The Last Battle - The Last Siege of Tar Valon

[Arani Lepenque Aes Sedai]

Tar'mon Gaidon has broken all over the world, and the world has descended into Chaos.  Sunlight pentrates through cracks in the clouds, and the air carries a scent of destruction, death and decay.  Fire burn in towns and villages, and the major cities are now fortresses of light under seige.  Most of the attacks are situated in the boarderlands as the main armies try to breach the forces of the Light situated there.  But in the southlands, war has also broken out as darkfriends try to seize the rulers and the cities and massacre also those who still side with the Light, aided by trollocs and not a few channelers.  Only through sheer luck and determination have the forces of the Light kept the Shadow at bay.

 

But now, a final assualt has been prepared for Tar Valon, the last pure bastion of the light.  Several hundred thousand Trollocs have been arrayed outside the city, and more thousands of channelers allied with the Shadow, including the Black Ajah, have laid the city to seige.  The final tally of the seige stands as thus

 

FORCES OF THE LIGHT

~100,000 citizens and soldiers

~50 Aes Sedai (the rest are at the other cities defending, or at the blightborder)

~50 Asha'man (the rest are at the other cities defending, or at the blightborder)

~5000 Novices and Accepted (includes Seachan)

~4000 Soldiers and Dedicated (includes Seanchan)

~2000 Kin

 

FORCES OF THE SHADOW

~200,000 trollocs

~2000 Dreadlords and Dreadladies

~200 Black Ajah

 

Who will win?  The Light or the Shadow?  You decide.

 

CAPTAINS OF THE LIGHT

Silviana Brehon (Keeper of the Chronicles)

Logain Ablar (M'Hael)

Tiana Noselle (Mistress of Initiates)

Damer Flinn (Master of Initiates)

Gareth Bryne (Captain of the City Guard)

Myrelle Berengari (Green Ajah)

Lelaine Akashi (Blue Ajah)

Magla Daronos (Yellow Ajah)

Tarna Feir (Red Ajah)

Serancha Colvine (Grey Ajaha)

Ferane (White Ajah)

Saerin Asnobar (Brown Ajah)

 

CAPTAINS OF THE SHADOW

Alviarin Freidhein (Black Ajah Head)

Pherno (Army Captain)

[Blackhoof]

Pherno smiled as the 200,00 Trollocs and darkfriends ftook up position around him. Another 110,000, who had been hidden by a collosal illusionory weave made by Pherno and several full circles of dreadlords, were spread out in groups attacking other parts of the city wall, to spread the lights forces thin.

 

The shadow army wasn't just trollocs, myrdraal, draghkar and darkfriends; it included several hundred of the massive, musclebound mutant shadowspawn that inhabited the blight. They were all different, some had horns and fur, others had scales and spines, or feathers and beaks, some even blew fire, but they were all at least twice the size of a man, bloodthirsty, and very, very hard to kill. They were spread through the shadow army, to be used as shock troops and to clear a path through the lightfool ranks.

 

It was dawn. Pherno almost bounced in his saddle in anticipation for the laughter ahead. It would be unmatched even by the Camelyn Massacres! Or the Bandar Eban Genocides! Pherno also hoped to meet one person in particular. The man who had found Pherno when he first began channeling and taught him everything he needed to know to survive. Without him, Pherno surely would have destroyed himself by over-drawing the power over 60 years ago. The man who, inadverdently, had unleashed one of the most powerful, evil, and destructive channelers in the history of the world. GrandpaG.

 

OOC: Mwa ha ha ha!

 

Alviarhin rode up beside Pherno, looking uncomfortable being in charge of the army but weaker than her second. "Are you ready to take control of the circle of the 70 most powerful dreadlords in the army, Pherno?" She asked, almost nervously. Pherno was a loose cannon who often randomly burned fellow darkfriends and trollocs from boredom, or dissapear for days on end on one of his random slaughterings. He was enough to make a myrdraal nervous.

 

"I am ready, hold it steady." Pherno took cntrol of the circle, and, drawing from his glowing-black sword angreal, let a flood of power nto him. It was so GLORIUS! His angreal shone until pherno was engulfed in a halo of black light. Letting the power shine, he knew that every male channeler in the city would sense him, and let them! Let them know that doom was coming!

 

Amplifying his voice with the power, Phern sang.

 

Do you know the reason i do this?

It is for the feeling of bliss,

that i get when i kill innocents.

So lay aside all your judgments.

 

Time to burn, scream and die,

i just dont know, why you try

to live, when dying is much more fun.

Youll agree, when im done.

 

You cant win, theres no chance,

The tower will fall, then i will dance

on your graves. Face it, its your final hour,

you'll agree, when you see my POWER!

 

With the final word, Pherno raised his sword-angreal, and black clouds gathered over Tar valon. And, instead of lightning, massive, house-sized fireballs began raining down. Many of the light channelers tried to stop the fireballs from raining down, but there were too many, and the massive, city-spanning weave was too powerful to counter. The firebals were the signal, and, as one, the shadowarmy swept towards the city, Pherno, a full circle of 72, and over a thousand Dreadlords charged with them.

 

The assault on Tar Valon has begun.

 

OOC: Yay!

[GrandpaG]

OOC:  I have some unfinished business to attend to.  From the looks of things this won't be a drawn out siege.  This post will alert me to check in later.  Remember, Pherno...overconfidence can hurt.  Friendly advice to an old pupil.  ;)

[Arani Lepenque Aes Sedai]

Silviana Brehon stood calmly as she watched the swarm of darkfriends, shadowspawn and dreadlords surge towards the city.  Around her stood 70 channelers, 35 men and an equal number of woman.  All were the strongest that could be found in the ranks of the Tower.  They outnumbered the dreadlords in terms of sheer numbers, but most of their number were Novices, Accepted, Soldiers and Dedicated of the Tower.  It was strange how desperate times could push people together, and together, they would be a formidable force that even the Shadow would not find as easy meat.  The Red Ajah still stood, and they had a new purpose - the help the sisters of the Tower find new recruits.

