Gunther

ASOIAF - Threw the eyes of House Lashton ((Still Open))

Radford

Radford listened to Lord Kayne spew orders for the three companies of infantry, the mounted archers, dismounted archers, crossbowmen and for the horsemen, he, the Young Hawk would be given command of. Adrenaline pumped through his veins. He was excited realizing this was the moment he had been training for all his life. He was thoroughly excited.

“Mr. Coventry, ride out toward the river. Bring Lord Smallwood back into the fold” Radford explained to the Man-at-Arms who accompanied him on the reconnaissance. He issued similar instructions to the other men in his party, telling each of the vedettes to assemble to the west of the ridge running south from Knob’s Hill. It was this high ground that would be the focal point of Lashton’s defense; or hasty ambush.

The archers spread out across Knob’s Hill facing East, with an arrow nocked and a half dozen more stuck in the ground in front of each archer. The crossbowmen took up a position along the river to the south prepared to contain the Ryger Host. The center infantry company remained in a column formation at its eastern end along the trade road, with the rear half in line formation hidden behind trees. This formation gave the impression of a unit in column for road march. The Horse Archers spread out in picket formation covering the front of the Lashton Host. The left and right companies remained displaced rearward in echelon left and right providing a wedge formation. The infantry was set to attack, rather than defend. An audacious defense, to say the least.

Lord Radford Lashton assembled his group of Lancers on the reverse slope of the hill. He and a few of the other young lords rode to the top of the hill to watch the battle unfold below. “Ok, little Pecker,” Radford mumbled to his bird. “It is time.” He gave the Hawk some seed and forced him to take flight. Radford’s eyes rolled back into his head, going white as he worged into seeing what his bird, Pecker could see. He would watch the engagement from the Hawk’s perspective.

As the Ryger scouts emerged, they met a hail of arrows from the rapidly advancing mounted Archers, also known as The Wake. The Wake could not move too quickly, as their mounts were constantly adjusting to locations of the dispersed trees. The scouts could do nothing but fall back on their Vanguard in disorder. A few of their number remained wounded amongst the trees. The remainder would indeed communicate the encounter and their perceptions to their commander. For them, they saw the mounted archers only, no infantry.

Fifteen minutes later, a group of fifty lancers surged forward at a hearty canter. The trees presented too many obstacles to spur into a gallop or headlong charge. The mounted archers of the Wake made good use of the trees, hiding behind them while aiming and focusing on the advancing cavalry formation. The Ryger cavalry did not falter, they held their course and charged forward. The members of the The Wake moved off to the north west, drawing the pursuing cavalry with them. The horsemen used their knees and feet to guide their trained horses to run in the direction they wanted them to run in. Their drilled movements honed so that rider and mount moved as one. The Ryger horse chased the fleeing archers through the trees. As they ran, the archers would swivel in their saddle loosing well aimed arrows, reaching their mark more often than not. Their movement was slowed by rough terrain and the presence of the trees, This gave The Wake time to delay the enemy cavalry, take aim while shooting at them. They pulled the cavalry under the watchful eyes of Knob’s Hill and the Lashton Long Bowmen who unleashed a flurry of arrows impacting skillfully amongst the enemy Cavalry. Most of the rushing lancers were caught up in the deadly swarm of arrows, unable to continue…breathing. A handful of survivors retreated back into the woods to report on their encounter.

Roughly two hundred Ryger swordsmen formed up in line formation, four deep by fifty across the front. They faced the center company and in range of the crossbowmen near the river. Lord Ryger’s veteran infantry knew not to advance; holding their ground. The center infantry drew up into line formation across the road with a seventy-man frontage, also four men deep. The crossbowmen began a systematic volley fire upon the Ryger Vanguard, forcing them to drop back roughly four hundred meters beyond the range of the Lashton crossbowmen.

