The Fall of Heron Hall

Mighty Heron Hall, stronghold of the Wardens, had become a symbol of vigilance and righteousness. Its residents were on the forefront of battle with the forces of evil. When the Faedwyr burst back into Ember Shoals, they set their sights upon the fortress.

The Faedwyr army ravaged across the breadth of Ember Shoals, leaving a path of destruction in its path. Scattered forces tried valiantly to stem the tide but they were overwhelmed. Within days, the Faedwyr army was encamped on the outskirts of Heron Hall.

When night fell, the enemy forces moved to the attack. First, dark sorcerers used infernal powers to blow open the gates of the castle. The Faedwyr bridged the moat then a horde of bloodthirsty warriors rushed across.

Picture from http://raymondminnaar.deviantart.com/art/Avalon-Lords-Castle-Siege-450232609

The defenders valiantly tried to stave off the attack. They cut down the Faedwyr left and right, but the enemy kept coming in droves. They forced the defenders back from the gate into the courtyard. From there, the Faedwyr scattered throughout the castle, cutting down all who stood in their way. A small coterie of defenders retreated to the keep. They kept up a stiff resistance, but the Faewyr attackers seemed limitless. One by one, the Wardens fell.

Finally, only one defender remained. He stood on the top of the keep, surrounded by enemies. One of the Faedwyr lords called for his surrender. He refused, and with a shout of defiance, he charged the enemy. One-two-three-four and more fell to his determined blade. But he could not resist the numbers. A spear thrust out, catching him in the leg. He fell to his knees on the stone tiles of the roof. A blade sliced his back and he pitched forward onto his face. Then the enemy rushed in and began to hack at him.

As he took his last breath, the could hear a sound in the distance. A horn resounded through the valley. Reinforcements! Alas, they were too late. Heron Hall had fallen.

OOC Notes:

• This story represents the second battle game of our February event. It was a castle battle. The attackers had to cross a drawbridge and take a control point past the "castle" gates. Each side got a chance to defend (we actually ran the scenario four times. Each time the attackers overwhelmed the defenders).
• The story of the last valiant defender is pure fiction.

The Faedwyr Return

My narrative of the Faedwyr War skipped over some other important events in Ember Shoals's history. I shall return to those events but for now I focus on the Faedwyr because of their importance in recent affairs.

The troubles began after a particularly rowdy celebration after the rebuilding of Lander's Edge. Some of the freebooters imbibed a bit too much and became quarrelsome. Tempers flared and a riot started. Before order was restored, several of the newly erected building had been burned down again. In the aftermath, a group of concerned citizens called the League of Purity prevailed upon the new Commodore of the Shoals, Brother Rufus, to outlaw alcohol, which they blamed for the riot.

Alas, prohibition did not go over well with the free-living corsairs of the freehold. Smuggling and illegal manufacture was rampant. Although armed with enforcement powers, the League of Purity could not stem the tide of alcohol.

Then one day a wizened figure paid a call to the League's hall. He offered to summon celestial forces to aid the League in its battle against bootleggers and rum runners. The League foolishly accepted and that night a strange ritual was held in the hall, attended by the members of the League. Alas, the conjurer duped the League and opened a portal to the land of the Faedwyr. Suddenly, a horde of huge, ravenous black dogs raced from the portal.

The beasts ripped apart the members of the League and then rushed out into the streets. A bloodbath ensued as the startled citizens were torn limb from limb. The hounds were followed by an army of Faedwyr, intent on revenge for their defeat a year earlier.

OOC Notes

• The League of Purity was a storyline that I developed for my first reign. I have more to tell about the League at a later time.
• I decided to cap off the storyline with a dramatic turn of events, hence the summoning of our old nemesis, the Faedwyr.
• The remainder of my tale of the Faedwyr will relate the events of my end-reign in February 2016. The attack of the hounds was our first battlegame of the day. Teams portrayed hounds vs. humans (those trying to escape the attack). Per design, the humans died in droves. Scenario notes:
• 2 teams (one plays hounds and the other humans. Each team gets a chance to play hounds)
• The human team tries to get its people to a safe zone on the other side of the field. 1 point for every human to make it.
• When a human makes it to safety, he/she can respawn at the start and run the gauntlet again to score another point.
• Timed scenario with unlimited lives.

The Faedwyr War

Faced with an imminent invasion, Rufus gathered the Wardens while Kettlebaun rallied the Bilgewater Brigade, the militia of Lander's Edge. The portals opened and the Faedwyr poured into Ember Shoals. The freehold's troops put up a stiff resistance but they could not stem the tide. Slowly but surely they were pushed back to their strongholds.

Then, another seeming calamity befell. The Royal Navy of the neighboring kingdom executed an amphibious landing upon the main island. They pushed inland, seizing towns and villages and pillaging the locals' wealth.