 

It was a tactic that paid off.  Several thousand more channelers had been gathered, and sworn to the Light.  Now, they were organized in circles of 72 or 71, far more in number than those in the Shadow.  but they still had to counter the shadowspawn and the normal range of Darkfriends.  Even now, as she stood on the top of the White Tower itself, so high that many sisters found themselves dizzy from the height, she looked calmly at the scene below.  Egwene had not left her unprepared for something like this to happen before she and most of the Sisters and Brothers of the Tower had gone off to the different cities to fight the Shadow.

 

She looked down at her hands and gazed at Vora's Sa'Angreal.  The most powerful Sa'Angreal the tower had possessed for over three thousand years was in her hands, and she intended to use it well.  Dangling from the bun of her hair was another Ter'Angreal that would disrupt any weaves flying her way.

 

"They're channeling!  Fire's coming down soon!"  Barked Logain, the Asha'man beside her.  She nodded and wove a barrier of Air above her, drawing on the power of the Linked circle of 71.  Saidar and Saidin thrummed in her.  She was a well of power, further amplified several times by the Sa'Angreal that was in her hands.  Even as the sky rained fire, boiling and churning, lightning streaking and flashing across the sky in outrage, the barrier of air held firm.  Slanting slightly such that it tilted down out from the city and devastated the hordes below with fire created from their own side.  Below her, the blazing lights of Saidar told her that the circles of Novices, Accepted, Soldiers and Dedicated were at work,, working together to bring down the opposition.

 

However, even Silviana's barrier of Air could not hold all the fire, and she had to draw even deeper into the circle, weaving flows of Air and Water to snuff out the flames even as they lit, beating down the flames until they were non-existent.

 

---

 

Airaya hissed even as the flames struck the barrier above her and fell onto the shadowspawn army below.  Deaf to the screams and shouts of those below the wall outside the city, she looked around at the group of Kin, Novices, Accepted and Dedicated around her.  Most looked terrified.  The Dedicated however, mostly were standing, their faces set.  Airaya admired their strength of character and will that made their faces so calm as compared to the others in her circle.

 

Drawing upon whatever power she had, she channeled Wind and Water, pointing her hand at the sky.  It glowed red.  A spark of fire, that turned into a flame, then a line that shot straight into the sky, arrowing into the clouds.  "Get down!"  She snapped at the group around her.  They did so, their clothes now fluttering against a wind that was rising, unnatural and strong, shrieking and howling.  She alone stood in the blast, but even then, the air avoided her.  Her hair swirled and her eyes shone like blue fire as she pointed her other hand straight at the army.

 

The wind whirled around her and crashed into the army, scattering them like ninepins, before coming to a halt as it skittered off another wall of air conjured up by an opposing circle.  Hissing with anger, Airaya drew deeper, and more Saidar and Saidin flooded into her.  Her whole body was now being illuminated by power that was within her, thrumming and singing within her.  The flows melded together, fining and resharpening itself as the opposing halves of the One Power fought and worked.

 

The amount of Power within her ensured that she could now see the features of the dreadlord she was working against.  His face was bared in a snarl as they battled.  Around him were the faces of several others, all looking out for other sources of worry.

 

Then a bolt of lightning struck the barrier the dreadlord was holding, causing him to stagger.  Airaya lessened the attack slightly and looked to one side.  Sumeko was there, her normally kind and plump face set and determined, though frightened.  Around her hand played a bolt of lightning as she aimed, and threw again.  "Sumeko!"  Airaya panted, making her voice as loud as possible over the noise of the battle.  "Don't aim!  Just throw!"  Sumeko looked at her, and nodded slightly.  Turning her attention back to the dreadlord, she saw him look worriedly at his companions, then hold out his hands, even as Airaya and Sumeko focused both their attentions on him.

 

He didn't stand a chance against two circles of 71.

 

Lightning created a large dent in his shield before burning through it and crashing into the dreadlord.  Immediately the remainder of the barrier disappated, and Airaya's gale force wind tore through the ranks of the circle, scattering them.

 

Around her, she saw that circles of the Light worked together, bringing down circle after circle of dreadlords.  Hope rose slightly in her heart, then fell as trollocs started to cross the river Eririn...

[NARISMA]

"Hold on you bloody cowards"-he yelled at the soldiers on the east wing of the walls surrounding the great city.Massive army of Trollocs gathered around the east gate.He channeled through the Angreal he was given by M'Hael.It wasn't the wand that he asked from Amyrlin but it helped.He wove a complex wave of fire and earth,making the ground in front of Trollocs to Erupt.

Crossbow men gathered on the towers protected by the shields that the circle of Aes Sedai wove around them to protect the men inside from the channeling of the Dreadlords.They fired the rain of arrows in the mass of Trollocs,but that wasn't helping much.Myrdrals pushed the attack and Trollocs feared them much more than they feared Death from arrows.

He was ordered an hour ago by M'heil to join the other leaders on the top of the tower from which they had a better view of the advancing battle but he bloody won't abandon his men out here.He was the T'sorovan M'heil,but that didn't mean that he was going to stand and look as his men dyed.And Pherno was somewhere out there.He is going to kill him personally,and if he wanted to do that he must not go anywhere from here.

"Channel the death gates in that mass"-he ordered soldier that was standing beside him.

"That should slow them down for a little while."

Gray haired man started channeling while he prepared new wave.It was a complex one and he needed some time.

He wished that he had the power of a circle joined to his own.That way this would be much easier but he could do it himself but he needed more time this way.

He wove the grid of fire,spirit and air across the sky.He used all the power he had on disposal.Finally the rain of fire struck down the Trollocs,only ashes was left behind.

He knew that this grid would not last long,although he could hold it for hours once he finished the wave.Some Dreadlord will destroy it but for now it served the purpose.

The gate opened two feet left from where he was standing.More soldiers came through going to the east gate.

