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House Mountain

House Mountain is a large sized Visigoth House located within theKingdom Of Lucerne and they reside inside the town of Kiel northwest of Hillsbrad from which they control the province of Hohenstein as well as the Grand Province of Stein making them a Grand Duke House. House Mountain is the vassal house of House Ordos, and this has been the way of things since they were taken over by House Ordos during the days following the Driving Tide, but in Kiel they have formed their own mini faction and are quite influencial on their own nearly to the point of being greater then House Ordos . House Mountain is very similar to House Brent except that they control a province north of Western Hillsbrad called Hohenstein and since founding Kiel and destroying House Hohenstein they have dominated for years thus making them more powerful.

House Mountain dominates the province of Hohenstein of which is a large province located west of Northern Hillsbrad, and north of Western Hillsbrad. Hohenstein is named after the old Lord of the province in House Hohenstein of whom was destroyed by House Mountain when they took control of the province. Within Hohenstein they dominate the town of Kiel while there vassals control several large villages and castles throughout the province.

House Mountain came to dominate the region east of the Loren Lake where they formed the town of Kiel alongside the lake. From Kiel they grew immensly powerful, and this power was so much that they rejected a House Tyrell party coming to add them to the Tyrell Empire by executing each member and sending their bodies back to Forks in a yellow bag. After this they became pariahs in the valley of Lucerne, and this hatred towards them eventually led to the powerful military of House Ordos joining William Lovie as he took control of the valley, and House Ordos would enter Kiel alongside William Lovie and his forces and thus be given control of the town and House Mountain by William Lovie due to their loyalty. Under the current Lord of House Mountain their has been a lot of growth in Kiel as well as the overall House Mountain influence and power, but alongside this has been some nefarious gowings on. Leyton Mountain has not left the Hightower in nearly a decade and over the course of his life three of his wives have died in suspicious events.

History[]

Early History[]

House Mountain came to dominate the region east of the Loren Lake where they formed the town of Kiel alongside the lake. From Kiel they grew immensly powerful, and this power was so much that they rejected a House Tyrell party coming to add them to the Tyrell Empire by executing each member and sending their bodies back to Forks in a yellow bag. After this they became pariahs in the valley of Lucerne, and this hatred towards them eventually led to the powerful military of House Ordos joining William Lovie as he took control of the valley, and House Ordos would enter Kiel alongside William Lovie and his forces and thus be given control of the town and House Mountain by William Lovie due to their loyalty.

The Journey[]

Main Article : The Journey

The Meeting of the Western Lords
My father made sure I knew three things going into that meeting. Firstly I was to be as rude to the Greymane`s as I could. Secondly I was to try and talk to the Brents and get a dialogue going between our two houses. Finally I was to make it extremely clear that we would under no circumstances assist William. Well at least I talked to Franklin Brent.

Hillsbrad Meeting[]

Demi Snow9
My father made sure I knew three things going into that meeting. Firstly I was to be as rude to the Greymane`s as I could. Secondly I was to try and talk to the Brents and get a dialogue going between our two houses. Finally I was to make it extremely clear that we would under no circumstances assist William. Well at least I talked to Franklin Brent.
Demi Snow

With William Lovie III. leaving Lucerne for the event that would become later known as The Journey the rest of the Kingdom became increasingly positive about his actions, but also throughout the Valley of Lucerne there was significant discussion on what to do as the previous time someone had moved against Bill Lovie it had resulted in The Plague. In the city of Hillsbrad the Arch Lord in House Greymane would call an assembly of all of his vassals of which included every major house in western Hillsbrad without exception and without ability for the houses to decline invitation. Arriving in Hillsbrad the meetings began with Genn Greymane talking of the continued consequences of them allowing the current King to wield unending power, and that their only chance of survival was to find this William Lovie III. and help him achieve victory. Vincent Godfrey would openly support King Bill Lovie and said as a warning to all those around that the last time anyone tried to resist him they were destroyed in The Plague. Franklin Brent would stand on the other side openly speaking of supporting William , and these two would continue to argue for minutes as other lords stepped in siding with their respective lords, and this continued for some time. As the arguing continued it was Franklin Brent III. that would arrive and brought his prison Tobin Aven into the meeting and with the support tilting against William at this time his testimony would be of great importance. Tobin Aven that would testify as to what he had been ordered to do and this greatly changed the mood of the meeting, and allowed Demi Snow to stand up and state that her family was one hundred percent behind William and was going to send forces to assist him immediately, and this information shocked the other houses as everyone had assumed that they were not going to do anything like they always did. Still without her Lord father`s support she would during the meeting commit to sending one hundred men immediately with the larger force being sent by the Greymane`s and after this promise there was little that her father could do to turn against it. As a part of the meeting it was Tobin Aven that was imprisoned within Greymane Estate and would be held there while he awaited trial from William Lovie III. as due to the information he had it was deemed that only William could decide his fate.

