Passage translated and adapted from Lucentian annals. Manuscript prepared by REDACTED
In the year of our Lord three thousand and one, the continual faltering of the skylights culminated in the prophesized Aldarrök (End of Ages) and subsequent Renewal. Nidhogg (Nid: Night, hogg: striker, hewer) the Anointed was rebirthed and returned to his children as Gaddur (Spike) the Brilliant, both the son and himself.
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In the year of Our Lord two thousand and ninety nine, the last War of Honor was fought between the Firstlings and the Lucents. Firstling thane Magnar and Lucentian prince Stellan were to end the yearly ritual due to the dimming of the sky, which caused the harvest of both nations to fail. Frigg, daughter of Fyorgynn and high vala (untranslated, something like a priestess?) of white dragon, proclaimed the coming of Aldarrök within a year.
Walls were established around the Firstling settlement of Nidelva and the Lucentian settlement of Neapel. Ceremonial weapons were sharpened into blood-drawing ones. Shields were again permitted, no longer a symbol of cowardice. So were bows and arrows. The Forbidden Bridge was built across the Klara. The two races interweaved into one single formation, prepared to strike out to the blooded foe of bone-white (white wolves).
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And thus Gaddur breathed the essence of Nidhogg, and Frigg Fyorgynnsdottir directed it to the firmament of sky. The world of Firstlings and Lucents unraveled, yet the bone-white nemesis awaited outside.
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Personal Note #5 - Research on Nordland Races
The historical records of the two Nordland pony races have been mythologized by the lack of record keeping, their extreme isolation, as well as the passage of time. The current research represents an effort to purge superstitious elements and present the two races’ histories as neutrally as possible.
The Firstlings is a race nation* of earth ponies. Before their conflicts with white wolves, they once occupied the northern coast across the old and new worlds. Nighthewer, ‘Nidhogg’ in Firstling tongue, was a legendary white dragon who attempted to shield them from the onslaught from the encroaching white wolves. Unwilling to harm lives, he casted a megaspell with his life energy that severed the physical connection between their sanctuary from the world.
Alongside the Firstlings were the Lucents. Their history was less obscure than the Firstlings. They were originally members of a large northern mission from Crystal Empire, then newly established in Equestria. Princess Alba, who only ruled the Empire for half a year before disappearing in the north, seemed to be the same pony as ‘Albe, mother of Aida’ in Lucentian records. The originally peaceful expedition were roped into the relentless anti-pony military actions from the white wolves, and by chance and necessity they had to hide within the magical parameter Nighthewer set down.
Since the magic that sustained the perimeter was fully negated by anti-magic charm and Spike the Dragon’s own magical fire breath**, it is no longer possible to precisely gauge the nature of Nighthewer’s magic. Therefore the following are largely educated guesses.
In the saga of Firstlings, Nighthewer was said to have forged the ‘new world’ to shelter the two founding mothers of the Firstlings and Lucents, Alva and Aida respectively. The pocket space created with Nighthewer’s magic seemed to be a world within world. Its size and vibrance was likely directly tied to the amount of energy that fed into it from Nighthewer’s leftover magic.
The pocket world seemed to be, at least initially, a miniature of the world we lived in, with spacious land, seas, plants and creatures common to our world. However, as Nighthewer’s magic dissipated with the passage of time, a slow crunch of space presumably occurred. It was inevitable that the inner space would shrink to the size of which the white mountainous body of Nighthewer actually occupies in this world. By the time the two worlds again connected, the two races had to live next to each other in two riverside settlements on a poor fenland, where in records the two races once occupied a much larger and diverse landscape and lived in multiple settlements.
* Consult the official diplomatic guidebook next time
** Need to check carefully, seems doubtful in scale of energy
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On Lucentian cultural beliefs
Lucentian records describe three Ages, each spanning exactly a thousand years. The Age of Gold, the Age of Silver, and the Age of Bronze. Each successive age was said to be less bountiful, magical and spacious than the previous one.
The continuous shrinkage of their natural bounty, as well as imperfect record keeping, fostered a collective mindset of spirituality, detachment and even a sense of fatalism in their culture, common to the Firstlings. Nighthewer, the dragon that used his magic and body to craft their pocket world, was elevated to the status of supreme protector deity. Daily work was conducted in Nighthewer’s sacred name, and ponies did good in hope to slow down the gradual fall of their world.