He felt the very strong channeling,before the rain of the lightning fell down on his men.Pieces of the wall erupted,and men dyed from the rock hitting them as well as from lightning.He cursed his luck and prepared to weave a Shield when one appeared above their heads.Group of Aes Sedai and Asha'man stood in the yard bellow and channeled the weave for Shield.This way they were protected from the dreadlords attack because they could not see them.Dreadlords were well hidden too,because he didn't saw any human in the battlefield despite the ewer present channeling.He could not determine from where the weaves came,because most of them were inverted and that angered him more than anything.

 

OOC:If you all agree we must add more trollocs.200 000 is nothing in the battle like this.You all saw what few supper channaleres did to 100 000 Trollocs in the Knife of dreams.And people reduce the nuber of channaleres on both sides.This is supposed to be as real as possible,and we all that Rand do't has so wast number of them.TNX

[NARISMA]

Sorry for comment  bout the number of Channaleres.Just saw in previous thread that Kin and Seanchan joined.Once again sorry.

[Blackhoof]

The shadow army reached the walls, and scaling ladders were brought up. Many were burned or sliced with the power, but some reached the battlements and soon trollocs were on the walls. But it wasn't enough. Trollocs and Darkfriends were falling in the thousands by the power and arrows from the battlements. Suddenly a massive gateway opened behing the shadow army, over 500 metres long and 100 metres high, and trollocs began pouring out of it. Other gateways followed, spread out along the field, and soon over 300'000 more shadowspawn had entered the fight.

 

For a channeler of either sex, the sky was a mass of coloured, transparent vines. Pale white vines sliced through other vine colours and each other, ending powerful weaves before they had begun. Fire rained from the sky, and all attempts to stop it were beaten off by the dreadlords cutting weaves of spirit.

 

Seeing the dreadlord circles falling and dissapating into individual channelers, Pherno was furious. There were too many light channelers! He needed to do something about that. weaving fire, small jets of flame shot out of his palms and feet, ands he soared into the air (iron-man style). Immediately light channelers began throwing weaves at him, but the dreadlords supporting him below severed the weaves with flows of spirit (because Pherno was abysmal in spirit, and couldn't for any pure weaves of it, so no shielding or deflecting other weaves for him). Gathering his might, Pherno channeled as he'd never channeled before. Weaving earth and fire, a collossal weave began forming. It was awe-inspiring, and many channelers of both sides, all attempts to beat it deflected, stared in wonder or horror as it coalesced and shot at one of the gates.

 

The gate exploded. Not just the gate, but the entire wall section simply exploded in pure fire. Dozens of light channelers and hundreds of soldiers were killed instantly, and many more were killed or injured by flying masonry-turned-shrapnel. The battle went through a momentart lull as both sides stared at the 200 metre long gap in the wall where the gate and several hundred people had been. Partially drained from his massive display of power, Pherno lowered himself down as the battle picked up again. Trollocs began swarming through the breach, amidst hails of arrows and fireballs.

 

...

 

Demandred smiled as he watched the battle from his command tent on a hill overlooking the battle. He could only see by looking through a pair of binoculars, relics from his home-age. Demandred was impressed as he watched the gate vaporised; he had never seen such a raw display of power in his lifetime. Turning as he sensed a gateway open behind him, Demandred was confronted with a frantic messenger. "My Lord!" The dreadlord messenger cried. "The Dragon has reached Shayol Ghul! Even now he is battling the elite Black Trolloc Gaurd and a horde of those blight-mutants!" Demandred began chuckling to himself, much to the dismay of the messenger. "M-my lord? Are you allright?"

"Yes, fool." Demandred replied, turning away from the messenger and staring into space. "So, it has begun." Once again, the evil laughter of the Over-General of the Shadow Army filled the tent.

[Arani Lepenque Aes Sedai]

(OOC @ Blackhoof:  You're not the Creator, you know.  Even with the power of an Angreal you won't be able to stand against the power of at least 4 circles of 71 or 72... Even if you link.)

 

Eareth gasped, his black robes swirling as he spun on the spot, erecting a shield of air that prevented most of the debris from hitting anyone other than at the immediate area.  There was a lull in the fighting as everyone stared, then Eareth beckoned, and they scurried down to the breach.  Drawing upon all the power that the circle could wield, Eareth looked around for the mortar.  Burning debris littered the ground, surrounding the area.  Nothing had gone far thanks to his wall of Air.  Others had also contributed, and the result was a pile of rubble where the gates had stood.

 

As trollocs started to pour in, Eareth decided to act fast.  Weaves of Air placed the stones in a rough position, and Earth and Fire started to melt them back into one singular wall.  Behind him, he felt lightning blaze and blast away any attempts to reach the city, and trollocs and shadowspawn alike were driven back into the river whence they came, many drowning in their attempts to flee, capsizing their boats and their steersmen.  Behind him, as he looked, stood Romanda Cassin, her face white with anger and determination.  Weaves of Spirit emanated from her, and she killed the trollocs silently, with the power of a circle of 71 to back her up.  The trollocs stood no chance with her weaves of death.  They did not spasm on the ground, but fainted as though they rested.  The shadowspawn and darkfriends stood no chance as Eareth started to block up the remainder of the hole.

 

As the last of the hole was blocked up and reinforced with a warding against the One Power, Seyren turned to look around.  Accepted were going around, Healing who they could.  Some like Sharina, were supervizing the linking of circles.  Several Aes Sedai and Asha'man had been killed, and now the most senior of the Accepted and the Dedicated had to take over.

 

---

 

Sighing with relief as the breach sealed with the aid of several circles of 72, Silviana turned her immediate attention to the dreadlord who had fired the weave.  At her request, another circle of 72 had joined them at the top, and the topmost part of the tower was becoming crowded.  She ordered all to go below, at the floor below, to free up the area, and give some space for her and for her companion, Myrelle, some time to look and survey the damage.

 

Myrelle took over the shielding of the sky.  Although she did not have a Sa'Angreal like Silviana's circle did, all of Myrelle's companions had Angreal, augementing their abilities multiple times, and the end effect allowed them to better take over the shielding of the city from the rain of fire.  So far, their weaves had been successful, and now that Myrelle had taken over, Silviana could now concentrate on that light-cursed dreadlord who had shattered the gates.

