[b][u]Battle of Ralda[/u][/b]

“Get the westhold militia outfitted with whatever weaponry you can” Godwyn barked at his quartermaster “and hurry we don’t have much time”.

“But my lord we don’t have enough weaponry or armour to outfit them all and what I do have left is either broken or rusted” The quartermaster was clearly flustered. He had been given the impossible task of outfitting twenty eight thousand militia in the space of less than a month. For the past fortnight men and women from all over Ralda had been flooding into the capital of Fishgrove. The town port was too small to accommodate everyone and the army had assembled outside the towns palisade wall. The military camp was larger than the town itself.

“Then get the blacksmith’s to repair it as best they can” Godwyn replied “And scrounge up whatever you can for whoever is left”

“I will try my best, but I’m telling you some of these poor bastards are going to fighting with pitchforks and clubs”

Godwyn sighed “just do what you can” he responded before turning round and mounting his horse. He gave his horse a sharp kick before riding through the encampment. Godwyn’s was brawny man with dark eyes and brown curly hair. Moral was low, Godwyn could tell just by looking. Though the professional soldiers and knights were well suited for battle the same could not be said for the Militia. Most of them were only armed with either a spear and a small rounded wooden shield or a hunting bow. Some of the luckier ones possessed a leather cuirass, but most were without armour. However their poor equipment was not their only disadvantage; Ralda’s militia force had no formal training. Most of them had never even held a spear until a few weeks ago.

“How goes the preparation” The voice had come from behind Godwyn and as he turned round he saw that it had been his sister Dilys who had spoken and she was currently riding towards him. She was a small and dainty woman with blond hair and green eyes. Alongside her rode Godwyn’s Brother Ian; a man of medium height with a handsome face and striking green eyes

“As well as can be expected” Godwyn said glumly “truth be told me should have left Ralda and joined up with the rest of the Manshrew alliance while we had the chance”

“It’s too late for that now” Said Dilys “Besides, father will never abandon Ralda, regardless of our situation”

“You two are too pessimistic” countered Ian “We still outnumber house Anjervine and have the advantage of Fishgrove’s defences” he replied confidently. Ian was an idealistic man who had led a rather sheltered life. Unlike his brother and sister he was still blissfully unware of the hardships that life had to offer.

“A pessimist is simply what an optimist calls a realist” Godwyn replied sternly “Even if we win the causalities will be severe” Ian opened his mouth to protest but a glace from Dilys quickly silenced him. Godwyn turned to face his sister “Where is father”?

“He is atop the palisade” Dilys replied “despite wanting to join the soldiers on the battlefield I convinced him that with his leg he would only be a hindrance to them, from the palisade he can inspire the troops without getting in their way” Godwyn eyes widened as if his sister had just performed a miracle

“You actually managed to make father change his mind, I’m impressed”

“The last thing he would want to be is a burden” Dilys responded “he may be stubborn but he isn’t foolish. Besides his-” Dilys was cut off by the sight of a rider galloping at full speed towards them. She identified the man as a member of a scouting patrol she had sent out yesterday. Both confusion and fear gripped her mind; where was the rest of his patrol and why was he back so soon? As he got closer to them, there was a clear look of panic on his face.

“My lord” he cried out as he rode up beside them, he was out of breath and exhausted. Godwyn was the first to reply, there was a look of concern on his face.

“Calm down and catch your breath, what has happened? Why are you back so soon? Where is the rest of your patrol”? The three siblings waited for the scout to catch his breath before listening carefully to his response.

“My lord, the Imperial concord’s army is only a day’s march away, my patrol was spotted and hunted by their trackers. I managed to lose my pursuers, the other scouts were not so lucky” He said remorsefully. Shock grasped the three siblings at this revelation

“How did they get so close so quickly” cried Ian “How could an army cover so much land in so little time”

“That’s not all my lord” Said the scout “It is not just house Anjervine, the entire host of House Greensworth has joined them as well. We are greatly outnumbered”