Lucentian society was strongly influenced by Firstlings, so much so that their original Roaman tongue was replaced by a Firstling-based tongue. It should be noted that, after consultation with reconstructive linguistic expert Moon Dancer, Old Firstling and Old Draconic appeared to be essentially dialects of the same tongue. The circumstances that lead to this were unknown, but it was probably a reason that Nighthewer was more well-received among the Firstlings than the white wolves. The substratum for related Deerish was a complete unknown, however. Although this might inform their prehistory, for now it remained a curiosity for linguists to study.
In any case, the initial low population of Lucentians necessitated cross-marriage between the crystal ponies and earth ponies. The resulting community was a largely culturally Firstling society with the odd Crystallian practices, the most obvious one being the name of their race – Lucenter – from Roaman ‘lucere’ (to shine, referring to the crystal magic that once caused their bodies to glitter); as well as title of their leaders – principe (prince) – rather than Firstling thane.
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On Firstling and Lucentian military culture and practices
A strong warrior culture was actively maintained and encouraged in Firstling and Lucentian society. It was apparently a leftover practice from the days when the Firstlings still sailed and raided around the seas. Firstling warriors were encouraged to show their martial ability by fighting honor battles within the community even during time of peace. But due to ameliorating influence of their pacifist dragon deity, and the coexistence with the sedentary Lucents, the battles were converted into highly organized rituals that were forbidden to cause open injuries.
The relatively brief but brutal episode of white wolf conquests three thousand years ago left a deep scar on the Firstling and Lucentian psyche. White wolves were quite demonized in the liturgy of Firstling mythology. The fear towards annihilation at the paws of the white wolves were embodied in many aspects in their society. For instance, the reverence towards Nighthewer reflected a hope for both physical and spiritual salvation. Somewhat paradoxically, it also led to the strengthening of Firstling martial culture remarkably over the millennia.
Firstlings had since come to believe (somewhat correctly) that their world would eventually fall apart, and they would have to face their feared and loathed nemesis on the field of battle once again. It was a fortuitous coincidence that this indeed happened when Spike the Dragon came by, fit the description of their draconic prophesy, and became their dragon lord in flesh.
Indeed, the Firstlings and Lucents were not monolithic. Despite the highly potent signs (at least in the eyes of them), there were still a number of ponies who did not quite subscribe to the idea of myth and prophesies. But when Spike the Dragon’s presence indeed opened their world to a wider world, foretold the imminent hostile encounter with the white wolves, and his subsequent involvement in the Battle of the Deermark Forest, these would cement his status as one of the most influential characters for the Nordland races.
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Sunburst on Monday, 21st of August, AC 1006
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PER THE OPEN RECORD ACTS OF 1008, THIS DOCUMENT IS DECLASSIFIED FOR PUBLIC CONSUMPTION
Translated by Dagny (E.N. ‘New Day’) on Behalf of Foreign Service
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To the High Commissioner of Records,
The Union of Kalmare is pleased to comply with your request for information regarding our common struggle. Attached please find a hoofwritten summary of the events and circumstances that led up to the famous Battle of the Deermark Forest. They are condensed from field records, independent investigations and oral reports that represent the very best efforts of our national historians.
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The Battle of the Deermark Forest was one of the only two major military engagements that occurred within the boundary of Deermark for recorded history, the other one being the War of Dawn that ended in Nighthewer the Dragon’s sacrifice. Its commencement was as curious as its circumstances and rareness, mainly because of the convergence of many incidental events, as well as how it was to the surprise of all three parties of belligerents, the white wolves, the deer and the twin pony races. The results also had deep consequences to the fate of the Nordland races and Equestria as a whole afterwards.
The white wolves’ force was led by the twin paramount chiefs of Susia, Laske and Puuska. They were the twin sons of the previous paramount chief Suologievra. Susia, or Hvideland in Deerish tongue, referred to the area administered by white wolves, roughly encompassing the north and northeastern coast of Arctic Equestria.
In March of dHå 3003 (Note: AC 1003, CE 3, SK 4732), a palace coup saw to the deposition of Suologievra in favor of her two sons. While coup was not uncommon for the upper echelon of white wolves, who then mostly saw successful seizure of power as rightful display of leadership, this palace coup was uncommon in that it was supported and, some witnesses argued, directly planned and instigated, by the unicorn Sunset Shimmer from the Shadow Crystal Empire. Sunset Shimmer, privy to the history between white wolves and the other races in the north, offered to help the twin brothers to power in exchange for their help in her war efforts in the south.
After securing power with foreign support, Laske and Puuska were anxious in proving their independence and power to their subjects. They were presented with a chance to do so with a magical artefact gifted by Sunset Shimmer. The Spellbreaker Stone was made with incredibly concentrated magic-negating material. The two brothers were excellent orators, they were able to assuage the discontent among the white wolves for their connection to ponies, by arguing it was just a marriage of convenience and promising to use the Spellbreaker Stone to unravel Nighthewer’s ancient barrier and reignite the War of Dawn.
