BATTLE OF GOLDENFIELDS
[Co-Credit goes to the awesome Flooby Badoop]
Breath in.
Breath out.
Breath in.
Breath out.
Praise the holy maiden, for Princess Helen was fated to be on Lady Fiona side. Queen Fiona, actually, as some of her people started calling her. Correct in the matters of law and custom, but she could not help but feel slightly suffocated whenever someone – even in most solemn respect – addressed her as "Queen". The last person of Diratania to style themself King was Nicolas II, her uncle and childless brother of her late father. Domnall considered the title of a King to be inappropiate for a vassal serving the Overlord. He didn't made any official changes though, because some did believe that he had the right to be called King, as the Overlord himself was less of a King, and more the "King of Kings".
One way or the other, Fiona could not but feel uncomfortable with such a title. Less so because of her position as a vassal, but more because it just felt "not right". A proper king or queen did not spend her days contemplating her melancholic disposition, growing an old and achey soul when the body was both young and fresh. She said to her trusted marshal, Phillip of Bellaudi (which curiously enough was a house that didn't reside in Bellaudi for generations) that only by standing up and fighting for the lives of her Diratania she would earn the rightful title as Queen.
Well, there they were now, and Phillip reminded her of her words by spreading it through the men. Perhaps she should feel secure now, given the seeming trust her people had, but she did not feel as if she was up to the challenge of co-leading an army. She got an education, in the tent's, word's, and sword's way, yet there was a vast difference between dry wood and dry paper and an actual battle on the horizon.
The warmth of the Growing season was sorely missed by the less-thickly armoured troops as they march toward Goldenfields. The weather was overcast, the air was cold, and a chilly wind passed through occasionally.
Phillip of Bellaudi led the Norraine Division from the front, alongside Princess Helen, Lady Fiona, and her husband Lord Donald. The pendants and banners of House Vearin waved proudly in the wind, and the troops marched at a steady pace. Many had mixed looks of dread and excitement. Lady Helen's presence was quite large, both physically and in her demeanor, but she curiously conversed with the soliers as if they were her equal, making boisterous and bawdy jokes. The soldiers felt comfortable around her, and Fiona heard them talk to her in a way they have never done in her dignified presence.
"It's an honour to go to battle with you,"
"If we die today, I will have considered my life well-spent to have fought in your company!"
"We'll put you on the throne, you'll see."
"It's a shame you were born a woman; you carry yourself with more manhood than any man I've met!"
After a day of marching, the army spotted a force on the horizon. The soldiers started to take position, but Phillip gestured for them to stop.
"It's alright!" he yelled, "It is the mercenaries we have hired!"
And indeed, he was right. As they approached, their appearance could be made out clearly: men in full plate, painted jet black, and waving a dozen different pendants. Some men had clearly painted words on their armour and pendants: "War is my life" "Burn," "Maim," "Kill," "Death!"
The Robber Knights.
A rider with a dark blue-plumed basinet helmet, bestride an armoured jet-black destrier, rode toward Phillip.
"Captain Anduin?" asked Phillip.
"Aye. We're ready." the man said in a hoarse voice, muted by his helmet.
"They call you The Bodyburner. Is it true what they say? You burn your enemies alive?"
"Everyone's got hobbies. Mine are money, death, and fire. In that order."
"That is good. You will have plenty of all three, fighting for us."
A few feet away from Captain Anduin and Phillip stood Donald and Fiona, observing the mercenaries. He leaned over to his wive.
"These are really the guys you both decided to hire?"
She didn't respond for a while, just watching the two men overthere interacting. Donald interpreted this as her formulating a response, and indeed, after a few seconds she tilted her head to his side.
"I should get a nice hobby as well, don't you agree?"
He hoped this was an example of her sharp tongue, and not an approval of burning people alive.
It takes some time more before they reached Goldenfields, but thankfully, the land of the Barleycorns are very flat, so there were no uphill climbs. Upon arriving in Goldenfields, however, they came upon a horrifying sight.
