Post by TheCalmOne on Jan 13, 2018 4:25:55 GMT
Alendron Expeditionary Force, Rjillund, 1994 YoA
Arradel Agathos awakened to the sound of rain and thunder. Groaning slightly, she shifted uncomfortably in her cot until she lay on her back, with her face pointing upwards towards the officer's tent that she had called home for the past month. She took a few breaths, inhaling deeply and exhaling slowly, trying to will herself back to sleep. In the darkness, she could just barely make out the outlines of other officers sleeping fitfully in their own cots, with the occasional toss and turn signifying their discomfort.
The tent's ceiling flashed a brilliant white, and a thunderous roar soon followed suit. It didn't seem like she was going to be able to return to sleep anytime soon.
"Damn," Arradel muttered under her breath. Quietly standing, so as to not disturb the sleep of those around her, she grabbed her sword and donned her cloak. She had enjoyed taking walks at night during her youth, it always had helped relieve her of stress and other worries. She hoped it would do the same now.
Thus, despite the terrible weather and the dark of night, she ventured out of the relative warmth of the officer's tent. It was dark - the silver light of the moon was mostly blocked out by the storm clouds - but Arradel's eyes quickly adjusted. Soon enough, she was able to make out the now-familiar silhouette of the Rjillish fortress as well as the long lines of trenches that surrounded it.
Wrapping her cloak tightly around her, she headed for the nearest trench. She knew as she walked closer to the camp, the tents she would walk past would be occupied by more enlisted men and less officers. It was almost relieving. Perhaps it was due to her relatively unique upbringing as an Elari noble, but she had always had a respect for the common soldiers that many of her fellow officers didn't. They were, after all, the ones dying on the battlefield trying to follow her orders, and she felt a sort of responsibility as well as kinship with them.
She stopped as she reached the trench. There was a lone sentry in it, miserably huddled under a make-shift wooden roof to in a desperate attempt to stay warm and dry. He was failing, of course. Despite this, he stood and snapped to attention as soon as he noticed Arradel standing above him. She recognized him as a part of the Golden Legion from the barely visible golden gleam of his armor. So he was one of her's, then. A gleam of recognition in his eyes confirmed that he was, indeed, a member of the Golden Legion, the mercenary company that she had been given responsibility of, in addition to a small contingent of Alendron regulars.
"Sir," he addressed Arradel, "wasn' aware tha' there would be an inspec'shon." He had an accent that she couldn't quite place.
"No worries, this isn't an inspection." Arradel replied. She swiftly hopped down into the trench to join him under his wooden roof. "I... decided that I needed to take a walk."
He looked at her for a second, then blinked.
"You decided to take a walk..." he vaguely gestured around him, "In this weather? I'm not too sure tha' was the best idea."
The commander smirked,
"Yeah, well. I couldn't really think of anything be-"
The blinding light of lightning and the following clap of thunder - deafening to her ears - interrupted her response. In the distance, she could hear a few well-worded curses coming from men who had been woken up by the-
Wait a minute.
The sound of thunder hadn't stopped. In fact...
It was getting louder.
Arradel looked towards the sentry, who had his eyes scrunched up in confusion.
The sound of thunder got louder.
Oh, shit.
Arradel quickly sprung into action, grabbing the nearby bell post and ringing it with all her strength. The sentry, catching on quickly, took over and continued ringing the alert. Arradel climbed out of the trench and rushed into the mass of tents that sat nearby.
"ENEMY ATTACK, ENEMY ATTACK," She screamed at the top of her lungs. Luckily, many had been woken up by the previous sound of thunder, and rushed out - albeit groggy, undressed, and disorganized. Arradel thought quickly. The force was likely to consist of the remainder of the Rjillish cavalry that remained in the fortress. The siege had caught the defenders unaware, and their supplies must have been running somewhat low by now. They would be making a desperate attempt to break the encirclement and secure reinforcements for the outnumbered defenders.
She would need spears. Armor would take too long for the men to put on at this point - and wouldn't really do much to defend against the lances of a Rjillish knight at full speed. Rushing to a nearby weapon stand, she grabbed an armful of spears and shoved them into the arms of a nearby sergeant. She spoke to him quickly,
"Get the men spears. No need for armor. Have them form up behind the trenches." She started sprinting away as the now awake sergeant nodded, "Spread the word!"