End of Darkness
Look at the world father. You were born into this land. You grew up here. These people swore their lives to you. How could you have done all of this? Look at everything you have done. You destroyed a city. Killed hundreds of good men out of fear. Is this how you want to be remembered father. Is this the world you want to leave behind? I know you were a good person once. Don't end it all here. Don't do this. For me father. For everything I supposedly mean to you. Don't do this.


Entering the hall early allowed me time to think about what I planned to do. I had come to the understanding sometime during the trip here that there was no way I could ever return to the Crowley Estates, or Crowley Hold or else I was dead. My brother would eventually get his wish and be left alone without my father, and when that happened his madness would be unleashed. Andrew entered shortly after I did, and I felt terrible as he smiled at me so enthusiastically. I loved him, surely I did, but today my main purpose for him was manipulation, and that made me feel lower then ever.

Slowly the other lords entered the hall. The lithe Gregor Voner entered flanked by several of his vassals including his son Duncan of whom always had the same emotioneless look of his father, and as they entered they squatted on the seat to my right. Gregor Voner had always been friendly with our house, and my father always told me to be as nice to him as possible as he hated the Godfreys. Apparently when Gregor was young his little sister had been raped and murdered, and the only person that appeared to be guilty was Groevin Godfrey and he too escaped justice after winning and killing Gregor`s older brother Aron in a duel. The Godfrey`s had after this exiled Groevin, but this was followed by insults from the Godfrey`s which basically have created a distinct hatred between the two houses.

"Lady Hill how is your father?"

"My father is well Lord Voner. He sends you his regards, and apologizes that his sickness leaves him unable to come to the meeting."

"Your father is one of few men I can count on my hands who stood beside me when I demanded the damn Godfey's pay for what they did." His hand clenched into a fist and I saw him exchange glances with his son before continuing. "I apologize Lady Hill for my outburst."

"Nothing to apoligize for Lord Godfrey." Seeing the hate was still strong I knew I would just need to spark the flames a little bit to keep him on my side. "What Groevin Godfrey did to your family was a crime of the greatest magnitude. My family remains behind you in that feeling."

"Thank you for the words Lady Hill." He moved closer to me whispering in my ear. "Just know Demi that your position will be our position." He pulled back a bit looking at me in the eyes. "I assume that your father sent you with the authority to negotiate for the family?" It was said as if it wasn't a question but I knew that it was. Either way the question was in the open and I could see that Lord Brennard Fladen, and Cayle Benden were listening in now wanting to hear the response. The two men were my fathers closest banner man and I felt stupid for not noticing their arrival, as they must have sat down to my left while I was talking to Gregor. "My father has given me permission to negotiate for House Crowley today Lord Voner" A smile crossed his face, and I looked towards Brennard, and Cayle and watched them bow their heads at me as well realizing that I was for all intensive purposes their Lord at the table.

"Well then, as I said we stand beside your family and whatever decision you have come here with we will join you."

"House Fladen stands with you as well Milady."

"House Bended as well Demi." I heard Duncan huff at Cayle not calling me a more proper name, but all this did was elisit a smile from Cayle. I wouldn't blame Duncan for being annoyed with the language, but he couldn't know how close Cayle and I had gotten over the years. It wasn't often that you found a lord of similar age to myself, and for this reason above many of the others he was someone I had always gravitated towards.

When Leyton Mountain entered being escorted by his heir Baelor and his frightening looking daughter Malora. I had heard that she and Leyton spent nearly all of their days locked away in their hightower, and from the looks of her she hadn`t seen the outside world very much of late.

Franklin Brent entered flanked by his little wife Karyl Reyne of whom held onto him as if he was the last thing in ths world. Franklin brought in tow with him Benjemin, and Dennis Ordos of which I along with everyone else in the room found beyond hilarious. Dennis had long been the Lord of House Ordos, but the wealth possessed by House Brent always meant that the kind of diplomatic insults that might doom another vassal were simply ignored for fear of what House Brent might do.

