The Atheson-Noridge Land Siege

698(TG)–700(TG)

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The war began when King Theobald IV of Noridge, known to his allies as bold and to most others as a greedy fool, set his eyes on Tharnet Bay, Tarnwyck, and Rhaskon—three Atheson provinces rich in arcane metals, rare beasts, and strategic trade routes. Believing the Atheson Crown too fractured to retaliate, he launched a sweeping military campaign to claim them for Noridge.

 

The Atheson people resisted, but they were outnumbered and under-equipped. Thousands died as villages were razed and moors ran red with blood. Within months, Noridge soldiers pressed further inland, ordered to seize Eisbruck, the final buffer between the advancing army and Atheson City itself.

 

That was when the Vampire Creator intervened.

 

Under the Creator's command, Eyra and her Fellkin emerged from the forests, breaking their long silence to shield the wounded and dying. The coven took in abandoned soldiers and civilians alike—turning some, burying others with dignity, and holding the lines in the dead of night while the human armies slept. For a brief moment, the people of Atheson remembered what it was to call the vampires saviours.

 

The war escalated beyond human conflict. Other non-humans joined the defence, including Duskroot werewolves and rogue mages exiled from Noridge. By the end of 699(TG), Noridge’s forces were faltering, and a royal order was issued to retreat.

 

In 700(TG), word of King Theobald’s assassination reached Atheson. He had been killed in his chambers by an unknown assailant. But those within vampire circles knew the truth: it had been Attila, the Creator’s most precise and merciless hand. The message was clear. The land remembers who it belongs to.

 

The provinces were reclaimed. The humans cheered. And for a while, at least, the city and the coven stood side by side.