Main
The City
Guilds
Geography
Novices
Gods
Forum
Links
| |
Thakria
Main The City Guilds Geography Novices Gods Forum Links |
|
History Ancient History: The founding and growth of Thakria Thakria is one of the most ancient and illustrious cities of Avalon. Rising from humble beginnings as a fishing village, Thakria holds a prime location in the land, with sea access on the western coast, and control over river access through its quays at Moonstone Lake. It was this geography that helped Thakria's ascendence to power, when the Count Agemmenion was shipwrecked upon the shores. Recognizing the potential of the land and the people, the Count eagerly invested in construction on a grand scale, creating powerful and stunning streets of beauty, architectural wonders, towers of blackest obsidian and an opulent palace that is still used by the Thakrian nobles to this day. This project, however, instilled an insatiable desire for power in the Count. He used the power the city brought to marshall an army of thousands, beseiging the weaker peoples to the south in a brutal war. Allied with their goblin neighbors, so powerful was the army of Thakria that the gods themselves had to step in and battle against them - the result was near-anhiliation for both sides. Modern Reconstruction: Thakria under mortal guidance Thakria was not lost, though. Under the guidance of citizens like Davros, she nurtured her remaining strength and soon rose again to pre-eminence, dominating weaker villages and cities nearby, until, under the leadership of Snowlock, the forces of the West once again marched, this time completely razing their mortal enemy of Mercinae. The powerful citizens of Thakria continued to hold sway over the land - infamous names like Blodwyn, of the Seers, and Shaitan, of the Sorcerers, cast Avalon into dark shadows of fear, dominating their foes until they ascended into immortality as powerful divinities. And still Thakria continued her advance across the land. Despite setbacks at times, the city always reverted to the core ideals and tenents it was founded on - power and excellence. The armies of the west marched again, not once, but many, many times, razing all those cities who sought to stand against Thakria, seizing the land in a gripping vice of control, as they enacted tributes and tithes from all those weaker and opposing. War Record: The Marshalls of the West Historical Triumphs and Battles Sturge, field marshall of Mercinae led a fair-sized legion of Mercinaen troops into Thakria before its defensive fortifications were raised. The Mercinaens successfully plundered one of Thakria's ration stores but was thwarted and massacred during their next attempted plundering of Thakria's largest precious ore warehouse. Kylan, Ingens, and Panaideos, led a small-scale Thakrian invasion of the Rangers Guild. The Rangers were able to defend their guildhouse and force the Thakrians to retreat. Panaideos led Thakria's full-scale invasion of Mercinae with Kylan and Ingens in tow. Thakria's invasion was well-planned and combining with Parrian troops attacking from the opposite direction successfully broke through all of Mercinae's outer defences. The Thakrian legions plundered much of Mercinae's resources and stores for the Thakrian coffers until they were eventually put to flight by the secret legions of the Artisans Guild. Much was gained from this invasion though and it can be considered a great success. Mercinae launched a small counter-offensive against Thakria and though they broke Thakria's southern gate fortifications and were in the process of plundering one of Thakria's outer stores, Kylan was able to form a defensive force sufficient to beat them away. Recent Warfare Actions A recent oversight left Thakrian fortifications lowered, exposing the city to attack. A combined force from Springdale and Mercinae marched their legions across Moonstone Lake to take advantage of the weak point - their attempted invasion was utterly routed by the quick responses with troops by the captains Plaman and Narissa, while the strong, agressive fighting of Maleki and Zenichiro occupied the Mercdalian marchers, and sent many a foe onto the Ships of the Dead. The small Thakrian force managed to snatch victory from the potentially tragic situation, not only beating back the invaders, but slaughtering several thousand enemy troops. Ongoing are border battles between small groups of legions against both Springdale and Mercinae, skirmishes in the ebb and flow of power at the edge of Thakria's sphere of influence. A recent expedition, headed by Narissa of the Thieves, and Kodiak of the Loremasters, managed to wrest control over all of Orc Town, Gabbad, and into Thaumacie away from Mercinae, enrichening Thakrian coffers. A combination of laziness and oversight left several thousand Ranger soldiers loitering outside Mercinean walls, broken down into uncoordinated and disorganzied ranks. The Thakrian generals Narissa and Circe, seeing a remarkable situation and seeking revenge for the recent attacks on the Brigands, quickly marched a small legion southwards, assailing the forestals from behind. The tactical set up the two women chose allowed a very small number of soldiers to anihilate the ranger troops, with little cost to their army. The Invasion: Repulsed A silent approach in the dead of night, followed by a crashing attack against the city's eastern gates on Moonstone Lake - this was all the warning Thakria had, before they found their city under invasion. Only two citizens were awake to witness the start of the assault - the Sorcerer Tetsuo and the