The Battle of King's Brunt

The Battle of King's Brunt was a small-scale but historical battle during the Autumn of 1776 ASE.

Amidst the hunt for Devyntias 'Tias' Amberfern, Primonarch Riven Staigus sent out a battalion of Ignasdiate infantry to surround Devyn and his loyalists, preferably to make them surrender. Unbeknownst to him, Kerrun Riksilver had reported false information as to Devyn's exact whereabouts, only mentioning The Royal Straight mountains as a rough area. Devyn and his followers had actually encamped in an abandoned, top secret safe house deep inside the mountain range, where only one entrance was accessible. Riven knew nothing about the King's Brunt, as its secret was never shared with him by the Amberferns. Wary still of this information, Riven ordered Kerrun to lead the battalion of 600 into the mountains and secure Devyn as a prisoner, if not a corpse. His followers were sentenced to death regardless.

The battalion arrived in formation several hundred feet from the narrow gate of the King's Brunt, armed only with a sword each and light armour for speed. Kerrun ordered a halt in the hopes that their presence would coax Devyn into surrendering immediately. Devyn approached the battalion after telling his followers to remain hidden inside the fortress until his return. The two leaders exchanged demands, ultimately causing the sides to clash.

Reluctantly, Kerrun marched his men slowly towards the narrow gate, only resorting to charging them when the loyalists opened fire with arcbalests. Due to their high, fortified position, they were able to take many shots without worry, slowly building a pile of bodies where the narrow gate was. This created a massive obstacle for Kerrun's men to traverse, slowing them down tremendously. There had already been over 150 casualties before the pile collapsed and allowed the men easier access through the gap; by then, the Ignasdiate force's morale had severely plummeted and lost focus as Kerrun wasn't initially tasked with strategic planning.

Unfamiliar with the grounds of the King's Brunt, Kerrun's men darted around aimlessly while looking for an entrance, all the while being picked off by arcbalest fire from the 20 men inside. Devyn ensured all gunfire was refocused on the gate, so that the overwhelming bulk of the battalion would once again be challenged by the steep climb over their brothers' bodies. At least another 100 were killed before anyone found a rear entrance, and those that did were few and far between. Twin 'Si' was one of Devyn's party, and had set traps to hold off the first stragglers before the heavier waves came in.

As the battle progressed, Kerrun's men successfully breached the doors and moved over the sprung traps, pouring into the building from a few different locations. Devyn and Twin set up a bottleneck where neither of them would be exposed on their flanks, and began defending against the poorly trained and ill-equipped Ignasdiate forces in combat. Since the corridors were narrow, there was hardly enough room to efficiently swing a weapon without colliding with the wall; this bought the defenders some time and avoided being swarmed by the sheer numbers.

A few hundred casualties later, Kerrun's men fled the site and abandoned the men still inside. During this time, 7 of Devyn's followers (all of them well trained Pylons) lost their lives when their turreted positions were compromised. Twin was caught off guard and maimed by two opponents, losing his right arm. Devyn fended the remainder off with a last ditch effort, using his supernatural abilities to slaughter them at the cost of his wellbeing.