To Refortify Fort Hope

[Chryasor 269]

[!]Letters are sent to each city involved with the firewatch alliance

 

To refortify Fort Hope

Addressed to the leadership of the firewatch alliance.

 

To refortify Fort Hope.

While this may seem like little less as a propaganda move, this suggestion has worth.

With the inferi moving further to threaten our coast, attacking the mainland, a battle for Aegrothond being built up to, and the enemy having sent in raiding parties to harass our roads already, it is clear we need a united position.

 

And while the mountains housing the skull should be priority, Fort Hope remains a vital position.

It lays close to the coast, yet far enough away to not be immediately threatened. However, it is a barrier to all demonic movements.

 

Laying with direct paths to Sutica and Aegrothond, as well as blocking the path further inland towards the orcish and druidic lands, it also cuts off the swiftest route to the cloud temple and the road network centered around it.

 

This same road network makes it an optimal position to reinforce the coastal lands. Near to the ferry to the queens isle, within sight of Sutica, within marching distance of the bridge to Korvassa and within running distance of Aegrothond, armies stationed here can reinforce any position currently under threat by the inferi. It can also move swiftly to cut off any road leading further inland from these positions, and is easily reinforced from all of these positions, as well as any place further inland such as the human lands - due to its close proximity to the cloud temple, around which our road network is centered.

 

So that is Fort Hope’s positional advantages.

 

In advantages of fortification - it is true that the current fortifications face the wrong side of the cliff island to be useful in this fight. 

However, they serve as a good base, and with its walls extended around the relatively small top of the rocky island - a task inexpensive and cheap, as they need not be taller than two or three meters to provide adequate protection due to the cliffs already surrounding the island being the greatest fortification there is.

As stated, extending these fortications will make it into a formidable fortress even inferi will have difficulty storming. And with space within enough to house all of our united armies, as well as space to store provisions and weapons for them all to hold out it is optimal for a war on this scale.

 

In terms of weaponry, there are already ballista that have before been used to bring down mutated beasts brought from the void - beings that were challenged in scale and power perhaps only by the largest of the inferi war-monsters.

These ballista could without spending any resources be moved to the other side of the island to provide a basic battery, and just a few more, perhaps supported by cannons, will provide enough to cause the inferi to suffer every step on the advance.

 

In infantry positions, the height provides a perfect position for archers to shoot imps out of the sky, and whittle down the infantry on approach.

 

Even when the demonic invaders cross the river and attempt to climb the cliff, their armour will slow their advance in this terrain and they can be slaughtered - for we know they die as any other man.

In this, use of combined arms - artillery to bring down monsters, and archers in a naturally perfect position for humanoids and imps - can make the inferi suffer unprecedented losses.

 

And do not make the mistake of believing this will be a wasted effort. With the before discussed position of Fort Hope allowing it to stop any army from moving inland will force the inferi to storm the fort before any efforts can be made at further attacking us. 

 

So, in conclusion. Fort Hope is one of the single best positions available to descedantkind - cheap and easy to fortify, already armed with weaponry able to fight off an army, and controlling the way into the continent.

 

And lastly, as touched upon in the beginning, it is a meaningful position.

Fort Hope was the base of operations when fighting back the void, another, very similar, invader of our land from another realm. And that time too, we beat them back with the strength gifted to us, the strength all descendants have in their will.

 

To rebuild this fort in this time is to light not a candle in the night, but to light a blazing fire in defiance against our foes.

 

 

• - Shou.

Edited September 29, 2020 by Chryasor