[IC] Battle of the Maw

[Nariata]

In the battle tent

Gyird listened to the Goblin creature from the south as he described his plans for the upcoming battle and could not hide the small smile that had started to spread across her face. The plan was the same as her own. Simple as it may be, against the poorly trained enemy they will face it would be devastating.

"I will leave and go to my soldiers, we must pray before the battle starts"

- - - - - - -

On the fields of war: Gyrid and Lothian Collab

Gyrid watched as the Goblin creature from the south motivated his soldiers; listening intently as he discussed the various ways he was going to reward his soldiers and their war-cry made Gyrid crack a slight smile; "I will show the creature a proper war cry," Gyrid muttered as she turned her attention to her army, "Soldiers," Gyrid turned her attention around and received the thunderous sound of one-hundred and fifty soldiers slamming their armored fists into their chest armor in unison, "we stand here on the verge of glorious battle," Gyrid began to walk along the frontlines of her soldiers, arms behind her back as she did, "called to defend the maw against the invaders from the east, heathens, and heretics the lot of them," Gyrid continued as her soldiers again slammed their fists to their chest armor, "we have been called by Roffella herself to defend the weak from the strong, the religious from the heretics, and defend the freedom she has granted us, all of us in the west, from the clutches of tyranny," she paused yet again as she raised her arms from behind her back, walked closer to her soldiers, and placed them on the shoulder one of her Guards

"Some of you may die on the fields this day, and tomorrow, and every day we are blessed with another chance to honor the Divine and her greatness," her voice began to rise with each word, "If you fall on the fields this day, know you will be greeted with open arms by Roffella and live eternal; waging war alongside her," she stopped as she released her grip on the soldier, and took four steps backwards, "let us pray," she spoke and in unison her army fall to one knee.

"When the long journey started, and the poor and the hopeless began to lose faith, a blessing was given to the weary travellers," Gyrid started the prayer as her head slowly shifted from the left to the right, "Roffella arrived with her Guards and led the poor, the hungry, and the weak from their doom and into the promised land," she paused as she looked over to her right side and noticed that one of her fellow commanders was close enough to hear, "as she died in the battle, killing the king of the barbarian tribes after she was mortally wounded, our Roffella ascended to the heavens above," she paused as she turned her attention back to her soldiers, "You all know this story very well, but the invaders do not," her voice began to rise as she continued, "they have not heard the stories of how us, her followers, wage war," she paused as she herself slammed her closed fist into her chest, which echoed back as her soldiers did the same, "of how we burned the north," again her soldiers responded with a thunderous clap, "of how we razed heretic cities," she paused as she turned her back to her soldiers and walked towards Ardur. He had her shield and her spear in his hands, "they know not the feeling of having Roffela fight alongside them and today they will learn, all too well, that Roffella is with us," Gyrid grabbed her shield and her weapon and turned back around.

Gyrid raised her spear up high before she slammed it back down into the ground and her soldiers responded with them yet again slamming their fists into their armor. She then did it again, and again, and again ten more times before she used her shield hand to grab her Raiders Horn and she blew through it a long, drawn out and bellowing call with her soldiers responding by standing out and letting loose their war cries, covering the area in their yells for a solid five seconds.

Lothian stood in front of the gathered troops, a distance away from where Gyrid herself was standing. His attention was on their advancing enemy, barely armored and charging forward in a disorganized horde. He didn't get long to think about it before he heard the sounds of his allies giving war cries and speeches and he turned his focus back to his own men but not before taking a moment to glance at his fellow commander and her forces as they dropped to their knees and prayed before the coming battle, the elves were more an army of actions than words, this was because they were also more an army of swift strikes and ambushes, having an entire forest to hide their movement. Sure the Knights were somewhat of an exception, coming from the inner reaching of Noldor than it's forest guardians but they still did not expect anything so fanciful from their commander.

He gave the order for them to form up and they moved forward while the Rofelans were still praying, forming a shield wall a way up in front of them and bracing their halberds forward against the enemy charge. With them in position he walked over to Gyrid, having the courtesy to at least let her finish blowing her horn before speaking to her "Colorful words human, I hope your men are able to back them up" He slipped his war-bow into his hands and gestured toward the line his men formed "our line can stem the brunt of the enemy's charge.
once that happens perhaps you could lead your men in a counter charge. is that agreeable?" Brunt sure but this wasn't the time for pleasantries, he wasn't particularly fond of...well any of the factions here really but the Followers were among those he disliked the most, he found them arrogant and their philosophy meant that at some point they would come for Noldor. But for right now they were both fighting the Empire so he would at least try to be civil.

