to them today, for had he finished off the Preacher, the world as we know it, would never be the same. He could not stand against such unnatural might however, and he somehow disappeared from existence in a single swipe of the traitor’s mace. But he brought time, just barely enough time. As the black armored man charged the fallen Preacher, something happened. It is not known what truly occurred on that moment, but Aydiniri troops began fleeing the castle out of sheer, paralyzing terror, while the battered Coalition troops were renewed in strength and carved out an opening for General Jonas Grenwit, who was holding a badly wounded Preacher, to retreat to. They charged out mightily out of the city, and after suffering even more losses, were able to flee the city of Asshuran.

T’was a black day, but hope was held high, and the sun shone upon the decimated men of Bero, Rusklandr, and Marmadhim descent.

The rest, as they say, is history.