Battle of Bal Oyra

The Battle of Bal Oyra was fought between the Covenant and the Cyrodiilic Empire forces over Bal Oyra and the Outpost of Communications of Morrowind in c. 4E 226 during the Covenant Wars. It was the first extraprovincial conflict of the war, since it took place outside both Skyrim and Cyrodiil.

Outpost of Communications of Morrowind

 * "'As we speak, a fleet of forty ships, twenty of them warships, is investing Alt Bosara to block any reinforcements from that region. I am at this very moment landing a force of six hundred strong on Bal Oyra in a feint to divert the garrison from the Outpost of Communications. When that operation is fully under way, I will land the main force, composed of, give or take, a eleven thousand strong, crush the defenders in a containment maneuver, and capture the center intact. I have eighty ships in my invasion fleet. This operation cannot possibly fail. I guarantee you that within twenty-four hours of the commencement of the taking of Bal Oyra, the city will be ours. We will sit firmly astride the communications chain that connects the outposts of the Empire. Our forces will be poised at this strategic crossroads to strike without warning at any of the Empire's allies. Most important, our control of Bal Oyra will be a dagger thrust directly at the Imperial City itself.'"
 * "―Mariber Sicarius, to Er-Shei Rak'tee"

Despite possessing the state-of-the-art communications complex known as the Outpost of Communications of Morrowind, Bal Oyra had few defenses. Having recently installed outposts of defense given by House Redoran, the Empire had stationed a garrison of five hundred legionnaires to defend the communications node. In response, Protectorate of Dawnstar Er-Shei Rak'tee ordered mercenary commander Mariber Sicarius to initiate the taking of Bal Oyra. From the bridge of his flagship Fist of Bal, Sicarius commanded a fleet of 80 ships to Bal Oyra and sent another flotilla of 20 warships and 20 support ships to blockade Alt Bosara.

With the Imperial forces on Bal Oyra cut off from reinforcements, Mariber Sicarius' fleet attacked the city, landing a force of six hundred barbarians to lure the garrison, under the command of one Commander Nadryn Voreys, into an engagement. This proved to be a trap, and Sicarius landed a force of eleven thousand strong behind Voreys' forces and completely destroyed them. Two legionnaires, recon scout Valeyn Edrayn and sailor Alberus Janus managed to escape the barbarians and flee into the mountains. Without its garrison, the communications center easily fell to the Covenant, and Mariber Sicarius set up his headquarters inside the base. The taking of Bal Oyra was a success.

The massacre of all pigeons and handcuffing of all mages present prevented the Imperial garrison from sending out a distress call, and the rest of the provinces remained unaware of what had transpired. However, the Duke of Garlas Agea and Prince of Anvil, Kydonius Therin, leader of the Order of Light, learned of the Bal Oyra conquest through his spymaster, the Scarlet Witch of Anvil, but did not trust the Elder Council enough to bring out the matter to them. Instead, he lured Blade apprentice Alea Lasharel and her master, Dalacard Rethwode into the fight. The arrogant Prince was not patient enough to wait for the Imperial reinforcements of the Seventh Legion and made the brash decision of sending the Order of Light to scout ahead. Therin managed to land his forces, but was overwhelmed by the barbarian armies and forced to retreat into a fortified redoubt near the Outpost of Communications of Morrowind and await the Imperial reinforcements.

En route from Anvil, Blade Knight Dalacard Rethwode and his apprentice Alea Lasharel joined the naval battle group with a contingent of 7,000 legionnaires and tasked with the recapture of Bal Oyra.

Blade Cavalry
Back on Bal Oyra, Mariber Sicarius launched an all-out assault on the Order of Light redoubt, managing to completely decimate Therin's naval support and artillery. But before he could completely destroy the fortress, the Seventh Legion arrived in the coast and moved to break the Covenant's coastal blockade. Dalacard Rethwode commanded the battle from the warship Cruiser of Justice and Lasharel oversaw the landing force from the frigate Serenity of Leyawiin. The Cruiser of Justice quickly dispatched of some of the main ships with a volley of fireballs, but the Covenant Navy counterattacked. The heavy warship Light of Septim was the first ship destroyed by Covenant fire, and soon barbarian skirmishers boarded Rethwode's flagship, forcing the crew to scuttle the ship. The Imperial ships were eventually able to drive away the Covenant warships, taking control of the coast of Bal Oyra.