"Impressive," Gyrid said as she studied the movement of the Knights as they moved into formation, "I can only imagine how many non-believers I could convert if I had a long life like your kin," she paused as a sinister smile began to spread across her face as she watched every minute detail of the elven movements and marveled at how fluid they were, "I guess you can count the realm lucky in that regard," winking at Lothian as she finished. She examined the formation once more, before she turned her attention back to Lothian, "your soldiers are tall and fearsome," she said as she looked upwards towards the Elf commander, "my soldiers are up to the task, your knights hold the charge at bay at first," she paused as she motioned for Ardur to come close.

"Ardur, spread the soldiers out along the rear of Lothian's forces. Two blasts from the horn and we charge in. Have the men stay as out of sight behind the Elven lines as best as possible; spread the word."

"Aye aye, Gyrid," Ardur turned his body towards the soldiers, and with a bellowing shout did he address the soldiers, "reform the line." In an instant, the one-hundred and fifty Guards quickly moved, forming a few solid battle-lines in less than a minute. As they lined up, each soldier took a knee once again as they awaited the signal.

"After your soldiers hold back the enemies charge, have them watch," Gyrid paused as she turned her attention towards the approaching enemies, "look for Roffella and you shall find her, look and you shall see her presence in each quick strike of my soldiers heavy weapons, look and you will see her guide their blows into the weak spots of the enemies armor," she paused as she walked towards the front line of her soldiers, "witness our offering to the goddess, and remember this day when this war is over," she paused as she looked back once more while she spread her arms out wide with a wide grin on her face, "we faithful shall put on a show that your kind will remember for the rest of your long lives."

Lothian didn't say anything else and simply let her have her moment, as much as he may not like her or her people her flair was a least a bit amusing. As she finished with the promise of a great show for them to remember he chuckled lightly to himself and moved to join the line as well, taking up a spot just behind them and readying his bow. When the enemy was in range he meant to target the ones that seemed to be their leaders.

[seriousarmour]

The Hoplites stand almost stock still as the enemy begin to pour from the gate, unorganized and severely lacking in any thought out formation. The horsehair on their helmets sway slightly in the breeze, the dirt shifting slightly under the hafts of their spears. They are arranged five deep each rank a pace apart from each other the files standing shoulder to shoulder.

From the third rank Bane looks over the men from his position in the third rank and cannot find even a hint of fear. His men stand completely undaunted by the cries of the horde. A small grin spreads across the stern mans face before his helmet slides over his head. His voice rings out over his formation.

"Look at them men. Look at the horde. Hear their cries. Those are the cries of terrified men who know they charge to their death. We are the Legion of the dead and we shall know no fear!"

"HRAGH!"

"They have no discipline, we are discipline! They fear death, WE ARE DEATH INCARNATE!"

"HRAGH!"

"Remember this day men! For it will be yours in this life and the next! For all time! And all shall know that you stood at the battle of the Maw and did not give an inch of ground! All know that you stared death in the face and spat in his eye. For the Legion! For the Rigante!"

"HRAGH!"

The horde draws closer, the stern eyes of the hoplites meeting the wild adrenaline crazed eyes of their enemies. Their chests already heaving as the distance grows smaller by the second.

"Form up!"

Shields clang and spears lower presenting a nigh impenetrable looking wall of steel and spear. The phalanx is perfect, textbook. The men stand shoulder to shoulder covering each other with their large circular shields, their spears at a near uniform height.

"Hold! Hold!"

One last time before the battle is joined his eyes flick up and down the ranks of his allies. None seem cowed, none seem likely to break. And then the battle is joined and all thought is drowned out by the deafening clash of steel on steel and the screams of dying men.

[TJByrum]

In the distance came a shrieking cry. Lentos and the other Zathii infantry looked up to see the arrows fired from the siege tower. They soon responded with a war horn, casting a deep tone across the shambling footmen. The auxiliaries had come into range of the Allied archers and crossbowmen; the ranking captains leading Lentos' comrades recognized this and the war horns they blew gave the signal to charge.

What was at first a steady but unorganized patter of marching men turned into a cacophony of charging warriors. They raised their shields ahead of them to ward off any ranged volleys, though men were felled with arrows anyway. Each soldier gripped his weapon, be it sword, axe, spear, or club, ready for combat. The tension was thick as their lines closed on the Allied forces. Battle cries boomed across the Maw and threatened to deafen the ears of all those in concession.

And then, in a gut-wrenching discord of steel and iron, the two armies clashed. Some men struck forth with great zeal; the more cunning struck downward, at unprotected legs and thighs. Few here were new to combat, young or old, and the bestial nature of man sprang forth.