Both sides adjusted their lines now that contact had been established. Lord Ryger did not have an accurate view of the battleground in front of him. His enemy had chosen the battlefield, leaving the man insecure about his dispositions. He wasted precious time trying to decide what to do. The Lashton flank companies moved up to within eighty yards of the center company of infantry. They arrayed themselves in a similar formation as the lead company with seventy and eighty-man frontages, swords at the ready and shields prepared for what came next. The Wake repositioned themselves on the left flank of the infantry prepared to provide assistance should the Ryger host attack. The Archers on Knob’s Hill tightened their formation, choosing sightlines that gave theme the best advantage of striking enemy formations.

Ninety minutes after the initial encounter, over nine hundred Ryger infantrymen carrying swords, shields and battleaxes, rushed towards the Lashton Line screaming. It was a wild and intense scream as though each of them were mad. The Ryger formation was slightly larger than the Lashton formation, but the crossbowmen to the south and the mounted archers to the north prevented the Ryger infantry from overlapping the Lashton force. Infantrymen on both sides hacked away at one another. Loud screams for help and mother were heard from both sides of the fight.

Just as the melee was beginning to rise in tempo, a force of heavy cavalry, lead by Lord Ryger himself surged to the left of the Ryger line, slashing into the fleeing crossbowmen. Most of the dismounted and lightly armored archers dropped their pieces in panic as they ran. Radford could see the threat to the Lashton right. It was time to deploy his cavalry. He was closest to the decisive point on the battlefield. He relieved himself from his worg, turned to his messenger. “Mr. Coventry, please inform my lord father of the development on the right. Tell him, I am advancing with the Light Cavalry.”

“Aye, m’lord,” Mr. Coventry gave spurs to his destrier riding off to find Lords Rennault and Kayne.

Radford wheeled his horse around trotted to the remainder of his light cavalry, numbering roughly sixty horse. “Heavy cavalry and lancers are threatening our right. They could roll up our infantry’s flank at any moment. Our crossbowmen have broken and are fleeing in this direction. We ride to secure the flank! Ride NOW!!” He wheeled about, pulled the lance from its stirrup and headed down the hill knowing his lancers were behind him in a spread-out wedge formation. He guided on the right most edge of the Lashton infantry. The fleeing crossbowmen continued to run past the advancing cavalry. He could see the Ryger cavalry turn into the swordsmen; their flank hanging out in the wind.

Radford lowered his lance, leaning into the advance. He yelled a screeching hawk-like sound as the force of horsemen struck into the left flank of the Ryger cavalry. Men and horse on both sides dropped to the ground or flew into the air with the on-rushing collision. Most survived long enough to turn about and continue with the fight. An enraged melee erupted all along the front from the river bank to Knob’s Hill.

The Wake continued to harass the Ryger left flank as the Steel Hawks prepared their assault. The Ryger bowmen moved up behind their infantry and began unleashing a torrent of arrows into Lashton infantry and horse alike. The Lashton bowmen, from their position of dominance upon the hill commenced a fusillade of fire down upon the enemy below, targeting bowmen and isolated infantry when available. The outcome of the battle hung in the balance.

Cedric

Lord Smallwood followed Lord Radford down the hill. He felt the pounding of his horse’s hooves as they raced forward. He held his shield up close, peering over the top, his couched lance held firmly, leaning forward. His lance struck the side of a mail armored horseman, sending the man flying from his mount. The man looked to his left with eyes wide, in realization he was about to die and there was nothing he could do about it. This was the first man, Lord Smallwood ever killed. He had no time to think about it. He knew he had to continue forward, drop his broken lance and unsheathe his sword.

Cedric turned about, charged into the Ryger men with other Lashton horse, cutting them down as they rode. He lashed back and forth high on adrenaline, pumping his arm left and right, slashing and hacking at anyone wearing the wrong colors this fine day. He did not count how many men fell before him, just that he was frightened out of his mind and allowed his training to take over. He was certain he would die at any moment. When things appeared to be lightening up for the Lashton Lancers, Cedric found himself out of enemy to attack. He called for a group of eight lancers to follow him into the enemy rear.

