NationStates Jolt Archive


The culmination of the Iron War

The Autarchy of Filia
03-02-2006, 03:51
The sounds of clashing swords rang through the air, accompanied by the yells and screams of battle. Hemmed in by a deep ocean on one side and the steps of a vast mountain range on the other, two armies clashed on a thin stretch of land that encircled the vast island. Hundreds of men were scattered across the field of battle, the two armies mingled among one another as each swordsman pressed forward at any visible opening. Slowly, however, the center of the conflict drifted closer and closer to the mountains that shielded the lush and fertile interior; the tide of war clearly turning against the defenders. Already, the attacking forces were letting loose with wild yells of victory; they could smell the defeat of their enemies and the wealth that they would claim when they looted the rich dwellings behind the mountains.

"Call the archers from the north and south; have them withdraw to the center and reinforce the bows already present. The cavalry, too. Our outlying forces are doing well, it is here that we need our full strength. Send word to my personal guard as well, have them circle and attack from the rear. If our defences fall here it will not matter how many men stand before me, they will all be overcome in time. We need to exterminate these invaders now, or they shall forever hold the coast and will prey on our families long after we are all dust in the ground."

Hirkulian, Autarch of all the Filians, stood high above the warring soldiers in a stone fortress near the peak of one of the smaller mountains. From above he could see all the warriors, and he knew where to send his soldiers. The messengers at his side, always ready to carry his word throughout the Kingdom, were in flight almost before he had finished speaking. The vast mirrors atop the highest turrets were already flashing out the Autarchs orders and his commanders within the battle below paused to read his words.

Quickly, the summoned archers began to withdraw from their own areas of combat and travelled high into the mountains, traversing the great distances between themselves and the elite group defending the very corps of the Filian sowrdsmen. With their increased number, almost double the bows formerly present, they began to hurl arrows down upon the heads of their enemies. Thick as rain, the pointed wood fell from the sky and entire swathes of men fell to the ground. Their aim was not perfect, and Filians fell alongside their enemies, but it was well enough; and the retreat to the mountains slowly stopped.

Then the mounted cavalry arrived, the horses swarming over the arms of the mountains at speeds no foot soldiers could match, no longer waiting within the islands interior. They drove in amongst the center of the enemy forces, swarming around the Filian swordsmen already present, and began to remove all traces of life from the attacking soldiers. No longer merely hatled in their advance, the invaders began to slowly to retreat towards the ocean and their waiting fleet.

Still, the invaders did not abandon all their hope, they had been forced off the coast many times before only to return and push even closer to victory. The Filians had no navy worth mentioning and, if the invaders could reach their ships, they would be able to return with greater force whenever they wished. The could tell that the defences the Filians set up were nearly defeated and, with slight reinforcements, the next attack would surely succeed. However, Hirkulian did not wish to merely prolong the inevitable defeat, he wanted his people freed from the very threat of it. It was then that his personal guard, the largest and most skillful of the Filian infantry, drove into the rear of the retreating forces.

Within hours it was over; the invaders dead to the last man and their ships, anchored off-shore with only a small caretaker crew left aboard, claimed by what the Filians deemed their 'navy' and which was now worthy of the title.

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"Men of Filia, we are free!"

The Autarch was once again standing above his people, but this time he was merely at the height of the tallest tower within Siwe, the Filian capital and largest city. Before him were the masses of the Siwe populace, thousands upon thousands of men and women cheering as their leader merely smiled. He knew not even a tenth of them could have actually heard him, and even less would hear him now, but they knew regardless. For days the news had spread throughout the land like wildfire and the entire population had been rejoicing ever since. They had been under near constant attack for almost a decade and were finally able to breath easy, not wondering if every ship they glimpsed on the horizon was heading an invasion fleet.

"Not only are we free, we are strong!"

The Filian island, edged on all sides by nearly impassable mountains, was a natural fortress that was easily defended from landed attacks. However, no nation could survive purely on the defensive and now, with the newly vacated fleet laying off their shores, they could extend their hand to other nations across the globe. Beyond simply the military, they could now trade and travel and explore under their own protection. Options were opening before their very eyes.

"We are free, we are strong, and we will remain as such! For we are Filia, we are family, and no one can take that from us!"

Once more he knew that only a bare few dozens of all those present could possibly have heard him, but the masses yelled all the same. They might not have heard him, but they knew.