Battle of the Trifecta

The Battle of the Trifecta was a battle that took place between the Republic of Aurora, the Kingdom of Vesper, and the kingdom's defectors at the Trifecta in Aurora on March 11, 513 AO. The event is generally regarded by historians as the beginning of the Upheaval Wars. King Simon Rex IV of Vesper accompanied by his vizier Mitlargo Thistlehouse, intended the battle to be a surprise decapitation strike by Vesper on Aurora. On the Auroran side, the Ten proved to be disinterested in leading Aurora in battle, and appointed Trabem's Captain of the Guard, Ellis Remont to lead their forces. With approximately 13,000 troops, about half of Vesper's standing army, Simon intended to lay siege on the Trifecta which had a mustered force of only 8,300 troops, and force the Ten into an early surrender.

Due to unexpected consequences from the Unsealing which occurred shortly before the battle was to get underway, the clash did not go as planned for either side. Over half of the Vesperan force defected to the leadership of General Enil Nile, Sorcerer King of Sulta Ixen in an attempted coup. The resulting chaos saw the flight of the Ten and the effective dissolution of their leadership. During the battle, the event known as the Tragedy of Hastile occurred, in which the city of Hastile was completely destroyed by meteoric bombardment caused by Vesperan spellcraft, resulting in significant loss of life and destabilization of the Auroran Republic.

After hours of fierce fighting, the remaining cities of Radio and Trabem surrendered to the Vesperan army, now brought under control by another of Vesper's generals, Nilerex. Ultimately, the battle resulted in the deaths of many parties involved, including Simon Rex IV of the Kingdom of Vesper, General Enil Nile, Sultan of Sulta Ixen, on the Vesperan side, and Ellis Remont on the Auroran side.

Background

<<Background here. What was going on in vesper & aurora that led to this?>>

Prelude

On April 24, 513 AO, Simon launched his invasion into Auroran lands. In the days leading up to the battle, the Vesperan army attempted to amass in secret near the Auroran port town of Rosewood because of its close proximity to Vesper as well as perceived abandonment of Aurora's Fort Darkwater. For months, the town guard and mayor of Rosewood had been bribed into complicity with the invasion, thus allowing Vesper's forces to arrive in Aurora relatively undetected. Unbeknownst to the Vesperans, Auroran scriers had in the past routinely targeted the area, however, the practice fallen out of favor in recent years. When Vesper's regiment of sorcerers detected traces of divination magic on March 7, Simon panicked, and feared losing the element of surprise. He chose to march on Aurora with what forces had managed to cross the Sea of Horses by that time, about 13,000 troops.

Marching across the relatively uninhabited northwestern Sylvan Sod, Vesper faced little resistance in its advance toward the Trifecta. When the armies arrived in the fields outside the cities, the Ten elected Trabem's captain of the guard, Ellis Remont to muster a defense. The Aurorans were not expecting much offensive capability from the Vesperans, and many civilians chose not to leave the relative safety of the walls. When the armies had nearly assembled, and were preparing to begin the siege, the Unsealing occurred, shutting off the arcane bridges within the cities. With many magical defenses powered by the arcane energy, the Trifecta's forces were thrown into disarray as they attempted to compensate. At that same time, the Sorcerer King Enil Nile chose to enact his coup, inciting chaos within the Vesperan ranks.

Combatants

<<A description of both sides' forces here.>>

*Regular troops of Vesper

*Black armor troop

*Sorcerer regiment

*Auroran Sorcerers

*City guardsmen

*Conscripted peasants

Battle

<<Blow by blow of the battle here>>

*Betrayal by Enil

*Capture of King Simon by Enil's forces

*Gates of Trabem breached

*King Simon captured by aurorans, he is killed in subsequent rescue attempt, also resulting in Enil's death

*Hastile is destroyed by vesper mages to force the aurorans to surrender (ordered by Nilerex)

Aftermath

<<What were the direct results of this battle?>>

*Riverlake and the vesperan kingdom thrown into anarchy

*Elaina Nile takes control of the Vesperan army

*Aurora's government attempts a move