Upon reaching the backside of the fighting infantry, he spied the Ryger bowmen sniping away at Lashton men. He quickly spurred his horse forward leading a small group into the Ryger bowmen in hopes of preventing them from killing too many of his friends. The outcome of this fight hung in the balance.

ASOIAF - Threw the eyes of House Lashton ((Still Open))

I will post a battle scene today.

ASOIAF - Threw the eyes of House Lashton ((Still Open))

I don't want it to die either, but RL has me by the short hairs.

ASOIAF - Threw the eyes of House Lashton ((Still Open))

I have a plan to summarize this battle. Tell me if you want Ashton to win or not. I intend to allow them to win. I won't have time to write until Thursday or Friday.

Darkseekers

More than likely there was no EMP blast associated with the impacts. The asteroids' energy was kinetic, whereas a nuclear blast is radiological; the source of the Electro Magnetic Pulse. This means, electronic devices, not destroyed by the impacts would remain functioning properly. Vehicles and radios should work fine. That is not to say, if our characters took a vehicle from Grand Junction, KS to CS, CO that they might encounter an impact.

The thing that always attracts me to the Colorado Springs, CO area is NORAD mountain (North American Air Defense Station). This is a cave built into the side of Cheyenne Mountain. More than likely it was overrun by darkseekers because it can be very dark; a perfect settlement for the mutants.

As far as the 10 years elapse of time, I am thinking of how the world evolved in The Walking Dead. Not only does our group of survivors have to contend with Darkseekers, they also have deal with other survivor groups. Let's see what we can come up with there.

Darkseekers

Joe Beaulieu

Name: Joseph Beaulieu
Age: 33
Appearance: Joseph stands 5’ 9” tall and weighs 170 Lbs. He has long greasy unkempt blonde hair and blue eyes. His beard is light wispy, never having been able to grow a beard. He wears an old faded Army Combat Uniform (ACU) and the Assault Vest he used when he served in the US Army. He wears the tan combat boot all soldiers wore in the early 21st century. Upon his head is a navy-blue Boston Red Sox baseball cap.

History:
Joe grew up in Mattapan, a neighborhood in Boston, Massachusetts, not far from the Neponset River. Joe’s father worked for the city of Boston and was a self-proclaimed alcoholic. For years, the old wouldn’t quit even when he knew he had a problem. He would pronounce, “why the fuck should I quit? I love beer!” Eventually, he had done the 12-step process but always seemed to fall off the wagon. He had a difficult time remaining sober. The old man was arrested for Operating Under the Influence of Alcohol (OUI) when Joe was 12. Things started to get better for Joe after that. Before the arrest, Joe’s dad, Bill used to beat him if he stepped out of line.

Joe’s mother Kathleen worked as a Paraprofessional for the Boston School District and loved her son immeasurably. She considered divorcing his father until he enrolled himself into a detoxification facility and then joined Alcoholics Anonymous. His mother enrolled young Joseph into a Martial Arts program in Milton, MA specializing in Kung Fu for children. Joe achieved a black belt by age 16 and then trained in the adult Krav Maga program. At the age of 18, he graduated from High School and left Boston behind, but not Krav Maga.

Joe Beaulieu enlisted in the US Army after High School into Military Occupational Specialty (MOS) 11B infantry in July 2012. Upon graduation from Infantry Basic in October, he transferred to the Airborne School where he spent four weeks earning the coveted silver Airborne Wings. By mid-November he found himself at Camp Darby on Ft. Benning working to earn a Ranger Tab. By Mid-January, Private Beaulieu earned the black and yellow Tab and was on his way to his first duty assignment which happened to be the 1st Ranger Battalion at Hunter Army Airfield in Savannah, Georgia. Effective 1 February 2013 Joe Beaulieu was promoted to Private First Class (E3). While with the 1st Ranger Battalion, Joe was able to continue his Krav Maga training with his unit. The Unit trained in the Israeli Self Defense form as part of their Physical Fitness Regimen. Although, they did not award belts like the Martial Arts School in Boston, Joe increased his skill with the self-defense training.