It was a risky gamble on part of the white wolves, because not even the deer knew the situation within the parameter of the white mountain, which was the enchanted remains of Nighthewer. It tethered the pocket dimension which sheltered the twin pony races.
Merely five days after the coup, Laske and Puuska had amassed an army of 3500, incredibly large for a conflict in the north at the time. This included 3000 light infantry were equipped with iron claws and reinforced gambesons, as well as 500 crossbow archers that carries their deadly weapons on their backs. The army was accompanied by an indeterminate number of entourage that provided support.
The army quickly departed the Susian capital Isojoki (Stórafljót in both Old Firstling and Old Draconic, literally ‘Great River’) and marched west towards the Deermark forest. The white wolves were swift on their march, progressing over twelve leagues a day despite the difficulties of marching on melting tundra.
When the army arrived at the vicinity of Deermark, a small contingent of infantry was detached from the main army. They were tasked with following the patrolling deer guards and waged feints and probes into the main road at the south side of the forest, to the deer settlement of Hvideskov (Whitewood).
This detachment was a classic distraction tactic, intending to draw attention away from the true theatre of operation, which was the north side of the white mountain. The white wolves had correctly located the locus of magic of the white mountain at the Drageskalle (Dragonskull), whereby Drageskalle Stream fed into River Nid. But to reach the spot they have to either siege and invade the deer capital of Hvideskov in order to march on the forest roads, or traverse up the roaring and overflowing River Nid, both highly dangerous.
Laske and Puuska decided to do neither, however. They elected to circle to the northern periphery of the Deermark forest and directly clear a direct path by felling the trees in their way. They did so by spraying onto the forest something the white wolves had in their arsenal in preparation of the eventual re-ignition of struggle against the deer – an extremely fast-acting tree poison called ‘Puuntap’ (Wood-kill). In two days, a straight road to the Drageskalle was cleared, and a marching camp was set up next to the spot.
To avoid the border patrol from the deer from noticing such a large and disruptive operation, the detachment flagrantly drew the attention of Deermark defenders by constant small-scale probing attacks. They also manually fell woods and pretended to construct siege engines, ostensibly wanting to breach the perimeter of Hvideskov. The feints and light skirmishes persisted for two days, until the detachment received orders to pull back and join the main force at the marching camp.
The white wolves’ war efforts were aided by the Spellbreaker Stone, which negated the disorienting magical effect that afflicted all previous intruders to Deermark.
In actuality, while the twin brothers definitely planned for conflicts with the deer, they did not truly expect a pitch battle with ponies. Indeed, they did not really expect any survivors within the barrier of the white mountains, if any, to be immediately ready to fight a battle with them. The strings of defeats their ancestors inflicted on the Firstlings also caused both the commanders and the common soldiery to look down on the pony’s fighting abilities. Indeed, in the eyes of Laske and Puuska, Firstling ponies had always been glorified raiders and vagabonds, presumably unfit to wage large-scale battles.
Laske ordered the soldiers to set the Spellbreaker Stone next to Drageskalle to disperse the magic of the white mountain. But instead of causing it to crumble and bury Hvideskov with a rockslide as they hoped, it instead merely unbounded the megaspell for ease of outside tempering. At the same time, this produced a burst of dragon magic that was felt intensely by Spike the Dragon, then residing in Hvideskov with the eclectic 'Fellowship of Exiles'.
Spike the Dragon was the first dragon since Nighthewer to reach the territory of Deermark without succumbing to the cold, which was deadly to most dragons who are not in hibernating sleep. Earlier, via a magical ritual sanctioned by HH Rainga XI, Spike became the successor to Nighthewer and became the Draconic Guardian of Deermark and a close confidante to HH. Spike’s inherent magic was highly congruous with Nighthewer’s leftover magic in the white mountain, which would prove to be massively influential to the Battle.
Spike accompanied HH on a risky reconnaissance mission to investigate the burst of dragon magic, treading on the Hærvejen (‘Army path’, which despite the name was a narrow forest path only used for transporting materials needed for the annual ritual at Drageskalle). Unluckily for them, it looped right inside the clearance where the white wolves were, and they ran in direct confrontation with the white wolves.
Despite the brave breakout by HH, they were cornered with their back on the insurmountable cliff of the white mountain. Again, unexpectedly, this created a physical connection between Spike and the white mountain, and the remaining magic completely drained out via him as a conduit. Spike himself was teleported inside the dimension that the Firstling and the Lucent lived.
