As I move on to writing the next personal anecdote. My next entry will be of mankind’s Sentry Andromeda LaSheen whose life has made her a tough and hardened person, and this sometime makes it hard for members of the council to get along with her. Mankind lives in the north eastern part of Nelbring close to the shores of the Murkmore Sea. At the most eastern part of the Highland Mountain Range lies the province of man. Andromeda’s home is the castle Thran which lies close to Pearl Port. Man has made its living through the Pearl Port through trade and fish markets. Their port lies off the steep cliffs that border their province. It was built in the sea on huge pillars. The dwarfs helped in its construction creating a massive passage way through the cliff itself down to the port. It has stayed the test of time, and is quite the spectacle to walk through.
The port is a main part of man’s comings and goings through Nelbring, but Thran lies on the outskirts of the truly dark parts of the Highland Mountains. The mountains they border are the strong hold for the goblins. An unruly bunch of monsters small in stature, but their numbers are vast. They have no castle, instead they dwell in all the mountains in immense caverns and caves the mountains possess. They scavenge what they can and makeshift things to their needs. They rarely venture out on to the valley floors or past the mountain borders, but occasionally they do venture south and that is when conflict with man erupts.
Mankind has been locked in a bloody conflict with the goblin horde for longer than anyone can remember. Long ago, before the dark castle was taken such a conflict happened. Goblins are known to have no master, just chieftains leading clans. They do fight with each other which is nothing but food or small chieftain brawls, but at one time The Dark One had the power to control them and unify them as an army for himself. In doing so The Dark One unleashed the horde upon mankind in hopes of destroying them.
At this time mankind was led by Andromeda’s parents who were the Sentries of her province. Her parents were Thral and Melainda LaSheen both powerful warriors and great leaders. They lead their armies against the horde many times. Andromeda at the time was young and the commander of the Grand Guard. She saw to the protection of the Sentries and the protection of Thran itself. She was next in line to take over as the Sentry of their province. Andromeda had great admiration for her parents, as did their people, and they fought for them undeniably. Andromeda herself cared deeply for Thran and her people, and sought to protect them from any danger. The people in return saw her as their protector, and she embraced them as such.
The war with The Dark One was well under way and the horde was making a push to take Pearl Port. Thral and Melainda moved their forces to meet them and fight them back. As this battle was taking place however another goblin force had secretly dug tunnels in the west and past the battle lines. Scouts had found where an army of Goblins had started to gather and sent word back to Thran to warn them. When Andromeda received word of this she immediately sent word to her parents at Pearl Port, but no word came back. Not wanting to wait for an attack Andromeda decided then that she would attack the western front. This would not be something the horde was expecting and would give Andromeda the advantage. So she struck out with her army to face the oncoming horde.
The battle saw itself take place where to large hills met, and when the goblin horde reached the lowest part that is when Andromeda unleashed their attack. Scouts found the location and so Andromeda saw to it the battle would take place there. They decimated the goblins who were not ready at all. They had no cover and fought up hill. The victory was swift and deadly to the goblins. Few men lost their lives and Andromeda saw her first strategic command out of the protection of Thran go well. They headed back to what they thought was going to be a great welcoming, but the news when they returned was not good.
Upon returning to Thran, Andromeda got word that the battle at Pearl Port had not gone good and that the port had been over taken by the goblin hordes. It was told that the goblins had reinforcements that Sentry Thral and Melainda had not known about. Andromeda was furious and wanted to know what had happen to her parents. She immediately gathered her troops numbering nearly a thousand to take Pearl Port back, and they set forth right after returning from their last battle. They mounted horse back and moved swiftly to the port. It was going to take one day to get there and hopefully it was for not.
Once they topped the last hill that over looked Pearl Port they saw death upon them. The port was set ablaze and a great battle had taken shape on the entrance of the passage way. There they could see the remaining forces of Thral and Melainda being pushed back to the burning port. Without hesitation Andromeda rallied her troops and they charged giving out a battle cry and blowing a rallying horn to signal the advance. From the distance the horn echoed all the way down to the battle, and there Thral noticed the advance coming. He gave a call out and his men formed battle lines. Shield to shield the knights tied together and formed a wall to hold back the wave upon wave of goblins. Trying everything they could to hold the advance of the horde till Andromeda reached them.
By now the Goblins had taken noticed to the oncoming charge and started to form a make shift spear line, but too little too late. Goblins are small and direct assaults do not hold well for them. They are masters of ambush and over running their enemy in numbers, but a cavalry charge put them at a great disadvantage. Andromeda’s charge had reached them and plowed into them like a massive avalanche. Spears, swords, arrows, and horse hooves crushed goblins before them. The goblins started to shake and flee but this battle wasn’t over quite yet.
