The Slaughter of Kreshya Peak

A DISLOYAL ATTACK
In -1212 A.S, the Hilvetian Confederation's new leader, Terrak Daelyon, of the Guild of Metals, proclaimed the Unknown Regions too dangerous to be explored yet. Focusing his efforts and attention towards other systems, he thought it was time to start a conquest of new systems.

The two possible choices were the Northern Regions, or Ulrichien Systems, or the Vega System beyond the Red Belt. Malack Chevalett, member of the Guild of Slaves, pointed out the rich environnement of the Ulrichien System and the rare metals, precious ore and great number of materials that could be harvested there. The idea made great sense to most of the Hilvetian ministers and in -1210 A.S, the decision to invade the Ulrichien System was made.

The Guild of Metals and Guild of Slaves funded a new form of cyborgs, the NC-2000, for this military campaign. Those new cyborgs could resist the assault of magic spells and curses as well as high and low temperature and damp weather. The building of this new army lasted for a year and cost a fortune to both the Guilds but the prospects of new riches was far too tempting. The command of this army was given to General Ralkos Merivall, member of the Guild of Metal, a capable commander known to be efficient and ruthless. At the head of an army of ten millions of cyborgs, he set off for the Ulrichien System.

In the first months of -1209 A.S, General Merivall and his army arrived near the Anodaan system. The first objective was securing the moon of Trak-Yllen II, for the planet was filled with precious metals such as gold, silver and copper. The order was given to strike at once, without any warning or declaration of war.

On the third day of Tessilorn, the attack on Trak-Yllen II began by the Slaughter of Kreshya Peak.

KRESHYA PEAK
Kreshya Peak was a high solitary mountain in the Northern region of the planet. Trak-Yllen II unforgiving weather raged all day and night with very strong cold winds and snow storms. The planet had very few inhabitants, mainly Dark Druids wishing to remain as close as possible to the elements of Nature. The Temple of Kreshya Peak was a retreat for those people, protecting the mountain and its magic.

The Temple was a shrine to The Godess of Fire for the Ulrichiens. It was said that the Temple was always warm to the touch for the magic within it filled it with warmth and serenity. The Brotherhood of the Peak was an order of Dark Druids devoted to the protection of the Temple. At the time of the attack, only 20 of them were present in the Temple. Their lives were solitary and regulated by several magical rituals to please the Godess.

THE SLAUGHTER OF KRESHYA PEAK
In the middle of the night, 1000 cyborgs were dispatched to attack the Temple who was thought by General Merivall as a improvised citadel of the natives. Unaware of the attack, the Dark Druids took notice of the incoming ships when they passed the atmosphere of the planet.

First unsure of what to do, the Dark Druids used their magic to scan the ships and to possibly determine their intentions. Quickly they realized that the ships were filled with machines of war and weapons. Understanding that a fight was coming, the Druids organized a crude defense of the Temple.

The Temple itself was protected by a small wall, but no turrets or technological installations could be found anywhere on the planet. Combining their magic together, the Druids who had positionned themselves on the outer wall created a strong snow storm in order to mess the radars and sonars of the ships.

On the 20 ships that were flying their way, three were caught so badly in the storm that they collided with each other. The ships were destroyed with their crews and cargo, crashing into the frozen canyons below. This small victory however did not delay the other ships who were still making their way forward. The Dark Druids split up in half to man the outer wall and the inner courtyard but knew by now that they were far outnumbered. Ten of the most powerful of them were dispatched on the Outer Wall under the command of the sister and brother Treshyya and Kalyrrkhawnn Perryyshyyk. The Inner Courtyard was protected by the novices and one Elder, Lyreesk Olpwyrrr.

A few minutes later, the first Hilvetian ships flew over the Temple and dropped their cargo of cyborgs. 50 cyborgs per ship were then dropped on the outer wall where the fightings began. At first, the Dark Druids managed to take the upper hand, destroying either ships or cyborgs before they could reach their level with fire magic or lightning spells. But quickly the number of cyborgs grew around them. The Ulrichien Dark Druids of the Outer Wall began to fall one by one. Treshyya Perryyshyyk was spiked through the heart during the early hours of the battle, in front of her brother. Kalyrrkhawnn then called for a full retreat into the Temple, getting out a few of his men out of the battle on the walls but himself was shot through the head by a sniper cyborg and fell off the edge of the wall to crash in the canyons below.

The cyborgs continued their advance on the Temple, slaughtering the few Dark Druids who were making a run for it. But as they arrived in front of the gates, Lyreesk Olpwyrrr used her magic to create a shock wave that destroyed the ground under the cyborgs. More than 200 cyborgs fell into the entrails of the mountains and were crushed by the rocks. Now a gigantic gap about 300 feet wide prevented the cyborgs from approaching the Temple and any attempt to drop them from the sky was met with severe resistance and heavy firestorms on the ships.

For a few hours, the Hilvetians tried an air approach to no avail, losing another 200 cyborgs and 3 ships to the firestorms. General Merivall was then called on his flagship for assistance. Impressed with the skills of the Dark Druids, he offered them to surrender where they would be turned into slaves of the Hilvetian Confederation. As he expected, all of them refused, choosing death over servitude. General Merivall then ordered a bombing of the mountain.

For three hours, the cruisers bombed the entire mountain, destroying the Temple completely and crushing the Dark Druids survivors with the rubbles. None of the Dark Druids survived and this crushing victory of the Hilvetian Confederation was then advertized to the rest of the world. General Marivell had managed to beat the magic users of the Temple and the moon of Trak-Yllen II had fallen into the hands of the Hilvetian Confederation.

AFTERMATH
General Merivall and his men were considered heroes of the Hilvetian Confederation and the victory was praised by the President and all the government on Lux II. But the reaction of the Ulrichiens was swift and bloody. A few days later, the fleet of General Merivall was attacked by a Myrock, who destroyed several ships of the fleet, including "The Creation", General Merivall's flagship, killing him.

Without their leader, the attacks of the Farguin and Ulrichien army could not be repelled and the fightings went heavily in the Ulrichien's favor. The War of Anodaan had begun and would last for another two years.