| Ghosts of the Past Conflict | |||
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| Previous: Siege of Tirisfal | |||
| Next: Operation Blackrock and Roll | |||
| Conflict: Blood War | |||
| Date: January 13th - January 19th, 39 L.C. | |||
| Place: Ghostlands | |||
Outcome: Tactical Alliance victory.
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Moderate. |
Heavy.
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The Ghosts of the Past Conflict was a series of conflicts located in the southernmost regions of Quel'thalas in the Ghostlands. Seeking to push toward total control of the Eastern Kingdoms, the Alliance selected a small army of elite soldiers to establish a foothold within the Ghostlands, not possessing the forces to launch a full scale attack against Silvermoon. As a response, residents of Quel'Thalas scrambled to raise their defenses and maintain their grasp on the land, and summoned their fellow Horde allies to prevent this army from taking control of Sin’dorei land or pushing further inland.
January 13th - Arrival[]
The Horde and Alliance both arrived in the area. The Alliance arrived under the mask of a Void Shroud to prevent the Horde from gleaming their location. Landing at Shalandis Isle, the group re-established one of the Moonwells for healing, and converted the other into a 'Void Well' to sustain the shroud without draining the energy of the Void Elf forces with them. Though a point of contention for some of the group, who feared this would be an affront to Elune and a defilement, the Ren'dorei ensured that the process would only be temporary, and, converted the well using runes that could be dispelled without leaving significant taint behind; thus allowing for the well to be purified later on. While still skeptical of the Ren'dorei, this appeared to have been an agreeable compromise for most.
The Horde arrived in the Ghostlands, rallying to Tranquillien, and made clear their intentions to reach out to the Amani; delegation having already been opened with a group of their kind. This was met with contention, especially amongst the native defenders of Quel'thalas who have warred with the Amani for generations; but the mission was made clear that Quel'thalas would need any and all allies it could get.
Word reached the Horde through their scouting parties that a concentration of Alliance lied in the west. This was confirmed by magisters, who while they could not pinpoint the Alliance location, they detected the void coming from the west. Looking to these frontiers, the Horde was ready to mobilize in that direction the minute scouts reported Alliance presence once more.
January 14th - Goldenmist Village[]
The following day, the Alliance moved to secure Goldenmist Village as a forward base of operations on the mainland of Quel'thalas, meeting the Horde on the battlefield who had at last caught wind of Alliance movements and intended to deny them the outpost. Despite a few combatants still being up and the valiant stand of Afina Voidchaser, the Horde sounded retreat, thus giving the Alliance control of Goldenmist Village as their new main base of operations.
A secondary Alliance force led by Commander Kerdic Lothinil was deployed to Windrunner Village as a backup measure, as while it is not as ideal as Goldenmist Village it nevertheless provides a beachhead that the Alliance needed. Windrunner Village was removed as a potential threat when the Alliance cleared out the remaining threats that could prevent their forces from successfully landing, and came upon the ominous portents of Forests Trolls attacking from their flank.
January 15th - Sanctum of the Moon[]
Following the battle at Goldenmist, the Alliance and Horde begin to consolidate their forces and lay out plans, as the element of surprise has now been spent on both sides. A single group both sides moved to investigate a large amount of energy coming from the nearby Sanctum of the Moon.
For the Horde, trolls from the Amani, known as the Thornwood Tribe, seemed willing to work with the Horde. These trolls insisted that the Horde claim the Gem of Atai’natha, an ancient and dormant troll artifact that had been stolen from the Amani in years past; tracked down to the Sanctum. At the same time, the Alliance vied for this gem of power as well, as the Void Elves believed that they could use the crystal as a focus to enhance their powers and allow the Alliance more free movement throughout the forest with their shrouding powers.
The Alliance forces under Commander Inas'thas Sunbrook and the Horde forces under Ranger-Captain Erilihn Autumnsong clashed at the Sanctum of the Moon, with the Alliance returning as the victors with the Gem of Atai'natha re-empowered by a sprout of Azerite in their hands. The Void Elves initially suggested the controversial move of empowering it with the void to create a Void Shroud to cover Alliance movements throughout the Ghostlands, though it was ultimately decided to empower it with natural magics instead.
The Alliance "Troll Patrol" raided a Shadowtusk village, killing various Amani warriors and looting raided Alliance supplies. During this encounter, they faced off against several adherents of the Lynx God, Halazzi; including several War-Hulks and a Champion. These were all bested, with the holy vestments of the Champion being looted by the Alliance, alongside many tusks, as trophies. The Horde was doubtless informed of this, and the Alliance's surprising display of savagery towards the dead of the Amani as they continued to poke at the Horde's defenses while they scoured through the Ghostlands.
January 16th - Suncrown Village[]
Bolstered by their early string of victories, the Alliance began to test the defenses of Quel'thalas in full by assailing Suncrown Village, an abandoned border village that sits just across from Eversong. Brigadier General Berenal Grayblade and Commander Kerdic Lothinil led Alliance war parties against the Horde forces under Doctor Ivan Sibelius Felsorrow and Ranger-Captain Erilihn Autumnsong, vying for claim over the area. The forces clashed in the Suncrown outskirts and the eastern runestone laying on the Eversong side of the Elrendar River.
The Alliance's consecutive victories put the Horde on the backfoot in the northern regions of the Ghostlands, cutting off the Elves from the rest of Quel'thalas and making communication and supply movement to Tranquillien difficult. In addition to disrupting Horde movements between Silvermoon and Tranquillien, the Alliance's control over the border between Eversong and the Ghostlands allowed them the freedom to send parties into Eversong without fear of Horde counter-movement, boding ill omens for the Elves. However, the Alliance's eyes were now turned to the Horde's increasingly disruptive Thornwood allies.
