The 25th year after The Siege of The Dragons. Ross Johnson leaves Rossland with ambitions to unify all of Avaland. Ross left with an Army of 8,000. 5,000 Infantry, of which 2,000 were heavy infantry, 2,000 were archers, and 1,000 were light infantry. 2,000 Calvary. 500 Knights and 500 civilians. The army went east through Dragons Pass. Spirits were high and all the men and women are excited for what was to come. Many talked about what Ross's "Plan" was. They knew he wanted to unite all of Avaland. They all heard the speech he gave before leaving Rossland Castle . Once they made it through the pass, took about 2 weeks. Ross Johnson decided to make camp for a while. This area became known as the crossroads. One road leading north, One road leading south. Ross and his Army stayed at this location for another two weeks. During this time 500 more people joined the Army from the surrounding villages. They were trained to be Light infantry. Red Ross had also joined the Army at this point. He was returning from RapidCity with his mother. While they were camped at the crossroads,They held the coming of age ceremony for Red. This ceremony brought another 100 civilians into the army. Ross gave command of his Elite Calvary unit to Red. This Unit was 500 horsemen that excelled using a bow from horse back. And were proficient with a sword on foot. Ross got word from Rapid City, that there was a group of Northmen in Two Rivers that might aide him. He sent Red and his unit ahead to go meet with them. Ross took the rest of the Army and went to Rapid City.
Red Ross gets to Two Rivers and speaks with the Northmen. They inform Red that they will pledge loyalty to Ross Johnson if they would help them with a village to the north. They explain the Red that Two Rivers is a sacred place. These are the lands of the Dire Wolf. The Old Gods greatest companion is the Dire Wolf. The village to the north has been poaching the Dire Wolfs. There are very few left. With this information Red Ross went back to Rapid City. He informed his father, Ross Johnson. Ross sent out a scouting party to the village known as "Braam". This is the village the men from Two Rivers were speaking of. Ross and the rest of his Army left Rapid City and headed North. They came to a village named "Mara". All the men here laid down their swords as soon as they seen Ross's Army. They pledged their loyalty to Ross Johnson. 400 Archers, 400 Light Infantry and 200 Civilians joined the Army. The scouts that were sent to "Braam" rejoined the Army and shared their Intel with Ross. They report that the village has no more than 500 troops. All infantry. Ross decides to send Red Ross and his unit with 500 Archers and 500 Light Infantry to deal with the issue. Red and his company make camp at the head of "Tang" river. It is north of Two Rivers, about half way to "Braam". From here Red lead his attack on "Braam". He brought 100 of his Elite Calvary, with all his infantry and 200 archers. He left the remaining troops behind as reserve. When Red's forces reached the village they were met with heavy resistance. It was a bloody battle. Loses pilled up on both sides. Red even suffered an injury. Once injured, Red blew his horn and the rest of his Elite cavalry Charged in and saved him from death. Also ending the battle. 410(Elite Cavalry) 375(Archers) 50(Light Infantry) remain left in Red's Company after the battle. They regrouped at "Camp Tang". Red sent word to his Father and to Two Rivers. The Northmen from Two Rivers fulfilled their pledge of loyalty and sent 100 elite infantry, 200 archers and 200 cavalries to Red's Company. Ross sent word back to Red that he was supposed to meet him as soon as he can. Red was unable to travel at the moment due to injuries. While he was encamped at Camp Tang, the Northmen from Two Rivers gave Red a battleax. They called him "The Protector of the Wolves". The battleax was said to be wielded by Zorn, the beast god. While they were all encamped, the newly added Northmen started to call themselves the Men of Ross. Once Red once well enough to travel, he took his men and marched south towards "Wolf Creek". They Followed "Wolf Creek" until it flowed into the "Blue" river. Then Red Marched his Unit towards "Mara" to regroup with his Father, Ross. Just outside "Mara" Red and his men came across a guy and two girls that were being beaten by a group of 8 men. Red and 10 of his best men ran down the bandits and killed them. When they return to the man and girls. Red finds out that it is a man and his two daughters. They are from Oslo and were trading in "Rapid City". Oldest daughter's name was El. Younger one Val. The fathers name was Olden. And they were on their way home, they got ambushed. Red was unfamiliar with this town. But the man described it as a town, not a village. So it interested him. Red gave the man some provisions and sent him on his way. Red Ross and his men continued east. Not to far out of "Mara" Red and his men were joined by 200 Infantry men sent from "Rapid City". Two days later they were back with Ross's Army. Red gave his Archers and all his infantry but 50 elite back to Ross. All but 500 Cavalry went back to Ross as well.
They all celebrated Red's victory at "Braam" Ross was thinking about the next step. The City of Pine. The city has always been known to be rebellious in the area. Red knows this from his time growing up in WindHelm. And from the intell Ross has gathered, the have formed a large army to defend the city. Waiting on Red Ross has given them time to prepare a proper defense. After a night of celebrations, Many of the men started calling themselves Rossmen. Ross Johnson orders Red's Unit to ride North to WindHelm, while the rest of the army prepares for the siege of Pine.
