Vol X: Fall of Cerea
6th year of Destruction
While the loss of the Academy was a hard blow for the Alliance - many mages had been in the Academy when the link was cut - the Empire’s forces were still decimated from the Battle of the Plains and according to information gained by scouting parties on the mainland, reinforcements were unlikely to arrive.
Still the Period of Destruction was nearing it’s end and the Alliance would have to move soon if they wanted to strike while they still had their advantage in magic.
So all was made ready for a final assault on the city of Cerea itself. In a coordinated strike between the army of the Alliance and the forces of King Obould, the fortress guarding the entrance to the orc valley was conquered and later razed to the ground by furious orcs. Then the army bolstered by the orcs coming forth from their valley made camp on the plains before Cerea.
It was a glorious sight seeing their dwarven-made armours glittering in the morning sunlight, hundreds of swords were pointing to the sky when Lady Thenthen spoke to the assembled troops, and when Lord *crossed out* Sir *crossed out* Mr. Jursten gave the order to advance noone doubted that the battle would end in victory.
It was the mages, now led by Lady Liamyn and Master Smallgrake, who would open the battle: A rain of fire fell from the sky upon the city, and a cloud of acid rolled ahead of the advancing army, sinking into the trenches dug by the imperials and reducing the once proud walls of the city to slack. Summoned earth elementals then made the way clear for the fighters of the Alliance to enter the city and engage the battered remnants of the imperial occupants.
Still the enemies were well entrenched in the city after more than seven years of occupation. Those places where the resistance was strongest were blown up by the mages instead of taken by armed force, for after seven years of war everyone felt that no soldier’s life should be unnecessarily put at risk.
The fighting continued long into the night, and even this battle was not without loss for the Alliance, for this night there fell among many others King Obould Many Arrows the valiant orc, but when the sun came up the next day, the outcome of the battle was decided. Those imperial soldiers who were still alive surrendered and were put on the next ship bound for the mainland by order of Lady Thenthen, who refused to let more bloodshed happen.
The city of Cerea was by then in ruins and with the heavy toll the war had taken on the lives of the inhabitants of Derimir it was decided that nobody wanted to rebuild it. Those who had lived there earlier had by now found a new home in Vesper which was deemed a far more defensible place to wait out the remaining weeks of the Destruction. Still the ruins of Cerea and their many dangers – like the dungeons beneath the ruins of Marcus’ Tower – draw the interest of many brave (or foolhardy) adventurers today.