Within this document I hear-by write of the events which transpired on the 2nd Moon of the Year 1055, the year of our Lord.
It was not long before the Northern Kingdom heard of the rallying forces moving towards it that peasants and townsfolk alike began to speak and spread rumors of the forces about to do battle. A forward offensive was to be launched by a Southern Kingdom of Templars aided by their brothers in the Steppes, the Hospitallers, Occitan, ATS and a few loyal mercenaries. In the North, the Kingdoms of LLJK and Chaos prepared for battle and called upon trading accomplices to send their fittest soldiers for battle, for the fight of Tebandra would set the tone for many fiefs to come in this growing war.
As the ground began to shake, and peasants fled the paths of the approaching armies, everyone knew the battle for Tebandra would be a glorious, yet bloody battle in an assisted territorial claim for the Hospitaller faction and their allies. If Tebandra would fall, the Hospitallers would be able to begin its spread to the West of their current territory and start to slowly creep along the southern borders of the alleged Green Faction. Tebandra would also provide them with a forward-base to move troops and supplies to fluently and with the mountains to the East of it, could provide cover for operations to travel back and forth between the Mountain region and the base.
The sound of trumpets and the organization of troops by the Templar and Hospitaller army signaled that their siege would commence and was no longer a means of attrition warfare. Throughout the morning, men on both sides fitted their armor, sharpened their weapons one last time, and kissed the family members whom had not yet fled North a cheerful good-bye in hopes they would see them again. As the morning mist cleared, fires came to a halt and silence swept the soon-to-be battlefield. Many men shook in their boots, a sound so breaking of the silence you could hear the rattle of their armor tremble as they stood shoulder to shoulder. The Green tunic'd men awaited, as their eyes fixated upon the path leading into their beloved village.
Then, the first cry of war rolled forth as an arrow swept up over that edge of the hill and came whizzing down upon the ranks of men prepared to receive it. Many arrows followed this one, as the iron-clad shields prepared to protect their hosts and those around them from the inevitable pain that one of those would endure had they received them. Holding their ground, those of the Chaos banner stood true as their eyes fell upon the organized approaching army. Men of the Templars slammed their weaponry against shields and shouted in unison as their boots trembled the ground below them in a uniform march. Still, the Greens stood their ground as the waves of men came forth. With a mighty war-cry, the Hospitallers broke rank and rushed forward to begin a clash of their infantry against Chaos'.
As the shield walls held and arrows rained from above, it was clear that the implemented use of Spear and Shield tactics would be helpful to the armies of Chaos as the Pikes swept between shields and broke the lines of the Hospitallers. A small number of Cavalry on both sides fought around the battlefield on various hills and plateaus as the armies alongside them continued to spill one another's blood in a tit-for-tat manner. At the start, it was clear that this battle would be long-fought and that the numbers lost on both sides would be closely similar as casualties fell and were swept from the battlefield. What proved to be the most effective means of slaughter were that from the cavalry, once they could break from their fighting of one another and focus upon infantry straggling to get back into formation--the cavalry would pick them off. It is important to note that famed Horseman, Huey Newton, allied himself alongside that of the Chaos faction and proved to be a valiant means of extracting the enemies from the field as well as striking some sense of fear into those whom saw their comrades drop at the hands of his lance.
The battle raged on, with numbers that had started of some 1500 troops sporting the Templar's colors, and another 1900 or-so under the flag of Chaos. In the first one-thousand casualties to the battle, the split was fairly narrow as Templars lost 590, and the Chaos 410. Despite losing more numbers than their opposition, the Templar front pressed on and sent wave after wave of able-bodied men back into the battlefield to continue pressing the Greens down as best they could muster. Well-stocked Quivers contained to drain as every arrow hit its mark for both sides, and what was once a dry ground below was now stacked with the bodies of both sides as men fought atop them. The focus of the battle had been along a single path leading into the town, a cliffside path with adjacent hills and a few outlying buildings would be all that choked both sides into a forward confrontation.
As numbers of the Reds began to dwindle, and the difference between casualties taken and casualties lost soared, it was clear that the Greens were gaining momentum and instead now of remaining on the defensive, they pressed forward, taking to the hills and down into the valley of the town as disorganized soldiers for the Templars began to trickle in, hoping to regain a foothold in the battle and send their opposition back into defensive-mode....however....they did not. The slowing of shields clashing, swords banging against one another, the pained screams as men fell dead to the cavalry, and the rhythmic twine of bow-strings being released all slowly ceased to exist. What was once an onslaught of men dying and a constant orchestra of noise was dwindling into a game of cat and mouse as the overwhelming numbers of the Defenders fought valiantly forward to overcome the last straggling members of the Templar army.
Soon, bodies littered the field of battle, and those lucky and skilled enough to survive had the lawful duty to burn the dead and confiscate any weapons, armor, or valuables that lingered nearby them. The Templars and their allies were defeated on this day, but it was said that another front of theirs was moving towards Bhulaban, another city at the footholds of the Mountain just North East of Tebandra.
All-in-all, some 1100 troops of the Chaos Faction survived, while all 1507 troops belonging to the Templars fell suit to the stacks of burning men now plaguing the air around Tebandra. In the coming days, reconstructive efforts would be spent to reinforce casualties lost and repair broken equipment. The damage to the town was not severe, despite the amount of force exerted around it.
Chaos reigns supreme in this episode of the upcoming War.
