SOW S13 R5 - HOH Vs BAN- Different Outcome or more of the same?

Nothing was the same at Westeros, the land that kings and queens called home, where lords and dragons resided. Forces were lurking in the shadows, plotting some evil plan, nothing was good about what they had in mind. These are the same evil-doers that made the battle for the Iron Throne stay alive and kept the heat of battle from settling down. They lived for war, they thrive on it and it is what drives them every day. It is as if they don't know what to do in times of peace, they are restless and vicious, and war is their bread and butter.

House Stark of Winterfell is one of the Great Houses of Westeros, they are the largest of the noble houses of the north. Back in the old days, they ruled as Kings of Winter, but After Aegon's Conquest, they became Wardens of the North and they ruled as Lords of Winterfell. Their home, Winterfell, is an ancient castle famous for its strength and beauty, the white and pure landscape of snow, was breathtaking. Located far away from any other kingdoms in Westeros. After Ned Stark's death, it all fell on his eldest son Robb Stark, he was now the lord of Winterfell, he led his troops south of the fight against the Iron Throne, and Winterfell was left with few defenders. In order to gain control of the North, House Greyjoy has turned against House Stark and the Siege of Winterfell is upon us. Theon, Who grew up with the starks has returned to his "family" and has turned on those who gave him a home and treated him as one of their own. Can such betrayal be forgiven? 

The Siege of Winterfell is on and the battle is intense, it's a battle between the Starks, represented by BAN, and the Greyjoy, represented by HOH. HOH is coming to this battle after a successful fight against NBe, SKR, and LEG and a loss against BAN, in fact, this is the 2^nd time this season that these two rivals are meeting on the battlefield. The 1^st time BAN won with a huge gap in points, HOH called it very early in the match and they stopped fighting once they realized it was a lost battle and there was no point in wasting troops and resources. It makes you wonder if things will be different this time, will HOH fight with their full power and give BAN a true fight or will they call it early and do what they did in their last encounter with them? Both teams gathered near the main building, and after they were ready to deploy, they each went to the locations where their team was standing, both teams seemed excited about this upcoming fight, waiting for the attack order to arrive.

Grom and Depra, alongside Urielki, the HOH Siege generals, were still at the commander's tent, discussing the battle plans for today's battle and considering what strategies and tactics they will use today. They knew it was almost time to go outside and make sure that everyone had arrived and also to make sure they were ready with all the gear and troops they needed for today's match. But before they do that, they needed to have a final discussion before going into battle, they already had a plan for today, but it can't hurt to take one more look to see if they missed anything. They were done, they have a plan for this match and now they will share it with the team, so everyone will be on the same page and no one will go rogue. 

" Tonight, in our 5^th match of SOW, We are coming here once more as a united team, a team that knows no fear and is willing to fight. We have a battle tonight against the Starks and their BAN troops once again. Now, I know how badly our last encounter with them went and how disappointed we all were. But we are coming today to fight, we will try our best and see how it goes. Our focus at first will be the Hot Spring like we did last time we fought them, and if that battle goes well, then we will go for Armory as well and maybe even challenge them for the package…who knows? So, make sure you are ready for a fight and please pay attention and follow our commands as they are given and please DON'T go rouge "   

Depra finished his speech and everyone agreed with the plan, The leadership of HOH was well-experienced in battle and they had the trust of their people to lead them In the best way possible. It is crucial to have your team believe in you as a leader and follow that lead into battle, without that battle is already lost and lives will be lost for nothing.

 Just like I do in every SOW story, I will give u a quick guide on how SOW works- In every match two alliances face each other on the battlefield, their purpose is to earn as many points as they possibly can, and they do that by capturing a location for the first time, occupying them (the more troops u have in, the better chances you have of defeating your enemy) and also by escorting the transport of Winterfell resource (aka THE BOX). The match lasts for 1h and the alliance with the most points will claim victory, this event is carried out as a tournament and for the first time ever in SOW there will also be playoffs and we join its 5^th round, let's dive into the battle.

5…4…3…2…1…lets Race!!

Race had begun, and the teams were racing on both sides, with the majority of HOH racing to the right side where the Hot spring is, while a small group was diverted to the left side to wait for further instructions. Hot Spring gives a boost of 100% to healing speed. Healing is an important part of this event (in every event if you think about it, some are costlier than other events). Once the team arrives at a building, their goal is to capture and hold it, which gives first capture points, so being first is important, but it's not a game changer. The way to occupy a location(building) is to fight inside the circle. It is a known fact that both Depra (HOH) and Ana (BAN) remind their team every time they fight. You can see the number of deployments (fighters) on the bar above the building. They say there is strength in numbers, so the more troops you have in, the better chances you have of defeating your enemies and claiming the buildings and the points they give.