She continued this until she found herself back at the trench. Luckily for her, the men, despite having just woken up, were disciplined and had gathered quickly. There were already twenty or so lined up in formation, spears at the ready - and more were arriving. In the distance, along the trenches, more and more bells started to clang. The Alendronian army was awake and mobilizing.
More and more men, in different stages of dress, joined the spear wall that lined just behind the trench until there was a two-man deep and forty-man wide formation of infantry. Two dozen or so archers had also joined them by this time, placing themselves in a safe location behind the spears - some still placing their arrows into their quivers and stringing their bows. It was a mess, but they would be prepared in time. The mud, combined with the stakes and caltrops that littered the battlefield, would slow the enemy's momentum enough that a spear wall behind a trench would hopefully be enough to stop them long enough for more men to arrive.
The thundering of hoofs got louder.
And louder.
And even louder.
Then the Rjillish were upon them. Knights in gleaming armor suddenly became visible in the dark of the rain and night and stormed towards the Alendronian shield wall. There were maybe fifty or so, almost a sixth of the General Iudicael's estimated number of Rjillish defenders still alive in the fortress. Despite the obstacles and mud, they were still in a perfect wedge formation as they were funneled by stakes and caltrops towards the Alendronian spear wall.
The Alendronian archers drew and loosed, and the screams of horses and men sounded out, signaling the start of the battle. For a few seconds, it appeared as if the spear wall wouldn't hold long enough, but Arradel sighed in relief as more Alendronians - fully armed and armored - formed up by her side, just behind the current line of combat. Then the spear wall buckled and the first Rjillish knight made it through. A second followed close after, and soon enough a brawl ensued.
Soon enough, the battle was over. She and the men who had responded to her warnings had held long enough for the rest of the camp around her to mobilize and join the fight. Fifty-three Rjillish knights lay dead on the battlefield, alongside the bodies of fourty-six Alendronian infantrymen. Arradel herself, having participated in the combat, nursed a deep cut running the down the length of her left arm. She sat on the ground as a medic attended to it, applying some sort of ointment and wrapping her entire arm in a bandage.
She wasn't sure when he finished, because before she knew it, she fell asleep.
Arradel Agathos awakened to the sound of rain and thunder. Groaning slightly, she shifted uncomfortably in her cot until she lay on her back, with her face pointing upwards towards the officer's tent that she had called home for the past month. She took a few breaths, inhaling deeply and exhaling slowly, trying to will herself back to sleep. In the darkness, she could just barely make out the outlines of other officers sleeping fitfully in their own cots, with the occasional toss and turn signifying their discomfort.
The tent's ceiling flashed a brilliant white, and a thunderous roar soon followed suit. It didn't seem like she was going to be able to return to sleep anytime soon.
"Damn," Arradel muttered under her breath. Quietly standing, so as to not disturb the sleep of those around her, she grabbed her sword and donned her cloak. She had enjoyed taking walks at night during her youth, it always had helped relieve her of stress and other worries. She hoped it would do the same now.
Thus, despite the terrible weather and the dark of night, she ventured out of the relative warmth of the officer's tent. It was dark - the silver light of the moon was mostly blocked out by the storm clouds - but Arradel's eyes quickly adjusted. Soon enough, she was able to make out the now-familiar silhouette of the Rjillish fortress as well as the long lines of trenches that surrounded it.
Wrapping her cloak tightly around her, she headed for the nearest trench. She knew as she walked closer to the camp, the tents she would walk past would be occupied by more enlisted men and less officers. It was almost relieving. Perhaps it was due to her relatively unique upbringing as an Elari noble, but she had always had a respect for the common soldiers that many of her fellow officers didn't. They were, after all, the ones dying on the battlefield trying to follow her orders, and she felt a sort of responsibility as well as kinship with them.
She stopped as she reached the trench. There was a lone sentry in it, miserably huddled under a make-shift wooden roof to in a desperate attempt to stay warm and dry. He was failing, of course. Despite this, he stood and snapped to attention as soon as he noticed Arradel standing above him. She recognized him as a part of the Golden Legion from the barely visible golden gleam of his armor. So he was one of her's, then. A gleam of recognition in his eyes confirmed that he was, indeed, a member of the Golden Legion, the mercenary company that she had been given responsibility of, in addition to a small contingent of Alendron regulars.