But then fortune turned for Ember Shoals. They Royal Navy ran into the army of the Faedwyr. As the Wardens and Bilgewater Brigade watched, the two invaders battered each into tatters. Disheartened by the unholy terrors of the Faedwyr, the Royal Navy retreated from the Shoals.

Now vulnerable to counterattack, the Faedwyr tried to regain their dominance by launching a new terror upon Ember Shoals. They opened a a long shut cavern that bore into the heart of the volcano known as Cinderglow Mountain. Out from the depths crept the great wyrm known as Meraxxion Flamefiend. He flew the length of Ember Shoals, scorching all in its path. Then it settled upon the peak of Dargus Rock near the mouth of Hull Breaker Bay.

A map of the Shoals

A party of valiant warriors (including Shroudstar, Scaetha, Christophe, Octave, Kain, Huntario, and the Wardens) gathered a war fleet and sailed out to do battle. Meraxxion flew down from his perch and burned their fleet to the waterline.

The determined warriors swam to shore and straggled up the craggy sides of Dargus Rock. The accurate archery of the heroes wounded the beast and brought it down from the sky. Yet it had plenty of life left. It attacked with its massive jaws and sharp talons. Many a warrior was wounded and bleeding from the battle. But the heroes were undaunted, and after an epic struggle, one of the warriors delivered a telling blow (no one knows who it was). Meraxxion shuddered and collapsed. The great wyrm was no more.

The Faedwyr had bound up much of their power into reviving Meraxxion. With the beast dead, their power was broken. Keldric Lenarus rallied the armies of Ember Shoals and led them in a victorious counterattack upon the remains of the Faedwyr forces. Soon, they were banished back through the portals to their lands in the Otherworld.

The Faedwyr War was over. Or so we thought.

OOC Notes

• The Faedwyr storyline was the highlight of Kettlebaun's (Robb's) first reign. The three-way battle between Ember Shoals, the Faedwyr, and the Royal Navy was the scenario at our first end-reign. I don't remember all the details or who actually won (it wasn't Ember Shoals, unfortunately) so I improvised for dramatic effect.
• Shortly after end-reign we wrapped up the storyline with the battle against "Meraxxion" (played by Keldric/Evan). It was an epic battle that ended with the dragon's "death." I have to say that this was one of the most intense fights of my LARPing career. I feel that the RP backstory contributed to the intensity.

Kidnapped!

Shortly after the founding of the Wardens, I Rufus was riding on patrol through the wilds of Ember Shoals. My troop came upon an abandoned village. There was an eerie silence that pervaded the area.Then seemingly out of no where a strange man appeared. He called himself the Peacock and he spoke to me in riddles, but one thing was clear. He claimed that his master was ruler of the Shoals. I was not aware of any other authority in the area. I motioned to my comrades to ride for assistance and then asked to be escorted to this "master."

Suddenly, I felt a strange sensation as if my head was spinning. The world seemed to fade away, and then I found myself in a dimly lit grand hall. A dark yet noble man stared down upon me. 

My heart fell for I knew where I was - the chaos lands of the Faedwyr (a powerful, magical, and capricious race). Fortunately, my iron cross protected me from direct harm, but the Faedwyr Lord still imprisoned me when I refused to pledge fealty to him.

It must not have been long but it felt like weeks. I neither ate nor drank, for it is said that to taste the food of the Faedwyr will cause one to be trapped forever. Finally, I had my chance. I surprised the guard and pressed my iron cross against its skin (the Faedwyr cannot abide the touch of cold iron and the cross is anathema to them). This allowed me to force the guard to escort me out of the Faedwyr lands. I crossed the portal back into Ember Shoals.

But the Faedwyr were not done with me. The dark lord sent his minions after me. Weakened by lack of nourishment, I could barely stumble through the wilds. I could hear the Faedwyr draw closer. Then I heard the sound of salvation. A search party was combing the area. Feebly, I called for aid. The Lord was with me, however, and my cries were heard. My rescuers rushed to my side, and amidst a battle with the Faedwyr, they pulled me to safety.

Before I blacked out, I was able to croak a warning: "Tell the Commodore. They're coming!"

This would be the beginning of a conflict that we call the Faedwyr War.

OOC Notes

• This story began as a little online roleplaying between Robb and I. He laid out the scenario of an empty village and the strange man. I responded with Rufus's actions as he came across the Peacock while on patrol. Rufus asked to meet with the so-called lord of the lands, with the result that he (I) was whisked away to the land of the Faedwyr.
• Rufus's escape was a battlegame scenario that we played at our park. Essentially, it was a heavy object scenario, with me as the heavy object. The 2 teams portrayed the Faedwyr vs. the troops of Ember Shoals

The Wardens of Wyvernwatch

Conversion
Before I continue my tale, I should provide a little more detail about my personal development with respect to knighthood,

Throughout my years I have mustered under numerous banners and fought for numerous causes. I must admit, however, that the cause I was most interested in and fought the hardest for was me. My main concern was my own advancement. Alas, as I mentioned before, I found my cause to be unfulfilling. I wanted something more.