The final Lords to enter were Laehera Rholler, Vincent Godfrey, and Kieth Darkwood of whom waited at the door and when the four Greymane gaurds walked in holding the door I knew we were in for Genn Greymane. Held to his feet by Liam Greymane the Elderly Lord of Hillsbrad was seated at the Arch Lord table and when he raised his hand to speak the meeting would begin. ``My Lords...``Liam whispered to him briefly, and he continued.``My Lords, and Ladies I thank you all for arriving so promptly.`` The ever present grovelling begin with Kieth Darkwood of whom bowed his head from the table and thanked Genn for his hospitality of which when Genn did not anwser or look it was clear he hadn`t heard and so Liam said the your welcomes necessary. 

Genn appeared to enter some kind of trance, and when this happened Liam moved himself away from his father as if to avert people`s eyes and begin speaking`` My honored Lords and Ladies we are here today to speak of the direction that the lands of Hillsbrad shall move in when it comes to the issue of William Lovie III. I, alongside my family have come to the conclusion that we shall support the young prince in his endeavors. I do not come here commanding the support of our vassals, instead I ask that we all make a decision and let it be known that all were heard.`` Liam sat back down beside his father of whom he put his hand onto the top of his fathers hand before raising his other hand to direct others to speak.

Vincent Godfrey spoke first. ``I may offer but one small issue. While I do not disagree that what we have heard of this young prince is at least more promising then his father, I do wish to point out that others have attempted to move against Bill and they now sit in shallow graves.``

``That is no reason not to support William. We all must die at some point, so why not die supporting the rightful king.`` Franklin spoke with a conviction and a admiration that was promising when it came to my hope that the Greymane`s would get much support.

``The fanaticism of youth is something that brings about its own host of dangers young Brent.`` Osbert Konie the vassal of Godfrey spoke in support of his liege. It was interesting to see the Kronies sitting with Vincent Godfrey while the Godfrey`s other vassal in the Voner`s was on the other side of the table. Clearly the long history of conflict between the two houses was alive and well.

Franklin made the right choice when he ignored the attempted goading by Osbert. ``I come with the words of my father and thus all of House Brent behind me that we shall support the crown prince William Lovie III. Any who do not also follow the prince I beg to ask you one question. How can you accept a king that murders your family? Just a few short years ago he murdered hundreds in targeted assassinations. Our Liege Lord lost many members of his family for doing nothing more then what everyone at this table should be jumping at doing.`` Franklin`s words were met by smacks on the table of support by many of the Lords at the table.

``You speak as if you understand the world so greatly child. You have been alive for less summers then anyone at this table and yet you speak for all of us now.``

``I speak for my liege Lord Genn Greymane, who has led us wisely and justly for years and was forced to endure the deaths of so much of his family for just asking questions.`` He looked around the table at each person before continuing. ``Lord Godfrey I think you forget to much that you are the vassal of House Greymane.``

"I do not forget my oaths at all. It is the fact that I do not forget my oaths that gives me pause disobeying the commands of the King of the Valley. You say the King is insane, and perhaps you are right, but does that give you the right to turn away from him?"

Support for The Journey
William Lovie III. Bill Lovie Only Verbal Support

With the support of House Crowley the movement of some of the houses would change as all the Crowley loyalists quickly jumped on board with this plan as most had wanted to do this but didn't due to their belief that Vincent Godfrey would never have supported this.

I realized that I wasn`t going to be able to return home to my father after what I had done, so I had to make another choice. As the meeting broke up I went immediatly to Andrew Garfield and stayed near him. He would protect me from all the dangerous things.
Demi Snow

Demi Snow following the ending of the meeting would take to staying near Andrew Garfield of whom accompanied her back to her families estate. Spending some time there getting the one hundred men she had promiced she would leave shortly after and return with Andrew to the assembling party outside of the eastern gate. By this point hours later her father learned of what she had done, and left the Crowley castle hours west of Hillsbrad and attempted to return to Hillsbrad. Demi realizing that her father was going to do something like that left with the hundred men of House Crowley ahead of the main Hillsbrad force heading for Forks.