Red Rides north with his men. With in a couple days, they reached a big town. It was not that large, and didn't appear to have any castles. It did have a central tower. From what Ross told his son Red, WindHelm had a castle with walls and more than one tower. Red, did not know what town this was. They made camp just south west of the town. Red sent out a couple scouting parties to cover the rear. They went south through wooded area. Red and a few of his best men went into the town. When they got into the town, they found out that the town was called "Market Town". Rightly so, it was filled with markets, stalls and vendors. People buying and selling all sorts of goods. A very busy place. But what he didn't see much of was a military presence. Very Little, he did see guards. But it appeared that each vendor/stall had their own guards. After spending the day in the town, Red and his men went back to camp. That night one of the scouting parties came back. They came back with 20 additional men. These men swore loyalty to the Rossmen. They heard about what they did at "Braam". Red sent word to his father about what he had found out. Later the next day, about mid-day. The other scouting party returned. They returned with 150 additional men, of which 50 were archers. They also brought bad news. Why they came back with men was because "Camp Tang" had been overrun and Two Rivers was now being assaulted. These were the surviving men. Red immediately sent another rider to inform his father. He also assembled a group of his men to retake "Camp Tang". This consisted of 200 of is Elite Cav. And 50 of his Elite Infantry. He left Captain Lee in charge of the rest of the men.
Meanwhile, Pine had launched an attack on Ross Johnson Army. Ross was able to repel the attack with minimum casualties. 100 Civ, 2 Knights, 10 Cav, and 50 Infantry. Both Riders sent from Red arrived at the same time. Ross sent word back to his son, He is to take and hold "Market Town". Gather support, and return to the siege to prepare for the assault. Ross was unaware that his son had already ridden off to "Camp Tang". Later that day, Ross got word from his Brother Troy Johnson, that Blackwood and be taken by a group of men calling themselves "Vikings". Troy was moving his entire Army back to Rossland Castle . He had taken most of southern Rossland. Ross sent word back to Troy, he must take back Blackwood.
As Red Ross and his men rode towards "Camp Tang", they came across a small group of men that attacked them immediately. Red and his men chopped them down with ease. Suffering zero losses. These men were calling themselves "Vikings". Red was unfamiliar with this group. They continue on. When they reach "Camp Tang" a battle erupts. Red and his Cavalry slice through the infantry there. Killing 150. The rest scattered. 30 surrendered and pledged loyalty to Rossmen. 10 Elite cavalry were lost on Red's side. Again these men were called "Vikings". Red continued west to "Wolfs Den". A small village northwest of Two Rivers. This was a friendly village. Red and his men made camp here. Red got familiar with the locals. They told him of the legends of the Dire Wolf. The Dire Wolf is from this area. And the Old Gods travel these mountains regularly. Red sent his men south to Two Rivers. He was going to stay to learn more about the wolves. This interested him a lot.
Meanwhile, back in Market Town, Lee has set up a network of spies. These spies tell him that all the workers in Market Town are controlled by the Owners of the market places. Which all the owners live north in WindHelm. Lee uses this information to gain the loyalty of the common people. Lee lead a small rebellion that resulted in revolts against the owners. The owners started to lose business and shut down stalls one by one. This did not make them to happy. But life went on for the owners in Windhelm. This rebellion went on until Red Ross returned to the town.
Back in "Wolfs Den", Red Ross participated in a ritual where 5 of the village's men and 3 women would go up into the mountains and walk with the gods. Upon return, they will become the new "Eight". The "Eight" are the elders of the village. The men Red sent to Two Rivers got there, scattered and killed all the Vikings. Losing 10 cavalries and 10 infantry. A group of about 30 vikings escaped to the north. Reds men stayed in Two Rivers to help stabilize and rebuild. Later the next night, the group of 30 vikings came into the village of "Wolfs Den". Surprised the whole village, killed every village there. Red was nearly killed as well. But a pack of Dire Wolfs came into the village and chased off and killed the Vikings. One Dire Wolf stayed by Red Ross side and protected him until there was no more threat. This Dire wolf remained with Red from this night on. When Red's men returned to "Wolfs Den", they were shocked by what they saw. It was a bloody massacre. And Red comes riding forth on his Dire Wolf. The only survivor. Many tales come from this very moment. No one truly knows what happened at "Wolfs Den". Red got word from Lee about his father's message. Red and his men prepared to travel back to Market Town.
Red and his men travel back to "Camp Tang". Upon arrival, they were greeted by a group of people. This group of people pledged loyalty to Red. Some of them joined the ranks, adding 20 normal infantry, 20 normal archers, and 50 civilians. As Red rode into the camp outside of "Market Town", he was met by a rider. The rider told Red that Lee was fighting a rebellion in town. Red Ross said, "we don't have time for this right now". He took his men and they charged into "Market Town". As Red rode into town on his Dire Wolf, with his knights and cavalry behind him, everyone laid down their arms and surrendered. The fighting stopped. Red gathered Lee and all his men and went back to camp. While in the camp, Lee informed Red what had happened.*see Market Town Network* Some men from town also joined Red's ranks. Adding 30 light infantry, 30 normal archers, and 10 light cavalries. Red told Lee to stay here with 10 cavalries and train the civilians. Red gathered the rest of his men and they rode south towards Pine.