Game 1: Undead Legions (10/10 Draw)
Elidyr's forces moved in on the small hamlet and the Spellweaver brought his own unit of Glade Guard to a halt inside the wood that was the exit from the Worldroots that had brought them all here. He had been dispatched from Athel Loren to a remote southern section of the human Empire to hunt down a Necrach Vampire who had taken several Forest Spirits hostage during an earlier battle, Elidyr's was instructed to kill the vampire, locate his lair and free the spirits. He nodded to Almer, the captain of his Glade Guard, to give the signal for his forces to make ready. As the horn blew the Asrai took to their positions. The majority of his forces centered around the Worldroots but the Waywatchers too the far left flank along with the Waystalker.
As his own forces moved into position the Vampire's forces were doing likewise. The Vampire was clearly visible atop his monstrous abomination of a mount, a twisted combination of zombie dragon, a building and other creatures too twisted from their original form to identify.
The rest of the undead deployed around the Vampire with a braying horde of shambling beasts on the left flank staring down the Waywatchers. A unit of relatively normal looking Skeleton archers took the right flank and a unit of half skeleton horse half skeleton humans burrowed up from the ground near the Watchtower. Elidyr shook his head in disgust at the mad perversion of nature that the Vampire's mind had spawned.
With a final drawn out blow of the horn from Almer's Musician the Wood Elves began to move. On the left flank Corym, leader of the Waywatchers, gave orders for his unit to move into bow range of the Vampirc Blood Knights. With curt chop of his sword his Waywacthers opened fire. The Blood Knight Captain sneered arrogantly at the Waywacther's as they fired believing their superior armour would protect his Knights. A few seconds later he was howling in rage as two of his Knights fell to the Elves keen shooting and he urged his Knights on, as he was approaching the Elves, who was moving closer to their lines, a huge shape passed over them and the earth shook a few moment later as the Vampire Dragon landed in front of them. The Necrach cackled with glee and raised from the ground a unit of Skeletons, Corym calmly knocked another arrow and drew back, it didn't matter how many of the dead there were he had to kill that Dragon.
Flinar, leader of the army's Deepwood Scouts, saw the Dragon land on the left flank of the army and gave the command for his unit to fire. He and Andrathath's scouts had been tracking the dragon and now that it landed he saw an opportunity to bring it down. Twenty Hagbane Tipped Arrows flew out towards the dragon just as it charged the Waywatchers and struck just as the Waywatcher's own volley hit and the dragon gave on last low moan as it collapsed, throwing the Necrach into the Elves. Unfortunately for Corym one of the horde of Undead beasts also arrived in his flank at that exact moment, the Waywatchers would have to hold their own as he and his scouts had their own work to do.
He turned back just in time to see the noble eagle Siwios perish under the attacks of the half horse half man skeletons and suppressed a shout of anger. The eagle had charged the creatures as soon as they emerged and had been key in preventing them from doing much of anything.He pushed the anger away as he looked at the enemy units down his flank and started to lead his unit towards the Watchtower, out of the Archers, the horse creatures and the Casket of Souls the Casket offered the biggest threat and the Wacthtower would provide the best angle to fire at it from. As he lead his unit forward the other two unit of scouts opened fire on the archers and creatures, felling many of them only for them to rise mere second later from the power of the enemy wizards. As he reached to the tower he saw Corym and his men get torn apart by the beasts and vampire, he sighed and swore vengeance on the foul undead for Corym and Siwios both.
Oakbrow felt a faint stir of triumph as he and his fellow Treekin smashed the vampire's summoned Skeletons under their wooden limbs. He had led his Treekin to destroy these abominations to nature out of nothing more than a slow, steady fury but now found himself in a opportune position. The Blood Knights had advanced past his unit believing that he would be occupied with the skeletons for a while and once again the arrogance of the Vampire Knight would cost them dearly as Oakbrow brought his unit around to charge the Blood Knight's flank. At the same moment across the field the captain of the Eternal Guard Mhaenal saw Oakbrow's plan and smiled as he ordered his own unit forward into the Blood Knights to assist the Treekin. Both units hit at the same time, hammering at the armoured vampires with gnarled limb and Asrai spear, both effective in their own way. Mhaenal ducked underneath the wild thrust of a Knight's lance and lunged for it with the same movement, as his hand closed around the shaft of the lance he pulled. The Knight's expression was unreadable but his snarl of rage was easily heard as he fell face first to the ground, Mhaenal planted his foot on the his neck and slammed down with his spear at joint where the helm and armour parted and decapitated the knight with a single thrust. He turned just in time see Oakbrow pummel another Knight into paste under repeated blows from his fists, the Knight's armour flattening under the assault with the occupant oozing from the splits and cracks. As their unit's finished off the remaining knights Mhaenal and Oakbrow came face to face over unconscious form of the Necromancer who had ridden with the Knights, Oakbrow nodded slowly to Mhaenal and turned away as the Captain of the Eternal Guard ordered some of his men to carry the mage away. He ordered his unit around to face the remain enemy safe in the knowledge that they now had some way to achieve their primary goal.
Elidyr focused as he drew the winds of magic to him once more and sent them forth to bolster his troops. The battle was going well, they had captured the Necrach's pet Necromancer who would surly lead them to his lair as well as having killed many of the Vampire's troops and his dragon. He bolstered the Treekin' defences at the same time as Almer and his Glade Guard fired another volley at the exact same time as a explosion of white fire tore through the Asrai. Elidyr turned to see the Necrach laughing hysterically just before the the archers turned and fled in blind terror, Elidyr tried to rally them but it didn't work and he was carried off the battlefield by a tide of fleeing Asrai.
Mhaenal and Oakbrow didn't see Elidyr leave but they felt it. Both leaders knew that the vampire's forces were severely depleted and that the hordes of beasts before them were the last of his significant forces. They lead simultaneous charges against the foe and both hit home. Mhaenal and his Eternal Guard scythed down the beasts with perfectly timed attacks from their Asrai Spears, cutting and slashing at their foes until none remained. Oakbrow and the Treekin had none of the Guard's finesses but made up for to with simple brutal strength, smashing, stomping. punching and sometimes juts throwing themselves onto the enemy, Soon both hordes were gone, the Necrach left the battlefield soon after knowing that he couldn't win.
With their leader leaving the battlefield the other undead followed. The Asrai didn't give chase having, at present, no commander. Flinar and Mhaenal had the remaining forces establish camp as they both took the Necromancer into the Watchertower and gave orders not to be disturbed. A few hours later, as Elidyr and the Glade Guard returned they emergeed from the tower and approached the Spellweaver.
"My Lord" Mhaenal began "We know where the vampire's lair is."
"Well done captain" replied the Spellweaver "We cannot continue on until reinforcements from Athel Loren have arrived, have you sent a messenger?"
"I have"
"Good"
"What do you want done with the prisoner? He was eager to give up his former master's location and so is still relatively intact"
A slow predatory smile spread over Elidyr's face, he had faced the Undead many times before and had seen first hand the damage Necromancy did to the living world.
"The Tree's around here will need feeding, seeing as we will return our fallen to Athel Loren and the undead don't provided much sustenance."
Mhaenal nodded in slow understanding and as he turned to go ad carry out his lord's wishes Elidyr spoke again.
"And i believe nature prefers its food live and wriggling rather than dead and still"
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