Battle of Rislandia City
The Battle of Rislandia City was one of the most dramatic and devastating engagements in Rislandian history, fought between the Wyranth Empire and the Grand Rislandian Army for control of Rislandia City. The battle saw the deployment of a monstrous walking giant by the Wyranth and the destruction of the airship Liliana. The city was ultimately overwhelmed by Wyranth forces, though the battle is credited with saving the kingdom from certain destruction.
Background
During the Wyranth's two-front invasion, their forces moved against Rislandia City. The Grand Rislandian Army mounted a defense, and the Liliana participated in the aerial campaign, at one point dropping a bomb on Wyranth forces during the engagement. Despite these efforts, the city was ultimately overwhelmed by the Wyranth.
A new horror also emerged from the Old Forest during the battle: a walking giant—a mobile version of the evolved giant, standing over 20 feet tall with jelly-like skin pulsing with blue light. The creature was immune to conventional weapons; bullets and swords passed through its gelatinous form. It could leap to extraordinary heights and crush soldiers and structures with superhuman strength.
The Walking Giant
The walking giant presented a threat unlike any previously encountered. Its gelatinous body rendered standard arms ineffective, and its physical power allowed it to destroy fortifications and overwhelm soldiers directly. The Liliana attempted to stop it using anti-serum coated cannonballs, but the giant leaped and seized the underside of the airship.
The Crash of the Liliana
Major Edwin Ral executed a desperate spinning maneuver in an attempt to dislodge the creature. With the giant clinging to the ship, Zaira von Monocle deliberately rammed the Liliana into the creature; the forward turbine blades shredded it to pieces, destroying the walking giant.
Casualties aboard the Liliana included:
- 15 or more crew members killed
- The bridge destroyed
- The top deck crushed
- Zaira von Monocle buried under debris, though she survived
Aftermath
Following the crash, Zaira von Monocle rallied surviving soldiers and led a ground assault. General Swift, the Wyranth commander, was killed after taking Zaira hostage. The Liliana was left in ruins, requiring extensive repair.
The battle was later credited with saving the kingdom from certain destruction. In its wake, Zaira von Monocle and Ethan von Lantern grew closer as a result of the shared ordeal.
In The Fight for Rislandia
In The Fight for Rislandia, Zaira von Monocle recorded her account of the engagement in the ship's log book, writing down all she could recall. It was Zaira herself who named the engagement the "Battle of Rislandia City" in that log entry. As she wrote: "I opened the ship's log book and wrote down all I could recall about the Battle of Rislandia City."
In The Iron Wedding
In The Iron Wedding, the battle was referred to by name as an established and recognized event. Ethan von Lantern reflected on how he and Zaira von Monocle had grown closer in its aftermath, noting: "He and I had been getting closer since The Battle of Rislandia City, as it was now being called." The battle was described as the recent engagement in which Zaira crashed the Liliana into a giant creature to end the fight, and was credited with saving the kingdom from certain destruction.
In A History of Rislandia
A History of Rislandia treats the Battle of Rislandia City as a landmark event in the modern history of the kingdom, touching on several details that either supplement or diverge from the novel accounts.
The Liberation of Rislandia City
According to A History of Rislandia, the battle resulted in the liberation of Rislandia City. The sourcebook frames the outcome as a Rislandian victory and the recapture of the capital, describing how Zaira von Monocle rallied surviving soldiers and led a ground assault on the occupied city. General Swift was killed after taking Zaira hostage during the course of that liberation. This stands in tension with the novel-based account on this page, which describes the city as having been "overwhelmed by Wyranth forces" without clearly resolving whether it was subsequently retaken within the same engagement;
The Walking Giant and the Liliana
The sourcebook confirms that the walking giant emerged from the Old Forest during the battle, and that the Liliana crashed in the course of the engagement. It further confirms that the Liliana's turbine blades were the instrument of the walking giant's destruction, and that the airship subsequently underwent extensive repairs.
Birth of Lilly von Monocle
According to A History of Rislandia, Talyen von Cravat gave birth to Lilly von Monocle during the Battle of Rislandia City. This detail does not appear anywhere on the novel-based account on this page and represents a significant personal event occurring simultaneously with the military engagement. The sourcebook does not elaborate on the circumstances or location of the birth within the battle.