A massive force surrounded Castle Goldenfields, all bearing the banners of La Famiglia de Meaux. From what they could gather, Fiona counted up the forces: roughly 200 Knights, twice as much Horsemen, 1,000 Swordsmen, circa 700 to 800 Longbows, and maybe 2000 pikes. In the distance, four dozen Trebuchets flung great boulders at the castle. The force was just standing 500 meters away from Vearin's army. Her own army was just 1350 men strong.
She looked for the forces of House Barleycorn, and spotted many men on top of the parapets of the castle. It seemed House Barleycorn has decided to hole up inside their castle, which would mean their full levy would be there.
Lastly, she look for the forces of House Stoat. About 1,000 Metres from Vearin, they spotted a large camp, with pale green and brown pendants flying over it. It looked as though this were House Stoat's force. An envoy was sent over to them, and it wass confirmed that their whole levy was ready in the camp.
Rone's forces had already spotted them, but they occupied an entrenched camp surrounding Castle Goldenfields, which was a circular trench 120 metres long. Their forces were spread about this trench, save for the trebuchets, which were placed 100 metres behind the trench, and were guarded by all the Knights in the force.
The troops looked at Fiona, awaiting their orders.
Breath in.
Breath out.
Breath in.
Breath out.
"You there." She talked at one of the knights.
"Try and see if there is some way to contact the besieged Barleycorn's. If you can get into the stronghold, deliver my order for them to leave the castle and attack with all their might once the trebuchets stop firing."
She went to another one.
"Send a message to Stoat's camp. Their troops should merge with ours at this point. We shall organize ourself as one force then."
The envoys embarked, and Fiona glanced over to see whether Phillip had any reaction. Something that told Fiona whether she did "good" or "bad". None of that, alas.
The forces became one, and Alduin's Black K nights as well as the Stoat Hunters led the charge as cavalry while the infantry slowly followed them. Fiona ordered them to battle with the knights guarding the trebuchets. She felt that this was of the highest priority, and she hoped she was right. Princess Helen chose to take charge of the Norraine Divisions Horsemen. Fiona considered telling her to stay back for the sake of safety, but she knew Helen enough to know the futility of such a request.
The Vearin Cavalry reached Rone's knights, who turned around to fight. The very ground was shaking as if thunder and storm themself were domain not of the sky but of the earth. Then, a louder roar sent shivers down Fiona's skin as she could see part of the Barleycorn's wall fall to the fire of the trebuchets. If they were not fast enough, this siege would be shorter that she would have liked. Unbeknownst to her in that moment, Barleycorn's archer were granted a small victory as their hail of arrows completely destroyed Rone's Longbowmen.
The Stoat Hunters continued to rampage the artillery, shooting volleys at it's operators. She gathered that the enemy knights retreated, but as Fiona came closer, they just went back far enough to catch up with Rone's Horsemen, who were about to battle the cavalry. As the Stoat Hunters were focusing on the trebuchets, they were not properly able to defend themself against the assault. The Knights continued to attack the Stoat Hunters, and that battle was too much. They began to retreat.
Yet Fiona's eyes were focused on Helene riding the Norraine Horsemen and the Black Knights into the enemy cavalry. The Black Knights seemed to break at first, but Helen alone was enough to encourage the Norraine Men to fight with great vigor.
However, the operators of the trebuchets decided that they were outnumbered, and began fleeing. Fiona let out a small sigh of relief as she watched them run, before ordering the infantry to pick up and dispose all the enemy knights that became horseless. The ranged troops were unsure about this, though, as they were afraid they could hit their own men among the mess of the battle. Fortunately though, the melee infantry managed to eliminate the horseless men.
The Black Knights appeared to break completely now. Fiona could hear Helen yelling at them. What exactly was unsure, but Fiona found herself yelling as well. The infantry was ordered to attack the enemy cavalry, but as the enemy saw the Vearin men coming, they began their retreat to the camp. Helen chased after them, and her unit cut down some people, yet it was too small to do much besides eliminating some of the horseless remains.
