A Fission within the Fortress

The Fortress of the Light was taken during the Seanchan invasion of Amador, the capital city of Amadicia, in early 1000 NE. In the middle of the night, several sections of Seanchan soldiers and damane were deposited near the Fortress' barracks by to'raken. The Seanchan were quick to overrun the Children, who – taken by surprise by soldiers and beasts of which they had never before heard the like – mustered a poor defence. The damane took care of the gates to the stronghold, allowing the main army entrance.

Chaos ensued as the nearby city of Amador was also taken in a blitz of saidar and foreigners. Although defeat at the Fortress was absolute – those Whitecloaks which did not surrender, say the Seanchan's oath, and become assimilated into the Corenne were routed; and for a time the Lord Captain Commander's audience chamber even served as the base of operations for the unstoppable avalanche of Seanchan that would snatch up swathes of the Westlands – it did not end there.

The day before, lead by the then newly self-appointed Lord Captain Commander, several legions had moved north from Amador to engage the rabble militia of The Prophet of the Lord Dragon. On hearing of the conquering of Amadicia's capital and their stronghold, the army of Whitecloaks rallied with King Ailron at Jeramel, a town about one hundred miles west of The Prophet's hold.

The Seanchan defeated Amadicia's army, killing the King in the process. The Whitecloaks, after losing two Lord Captains, pulled out of the fray, and escaped into the east with around nine thousand of their number. The Seanchan troops in the area were drawn away from the pursuit to aid in the campaign in Altara, where the Seanchan were soundly defeated and pushed back from the border.

About a month after the battle, this section of the Whitecloaks allied themselves with the Seanchan. They were given an estate of King Ailron to make their base, but it was here that a leadership struggle ensued. The position of Lord Captain Commander changed hands once again, their new leader swearing the fight the foreign invaders and Tarmon Gai'don, even if it meant allying with channelers.

While there was a token force at the estate, the main Whitecloak army was stationed in Tarabon with the Seanchan, and the High Inquisitor managed to convince several of the Council of Anointed to take their legions and order the new Lord Captain Commander's arrest.

This has fissured the Children, perhaps irrevocably, into a group against the Seanchan, and a group under them, and in the middle of it all stood the Fortress of the Light, the symbol of the Children's power that both wished to hold.

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