(1875-12-13) The Battle For Rykers, Part 1
The Battle For Rykers, Part 1
Summary: The battle to reclaim Rykers begins.
Date: 2019-12-13
Related: The Battle For Rykers, Part 2, The Battle For Rykers, Part 3
NPCs: Aeneas Salvius, Tribune of the Legio XIII
Players:
Alia  Brennart  Cervantes  Ludovic  

The Kultepex - Vir Sidus Paras Front
Who can tell anything with all this damned snow?
1875-12-13

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War in winter was terrible. It was cold, it was messy, it was impossible to see at range if the weather was bad. There was a reason that armies, as a general rule, decamped for the winter and returned in the spring.

Not these armies. In the weeks since the combined forces of the Vir Sidus Empire, the House Arkanin, and the House Tarris had taken Rogers, the armies had entrenched themselves in the field. In the months since, earthworks fortresses had been built up and the troops had, mostly, been billetted there, supplies stored, and the men made as comfortable as possible. The commanders had planned and plotted, and having gotten some fair estimate of the forces which were defending Rykers, they had come up with what they hoped would be an ambitious and unexpected assault.

War. In. Winter.

They had laid in and waited, prepared and planned, until the weather was at its worst. It would be a rough go, but it bought them a particular advantage. The Qatunax could not use their fire magic. And even attempting to use their fire slingers and flame lances would be a danger, for the weapons would steam and warp. And so, the troops advanced on the field, two Great Houses and one Grand Empire, advancing on the forward position that had been designated for their arm of the assault. They rode out to meet what, quite possibly, might be only the first of the expeditionary forces raised by the Qatunax when word had reached them that their enemies of East and West were marching to reclaim that ancient land which they now called Nojpeten.

Slave bodies shivered in the cold as they marched, pressed on relentlessly by the Qatunax soldiers behind. But that was the way of the Qatunax, to send the slaves ahead, to potentially thin their enemy numbers, and to use them as a shield before the soldiers themselves engaged. They were coming, and the forces of Firebrand, Arkanin, and Tarris marched to meet them.

-

Alia moved with the legion. She had settled into the encampment as soon as Paras had been resecured. She had cursed, as she saw the incoming storm, until she had realized how clever the choice was. Her own sorcery was lost to her, as it was to the others who wielded flame. But she had every element at her disposal, and she intended to use them if they were required. And she would lead the Legion that had been assigned to her. Foot soldiers, archers, crossbows, levies. For this day, for this campaign, it seemed that it would be the Pricepsa who would take the field and not the sorcerer. She was not Darius, but for the day, so that her command would not be in question, she had borrowed one of his cloaks. She even flew the banner of the XIIIth, their motto embroidered in gold above the numeral XIII and the II to designate them as a double strength legion, 'The Princep's Own'. As was she. And today, she would have to do. Alia glanced back to where the reserve waited, the levies and the crossbows, smiling as she saw the heavy cavalry she had been leant by the d'Korbina. All would be well. Begin as you mean to go on.

-

Brenn sits atop his charger Reckoning sheathed at his side and his shield with the House Tarris colors strapped to his arm. Riding up and down his battle lines he looks his troops over. "Lancers prepare for the charge on the signal from the main forces. Archers as soon as the enemy are in range begin firing. Then harrying shots into their flanks when you can." Then Brenn looks back out at the enemy forces, "Lets show those savages how proper fighting is done." He reaches down to draw Reckoning and calmly waits for the chaos to begin.

-

Hah! War in winter was a laughable thing to the Arkanin horde. While Bordeaux forces weren't used to fighting in bitter conditions, Arkanins train for war all year around in the mountains of theirs. In heavy armor.

In winter.

Thankfully, while Cervantes had only brought a small force with him, it was a force of some of the best soldiers he had under his command. After all, he made a pact with the Vir Sidus, and it would be honored. They called for aid, Arkanin had answered.

Dressed in his armor, with a flagbearer nearby waving the flag of Arkanin, Cervantes plants his greatsword in the ground, the massive weapon almost as tall as he was. He waits while his Sentinels, those heavy spearmen, took their positions at an angle. "SENTINELS!"

He gets a loud grunt in return in unison from his men. It sounds like a single stroke of the battle drum. "REMIND THEM WHY YOU EARNED THOSE SHIELDS." he gets a grunt back in return, affirmative, three times in a row. Battle cries common amongst them. "Wolves! Form ranks, wield the longbows and fire into their lines when they have come into range!" He would be damned if he let any of those savages get through him and towards Alia and her forces.