_____________

Alicja stood in the middle of Fishgrove’s church. The church, like all the buildings in Fishgrove, was made of a mixture of birch and oak wood. The sides of the church had large glass windows, allowing the sunlight from outside to fill the room. Most of the furniture had been removed to make room for the make shift hospital that Alicja had been preparing. The only original furniture that remained was the stone alter which had been too heavy for anyone to carry. The church had been filled with improvised beds made from linen and various potions and medical supplies. Asides from Alicja there were three other people in the church. Two of them were members of the Church; a priest and a church sister. The other person was Alicja’s childhood friend Christian, a servant who had been working in the Mazeltof household since he was a child; they were roughly the same age. Christian was a tall man with short blond hair. This was in stark contrast to Alicja who was of medium height with long brown wavy hair and green eyes. However like Christian Alicja had little talent for fighting and her skills were with healing people rather than killing them. Yet like the rest of her family she was going to put her skills to use for the upcoming battle.

“Do we have enough Yarrow”? Alicja asked as she continued to pace up and down the central aisle 

“We only have what you brought in last week” Christian replied

“That’s not enough” Alicja sighed “Once the fighting is over we will have hundreds of people to treat and a handful of herbs I collected for fun isn’t going to help them” Alicja said as she continued to pace, the stress of having to find enough supplies for the aftermath of the battle had started to set in.

“I could take a quick trip into the countryside and collect the ingredients I need. It’s not far I could be back in less than two days”

“Impossible” A voice from the opened chapel door caught her attention as both Alicja and Christian swivelled round to see who had spoken. The source of the voice was Alicja’s younger sister Pearl Mazeltof. She was younger than Alicja by three years and had short brown hair which matched her brown eyes. She was currently wearing a leather cuirass with linen trousers. By her side hung her sword; a long rapier that she had named ‘Nightfall’.

“Father has forbidden any of us to leave Fishgrove until the enemy has left our land. If they were to capture us then House Anjervine would gain a valuable hostage” She said as she closed the church doors behind her

“And how many people will succumb to their injuries if we do nothing at all” Alicja answered defiantly, she would not be deterred so easily.

“Well you could try your best to leave without father knowing” Pearl said with a smile as she started to walk toward Alicja “all you would have to do is sneak past 40,000 soldiers without any of them noticing you, sounds easy enough” she finished with a smirk. Alicja looked away in annoyance, she knew Pearl was right.

“I assume you are here for a reason?” Alicja said

“I just came in to let you know that you may want to light the candles in here, there are dark rain clouds heading this way and the outside light isn’t going to last much longer”. As Pearl finished a man burst through the entrance leaving the double wooden doors wide open. The priest spoke out in protest at the way the man had so violently entered a place of peace and worship; however the man ignored him as he made his way towards Alicja and Pearl, both of them immediately turned to face him.
“My ladies, I bring grave news. Both house Greensworth and House Anjervine's forces are less than a day’s march away”.

____________________________

Dusk had fallen over Ralda and the rain had finally set in. As soon as Godwyn had found out how close the Imperial concord’s forces were he had immediately set about preparing his army: The encampment had been taken down, though there had been little time and various tents and supplies still scattered the terrain. Godwyn and Dilys were with the knights in the vanguard. The knights of Ralda were the best soldiers that the Mazeltof forces had to offer and had been placed at the center front of the army. They were in full plate and were armed with steel longswords and a small kite shield. The soldiers made up the rest of the front lines and were armed in full chain mail with an iron chestplate and helmet. They were armed with a variety of weapons, most carrying a large kite shield and a spear with either a sword or hand axe at their side. Behind the soldiers and knights were the militia. It was clear that the sudden news of the impending army had lowered their moral. Many of them were not even standing in straight lines and their entire formation was a mess. They stood in front of Fishgrove’s wooden palisade. Both archers and mages stood atop the wall giving them a good vantage point and protecting them from the risk of close combat.  The archers were mostly made up of militia who had been lucky enough to have been given a bow. The Imperial concords forces had been spotted hours ago, but it wasn’t until now that Godwyn had realised just how outmatched house Mazeltof was: Not only was the army twice the size of theirs, they were also better armed and better trained. Their soldiers wore a mixture of chain mail and iron plated armour and were armed with spears, longswords and a large kite shield. Not only that but House Anjervine had brought their famed heavy cavalry, something that Godwyn had not had time to prepare a counter for. 