 

Drawing upon all the power that the Sa'Angreal offered, Silviana channeled.  Saidin and Saidar surged in her.  Logain held another Sa'Angreal below, and together, Saidar and Saidin pushed and melded together in the weaves she was now creating.

 

Dividing her flows several ways, Silviana channeled lightning, wind, and several other things, then aimed right at the dreadlord who was now descending from the sky.  Energy crackled around her as the weaves manifested themselves.  Lightning swirled around her body, and winds blasted through the pinnacle of the Tower.  Fire blazed around her hands as she pointed.  Attempts to cut the weave were futile.  The weave was right next to her, and all she had to do was to use a thin, but sharp, trickle of Spirit and Fire, and the weaves threatening hers were obliterated on the instant.

 

The winds howled and blasted, swirling her hair even as she threw bolts of lightning thick as trunks of trees at him.  Hurricane force winds swirled around her, gaining momentum, and scattered the trollocs like ninepins as it rushed towards him.  Fire gathered on her hands, mingling with the lights of the lightning as Cutting Lines of Fire spun, doing a merry dance around as they concentrated themselves onto the dreadlord.

[NARISMA]

He was there when Pherno suddenly begun to wove threads of power for some unknown weave.Suddenly East gate exploded,bringing death to soldiers and channelers that were protecting the gate.He saw when one Trolloc ripped the head of one of the Damane.He was horrified but he didn't allow his fear to surface.He wove prepared wave of Fire and Spirit,twisted so only he could see it.It was the Death Web,similar to one that Lanfear tried to use on Lord Dragon during the battle at Shadar Loghot.Gedwyn showed it to him before he was discovered as an Darkfriend.

"I'm gonna have my revenge"-he murmured to himself as he prepared the wave.Just as he was ready to throw the wave at Pherno,the gate opened near him.It showed the dark sky of Shayol Ghul.Young dedicated not so strong in power stepped out and came to him shouting.

In that moment Pherno vanished from the site.He must have sensed the opening of the gate.

"Blood and bloody ashes",he shouted at the dedicated."You sheep headed idiot,I had him."

The men stayed calm,waiting for him to calm down.

"IT is better to be important,or I'll throw you in the Trolloc pot myself."

"Lord Dragon started the attack on Shayol Ghul,and he is asking for the Aes Sedai that he said he will need."

"Is that all",he asked the man roughly.

"Yes T'sorovan M'Hael",the man said and saluted.

He picked the worst time for attack,but it wasn't to him to question orders from Lord Dragon.

"Tell him that they'll be sent".

The man nodded and opened the Gateway to Shayol Ghul.

"Take over the command",he said to Baijan M'hael next to him.The man was firm,he served in the Deathwatch Guard before he became an Asha'man.He could trust him to do the right thing.He knew how to act in situations like this.

He must report M'hael about the orders from Lord Dragon.Logan wasn't supposed to be in Tar Valon,he had different orders,but after the Battle began he decided that the best is to stay here and take over the command from him.Not that he complained.He was more useful here than standing on top of the Tower and doing nothing.

Tar Valon was the most beautiful city in the world,before the battle started.Now the streets were empty,and topless towers were half destroyed with the hammers of the air that Demandred used.Nobody knew how he could use such weaves from the distance,but he was effective.The circles of Aes Sedai and Asha'man were the only thing that kept the walls in one piece.

Some streets were full of the rubble from destroyed buildings so he walked the longer way to the Tower ground.The walls were the only place where the Traveling was possible,rest of the city was under the shield against the Traveling,and that was the only thing that kept the Dreadlords from moving the Trollocs in the city via a new form of Gateways that enabled them to transport the Shadowspawn quickly.He cursed the Day when he left the Mesaana alive.She was the one who discovered the new form of gateways.

He climbed through the half full hallways of the tower.The wounded soldiers were everywhere.Yellow sisters and some from the Kin were healing them in shifts so there was always one group that was ready to heal while the other rested.

He met the M'hael in one Amyrlin quarters talking with the Gawyn Trackand,the warder of the Amyrlin and second in command of the armies.He saluted to M'hael and bowed slightly to Gawyn.

"Lord Dragon has begun attack on Shayol Ghul",he said flatly to M'Hael."He asks for Aes Sedai,that he commanded to be there when he asks."

M'haels face remained calm."I will tell the news to Amyrlin",he said.

"Rand will have Aes Sedai as he asked,the young woman who just entered said.

He recognized her instantly.She was the Amyrlin.

[GrandpaG]

OOC:  Pherno, I have dad stuff to do this week.  Will try to pop in when I can.  Gramps.

[NARISMA]

He bowed respectively,she was the one who held all the strings in her hands and that was obvious.Other woman that was standing beside her was Cadsuane,he recognized her from the days when she was with the Lord Dragon.Woman tried to say something but the sharp hand gesture from the Amyrlin stopped her.

"I hear that the East gate was destroyed",she said flatly.Did the Trollocs entered the city?

"I do not know,mother",he said."My men were holding up when i left."

She nodded.

"I will send Greens to help as soon as I choose who is going to help Rand."

She turned to Cadsuane."You will chose the ones who are going to East Gate.I trust your reasoning."

"It will be as you command Mother",the woman said and left the room.

"I will go with the ones you choose to send to Lord Dragon",M'Hael said."He will need my help."

This T'sorovan M'hael is more than capable to command the Black Tower troops stationed here.

He didn't have time for ceremonies,instead he just nodded to Logain and once again bowed to Amyrlin before he turned toward the exit.

"Saddle me a horse,and be fast",he said to one of the stablemen.Pherno will atack again and he will be there to face him.

[Blackhoof]

OOC: @ arani. i am aware that what Pherno did was massive, but he had a very powerful angreal and a full circle of 72 powerful dreadlords backing him up. Hundreds of other dreadlords were stopping the light channelers from unravelling the weave, plus, he is now exhausted, and will have to rest for a bit before continuing.

 

IC: Pherno panted as he began descending. He had NEVER done that before..... he hadn't realised that he could!