In the ensuing melee which followed, the Zathii displayed great courage, harnessing a bloodlust unseen by the Westerners. What they lacked in armor and discipline they certainly made up for in brutality and determination. Pizurk's uruks would find themselves matched in tenacity. Here, in the center, the fighting was especially chaotic as man and orc came to savage blows. On the Allies' left flank the Twilight Knights would hold against the charge, but would find themselves engaged in their own bloody struggle as more Zathii poured forth. The Guards of Roffela managed to remain hidden behind their allies. On the right, where Bane and his Hoplites stood, the Zathii charge was broken against the phalanx; the tribals failed to break their formation, and those who survived that attempt pulled back in clusters, only coming forth at opportune moments in an attempt to pull away a Hoplite's shield.

The cavalry on both flanks, as soon as they entered missile range, dashed forth towards the Acity Light Cavalry and the Worg Riders. The speed of their horses no doubt outmatched that of their opponents, and as they came closer they drew their javelins. They came into range and turned their horses to ride away, as if forming a cantabrian circle, and threw their javelins forward with great strength and precision. A barrage of these missiles threatened to pierce armor and bring down the Allied cavalry.

---

Torr, although not deployed by Pizurk, led his Wolfguard onto the field anyway. He remained with the reserve forces, but as the Zathii started to close in Torr moved closed to the archers and crossbowmen. He watched the battle from atop his mount,, his warriors behind him. They were excellent horsemen, no doubt, but their true power lay in infantry tactics. Torr wanted to see where his warriors were most needed, and when the time came they could dismount to fight on foot. One might call them 'mounted infantry'.

The right flank would hold - Bane's phalanx ensured that. The left flank would could hold its own as well, though their battle lines did not hold up like the Hoplites' did. Pizurk's uruks, whether they planned to give ground or not, would find itself forced to give way; they were not losing their battle, but the mass concentration of tribals pushed them back nevertheless. Only the Allied cavalry faced issue, as the mounted javelin men skirmished against their ranks.

[Bright_Ops]

Rukdug the Hunter sat atop his worg proudly as he eyed the approaching tark horses with disdain. In charge of the worg riders at the Maw, the proven hunter growled as his hand tightened around a javelin of his own as he impatiently waited for the battle to start. He personally had several of them to be thrown and as a makeshift jabbing weapon for melee and he knew that the Uruks under his command had them to, but the favored melee weapon of the pack was somewhat long curved blade; Worgs were somewhat shorter then horses and thus a worg rider was much closer to the ground, making a favored tactic of the worg riders when facing equine riding enemies to hack at the relatively weak legs of their mounts then let the worg eat the fallen (possible wounded) rider when the horse fell.

When the tarks stopped their advance in order to start running in a cycle to try and throw their own javelins, Rukdug let out two sharp whistles in short succession; The pack began their charge, moving in a loose formation in order to help them avoid incoming projectiles. While a horse might have been naturally faster then a worg when running in a straight line over level terrain, Worgs were naturally better at turning quickly on the fly and thus gave them the ability to duck and weave in order to properly dodge incoming fire a lot better then an equine. Worgs also had one other advantage of their horse counterparts in that they were smart enough to recognize friendlies from enemies (by scent)... and while a horse that lost its rider was likely to panic and flee, a worg that lost theirs was more likely to keep up the assault and kill as many tarks and horses as possible to sate its bloodlust and hunger.

The plan of attack was simple; Get in close, throw the javelins in order to weaken the tark cavalry while closing the distance and engage in melee where the worgs and their riders would have a clear advantage. Rinse and repeat until there were no tarks left alive.

.....................................................................................

Pizurk's plan was working perfectly! He had intended to hold the line for a little while before they began to give ground in order to make the stupid tarks believe that they were winning the fight and think they had found the weakness they could mass against and push through. Swiping low with his blade, he cut a young tarks legs out from under him before stomping on his neck with a satisfying crunch before stabbing another tark in the back as he tried to attack one of his boys, making the pink skin squeal like a pig that was getting its throat slit before kicking him off his blade.

Ground was being given, but that was just part of the plan.

[Thecrash20]

"Knights center your restoration on the Green Skins!" The War Master commanded. Seeing them almost equally matched, they would win by pure attrition. The enemy could not stop what they couldn't kill and the Uraks were not going to let up from the unaided tribesman. The Mage's empty sword hands began to flicker with bright Green light. Casting their Aura of vitality spell, bright Green orbs flew from the back and into the front lines. Bringing the tired and wounded up from their knees. As if bringing the dead back to life. Still the Mages kept their shields ready and in a defensive wall formation, focusing on defending themselves as much as they focused on healing their allies.