Demi Hill Marries[]
Demi Snow Wide
I love my father. He was a brilliant, and just man. He was a man that would suport, and love me when it came to almost anything that I did. So did I feel bad when I betrayed him. Of course I did. But I had to live in this world. If I stayed in Hillsbrad with my brother and my father, I was going to die. There wasn`t anything he could do to stop that.
Demi Snow

Following the arrival of the Hillsbrad force in Forks Demi Snow would continue with the next step of her plan when she handed a letter of forged consent of marriage to Andrew`s father Harron Garfield of whom knew that his son desperately wanted to marry Demi, and knew that the match was perfect for his house so he jumped at the opportunity. Realizing that she couldn`t return unmarried or else her father would put an end to her scheming she persuaded Andrew and his father to have the ceremony in Forks so that she could truly be a part of their family during The Journey. Following her persuasion the marriage happened with the large Dragon Temple of Forks and Demi Snow became Demi Garfield and was now protected so she believed from the actions of her brother Dexter.

First Battle of Castle Stragnarax[]

Main Article : Battle of Castle Stragnarax

Battle of Castle Stragnarax
Everyone was moving on Westbridge when the monsters came to our doors. We were horribly outnumbered, but we had strength of our own. I would be damned if I let these monsters beat us.
Castle Stragnarax1
The construction crews of the Order of the Grey Dragon still lined the streets, and nearly seventy percent of the towers were incomplete when we got news that the Orcs were crossing the line and heading towards us.
Thomas Brent
Castle Stragnarax was designed as the center of the western defenses of Lucerne, alongside the rebuilt Eyes, and the castles of Dragonhorn, and and it was during the period following the Invasion of Westbridge that its purpose and defences would be tested for the first time. Following the end of the invasion and with the armies of Lucerne retrurning to the valley after victory the Eyes caught sight of a large force of Orcs moving towards Castle Stragnarax. Commander Lothar Wornwayne would realize the severity of the coming attack, and thus The Eyes immediatly sent ravens and a single scout to Castle Stragnarax. Learning of the attack the defenders under the command of Thomas Brent would send out dozens of scouts and runners to the surrounding region both warning them of the coming attack, and also requesting immediate assistance at the castle.  The two main places that they sent requests for assistance were to Hilsbrad and House Greymane, as well as from the nearer forces of House Ordos and its vassals from Marburg.
Karyl Reyne Gif1
Alongside this it was Karyl Reyne the loyal wife to Franklin Brent that went to work when she travelled to Castle Greentail to convinse Lord Deitrik Greentail to lend his forces to the defence of Castle Stragnarax. At her words Deitrik Greentail would once again lend his support to Franklin Brent during the Battle of Castle Stragnarax but this time his infatuation with Karyl Reyne would become a problem when her convincing set him over the edge and he tried to rape her only stopped by the arrival of his son Estmar Greentail who stopped him from raping Karyl. Stopping this Estmar would take Karyl alongside the Greentail forces and she was able to force him to promise to her that he would never say a word of what had happened to Franklin and he agreed despite his growing friendship with Franklin Brent. Alongside these two though the very powerful House Mountain would be sent word, and while they were not expected they would eventually prove to be one of the most steadfast comers into the conflict.
We knew we could never hold them off, but every Orc we killed with an arrow was one less the defenders would have to deal with.
Lothar Wornwayne

For his own part Lothar Wornwayne was forced to deal with the Orcs overruning the Eyes, and this forced him to recall many of his troops into the cave systems they had long set up. Lothar would send word to his second in command Rolly Reyne of whom would be commanded to follow as closely as humanly possible to the forces of the Orcs, and find out as much as possible about their numbers, while the rest of the Rangers either defended themselves or in the case of Lothar prepared to make the rest of the journey for the Orcs as miserable as he possibly could.

Lucernian Forces Strength
Castle Stragnarax The defenders of the castle were swelled to some 5,500 men and held very few women and children as they had been cleared from the castle. The castle itself was nearing fully completed but the southern and northern approach did not contain the proper defences that were meant to be in place, but the main gate was a killing zone.

