One last natural barrier stopped the legion from being able to pour into Node 13 uncontested, it seemed meek as it was merely a crossing where a river became shallow, but a barrier had been raised.

A wall of soldiers stood on the other side, mostly dusklanders, from the elite clad in orichalk plate, carrying heavy halberds or a cleave-and-shield combo, to the majority of the dusklander forces, with lighter armor, wielding shields and crossbows, and others with spike, with an uneven distribution of bronze, steel and orichalk among the rank. Notable in this majority of the army was the standardization of equipment, despite the material issue and the rush to action the legion had demanded, all soldiers, from the elite to the levied troops, wore the same uniform in the same style. Brimmed kettle hats, flowing tunics in white and turquoise with a layer of opaque black cotton textile beneath, shields decorated with stars, comets or moons in brass or silver, with many raised banners of gradient tsillo following the same image patterns, with gradients colors going from orange to dark purple, dark blue to teal, and similar night and twilight themed colorations.

Flowing flags of flowers, a group of paladins was not too far from the core of the dusklander elite, this time without the worry of getting overrun, but still far from secure in the incoming battle after the loss of coldshank. To the sides, along with Dzalli’s skirmishers, there was a force of locals, rallied by Theodoro, these soldiers either wore white and yellow, a reminder of the pre-legion forces in the 13, or black and orange, to symbolize the ‘crescent sun’ as the eclipse, now a common occurrence in the node, became known. The same symbol also appeared in their flags and shields. These wore almost no armor, and were there to harass the troops with speed, sabers and their curved bows.

They along with a few veiled Magistrate archers were also the ones manning the siege weaponry, composed of three ballistas and a single silver cannon, all set to not fire unless a very specific target entered the battle.

Finally, also on the flanks, was a small force of Xaviorard mercenaries, in mismatched equipment but having the few riders on the Dusklander side, they were the only group who was close enough, and with equipment light enough (no cannons or the latest in magma weaponry) to make it to the battle, and even then they had barely made it.

The sudden and fast paced movement of Anak’Thas legion had truly negated the Dusklander side the advantages of preparing for battle, with her troops winded after a long march, the goddess decided it was best to not use the little time they had spare to build fortifications and instead use it to rest as much as they could for the upcoming battle.

Among the generals the Xaviorard general and the leader of the Paladins both had been VERY worried about that decision, with an enemy who had become infamous for their ability to rush down troops the logical conclusion was to have barriers to bid time. They had also questioned the goddess on many other decisions, from sending 2 / 3 of her troops to re-train, to keeping her skirmishers and light footed troops holding the many other passages into the 13 instead of using them to harass and delay the legion. But, being a goddess, she had overruled them all, the presence of Theodoro helping to keep her confident in her decisions.

Dzallitsunya along with the other commanders stood in a nearby hill overlooking the battlefield, her tension was clear, so was the one in the eyes of everyone but the local warlord.

“You better keep it in mind, that if we lose here, there will be nothing stopping them from overrunning the entirety of this node.” said a Benean lord.

The goddess nodded. “Defeat is not an option, if it comes to it, I will dive down there myself and end this battle with my own blade.” she held a hand in the hilt of Eclipse, while jade butterflies danced around her just waiting for her command.

[hr]

“They’re ready for us.” Esterrek, one of the Dawnblade captains said. The men had formed up and were marching into position before the battle. A fair few of them received their iron weapons already. Much more was coming in as well but couldn’t make it in time before the battle. A shame, Esterrek had thought, but a necessary one.

“It matters not. Me and my knights will break through them.” Josephine, one of the Knights of the legions said. “We did it at Coldshanks. We’ll do it here again.”

“Careful with such hubris.” Maenari, leader of the Dawnblade Arcanii said. Her golden staff showed off her status in the theocratic hierarchy. “Your presence at the fortress was a surprise. They’ll be ready for you now in the water.”

“Ready or not, I will paint the river red with their blood.” Josephine did not lighten up. She stood before her Knight. The shadow of the construct loomed over her as a protective spirit.
[hr]
The last of the legion’s cohorts took their place along the formation. As always they were completely silent and moved as one. As if there orders were relayed directly and without confusion. Behind their lines things were clearly more chaotic. Knights were blaring their horns in anticipation. When the golden lines of the golem lit up and the huge engine of war rose up from its slumber all other constructs became even more agitated. They wanted this fight desperately.

And then, with a singular thought, the battle started. The first rows of legionnaires moved out and spread out in their approach. Their shields steeled with faith and hope for a free Telum’Velik.

In the dusklander line there was a great sense of anxiety, simulations of battle were far from the real thing, there was pain in those, but here, they would face death. The magistrates started shouting in a combat code “Three to A, One to B, High Wind, Comet in Five” was the main line being echoed. The pikes were lowered behind the elite in heavy plate, the latter starting to walk towards the incoming legion along with the paladins.

Like a machine the Legionnaires formed up again right before they’d clash with the Dusklander line. Each stepped into the right place and the right time to reform the shield wall. Like a great tidal wave the Dawnblades clashed against the frontlines.

Overhead the first falling star was lobbed from the arcanii in the backline. It was answered by the Xavorian ballistae opening fire and scarring the land before it with chaos. Rifts in the ground opened up, ice exploded everywhere. The legion continued it’s advance.