The right flank of Hoplites didn't concern the Coven forces. They were a wall to the charge and from the sight, they were proving themselves more than capable of handling the light infantry with ease. Although the Left flank were struggling. They seemed to be holding up well enough, but not nearly as the Right Flank's Hoplites. The War Master stood with the Holy Knights, but still provided support. Sending a single Chosen to aid in battle. The War Master Weapons burned Red with Fire. The Maces sent out two Flaming Orbs that exploded into a Red Mist between the ranks of the Twilight Knights. The Mist being taken into their lung and the Rage Spell starting to take effect on them. Giving the Twilight Knights a boosted ferocity with their attacks.


"Enoso... Support the Elves with thine blade. Prove to them your prowess in battle!"

With the order given, the lone Chosen sprinted into the Front lines with inhuman speed. Joining the Twilight Knights in Battle. He carried a large Claymore, and was covered head to toe with their Ceremonial armor. Before unleashing his Fury unto the Enemy Peons, he opened up with a Flame Thrower Spell. Looking to clear out the very front of the Enemy forces and giving the Twilight Knights a much needed breather.

---

The War Master paid close attention to all his allies forces. He could see the Calvary were having issues of their own on their flanks. While the Coven gave support to the main battle, they could do little to help the Calvary from their position. Hopefully the Green Skin leader had a plan to deal with this. Their was nothing the War Master could do without putting his own much smaller force into danger.

[Zetsuko]

Lothian managed to loose some arrows while the enemy charged, drawing his blade when they were finally closing in. The shield wall held when the enemy fell upon it, though not as well as it could have but that seemed mainly due to their unusual formation for this battle: Less ranks to the shield wall with the Roffellans behind it. Still it did hold and they easily recovered since there were no breaches in the line but to Lothian's growing disappointment the Roffellans remained idle.

So much for showing the might of their goddess. Lothian had his men reaffirm their line, they could still hold and they did so rather easily with the enemy charge broken the melee would still slowly swing in their favor with or without the Roffellans. The most movement in their line came from their right, where the line was curving and backing slightly to prevent flanking through the ground the orcs were giving. They seemingly didn't react to the coven's rage spell as once it was cast the knights held just the same as before, even the fire cast in front of them provoked little movement from them but they did not advance with the lone coven mage that came rushing through, they left him to charge out on his own.

Lothian, for his part, was keeping an especially close eye on things. He was confident that his knights would be able to hold against this enemy he was not going to fall to arrogance. With the Roffellans having missed their counter-charge and seeming to remain idle he was prepared to call to his Darkforest Rangers in the reserve to reinforce them in place of the Roffellans if need be.

[Conscripts]

Alexander Myerscough

---

"Be brave men..."

Lord William of Acity was busy doing two things at the same time: maintaining morale within the cavalries and keep watch on the advancing horsemen. They were auxiliaries troops, but they were indeed very courageous and fierce. But that was just something they put up initially. The question whether or not they would flee from the battlefield was yet to be answered. The same could be said for his own men. The light cavalries were mercenaries, not soldiers. So even if King Alexander did make a motivational speech, its effectiveness was questionable.

"Keep it steady lads. Bend if you must but never breaks! And keep on watching our allies on our flanks!"

As the Zathii's cavalry attacked in place, the Lord, Alexander and the entire light cavalry units began to brace for the seemingly immenent impact of their cavalry charge. But in reality, they simply turned away and threw their javelins at the Allied cavalry.

Such a cheap and poor tactic...

It appeared that they weren't intending to attack head on. Or rather, their abilities to retaliate was reduced when engaged closely. They had the momentum to charge and try to rout the Allied cavalry, but did not. That was their mistake. A small, seemingly invisible mistake. But they weren't fooling anyone. The young yet talented king, Alexander Myerscough, had seen it.

Still, the javelin barrages were brutal. The main difference was that they weren't arrows. Arrows were weak against Acity's armor, but javelins were not. They had more penetration value, and could punch through even the toughest armor if landed at a correct angle. A few of the Acity's cavalries were killed in the process, some horses were knocked dead, but thankfully, the entire body still retained its stability and combat capability, although with slightly dropped morale.

Alexander was miraculously unharmed due to the fact that several soldiers were shielding him from the javelin barrage. He watched as the Zathii turned their horses away as if they were forming a circle, and that the Uruks were beginning their engagement, by engaging them in a similar fashion, but with some melee fighting.