 

Suddenly a storm of lightning shot at him. Damn dreadlords, they were supposed to cover him! Flinging up a shield of air, Pherno narrowly escaped death as the lightning bounced off and into the shadow army below. Speeding up his descent, Pherno dropped into the safety of the mass of shadowspawn, just as more lightning arced past him.

 

Panting, Pherno sat on a rock, and waited. Soon he would rejoin the fight, soon.

 

      ....................................

 

Lupin directed more and more of his zombies into the breach, raising more with complex weaves of air, water and spirit. He sent them to join the other shadowspawn cimbing the pile of rubble where the breach had been. It was useless, though. As soon as they got to the top, they would explode or be torn apart or die soundlessly as the channelers below held them back.

 

Drawing deeply from his circle, and joining the efforts of other dreadlord circles, Lupin hurled lightning at the pile of rubble, and large chunks of masonry flew off. Gathering all the strength he could, Lupin hurled a mass of huge lightning bolts, and the rubble crumbled. Trollocs and Lupins zombies swarmed over the rubble and began fighting the soldiers on the other side. Many fell to the power, but the dreadlords managed to hold the worst of it off the trollocs. Weaker Light channelers were already dying to the dreadlords weaves or trolloc blades.

 

Smiling as he mounted the rubble and stilled a nearby damane, Lupin knew that with the outer wall breached and trollocs pouring in, it was only a matter of time before tar valon fell.

[Arani Lepenque Aes Sedai]

OOC @ Blackhoof - Even so, the light still has thousands more channelers that the Shadow, even though most are not yet at full strength.  That equals to about three times the Shadow's channeling number.  The Shadow has the advantage of non-channelers.  The Light still holds the upper hand when it comes to channelers.

 

Nyere hissed even as the walls were broken again, at the exact same place.  Trollocs poured in and the scene soon became a field of slaughter as even the weaker circles started to back away.  Nyere glanced around.  There seemed to be fewer circles than there should have been.  The parapets should have been packed with Novices and Accepted, Soldiers and Dedicated.  Where had the other circles gone to?  Nyere shook her head and ran down the stairs, her circle following.  Other circles had also joined their attention to the breach, leaving the others to mainly shield the city from exterior attacks, not fighting, but defending.  The forces of the Light were now on the defensive.

 

Channeling furiously, Nyere wove flows of Spirit and Fire that seared away the bodies that stumbled over the wreckage.  More and more flooded through as the forces of the Shadow pressed in.  Then suddenly, there was a rumbling sound, and the trollocs suddenly started to back away in fear, looking outside the city.  Puzzled, Nyere moved several steps closer...

 

And regretted it immediately as a literal wall of water came and swept away most of the threatening horde, giving the forces of the light a momentary breather.  The tidal wave was nearly as high as the wall around, and Nyere had to shield the wall to prevent the water from spilling into the already drenched crowd, and prevent unnecessary deaths by drowning.  Taking advantage of the stunned silence that followed, Nyere worked together with another Asha'man to rebrick the wall stone by stone, healing the wall such that it was as if the wall had never been broken.  Joining their wills together, with flows of Spirit, Earth and Fire, they melded the wall into one solid piece, stronger than ever.

 

The Shadow would not be able to break the wall so easily any more.

 

Of course, there was a matter of the irritating dreadlord.  But Nyere had deduced, since the wall of water came crashing down, that many of the circles had been preparing this attack, and now would soon be rejoining them.  Not unexpectedly, gateways soon began to appear in the air just above the walls of Tar Valon, the hundreds of people flooded through, Novices, Accepted, Soldiers and Dedicated, returning from the mission they had been sent to, tired, but pleased with their handiwork at eliminating at least several thousand trollocs at one blow.

[Blackhoof]

Lupin picked himself up and began shaking like a dog to get rid of the worst of the water. DAMN! They were fixing the wall! Lupin was about to turn his circles might against it, but realised that he had lost the power. NO! Now they would have to re-do the circle, and that meant finding the other dreadlords he had been linked with. Without there power, Lupin was weak. Muttering angrily, Lupin stalked back from the wall, into the relative safety of the trolloc masess. They were bringing up scaling ladders, and since there were no channelers on the newly-repaired wall yet, nothing could stop them from swarming onto the battlements. Not that it would accomplish anything.  The light channelers would stop them. There was nothing mopre that he could do.... for now.

 

................

 

Pherno grinded his teeth in frustration. Not only had they repaired the damage his weave had inflicted, they had killed thousands of trollocs doing it. Damn damn DAMN! Shadow-cursed lightfools! Well, at least he had caused the deaths of dozens of light channelers and killed hundreds of soldiers. That was something.

 

Having rested, Pherno headed for the front. He needed to get more trollocs and shadowspawn onto the walls.... but how.... Pherno smiled and laughed as he thought of a good way how.

 

Once he reached the walls, Pherno found another dreadlord circle-leader. He asked him what the situation was. "Well, lord Pherno, the breach wasd fixed, but the repaired wall section is now flooded with trollocs, we have brought in siege towers and hundreds of scaling ladders, but most are destroyed by the power. Theyhave too many channelers, my lord." The dreadlord paused and deflected a lightning bolt from a nearby aes sedai and flung another back in return. the aes sedai leapt out of the way, but was caught by a fireball Pherno had thrown. She was knocked, screaming, off the wall backwards.

 

Pherno barked a few rhyming orders, and the dreadlord complied. "So you want me to help you shield that siege tower? Wat is so important about it?"

"It has two-dozen trollocs and a blight-mutant Bower. Those things are tough, and resistant to the power." The dreadlord nodded, and they went, along with the rest of his circle, to the tower. Pherno aided them ,and they formed a large inverted weave of illusion around the tower. It rippled a bit, but because if the large amounts of channeling happening, it went unnoticed until it was right up against the wall.

