The Second Battle of the Plains was part of the North Plains Campaign and an action of the Accordance War.
North Plains Campaign[]
The North Plains was one of the less successful sidhe campaigns of the war. The first leader, Failana, was killed in a nunnehi ambush. Her successor, Nevarr, retaliated against the native fae, which cost him time and resources. Thus diverted, he let several commoner bands slip past him and race north. He turned his army and followed, certain of a quick victory. Commoner forces, under General Calin, moved like they were trying to protect something in the open grasslands on the Saskatchewan/North Dakota border. The sidhe took the bait and moved in, ready to destroy the commoner resistance and then find out what was so important there. It was a ruse, a successful attempt to maneuver the enemy into a favorable position for battle: a high ground on open country were mortals were not likely to intrude. While not overwhelming, the Second Battle of the Plains was nonetheless a victory for the commoners.
Second Battle of the Plains[]
- From the memories of Tarabin Vintarro, aide-de-camp to General Calin
This was probably the last major field battle of the war. It was also among the largest, with thousands of Kithain on the field. True, is was another set-piece field battle, but we weren’t the green troops we’d been when Dafyll pushed across the continent. We were battle-hardened, disciplined, and a good deal wiser. We had another advantage as well, in the form of better equipment and nocker technology. During the war, our smiths and engineers were testing new designs in battle and improving them all the time. Here on the plains came the ultimate test. Now we had rapid-fire chimerical crossbows, and the finest weapons and armor we could loot from the enemy. We matched their cavalry with our catapult tanks and ballista scooters and their griffins and wyverns against our airships and ornithopters.
The battle raged bitterly for several hours, and its outcome was in doubt until the very end. Here the sidhe broke against the 4th Troll Commons like waves against the rocks; there the 11th North Georgia struck at shadows as the Scarabs slipped past them.
Finally, the recall was sounded, and the Restorationists left the field. We regrouped to pursue our foes, but we weren’t in any shape to carry the fight to them. Instead, we tended the wounded, gathered prisoners and the Mist-taken, and took stock of our situation.
A great many had fallen, and many more would suffer as the parting curses of our enemy took their toll. General Lyros’ favorite, Commander Brydina, fell to a blast of wyvern veneom, and our troll commander also lost several of his best captains.
This battle vies with Manhattan as our greatest victory. In my opinion, it was greater; Manhattan was largely won because the enemy commander was slain by treachery. At Second Plains we won by our own strength, not because someone assassinated the enemy leader.
I returned to the field a few years ago. Though no mortal eye can see, the fae blood and mighty Arts have fed a wild forest of red brambles that reach out and entangle any who come near. Blood drawn from a thousand pricks falls on the ground to nourish the horrible briars. And so, the war continues to claim its victims.
References[]
- CTD. Fool's Luck: The Way of the Commoner, pp. 40-42.