January 17th - Amani Catacombs[]
As a result of the Horde's Thornwood troll allies becoming a nuisance to the Alliance war effort, they began tracking their movement to find their holdfast in the region. At the same time, Thornwood delegates led the Horde back to their home to discuss terms that could bring more of the Amani into the fold; leading to an ambush when the Alliance descended upon them.
Urged on to fight for their new allies’ home, as well as the fact that the Amani Crypts over look the Suncrown Village that now laid in the Alliance's control, the Crypts hold a potential strategic value in their placement to prevent either side from having full Eversong-border supremacy.
Despite the efforts of both sides' combatants, with Luneth Dawnseeker and Garion Magnus championing their respective factions by claiming victory over seven separate opponents each, the ultimate result for both factions was a tactical retreat due to the losses incurred in the fighting. Unable to hold the catacombs as intended, both sides abandoned the location. A Pyrrhic victory for the Alliance who continue to maintain their control over the Eversong-Ghostlands border unopposed, but a tactical stalemate.
January 18th - Deatholme[]
With the Alliance offensive having made several strikes and the Horde having answered them where able, the groups returned to their respective camps to begin assessing potential new avenues. During this time, a potent source of natural energy has begun to sprout from the southern parts of the Ghostlands, namely near the abandoned Scourge citadel of Deatholme. Once the Thalassian Range and the most sacred grove of the Quel’dorei, where Thas’alah, the mother tree of Quel’thalas was rooted, the area was perverted and the tree defiled by Arthas as a show of power to the Elves. Since Dar’khan Drathir’s death, the grand betrayer of the Elves, the region has been mostly abandoned, though efforts were made to revitalize Thas’alah. A pure root had sprouted somewhere within the ruins of this place, giving off its mighty power, and both sides sought to secure it, for it's power for the Alliance and to the Sin'dorei as a sacred piece of Thalassian culture to be preserved.
The Forsaken of the Hand of Vengence reinforced the former Scourge stronghold, seeing opportunity in the abandoned citadel for their people, constructing tents and laboratories over the remains of Arthas' army. The mindless zombies that used to roam the area were being stitched together by tireless Apothecaries, and the complex was littered with blight barrels, catapults and wagons as they prepared the area for the upcoming Alliance siege.
The Alliance forces entered the complex unopposed, finding it oddly abandoned. However, they soon found themselves surrounded by the Horde forces that had set up an ambush, their retreat back through the main gate blocked. Fighting was engaged, and the Alliance turned the Horde's trap against then and began to gain the upper hand.
However, victory came at a cost. With the Alliance gaining ground, the Horde evacuated their wounded and their forces from Deatholme as the Forsaken under Doctor Ivan Felsorrow began bombarding the area with the blight. In the midst of the chaos caused by the blight, Ranger-Captain Erilihn Autumnsong killed Inas'thas Sunbrook while he was holding a void portal open for the retreating Alliance troops, then dragged his corpse back to Tranquillien where it was cremated. The Horde also lost Braeira Tiderunner, who suffered a fatal wound from Death Knight Illiaster Orren after he slashed her throat during combat. Tiderunner's corpse was also brought back to Tranquillien, where the Horde's medical personnel and priests scrambled to resurrect her before she was completely lost, though she was left temporarily mute due to the damage done to her throat.
Despite the cost of their victory, the Alliance successfully secured the root of Thas'alah, and the blight ravaged the rest of the region of Deatholme, preventing the Forsaken from using it further as a stronghold and blight production and stocking facility. Felsorrow's decision to deploy the blight on Thalassian soil, specifically on the site of Thas'alah, was also extremely controversial amongst the Sin'dorei forces due to the lasting damage it caused to the land.
January 19th - Zul'Aman[]
In spite of their failure at the Amani Catacombs with the Thornwood Tribe, they have managed to gather several other Amani leaders to hear out the Horde’s propositions for a pact, should the Alliance truly come to attack Quel’thalas.
Seeking to disrupt these plans, as well as burn and destroy the Amani war-supply cache that would be extremely detrimental to any potential invasion by the Alliance, the Alliance attacked during these meetings. The Horde and Alliance clashed along the villages of Zeb'nowa, though the Horde managed to reinforce the Amani's flank, allowing them to clash with the Ren'dorei / High Elf forces at full strength. Meanwhile, the Alliance led their forces up the Amani Pass. There, the Horde attempted to bombard the Alliance holed up in the pass with blight, but the usage of the Scepter of Clarity, formed from the Gem of Atai'natha powered by nature magic and the root of Thas’alah prevented the use of it, to the surprise of Doctor Felsorrow who found his artillery suddenly disabled.
While the battle itself was close to a stalemate, as both sides were beleagured, the resurgant Amani forced the Alliance below into a retreat, thus leading the the Alliance fully conceding the pass. With their pact upheld, the Amani showed the Horde respect, honoring their pact without turning on them; despite the fact that it was very possible for them to do so. The Horde's success lent more tribes to the Horde's cause, leaving the Elves with a few more allies to protect their home.
While the Alliance scored many victories on the outlying areas of Quel'thalas, showing that the Horde's outlying defenses and strike teams are lacking, they found that entrenched positions were the Horde's specialty; as Zul'aman remained unraided by the Alliance forces.
| The Flames of War | ||
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| Blood Maul · Shadows of Ashenvale · Siege of Tirisfal · Ghosts of the Past · Blackrock and Roll | ||