"Schiltron!" The line of Sentinels, lightly angled to prevent flanking, raises their shields and places their spears slightly over it to form their iron-clad defense. A wall of death awaiting any foolish enough to charge into it.

-

As the swirling snow whipped the battlefield, the enemy approached, the outlines of bodies appearing in the swirling eddies of flakes. It was slaves, to begin with, though exactly how many would not be possible to gauge until they had closed ranks with the combined forces of the West. They held axes, short spears, hammers, whatever they had been fitted with. They were a motley crew. But with the devil, literally behind them, they marched to meet the forces.

From out of the snow and to the rear of where the allied forces was waiting, a clarion call sounded, the signal had been given. To march to the enemy, to shoot to charge. The battle had begun.

Alia, seated on her horse, had the advantage of perspective as she saw the troops come into range. "Auxillia, reserve, Crossbows reserve, defend a retreat if necessary. Protect the sorcerers. Raiders, reserve, wait for the command from your liege!" Alia spurred her horse forward, moving to where she could see and direct what her men were doing. Hers were the legion today. "Legion, advance and engage!" The trumpet sounded again, setting the pace of the advance.

-

Cervantes calls out to his Sentinels as the enemy charges. "ADVANCE!" the move at a slow pace, but its more than fast enough to meet the enemy and maintain a firm line of defense whilst working with the Legion. With that said, Cervantes raises his sword. "Archers! FIRE!" and the Wolves loose their arrows against the coming horde.

-

Brenn glances over to his second in command, "Take the archers and begin the attack. You know the battle plan." Then he moves into the line with his Lancers. "Sound the Charge."

-

Alia moved with the Legion, trying to keep back from the battle as best she could. She watched her legionaires engage with the slaves, the fighting almost immediately bloody and brutal, but neither army, as of yet, seemed able to get the upper hand on the other. A runaway slave managed to get far enough in to swipe at the woman, and she ducked down, trying to canter her horse back out of the line of engagement.

Along the right hand flank, Ludovic's lancers acquitted themselves in fine form, mowing through the slaves and scattering many of them. Not enough, though, and they spurred and wheeled to come at their enemy again.

-

From the swirling snow, the soldiers waited, perfectly content to allow the heathens to wear themselves down on the slaves. That was what slaves were for, after all. They stood still as stone, shields and weapons, mostly javelins, axes, and spears at the ready. They would move when it was time to move.

-

Cervantes's unit takes a bit of a hit. Though his soldiers manage to stalemate against the enemy, they take a hit in morale when the wall is actually getting pushed back. A thrown spear kills the man next to Cervantes and he shouts. "FORWARD!" He tells his Sentinels before he looks on over to his archers, lifting his sword again. "ANOTHER VOLLEY!" he swings his sword downward (safely, so he doesnt' slice his own man) to indicate the archers to fire.

They needed to shatter that line to give the center forces an advantage.

-

Brenn's unit charges with him and the clash of Lancers on slaves shakes the ground just a bit although the slaves manages to push the horses back. Except the section near Brenn. Reckoning would be flashing but instead the Sidhe Steel sort of sucks in the light as the blade slashes down killing slaves left and right around them. Brenn's staying and fighting with the rest of the lancers as the horse archers rides in and fires some arrows at the slaves flanks before they roll away to come back in again.

-

Is it bad that Ludovic's kind of having fun? Not because of the killing. That parts kind of a drag. But just how often do you get to gallop around on fine horses dodging arrows, spears, stray rocks and who knows what else in the snow? Dovi wheels his horse with the rest of the group, his czekan in hand rather than the lances that almost every other man is wielding, and calls "Lets teach them respect!" before spurring his lightly armored chestnut back into the battle.

-

Alia suddenly found herself in a storm of fighting, and she felt the slice of blades which were not aimed at her as she was caught in a cluster of legionaires, and so, it was impossible to tell if what she suffered was 'friendly fire' or not. It did not matter, she called out to the Legion, "Continue the press, support the Arkanin!" She shouted out her orders as she moved, runners carrying them back to the reserves, "Crossbows, advance to support the center!"

All around the slaves fought. They fought and they died. And even knowing they would die, the fought, for running would be a face worse than death.

-

Ludovic plows back into the group of slaves with all the other lancers on either side. He swings at a slave as he comes into range, his approach looking dangerous and clean, but the man remembers his training at the last desperate moment. The slave sets his spear, preparing for the attack, and Dovi swerves Swift at the last moment, taking a rough blow from the spear against his shield as a result. A moment later his horse kicks out, sending another slave sprawling into the snow. All along the lines his lancers face much the same problem.

