Battle of Griffindor BridgeA Brief Account of the Battle of Griffindor BridgeBy Squire Aeston Stromgate Written by request of Sir Lucas Harkon For Study and Consideration in the discipline of Military History For Submission into the Record Archives of the Country of Chimeron Written During the Month of March in the 2001st Year of Leviathan The first thing that is important to understand is the geography of Griffindor. Perhaps the most notable feature is the large stone wall that surrounds the area of land this battle takes place in. This wall is five miles in each direction, and thereby encloses 25 square miles of land. The wall is twenty feet high, made of one solid piece of granite, and wide enough for 3 people to stand abreast on it's top. There is a gated doorway on each side of the wall. Lake Griffindor is completely inside the walls. Almost stretching the entire North-South distance of the walls, it is a huge body of water. At its skinniest point, a huge bridge has been constructed for the easy passage of troops and trade. This bridge is a key point in the battle. Fort Griffindor stands in the middle of the crossroads. The construction of it was newly finished when the battle began. The initial scouts reported the enemy army coming from the West. A handful of Draconians and several hundred Formori marching towards our West wall. Further investigation into their capabilities showed that they had countless other Formori waiting in the umbra. Formori were weak creatures, like Kobolds, luckily. The Draconians� had many magicks at their disposal, and I did not know the full extent of their power until it was upon us. Also with them was a Jannok.. an umbral creature after �Skein�. Twenty miles of wall was simply too much to garrison. I knew that if we were spread too thin we would not have a chance of defeating a large army, so I decided we would set up our defense at the West wall. Archers were deployed on the wall as well were some newly made siege machinery. Squads of the �Heroes� were set up inside the wall to deal with different threats. The Front Line Squad was to hold the gate. Zeek�s Squad was to protect �Skein� and deal with the Draconians and the �hunter� when the time came. Rouge Squad, largely made up of female fighters, was set up to squish any Draconians that showed up. The healing squad was set up and protected close to the front lines. Sir Pyr and several McKryes sat at the head of 75 Eagle�s Rook Calvary, hidden around the North wall, and ready to make a full and devastating charge on enemy forces. The four hundred-reserve infantry and sailors that Prince Morgal brought were set up at Fort Griffindor, ready to march where they were needed. I knew the enemy was going to do something tricky, and I knew we would have to be flexible to deal with them. I was right. Of course, the army did not attack from the West. It was not long until scouts reported the Formori at the eastern wall and gate. It was a matter of some time before they could breach the walls and move on our position. Horns sounded from all directions when the Formori attacked, and between that and the Formori coming from the east, I knew that these umbral beasts were capable of gating in anywhere, and any direction. We would need a place we could more easily defend. The bridge seemed like a suitable choice. I moved the healing squad and Zeek�s Squad to the center of the bridge. The reserve infantry moved to both sides of it, and the rest of the squads moved to support them. Fighting on the bridge would mean we would have to face the Formori from 2 directions. And that was a lot better than the alternative of being surrounded by them. Before too long, the Formori from the east got through the wall. They destroyed everything in their path, including the fort, then stopped, as strange magicks made giants out of the snow. They were delayed there for some time as these beasts made huge stone boulders to throw at us. At this point Prince Morgil cast a DI to remove all the snow from within the walls. The DI didn�t work, however. Then, it seemed, a great deal of things began to happen all at once. A wave of Formori appeared to both the South and the West. More important than that, Zeek was able to reveal that the Draconian mage, one of our primary targets, was in the Woods to the East. The Archers that remained on the West wall were able to hold off the Formori. I ordered the Calvary, still hiding to the North, to make their charge and destroy the Formori there. I split Rouge Squad in half, and sent the Alpha squadron toward the location where we believed the mage to be. In the meantime, the battle was joined between the Eastern Formori and our front line. The snow boulders took their toll, but we were able to hold our ground and inflict deep wounds on the enemy force. Our fight would not be a short one there. As we fought, the Formori from the south breached the gate and went to join their brethren to the East. The Calvary all but obliterated the Western Formori. What they left the archers soon picked off. The Western gate was opened so the Calvary can come through and join the battle to the East. They were ordered to go around the South of the lake, and make an attack on the Formori coming in from that direction. With the help of Zeek, Rouge Squad Alpha makes it to the last known site of the Draconian mage very quickly. They fond her, but were caught in one of her spells as she made her escape. The squad escaped from the tentacles of snow that held them and, they begin to give chase. Unfortunately, the mage had led them into a trap. The majority of the squad was caught inside a vacuum as the mage got clear away. We would not see her again until later in the battle. The battle continued to be waged at the East Bridge. The magic misslers on the Front Line Squad began to target the incoming snow boulders, and greatly neutralized their danger. All the while the fight between soldier and Formori raged on. It was at this point that Zeek�s spell revealed there was perhaps a Draconian beyond the West wall, and near the fort. Catapults were ordered to fire on their supposed position. Suddenly, and to the great surprise of both sides of the battle, a huge stone griffin took to the air and began attacking the snow giants. Zeek had formed the beast out of the pieces of the wall to Griffindor that