House Ordos

House Ordos would send some eleven thousand troops of mainly cavalry led by Franklin Brent, and Kieth, and Jamie Darkwood, as well as four thousand troops from House Greentail led by Estmar Greentail.
House Greymane House Greymane sent some eight thousand of split cavalry and infantry to the defence but only three thousand would arrive in time to do anything.
House Mountain House Mountain sent some four thousand men at arms, and cavalry of whom would arrive a day before the second attack.
House Darkmore and House Darkwood House Mountain sent some four thousand men at arms, and cavalry of whom would arrive a day before the second attac
Others
  • The Order of the Violet Dragon commited all of their available forces that were in Lucerne as the castle was their headquarters
  • The Order of the Blue Dragon had several Magi in the vicinity of which   Alann Roil, and Brann Voil would lead these forces to great effect during the Battle.
  • The Rangers of the Eyes had some four hundred men of whom caused horrible damage to the Orcish Horde over the course of the week they travelled towards Castle Stragnarax
  • The Order of the Red Dragon sent ten Griffins to assist in scouting of the Orcish forces but they didn't arrive in time to greatly assist in this task.
  • The Knights of the Summerwall had some sixty Knights, and four hundred men at arms and formed an elite guard at the main gate.
Hundreds flowed into the gates of the castle, and from these our defenders swelled. We prepared as best we could for what we believed was our deaths. When the Orcs arrived they would find a well defended Castle that was not going to die easily.
Blake Dinton

With the Orcs incoming the defenses were prepared and all troops were called in from the villages and farms nearby. This swelled the defenders of Castle Strangarax to a force of some 5,500 men at arms along with the twelve training members of the Order of the Violet Dragon that had remained in Castle Stragnarax under the command of Benjamin Bradfoot. The castle itself was commanded by Thomas Brent but his percieved inexperiance meant that he left the defence of the city to his honor gaurd commanders and Benjamin Bradfoot, along with the council of his military force. One of the other premier commanders of the castle was the recently arrived Edric Summerwall, and his Knights of the Summerwall of whom had been commanded to move themselves from their previous home in Forks to Castle Stragnarax where they would be the official Knightly Order of the castle. The Plan for the defence consisted of holding on for as long as they possibly could while they waited for the army of Hillsbrad to arrive and relieve them, alongside the rest of House Brent coming as well. As the Battle reached the point that everyone knew it was going happen they would drain the women, old, and young from the town and they would make there way eastward towards Marburg of which was the closest nearbye town. As the old, women, and children were withdrawn, and in their place came wagon after wagon of supplies from the surrounding region they knew there preperation was about to end as the Orcs were nearly at the castle. Fionna Brent would be one of the few women that didn't leave the Battle and she would lead a contingent of Dragon Priests of whom preached the power of Glaurung and tried to raise the moral of the forces. Knowing how long they had before the attack the defenders would send out some two hundred cavalry of whom were tasked with further scouting the incoming Orcs and giving them some extra amount of knowledge when they would attack. In Hohenstein the leadership of House Mountain would make the decision to assist Castle Stragnarax after Baelor Mountain stated that he believed this would help to uplift them in the eyes of Lucerne, and specifically the King in Lucerne of whom was not exactly shy about his distain for those who sat on the sidelines. As the furthest away of those who cold come to the aid of Castle Stragnarax, there assistence unknown by most and they were going to arrive later then the others anyway. By this point Franklin Brent would marshal his personal knightly order, and while he did this his father would gather the forces of House Brent, of whom would meet with House Ordos outside of Marburg and prepare themselves to also assist Castle Stragnarax. Franklin Brent would lead his forces seperate from his father Frank, as he was still unwilling to forgive his father for being passed over, and while making the trip the sickly Frank Brent would be forced to return to the Brent Seat and thus left command to Franklin. The Knights of the Gilded Fell would also mount themselves and leave their seat at White Hill led by Desmond Hill and make their way southward, and their location meant that they would arrive hours before the Orcish army did and they were thus able to enter the castle before the Orcs blocked the routes in. One of the final arrivals was the unexpected forces of House Darkmore, and House Darkwood of whom had been meeting in the Darkwood of seat of

The eyes had done their part for sure. Rangers of the western approach had caused casulties to the Orcish horde, while we knew every piece of strength they had coming at us.
Baelor Mountain

While the scouts did this it the Rangers of the Eyes were continueing to harass the Orcish Hordeas they moved eastward. Special attention was paid by the Rangers to the dozen or so Gronn that had accompanied the Orcish army. As the Orcs continued to move they lost four of the Gronn to hit and run attacks as the Rangers used hidden caves and cliff tops to rain arrows down on the Orcish army while retreating once they had done the damage they could. Lothar Wornwayne was constantly harrassing the Orcish force, and this only increased in intensity when he and Rolly Reyne finally met up days away from Castle Stragnarax, and in a join ambush during the night they killed some four hundred Orcs before they were forced to retreat southward and into Dragonhorn while the Orc army had finally reached the outskirts of the Castle Stragnarax.