The battle plan was drawn inside his head. The Acity cavalries were sitting idly behind all the time until now. The Uruks and Zathii were not far away from them. The Zathii were still running around in circles on their horses, having finished nearly half of the circle. The Zathii cavalries, as observed, apparently did not have good experience with close quarter combat. So if he could intercept them directly and closely, not only they would have to fight against both sides' cavalries, but also their javelin's effectiveness would be reduced considerably. The light cavalries may be mercenaries, but not any chumps who just enlisted. They must have had at least somewhat experience handling with this, so comparing them with the rest of those Zathii, they were a perfect match for each other.

The King made his plan. He will counter-charge them before they begin to make their turn towards him, cut their formation into two, and combine with the Uruks to mop up one side of the disorganized formation. They were moving pretty quickly, so if he was intending to take this on them, he would have to attack immediately. In moments like this, perfect timing are a must.

"Lord William!" He called

"Yes your highness?!"

"Head to where our horse archers are standing, and summon them here at once. Our allies will need every possible support they can get!"

"Yes your highness!"

With this, William rode away from the ranks. All of a sudden, Alexander quickly unsheathed his sword, as he shouted loudly from his horse.

"Soldiers! Fortune has brought all of us today to fight alongside me today, the conqueror of the Northern empire! You have the great honor of showing me what you can do!"

Alexander waited for a few seconds, before continuing.

"Swords out!"

The entire squad complied. The unsheathing sound echoed valiantly into the eternal blue sky. With one long, loud and clear voice, the king of conquerors shouted.

"CHARGE!!!"

That sudden, the entire cavalry regiment began to move. From simple trots, to fast canters and then until the gallops of 600 hooves thundered across the battlefield. The Acity's cavalry was heading dead straight for the center of the Zathii's cavalry. If they managed to hit, a rout in that center was totally within reach

[TJByrum]

On the Allied left flank Rukdug gave an order for the Worgs to charge. This was not an unexpected move and the Zathii cavalry anticipated such a maneuver. The plan here was to pull the Worgs into a chase; in pursuing the Zathii cavalry the Uruks were riding into the tribals' javelins, whereas the Zathii were riding away from their opponent's own missile counterattack. But the Zathii had made a fatal mistake: they completely underestimated the Worgs.

The fastest and most agile Worgs dodged the javelins, bolting past their fallen, javelin-pierced brothers. Fear spread through the cavalry and the Zathii abandoned their attack, now focusing on trying to outrun the Worgs. Those unfortunate enough to ride the slowest horses were pierced with Uruk javelins. Horses neighed in terror and pain as the gnashing teeth of the Worgs bit down on their hindquarters, claws bringing them to the ground for a gruesome death. Rukdug had succeeded in his counterattack and drove the Zathii cavalry away from the left flank; the tribals were fleeing back to the safety of the wooden wall... but would Rukdug continue his pursuit?

On the right flank Alexander's light cavalry ate the Zathii's barrage with considerable damage. An order was given and the Acity horsemen galloped forth in a direct charge. Again, the Zathii anticipated the movement as they had with Rukdug. The Zathii cavalry pulled away, retreating back in the direction they came from, and denyied Alexander a chance to fight them in melee combat. Fortunately the Zathii were to busy fleeing from the Acity horsemen that they held off on their missile attack.

The Zathii deemed it impossible to break the hoplite's phalanx formation and stopped their assault on the Allied right flank altogether, instead pooling themselves at the center to assist in pushing the Uruk infantry back. This might have worked and penetrated the Allies lines, but the War Master's assistance there ensured Pizurk and his Uruk's could control the situation. If the Uruk's were being pushed back now, it was because Pizurk wanted them to, as per his plan.

Likewise the Twilight Knights and the Roffelans benefited from the War Master too. Lothian's forces beat the Zathii back, maintained their formation, and could now commit to pushing their opponent back if they liked. It would not take much for Lothian and his allies to break the enemy here.

---

The Zathii cavalry on both flanks were able to score casualties on the Allied horsemen. Those facing the Allied left wing (Rukdug and the Worg Riders) are in full retreat, terrified by the Worgs. Those on the Allied right wing (facing Alexander and his Acity light horsemen) are also retreating, but only to avoid melee combat.

The Allied infantry are performing as expected now. Bane's pahalanx formation was able to resist and break the Zathii charge, forcing them to join their brothers in the center. Bane has the opportunity to shift his forces and alter his strategy. The Twilight Knights and Roffelans have outmatched the Zathii and have the upper hand; it would not take much to break them there. Pizurk and his Uruks are performing efficiently, and giving ground as per the commander's plan.