The blighted borders between Vaelorin and Morrathiel became the grim testing ground for the newly forged Concord. A large Skarnwraith raiding party, their skeletal forms gliding silently through the perpetual twilight, advanced into Vaelorin territory, their mournful wails carrying on the chilling wind. Alerted by scouts, a combined force from Vaelorin, Ulvaren, and a small contingent from Tir Vareth prepared to meet them in the shadowed woods near the abandoned village of Silverwood's Edge.
Lord Lysander led the Vaelorin contingent, his silver sword held high. His warriors, clad in their traditional silver-inlaid armor, moved with disciplined precision, their movements echoing the calculated strategies of their kingdom. They formed a defensive line, their silver-tipped arrows nocked and ready, their eyes scanning the encroaching mist. Despite the ineffectiveness of pure silver against the Skarnwraiths' ethereal forms, the Vael hoped that the concentrated impact of their volleys might at least slow the creatures down.
Beside them, the Ulvaren warriors, led by the fierce Chieftain Ragnar Bloodhowl (a trusted lieutenant of Lord Kaelen), were a stark contrast. Clad in furs and wielding brutal axes and jagged spears, they exuded a raw, untamed energy. They were eager to engage, their snarls echoing the primal fury of their wolf forms barely held in check. Their strategy was simple: relentless aggression and overwhelming force, trusting in their strength and ferocity to break the enemy.
Queen Lyra Wildheart (a skilled warrior and healer dispatched by Queen Maelis) led the Tir Vareth contingent, a smaller group but no less determined. They moved with a fluid grace through the undergrowth, their movements guided by an intimate knowledge of the forest. They carried specially prepared torches fueled by lumina blossoms and vials of concentrated moonpetal essence, hoping that the pure light and life-affirming energies might offer some resistance against the undead creatures.
The first wave of Skarnwraiths emerged from the black mist, their skeletal forms gliding silently, their pinpricks of green light malevolent in the gloom. The Vaelorin archers unleashed a volley of silver arrows. As expected, the arrows passed through the swirling mist that clung to the Skarnwraiths, some clattering harmlessly against bone, others seeming to dissipate within the ethereal substance. However, the sheer force of the impact did stagger a few of the creatures, momentarily disrupting their silent advance.
"Now, Ulv!" Ragnar roared, and his warriors surged forward with a deafening battle cry. Their axes swung in wide, brutal arcs, crashing against the Skarnwraiths' skeletal frames. The bone shattered under the impact, but the black mist quickly reformed around the broken fragments, the creatures seemingly undeterred. Their life-draining touch proved deadly, and several Ulvaren warriors recoiled, their limbs suddenly cold and weakened.
Queen Lyra and her Tir Vareth warriors moved with agile precision, their lumina torches casting a vibrant, pulsing light that seemed to momentarily disrupt the Skarnwraiths' shadowy forms, causing them to hiss and recoil slightly. They hurled vials of moonpetal essence, which shattered upon impact, releasing a wave of pure, life-affirming energy that seemed to flicker around the Skarnwraiths, slowing their movements and causing the black mist to thin in places.
The battle was a chaotic clash of different styles and limited effectiveness. The Vaelorin discipline provided a steady defense but lacked the means to truly harm the enemy. The Ulvaren ferocity brought brutal force but left them vulnerable to the Skarnwraiths' life-draining touch. The Tir Vareth light and life magic offered a glimmer of hope, a way to disrupt the creatures, but lacked the raw power for outright destruction.
Lord Lysander, witnessing the ineffectiveness of silver, shifted his tactics. He ordered his warriors to use their silvered swords to sever the skeletal limbs, hoping that disrupting their physical form, even temporarily, would buy them time. The Ulvaren, learning quickly, began to focus their attacks on completely shattering the Skarnwraiths' bone structures, relying on their numbers and aggression to overwhelm individual creatures before they could be drained. Queen Lyra and her healers moved among the fighting, tending to the wounded with moonpetal poultices, attempting to counteract the Skarnwraiths' chilling touch.
The battle was fierce and costly. Vaelorin and Ulvaren warriors fell, their life force extinguished by the relentless Skarnwraiths. But the combined efforts of the alliance began to show a sliver of promise. The lumina light and moonpetal essence weakened the creatures, making them slightly more vulnerable to the brute force of the Ulvaren axes. The Vaelorin's disciplined attacks, aimed at severing limbs, slowed their advance.
As the first rays of a weak, blighted dawn pierced the perpetual twilight, the Skarnwraith raiding party, having suffered significant disruption and unable to sustain their advance against the coordinated, albeit struggling, defense, began to retreat back into the black mist towards Morrathiel.
The battlefield was grim. Fallen warriors from all three kingdoms lay still, their sacrifices a testament to the brutal reality of this new war. But the First Clash, though a painful lesson, had also offered a glimmer of hope. The different fighting styles, when combined, had shown a potential to at least repel the Skarnwraiths. The alliance was fragile and the cost high, but the first step in understanding and fighting this terrifying enemy had been taken. The monarchs would need to analyze the results of this bloody encounter, to refine their strategies and combine their unique strengths if they hoped to truly turn the tide against the darkness.