More and more troops arrived, as both teams engaged in battle. At first, the blue team (HOH) had larger numbers than the red team (BAN) and they fought them with all their power and didn't seem as if they were going to stop fighting them. Can they really carry it till the end of this battle? Some deployments met their maker faster than others and some managed to last longer and cause some damage to the enemy. Depra led his team as they were fighting the enemy troops and he was fighting as well, he wasn't the type of leader who stood on the side and just gave instructions, no no… he was a hands-on, all-in kind of leader. If his men are fighting and risking their lives, then so will he, lead by example was his motto.

As the fight at Hot Spring continued, HOH's numbers were going down, even after those who originally went left came to aid with the fight. BAN numbers were climbing up, it would appear that BAN was turning things around to their advantage. There were more red deployments (BAN) than blue ones (HOH). And if you take a look at the map, it will reveal the fact that almost all the buildings on the map were colored red, which means they were under BAN occupation. That fact didn't escape Depra and Grom, they looked at each other and there were no words needed to be said, they had been fighting together for a long time and they understood each other without words. 

They gathered their man at their base, they wanted to speak to them and let them know the plan for the rest of the match. Just before Grom started to speak, some of his teammates already knew what he wanted to say, the look on his face said it all. But they kept quiet, they would let Grom tell everyone else.

Alright, guys, listen up, I know we are all tired and worn out. This battle has proven to be a tough one, against the strongest alliance in the game. We tried our best, we fought hard and well with all we could give. But, I would be a bad leader and an irresponsible one, if I would let you all risk it for basically nothing. we are not going to win this one, we don't stand a chance against their mighty forces.

So, after considering all the facts, Depra and I decided to call it, we will no longer fight them and we are not going to heal or waste any more resources. If any of you want to go up to their base or to one of the buildings and fight for elimination points, it's ok to do so, but please don't use your own speedups, we have AC(Alliance Conquest) coming soon and we will need them. For those of you who don't want to fight, we will have a game of Skribbl here at the base, you are welcome to join and have some laughs and some fun. Thank you all for showing up today.

Grom finished his speech and went to his quarters to clean up and get ready for the Skribbl game, others did the same as him. You would expect the vibes at the base to be sad and angry after they realized they couldn't win this, but it was the opposite. They were tired obviously, that was clear, but they were ok with losing this match, they were at peace with it.

Meanwhile, at Winterfell, the package was about to drop and BAN forces were already gathered there, ready to carry it and protect it until it was delivered to their bases. Usually, the package is the cause of some epic battles in this event and a delivery can take more than 10 minutes, sometimes even more. This is because the one delivering it dies and then someone else picks it up, either from the same team or the enemy's team. But this won't be the case this time, Cherenkov can deliver packages safely without worrying he might get killed and lose the package. HOH troops were nowhere to be seen at WF, they decided not to contest the package, their leadership came to a decision that it would be pointless to fight for it, as we heard Grom himself say to his people earlier. BAN was disappointed, they were looking for a good fight, I guess they will have to look for it elsewhere. The match may have been over for HOH, but BAN still needed to win this, they were aiming for maximum points in this match, and they didn't care if HOH didn't want to fight anymore, they were on a mission. Delivering the 1st package went smoothly as expected, BAN sent some troops to escort Cher as he was carrying it, but it was unnecessary, as no one came to challenge it.

Back at the HOH base, a game of Skribbl was on, they had fun playing it and they had good laughs. I have to say that their drawing skills are improving for some, while others keep doing a "great" job. While the Skribbl game was going on at the base, some fighters did go to fight BAN, at certain locations, like Greyjoy Outpost 1, Base 3, and their base. They went right after Grom made his speech, and it's a good thing they did that because it was impossible to leave the base without having a bunch of BAN fighters chase them and attack them as soon as someone came out. They engaged as soon as they arrived, they clashed their swords at the enemy's sword, and their dragon rained fire on the enemy. It was a valiant effort from them, and tho they did cause some damage to the enemy and gained some Elim points, They found out really fast that the enemy was too strong for them. So they made the smart decision and circled back to base, they joined their allies and watched Nicster win the Skribbl match.... Wait what? We have a new champion? Has Hussar been replaced? Now that is a nice turn of events. I'm sure he "likes" it very much. 😂

I'm sure it won't come as a surprise for you if I say that BAN won this match ("shocking" I know )😜, they delivered all the packages safely with no one to fight them for them. There is one more match left before the regular season ends and then we find out who are the 12 teams that made it through( in UC it's 16 teams). BAN already secured their spot, as they are ranked 1s, but HOH is ranked 13 at the moment and that isn't a good spot for them. They will need to think very carefully about their next match and come up with a plan that will increase their chances of making it to the SOW playoffs. Can they do that? what kind of plan will they make? Do they have what it takes to pull this off? Hmm.... That I do not know...yet...😏