“Where is Ian and Pearl” Godwyn said to Dily’s. Like the knights they were both wearing full plate armour. Godwyn was armed with a long sword made from dwarven steel while Dilys was armed with a steel halberd. 

“Pearl is back with the militia, she should be safe there. I managed to convince Ian to make use of his archery skills on top of the palisade, despite him wanting to join us in the vanguard”

“Good, I don’t want either of them near the front lines, once the enemy charges in it will be a bloodbath”

“THE ENEMY APROACHES” shouted a man from behind. Godwyn immediately looked forward to see the full force of the imperial army charging towards them. They had only been a few hundred meters away, and they were closing the gap between them fast. House Anjervine’s famed heavy cavalry was making their way towards the vanguard while the rest of the infantry would be charging into their front lines at any moment.

“ARCHERS READY YOUR ARROWS” Commanded Godwyn, various officers throughout the army could be heard repeating his command and the archers on the wall nocked their arrows. However it was clear that Henri Anjervine had had the same idea. The air was suddenly filled with arrows, crossbow bolts and mage fire, all of it heading towards the Mazeltof force. Though the mages on the palisade tried to extinguish the flames it was to little avail. A rain of arrows and fire fell upon the militia behind the front ranks and the small wooden shields did little to protect them. A few even managed to hit some of the bowmen on the palisade as they tumbled off the wall and collapsed onto the ground. Godwyn was briefly distracted before he finally came back to his senses

“RELEASE!” he cried as a volley of arrows flew overhead towards the oncoming charge. Though their ranged attack had not been nearly as devastating as his opponent’s, Godwyn noticed numerous enemies fall as the arrows hit their mark, though it did little to slow the charge of the oncoming enemy. The cavalry was mere seconds away from him and there was little he could do to stop them

“Knights stand fast” Godwyn commanded as the entire vanguard readied themselves for the incoming attack. As soon as the cavalry hit them, the entire vanguard was thrown back. Both knights to the left and right of Godwyn were impaled by lances and Godwyn would have suffered the same fate had he not countered. Instead he was thrown off his feet and landed two meters away from where he was previously standing, knocking his helmet off. Godwyn quickly got back up, he briefly saw Dilys knocking a man of his horse with her halberd before he lost sight of her in the chaos. Godwyn caught sight of a rider charging towards him, the rider raised his sword before swinging it at Godwyn’s head. Godwyn swiftly dodged the attack and at the same time sliced through the rider’s chest. His dwarven steel sword cut through the man’s iron armour with little effort as he fell off his horse and collapsed onto the muddy ground beneath. The blow that Godwyn had struck had killed him instantly. Soon another rider approached; as he rode towards Godwyn he smashed his mace into a Ralda knight’s head, crushing the helmet and killing the man immediately. This time Godwyn countered by cutting the horse’s un-armoured front legs causing it to fall over and trap the rider under its weight. Godwyn then finished the man by stabbing him in the neck.

___________

“GET BACK INTO LINE!” Henry Mazeltof shouted to the soldiers bellow him. He was currently stood atop the palisade alongside his son Ian. Henry was a tall man, with mid-length untidy hair and beard. He had been watching the battle from the top of the palisade’s gateway for over an hour and it was clear that they were losing. The imperial concord had engaged their forces on all fronts with an overwhelming force, and in some places they had already broken through and were now effortlessly carving their way through the militia. Furthermore the imperial archers were now aiming towards the palisade and many of the archers on the wall were starting to fall. 

“Our commanders are trying father” Pleaded Ian “They need time to…” Ian stopped in mid-sentence as his attention was immediately drawn to the sky. There were a dozen fireballs reigning down, each one the size of a small boulder. Most were extinguished  by the remaining mages on the palisade but a couple still remained and landed in Fishgrove. One of them hit a house that was near the palisade’s gateway, sending burning debris through the air, impaling the woman whom had been standing next to Ian in the neck. She collapsed to the floor in a crumpled mess. Ian watched in horror as his home slowly started to burn

__________

Godwyn was exhausted; he had been fighting for over an hour and had slain over twenty soldiers. The enemy had almost broken through the vanguard and only a small number of the knights were left. Godwyn hadn’t seen Dilys since the beginning of the battle and he feared the worst. The men and women who had been fighting beside him had fallen and he was currently facing off against five footmen by himself. One of them came charging at him, stabbing his spear wildly at Godwyn, who simply parried the man’s attack before stabbing him through the chest. The remaining four soldiers took several steps back, realising that Godwyn’s skill surpassed their own.