"Sir," he addressed Arradel, "wasn' aware tha' there would be an inspec'shon." He had an accent that she couldn't quite place.
"No worries, this isn't an inspection." Arradel replied. She swiftly hopped down into the trench to join him under his wooden roof. "I... decided that I needed to take a walk."
He looked at her for a second, then blinked.
"You decided to take a walk..." he vaguely gestured around him, "In this weather? I'm not too sure tha' was the best idea."
The commander smirked,
"Yeah, well. I couldn't really think of anything be-"
The blinding light of lightning and the following clap of thunder - deafening to her ears - interrupted her response. In the distance, she could hear a few well-worded curses coming from men who had been woken up by the-
Wait a minute.
The sound of thunder hadn't stopped. In fact...
It was getting louder.
Arradel looked towards the sentry, who had his eyes scrunched up in confusion.
The sound of thunder got louder.
Oh, shit.
Arradel quickly sprung into action, grabbing the nearby bell post and ringing it with all her strength. The sentry, catching on quickly, took over and continued ringing the alert. Arradel climbed out of the trench and rushed into the mass of tents that sat nearby.
"ENEMY ATTACK, ENEMY ATTACK," She screamed at the top of her lungs. Luckily, many had been woken up by the previous sound of thunder, and rushed out - albeit groggy, undressed, and disorganized. Arradel thought quickly. The force was likely to consist of the remainder of the Rjillish cavalry that remained in the fortress. The siege had caught the defenders unaware, and their supplies must have been running somewhat low by now. They would be making a desperate attempt to break the encirclement and secure reinforcements for the outnumbered defenders.
She would need spears. Armor would take too long for the men to put on at this point - and wouldn't really do much to defend against the lances of a Rjillish knight at full speed. Rushing to a nearby weapon stand, she grabbed an armful of spears and shoved them into the arms of a nearby sergeant. She spoke to him quickly,
"Get the men spears. No need for armor. Have them form up behind the trenches." She started sprinting away as the now awake sergeant nodded, "Spread the word!"
She continued this until she found herself back at the trench. Luckily for her, the men, despite having just woken up, were disciplined and had gathered quickly. There were already twenty or so lined up in formation, spears at the ready - and more were arriving. In the distance, along the trenches, more and more bells started to clang. The Alendronian army was awake and mobilizing.
More and more men, in different stages of dress, joined the spear wall that lined just behind the trench until there was a two-man deep and forty-man wide formation of infantry. Two dozen or so archers had also joined them by this time, placing themselves in a safe location behind the spears - some still placing their arrows into their quivers and stringing their bows. It was a mess, but they would be prepared in time. The mud, combined with the stakes and caltrops that littered the battlefield, would slow the enemy's momentum enough that a spear wall behind a trench would hopefully be enough to stop them long enough for more men to arrive.
The thundering of hoofs got louder.
And louder.
And even louder.
Then the Rjillish were upon them. Knights in gleaming armor suddenly became visible in the dark of the rain and night and stormed towards the Alendronian shield wall. There were maybe fifty or so, almost a sixth of the General Iudicael's estimated number of Rjillish defenders still alive in the fortress. Despite the obstacles and mud, they were still in a perfect wedge formation as they were funneled by stakes and caltrops towards the Alendronian spear wall.
The Alendronian archers drew and loosed, and the screams of horses and men sounded out, signaling the start of the battle. For a few seconds, it appeared as if the spear wall wouldn't hold long enough, but Arradel sighed in relief as more Alendronians - fully armed and armored - formed up by her side, just behind the current line of combat. Then the spear wall buckled and the first Rjillish knight made it through. A second followed close after, and soon enough a brawl ensued.
Soon enough, the battle was over. She and the men who had responded to her warnings had held long enough for the rest of the camp around her to mobilize and join the fight. Fifty-three Rjillish knights lay dead on the battlefield, alongside the bodies of fourty-six Alendronian infantrymen. Arradel herself, having participated in the combat, nursed a deep cut running the down the length of her left arm. She sat on the ground as a medic attended to it, applying some sort of ointment and wrapping her entire arm in a bandage.
She wasn't sure when he finished, because before she knew it, she fell asleep.