Lightstar Family/Yleina/Roleplay 15
First Siege
Yleina waited tensely as the final battle preparations were being made. It was hard to see anything clearly in this wild, pounding rain. At least the sun was on the rise, otherwise they would have been fighting nearly blindly in the stormy darkness. The sky was heavily overcast, but still some light was able to find its way through the grey clouds to the forces arrayed upon the battlefield.
She had donned a Corinthian-styled helmet at the first signs of drenching rain, which helped to keep water out of her eyes. However, the occasional gust of wind blew water directly into her face, which became increasingly annoying as time dragged on slowly. Her men wore similar black helms, although theirs did not sport the dark-green, plumed crest running vertically from the top of the head to the back of the neck that her helmet did.
Yleina was unused to fighting with a helmet; it made her feel claustrophobic and greatly reduced her peripheral vision. In her adventuring days, she had neither worn headgear nor carried a shield, preferring the freedom and versatility of dual-wielding swords. At least her captain did not insist that she wear the same bulky plate mail to which the rest of her special forces unit were accustomed; instead, she was dressed in comfortable studded leathers, dyed black to match her men's armors.
One thing that Lutolf did insist on, though, was that Yleina attach two reinforced steel plates to her bracers for additional defense because he was resigned to the fact that she would not use a shield. She agreed, since siege warfare was conducted in close quarters, a style of fighting with which she had no prior experience. They weighed her arms down slightly, but it was a small price to pay if it would ensure that she could more safely have both hands free to try out her two new daggers.
The girl noticed that all of her men held tower shields, with long swords strapped to their hips. Throwing daggers were nowhere in sight upon their bodies, but she figured that they must be merely hidden within their armors. She asked Captain Lutolf about it because the one time that she saw them training, they had divided into two lines of ten: the front acting as a shield for the back, who threw small daggers with deadly accuracy. Smiling patiently, the man explained to the girl that such tactics were ill-advised for sieges. Instead, the company of the Emerald Daggers would rely on good old longswords and tower shields.
Looking all around, Yleina noticed that everyone was in place now, and her fellow troop leaders had begun giving inspirational speeches to their men. In particular, her eyes lingered on a certain Captain General dressed in golden armor at the front of the line.
A sudden pat on her shoulder snapped the girl out of her reverie, and she turned to see that it was her captain.
"Milady, now's the time when you should say a few words to the boys. Nothing fancy is required, of course. I'm sure anything Milady says will be good for morale." Smiling, he turned to the score of men standing in two rows and called for their attention. "Attention, men! I give you the Lady Lightstar!"
Clearing her throat nervously, Yleina stepped over to face the unit and wondered about what she should be saying. Finally, she decided to just keep it simple and to the point.
"Company of the Emerald Daggers!
"Many of you may be wondering why you were placed under the command of one who has no experience leading men into battle. Perhaps you question my status as a newly recognized noble. I do not blame you in the slightest, if you possess these concerns!
"I have seen you in training, and I was indeed impressed by your outstanding skill. I know in my heart that all of you will prove your valor and courage upon the field of battle, and make me proud to be leading such a fine group of warriors. I only hope that I can do the same for you today, that you will be proud to serve under my command.
"For Aenilia!"
She ended her speech by punching her right arm up and then bringing it down quickly to pound into her chest in salute. Her men followed suit resoundingly in a unison. As she turned to observe the other units on the field, a call from one of the soldiers caught her attention.
"Lady! We have heard of your many exploits in the past, hunting down beasts and ghouls alike! It is WE who are proud and honored to have been chosen by His Grace to serve m'lady!" He dropped down to one knee, keeping his sword arm held across his chest in a prolonged salute. Everyone else immediately followed suit, to the girl's complete surprise.
Yleina smiled and bowed her head in response, acknowledging the praise that she did not feel she entirely deserved, at the moment. Then, a horn sounded from the front of the army--a signal to start the charge.
"Thank you kindly, boys. Now get up and let's start moving, before we miss all the action!"
By the time the Emerald Daggers were ready to move, which only took a ten-count mind you, the Captain General of Aenilia and the Duke of Idapur could be seen racing each other towards the walls of Ozrat, to see who would draw first blood. Yleina could only stare helplessly at the pair of Heroes, one gold and one blue, as they charged on foot, leaving their men struggling to catch up. Of course, it did not help that some of their men were already preoccupied with moving the siege engines into position.
