Halstead
| Halstead | ||
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| Halstead on a map of the Great Continent. | ||
| Races | ||
Halstead (also known as the Stronghold of Halstead) was a fortress on the Great Continent.
History
| The blood of invaders stains its parapets and the bones of the defeated crumble at the base of Halstead's frozen waves of stone. |
| —Lore describing Halstead. |
Halstead was initially built as a monument to the unification of the two halves of Wesnoth in 161YW. It was built over a period of twelve years in the wilderness of the western plains on top of a mountain. It was constructed by the High Council of Archmagi by drawing the monument directly out of the rock. To the north lay Elensefar, to the west; the western coast; to the south, the Bay of Pearls and Aldril; to the southeast, the Grey Woods; and to the northeast, Carcyn.[1]
The fortress itself was hundreds of feet tall, while a system of catacombs connected its four towers to the keep. For many centuries, it was never successfully assailed by Wesnoth's enemies. Over the years, it was rebuilt multiple times, such that its structure relied upon four underground supports beneath each of the towers.[1]
When Queen Asheviere usurped the throne of Wesnoth,[2] she used Halstead as her main garrison in the west to assert control over the villages near Elensefar.[3] She attempted to increase pressure over this region by sending a branch of her main field army to Halstead.[4] Before they could arrive, a contingent of outlaws led by Baldras joined forces with Elensefar's house guards and laid siege to the Halstead. Baldras' men were successful in knocking out the supports, after which the fortress collapsed, crushing all who remained inside.[1] Halstead's destruction sent such a shock to the Wesnoth army, that they withdrew from the territory and returned to their own borders.[5]