THE HERALD

The DAoC Battle Herald took to the field to report on the weekends events. Major forces of all realms continuously roamed the Isle of Agramon in search of the Harbinger of Spring, while other battlegroups from Hibernia and Midgard took the chance to invade Albion and raid several keeps.

On Sunday evening our battle herald had the chance to follow a Hibernian detachment lead by Bullwinkel which after defeating the Harbinger went on to assault Caer Benowyc where they were finally thwarted by a huge army of Albion defenders.

Again Albion’s frontiers were devastated by marauding hordes from Midgard and Hibernia. Hibernia established a beachhead around Caer Berkstead while Midgard temporarily dominated the west of the frontiers. Albion managed to hold onto Midgard’s strength relic but lost theirs to Midgard when the gate of Castle Excalibur was broken open Sunday afternoon and Enoch carried it away.

The Battle Herald could barely keep up with the action –  Albion’s relic was taken when major Albion forces lead by Slapmefrist started to re-claim their frontier. The Battle Herald witnessed fights around Caer Erasleigh when Midgardian fighters following Grrball tried to keep hold of their beachhead.

After the situation changed around midnight and the Horn of Valhalla was stolen by Madesen and his men, our Battle Herald had the chance to get a short statement from King Erik: ‘Damn Can-wearers think they can beat us? No bløødy way! By Odin we’ll grab ‘em by their [deleted by editorial] and then we’ll bash’em all day løng!’

Yesterday evening the Battle Herald visited Emain Macha and was almost trampled down by an army of invaders from Midgard. After dusting himself off he followed the action which culminated in a large-scale attack on Dun Crauchon.

A huge mix of all races in Midgard fought united under the lead of a Kobold female named Annamarie. The defenders from Hibernia – willing to defend their relics – gathered in Dun Crauchon around Malouni and prepared for the inevitable onrush. A smaller detachment from Albion commanded by the Cleric Gaby temporally joined the scene but was soon crushed between the lines.

Dawn fell when the fighters from Midgard finally readied their siege weapons to break the keep wall and conquer the courtyard. Hibernia’s forces retreated into the central tower and were able to protect Chieftain Crauchon for quite some time before they were finally overwhelmed by a massive rush into the room.

What will the next confrontation bring? Will Midgard continue its rampage? Will King Erik ever trim his whiskers?!

As King Erik has threatened, Midgard was back this weekend to have its revenge. After the Cauldron of Dagda – already pilfered by Albion – was stolen again and brought to Midgard on Saturday, Kaptkent led a Midgard raid through the Frontier on Sunday and managed to invade both relic temples in Albion.

While Excalibur’s Scabbard could be secured and is now exhibited in Fensalir Faste, the attempt to steal Merlins Staff came to a fast stop when the staff was recaptured just a few minutes after it was taken.

Our Battle Herald entered the fields in Hadrian’s Wall to witness the short assault of Albion forces led by Xelgrox against Caer Benowyc which was controlled by Midgard at that time. After meeting resistance the Albion fighters retreated east, were then engaged in an open field battle with several Hibernia raiders and forced to regroup.

The battle rages on, but will Midgard be able to keep all those relics or will Hibernia finally unite in battle and reclaim what is theirs?

This weekend our Battle Herald put on dark clothes and sneaky boots, because he wanted to witness the secret battle between the stealthers of the realms. Expecting to be able to watch them in their natural habitat, the Battle Herald patrolled the bridges around Dun Crauchon for a while but was surprised to find those places surprisingly empty. He then decided to travel to Hadrian’s Wall to search for stealther around the massive fights going on in that area.

Attackers from Hibernia and defenders from Albion were bound in large scale fights, while the armies maneuvered from Benowyc Spire to Caer Benowyc and back – often disturbed by smaller marauding groups from Midgard. And around the flanks of the forces were the stealthers; scouting and ambushing whoever was a bit separated from the main troops, as well as trying to find and kill each other.

Are these anonymous fighters a benefit or a plague; a brave first line of attack or a sneaky bunch of murderers? We’ll keep an eye on them.

Being the sacred relic of Hibernia’s King, Lug’s Spear of Lightning, was quite sought after this weekend. After an absence of some weeks it was returned to the shrine Saturday morning by the Hero Ruxxn only to get heisted by Albion forces again on Sunday night when Earthmover and Selinea carried it to their frontiers. But the Albion joy didn’t lasted long – a few hours later the relic was again stolen. This time a Skald named Bamsenxx was the one to carry the relic to Midgard where it is now stored in Bledmeer Faste.

When the Battle Herald joined the action on Sunday afternoon, he once again encountered KaptKent leading The Scarlet Knights and their comrades through Albion frontiers, pillaging and raiding. The first tower raid attempt which our Battle Herald witnessed stalled when a handful of casters from Albion managed to defend the rooftop. They were soon overwhelmed, though, while Midgard invaders continued to lay waste to the lands of Albion.

What will the next days bring? Where is the leader to claim back Hibernia’s relics?

What a weekend! The Battle Herald had serious issues to follow all the movement of the relics – Thor’s Hammer was carried home to Midgard by Clumsy; Lug’s Spear of Lightning was brought back to Hibernia by Lovein; the Cauldron of Dagda was re-conquered and placed in Hibernia’s Relic temple by Tagss; Merlin’s Staff was stolen by Midgard, but intercepted by Hibernia; and Excalibur’s Scabbard was removed from Albion relic temple by Hibernia,

then intercepted by Albion and finally brought to Midgard. Albion’s Frontier was burning the whole weekend and the situation we saw on Friday has changed dramatically.

Late Sunday evening our Battle Herald was able to witness the last efforts of a huge Albion army which was finally able to reclaim all keeps and towers in their frontiers. Lead by Rescu, these men and women of Albion had the challenging task to defend the last relic in possession of Albion – the Horn of Valhalla – and also to defeat the last invaders in their lands; as soon as they succeeded they restocked their siege equipment and took the fight back to Midgard and Hibernia.

Will the relics find a short period of peace or is the next raid already been planned?

Greetings,

Starting Thursday the 19th through Monday the 23rd we will be running a weekend battleground event. This event will feature a battleground switch whereas players level 45-50 will be allowed to teleport to, and participate in, the Thidranki battleground while players level 20-24 will be allowed to teleport to, and participate in, the Cathal Valley battleground.

The Battleground quests in the affected battlegrounds will be turned off, and Buff NPC’s will be provided for level 45-50 players. The monsters, keep guards and realm guards have all been changed to the appropriate level for this battleground change. In addition, players in all battlegrounds will receive RP’s and BP’s for the duration of this event.

Have fun taking in the scenery change, but remember there is always someone out there looking for a fight.

Merciless fights in confined space build the theme of last weekend. Although Hibernia was under attack and lost the power relic for a short while, the major confrontations between the realms focused in a completely different area – on the battlefield of Thidranki.

Over the weekend the two battlefields Thidranki and Cathal Valley had been switched. While the young fighters of the levels 20 to 24 were going to Cathal Valley to struggle against the enemies of their realm, the more experienced warriors from level 45 to 50 were offered the opportunity to travel to Thindranki to participate in the battles.

And this option has been used extensively. From Thursday to today, Thidranki Faste was the center of almost permanent brawl, and the three bridges were the main routes for the attack or the quickest way to throw back the enemies to their portal keep. Other groups took advantage of the rivers and hills to flank unaware enemies or to fall them in the back.

What were your experiences in the battles? Do claustrophobia and blood thirst summarize the return to Thidranki?