The Orcs Arrive[]

Orcs Incoming

Orcs had once again overrun the western border, but this time there numbers had been detailed by the scouts of the west, and their movement carefully tacked.

The first sign of the Orcs was the massive stream of screaming and shouting that came from them. They were definetly not going for stealth because they just wandered into the open and those stragglers were shot by our archers, while the remainder of the army chopped down trees in the forest.
Benjamin Bradfoot

It was nearly two weeks after the Raven fortold of the coming Orcs they arrived west of the castle and begin chopping down the trees that were there to use to construct ladders, and siege towers. The Orcs spent an entire day doing this and as they worked the defenders of the towers were firing long range balista shots at them which were able to destory one of the towers before it was able to be used the following day. Also during this day the Orcs attempted to push forward siege machines in order to batter holes in the walls but they discovered the accurasy of the balistas was extreme as each siege machine pushed forward was destoryed in turn with only a few shots getting off and dowing little damage to the wall. When the final batch of catapults were brought up defended by large trenches and by blocks of wood meant to shield from the Balistas it was Alann, and Bran Voil that had the entire Order of the Blue Dragon force set the field ablaze destroying the remaining catapults and hundreds of Orcs manning the trenches, shiels, and catapults.

Arriving at the castle it was nearly completely surrounded with only the southern wall not having a massive crowd of Orcs miling about.
Franklin Brent

As the day wore on the forces of Franklin Brent arrived at the Battle, and he would make his forces move towards the southern wall where he arrayed against the large southern Orc host. Sending word into the castle that they had arrived, this would greatly uplift the defenders moral who knew they were in some amount of trouble. Franklin constructed a series of trenches lined with anti-cavalry poles of which he planned to retreat into in case the Orcs sent an army to deal with his forces. After spending all of the energy constructing the siege machines they found that the catapults and such were destroyed the moment they got into range, with only a few actually able to launch a real shot at the walls. The Orcs were forced to place more forces in the southern end as the arrival of Franklin Brent meant they were now threatened by somone outside the walls and the mainly cavalry force was of great danger to them. Without any hope of launching their catapults the Orcs would move their forces forward and their seige towers that had been hidden would be pushed forward for the first attack.

The First Attack[]

Castle StragnaraxFirstDay
An undesiplioned mess. Sometimes numbers can make up for mistakes in leadership, but there has to be even a semblence of leadership for that logic to work.
Thomas Brent

With their seige machines set up the Orcs attacked in a vast wave of upwards of 25,000 of which the vast majority attacked the main gate while some 7,000 attacked the southern section defended by Marbrand Keep. The northern wall also had some two thousand Orcs attack it but these were extremely disorganized and the least of the problems of the Castle. Outside of the seven thousand sent towards the southern wall four thousand Orcs were sent against the army of Franklin Brent in order to keep them away from the fighting. Mainly Worgs this force would chase Franklin's forces into the trenches they had constructed, and suffered many casualties to this traps before fighting broke out between the two forces. Franklin Brent was forced to battle against a large Orc of which had killed two other men, and finally reaching the Orc he and the Orc dueled for several minutes until he shot the Orc with a hand crossbow he was finally able to reach off his back. Staggered by the shot the Orc would be sliced across the chest fatally by Franklin as he attempted to pull the crossbow from his neck. Following the large Orc's death the other Worgs became less threatening but there numbers still meant that Franklin could not advance agains the southern forces and aid the defenders. As the Orcs advanced they were devestated by the massive array of archer, and balista fire by the time they reached the wall they had lost significant numbers. 

Attack on the Main Gate[]
Tower Balista
If a wall is forty feet high and your ladder is twenty feet tall, I really don't see the value of even bringing the ladder.
Thomas Brent

The attack on the main gate went disastrously with all four of the Siege towers destroyed, and with the huge array of archers present the Orcs that massed on the ground trying to get up the ladders were caught in a killing zone and lost huge numbers before the Orcs retreated leaving behind the ruins of much of their force alongside the destroyed siege towers. The Balistas that sat on the towers continued to destroy anything that even resembled a battering ram, and because of the hoardings all along the wall the few Orcish archers that were on the ground found very few targets, and the few they did were unable to be struck because of the hoarding. Along the main gate though despite this horrifying aray of weapons the Orcs did manage to get several of their number onto the walls where the Knights of the Gilded Fell under the command of Orival Black would stand in the breaks and kill them as they climbed over the walls. The Magi of the Order of the Blue Dragon had been completely concentrated along this defence and had been responsible for two of the towers going down as they lit them on fire using spells.

