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

Wed Mar 24 04:17:02 PDT 2010

I'm not on the Ansteorran list, but  I would gladly allow Sir Caladin the use of the story.  Please feel free to forward it on.

YIS Gassion

> Date: Tue, 23 Mar 2010 15:48:34 -0500
> From: gilyanclonmacnoise at gmail.com
> To: northkeep at lists.ansteorra.org
> Subject: Re: [Northkeep] A little news for Ian, the poor little guy...
> 
> 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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> > Northkeep at lists.ansteorra.org
> > http://lists.ansteorra.org/listinfo.cgi/northkeep-ansteorra.org
> >
> 
> 
> 
> -- 
> "The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing." - Walt Disney
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