The Countless Rafts Ploy

The Countless Rafts Ploy, otherwise known as 'the Battle of Dispersion', was a conflict between the city of Tiomera and a fleet of pirates that banded together to raid the city in the year 6342 AV.  

Origins

As the city of Tiomera grew and expanded, so did its wealth and riches. The city might be hard to find upon the waves of the Shimmering Depths, but its defenses were not particularly strong. A small city guard and the assistance from arcane practicioners from Eauviron were its main sources of defense. This combination lead to a few pirate lords and ladies to band together and attempt to lay siege to the city and its wealth.  

The Battle

After the pirate lords surrounded the city with their ships, they did not expect that the city would sustain itself without supplies from elsewhere for so long. A few days passed as the Court of the Compass gave special instructions to all of the arkmates and anchormasters to prepare the city. Messages were given to the researchers of Eauviron to find the right moment for the ploy to unfold. Five days after the siege began, a storm headed towards Tiomera from the north towards the south. The pirate ships on the west side of the city got caught in the storm, but the city itself was barely grazed (according to legend, thanks due to the arcanists of Eauviron. On the east side of the city, the crews on the pirate ships watched as half of their fleet was swept away by the storm. Not knowing that at that point their own vessel was slowly being pulled into a bypassing Stillwind Sphere.   It was at that point that the signal was given from the House of the Greatwheel to the arkmates to initiate the next step of the plan. Ropes were cut, enchantments broken and bridges opened. The city drifted apart in hundreds of separate rafts that floated out through the opening in the siege that the storm had created. Several rafts were manned by the city guard and made their way towards the few pirate ships that were not struck by the storm or the stillwinds and overtook the vessels.  

Outcomes

Three days after the breaking of the siege, the city started rebuilding itself again. Raft by raft, piece by piece, Tiomera reformed back into a fully functioning city. It was not put together exactly the same, and because of that it has been the greatest reconfiguration of the city in its history. It was also at this point in time where it was decided to turn Eauviron into its own settlement that would function as a scout and explorer for the city. This would also allow it to be used as a fortress of sorts and be maneuvered more strategically by engaging an enemy separately from Tiomera if needed. Ever since the Countless Raft Ploy, pirates and raiders have usually steered clear of Tiomera as the legends of its prowess over the weather, coordination of its people and strategic might have spread.