Assault on Amaranthine (conflict)

The Assault on Amaranthine was one of the last major battles of the Darkspawn Civil War that took place in 9:31 Dragon.

Background
Knowing how important were the Grey Wardens to the Architect's plans, the Mother launched a preemptive attack on the City of Amaranthine while simultaneously advancing on the Wardens' stronghold at Vigil's Keep, in order to completely wipe out the order. The Mother's forces were composed by standard darkspawn infantry led by the Herald, as well as Childrens and heavily-armoured ogres.

Fearing the worst, Amaranthine's nobles led by Lord Eddelbrek went to Vigil's Keep and asked the Warden-Commander to deal with the situation. As moving the bulk of the Vigil's forces would take too much preparations to arrive in time to save the city, the Warden-Commander assembled a small army composed by a few fellow Wardens, Captain Garevel and a small force of soldiers from the Vigil, and led a forced march to the city of Amaranthine.

Arrival of the Warden-Commander
The Warden-Commander's forces arrived after Amaranthine had endured two days under siege, and easily destroyed the darkspawn attacking the city gates, to the relief of the surviving guards. Constable Aidan grimly informed the Warden-Commander of Amaranthine status. From his point of view, the city was beyond saving. Aidan suggested to burn the city to the ground to destroy as many darkspawn as possible, as he believed that none inside the city had survived the initial attack.

While the Warden-Commander was talking with Aidan, the Messenger, one of the Disciples of the Architect's faction, arrived to warn the Warden-Commander of an incoming attack on Vigil's Keep, led by the Herald himself. This knowledge of the surprise attack on Vigil's Keep may have changed the Warden-Commander's mind on trying to save Amaranthine.

The Siege of Amaranthine
The Warden-Commander's forces decided to save Amaranthine and discovered that Aidan was wrong about the survivors. The remaining city guards had raised a militia and had been to protecting the rest of the surviving non-combatant citizens since the siege had started. The survivors had taken refuge in the Chantry of our Lady Redeemer, that doubled as the militia headquarters. The Warden troops join forces with the militia, and wipe out the attacking darkspawn. However, a bigger darkspawn army surrounded Amaranthine, forcing the Warden-Commander to muster the few forces they had in hand and led a desperate defense against overwhelming numbers.

The invading darkspawn engaged in a form of guerilla warfare operating from the smuggling tunnels beneath Amaranthine. The siege lasted for a week, after which the Warden-Commander was able to kill the three Disciple Generals who led the army and their powerful armored ogre. Without leadership, the darkspawn army scattered and fled Amaranthine.

Aftermath
With information about the whereabouts of the Mother provided by the Messenger, the Warden-Commander led a small strike team, composed of their fellow Grey Wardens, to invade Drake's Fall, a Tevinter ruin located in the Dragonbone Wastes. After a long and grueling fight, the Mother was slain, putting an end to the conflict.

As the Warden-Commander chose to defend Amaranthine, the city suffered minor damage. Thanks to gold donated by nobles of other Fereldan regions, Amaranthine was rebuilt within a year. Vigil's Keep, on the other hand, was forced to withstand the onslaught on its own, and may have been destroyed. Even if it survived the siege, the Keep suffered was so damaged, that its rebuilding would have taken five years.