The military transports of the Ruby Ranks landed in four waves: combat engineers, infantry, then Lasharel's and Rethwode's legionnaires; Lasharel held direct command over Legate Sha'dra and four thousand legionnaires, while Rethwode held direct command over Legate Rydarnius and five thousand legionnaires. Mariber Sicarius was forced to withdraw his forces from the attack on the Order of Light base and rearrange them into a defensive arrangement around the Outpost of Communications of Morrowind. He then contacted Asenath and lobbied her for reinforcements.

The Blades used Kydonius Therin's command center as their base of operations and the Prince agreed to place his surviving forces under Blade command. While planning their next move, they received a message from Mariber Sicarius: the survivors of the original garrison were being held hostage in the communications center and would be executed unless the Empire ceased its attack. Rethwode, Lasharel, and Therin eventually decided to carry out a feint at the center of the barbarian formations, while their main force would attack from the Covenant's right flank. Unfortunately, their legionnaire scouts were unable to relay vital intelligence – that the Covenant army's right flank was heavily reinforced – back to HQ before the attack began. Alea Lasharel acted as field commander for the operation, and led the legionnaires. The attack ended in disaster for the Imperial forces, as they were unable to breach the Covenant's multiple defensive lines and took heavy losses, forcing Lasharel to order a tactical retreat. Commander Rethwode then called off the attack.

Conclusion of the battle
With the failure of their frontal assault, the Imperial forces were forced to rethink their strategy. Alea Lasharel suggested that she lead a Legion Zero legionnaire into the Outpost of Communications of Morrowind and attempt to liberate the hostages and capture the Covenant's command bunker. Commander Rethwode and Prince Therin agreed and Lasharel began her rescue operation.

A contingent of a few legionnaires and a couple of squads of troops accompanied Alea to the communications base, and easily secured an entrance. Once inside the base, Lasharel and her unit easily fought through the inexperienced guards and managed to liberate the prisoners, but one of her legionnaires was killed by one of the barbarians. Enraged by the murder of another innocent, Alea went on to skirmish against the remaining forces of the Covenant. The freed hostages and the Legion Zero team returned to the transports, but they were attacked by Covenant forces and were forced to leave without Lasharel. The young Blade continued to pave a path of destruction toward Mariber Sicarius' headquarters, and she was able to lockpick into his bunker. Inside, Lasharel forced the Covenant mercenary to surrender, but hesitated to execute him when she heard the voice of her mother telling her to yield.

Unfortunately for the Empire, Mariber Sicarius' long-awaited reinforcements arrived in the coast just seconds after the mercenary surrendered. A large Covenant fleet sneaked up on the Imperial blockade and spring a surprise attack. Rethwode and Lasharel boarded ships and joined the naval battle, wishing each other luck before they departed into separate vessels. During the battle, Alea Lasharel miraculously managed to destroy the Covenant flagship's row by making a suicidal attack run in the ship she had randomly chosen, the Phoenix II. To Rethwode, it appeared that his apprentice had perished in the subsequent explosion. Through superior tactics, the Imperial fleet was able force the Covenant armada to withdraw. The Battle of Bal Oyra was finally won.

Aftermath
Dalacard Rethwode returned to the surface and was congratulated by Kydonius Therin upon boarding the Iron Arm. Incredibly, Alea Lasharel soon reappeared, having been able to avoid the Covenant flagship's destruction by creating a field of telekinetical defense around her. After the Bal Oyra battle, Grandmaster Quintus Petreia decided that for Alea's actions in the Empire's victory, she would be officially made into Dalacard's apprentice in a ceremony in Cloud Ruler Temple. Before they could return to Bruma however, Lasharel and Rethwode were both diverted to Leyawiin and then Yasammidan.