It was not long before the tide of the battle was shown.
The might of Aundair had crush and scattered the levies of Thrane. The Thrane cavalry, said to be the best troops on the continent and who had been held in reserve, scattered the Wardens of the Woods just as handily. To make matters worse Mishann had fallen in battle, bearly being saved by her brother. It was rumored that Wroann had fallen to an assassin during the battle, when in truth she had merely unsaddled by a stray crossbow bolt from one of her own troops.
With little other choice, the combined Audair-Cyre force retreated south over the Thrane river, having fared better than they could have hoped. Shortly after, the troops of Karrnath arrived, but too late, their quarry had made good time, crossing the sound north of Aruldusk. Once across they reformed at the fortress of Eston, where the queen, having recovered to enough lead again, order the bulk of her standing forces to hold the city, for its key location, the crucial iron and adamantine mines, along with House Cannith’s base of operations.
With these tasks taken care of, Mishann returned to Metrol to oversee the mustering of greater armies.
Fortress of Eston The race to safety after retreating had been fraught with danger and exhausting, to say the least. The forces of Thrane and Berland had swift scouts, ambushing their foes whenever possible. Casualties were few, but injuries were high, and with each one their quarry slowed. It was too little, too late though; the Audair and Cyre soldiers had finally made it to the sanctuary of Eston.
You pass through the giant steel gates of Eston, all around you there are panting and sweating soldiers of all races and dress. Average citizens are either staring from beside the buildings or attempting to help the tired soldiers. Gnomes hustle about with wands drawn and wearing bloody robes, tending to the most grievous of wounds. One is kneeling over a soldier on a stretcher, who appears to have been burnt badly. He is weakly struggling and crying in pain as the gnome tries to tend to him. Next to the gnome is a thick line of ash, the remains of an expended wand. Even as you watch the soldier’s strength seems to fade until his movement ceases. The gnome bows his head in sadness, giving a brief prayer to the Host before covering the soldier and moving on to the next.