News spread quickly, and the lord of Dragonrock Castle, Hannibal, declared himself the rightful king. He took to his war room, where his generals awaited him.
"My liege, if we can successfully get Aace to go defend Academy, we will have an avid opportunity to take out his home, Rodnest. And having that dragon Daytona will surely help."
Hannibal took the advice and sent his spies to spread the misinformation and prepared his assault from Draconia Stronghold.
Aace was informed that the now proclaimed King Hannibal was going to attack the city of Academy. He gathered the Knights and six legions of his army to Academy.
Hannibal then launched his assault on Rodnest. While still a village, the defences were quite extensive. He rode into Aace's home where he found his wife Elinar, and his child, Slade.
"I'm terribly sorry that you have to die. It is for the greater good."
Hannibal then proceeded to unsheathe his sword; the blade had the head of a dragon upon the pommel. He thrust the blade through Elinar's abdomen, leaving her to bleed out on the floor. He grabbed Slade, cutting his heel and smashing his head against the stone wall. His army killed every one they could, before Hannibal mounted his dragon Daytona and burned the village to the ground.
When Aace reached Academy, there was no army. He quickly realized that the information they had received was false and he called for his mages to scry on Hannibal. The scying revealed to Aace that Hannibal had killed his wife and son. In a fit of rage Aace killed the mage who showed him. He then swore to the rest of his army that this was no longer war. This was a Crusade.
Hannibal's next target was Symphonia. While Sillsing was closer, it had much better defenses that Hannibal knew could take out Daytona. He marched his army north towards Symphonia, flying overhead with Daytona.
Having his mages scrying on Hannibal, Aace caught wind of Hannibal's plan. He quickly got his army to Symphonia and prepared to defend it. They only had a few days to prepare before Hannibal struck.
Hannibal dismounted Daytona, having her guard the area around them so none of Aace's troops could leave.
Hannibal marched in, breaking through the defences and leading his army from the front line. Aace came out with vengeance in his eyes, shouting to Hannibal, "I'll kill you with bare hands you son of bitch!" before running towards him, sword drawn. He began his first dance with Hannibal. He struck with passion and vengeance, having the Knight's Company storm through Hannibal's army. Hannibal parried with speed and power, being able to handle all of Aace's attacks. They were quickly separated and Hannibal had his army retreat. He then mounted Daytona and burned much of the city to the ground, destroying the keep in the process.
After Hannibal and his army left, Aace gathered the Knight's Company and the rest of the army to see how much damage Hannibal had caused. Aace had lost a third of his army, half of the calvary he had, and most of the city had been destroyed. They took the remainder of the citizens back to Lion's Point where they would hopefully be safe.
Aace then quickly gathered the Knight's Company to the war room in the keep at Lion's Point.
"I believe we may be able to counter attack Hannibal if we draw him from Draconia and fought him open ground at Eagle's Pass," Sir Christopher stated.
"Sir Christopher is right, If we can take on Hannibal's army at Eagle's Pass, we could launch from Sillsing," Sir Leo responded. The Company then got the rest of the plan formed.