[Northkeep] A little news for Ian, the poor little guy...

[Gilyan Clonmacnoise]

Gassion, this is a great retelling of the war!

You should forward this to the Ansteorra list. Sir Caladin, the General, is
looking for stories and synopsis of the battles. I think he, and many other
people, would enjoy reading this as much as I did.  :)

Gilyan



On Tue, Mar 23, 2010 at 11:36 AM, Gassion <
gassion_de_beaumarchais at hotmail.com> wrote:

>
>        Delesse, Ethan & I arrived on site the day before the Armoured
> ravine battle.  A good thing since I needed gauntlets in order to fight.
> So, shopping we went.  I picked up a set of clamshells that were
> over-priced
> but well made of spring steel.  The more I use them the better I like them.
> Later that evening I received a Sable Talon, from back in November.  HM
> Owen
> gave me a good talking to about leaving site before court.  I'm honored
> that
> someone thought so much of me to make such a recommendation to the Crown,
> whoever you are you have my thanks.
>
>        For the Armoured ravine battle, and indeed all of the armoured war
> point battles, I participated as a guard for HRH.  HE Facon, and up to four
> other gents did our very best to protect the future Queen of Ansteorra.
> Early in the battle it was quite obvious that it would be a challenge, as
> she enjoys being up close and moves often.  In our initial contact, several
> enemy made a push in our the line just to our front.  One soldier managed
> to
> get tied up with the honor guard to my left, I feel sorry for him that he
> forgot I was there...  I'm glad my time away did not diminish my capacity
> or
> desire to strike down our foes.  Bolts and arrows were the tool of the day.
> They littered the field, almost to the point of being a hazard.  In the
> end,
> HRH was felled once by a bolt from our north flank. Each time she exhausted
> her supply of bolts she made a declaration for her guard to join in the fun
> and strike as many enemy down as we could.  And so it was done...  At some
> point Delesse was watching and mentioned my position on the field to
> another
> Lady, also watch form the sidelines.  As she pointed me out a Trimarian
> attempted to push through our line, only to be struck fendente from my
> blade.  To hear her side of it, it was a perfect blow that forced the enemy
> to the ground.  From my perspective, no single moment stands out, a sure
> sign that glory was in the air and in abundance.
>
>        The rapier field battle was next.  We began on the forest side,
> facing what seemed to be near even odds.  The non-white scarf warriors of
> our army were graced by HRH with wearing a favor of a cast war pony.  The
> commanders had a plan and devoted the army to carrying it out.  We formed a
> single line, encompassing the whole of the fields width.  Our enemy broke
> their line into three equal formations, West, center, and East.  The battle
> began and we moved forward in-line.  The enemy center and East flank
> formations made for our East flank, we maintained our lines.  Much of the
> enemies West flank were diminished by the time our East flank enveloped
> them. The "Anvil" that was Ansteorra held as the "Hammer" of our allies
> pounded the enemy into dust.  Why fix that which isn't broken...?  For the
> second rapier field battle we took the same approach, with a similar
> outcome.  Victory, and a whole war point to Ansteorra was gained in those
> two battles.  Yet the fun was not to end there, we conducted a third rapier
> field battle.  It took two losses for our enemies to learn how to counter
> our tactics.  Counter they did, and secured success in the third battle.
>
>        Weary after the days events, we retired to camp to enjoy the fire,
> food, and friends.  Bottles were passed, glory re-told, and bonds
> strengthened.  But, early was to be the cry for our defenses to be gathered
> for the Armoured Field battle to following day, thus early to bed was the
> motto for the night, at least for myself.
>
>        The first Armoured field battle felt much like the rapier field
> battle, how easy it seemed we managed victory.  Among the Princess's Guard,
> two remained alive to the end as did HRH.  Many enemy lay dead as our
> Princess stole their lives and captured our hearts with her skill at the
> crossbow.  We marched up and down the lines at will, striking down the
> enemy
> as they closed.  An angle of the archers at our backs, seemingly defending
> us instead of the other way around.  In the second Armoured field battle,
> we
> were the ones enveloped.  HRH and the Honor Guard were among the last to
> fall.  I distinctly recall the feel of the blow I rendered to an
> approaching
> shield man and his salute... a salute I should not have returned, as it was
> the opening a spearman used to strike me in the face.  Yet, this defeat was
> not to be in our thoughts for long.  The deciding Armoured Field battle
> brought victory once again to Ansteorra and her allies.  Again we turned
> the
> enemies flanks and pushed them, at times to the brink of the field.  Our
> Princess, her guard and as few as two dozen other Ansteorran's and allies
> eventually defeated similar numbers of the remaining enemy.  We did so by
> forming as large of a unit as we could and engaging the enemy in smaller
> numbers as we crossed from the Northeast side of the field to the
> Southwest.
> HRH was honored with an award for her skill on the field following the
> battle.  But no time was granted to reflect on that glory as we soon
> mustered for the Rapier Ravine battle.
>
>        The rapier Ravine battle was a blur of activity initially.  Small
> units were selected to charge beyond and hold critical terrain while the
> remainder of our forces advanced to the three objectives.  The enemy were
> persistent but were unable to dislodge our hold on the objectives for more
> than a few moments at a time.
>
>        By the end of the days battles I grew weary & hungry, yet somehow
> energized for the night to come. At camp, our Prince approached with very
> kind words.  His tone is always that of a thoughtful man speaking to a good
> friend.  At first I thought he was there to ask a favor.  I was honored
> when
> it became apparent his words were for me, I felt the need to neal...  As he
> thanked me for  the service of guarding the Crown Princess he gave a token
> of his colors to wear.  A badge I excepted and will think of fondly.  I
> both
> look forward to their reign and regret that I will miss it.  The remainder
> of the night, we caught up with old friends from all the Kingdoms we have
> been blessed to live in.  The beer was grand, thick, and dark.  The scotch
> smooth.  The friendships rekindled.  Many days I wonder how it is we became
> so lucky, others I regret not being able to be there at those most
> important
> times.  Delesse and I both look forward to the time when we can enjoy being
> part of a community on a permanent basis.
>
>        There is one last battle to write on...  I'll save that for others
> to share.  In all, leaving one war to attend another was well worth the
> travel and expense.  We hope next year will bring us back.
>
> Gassion
>
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>



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