Attack on the Tower of James the Vigilant[]
Attack on the Tower of James the Vigilant
When I got word that we lost control of the Tower of James I felt my first trickle of fear into my heart. I thought for a brief moment of the deaths of the entire castle, and in that moment I nearly paused. Benjamin grabbed my arm as if he knew what I was feeling, and with that I shook my head and ordered the counter assault on the tower.
Thomas Brent

The Orcs attacked the three areas and it was only at the tower of James the Vigilant that they had any real success. The Orcs were able to keep their seige tower alive in this section and with its survival they were able to mass over the wall, and this caused the beggining of an intense fight over the tower. The Orcs slowly pushed them back into the tower, and forced the defenders to lock the gates into the tower, and block them outside. The Orcs attemtped to break through the gate, and during this time the Orcs begin to take fire from the inner wall as they were free to fire on them now that the defenders were gone. As they took heavy casualties they found themselves unable to break into the tower itself, and begin spreading throughout the walls of the western walls to the point that they attempted to break into the main forces at the main tower itself. During this time Thomas Brent would order the main reserve forces sneaking out through the more southern tower and behind the Orcs of whom were busy sprawling all over the walls. Now behind their lines the relief force set the siege tower alight and then was able to get back through the tower with minimal casualties. As the siege tower burned down the Orcs found their reinforcements ended and they were slowly wittled away at by the massive number of archers all along the James Towers. The final holdouts were to be dealt with personally by Benjamin Bradfoot of whom was directed to the castle under the command of Thomas Brent of whom was worried over the prospect of Orcs within the walls.

Attack on Marbrand Keep[]
Castle Stragnarax8
The goal was to get them to cross the wall so when they did we weren't exactly worried that they had climbed the walls.
Domeric Marbrand

Marbrand Keep was defended by Domeric Marbrand of whom defended the large keep with some three hundred men, while the main wall was defended by another three hunded. The men on the walls were designed to hit them with as many arrow barrages as they could, but the moment the Orcs manned the walls the force was to enter the heavily fortified gates and make their way into the keep. The Orcs would attack with some two thousand forces against the wall, and at first for the Orcs the Attack on Marbrand keep went well at first with the Orcs able to climb over the walls after suffering some three hundred losses to the defenders on the walls. With the ladders against the walls the defenders retreated into the towers and through the tunnels allowing the Orcs to get into the actual castle but once there the design plan went into affect with the Orcs now stuck in no mans land with no ability to get over the next defences. The Orcs attempted to follow the retreating defenders through the tunnels into Mabrand Keep but discovered the tunnels filled with nearly twenty feet deep gates that would be nearly impossible to break through without Magi, or some sort of explosive. The Orcs then attempted to charge across the field but the defenders of the keep were able to fire acurate shots into them and caused horrible casulties against them. By this point the Orcs were in panic, but begin to run past the Keep and into the city proper where the nearly five hundred remaining Orcs were confronted by a force led by Thomas Brent himself. Leading his most elite troops they would battle against the Orcs and defeat them causing them to retreat back as they came, and they were basically anihilated with very few returning to camp.

The Second Attack[]

Orcs Massacred
Nearly all our reinforcements were now in the area, and their commander was so bloodthirsty by this point he just charged at the southern wall with his full force.
Thomas Brent

The Orc army was still massive but it had suffered heavy casualties accomplishing nothing the first day, and in even worse news for the Orcish army was the fact that the reinforcements of the defenders had begun to arrive in heavy numbers. The full army of House Mountain led by Baelor Mountain had arrived alongside the forces of House Garfield and they were camped northwest of the battle moving in behind the Orc forces. Andrew Garfield would lead the forces of House Garfield into the fray as he was joined by several of his loyal retainers including Edmund Frotenhood, Esla Tollsen, and several other important knights of the region north of Hillsbrad. House Greymane had now joined the army of Franklin Brent bringing the southern army to more then ten thousand, and that number grew throughout the day as the southern vassals came north and more of the army filtered in. Realizing the main gate was a killing zone he didn't have the force to take down the Orc commander would move nearly his entire force to the southern wall of which caused most of the defenders to shift to the same wall. With this in motion the relief armies would move into place, and House Mountain was nearly completely behind them and was actually destroying the reargaurd of the Orc army as the Orcs attacked the Tower of James the Vigilant.