 

Several channelers shot weaves at the invisible tower finally realising that something was up, but the dreadlords assigned to cover Pherno blocked them. At the last moment, Pherno dropped the weave, and the tower ramp crashed to the battlements, crushing several light soldiers. Trollocs and the huge, 3-metre tall, musclebound, power-resistant, taloned, spined Bower rampaged onto the wall. Many of the trollocs fell to nearby channelers attacks, but the Bower simply shrugged off weave after weave and threw soldiers and light-channelers out of the way as it powered over the wall.

 

Scaling ladders rose, and soon the wall section was covered in trollocs, myrdrall and darkfriends. Pherno laughed and went inside the tower, climbing the ladder inside and joining the shadow forces on the wall. Drawing from his angreal, Pherno erected a small wall of air and kept it just in front of the rampaging trollocs, protecting them from the light channelers weaves. This would be the shadows bridgehead, from which they would take the rest of the wall. Pherno would make sure it was so.

 

OOC: Sorry about the shadowspawn-through-gateways thing, i forgotabout that. And good work narishma for improvising to cover up my screw-up.  :)

[Arath Faringal]

I've been following this thread and the other one for a while, even thought of joining in a time or two, and although it's interesting I see a big problem with how this siege is happening.  Tar Valon is on an island, with a 1 mile wide river on either side.  And the walls are right up against the water.  Scaling ladders and siege towers would be pretty hard, if not impossible to use.  And an invisible tower would still be pretty noticeable as it ran across a 1 mile bridge.

[Arani Lepenque Aes Sedai]

(OOC:  The trollocs, fades will not be able to come over the wall, so I'll just ignore that for now.  I'll deal with the bower though.  He won't be resistant to two dozen circles of 72 channelers.  That would be equal to a Gholam, and only six of those were ever made.)

 

Firae realized too late that something was creating mass havoc in the Shadow army, moving towards the White Tower.  It was approaching fast, about to reach to bridges.  Firae drew on as much power as he could and blasted at the approaching seige tower.  Several other circles joined in, but were deflected as the other dreadlords started to counter their moves.  As the seige tower reached the tower, some sort of shadowspawn came charging out.  Weaves of the Power flashed, and lightning struck them.  However, they did not die, but came on, skin smoking.  Already four circles had fallen, their bodies now bloody smears on the walls.  Horrified, the circles backed away, and retreated.  Firae included.  He barked orders, and all those who were not leading circles in his area backed down the walls, leaving him and ten on one side of the ... thing, and another round dozen on the other side.

 

Leaving the other circles to deal with the Shadow forces outside, Firae joined forces with the leaders of the ten circles with him, working together.  With a boom, they all channeled flows of Fire.  Streamers of fire, augmented by Angreals, blasted towards it.  The Bower screamed as heat seared his body, nearly as hot as the fabled balefire.  He started to burn slowly, and retreated back, looking at the other circles, but they were ready.  Lightning blasted from their fingers, striking him full on in the head.  The thing was trapped between fire and Lightning, he looked back at forth at them with hatred, screaming in pain an rage.

 

Then suddenly, a red beam burst forth from the top of the Tower.  Firae looked up, and saw Silviana Brehon standing on the top of the dark, hair flying, hands outstretched, with the Tower's most powerful Sa'Angreal in her hand.  The beam struck the beast full on in the chest.  With a final scream, it vapourized, and fell back onto the river below, and the corpse was carried away by the current.

 

Then, together, all twenty-four circles of seventy-two struck back as one at the trolloc horde, with one single powerful weave from each, flashing in the air before them, so fast and sudden that the dreadlords below did not have time to factor in their reemergence into the fight.  Five circles wove Air, Five used Water, five wielded earth, five blasted fire, and the last four wielded Spirit.

 

The winds rose and screamed, louder than ever, as the circles combined their flows in the air.  Winds that were far beyond the range of hurricane forces swept down and cut a swath through the whole horde, killing hundreds.  The waters of the River Erinin rose up in fury, and came down, crashing and drowning another hundred.  The earth exploded, and cracked, flinging dozens up, and swallowing hundreds more.  Fire blasted from Firae's hand, and lightning crackled from several more, searing many to ash.  They were channeling so hard and furious that they would have been burnt out had they not been linked.

 

But the greatest blow was struck from Silviana's circle and those wielding Spirit.  As once, they severed four other circles of seventy-two from the dreadlord army.  The leaders faltered, and the link dissolved, and the other circles moved in to mop them up on the instant.

[NARISMA]

Yeah I screwed it up from the beginning.I forgot bout the island thing :)

[Blackhoof]

OOC: River? What river? The river erinin dried up at the begining of the last battle from the dreadlords and asha'mans' fighting.  ;) Poor Bower.... not even it could resist that.  :) Oh well, their are more.... Arath, please join.... and side with the shadow...  ;D I'm the only shadow-dude, im lonely!  :)

 

IC: Pherno shielded himself with air just as the massive storm of the power completely eviscerated the shadow forces on the wall. Flung off the wall, Pherno cushoned his fall with air, so he survived only with a few bruises.

 

Picking himself up, he realised something.... he was on the city side of the wall. Looking around, he saw that no-one was in the area, they were all up on the wall fighting. Smiling evilly, Pherno headed off to make some mischief.

 

.................

 

Lupin, having rejoined his full circle, was using his zombie trollocs to shield the living ones from the channelers attacks, so they could reach them. Unfortunately, it didn't work, and the zombies and the trollocs were massacred. This was IMPOSSIBLE! How could they win with all these channelers! Twenty-four circles of 72! TWENTY-FOUR! That was hellish.... he almost pitied the shadowspawn on the wall when they unleashed that attack.

 

Lupin realised that they couldn't win. There were simply too many light channelers. The dreadlords were falling  like flies, and although they were suffering heavy losses, the light side would win... as things stood, it was inevitable.

 

Someone had to do something... something big. Something that would get rid of the lights channelers... at least for a while. Suddenly realising what he should do, Lupin passed leadership of the circle to another dreadlord, and hopped through a gateway, to shayol ghul.

 

...........

 

Pherno, feigning injury, limped up to the large medical tent that was used by the light as its main hospital area, where the aes sedai skilled in healing worked on the wounded soldiers.

