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The Coronation Day Battle took place on the full moon of July, 439 HE, the coronation day of King Jonathan IV[1]. Roger of Conté, who had been previously resurrected from the dead by Thom of Trebond, wished to create such a large earthquake that it would destroy all of Tortall. There was quite a few dead from both sides, but King Jonathan and his combatants were ultimately victorious due mostly to the Dominion Jewel.

Battle Description

Preparation

Jonathan and his people were expecting trouble from Roger and other insurgents, so they had every warrior on high alert the eve before his coronation and during the ceremony[2]. Alanna the Lioness sat with Jon during his vigil outside of the main Chamber of the Ordeal in preparation for the Ordeal of Kings, which was said to be quite short[2].

During Jon's Ordeal, Alexander of Tirragen and his men prepared for battle, although Delia of Eldorne was a bit nervous that things wouldn't go as planned. The Tirragen men-at-arms were spirited in the palace in secret, where they hid in the storerooms near the Hall of Crowns. Captain Chesli made certain that the Eldorne men would be stationed in the crowd of the Hall. Henrim of Tirrsmont was a bit nervous that Jon would access the magic of the Dominion Jewel to stop the rebellion[2].

The Coronation

The ceremony itself occurred before any fighting, and Alanna had trouble paying attention. The Mithran priest and the priestess of the Great Mother Goddess simultaneously blessed the silver crown. As the crown was lowered onto Jon's head, it sparked and glowed as it accepted the power of the new king[3]. The moment Jon was crowned, Roger sent the first quake.

Chaos reigned as people screamed and the Hall began to crumble. Alanna first experienced stomach pains to tell her that Thom of Trebond was in trouble. She ordered Raoul of Goldenlake to guard the king and raced off to save her brother.

The Battle Begins

Dying, Thom of Trebond revealed that Roger's Gift had attached to his when Thom resurrected Roger, and that blood-red Gift (the color of Thom's purple Gift and Roger's orange Gift combined) had gotten stronger as Roger had (though not as strong as Thom's own). Now Roger was draining Thom to complete his spells. Days earlier, Master Si-cham, Thom's former instructor, had drained some of the power burdening Thom (who was ill because of Roger's power) onto Alanna. With the earthquakes still shaking, Thom told Alanna that Roger needed more power and could only drain one person at a time. Because Alanna had some of Thom's, and therefore Roger's, Roger didn't have enough. Thom warned her not to use her Gift because Roger would steal it through leeching spells. Thom then died, still not sure how Roger did it. Faithful appeared and told a grief-stricken Alanna to snap out of it. Missing his right hand, Si-cham told Alanna that he made a mistake and that they couldn't afford to make another one. He demanded she open her mind and he flooded her with information, before sending Alanna's Gift to Jonathan, causing her to faint. When she came back around, Alanna was furious with Si-cham, but the mentally unstable Josiane killed him with a double-headed ax. Faithful then attacked Josiane as she tries to kill Alanna as well. Faithful dies instead, and in a rage, Alanna killed Josiane. She then encountered Alex, who, determined to prove once and for all that he was the best, forced her to duel to the death, which Alanna won. She found Roger in the tombs of the palace. Only needing to lob off part of Alanna for him to have total access to her (and Jon's) power, Roger told her that he forged the sword Alanna had found in the desert (in The Woman Who Rides Like a Man)--which is now melded with the original Lightning. Because of this, it responded to him when he called for it. Alanna could barely hold it as it tried to pull her to Roger, but she let go off it and Lightning flew into Roger, killing him. Afterwards, she fainted again.

Meanwhile, downstairs, Buriram Tourakom noticed a Tirragen soldier aim a crossbow at Jonathan and killed the potential assassin with a throwing star. She shouted to Myles of Olau, who warned Raoul and the Lord Provost, who immediately protected Jon. George and Coram Smythesson fought Claw and five of his men. After dispatching Claw's men, George turned his attention to the one-eyed man trying for his throne. Claw didn't stand a chance. Then, five Eldorne men and five Tirragen men attacked George and Coram, injuring the latter. Then, Liam Ironarm joined in, winning them the fight. George wrapped Coram's injured side and they headed for the throne room to give Jonathan the Jewel. Men in Eldorne and Tirragen colors fought the King's Own, Raoul, Duke Gareth of Naxen, his son Gary of Naxen, the Provost, Jonathan, his guards, and any noble mad enough to fight back. The Duchess of Naxen led a knot of noblewomen. Buri, Rispah, Thayet jian Wilima, and Eleni Cooper joined the fight; the first three with weapons and the latter with thread magic. Myles, too, battled. The crowds managed to escape the palace around the fifth earthquake, leaving only those fighting in the palace. George got the Jewel to Jonathan, who bound the earth to him and stopped the large shakes.

Buri found Alanna downstairs, and together they returned to the palace where Alanna saw the damage. The ones who were still alive moved the rubble from people crushed, some alive and some dead. Bodies lay everywhere and were placed in the main aisle for burial. The Provost told Alanna that "Not as bad as it looks. More of them dead than us"(Pierce 366). Those injured included the Provost, George, Coram, Gary, Raoul, and Myles. Duke Gareth suffered a heart attack, but was taken care of by Duke Baird. Rispah had caught Delia trying to sneak up on Jon as he worked with the Jewel and had tied her up. Liam was killed, after taking a couple arrows for Jon.

Despite the losses, because of the Coronation Day Battle, Tortall was made safe.

Use of the Jewel

Roger went to the catacombs of the palace and used powerful magic to create large quakes that would build in scale. His plan was to destroy Tortall, not to take the thrown, like most of his disciples and followers thought—except for Alexander of Tirragen.

Jonathan used the Dominion Jewel, a powerful artifact with tremendous Earth magic, to counteract the quakes. The magic was so strong and took so much energy from the earth that it had trouble growing things and producing for two years after the battle[4].

Combatants

The two sides were those loyal to Jonathan of Conté, and those loyal to Duke Roger.
Notable Fighters For Jonathan:

Notable Fighters For Roger:

Deaths

Notes and References

  1. Tortallan timeline
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 Lioness Rampant, Chapter 8 (pp. 324—329; Simon Pulse paperback)
  3. LR, Chapter 8 (pp. 330—338; Simon Pulse paperback)
  4. Squire, aftermath mentioned by Buriram Tourakom
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