Week 4 Story - The Walled City

A mile inland from the eastern shore lay Onyx, crown city of the Seylun Kingdom. Built into, on, and around a mountain, the city housed the royal family. To the northeast of the city was a large river, winding its way to the ocean from the inland mountains. To the west of the city was open field, prime farmland. Many of the city's lower-class citizens found themselves here working the land, only venturing into the city to trade for essentials. Around the edges of the city, near the base of the mountain, was the city’s primary defense: a towering wall – twenty stone high and ten deep. Legend tells that the walls have stood for thousands of years and that they would stand for thousands more.  

As a major trading hub, the city was a prime target for invasion. Many nations wanting to plant their banner in the heart of the city have attempted to assail the walls; none leaving so much as a scratch. Each successive monarch thinking in their hubris that they would be the first to conquer the immovable city were each forced to turn and hang their head in shame as they retreated. But the walls have yet to be tested by their greatest foe.

From the west the Iron Legion marched; burning all in their path of conquest. The legion was comprised of the people of many nations; some willingly submitting, and others forcefully subjugated to the rule of the God-Emperor. The Emperor wanted control of the entire continent, and Onyx was one of the last major holds on the eastern seaboard. Taking it would grant the legion a large swath of land in the east, and most importantly, it would set a staging area to take the rest of the coast.

Leading the Legion’s charge through the continent was the 52^nd Battalion: The standard bearers for the Legion. They led the charge into every battle and every siege the Legion fought. The soldiers of the 52^nd Battalion were some of the strongest, most determined, and most cunning soldiers the Legion had to offer. At their head was a man who embodied all the qualities of the soldiers he led: Commander Amondala Ryx.

Ryx was a towering man and a battle-tempered veteran. He led the 52^nd Battalion through every conquest on their way across the continent. While Ryx rarely showed mercy to his foes, he always offered the enemy a chance to surrender beforehand. Onyx was no different. As the Legion approached the city, Ryx sent for his opposite, General LaCroix, wishing to give him a chance to surrender and join the Legion peacefully.

General Jeremy LaCroix was a prideful man. He was a noble, granted his rank not because of his accomplishments, but because of his birth. LaCroix, in all his years, had seen little combat. The safety of the walls proved an excellent deterrent for wars. Onyx, nor her soldiers, had seen battle, save for the intermittent skirmish with bandits, for over 100 years. A golden era of peace reigned in Onyx, leaving her without a need for much of an army.

Ryx met LaCroix at the gates to the city.

“Well met, General!” greeted Ryx.

“Well met, Commander” LaCroix Replyed.

“I suppose you know why I called this meeting” Ryx asked.

“I suppose I do. What are your terms?” LaCroix questioned.

“Unconditional surrender to the Iron Legion and a pledge of devotion and loyalty from all citizens, members of the military, and the royal family to the Emperor.”

“And if we refuse?” LaCroix pressed.

“We take you by force.” Ryx replied sternly.

“Nonsense!” LaCroix scoffed. “No army can take these walls. The city will never fall, and it will never bow to you or your emperor!”

“You cannot stop the Legion, General. If you refuse our offer of peace, your city will burn.” Ryx said, staring down LaCroix.

“You will never make it through the walls!” LaCroix shouted.

“We have more soldiers than you have citizens. Your walls will fall.”

“You’re going to need much more than just soldiers to fell the walls of Onyx! If we must fight, so be it, but Onyx will never surrender to the Legion!”

“As you will it, General.”

With the exchange over, Ryx headed back to his encampment, devising a plan.

For three days, the Legion set encamped around the city, not moving. At dawn on the fourth day 5 huge monstrosities made their way out of the trees that lined the edge of the lowlands surrounding the city. By midday, the machines were lined up outside of the walls of Onyx. At the blaring of a horn, one of the machines hurled a boulder at the wall. With a deafening crash, it left itself embedded in the wall. Terrified, the soldiers on the wall panicked, abandoning their posts. With a thunderous roar the remaining machines fired their munitions into the wall, crumbling it where they hit, and leaving the city it once protected exposed.

As the battle horns blared, Ryx personally lead the charge into the city. Onyx fell within the week.

Minas Tirith from Lord of the Rings

Source: LotRWiki

*Authors Note

I wanted to take a different approach to the story of the bridge. I felt like it could have been an epic battle. I wanted to try to show that here. I replaced the setting with something a little more “known”. I chose a generic fantasy setting, wanting to see how well I could flesh out a city and two opposing armies. I felt that a commander being forced to come up with a way to destroy and indestructible wall was similar to Rama needing to find a way to cross an unfordable body of water. However, I felt that the Sea God telling Rama what to do was a little too easy. As a final note, Minas Tirith from Lord of the Rings was one of the things I was picturing when think of the city. Except the mountain for the city in the story is much smaller. The measurement for the wall was completely arbitrary. I thought that saying stones instead of feet sounded more archaic. I'm going to say for this story that a stone is approximately 1-2 feet in height/length.

References

PDE Ramayana