Beacon Tower

Late night on July 2 to dawn on July 3, Year One of Sigmund I

On the eastern coast of the main island of the Iron Islands, the moonless night was dark and windy. Only the waves tirelessly pounded against the reefs.

Suddenly, the dead silence was torn apart by streaks of dazzling orange flame! The heavy cannons Sauron had mounted on modified warships let out earth-shaking roars!

Heavy solid iron balls and shells that exploded in midair fell like a meteor shower from hell, shrieking as they slammed into the beachhead defenses the Iron Islands' defenders had painstakingly built over several years!

Boom! BOOOOM!

Violent explosions rang out one after another. Flames shot into the sky as earth, broken stones, splintered wood, and mangled limbs flew in every direction!

The hastily built wooden breastworks and sandbag fortifications were torn apart and hurled away like flimsy toys under the bombardment of the heavy cannons.

The soldiers hiding behind the fortifications did not even have time to react. They were blown to pieces in their sleep or while standing guard, their screams instantly drowned out by even more violent explosions.

The fierce bombardment lasted nearly half an hour and completely plowed through several major beachhead positions along the eastern coast of the Iron Islands.

When the cannon fire gradually thinned out and finally stopped, the once mostly intact defensive line was already devastated. Gunpowder smoke filled the air, along with the heavy stench of saltpeter and blood.

The surviving defenders' ears rang incessantly. Most had been rattled dizzy, and the casualties were devastating.

Yet the disaster had only just begun.

The moment the bombardment shifted farther inland, the sea filled with densely packed Sauron landing boats, like locusts sweeping across the land. Taking advantage of the darkness before dawn, while the