The two races were then an almost spent force. Once thriving inside the large and expansive pocket space created by Nighthewer, they were a shadow of their former selves. Population had fallen from an estimated height of over two hundred thousand to a measly ten thousand, and only one fifth of them are trained fighters. The radical shrinkage of livable space and the faltering magic could no longer sustain a viable community. The magic sunlight was dimmed to a color of dark orange, and for both races, there was a keen sense that the end of days were near.
When the Spellbreaker Stone was brought near the white mountain, the remaining magical illumination inside the dimension was gone, and fighters were gathered under their respective leaders, Firstling thane Magnar and Lucentian prince Stellan.
Frigg Fyorgynnsdottir, the High Vala of the ancient devotional community, the Pious Adorers of Precious White, was called upon to hold a blót. A blót is a sacramental ritual in Firstling religious parlance. It was performed to draw upon the innate life energy of the believers via devotional chants, in order to delay the complete collapse of their world.
When it was found that even a regular blót did nothing to replenish the skylight, Frigg was prepared to do something that was not done ever since the Firstling met Nighthewer – a Stóði blót. In a stóði blót, a stallion warrior would be selected by drawing lot. He would then be tied down to a flat stone, whereby he would be castrated and slowly bled to his demise, and his congealed blood would be used to draw lines of runic blessing on said stone, which would be subsequently raised.
The intended revival of such horrifying ancient practice drew revulsion from both races. However, Firstling legends that dated to even before Nighthewer claimed that stóði blót gave rise to magic of great potency, and it was allegedly performed to ensure the successes of raids. It was said to be the reason why the Firstlings were the kings on the high seas in the olden days. Moreover, the High Vala herself, who was supposedly the spokespony for the revered dragon guardian, championed this method.
Therefore, the special blót was almost performed when Spike was teleported onto the platform himself. Upon seeing a dragon appearing out of thin air before them, almost everypony took it as a sign of the return of their dragon messiah.
It was not known how and to what extent Spike was linked with Nighthewer, or at least what remained of the great dragon, during the ritual arranged by HH, as it was a matter of royal prerogative. However, whatever it was seemed to be able to convince the Firstling, the Lucent, and in particular, Vala Frigg to take him as the Great Dragon reborn.
Afterwards, Frigg proclaimed the End of Age, and the prophesized Final Fight with the white wolves. The assembled warriors were relieved that none of their own would be sacrificed, and instead they would be able to use their fighting skills against a mythical enemy, as well as fighting under the direct grace of the Great Dragon himself. Spike then promptly, and quite literally, split the sky with his magic-infused fire breath.
At the outset of the battle, the two army of pony warriors were camping at the two sides of the River Klara, the delineating river for the two races originating from a ground source near Drageskalle. The Firstling army hailed from Nidelva and the Lucentian army hailed from Neapel. They were the last two settlements for the surviving ponies, after the retreating barrier literally devoured their cities and towns one by one.
Thane Magnar commanded 1000 axe-wielding berserkers, who could fight in bursts of trance-like fury. Prince Stellan commanded another 1000 of elite spearponies, who wielded expertly-crafted winged spears, and were arranged in 10 by 10 squares that held tight even under tough attack. They were coordinated by Frigg, who assumed temporary commandership of this highly religiously motivated battle. Once the white dragon emblazoned banners of Førstehov (First-hoof) and Lysandevit (Brilliant-white) were raised, the two armies rapidly marched towards Drageskalle at the behest of Spike.
The opposing armies were quickly able to see each other through the thin mist. Although neither of the two races were keen on archery, they nonetheless remained cognizant of the dire threat of the long-ranged weapon that once tipped the balance of the war against them. Frigg ordered the shield wall to be set up 500 yards from the front line of the white wolves, who while surprised, reacted promptly and fired a wave of arrows towards the newcomers.
HH, who was sandwiched in between the two armies, quickly galloped into the newly available fenland and towards her seeming allies. While her judgment was correct, the wave of arrows had struck and injured her, and she fell short of the shield wall. She was promptly brought into the care of the Firstling medic. With the nod from Frigg, Spike elected to expedite her with a chariot back to Hvideskov, now in a straight gallop’s way, and as well call for aid from the deer.
The white wolves were surprised, but they were not in any panic. They were safely surrounded by well-constructed palisades. Their crossbow archers were tugged behind them or inside observation posts.
