Vaeldrin's Mark Lore - The Siege of Rom

A time came when the need of man was dire. The most grim moment in the history of mankind was the Siege of Rom. The Bulwark, the great gates of the wall humanity built to keep threats out of the Summerland, was smashed by the giants, and now controlled by them. The full force of Argunheim was thrown at the guards on the wall and they could do nothing to stop it. Commanded by Thane Ymir, the giants launched a full scale assault on the Romulan Empire. The giants washed over the Summerlands like a plague, slaughtering soldiers and civilians alike. It was the largest blow dealt to the humans by the giants in the history of the Great War. The giants had seen their opportunity for attack after the October Massacre on Spellblade Square where Andreas had ordered the deaths of hundreds of protesters. The integrity of the largest nation of man was shaky and ready to be broken. Riots took place on the streets of Rom and the weary armies of man were without the spellblades for a time for they were forced to quell the uprisings. That was when the giants attacked in full force, locking Rom down in a full siege. Berserkers climbed the magical chains anchoring the city to the ground. The Romulan forces faught valiantly, but they knew they would not succeed. Families huddled in their homes, praying to Rosan the Lost for a sign. Soldiers began fleeing from the walls to the centre of the city. Andreas knew that his rule may be ending and so ensured his airship would be ready to leave and spare his life.

The final salvation of Rom came at the hands of the children of Kor. In the absence of the majority of Argunheim’s forces, the dark elves had launched a massive invasion of the lands of the giants. When Thane Ymir, commander of the siege of Rom, got word of this, he ordered his troops to fall back and defend their homeland. They would finish Rom later. As they left, Andreas led a vicious counterattack on the legions of Argunheim. The giants, not expecting the humans to have any fire left in them, were forced to retreat. The giants were pushed back north to the Bromon Tundra and further towards their home. The giants now had no presence in the Summerlands and so Andreas ordered that the Bulwark be fortified even greater than before. He ordered the complete militarization of the empire, a thing that had not been done in over a hundred years. More soldiers, archers and even Andreas’ own spellblades were placed on the wall to guard the Summerlands from another giant attack. Andreas used the siege of his city as justification for his tyrannical rule, and no one argued for they had seen what times of peace and demilitarization could conjure up. More upstart mages, seething with patriotism, joined Andreas’ cause bolstering the ranks of the spellblades further until they were the most powerful organization in the empire. They had more sway than the legion or even the ranger corps. Though the Siege of Rom dealt a massive blow to the Romulan Empire, it gave Andreas more control of his kingdom in the end.