CATAN – The Legend of the Conquerors Developer Blog Series – Part 3
The story of CATAN – Legend of the Conquerors Chapter 1 – Part 2
Aegis put her hand on her sister’s shoulder. “There were too many of them, Thora. The caravels of the conquerors were armed with cannons. After the first cannon fire, I gave the order to retreat. I didn’t want to risk losing all our ships.”
“I know,“ Thora turned around to face Aegis. Not only was Aegis her sister, she was also the commander of the Catanian fleet.
“A short while ago, a messenger from the North came. He informed the Council that the enemy fleet has landed on the Northwest Coast. The conquerors have started to build a fortified camp.” Thora hesitated before putting the impending disaster into words. “This time, it’s not barbarian hordes that want to ransack our land; this time, a powerful enemy is coming with an army.”
Almost whispering, she continued. “This time, Aegis, it’s not about skirmishes with the barbarians – this time, our survival and our freedom are at stake.“
Aegis agreed with her older sister. Like herself, Thora was in the prime of her life and had a similarly well-toned physique. The streaks of silver in her brown hair and some incipient wrinkles added maturity and authority to her pleasant appearance.
When the Council elected Thora commander-in-chief of the Catanian army and temporary sole ruler, she had replaced her councilwoman attire with pants, boots, and a plain girdled tunic. She didn’t want to dress differently than the Catanians she had to send into battle against the conquerors.
There was a knock at the door, and warlord Roven entered the office of the commander-in-chief. Behind him, hidden by Roven’s massive figure, a small-boned woman with wheat blonde hair and a pretty face scampered into the room and self-assuredly positioned herself beside Roven.
Despite the gravity of the situation, Thora had to smile at the unlikely couple. Next to Roven, who was two heads taller and three times wider, brawny, and dark-skinned, Lea, Catan’s supreme healer, looked as dainty as an elf.
Roven cleared his throat and announced in a sonorous voice that measured up to his imposing appearance, “The troops are ready to leave, Thora.”
He sighed. “Unfortunately, Lea insisted on leading the healer squad herself,“ with a facial expression of both irritation and concern, he looked down at his petite wife.
“Come on, big guy. Don’t worry about me. I know how to look after myself,” Lea put her delicate hand into Roven’s big paw and gave him an encouraging smile.
Thora was grateful for the respected healer’s support. During the battles, the infantry Roven was leading to the northwest of Catan and the men and women he intended to recruit in the North would be in dire need of her healing skills.
“Abide by my order, Roven. I’m not ordering you to expel the conquerors from the northwest of our island. You know as well as I do that you can’t achieve this, given the superior number of invaders. Just hold them back as long as possible and retreat eastward early enough to keep our troops from suffering major losses. We must buy time to organize our defense,” Thora said.
Roven nodded briefly. “We’ll try to lure individual groups of barbarians into traps and to ambush them.” Visibly annoyed, he continued, “By the way, I, too, am anxious not to needlessly gamble with the lives of the Catanians I’m entrusted with.“
Roven made a scant bow to Thora and Aegis. Without further talk, together with Lea, he briskly left the commander-in-chief’s office.
“I think you have offended his pride, Thora. Sometimes Roven acts a bit impulsively, but you can trust that he will obey your orders,” Aegis said.
“I hope so, Aegis,“ Thora sighed. “I would have liked to assign Dagur to him. Dagur is level-headed and intelligent and could have some moderating effect on Roven. But we need him and his cavalry here, in case it occurs to the conquerors to attack our south coast too.”
Thora resignedly stared out on the rainy landscape. “We might not be able to stop the enemy from conquering our island. Unless a miracle happens…”