OoC (http://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=125052.0)<br/>Character Archive (http://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=125051.0)<br/><br/><div align="center"><strong>Prologue</strong></div><br/>The war against the Kingdom of Alaqant is going badly.  The League of the Free Cities and Counties of Silesia had taken the offensive this year and marched deep into enemy territory and drove its armies from the field, but only to discover the King himself amassing an enormous force around his capital to drive the decentralized rustics and merchants into the sea.  A call to arms within the Silesian territories has emptied fields and markets of fighting men and women who now stream into the League's encampment chasing coin or prodded along by demanding spear points, but all are uncertain about their chances at victory against the surprising juggernaut.  The King of Alaqant has promised to bring the prosperous peninsula of Silesia under his control by the year's end, and combined with the dozens of noble dead the region has been severely weakened by civil strife and power grabs by idle sons and daughters left behind.<br/><br/>The old Silesian noble Alvis, Count of Laplace, was a symbol of unity among the beleaguered allies, but he is but one man.  Sick and injured from bravery in the field, he has called his three children to his side and settle his affairs before it is too late.  The League was desperate for the fighting men they could bring under their father's banner, and many were fearful that a succession crisis in Laplace would spread discord throughout Silesia and further weaken the war effort in Alaqant.  The children of Alvis would waste no time in starting a civil war: the estates of Carim the younger brother versus the estates of Villene the eldest sister, and their popular but inexperienced baby sister Alice caught in the middle.<br/><br/><br/><div align="center"><strong>Chapter 1: Retreat</strong><br/>[Fort Elche, Kingdom of Alaqant]</div><br/>The youngest daughter of Alvis Laplace, Alice, rides to meet her father's summons.  Through sparsely guided supply lines she navigates enemy territory and arrives at Fort Elche, the very edge of the League encampment, by nightfall, just a few miles from her fathers bed.  It is much to dangerous to continue with Alaqant soldiers harrying the lines, so she waits for morning before carrying on.  Spared only a few hours of rest, however, she and the rest of Fort Elche awaken to find a huge force of Alaqant soldiers breaching the gates in force.  The light guard is cut down instantly, and it is obvious the fort will fall to numbers alone as more and more soldiers appear from the treeline and rush to take it.  Equally troubling is the huge plume of smoke in the direction of the League army, and these Alaqant soldiers form an impossible wall between Alice and her father.  Has the League been wiped out?  What of Alvis and her siblings?<br/><br/>There is no time to panic.  Alice must escape, and the few remaining soldiers and camp followers within Fort Elche must decide if they will follow.<br/><br/>Objectives: Escape.  Alice Laplace must arrive at O3-O4 before she is overrun.<br/>Starting Units: Alice, Claire, Maribelle, Valerie, Nanami, Edmund<br/>(http://i.imgur.com/Oz8rH.png)