“Stand aside. He is mine to fight” Commanded a voice from behind them. The soldiers did as they were ordered, revealing a man who Godwyn soon identified as Erock Greensworth; a man who was considered to be one of the greatest swordfighters in Fomaroth. He was currently wearing full plate armour but without a helmet. Like Godwyn he carried a longsword made from dwarven steel. The sword was covered with blood and it was clear that he had already slain numerous opponents this day. Godwyn knew that he had little hope of defeating him at his best, let alone in his current exhausted state. He turned round to see if he could retreat away from Erock only to realise that it was not an option. He had been cut off from the rest of the Vanguard and was currently surrounded by imperial soldiers. The only choice he had was to fight Erock.

“You disappoint me Godwyn Mazeltof” Said Erock confidently “I thought that house Mazeltof had more honour than to run from their enemy” Godwyn slowly turned back to face Erock before raising his sword

“Very well, then I shall disappoint you no further” Godwyn said as he charged towards Erock. With both hands he swung a powerful overhead strike at Erock who in turn deflected it. Godwyn followed up the attack with a forward strike aimed at Erock chest. Once again Erock deflected the attack and pushed Godwyn back at the same time. While Godwyn tried to regain his footing Erock thrusted his sword towards his neck with a ferocious speed. Godwyn barely managed to parry the blow before once again having to defend against another attack. The speed at which Erock moved was near inhuman. As the two continued to parry blows Godwyn could tell that he was greatly outmatched. Godwyn couldn’t win this based of skill alone; he had to catch Erock of guard. As he once again went on the offensive he struck at Erock with a one handed overhead strike while with his left hand he pulled out his dagger from his belt. As Erock went to block the sword Godwyn aimed his dagger at Erock’s heart. Though it was no use, Erock had seen straight through Godwyn’s attack and had dodged out of the way before the dagger even got close to him. At the same time Erock brought his sword down on Godwyn’s now exposed left hand, cutting it clean off. As Godwyn cried out in pain Erock proceeded to disarm Godwyn’s sword, leaving him completely defenceless. As Godwyn knelt on the muddy ground, with blood pouring from where his hand used to be, he knew that he was a dead man. 

“Any last word” Erock said as he stood over him

“None that wish to waste on you” Panted Godwyn in a final act of defiance.

“A shame” Said Erock as he lined his sword up with Godwyn’s neck. As Godwyn closed his eyes he could her someone calling his name. It was Dilys, he was sure of it. So she was still alive, that was enough for him to leave this world with a smile on his face.

__________

Dilys watched in horror as her brother was beheaded in front of her. As hard as she had tried to fight through the enemy ranks she couldn’t get to him in time. Dilys stood frozen in a state of shock. Despite seeing it with her own eyes she still couldn’t believe it. The sound of shouting in her ear brought her back to her senses. As Dilys turned to see who it was, she saw it had been one of the few surviving officers. She had no idea how long he had been shouting at her.

“WHAT ARE OUR ORDERS” He shouted at the top of his voice to be heard over the deafening noise of the fighting “Our forces have completely broken formation and are getting annihilated, the soldiers on the far right and left flank have started to rout. What are our orders” Dilys paused for a moment before replying

“Order a full retreat; get everyone who is still alive into Fishgrove. We have lost this battle”. 

_____________

The retreat had turned out to be a massacre, many were killed while they were routing. Others had been left outside the walls after the gates had closed in an effort to keep the enemy out. The imperial soldiers had brought up a makeshift ram and were currently trying to break down the wooden gateway. Fire had continued to reign down from the sky and now that the Ralda mages had pulled back, the intensity of the flames had greatly increased. As a result near half of Fishgrove was now on fire. Dilys was stood in front of what used to be her family home. The flames had destroyed it and now nothing was left excepting burning rubble. She was standing opposite her father with Ian standing beside her. Behind them stood the three surviving officers of the Mazeltof army.