-

Cervantes keeps pushing forward, even if the Wolves took quite a hit of morale. When Alia calls out to Cervantes, he nods. "That's the plan!" He punches a savage in the face when they try and leap over the shield wall. "FORWARD!" he calls out. "Wolves! Fire at will! Provide cover fire."

-

As the allied forces fought, the tide turned as it was always destined to turn. In the center, the strength of the Arkanin Sentinels would not be diminished, and the slave forces broke on the edges of their swords, hacked down and sent fleeing. better to brave the storm and perhaps return to slavery than this. Along Brennart's flank his forces fought, biting and tearing at the slaves like the wolves which graced the shields of their Arkanin allies. The slaves were nearly spent, but some few who remained still had fight in them. Down along Dovi's front, the lancers did what they did best. They charged and they made their enemies bleed. What few they left soon fled into the snows, leaving room for the soldiers to advance on two fronts. And in the rear, Alia huddled beneath her cloak, bound and determined, "Advance, meet the enemy, leave none alive." The legion…they knew what to do.

-

Brenn looks around at his troops, "PUSH THESE SAVAGES BACK!" Reckoning swings in repeatedly still trying to find purchase in any of the enemies that surround him. The horse archers and the lancers are struggling against the slaves although it does look like they're giving enough to be dangerous.

-

Ludovic wheels Swift around, seemingly undeterred by the slaves resistance to breaking under the superior force of lancers. He swings his hammer, taking advantage of opportunities created by the veteran warhorse beneath him, and manages to kill another two slaves. A glance around shows that the force is still holding and he grits his teeth as the unit wheels around to charge once more.

-

Breaking through the force of slaves that stood before him, Cervantes's sword even bloodied with one or two of the enemy, looks at the actual quatunax force ahead of him. "Sentinels! Advance! Spearhead formation!" Now this seemingly unbreakable wall advanced towards the enemy, covering their flanks well and meaning to attract attention. The Sentinels can hold the line…but they can also break the line. "Spears up! PUSH!"

-

The slaves finally break up under the onslaught and Ludovic takes a moment to lift his czekan and give a whoop of victory before falling back into formation with the other lancers and taking the fight to the ranked soldiers. The lancers hit hard, but not hard enough, taking losses and ending up a little disordered as they try to smash into ranks of ordered Qatunax soldiery. Amongst all this chaos the lancers the central part of the lancers pushes into the formation proper, led by the stormbull and his vicious warhammer.

-

Alia whipped around, as she heard her name being called, Aeneas riding out from the reserve, "I will take up the command, I will not be the one to return your body to the Praetor." Alia almost fought, but then she didn't. She was too hurt and even for her, the cold was getting bad. She turned her horse away, riding for the safety of the field, many of the crossbows going with her to protect her retreat. The legion, however, did not shirk from its duties. They knew the worth of Aeneas Salvius and they would follow the Tribune as they had their Princepsa. But, in truth, they almost did not need to be led. They knew their duties and they bent to the task.

-

To say that the Sentinels literally start slaughtering Qatunax warriors without losing a single man is an understatement. The Arkanins live up to their legend, bathing in the blood of their enemies as they leave a fresh field of corpses in their wake. But the battle is not over, or won, quite yet. Instead, he keeps up the attack. "LEAVE NONE STANDING!"

-

The Tarris Lancers continue driving into the slaves while the Hytal Horse Archers harry the enemy's flanks as best they can. Meanwhile Brenn glares at the enemy forces raising his sword, "For Galenthia! For Tarris!" He presses further into the slaves his sword flicking back and forth on either side dropping enemy after enemy his horse kicking some who try to surround the knight dropping quite a few itself, "We've almost got them on the run!"

-

Aeneas was no green commander, but a tribune with nearly a decade of training and experience in fighting the Qatunax, and he led his soldiers well. The legionaires used every advantage that they had, driving into the Qatunax warriors with swords and glaives, the center force working together with their Arkanin allies to kill nearly every one of them, the rest routing, running off rather than remaining to help to bolster the soldiers still fighting along the flanks. As for the legion, they broke away from the center, following the orders being called down the line, even sounding a horn to let the Tarris Duke know they were coming to flank the Qatunax they were fighting.

-

It looks like Cervantes has made quick work of the soldiers that stood in his way with his soldiers. With that done, he now has some free reign over where he gets to go next. Seeing Ludovic dealing with a host of enemies, he moves to assist Ludovic. "Sentinels! To Ludovic! Quick march!" The Sentinels start sprinting towards the enemy, intending to engage in a more loose formation, though their shields and spears remain lifted high, prepared to strike the enemy at their side, hoping to flank them.