The only worrying aspect to the white wolves at the time was the highly vulnerable and outstretched soldiers and workers outside in the forest, numbering in low hundreds. And indeed the two races pounced on the disorganization and immediately descended on the white wolves without protection inside the woods. The Lucentian army protected the right flank as the Firstling entered the woods and surrounded the hapless camp followers and the few white wolf soldiers.
The white wolves immediately fired arrows again to assist the few who were cut off from the main army, however the Lucentian adopted a tortoise formation, which saw them march forward slowly while protecting both their top and front with raised shields from the raining arrows. The Firstlings opted for speed, and quickly mopped up the little resistance. This was a blow to white wolf morale, as they did not expect the ponies to be so tactically sound in battle.
Carrying off the injured and the captured, the twin pony races appeared to be rather cautious, opting to remain outside of the white wolf archers’ range.
While the field between the two armies were cleared by the white wolves, Puuska was opposed to his brother’s idea to lead an assault to the retreating ponies to rescue the prisoners of war, content to hide behind the protection of their campsite. Also, the newly felled trees in their way were not carried off in time. This made it difficult for the white wolves to use their signature short dash-and-maul tactics that once devastated the Firstling armies.
The armies returned to their positions and entered a stalemate. Frigg was aware of their numerical disadvantage, and hoped to wait for the reinforcement from the deer to arrive.
In the meantime, the ground became much wetter. It turned out that the groundswell that gave rise to River Klara was able to flow back into River Nid via the Drageskalle Stream, but the old channel was overflowing, and this turned the ground into soft mush.
The white wolves were alarmed. The campsite was right next to Drageskalle Stream, and it could be flooded if this continued. Moreover, having much shorter limbs than ponies, a muddy terrain would be highly disadvantageous to their mobility and fighting ability. Laske therefore sent servants to place some fallen woods to block part of the stream, but they were attacked by the Firstling soldiers before they completed their tasks.
Worried that they would eventually drown in their own camp, and that the ponies would later take advantage of the worsening terrain, the twin brothers ordered a break-out attack with two-third of their troops, with the rest protecting their camp and their rears.
The initial wave of attack was towards Lucentian lines, which withdrew their shields and adopted the defensive schiltrom stance, an innovation from thousands of years of mock battles with the Firstlings. The Lucentian spearponies pointed their long winged spear to the front in alternating fashion, forming an impenetrable grove of deadly spikes in face of white wolf attacks. Their incredible discipline also helped them to hold firm.
However, the attacks were fierce enough that it eventually began to significantly wear down Lucentian defense. But then, Laske recalled his brother’s troops, and sent forth his very own noble Snow Guards. His motivation was unclear, but it was presumably a confidence that elite troops would ram open the defense much faster.
Unlike the regular infantry, Snow Guards had in general larger builds from elite training. This ironically caused them to suffer more from the unfavorable terrain. The Lucentian defense began to reorganize and recover. The Snow Guards became quickly tired out by fighting half-submerged in grime, and it was at this time Lucentian formation spread out to give way to Firstling axe warriors, fresh and eager to pick on the disorganized, fallen and mud-drowned targets. A desperate charge from the white wolf garrison in the camp was thwarted by a Firstling contingent specifically placed there for that task.
The Snow Guards were sustaining high loss, but they fought on relentlessly. That was until the Doe’s cloth rose from the horizons, and the deer arrived at their right flank with over 1000 longbow archers and 500 hornsdeer.
Initially the white wolves maintained composure, but they were simultaneously bombarded with extremely intense waves of longbow arrows, as well as suddenly smacked with magical attacks from Princess Cadance and Prince Shining Armor of Crystal Empire, then members of the Fellowship of Exiles. The Snow Guards were thrown into complete disarray, and the battle became a rout, with the fleeing white wolves trampling on their fellow archers at the rear.
When they realized the battle was lost, the surviving white wolves abandoned their camp and fled, only to be pursued over several leagues by the combined army along the forest clearing. Puuska went to the rear and attempted to sort out the chaotic condition, only to be greeted with the shocking sight of his own mother’s banner, a wolf’s head inside a ring of leaves, amid the combined army. They were cut off from Laske’s fleeing army and surrounded, and the completely demoralized army of about 500 survivors, along with Puuska himself, surrendered, ostensibly to Suologievra to preserve their honor.
Laske, on the other hoof, successfully made a break out of the forest. Despite the disastrous encounter, he still made it out with over 1000 infantry largely intact. Surmising that going back to Isojoki with the news of a hallowing defeat would swiftly lead to his own deposition, he opted to turn south and again attempted to seek help from Sunset Shimmer. These white wolves troop would later be influential in the Shadow Crystal Empire’s war efforts in the south.
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