The most difficult part of all of this was my last day in Jayek. No one could understand why we, Velucans, joined this war. I had to sit there and watch as my fellow soldiers gave there farewells to their families. I watched fathers embrace their children and console them, reassuring their return, when knew they full well they were marching into the depths of hell. Wives and children had to be pried off their husbands and fathers when the horns were sounded announcing the departure. The women, children, and elderly were being sent to Wercheq, the last free town of the north, their lives saved from the sins and pride of us.
It had been almost a month since the Knights Hospitaller first assaulted a castle many miles away. This earned them thousands of able bodied men for their cause. It was in that castle that many men of CHAOS, the warriors of Stratia were found to be resisting against Hospitaller. The outraged King Devestater sent word to CHAOS vowing to wipe them off the map, and although some attempts to reconcile these events were made, the scars of the past were torn too deep to mend, and war was inevitable. All the northern clans once unified now had to choose a side, one terribly unbalanced in favor of Hospitaller.
The news put a foul taste into our mouths, one that could not be removed by standing idle and watching our good friends burn for a petty cause. There is only one King of the North, and he does not stand for tyranny and his majesty's Kingdom will not be policed by any faction of good Calradia. So on that day we said bring forth the armies of Hell and give us a gloriuos death that will please the gods and send us home to Veluca in the afterlife.
CHAOS and FIDLGB never had a chance to survive. Their settlements were pillaged and burned. The smell of rotting, burning corpses engulf the morning air. Despite a heroic stand at Sumbuja and a few seiges at Radoghir Castle, CHAOS fled to our lands in the north. OUr brothers in the southern tip of our land, the Murder Boners, chose to spend their last few weeks alive in the FCC established Fearichan gay bar rather than risk sending their families to Wercheq. Their name held true when our enemies of HATE raided their village and killed them during their 3 week long orgy. We arrived a day late and managed to salvage what we could from their remains. HoC, also our allies, has decided to defend their homes, knowing that they would not make it to Wercheq, and their fate has yet to be decided, but a grim future is looming on the horizon. Except for a little suprise we left in Odasan, all able bodied men have marched to our two Castles, where we will face all who dare siege our walls.
Exodus - Day 1
1st Seige of Alburg castle
We heard their drums and horns from the base of the hill. whispers were passed here and their about how their archers could hit anything from miles away, but that was not the rumor that stuck in my mind. Legend has it that the wood of this castle is blessed by chadz himself, and that it will not faulter from catapults. The thoughts comforted me because watching them attempt to move siege engines up these hills was both amusing and encouraging.
The Fallen Brigade didnt even attempt to break our walls, not suprising considering they have come face to face with the Gods. They tried to scale our walls with ladders, lots of ladders. They tried every corner, every crevice, but to no avail. Their seige engines had a mind of their own. The one tower that they did erect gave them but a moment to breach our walls before we broke it, and with that, we broke them. They eventually retreated without ever getting a foothold on our castle.
Battle Results:
Lothar_Duke_of_Saxony_HRE vs Alburq Castle
- Battle time: 10.08., 01:01
- Battle duration: 59m10s
- Army size: 2004 vs 5341
- Battle result: 1236 vs 4995
- Winner: Defender
Battle Notes: Best score: SeQuel_BRD 50:6
Over half of the retreating attackers deserted after the battle, and the defense recieved over twice as much gear as they lost
Exodus - Day 2
It was well into mid day when my company of riders saw a glimpse of Odasan. 400 of our finest cavalry, sired from my own horse, have been riding non stop since the siege at Alburg. FIDLGB has heroically volunteered to defend our fief Odasan, located in the deep peninsula of our territory. The men in Odasan were under-equipped and we decided to reinforce the village with our elite lancers to sway the flow of battle.
We reached the northern outskirts of the village to find the men rushing in preparation for the invasion arriving from the south. Our scouts have already spotted the banners of our enemies off in the distance, one we know quite well. The Crusader Alliance, once our beloved allies who assisted us in fending off the Union hordes from the south, were now about to invade us. They had chosen to side with Hospitallers. We met them on the field of battle once already; they defeated us soundly with armaments that would rival the greatest generals and kings. We rode into the center of the village, and I thought my eyes had betrayed me. Returned from the dead, Huey Newton sat on his Champion Courser, his dark skin glinting in the fading sun. After exchanging words briefly, I gave my mentor command of the riders so I could prepare the footmen for the upcoming battle.
I took command of the battle over from a fellow Velucan and quickly deployed the troops into motion. The enemies were occupied in setting up a forward base on top of a hill near the outside of the village. Being short on time, I ordered what little amounts of heavy armoured soldiers we had to the slab of wall on the right hill. The horns of war were sounded and the invaders began their march down the hill, while I mounted Pubert Norris III. I gave him a pat on the neck and took my great-grandfather's heavy lance from its resting place and fell into line with the rest of the cavalry.
The battle began at the wrong end of the sword, our men were out-geared and out-ranged. The skirmish on the right wall was lost when enemy archers flanked us from the right and pressured us back into the village. With most of our heavy plate infantry gone, we were left with only ragged outfits. Against heavy chainmail and plate, the odds were against us. Cavalry was ineffective in these stages, the terrain was hard to maneuver in our favor. The battle escalated into the center village, with our troops trying to fend of flanking troops to prevent being surrounded. Here the lancers proved their worth. We cut through their ranks as the enemy wandered into the streets. We pierced the hearts of their archers, struck the skulls of shielders, and couched their unwary idlers. It was what we were born to do, and it was altering the scene of the battle.
Our troops were being decimated as the enemy contained us in the village. Our morale, however, did not waver. In a stroke of strategy, our men cleaved into their shield wall and retook the hill housing the enemy's forward base. Cavalry excelled in this phase of the battle, and we managed to even the death toll as the enemy had lost their heavily armored infantry. When the battle was over, we had lost over half of our troops but the village would be able to sleep soundly. It wasn't over. There was another Crusader army that would arrive in a day's time. FIDLGB, resilient of the fear of death, have declared their intention to defend Odasan until the end. I was set on staying with the few Velucans I had left with me, but the men insisted I leave and that I had accomplished enough for today in two battles. (In both kills and deaths)
Battle Results:
Templar_Perd vs Odasan
- Battle time: 10.08., 23:01
- Battle duration: 12m35s
- Army size: 1501 vs 2373
- Battle result: 0 vs 720
- Winner: Defender
Best Score: Hobb_Lord_of_TKoV: 130:80 :D
We traveled back in the cover of darkness. My thoughts were with those who opted to stay behind. At some point along the way, we met up with our scout and gave him a letter detailing the day's events, while he in turn handed me a letter describing the events of the HoC battles. Both of battles accrued heavy losses, both struck by hands of Hospitaller. The gear utilized by the attackers in the Vezin battle was identical to that of the Templars, yet used by Hospitaller, a common theme throughout this war. "It was a terrible day indeed," I thought, as I continued on my journey home
Big thanks to Winterly for editing my story every day!!