Her heart suddenly felt as if it had leaped up to her throat, as she saw the city's gates open to let out two score of defending infantry intent on intercepting the crazy pair. Then she lost sight of them as they became engulfed by the Ohnarian soldiers. Three heartbeats later, the first line of the Frost Guard and the Legionnaires smashed against the box formation of In Duty to Sasrhas, and the siege of Ozrat began....
Three hours later, panting heavily from the exertion of combat, Yleina stood atop the outer walls of Ozrat and watched silently as the archers of the GreyLegion finally had the good senses to retreat back towards the center of the city. A handful of the Silver Storm infantry chased after them for ten yards before pulling up short and cheering in victory.
She had suffered a minor cut on the upper part of her left arm, and the plate on her right forearm had fallen off shortly after she climbed the walls. Her twin daggers dripped crimson fluid onto the wide ledge adjacent to the battlements. Turning around to look down upon the outer field, Yleina spied Angus down below with his men of The Silver Lining, whose unit had been forced to retreat before the walls were fully taken.
He noticed her and waved in greeting, or perhaps victory, the girl could not clearly tell. In response, Yleina raised both of her daggers high. The sunlight through the clouds alighted upon the two emeralds embedded within the weapons' hilts and caused them to glow a bright green. She heard appreciative murmurs behind her and turned around.
Standing in groups of twos and threes, the survivors of her unit had turned their attention upon their female commander. The soldier who had spoken before on the field after her speech suddenly pumped a fist into the air. Then he began chanting a familiar title attributed to her from a past life of adventuring. "Blade-mistress! Blade-mistress!"
Immediately, the entire company, including the wounded, raised their hands into the air and joined the victorious chant. The poor girl just stood there mutely, blushing ferociously all the while.
(Roleplay from Tharion Frostnova)
"Tharion!" Captain Gottolf bellowed towards the Aenilian General who, as usual, had rushed to the front ranks of the fighting in a determined effort to seemingly win the battle on his own. A change had certainly come over the man in the last few years, heightened no doubt by the loss of his friend, Lord Aerywyn Haerthorne. There was a rashness to his charge and if Gottolf was honest with himself, sometimes he felt as if his commander put himself in harm's way more often than necessary.
He watched as Tharion took the oncoming charge of an enemy, grabbed the man's wrist and with a quick twist sent him hurtling over the fortress walls. At least a half dozen more men took that one's place. Around the golden warrior men of his company continued to fall in the assault. Gottolf had realised that their part in this battle was becoming untenable but he needed to ensure that the General was safely withdrawn from the fight, lest he continue on and find himself without support. He yelled Tharion's name again as he fought his way through the crush.
Tharion could hear the repeated calling of his name and during a brief respite he located the origin. At the same time he was aware of the casualties that were mounting around him. The attack was testing the defenders but on the ground he counted at least two dozen of his own men with wounds that left no question as to the fatality of their demise. He heard his name again but ignored it and plunged back into the fighting, his hammer leaving no one to doubt the accuracy of it's naming.
"Fall back Frost Guard!" Too many of his men lay dead and the enemy had forced them back to take what cover was available in the siege towers. The closest men began to withdraw while the order continued to make its way through the ranks. As he watched, the golden form of his General appeared in view, the man trying to fight his way forwards but it was obvious that before long he would be isolated and taken down by the enemy.
Gottolf ran forward, an arrow whistling dangerously close to his head. "Damn it Tharion, you're no use to any of us as a corpse!" Gottolf breathed a sigh of relief as he watched the General parry a number of blows before unleashing a wide sweep of his hammer, buying himself the room to calmly back away from the fighting. "Thank the Aenil for that."
(Roleplay from Angus MacCrae)
Hah! First over the walls does have some drawbacks eh?
I need to tell my men standing tall point blank in front of an archer unit isn't the best tactic, however brave it is. At least I shook some rust off my swordplay.
The battle lasted for 3 hours.
You have gained 3 Honour and 3 Prestige.
You have improved your swordfighting skill.
5 of your men were killed and 7 were wounded in this battle.
Your unit gains 17 points of Morale. Your men's equipment suffers 20 % damage. Combat training increases by 1 points. Unit cohesion rises 3 points.