Fiona gave out the order for all men to regroup. She managed to have the trebuchets cease fire. Even though the Stoat Hunters and the Black Knights fled, it could be said that the battle was going well. Fiona could see Rone's men raising their shield in defence of the Barleycorn's constant arrow barrage, while other men began to dig trenches. She wasn't sure how to see this. For sure was just that the damage that Barleycorn could do would now be decreased significantly.
...
What was she supposed to do now?
They could wait, and see how much Rone's men break in morale, but was that the right choice? Would that not be catastrophical for the tension that propelled her own men towards blood and steel? Yet, charging into the camp... what consequences would that have? She didn't knew.
She didn't knew...
It took her some time to formulate an order. The Stoat's artillery men were to come to the army and ready the trebuchets for potential use. Helen remarked as to the why. Firing the trebuchets might cause causalities among Rone's men, but so could they hit Barleycorn's wall.
"I do not plan to use them right now, but I do plan to keep my options as open as possible."
Half of the truth.
In the following moments, there was just the spark of another plan forming in her head.
No, she couldn't order that. They had no other choice than to charge. Violently, with honour.
The Black Knights regrouped at the edge of the battle, and made their way back to the army. This was good. Uncomfortably good.
The troops were organized so that the ranged infantry were in front, the cavalry behind them, and the infantry were behind them. Fiona waited for the Black Knights to rejoin the force, and began to march onward.
When in range, the Stoat longbowmen launched three volleys at 3 instances into the enemy trench. At 60 metres, the bowmen and crossbowmen started launching their volleys into the pikemen.
To avoid hitting the troops by accident, the Barleycorns had halted their volleys as Vearin advanced. At the moment the forces begia to charge at the enemy trenches, the Barleycorns opened both the southern and northern gates of their castle, and launched an assault on either side of the enemy trench.
The first charge became a brutal slaughter for the Diritanian forces, as the cavalry was slaughtered at the embrace of the enemy pikes, who stood firm in the heat of the charge. From there, it was a brutal slog of men attempting to reach past the enemy pikes, only to be cut down by the enemy swordsmen.
After the first charge was complete, it was clear that nearly the entire Norraine Division and Robber Knights mercenaries had been cut down, with the few who remained in full, panicked retreat. The enemy horsemen, who had managed to regroup, were now cutting down the retreating, wounded, and horseless.
Helen, however, made it into the trenches, along with the forces of House Stoat and House Barleycorn, both of whom had suffered heavy casualties, but were now inside the trenches, and making good work of the pikemen, who were meant more for combat at a distance than close quarters.
The enemy pikemen began to break against the onslaught, then marched into full retreat, allowing the Barleycorns and Stoats to kill or wound nearly all their remainder. All that were left were the enemy swordsmen, whose force grew thinner and thinner, until they too broke into retreat.
As the aftermath was stood over, the enemy was left to scatter in all directions. The enemy horsemen, seeing no recourse from the fight, abandoned the battle.
Helen wiped the blood from her blade, and stood atop the parapets of Castle Goldenfields, cheering the men on over their victory. While the fanfare went on, Lord Donald reported on the casualties.
Of House Vearin's forces, 574 were killed, and 597 were wounded. Those who survived have fled the battle, and are not likely to be seen again.
Of House Stoat, 191 were killed, and 390 were wounded.
Of House Barleycorn, 239 were made horseless, 584 were killed, and 1691 were wounded.
Fiona didn't look at him as he reported, nor did she say a word. She listened, however, and went on to Castle Barleycorn.
The soldiers of Stoat and Barleycorn claimed the spoils of war. Some of them began looting the bodies of the dead, but Fiona cared little about that. Perhaps it would even be right to say that she even thought that they deserved it.
She was about to speak with Lord Jon II, yet before that she turned and looked over the battlefield from the walls.
...Rone was none of these bodies.
Yet.