Dragons: Lord Pleb, the Warleader and Lord Fig.
Harts:Sir Hugo Charenten, Lord Calin and Sir Huw de Grognard.
Unicorns: Seduraed and his advisor.
Vipers:Lord Viper and Hariator of the Ravens.Each of the Lord Generals explained the reasons for taking up the sword once again.
Lord Thorfin of the Bears said eloquently, “We, the Bears, have declared war on the Wolves over Orkneyjar. We wish Corvus’ head. The traditional animosity for the Drow [Tarantulas] especially Naxos D’Fey, and the Gryphons have given sanctuary to renegade Bears. We have given many Drow sanctuary and will fight with us. They will all be wearing tartan. Many are looking into their ‘McDroo’ ancestry.” [In short everybody.]
Lord Fig asserted, “We are taking the field against the Gryphons who have been raiding our shores and Corvus has declared war upon us.”
Sir Hugo stated forcibly, “The Harts take the field with the bond that was born out by the support we gratefully received by the Dragons last year.” [Many things were left unsaid. Corvus was still alive. The Lions still disputed the guardianship of the Swords of Waylund with the Harts. Naxos D’Fey incensed the elves by not assisting in destroying the Elven Plague. Lord Wolf placed Corvus back in Albion in 1094 AF and hence extended the civil war for his own reasons. The Gryphons were raiding the Southern Coast of Albion and Cymrija.]
Seduraed, who arrived late, stated in his round about way, “The Unicorns wish to settle their trading disputes with the Tarantulas.”
Lord Viper, “We are here to support our drinking friends, the Dragons and rid us the threats from those Cobras that have taken refuge with the Gryphons.”
At about 1 AM Seduraed was still speaking upon the numbers of magic weapons in each faction. Lord Calin’s matter of fact manner cut this short Who said, “Let us assume that each faction has enough of its own special weapons to handle whatever is put in front of them. Let us sort out the battle line.”
Sir Hugo then instructed me to describe the salient points of the battlefield. Duke Calin pointed out that the Wolves will anchor on the high ground next to the fenced wood. The enemy caused great difficulty in concluding our dispositions because they had not the good grace to inform us of which end of the field they chose to deploy.
Finally the Lord Generals agreed that the Harts would go toe to toe, as Lord Calin put it, with the previously unbeaten Wolves. The Vipers would screen the Dragons column which at 20 to 30 yards would launch their attack probably against the Gryphons. Hariator of the Ravens requested the Evil Suns be deployed next to them. [A political decision to steady the Vipers resolve to fight.] The Bears and the Unicorns were echeloned down the hill 100 paces behind the Vipers, so their charge coincided with the frontal assault or possibly turn the opponents flank. All acknowledged that the Harts would bear the brunt of the fighting as they were to face the Fellowship of the Wolves. Just past 2 AM, the meeting finally broke up.
Muster
At about 11 AM on Monday, the Harts Faction, more of a rabble than an army moved out in column of fours. Lady Karlennon requested Baron Tiamat to remind the column that certain chants were unwelcome. Baron Tiamat with satisfying discretion shouted, “The ‘W’ word will not be used when referring to Lord General’s.” At about midday, Lord Satûn allowed the Ghost of Prince Anree to lead the Slayers. He introduced Lady Katrina as his intended bride. A description she seemed pleased by!!?? Lord Satûn then sides with the enemy and so Floris Brand backed us.
Corvus’ deployment
I reconnoitred the enemy to within bow range and reported my findings to our gathered Lord Generals. The enemy deployed with little room to their rear and no obvious avenues of escape.
The Wolves deployed with their shield wall resting on the fence by the wood. Lord Wolf is a cautious commander hence would fight defensively.
The Gryphons were next down the hill. There seemed to be a gap between them and the Wolves that was there to invite the Dragon’s column to hit this point.The Lions gathered around Corvus were in an untidy clump. The Prince Bishop’s Men with their gold crosses on azure shields and Corvus’ standard could be seen easily.The Steppe Alliance was just above the hollow and I heard two of their commanders talking in loud voices about using this feature to turn our flank.The remnant of the Tarantulasdeployed behind the Wolves. My concern was they might attack us along the fringe of the fenced wood. Many fearsome monsters could cause a hole in our line for the rest to exploit.Neutral Listener?
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At about 1:30 PM, the army starts to form as planned. Whilst supervising the deployment of the left flank of the Harts, the Listener approached me with his small entourage of Drow. He demanded to talk to the Beastmen. I informed him politely that this was certainly not the time to talk. He whined, “I am neutral. Lady Karlennon will be displeased at my impertinence.” I replied that, “I do not consider you so. Even if you are I would still not allow you through.” He retired with his tail between his legs.
A little later, Lady Celyn warned me, “The Listener is very unhappy with his treatment.” So I approach the Listener to calm his flustered ego. He lost most of his composure still pleading his neutrality. I reply, “You are not neutral and you cannot assuage me of this. This is a time of war and the talking is over. You will not be permitted to discover where the Beastmen are to report to your Drow friends.” He counters, “Do you not realise how long it takes to get the confidence of the Drow.” I say pointedly, “If you have any concerns over my behaviour please take it up with Lady Karlennon after the battle.” He decided not to push the point.
Deployment
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The Harts deployed from our left nearest the wood to the right.
The Vipers have the Raven’s with their large kite shields next to the Evil Suns as they pleaded at the Council of War.
The Dragons led by Lord Fig and the Paladins of Danu were in their deep column behind the Vipers.
The Bears led by Lord Thorfin were echeloned 50 yards to the right rear of the Vipers. With them was the renegade Drow including House Chreotha, House Gereshen and the McDroo.
The Unicorns deployed in a disordered throng next to the Bears.
Harts’ Skirmishers including the Hawks Head Archers, the Watchers of Darkwood, Lios Alfar (the Light Elves), the Harlequins, the Death Jesters and many other elves are at the foot of the hill.
The battle
At about 2 PM, the order to advance came. The warriors moved forward crab-like with the tempo increasing as they closed with the enemy. The enemy were so silent and still. The feared attack upon our left flank did not materialise. The Harts contacted the Wolves. The fighting was ferocious. Our left was precarious and required Lady Kathen and myself to steady the line by throwing as many warriors as we could find back into the fray. The pressure on their lines began to tell. At some points large holes appeared into which the Clan McKinnon rushed with frolicsome abandon. Once these holes close with the assistance of other healers they returned into the reserve.
At about 2:30 PM, a great cheer went up as the Dragon’s Column charged the Gryphons and sliced the enemy in half. The outcome of the battle was inevitable and was a matter of time. At the bottom of the field, the Bears and the Death Jesters were able to break the Lions but were unable to encircle the enemies left by the appearance of a Stone Golem. The Hawks Head Archers led by Hawkeye formed time and again to fire volleys into the retreating enemy.
The gallant Wolves gave ground slowly. The Knights of Red Redemption and the Bacchus Bastards were able to force a way around their right flank. The Fellowship embattled upon three sides with the forth being closed quickly by the Dragons. In the confusion, some units fought against friends. The Wolves in order to get at the dragons, fought their way through Zommorrod A’Tesh of the Tarantulas.
At about 3:15 PM, the battle closed with the capitulation of the Wolves. Lord Fig hoisted up upon a shield by his brave compatriots and gave a rousing speech. Lord Wolf surrendered to Lady Karlennon. Neither Lord Calin nor Sir Hugo was informed of this at the time. Missing such an opportunity was regretted. |