Knights skated over the ground with surprising speed for their size. At the front the legion’s formation opened up, just in time for the great constructs to batter they way through. The dusklander line held, for now but the Knights were wreaking havoc upon them. Archers and skirmishers opened fire. One knight held at bay with halberds, was turned into a hedgehog by the concentrated volleys. No-one saw it, not through the rain of arrows, but the killing blow came from a Magistrate that bid its time.
[hr]
“They’re better defended than Coldshanks.” Noted Maenari from atop the hill. Josephine was gone. She had taken her knight to lead the vanguard. Even now she was doing her best to break the Dusklander line. Maenari held her breath and hoped her love would be okay.

“We’ll break them. “Esterrek said. “Then we’ll reclaim Tellum’Velik” He could almost taste the vegetable stew he used to drink when he was younger. Even now he remembered where that little restaurant was back in the city. Though he feared, with the dusk-goddess’ influence, its perfect location had been usurped by chaos and greed. “We’ll have to break them.”

Maenari was not nearly as certain as Esterrek. Even if they’d win, the price would be steep. She never dared to doubt her Lord but as she watched men and women hurl themselves below at the cross she wondered why exactly he let them waste their lives like this.
[hr]

The scar of old losses had been teared open as the goddess saw the battle, her troops held well enough, the wall of pikes had stood its ground, the barrage of crossbow shots was constant, and of her elites, the warrior with cleavers were putting the best of orichalk and steel to use. And yet, the cannon had only staggered the automatons when she expected it to be slayed, the lines of pikes could be re-established in the military sense, but the lives lost could not. Her halberdiers in particular were the ones suffering the most, broken by a well placed ice spike, they never got a chance to retain their formation.

She had already bitten all the nail she could, now her teeth were sinking in the flesh of her finger, her body clearly leaning forward, as if she was about to jump into the fray.

“My goddess, you must not.” Theodoro spoke. “The battle, despite issues, is favorable to us. If you join the fight, you will rob our men of the victory, their morale will be hurt in the long term.”

This was not the first time she had heard the reasoning, it was sound, but the solution still hurt her. She could not simply allow the slaughter to continue, to brute force a victory by sheer numerical advantage at the cost of her people.

“You are right, Theodoro, joining as a soldier will not help. But there is more than a soldier in an army.” and with that, she rose up the hood of the shadow petal over her head and vanished.

“Artillery.” the engineer, already tense, yelped when he found no one but the goddess herself by his side. “Forget the automatons, aim higher, harass those wicked mages in the backline”

“But it would be wasteful of the ammunition…”

The goddess immediately cut him off. “Ammunition can be crafted again, do as I command.” immediately, she jumped to the side of her skirmishers. “Eclipse will come, when it does, I want you to unleash the fire rings. For now, advance, try to flank them when the time comes.”

Next, she gave each and every single leading magistrate of the pike wall a simple but illogical order. “Advance.” they all were mesmerized and terrified, especially the ones whose advancing would mean being in the range of the rampaging automaton. “They expect us to hold back, to stand ground, let us not then. And about that machine, the power to take that down will be within your hand.”

In that case, the power in particular had been an iron chain spread out across many soldiers. “Many of you are levied hunters, no? Ever used a bola before?” with those words, the soldiers understood what they were to do, divided in two spread out groups holding the chain between them, they advanced towards the automaton aiming to tangle its legs.

To further rally her troops, the goddess, now back at the command, unsheathed the Eclipse and the effect upon the land was immediate, as the sun started to darken, seeping the light of the morning away and starting to bring back the night. As it did, the dusklander troops started to follow her newly formed plans, and while the xaviorard mercenaries seemed stunned and shocked from the sight and the foreigners in the command tent were annoyed as that changed their plan to inflict a costly battle upon the legion, the locals of the 13 who had converted to Dzallitsunya’s cause found themselves with renewed zeal, their leaders ordering a mad charge towards the legion, ready to face their own compatriots under the crescent shaped sun.

The legion answered with renewed zeal with a fire of their own. Every step of ground was bought with blood from the Dusklanders. Yet as the sun’s light faded and darkness fell, a gloom gripped the legions. Missiles whistled almost invisible through the dark now. The legions were ready. The arcanii were not. When the first ballistae hit and burned a group of the faithful mages, something shifted. The legions kept fighting, as did the nights. Until a series of blasts came from the Knights. They shifted and changed, and retreated as fast as they dashed into the fight.

Another circle of fire burned the arcanii, and a ripple went through the legions. They maintained their formation, but instead of holding ground they slowly moved backwards.

An hour later and the Legion had retreated from the battle. The field in front of the shallow waterway was littered with the corpses of the legions, the arcanii and even some knights. Some of the latter had their legs tied by bolas and their shell cracked open.

It was a victory for the Dusklanders.

[hider=summary]
Anak'Thas legions advance at a quick pace, aiming to reclaim node 13 from the darklander usurper. Dzallitsunya moves her troops to intercept them at the last natural barrier that kept the legions from spilling into the node and overwhelming her forces. With a few Xavior mercenaries and a squad of paladins, she blocks the river passage.

A battle ensue, Dusklanders have the advantage of numbers and ballistics, the legion has the advantage of magic and the unbreakable connected will of the army. At first, there is a stalemate, with the dusklanders backing away as the magic breaks their formation. Dzallitsunya calls forth the Eclipse and re-positions her troops, this turns the tide, and the legion retreats.

It was a costly battle for both sides, with even the dusklander victors feeling like they lost too much.[/hider]