had been blown off by the enemy�s attacks. This had changed the odds a great deal. The giants no longer a threat, I ordered the forces on the East of the bridge to begin an advance toward the enemy. Likewise, I ordered the Calvary to stop their advance close to the position of where our fight will be, and to charge through once the battle is joined. Sir Avendar, at the head of two hundred more Gwenethlin troops, had gated in to the North of combat. He began to organize his men and get ready to march. When his forces were ready we simultaneously marched on the enemy troops, just as the Southern Formori reinforced the enemy. After several hours of heavy fighting, and hundreds upon hundreds of dead Formori in our wake, the remaining enemies began to retreat. Just as they did so, a gate opened, and hundreds more Formori joined their ranks. As we fought, the Griffin was able to destroy three of the four giants, and arrows had seriously wounded the fourth. The griffin, itself, had been badly beat up, but it was still in good shape. A powerful ally it was, but, as it fought with the fourth giant, the enemy corrupted it to attack us. Soon it was looming over our heads, and ready to cause some major disaster to our forces. As this went on, Rouge Squad escaped the trap they were in, and began to head back towards the main battle. As the new Formori army reinforced the old, we took the opportunity to heal our forces. We were back to almost full strength by the time the next attack began. The waves of new Formori came towards our force, but we were at almost full strength thanks to our healing squads, and the Calvary was ready to attack. The returning Rouge Squad Alpha joined the attack from the North and through our combined forces we are able to destroy 3/4 of the enemy with minimal losses. At this point, Morgil�s DI had it�s effect, and the snow melted. taking the last giant with it. As the now amuck Griffin loomed over our heads, Zeek used the mystical �Meg� stone to somehow put The Queen�s consciousness inside the Griffin. The Queen had more-or-less complete control over her actions, and we were spared disaster from an enemy we would have trouble defeating. Suddenly, from near the bridge a Draconian appeared and a spell was cast. 800 Formori rose as undead behind us. At the same time, another gate opened, and hundreds more Formori poured out to reinforce the ones we were fighting. From the East a horn rang out. Kinstal had arrived with reinforcements from Chimeron. Four hundred militia, four hundred infantry, and one hundred Calvary to aid our cause. I ordered Avendar�s forces to attack the undead Formori from the North, and the Calvary to pull out of combat and attack the undead from the South. In the melee, Rouge Squad Alpha was to meet Rouge Squad Beta and the Meg-Griffin at the Eastern entrance to the bridge. There they would prevent the Formori from advancing and smite the Draconian should she reveal herself. My troops were poised in-between the New groups of Formori and the Undead. We would leave the undead up to the Calvary and Avendar, and attack the fresh troops. The Chimeron Calvary was to assist us by attacking the enemy from the North, and the foot soldiers were to begin a march toward our position, hoping to hit the enemy troop from behind. The plan was successful. Preoccupied with keeping the undead forces moving, the mage was unable to prevent herself from being destroyed by the Meg-griffin. Due to our devastating attack and the death of the mage, only 10% of the undead remained. The attack by the reinforced Formori hit my troops hard, bringing us down to 45% of our total number. The healing squad remained safe thanks to our shielding, and with reinforcements from Kinstal�s and Avendar�s forces, the live Formori were reduced to 10% of their total number. At that very moment the Jannok appeared to attack �Skein� The Jannok struck �Skein� down, but �she� was raised immediately. As the rest of Zeek�s squad ran interference, �Skein� banished the beast in an explosion of blood and sulfur. On the battlefield, I called a retreat for my squad, and had Avendar and Kinstal�s groups continue the attack on the group of living Formori. Likewise, Pyr�s Calvary unit and the Meg-griffin destroyed the rest of the undead as they attempted to get to the bridge. As my unit was healing itself, the living Formori staged a massive retreat, and took up a garrison inside what was left of Fort Griffindor. Some three to four-hundred remained. I suspected a trap, and I was not about to send any troops foolishly rushing into their defenses. I called for the rest of the troops on the battlefield, and we set up a siege around the remains of the fort. Rouge Squad gathered up the troops that were previously on the West side of the bridge, who hadn�t seen any action yet, and had them march to the East side of the Fort. After my troops were up to full strength, we took up the West side of the Fort. Pyr�s Calvary stood to the South, and behind then, Kinstal�s force of Chimeron foot soldiers. To the North was the Chimeron Calvary, now commanded by Wil, and behind them, Avendar with the rest of the soldiers from Gwenethlin. It took some time to get the siege machines there from the Western wall, but by evening we they were there, and we were ready for a fight. In the meantime, The Queen was returned to her own body. We began the assault with a steady hail of boulders and arrows. This succeeded in increasing the damage to the fort, and lessening the enemy�s numbers. By the time our ammo was beginning to run out, their group had taken 25% casualties. I ordered the archers to stop firing, to save ammunition. The rest of the boulders were thrown, and I ordered Rouge Squad to begin an assault on the fort under the cover-fire of archers from the North, South, and East. It was a long and hard battle, and we took many casualties. I sent the troops in as waves, and then in smaller parties to clean up what was left of the Formori. No Draconians ever revealed themselves, and Zeek suggested they fled when they realized they couldn�t win. The day was our, the battle won. Pathos will no doubt try again another day, but for now, we can look with pride upon a great victory. |
Created by Aeston Stromgate (Jason Rosa) at 12-18-06 11:13 PM
Last Modified by Aeston Stromgate (Jason Rosa) at 01-14-08 04:09 PM