"Operation Meltdown" - Sunday 18th May, 20:00

[Aarian]

Disciples,

As you may well know, our Order is a member of the Alliance War Council, a group collectively known as "The Vanguard".

Together with other Orders, we make up a well-oiled Alliance war machine that will defend our lands and suppress the offensive actions of the Hordish armies.

Next Sunday, we will be gathering in the town of Lakeshire, Redridge Mountains.

We will be amassing our forces and heading North into The Burning Steppes.

Our mission will be to intercept and destroy a large scale Horde supply chain that are regularly sending through supplies from Kargath in the Badlands down to Stonard in the Swamp of Sorrows. The supplies have been growing steadily larger and more frequent over the past few weeks - enough so to warrant a move of aggression.

Please arrive promptly and ready for battle - we expect a reasonable amount of Horde resistance in terms of guarding this large supply run, and the area in which we will be fighting is not to be underestimated.

May the Light aid and keep us.

Signed,

Sir Aarian Northlight
Master Chaplain
The Disciples of Light

[Aarian]

"Operation Meltdown"- Report

The Alliance army - the War Council's Vanguard - grouped up in Lakeshire with over fifty soldiers ready to do battle.

At first we sent out a scout to check where the Horde supply line was, but after an unusual amount of time we had still received no word. Thus, we moved out, slow marching towards the Burning Steppes.

We had to now try and spot the supply line by ourselves, since we had no word from our scout. We stuck to the road, knowing this was the route it usually took - from Kargath, through the Gorge and Blackrock Mountain, across the Burning Steppes and into the Southern territories, eventually ending up in Stonard.

We had to fend off a few threats along the way. We always knew the area would give us a few problems, and it duly obliged - dragons and whelplings breathing fire, marauding Orcs who saw us as mere trespassers, elementals of stone and fire bearing down upon our lines.

Along the way, we even had the chance to pass Lord Lothar's statue - a cheer for a grand Alliance hero of the past did not go amiss on this night, for the troops were in good spirits.

Soon enough, our army had made it to the foot of the Blackrock Mountain. For some, this was the first time they had witnessed such a sight - the awe of following in the footsteps of many great heroes before us was, however, was not to overwhelm us as we marched onwards, up the steep slope and into the mountain itself.

After a few Horde scouts were spotted, we lined up at the first entrance just inside the furious Mountain. Arador and Antirius were sent in to scout the Horde's position, as we moved forward in formation, through the small tunnel and out into the main entrance, the mouth of the mountain. Here, the lava flowed down like the rain does upon our forest of Elwynn.

This was to prove a surprisingly romantic moment for two of our soldiers, as Knight Turias Steelheart proposed there and then to Miss Saihna Fuller, her answer of 'yes' drawing a cheer from the Alliance troops.

The scouts returned soon enough - the Horde were gathered around the other side, but had the higher ground. We decided to head east around the inside of the mountain, a decision that was to prove successful.

As we charged in, the Horde bombarded us with all sorts of ranged attacks - arrows, some aflame and some coated with poison. Fire and ice, raining down from above. But we held our ground and charged forth, managing to retake the higher ground.

Soon we were ready to move out. We found ourselves outside in the Searing Gorge - still no sign of the supply line. A scout sends word that the Horde had kept the supply line back in Kargath - now we knew our final destination on this night.

We made the trek through the Searing Gorge, following the road. We did have to endure a charge from behind - remnants of the Horde force from Blackrock had managed to catch up. Some of our troops in the rear were mown down by the charge, but we re-grouped quickly and put an end to the attack.

We stopped off for a break, to share some food and drink around the army, just by the pass into Kargath. However, before we could get the rations out to pass around, another Horde raiding party had spotted us from the surrounding mountains. They charged down and more fighting ensued.

This fight was much more spread out, across the mountains of the Gorge. We used the high ground to good effect, with our melee troops cutting through the Horde like a knife through butter. Now we were ready to re-group inside the pass into the Badlands.

We headed into the Badlands and made our way to a mountain top just to the South-East of Kargath, overlooking the Horde settlement. We could see the supplies now - and the Horde were digging in, getting ready to defend their town and their supplies.

It was decided a two-pronged attack would work best here - one unit moving in from the South and another from the North. Arador led the Northern unit - around twenty troops. A scout was sent up to a small ledge on the mountainside, watching for Arador's unit to charge in - when his unit attacked, and the Horde were drawn to the Northern end, our Southern unit would charge in.

Two Orcs came out of Kargath to face our army as we were preparing the offensive line. On this night, no Orcish was to be spoken and no treaties were to be signed - we were on a mission, and it was a mission we were determined to complete.

Before the Orcs could say a word, our scout above yelled out the call - "Northern unit engaging enemy!". I yelled out the order - "Charge!" and before you could blink, dust engulfed the air as our mounted unit raced towards Kargath's Southern entrance.

We mowed down the first line of defending Orcs, some losing their trusty steeds in the process. The battle was now in full swing, as both units met up with the Horde sandwiched in between.

This stage of the fight would last for what seemed a whole night - both armies were well matched, both in numbers and ability. The Horde had dug in well, using Kargath's defences to stop us from taking the main building of the town.

We had not forgot our mission - a small group were sent to destroy some of the supplies that were piled up around the perimeter to barricade the town in.

The order was then given to take the large watch tower. Racing through a shower of arrows, we managed to make our way to the top of the tower. The Horde were hot on our tails, so we had no option - the tower was set ablaze and we leapt down upon the Horde below.

The fighting continued, but neither side could make the breakthrough - we could not take the town and destroy the last of the supplies that were being kept inside the town's main building, and the Horde could not repel our attacking force as we bombarded the town with more and more vigour.

By now, around a half of the supplies had been destroyed, but if the order to retreat had not been given then Light only knows how long this battle would have lasted - probably until every single Alliance and Horde soldier were lying dead on the dusty red floor of the Badlands.

We retreated to Loch Modan, as the Horde stayed back - they were not to chase us on this night, as it would have been suicide for them.

Once back in the Thelesmar, we were lent the use of the Inn and some surrounding buildings. The injured were tended to as the surviving troops poured into the town. Food and drink flowed in the Inn, as many were getting ready to settle for the night.

However, the night was not over just yet. The Dwarven guards sounded their horns, as a group of Horde bandits descended on the town. The injured and tired soldiers of the Alliance had one final task as they fought alongside the Dwarven guards to fend off a smash-and-grab raid by the thieves.

Operation Meltdown started with great success and a bitter-sweet conclusion. We had managed to destroy around half of the Horde's supplies that were heading to Stonard and our army fought with bravery, skill, determination and obedience.

All in all, a good showing from the Vanguard War Council, in what is bound to be the first of many a battle. The drums of war are beginning to beat once again.

Confirmed losses: 14
M.I.A: 4


Signed,

Sir Aarian Northlight
Master Chaplain
The Disciples of Light