View source for Aurora:The Standoff at Tri Cities

{{BattleTemplate
| part_of     = Part of the [[Aurora:The Summer Conflict|Summer Conflict]], RMF 1st Incursion
| name        = The Standoff at Tri Cities
| image       = {{{image}}}
| caption     = {{{caption}}}
| date        = May 8th, 2023
| location    = Ephrata (renamed to Tri_Cities later in the war)
| result      = RMF Victory; all Cascadian Combatants killed or fled
| beligerent1 = RMF
| beligerent2 = Cascadia
| leaders1    = [[8set]] (Dia)
Cowilo (Neth)
| leaders2    = Beamz30 (Dia)
Moretsu_na_kami (Dia)

JustDriveTrucks (Dia)

[[EmpressCorgo]] (Dia)

Sculk_ (Dia)

[[Bachinuni]] (Dia)

2 other unknown combatants (both Dia)
| strength1   = 2 RMF Soldiers
| strength2   = 4 of the Cascadian National Guard
4 townspeople
| losses1     = n/a
| losses2     = 4 killed, 2 fled, 2 unknown
}}

The '''Standoff at Tri Cities''' was a sudden, unplanned 2v8 battle between the attacking [[Rocky Mountain Federation]] and the defending [[Cascadia|Republic of Cascadia]] which took place on May 8th, 2023, during the [[Aurora: The Summer Conflict|Summer Conflict]] (within the RMF's 1st Incursion), ending in an RMF victory. This battle gave root to [[8set]]'s reputation as a skilled fighter in the eyes of Cascadia, and was among the larger battles in the Summer Conflict by number of combatants overall.

== Background ==
[[Ephrata|Tri_Cities]] was a notable Cascadian town, owned by ScandiSpear at the time and home to 24 residents, located just 750 blocks south of the RMF capital of Banff. This, in turn, made the town a hotspot for hunting and other PvP confrontations between the powers, including fierce duels between 8set and RealLIMPOPO. It was commonly targeted by RMF hunting as well as foreign powers, including PvP and griefing of the terrain.

== The Standoff ==
Cowilo, the RMF's most skilled PvPer at the time, had been dynmap hunting in the Cascadian heartland for an hour prior to the standoff, and had located a few players outside of [[Ephrata]]'s claims and killed them, knowing it would likely attract more combatants from Cascadia's National Guard. These players were known to the RMF (alongside most of emc) as largely unprepared and ill-experienced for combat. 


As expected, after Cowilo killed an unarmored player outside of Ephrata, a growing force of armored Cascadians gathered near the border of Ephrata. Seeing that battle was soon to take place, Cowilo contacted 8set (the RMF's second in terms of skill) and had 8set reinforce him. After 8set had arrived to the town, the Cascadian force grew into a total of 8 armored players, bringing the fight to a 2v8. The Cascadian force then began to splash themselves with strength, speed, and other pvp-related splash potions, and the RMF duo did the same.


The RMF soldiers had positioned themselves ~40 blocks away from the town's border to give themselves enough room to knock the Cascadian fighters back in the first wave, making the fight more chaotic and thus easier to single out individual Cascadians for easier kills. Among the first to fall to the RMF were JustDriveTrucks and Moretsu_Na_Kami, both of whom were killed by 8set within a minute of leaving claims.


As the battle went on, the RMF duo split apart, as Cowilo had pearled away to repair his armor. Cowilo continued fighting [[EmpressCorgo]] and Sculk alongside another unknown Cascadian. 8set was fighting [[Bachinuni|Bachinuni]] and Beamz30. During these clashes, Corgo and Sculk were killed, and most of the last remaining Cascadian combatants fled while the RMF soldiers regrouped and took armor off the dead.


The final kill in the battle was Beamz30, whom 8set had duelled one-on-one while Cowilo watched.

== Aftermath and Impact of the Standoff ==
The Standoff at Tri Cities proved multiple things; Firstly, it marked the beginning of 8set's reputation as a skilled PvPer within the North American region, as he single-handedly killed 3 geared players on his own in one of his first major battles on EMC. It also further proved the need for Cascadia to train their PvPers more, and can be credited to having eventually led to Cascadia's policy of non-interaction with hunters, as many of the killed were not trained or experienced PvPers. The battle also further displayed both the RMF's legacy as an extremely strong nation regarding PvP alongside the tide of war at the time, as the RMF made great advances into the Great North district of Cascadia.

(editors note: will be worked on later and images will be added.)

[[Category:Battles (Aurora)]]