Seer's Guildmistress Malux. Against the odds, they scouted out the scene, quickly alerting the Princess, Narissa, to the situation. Death rained down on the Thakrians from massive fighter units from both Springdale and Mercinae - the odds seemed overwhelming, with both of Thakria's enemies united against the city, and surely, soon, the city would be breached and invaded. Shockingly, Thakria stood firm. With the help of the Thief Narl, Narissa made several suicide missions to strengthen the crumbling gates. The frantic efforts paid off - as time ticked by, the gates, though weakened, continued to hold firm against the attack. More citizens awoke from slumber, quickly learning the task of assembling troops. As the barracks were opened and a legion urged out and onwards towards the lake, Thakria's fighting force struck, pushing back the enemies at the gate. Springdale, weakened and no longer so bold nor confident, retreated, abandoning soldiers and the bodies of their dead citizens by the wayside, on their flight back to safety. To the amazement of all, Thakria held firm against invasion - their enemies lost tens of thousands of soldiers, yet Thakria stood, unbreached and victorious. Rebuilding - With a Vengeance Angered with this attack, Thakria banded together, calling support from every citizen to rebuild their weakened gates. Within a few short months, the gates stood firm, well on their way to reaching their former strength. The Thakrians then turned their attentions outwards, intent on returning the favours visited upon them. The first strike was one led by the Warlock Circe, an extensive capture of all of the dwarven village Thaumacie. Narissa assisted in the placement of the troops, her Thief greed getting the better of her - intent on crushing those who had attacked her, as well as gaining as much land for Thakria as she could, the Princess left troops scattered throughout the entire Greenwood and the southern mountain passes. The warlock and the thief waited, joining in defence by the Thief Alister and the Loremaster Trakea, as well as with assistance from the rituals of the Warlock Guildmaster Parallax. Mercinae, cowed and paling before the fighting forces of Thakria, never managed to even marshal troops past their city walls, and the territory was claimed nearly bloodlessly - simply by intimidating might did the Thakrians emerge victorious. For the youth who had endured suffering at the hands of Springdale, this was not enough. Eager to further expand the borders of Thakria, Alister and Trakea engineered their own campaign to capture Ladakh, enlisting the military direction of Narissa. The Loremaster's staves littered the area, and the troops were arranged into defensive positions, while the fighters sat, alert, waiting for Springdale to attempt to stop them. Circe and Parallax decided to ensure fighting superiority - capturing a young Mercinean mage, they forced the girl to sketch the ritual shapes for them, dancing a powerful Avalon-wide ritual that would allow them to cast magical spells at anyone under the skies. The High Priest of Chaos, Plaman, anxiously watched events unfold, his warfare expertise providing helpful guidance to his city. The days ticked by and soon Springdale emerged. It became clear that they were to attempt a push against the Thakrians - their fieldmarshall Dunccan marched from barracks, leading two immensely slow and large legions. Between their muffled laughs of astonishment at his poor tactics, the Thakrians Narissa and Tetsuo easily killed him. More Springdalians sprung to his side - the traitor to the Thieves, Caelred, the Wizards Rikki, August, and Gandalph, a score of Paladins and Craftmasters - yet the stag's troops advanced at only a snail's pace, each step they made earned only through bloodshed and death. The Thief Narl emerged, and between the three knives, rituals, demons and staves, Dunccan fell, once, twice, over ninety times he died. Tired of toying with him, the City of Miracles quickly and finally marched out a small number of troops, completely crushing his thousand men. Broken, Springdale retreated to lick their wounds, while Thakria stood triumphant over the newly freed village of Ladakh. The Battle for Territory: All Powerful on the Western Front Most recently in Thakrian success was the capture of the northern villages - orchestrated by Circe and Narissa, with key help from Kodiak, Alister, Narl and Trakea, the city demonstrated their clever tactics by simply blocking the entire Northern Peninsula from troops. Their ambitious plan captured not one, not two, but three villages, as well as several hundred units of territory - a profitable seizure, as this influence contributes vast amount in tithes to the Thakrian coffers. Though the campaign turned into a long and tireless vigil, the Thakrians invested the effort needed, using the opportunity to train younger citizens, such as Lila, Eriadne and Malux, in the ways of warfare. The city even took the opportunity to taunt the cowering Springdalians, marching out a small troop to raze their outer fortifications before returning back to overseeing the larger legions. When the new month dawned, with Thakria enriched and even more powerful, the troops returned home - however constant forays of conquest are continually made, and over 50 locations have been added so far to the city's territory, proof of the determination that is inherent to the Thakrian spirit. This is the tradition of Thakria, the soul she will always return to - one of blood, strife, domination and an unrelenting pursuit for power. back to the city |