POV Konstantin
The rebel forces trapped in the city put up moderate resistance as they are caught in a hammer and anvil. Hack, slash parry, thrust were the motions I kept up for hours on end as the fighting continued in the burning ruins of Konstantingrad. Eventually, the Royal Standard and the Heir's standards meet in the middle of the city as I cut my way to embrace my father amidst the cheering of the army. There were massive amounts of traffic congestion as tens of thousands of loyal troops marched in from the northern and eastern gates of the city. Generals and the Military police were busily re-directing the incoming troops southward in pursuit of the rebel forces.
Our scouts come back to report that Valen Chalkodrikov had mustered his family's army and that an Imperialist transport fleet had been seen depositing imperial troops on the central Chalkodrikov estate. they reported that the rebels from Konstantingrad numbered 6,000, that the army from the Chalkodrikov estates numbered around 10,000 and the imperialist army numbered 15,000 soldiers. Overall they had 31,000 troops
The army we set out from Konstantingrad with consisted of my 4,100 troops and the army of Basileus Alexander II numbering 10,100 soldiers and a further 10,000 soldiers joined us when we recaptured the city. we were marching out of the city with 24,200 troops. it appeared we were marching to our certain doom. Basileus Alexander II my father had given all members of the foot guard regiments wheellock muskets and pistols.
The Royal Army of Basileus Alexander II arrived first onto the field around 27 miles south of the capital. A river was flowing through the battlefield and the flood plains were quite marshy. a single bridge and causeway was the only way to cross the marsh without getting bogged down in the mud.
As the combined rebel imperial force marched onto the field the military bands began playing solemn music as Basileus Alexander II realised that this was his final battle as was written in the temple of fates in Konstantingrad.
Artillery was set up and the army deployed with their banners held high and all the metal glittered like emeralds in the sun. The massed rebel columns launched an assault across the causeway and even on the marshy ground. My father advances with the majority of the army to meet the rebel advance leaving me and most of the royal guard and all of the artillery in reserve. the fighting lasts for the whole day and after hours and hours of fighting, I witness the Royal standard drop to the floor.
A few moments later I see my father's royal guard troops numbering only 50 carrying a stretcher back with my father on. I rush over to my father and see he is fatally wounded. I sprint to my horse and mount up and with a shout to the reserve troops, I spur my horse forward and launch the reserve regiments of the royal guard into action. The input of the reserve regiments rallies the wavering army and the rebel morale drops and all rebel forces in the marshes begin routing followed quite soon by the rebel force on the causeway in the centre. I personally lead the pursuit for three days. For three days we cut down as many rebels as possible. When I return to the camp after three days I find my father dead and I am now Basileus.
POV Emperor Theodric III
The civil war had been raging for three months. Three months of brutal warfare had seen tens of thousands of casualties probably hundreds of thousands. Each day my Grandfather becomes more insane locking himself away in his tower while he experiments using dark magic and other such forbidden things. News soon reaches the Imperial capital of New Aernegia that creatures and monsters long thought either extinct or scattered have been sighted in ever-increasing numbers.
"Were these sightings due to my grandfather?" I ask my council.
"Sire it is unfortunately the most probable reason" Imperial Steward Bohemond replies.
"Captain General you will take your best soldiers and arrest Alfred of Wasae" I state with confidence.
"At once sire" Captain General Percival Montague says bowing his head before departing to carry out his task.
I watch from the windows of my apartment as the Captain General moved 500 of the Imperial Guard towards the Chancellor's tower. All the Soldiers of the city garrison and the imperial guard had been mustered to provide support and defence. The household guards of the Duke of Wesae had been arrested and confined to barracks. I watch as the troops burst into the tower and are thrown back in a blast of black light from the door. The tower of the chancellor begins collapsing and my grandfather steps out into the light no longer recognisable as a man but as a monster or beast. As I keep on looking Alfred of Wesae becomes a cloud of crows and ravens and flies off towards the Estergryph mountains.
I immediately put a bounty on Alfred of Wesae's head and strip him of all lands and titles. A few days later however I receive word of the three largest goblin clans of old striking out of the Estergryph mountains in the largest force of goblins ever seen in the last 120 years. These clans had support from all manner of foul and dark creatures of the night traditionally used as stories to control children. This host of darkness as it marches on New Aernegia burns and pillages every settlement it crosses leaving few if any survivors. Few cities have beaten that great host back. These include Griffonbridge, Westerhedge, Crystelgryfmont and Seabarrow. These three settlements form what woulder later become the Southern Enclaves. Hundreds of thousands of refugees head northwards or into New Aernegia which soon becomes overcrowded.
Three weeks and the horde is at the very gates of New Aernegia. 100,000+ goblins and other creatures and monsters stand beneath the walls. I had 17,000 troops defending the city including 5,000 imperial guard soldiers. The Imperial Fleet had around 300,000 sailors spread amidst hundreds of ships.
I begin evacuating the overcrowded city by ship using the Imperial Fleet and any other ship I could get my hands on. on the third day of the evacuation after many probing attacks the previous days the goblin hordes break into the city.
"Sire the city is lost" an officer calls out to me.
"We stand and fight to buy time for the evacuation" I shout. The perimeter gradually shrinks to the harbourside when it collapses and the remaining troops and I scramble for the remaining boats. Henrik of Swedonia became trapped in the Imperial Citadel with a portion of troops and so this force mounts up on horseback and tries riding towards the closest city gate to escape. He and his troops are ambushed and slaughtered in the mayhem of the sack.
I barely escape to the waiting evacuation fleet with my life alongside mere hundreds of the 17,000-strong defending force. The evacuation fleet immediately leaves for the Death Skull Archipelago to establish a rump state in the island chain.
Our gryphons escape alongside us and when we arrive a few weeks later in the Death Skull islands I receive news that the northern part of the empire had fractured due to the collapse of the empire in the south and that the Northern armies had staved off a similar collapse by meeting the goblin hordes in open battle and beating them. The Northern realm had splintered into four kingdoms with the largest centred at Marshalburye under King Aethelric with the other three kingdoms owing Aethelric fealty.
Seabarrow declares fealty to the Kingdom of the Shattered Sun which is under my command. The sun being an important component of the former empire's religion and the word Aerneg means Sun in the old tongue of emperors.
