Eowyn & Eomer's
Battle For The Gap Of Rohan
And so it was that after the War of the Ring was ended, Rohan, under the kingship of Lord Eomer found itself assailed at the Gap of Rohan once more. This threat came from the oceans to the south, bourn upon the remnants of the Corsair ships that were not captured by Aragorn before the Battle of Pelennor Fields. The Corsair ships, fleeing the might of Gondor.s new found naval strength in the Bay of Belfalas traveled north along the coast to the opening of the Isen River. And so it was that as they found land there Saruman.s filth was still yet not washed away and the river stunk and festered of burning and death.
There the Haradrim disembarked from the Corsair ships and made camp. They were lead by one who called himself Suladan the Avenger. Although King Suladan had been lost at the Battle of Pelennor Fields, from the desert came another, adorned in King Suladan.s costume of war and claiming to be Suladan the Avenger, brought back from the swirling desert winds to avenge his namesake. The broken and fleeing Haradrim where then rallied and took up arms once more. Lead by Suladan the Avenger, the Haradrim made for Rohan and the King that resided there to make their revenge.
And so it was that as Eomer and Eowyn made camp at the Gap of Rohan while traveling through their realm to bring new hope to the people after the War of the Ring that they were assailed by Suladan the Avenger and his war horde. The Haradrim came upon them and in their surprise many were slain. Having lost the battle, Eomer and Eowyn, along with Gamling and the surviving knights of Rohan retreated south toward Helm.s Deep to gather reinforcements. But Suladan the Avenger did not pursue his foes. There he made camp once more, proclaiming that this land would be the land that the Haradrim would exact their revenge upon Rohan.
After two sunrises had passed, Eowyn and Eomer had mustered many defenders of Rohan and had made their way back to the Gap of Rohan to assail the invading Haradrim. It was at the crack of dawn that Eowyn and Eomer.s riders fell upon the Haradrim camp. And although Haradrim sentries were stationed to watch the land and raise the alarm, knowledge of the land proved more vital, and the Riders of Eowyn and Eomer gained the surprise. And so it was that on the banks of the Isen in the Gap of Rohan that the revenge of the Haradrim would be decided...
The host of Eowyn and Eomer take to the battlefield. Note Eowyn's shield!
Suladan makes ready to defend his camp! Note here that Suladan is on foot in this picture! This is because when I took this pic, my mounted Suladan was waiting to be judged in the Warpstone painting competition! See below for more info on how that turned out!
The worst attended conflict ever? Well in Canada yes. Why? GW in their infinite wisdom decided to have the Conflict event during the Calgary Stampede and Exhibition, which is easily the most well attended and well known event in this stinkin' town. So, during the Calgary conflict where were all the GW enthusiasts? They were down at the fair grounds on the first weekend of the fair having a blast! I hope GW learns from their mistake and doesn't book the event to coincide with the Stampede and Exhibition again!
As such, when I arrived at the conflict hall with bells on, I was beset with bad news. Nobody was there to play in the Lord of the Rings tournament. Well, not nobody, but only one other person. I was told by the organizers that if more didn't show then the even would be cancelled! At first I wasn't worried, as many gamers in my area promised to be there for the event as well! But by 10:30am, I figured it was a lost cause and decided to have a game at the open gaming tables with the one other player that did show up!
Lukily, the other player that showed up for the tournament was into having a rousing game in the deserted open gaming area. I was also quite keen considering the difficulty I had in getting myself and all of my junk down there! I was also keen on using my Haradrim Camp in a game for the first time ever! So, since he brought his Gondorians, I was ready to take him on with my Haradrim!
The battle lines take to the field!
My warriors, lead by Suladan were ready to send these Gondorians packing! Death to the men of the west they yelled as they charged into battle! The game started off with a lot of moving and posturing, during which time the Gondorian knights broke ranks and charged toward the waiting lines of Haradrim... Meanwhile, Suladan had his warriors hold the line while he pondered what to do with himself when inspiration suddenly struck!
The Gondorian knights are hopelessly swarmed and brought down when they hit the line... But what is this? What has Suladan in his infinite wisdom decided to do?
Just as the knights of Gondor hit the haradrim line, Suladan spurred his mount forward. "Death to Gondor" he cried as he charged into their ranks of spears and swords! He vowed that he alone would turn the invaders from his camp! Crashing into the lines he toppled many men while his warriors made short work of the Gondorian knights!
Droves of Gondorians fall to Suladan's mighty sword!
But alas, it was not to be. After felling no less that ten warriors of Gondor, Suladan was pulled down in the swarm of Gondorian spears before aid could reach him. The battle from that point hung on the brink until the end. The Gondorian archers, lead by Faramir traded fire with the poisoned arrows of the haradrim, while spear broke spear as the lines of warriors clashed.
Suladan is finally felled by the spears of Gondor!
As men from both sides fell, as spear clashed with sword, as bow string twanged, the battle raged. Both sides were reduced to less than 25% their original numbers on the same turn, and a draw it was to be. The battle would not be decided this day. Both hosts would have to withdraw, regroup, and retake up the cause another day!
The battle ends valliantly in a draw!
So, after the game I was faced with another few hours (at least) before my ride would return and whisk me back to the real world. So what was I to do? It was at that moment when a loud GW employee screamed the last call for the Warpstone painting competition. I figured, what the heck. Suladan is all dressed up with nowhere to go, and I entered him.
One of the Warpstone Painting Competition entries.
Shortly after entering I decided to take a look at the competition. I figured I might get lucky thanks to the poor turnout of the event and headed over to see my prospects. There were a few different figs entered already. One Gandalf the Grey, and one of the two of the Sons of Elrond. They didn't look too bad, especially Gandalf. But there was one in particular that I really liked...
Another entry in the Warpstone competition.
The Wild Warg Chieftain that had been entered was very cool. Not only was it well painted, but it was done up on a diorama base that included a dead orc and some other detritus strewn about the field of battle! I figured I had a chance, but it wasn't in the bag.
The Wild Warg Chieftain Warpstone Competition Entry. Pretty cool!
For the next two hours I had to do something, so after milling about the Warhammer and Warhammer 40k tables, the special event tables, the Mad Groc competition tables, and the vendor table and finding nothing really interesting, I headed over to the sneek-peek table.
I love the elf covering his mouth! I imagine he is trying
to keep himself from getting sick after seeing the billions
of orcs all slobering and screaming toward him! I love it!
Aside from all the stuff I had already seen a million times on the Internet, like cool elven captains and neat new Rohirrim figs, I saw some strange lookin' ones that I hadn't seen. Unfortunately, I didn't even ask what they were because I didn't want to know. Oh well, I like most of the upcoming models to be sure!
The dead marshes figs rock! But what are those other poorly
painted figs in there?
So, after grabbing some leftover warhammer and warhammer 40k bits from the conversion tables, chatting with a few friends, and having a rousing debate about the merits of non-metallic metal, it was finally time for the winners of the painting competition to be announced. Thankfully they announced the Lord of the Rings entries first. Gandalf came third, the Wild Warg Chieftain second, and Suladan first! I was very pleased... Of course, I was lucky. So lucky because Angela Imrie entered every competition except Single Lord of the Rings miniature, and won a fair few as well, congrats to her! Anyway, after a few quick pictures and collecting my trophy I was off home. A good day that was (not entirely) well spent!
A proud Suladan indeed!