The doomed charge of a doomed army.
Franklin Brent

The Orcs charged the walls using three new siege towers and were this time unable to get any to the walls as the casulties of the previous attack, and the heavily increased defender numbers meant the three new towers took far too long to reach the walls. Stuck again with no towers the ladders went up and a great amount of fighting went all along the walls as the Orcs massed onto the ramparts. The defenders were hard up to resist, but as the battle reached a turning point the Orcs begin screaming as the forces of Franklin Brent, and Liam Greymane's army of House Greymane smashed into their rear. The commander of the Orcs would die during the inital assault, and as mass panic spread amongst the Orcs they begin retreating despite still outnumbering the human attackers, and nearly overwhelming the defenders at the tower. As they retreated westward they came directly in the path of the army of House Mountain and were cut down in their hundreds as the Mountain forces had entered the previously constructed Orc trenches and were in a great defence position.

Total Victory[]
I had defeated their army on the field, but as I entered the castle I found my brother was the hero. People were crying out his name, and he was truly beloved. I knew then and there that I was done here, and I would have to chart my own path somewhere else.
Franklin Brent

With the Orcish army completely routed and on top of this most of the army had been destroyed in the field leaving the remaining elements to move westward where they were chased down by the cavalry force of House Greymane, and House Ordos and thus the victory was completed. Damage was heavy in the James the Vigilant region of the castle, but elsewhere the losses and damage was nearly non-existence but hours were spent burning the bodies of the Orcs so that they would not send out spores and cause a real problem for the humans of the area. With the clean up beginning the relief armies would camp, while the leadership all met within the castle. Thomas Brent was by this point hailed as a hero and became known as Thomas "The Orc Killer" in honor for what people saw as his great victory, and this was in spite of the two larger armies led by the Mountains, and Franklin Brent moving in and being the true changer of the battle. The story of the battle that had not been seen through the eyes of Franklin Brent were told at dinner, and the next day the armies prepared to return home. Franklin and Thomas would say one last goodbye as Franklin told his brother that he was going to take forces and lead expansion in the Westerlands alongside House Arryn. The two brothers who had constantly battled eachother for position understood that Franklin was accepting defeat and they hugged goodbye knowing they would probably not be meeting any time soon.

House Lovie
The Rise of Lucerne
I saw the destruction of the world, and knew I had to stop it. There was nothing left to do but become bigger then everyone else. The Empire was never going to be the beacon the world needed it to be. Westros was on fire. The Bretonians had reached for the stars and been burned. And the old shadow of Numeron was fading far too quickly. It was left to us in Lucerne to change the fate of all those who wished to reject darkness. We were the last hope for a world who had long since given up on believing.

I had been trained alongside the noble elite in the Lucernian Academy for a year, and during this time I had specialized in siege warfare. That was the problem with the Orcs. I was trained to fight against diciplined troops using strategies, but the Orcs just flew out of the forest in this massive wave. They had a level of shock value to them but in the chaos they were seemingly charging at random. Easy pickings for the methodic fire from the walls.

I looked out over the rampart and saw them running about in the field out of range of all our firepower outside of the Balistas, and I was still taken back by their numbers. I could see the towers being pushed forward, and I heard Benjamin, and Orival Black barking out commands for the archers to prepare.

They were coming, and this would be the moment of either our salvation or our death. As I watched them pushing the towers forward, and watched as the first tower went up in flames I couldn't help but feel better. The second tower burned with the fire of Brann Voil of whom stood chanting on the top of the tower, and yet again even as they moved forward I couldn't help but harbor a growing level of optimism.

The saddest part of the charge was the fact that they had four siege towers, and then a huge number of ladders which they didn't realize till they reached the walls weren't tall enough to reach them. Watching the army run around at the base of the wall after ninety percent of their ladders weren't tall enough was one of the most shocking sights I've ever seen.

Death of Judith Krebs[]

Judith would follow Franklin into the Battle of Castle Stragnarax but it was during this conflict that she finally came face to face with her long time nemisis from the Circle of Magi in the form of Hartmut Ehrenfeld and the two would duel outside the castle but despite Franklin coming to her aid she was killed and Hartmut once again escaped.

Noteable Members[]

Family Members[]

Other Noteables[]

Vassal Houses[]

Name Title Seat Lord
House Jurllen Grand Lord Dohenstein Markus Jurllen
House Cupps Baron Cupps Hold Johan Cupps
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