 

Entering the tent, Pherno saw that their were several dozen soldiers lying on beds, being tended by several women, obviously aes sedai. The soldiers were healed and sent on their way, but asa soon as one left, two more came in. Their were many other tents like this scattered around the city, and Pherno planned to visit them all.

 

An aes sedai healer came up to him, and tried to usher him onto a bed. Standing tall and abandoning his feint, Pherno wove air and gagged them all. Before they could react, he had sent lightning-fast weaves of fire and slit their throats. Pherno left the tent and set up a fire ward and tied it off. Anyone who went through it would be set on fire. That should kill a few dozen soldiers before anyone realised that something was up.

 

Setting off for the next medical tent, Pherno smiled; he had a lot of work to do.

[Arath Faringal]

Daerath Farandran stood atop the White Tower, surveying the devestation around the city of Tar Valon.  The eastern side of the city looked secure now.  The brief breach of the walls had been corrected, although a great many channelers lay dead in the area around.  Losses the forces of the Light could ill afford.  The only consolation was that the assault had cost the dreadlords just as dearly, and the shadowspawn even more so.  But the eastern side was no longer Daerath's main concern.  

 

So much attention had been paid to the breach on the east, that the forces on the western side were spread thin.  As of yet, there hadn't been enough action to warrant a redistribution, but from his vantage point, Daerath could see that it would soon change.  Countless trollocs and fades were massing on the plains to the west of the city.  What they were up to exactly was a mystery, but it was doubtful that it would remain that way for long.  He suspected that the breach on the east would soon be replayed again on the opposite side of the city where fewer channelers would be prepared to stop the onslaught.

 

Eyes running over the burning landscape, Daerath searched for something, anything, that would give an advantage.  But try as he might, nothing came to mind.  What could he do to turn the tide?  What attribute of the enemy could he turn against them?  What aspect of the landscape would be used to advantage?  For the hundredth time, Daerath cursed the flat, useless terrain around Tar Valon.  The only bump for miles around was Dragonmount, and ...

 

Daerath paused for a moment, considering the great volcano.  A wicked grin split his face as he considered the dreaded mountain, the tombstone of the Dragon.  That thing which had been a marker of doom for millenia, could well be the salvation Tar Valon.  Raising his voice, he called to the others on the rooftop.  A dozen or so Aes Sedai and Asha'man, all tasked with monitering the battles and relaying information came quickly to his side where he quickly explained.  

 

A circle was quickly formed, Daerath at the lead.  An incredibly intricate net of all five elements was woven into a large dome around him, while the others remained well outside.  When the dome was complete, the Asha'man tied it off and let the link dissolve, and everyone quickly began on the next phase of the plan.  The sky above them churned with evil black clouds.  Though the fireball rain had ceased for the time being, the skies still boiled.  It actually seemed as though the burning rain had charged the air enough to make this even more potent.  Everyone on the White Tower rooftop wove air and fire, anchoring the beginnings of lightning to the dome.  More and more were added, until the dome was entirely covered with the spikey protrusions.

 

When all was complete, and Daerath was satisfied he motioned the others away from himself and the dome.  The weave was likely to kill anyone who stood too close.  Adding one final weave to the mass, the Asha'man extended heavily woven cables of air and fire in the direction of Dragonmount.  With a quick prayer to the Creator, Daerath closed his eyes, a smile on his lips, and extended a simple thread of spirit toward the top of the dome, activating the weave and completing every single lightning weave attached to it.

 

The skies erupted in a blinding flash of light and an incredible boom of thunder, giving pause to every single creature and person who struggled below.  Thousands of bolts of lightning crashed into the dome and coursed through the weave, seeking release.  They found it in the weave extended toward Dragonmount.  A collosal bolt of energy, thousands of lightnings woven into a single incredible burst, blazed across the sky and slammed into the side of the mountain.  The earth trembled as the eastern side of the mountain was blown away.  And then death rained from the sky.

 

Massive chunks of the mountain were blown miles to the east, falling among the shadow forces with devestating results.  And these were quickly followed by molten earth, no longer contained by the rock walls.  Sprays of magma gushed out of the stricken mountain as though the very lifeblood of the earth was being spilled.  Gobs of lava splashed down on the open fields, some reaching almost to the shining walls them.  And a massive wall of liquid fire ran across the plains, spreading out like a lake of fire, consuming all in its path.  Shadowspawn scattered madly, in an insane rush to escape certain death.

 

The channelers atop the White Tower pulled themselves to their feet and stared in awe at the devestation.  It took them several moments before they realized that the master of the plan was not joining them.  As they turned to search, their eyes fell upon an oddly serene, yet ghoulish sight.  A large black circle was burnt into the stones, and kneeling in the center was a charred and smoking figure.  All that remained of Daerath Farandran.  

 

Sadly, the survivors from the roof top returned to their duties.  They would not forget the sacrifice the Asha'man had made.  Nor would they let it be in vain.  The battle still raged on around the besieged city, and they intended to see it won.

 

OOC:  I might contribute another expendable character or two to this if I have time.  I'm two weeks away from a rather long LOA, so we'll see what happens.

[Wayward_fool]

((OOC: Can anyone join this or is it closed? Sorry for interrupting. I like this thread so far))

[Arani Lepenque Aes Sedai]

Anyone can join.  I'll be replying to Pherno in a moment.  And there are at least umm 100 circles of 72 in action at the moment, and about 40 from the Shadow.  The only mitigation the shadow has at the moment is that most of the circles of the Light consist solely of Novices, Soldiers, Accepted and Dedicated)

[Blackhoof]

OOC: Yes yes! by all means! join! Please! The shadow could use all the help it can get.  ;) No, seriously, im getting my butt kicked.

 

IC: Pherno stumbled to the ground, as the ground shook violently. After a few seconds, he picked himself up again, but he had no idea what had happened. Pherno had just left the last medical post, his mission accomplished. Of course, it wouldn't really do much, but it would screw around with the lights battle plan a bit.

 

Now, he needed to cut off the lights command structure at the source. Heading for the ungaurded white tower, Pherno planned the assasination of the lights leaders.