The tree line was close and in it the goblins had something hidden waiting for the right opportunity to unleash. With a horn blow giving the call to unleash their reinforcements. From the distance a roar could be heard and a blast of wind came down from the tree line. Out of the trees came a dragon. Though dragons have never been under a master as there is nothing powerful enough to control them, this dragon was with the goblins. It first flew up preparing a sweeping of fire breath heading right for the ports entrance. A fire blast would surely incinerate anything trapped in the massive entrance way. With fire behind and fire being spewed into the tunnel it would be like an oven.
Andromeda’s forces had not yet reached her parents and she watched helplessly as the dragon approached. Thral and Melainda embraced as the fire engulfed all that was there. Andromeda was now yelling in madness, had to be restrained from racing to them blindly. The Goblins were still about them trying to move out of the way of the dragon. For now it was time to take cover and formulate a plan to take down the beast. They were not prepared for something like this. Her mother and father’s forces were gone and Pearl Port seemed lost to the goblins. This dragon was going to end them, and once they were gone there was nothing to stop the goblins from marching straight to Thran. The dragon by now had turned and was readying another sweeping blow. Andromeda and her army retreated back running for the rocky areas that lay close to the cliffs hopping for some protection.
As they ran the dragon flew in and blew his fire upon them catching some of the horse men and burning them to ash. All seemed to be lost as they had no weapons to fight this beast, but just then something called out causing the dragon to fly up and turn its attention to the west. Andromeda gathered her force seeing that the dragon was leaving and the goblins started to fall back as well. In the sky over head she suddenly saw why. Griffins were swooping in and attacking the goblins, and on the ground a dwarf army had come. Built strong and tough they started their battle line and marched forth pushing the goblins back. The griffins were being rode by Draksins. These beings were quite large in stature and swung heavy hammers and axes.
The Draksins split into two groups where three raced to kill the dragon. They found it and encircled it to where it could not target one easily. One of the Draksin, Katon, over top the dragon jumped from its griffin, and as it fell towards the dragon drew its ax and slammed it in the head of the dragon immediately causing it to cry out and fall. The Draksin jumped off and his griffin came to catch him and the returned to the goblin battle.
With tears and anger in her eyes Andromeda once again rallied her army calling upon them to once more fight for their people. They charged and smashed the goblins before them. Leaving none alive that they could find. They pushed them all the way back to the mountains they came. Once there with the assistance of the dwarfs they sealed the openings. Spending weeks searching they sealed every hole they could find, and afterwards spent months building fortified positions to fight back the hordes if they ever returned. It would be hard for the goblins to muster another attack for they lost many in that war.
Due to Andromeda’s attack in the west it had a crippling blow, and had she not attacked Thran would be under siege as Pearl Port fell. Then both the western attacking goblins and the eastern attacking goblins would be upon Thran with no hope. Andromeda that day found her inner strength for her people and fought for them as well as her parents. Thran held a great funeral for her parents, and rallied upon Andromeda. They looked to her now that she was the Sentry, but it was also Thran’s people that helped rally her to become the person she is today.
After the western goblins had fallen word had got to Baylore about the battle and what was taking shape at Pearl Port. As dwarfs know much of the doings of Dragons they knew that the goblins had been trying to become allied with the dragons. Baylore had already started to move a troop of dwarfs towards Pearl Port for reinforcement. Their scouts in the mountains at the Northern Fire Nest had already seen the number of goblin movements increase and knew the battle would be soon. A Request for aid from the Griffins of the Draksin was sent by the dwarfs knowing that dragons might be in use.
The war with The Dark One saw cruel things happen to each race and many great warriors lost their lives in the search of a victory. Andromeda lost both her parents that day, but her people rallied around her and her allies as well. They drove the enemy back and found victory. That day Andromeda and her people vowed to avenge the fallen and defeat The Dark One. The battle of Pearl Port was the turning point of the war against The Dark One, and established hope once again among the Sentries that victory could indeed be had against him. Andromeda herself was never the same, and since then has sought to completely destroy the horde in the mountains. Her mind ever on the day she saw her parents burned to ash. She will not stop in the destruction of the goblin horde.
It has always been a mystery as to how the dwarfs kept such a close watch out on the goblins and what was happening. All that is known is a being with special skills working with the dwarfs had been scouting them for an unknown time. He was the one who informed Baylore of the dragon, and it was he who gave word to the Draksin about needing aid to best the beast the goblins had working for them. This mystery being is still said to be in dwelling in Nelbring somewhere, but has not been seen for some time. He how ever had other tales in the battle against The Dark One. Someday maybe I will get the chance to meet this being and thank him. Maybe all of us will get that chance someday. All that is known is he played a major role in the war as his tales are brought up many times. We will see though, as there is still time.