I began to study the principles of knighthood and found something illuminating. Surprisingly, the word “knight” comes from the Saxon tongue and literally means “servant.”  For the highest duty of a knight is to be a servant to his lord. I had an epiphany; I was doing it wrong all this time. I sought knighthood to elevate myself. To be a true knight, I needed to humble myself and become a servant to another.

But whom should I serve? That is actually an easy question. Any true knight should seek to serve the greatest lord of them all, and there is no other but our Lord Jesus Christ. I have been a Christian as long as I can remember but I admit that I have not always served Him. I decided that would change. I eschewed my old titles and ceased to wear my personal heraldry. Instead, I would display the sign of my Lord, the cross, and I would put my sword in the service of righteousness.

The Wardens
Charged with the defense of Wyvernwatch, I Rufus decided to create an order of warriors to take up the call. I wanted us to be defenders of righteousness so I organized it as a religious brotherhood, pledging our allegiance to our Lord Jesus Christ.

What would we be called? I toyed with more grandiloquent names such as Dragonbane, but I preferred a simpler designation. I settled upon the humble name of the Wardens. It perfectly fit my vision of valiant guardians dedicated to warding evil from the land.

Next, I needed to design our heraldry. As I contemplated, I spotted a great white heron vigilantly stalking its prey. Inspiration struck! The heron was an ancient symbol of contemplation, vigilance, divine wisdom, inner quietness, righteousness, and the eternal struggle of good against evil.  It would make the perfect mascot. However, I realized that our heraldry needed the sigil of Our Lord upon it. After many trials, I decided on a simple design of the cross on a golden sun (because Christ is the light of the world). Our mascot flanks the basic design, ever vigilant.

We already had a watch tower but we needed a stronghold. We built a castle. Within the castle’s keep we built a great hall, where our order would meet. Tapestries depicting herons were hung from its walls. Soon people were calling our home Heron Hall. It has been our home to this very day.

OOC Notes

• This epiphany was not restricted to my character. I came to the conclusion that I should focus more on God than myself so I made it a personal quest to strengthen my relationship with Jesus Christ.
• A;though I claim to belong to a company called the Wardens, they exist more in my imagination than in real life because I am the only member. It is a combination of my idealized company and a role-playing vessel.

The Founding of Ember Shoals

Although we were ensconced in Wyvernwatch, we had another fear – the pirates of Ember Shoals. How would they react to our arrival?

You see, I've had strained relations with the freebooters of the islands. In the early days of Dragon Coast, they liked to raid our shores. Early in our second year, Morekai, a barbarian chieftain from our northern marches, rebelled against good Queen Selina. He acquired the assistance of a warrior named Black Wolf and a pirate horde under the command of Kell. They descended upon Dragon Coast and ravaged our settlements.

Morekai the Mighty
Lord of the Barbarians

Fortunately, the mercenaries showed their true spirit (and their love of spirits). For a cask of rum, Kell switched allegiance and joined the royal forces. I don't know Wolf's price but he also joined us. We inflicted a severe defeat upon Morekai. Alas, Kell's allegiance proved temporary and soon he rejoined Morekai. Now the royal forces suffered a defeat and were forced to retreat. A little diplomacy saved Dragon Coast. Morekai agreed to pledge his loyalty to Selina in exchange for a title - Lord of the Northern Marches. The pirate raids ceased when Kell was made Admiral of Dragon Coast. Some pirates refused to follow Kell into royal service, but he ruthlessly pursued them. They retreated to the haunts of Ember Shoals and bothered us no more.

Kell
Former pirate and later Admiral of Dragon Coast

Now I was on the pirates' turf and in a vulnerable position. We braced for an attack, but instead we received a friendly welcome from one Kettlebaun Thistleswyfte. He was an ambitious merchant who saw our band of refugees as a means to his own personal ends. In exchange for permission to settle on the western shore, my retinue would assist him in forging a united government over the anarchic crews of the Shoals. With the assistance of a renowned warrior, Baronet Keldric Lenarus, we formally established the Freehold of Ember Shoals and exerted control over the island.

Heraldry of Ember Shoals

OOC Notes

• The story of Kell's double defection comes from a Dragon Coast event. Morekai lost the crown tournament so we turned it into a story line - a rebellion against Selina. I indeed bribed Kell with liquor - a bottle of rum. When the rebels won the day, we "bought" them off with titles.
• Formally, Ember Shoals was founded in July of 2014. Our first gathering was August 1, 2014.
• Kettlebaun (aka Robb Rodgers) and I were former Dragon Coast members who decided to split from our former realm. Kettlebaun convinced me that Amtgard was the way to go. It was a good decision.
• Keldric (aka Evan Mason) was an experienced Amtgard player who joined us and provided crucial advice.