 

.......................

 

Lupin leapt out of the gateway made for him by a darkfriend asha'man onto the roof of the white tower. He saw dozens of people all over the structure,  many of them looking like generals. He walked to the nearest one, an asha'man Lupin recognised as the T'sorvran M'hael, and began 'reporting'. "My lord, the Lord Dragon is suffering heavy losses, but he is ready to confront the Dark One, but he needs those Aes Sadai, at least 3 circles of them, now. They have to be the strongest, as well, my lord." Lupin stifled a smirk as the T'sorvran M'hael grappled with the news. He had no choice but to accept, and lose the basis of his defence.

 

....................

 

Pherno walked unchallenged through the halls of the tower, killing any of the few maids, servants, messengers or lone channelers he came across. Some put up a bit of a fight, but they died soon, most wothout a sound. Eventually, he got close to the top. Pherno opened an inverted gateway and skimmed to the rear of the shadow army, where there were large amounts of dreadlords and elite darkfriends too important too waste in a mad rush to the walls. Barking a few rhyming orders, Pherno assembled about 2 dozen dreadlords, mostly under-average strength, and 200 elite, fully-armed and -armoured darkfriends. He also found another Bower and a Jarget.

 

Jargets were tall, but with thin limbs and an elongated neck, and snake-like head. Their hands were tipped with long, thin, curving talons. They weren't resistant to the power like bowers were, and were pretty easy to kill; one good blow from a sword would chop right through one of its weak bones. But They were fast. Very fast. So fast that they could enter a room full of people and be slicing apart someone on the other side befor anyone noticed. They weren't quite a blur, but... They also had deadly, poisoned fangs, talons, and tiny little spines all over their body. All poisoned so that if you got brushed by them ,you would die within a few seconds. It could also, if confronted with great danger, it could shoot some of its spines and pincushion anyone in front of it. It was perfect.

 

Filing them through the gateway and onto his platform, Pherno closed the gateway and set the platform moving. After a few seconds, it reached the other gateway and they filed out. Soon the room below the roof was filled with darkfriends and dreadlords. Now it was time for some fun.

 

Pherno gave the signal, and sent a blast of fire up the stairs and out onto the roof. The shadow strike force followed it and they began killing left and right. Pherno was the last one up, and he balefired the nearest Asha'man. The channelers on the roof were fighting back and massacring the darkfriends, but it was too much, soon, the light army would be left leaderless.

[Arath Faringal]

The walls were the only place where the Traveling was possible,rest of the city was under the shield against the Traveling,and that was the only thing that kept the Dreadlords from moving the Trollocs in the city via a new form of Gateways that enabled them to transport the Shadowspawn quickly.

 

The same post allowing shadowspawn to move via gateway says the entire city is warded against travelling.  You're not going to be able to travel to the top of the tower.  Or you're not going to be able to do it with shadowspawn.  There needs to be some consistancy for this to work.

[Arani Lepenque Aes Sedai]

Actually I think NORMAL gateways can transport Shadowspawn.  It's DEATHGATES that don't allow for it.  Rand's normal gateway weave consists of Spirit and Fire.  Deathgates consist of Spirit, Fire and EARTH.  I think that Shadowspawn can be moved via gateways.  When Rand states that shadowspawn cannot survive moving through a gateway, I take it to mean those gateways, the deathgates.

[Arani Lepenque Aes Sedai]

(OOC:  Lets just say that there's a flaw in the weave that allows for travelling from inside to out, but not from outside to in.  The Light certainly did not expect for Pherno to be blasted into the city itself.  Anyway, the attack would be a disaster.  You really should read the series again, Blackhoof, because I sincerely doubt that only two dozen channelers would be able to stand against a circle of 72, aided by the most powerful SA'ANGREAL the Tower possesses.  If a strong Aes Sedai could level the city at a blow, what do you think a circle of 72 aided by this Sa'angreal could do?)

 

Silviana's head whipped around as an Aes Sedai screamed.  The three circles on the wall stirred, even as fire blasted off the door to the roof, and darkness flowed up.  Two different shadowspawn started to wreak havoc, even as they ran to the other corner.  Several fell before Silviana, drawing on the full power of the circle, started to weave a powerful shield of air that prevented any more casualties.  Whipping up the Sa'angreal, she drew through with the maximum it allowed, and a torrent of the One Power flooded through her, everything else paling in comparison.  There was so much of the power involved that it surely could be felt several dozen leagues out of the city.

 

There was the matter of the shadowapawn.  There were two of them, one agile and quick, attempting to shoot at them, but all were deflected by the shield of air.  Snorting in contempt, she blasted it off with a streak of lightning, even as several other weaves fought off the simultaneous attacks made by twenty four unlinked dreadlords.  Then there was the other shadowspawn that had killed around three circles before this.  She might have only 71 members, like those this thing had killed, but she had a Sa'angreal that magnified her power several times.  Channeling Air and Fire with all the energy she possessed, a bar of Fire, so thick that it was as tall as a man, struck the ... thing, blowing off its chest and sending it hurling, flying away, past the walls and crashing into the army below, killing several darkfriends and trollocs massing away from the river Erinin.

 

Turning her attention to the darkfriends and dreadlords, she started to smite them into pieces, extracting revenge for the fallen of the Light.  Lightning crackled and blazed, even as winds howled and swept others off their feet off the Tower, and they had several hundred metres to fall before they met a sticky end on the ground.

 

The dreadlords she beat off as if they were untrained children, their weaves sliced to pieces before they merited special attention.  They were severed several at a time, their panicked attempts to stop her weaves futily beating at the strength of her weaves.  Until finally, the commander of this attempt stood alone.  Drawing deeper and deeper, until whatever she did brought no more, she channeled several dozen weaves at a go.  Fire rushed around him, appearing out of thin air, even as the winds, gale force, blasted at him.  Lightning blasted from the sky, striking at him, lancing at him.  The air around him fouled, turning to carbon dioxide, depriving him of air.  The air on one side chilled as ice formed, and the other side, heat seared like the surface of the sun.