“We must leave father, Fishgrove is lost” she pleaded

“I SAID NO” he yelled back “I will not let those De Reimer snakes take Ralda. This is our homeland and I will do anything in my power to protect it” Dilys looked to Ian for support though it was pointless. Ian was still frozen in shock after hearing that Godwyn had been killed; he was standing still with a blank expression on his face. In a matter of hours he had watched his home been destroyed and his countrymen slaughtered. And now he had been told that his brother was dead. Dilys looked at him in pity before turning back to face her father.

“There is nothing left to do. Ralda is already lost. The only thing we can do is retreat to the Manshrew Alliance in the hopes that we may one day take back our homeland” Dilys said defiantly

“Have you forgotten our words” Henry barked “We never quit, we never give up and we never surrender” he finished proudly as he gave Dilys a cold harsh look. In response Dilys did the same, she had had enough of her father’s pride

“Fine then you stubborn old goat”! She yelled “You can stay here and die a pointless death, while I will actually lead our people. I am not surrendering father, I am living to fight another day” With that she turned her back on Henry and faced the officers behind her “Give word to the remaining troops; they are to board our fleet with as many supplies and weapons as they can carry. Order the captains to cast off and get ready to sail. Be quick the gate won’t hold back the imperial forces for long”. The officers first hesitated; they were sworn to take orders from Henry before all else. However it was clear that if they did, both they and the remains of the Mazeltof army would be slaughtered.

“At once general” they said simultaneously before running off to carry out her commands

“COWARDS” yelled Henry. He gave Dilys a venomous glare; furious at her defiance. Dilys gave her father on last look before running towards the docks with Ian following closely behind her.

_______________

“I can’t stop the bleeding” cried out Alicja as she desperately tried to seal the wound. The church was filled with people, both injured and dead. The days she had spent preparing for this had not been enough, there was not enough healers or supplies to go around and most of the patients were on the brink of death. Flames could be seen outside the window and it was clear that all of the neighbouring buildings had caught fire. Had it not been for the surviving mages outside the church, it too would have suffered the same fate. The man in front of her had a severely deep cut across his chest. Despite her best efforts it was clear that he was not going to survive.

“Alicja”! A voice called from behind her. As Alicja turned around she saw that it had been pearl. She was running up the main aisle as was quickly as she could and was soon face to face with Alicja.

“Pearl, what are you doing here?” questioned Alicja

“I have come to pass on a message from Dilys; you and anyone who is still able to walk needs to leave now. We are abandoning Fishgrove and heading to Rathikun” Alicja looked at Pearl in shock.

“I can’t just leave these people here” said Alicja firmly “Their lives are my responsibility and I will not abandon them”

“Half of them are already dead” snapped pearl “we need to…” Pearl was violently interrupted by the roof of the church erupting into flames. A large ball of fire had smashed its way through the roof and engulfed the entire left side of the church in flames. Either the mages outside had decided to retreat with the rest of the army or they simply were unable to defend against the incoming attacks any longer, it was now clear that the church was no longer safe from the imperial mages attacks. Alicja watched in horror as the patients she had tended to were consumed by fire.

“WE NEED TO GO NOW” shouted Pearl as she ran towards the entrance. Alicja froze for a second, still in shock at what had just happened, before quickly running after her sister. However before she could make it to the entrance a large burning wooden beam had fallen from the ceiling and landed right in front of her, cutting her off from both Pearl, and the only exist. As the beam hit the stone floor, several pieces of burning wood hit Alicja in the face causing her to scream in agony. She could hear Pearl frantically calling her name, but it was pointless; there was no way either of them could past the inferno that now separated them. A hand grabbed Alicja’s arm, as she turned round she saw that it was Christian.

“This way”! He cried as he pulled her towards the back of the church, further away from the entrance. Where were they going? There was no way out this way and the windows were too high to jump out of. As they passed the stone alter Alicja figured out Christian’s plan. He was taking them to the crypt; the only part of the church that was made completely out of stone. The church collapsed around them as they desperately tried to get into the crypt in time. As they tumbled down the stone stairs into the crypt, the debris collapsed over the entrance, enveloping both of them in darkness.