-

Brenn's troops are still pushing into the enemy having routed the slaves they've pushed into the enemy soldiers, "Lets keep pushing into 'em boys!" His archers keep up their harrying strikes as Reckoning does it's own swath of damage to the enemy troops the horse kicking the last few troops around him.

-

The lancers around Ludovic suffer as the qatunax start to rally against the horse, using the spears and shields within their unit to advantage. In the center, where the lancers managed to breach the formation, the qatunax start recovering their strength around Ludovic's position. Threatening to cut him and the couple of horsemen with him off from the rest. But Ludovic's still fighting, and killing.

-

As the legion fought, the support moved into action. Perhaps the Princepsa had not gone as far as one might believe. The Cotswold levies, which had slowly been inching up along the Tarris side of the fiel advance, trying to provide support for the forces there, allowing what soldiers needed to depart the field to do so. Along the right side, the raiders who had been guarding the back of the formation broke ranks, heading in Ludovic's direction to offer support to their commander. And in the middle, the Legion continued to press in against the soldiers fighting the Tarris forces.

-

The Hellsmouth lancers are getting bloodied by the qatunax, attempting to wheel away and charge but often getting trapped before they can get away. Most of the lancers thus trapped get free soon after, aided by their fellows, but its a close thing in several cases. Meanwhile the Qatunax attempt to further entrap Ludovic in his somewhat over extended position there in the center but the man, and his warhorse, are having none of it. Nowhere else in that unit are the qatunax taking such losses as they are around the former viscount. Ludovic's efforts pay off, causing the qatunax to briefly give him the room he needs to maneuver.

-

The Tarris lancers are being driven back as Brenn holds his line for now falling back only as far as is required to remain with his forces. Reckoning is creating a pile of dead bodies around Fair warning as they're slowly pulling back the knight looking around for somebody looking like they're in charge of this unit so he can try and swing a sword through their head.

-

Cervantes continues to strike at the flank. "PUSH FORWARD! Slay them all, no mercy!" Cervantes calls out as he kicks a Quatunax in the face and swings his sword at the other. However, he soon receives word that the Wolves were routed. "Dammit!" He calls out, before he's back in the fray. Now all he's got are the Sentinels…but they're more than enough.

-

Aeneas and his legionaires pressed their advantage, seeking to force the qatunax into the vice they had made of their force and the Tarris mounted forces. He smiled, but it was a grim thing, as he saw the levies coming to join the fight. he nodded, mostly to himself, hearing the sound of the horns directing the movement the snow made it impossible to see. hearing the call that told him that somewhere on the battlefield, another troop of the enemy had been routed.

-

Brenn continues his push with his blades although he does look left and right as his lancers push in as well and then as the Legions and Aux engage the enemy soldiers they manage to route the soldiers buying the Tarris forces and well it looks like everybody a well needed reprieve from the fighting. Now it's time to gather the wounded and bury the dead.

-

Suddenly the pressure fades away as the qatunax fighting Ludovic start to flee. He pulls his horse up, breathing heavily, and stares after them for several long moments before heeding the call of the lancers commander to reform. Horses and men look battered and frankly exhausted yet the lines are as orderly as can be expected. Ludovic shifts the shield on his aching left arm before reaching to give the man besides him in the order a hearty shoulder pat. And when the remaining qatunax on the other side of the field finally turn tail and run he flashes a wide grin. "Never doubted it."

-

Once again, that clarion call, though this time it did not sound the beginning of the battle but the end of it. And as the last strains of the sound were fading from the air, the snows broke near the support lines revealing the medicos, joined by their Bordeaux counterparts who were rushing onto the field to tend to the injured and wounded and to provide aid to any who required it. bandages would be applied, blood would be cleaned from flesh, food and drink would be offered as the force was ushered back to the safety of the earthworks to rest and recover. The dead would be taken from the field and burned or buried each to their own custom.

-

Cervantes routes his enemy for the moment before he pants for a moment. That was a good fight. But then he grins at Ludovic for a moment at his words. "Yeah, well…hopefully you always never doubt it." Then he shoulders his weapon and starts to move his soldiers back to the original line to check on the Vir Sidus forces. He'd never hear the end of it from Darius if Alia was injured, after all. The battle though, has been won.

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Current Total Casualties (Needs Review by Snoopy):

Allies:

Legion: 76 Wounded, 10 Killed

Tarris: 98 Wounded, 12 Killed

Arkanin: 37 Wounded, 24 Killed

d'Korbina: 101 Wounded, 11 Killed

Quatunax:

Slaves: 238 Wounded, 27 Killed

Warriors: 173 Wounded, 20 Killed

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