Battle of Greenwich
The Battle of Greenwich was, perhaps, the deciding battle of The Accordance War.
Overview
General Lyros had felt the sting of recent losses and vowed to end it one way or another in Greenwich. The Eastland Troll Army was the mightiest and most disciplined of all the commoner forces; if any had hopes of stopping the avalanche of successes Lord Dafyll attached to his name, it was they. The army had learned the painful lesson of Central Park and had many a fallback plan for any eventuality. The tentative attacks on either side proved that each was prepared for any trickery, and assured the way for the bloodiest battle of the entire war. Neither side left an exposed weakness, and so battle was engaged.
Lyros and Dafyll were very nearly a tactical match for one another and the battle shifted fronts one way and then another. Sluagh traps covered the apparent retreat of many troll companies, and at first made up for the mighty, long-thought-lost treasures of the sidhe. There was a limit to these, however, and as each triggered, it forced the troll army tighter and tighter together, eventually leaving them surrounded and beset on all sides. Seeing that certain defeat lay in continuing to fight on the terms of the sidhe, Lyros gave the order to disperse and take to street-to-street fighting. The plan caught the sidhe off-guard, as the trolls gave way in some positions and surged forth in others. Many a valiant troll fell then, guarding the escape of their companions, yet never once did they falter. Both giant and ogre made respectable accounting of themselves that day.
Terrain was on the side of the trolls, for they knew New York City much better than the sidhe. Each time they engaged the enemy, they withdrew to a place of their choosing. Still, the sidhe took a dreadful toll on the kith; if not for their Arcadian treasures, they would have fallen before the might of their opponents. Dafyll himself pursued the 4th Troll Commons Infantry, for it was known to be the battalion directly under his nemesis, Lyros. The two generals played games of cat and mouse throughout the alleys and subways of New York, yet neither dared enter the sewers, for traps and terrain beyond the ken of the sluagh were known to lie in wait.
In the bowels of Grand Central, Lord Dafyll fell at last to an iron blade; an atrocity laid at the feet of the 4th Troll Commons, yet it could not have been, for Lyros himself strictly forbade the use of such dishonorable weapons, and took matters of discipline in this affair upon himself. His stance on the incident is one of public record, yet the nobles continue to sully his name and reputation with the deed. The truth is obviously not their concern.
A Letter
"My Lord, High King David,
I do not take responsibility for the actions immediately following the death of Lord Dafyll, though I am certain they will be placed on me. I have always held myself and those under my command to the highest standards of honor, and challenge anyone to prove otherwise. I shall meet them in a court of law or on the battlefield, for I know my innocence in this.
According to all accounts, the redcaps should carry the majority of the blame for the massacre that followed. My opinion on the ignoble members of that kith is well-known, and I will not repeat it here. Allow me to state definitively that never in my career have I given orders advocating the killing of noncombatants, not have I ever made plans that included this as an aspect. I am as deeply shocked that such an act could take place as your nobles, and I seek justice just as eagerly.
This is neither an apology nor an excuse. I stand by all my actions during the course of the war, but I will not be held accountable for atrocities that the bitter victors wish to hang around my neck. So long as I live, I will speak the truth of matters as they are known to me. My duty and oaths demand no less.
Your servant,
Lyros"
References
- CTD. Kithbook: Trolls, pp. 26, 28.