The Siege of Dalaeth

During the war to depose the Second Dark Emperor a small force of men held a fortress named Dalaeth that guarded a strategic mountain pass against an army twenty times their size for over two years. When Lord Arian returned to lead Maddas’ forces, Dalaeth became one of his prime objectives, and the orders were passed to the commanders of the army camped below Dalaeth that they were to take it at all costs. Dalaeth was at the verge of falling to the Emperors troops by the time Cerelia arrived to scout the situation.

She strode through the enemy forces singlehandedly and slew the enemy commander, demoralizing the entire force, and forcing them to flee. Before they regrouped, General Norag and a force of nine hundred men reinforced the fortress. It never did fall to the Emperors forces.

I met Cerelia once. Saved my life, she did. It was at Dalaeth, during the war against the second Dark Emperor Seventy of us had managed to hold the fortress and the pass against the Emporer’s forces for two years - Nishella wasn’t committed to removing us, and had only ordered her commanders to harass us. So the battles were usually light, and half hearted. But that all changed when the Lord Arian retook command of the Emperors army. He decided that he needed Dalaeth, and ordered one of his commanders to take it.

When we realized they were finally serious about taking the fortress, we sent word to General Norag. He started our way with a few hundred men, but was going to take several days to reach us. On about the fifth day, with the General’s forces still two days away, the major assault began. I think they threw everything they had in the region at us that day. Their assault began at dawn. The fighting was fierce, and almost half of our men fell in the first twenty minutes of the assault. By noon the rest of us had conceded we were going to die. But we swore to die fighting. There was no way we were going to hold the fortress until Norag and his men arrived.

Now, I don’t know if you have ever been to, or heard about Dalaeth, but the place is designed to hold the pass. The way it sits on the hill overlooking the pass means that if you can keep enough arrows and siege engines raining into the valley below, nobody should get to the gate. In theory, anyways. But they were throwing so many men at us, some were bound to get through. And they did, and one by one we began to fall.

I think there must have been only twenty or so of us left, when we could hear them massing for another assault. It was late afternoon, and there was no question this was it. We all made our peace with Rama, and said our blessings that Knorr would accept us. They came at us like rabid wolves, and we began the final battle of our lives.

I was standing on the rampart when she arrived, my broadsword stuck fast in the skull of a Black Elf who had been scaling a ladder. I was trying my hardest to retrieve my sword and not get my own head taken by the man behind the one who ‘held’ my sword. She simply appeared out of thin air in the fortress courtyard, at least according to those who saw her. She took one look around her, and then strode to the gate, throwing it open before her. I remember thinking she was mad, that they would come swarming through, and that was the end. But what happened next was simply amazing.

As that gate opened, she just started swinging, and every man that blade touched died. The gate was clear in no time, and it was closed behind her, as if she had never passed through it. I think they gave up trying to fight her after the fifteenth or sixteenth man died by that blade. They parted like wheat in a field as she strode through their battle line towards the enemy commander. On the rampart where I stood, the fighting came to a stop. Everyone, friend and foe, turned to see what she would do - the enemy already called her “The Angel of Death” and it didn’t take long for me to see why.

As she approached the commander, she called out “This battle is over.” He laughed at her, and then ordered his crossbowmen to open fire on her. By the time they were done, she looked like one of them porcupine creatures. But she was still standing. The commander was screaming at this point, and ordered his men to reload and fire again. He was so hysterical, he even ordered his heavy cavalry to charge. Cerelia just stood there and stared up at him, sitting like a peacock on his warhorse. As the crossbowmen began to fire again she drove that blade of hers into the ground as hard as she could.

Now I don’t know what magic that blade holds, but every man in that valley could feel the ground shake. It shook so violently where she stood that every single man within two hundred feet of her was knocked to the ground. That pompous commander was thrown from his warhorse at her feet. She pulled the blade from the ground and sliced off his head with a single motion. She then reached down, picked up the mans head, and held it high for everyone to see. Again she called out “This battle is over.” And it was.

Every one of them slimy bastards turned and ran, some even outrunning their own horses. The ten of us who were left standing on the ramparts let out a cheer so loud that Norag’s men swore they could hear from two days away. She never did let us properly thank her. She left later that day, pretty much only allowing us to help her remove the dozens of crossbow bolts that were stuck in her armor. For all her fighting prowess and gifts, she sure was a moody woman. But I don’t care - I owe her my life.

“Men were dying, and Dalaeth was important. I just had a feeling I needed to be there yesterday, so I went. I killed the general, and the troops ran off. The true heroes are the men who held Dalaeth before I got there.”