In March 2015, PFC Joe Beaulieu was shipped off to Vicenza, Italy. PFC Beaulieu was assigned to A Company, 2nd Battalion, 503rd Airborne Infantry Regiment (AIR), 173rd Airborne Brigade. When Joe arrived, he learned his battalion was deployed to the Ukraine in support of Operation Atlantic Resolve. After spending a week getting settled into the barracks in Vicenza, he was shipped off to Ukraine to join his unit. The battalion rotated back to Italy in September 201. Effective 1 April 2015, Joe was promoted to Specialist (E4).

On 16 December 2015, Joe Beaulieu completed the Basic Leader Course at Flint Kaserne, Bad Tölz, Germany. He then transferred to C Company, First Battalion, 503rd PIR, 173rd Airborne Brigade and assigned as a team leader. He was given the rank of Corporal (E4) and effective 1 April 2016, Joe Beaulieu was promoted to Sergeant (E5). When his first End of Time in Service (ETS) approached in July 2016 he re-enlisted for another four years. This meant his second ETS date would be in July 2020.

In July 2016, Sergeant Beaulieu was assigned to A Company, 1st Battalion, 16th Infantry (Iron Rangers), 1st Infantry Division, Ft. Riley, KS as an Infantry team leader. Sergeant Beaulieu would remain with the 1st ID for the next three years, due to PCS in July 2019.

Joe Beaulieu eventually found the entrenchments and remnants of Fort Riley as well as the civilian enclave at Grand Junction to be untenable. Since 98% of the soldiers in the 1st Infantry Division turned into Darkseekers, they took to living in the underground tunnels and entrenchments dug by the soldiers before the asteroids struck.

Joe and his companions left Fort Riley in search of other survivors and a place they could live and survive unmolested by the dark seekers. They believed the mountains of Colorado would be a good place to start. They ended up at Fort Carson, Colorado, just south of Colorado Springs.

Need some help storyboarding

Are you doing this for NaNoWriMo?

Darkseekers

The virus only affected humans; not animals. But without mankind to curtail the animal population, they are going to take over on the scale of when Native Americans were the only humans who lived in what is now the US.

Darkseekers

Darkseekers

A Story of Survival

In the spring of 2018, NASA announced to the world a series of several hundred asteroids varying in size from a small automobile to a large building were heading towards planet earth. The NASA scientists predicted this would be a global killer and that people would need to seek shelter underground if they wished to survive. Several folks; mostly the wealthy, built elaborate concrete underground shelters in order to survive the asteroid impacts. It is estimated that 2500 such structures were built in the six weeks before the first asteroid struck earth on May 9, 2018. Others without the resources to build concrete bunkers relied on cellars or hastily dug trenches and bunkers.

The survival centers were not well constructed. Some people did not dig deep enough which were compromised by direct impacts. Others were built of concrete with elaborate fortifications extending a few hundred feet down. Most of the asteroids that struck the earth were the size of a house. While enroute, these large chunks of rock traveled at over 30,000 mph. Their impacts were equivalent to the energy of the bomb that fell on Hiroshima, Japan—about 20 Kilotons. These smaller asteroids flattened reinforced concrete buildings up to a half a mile from ground zero and flattened wooden structures over a mile and a half from ground zero. They did extensive damage to any city.

A few of the asteroids were as large as a 20 or 30 story building; up to 100 meters in diameter. These larger asteroids had the energy equal to the largest nuclear bombs ever made—on the order of 25 to 50 megatons. These asteroids flattened reinforced concrete buildings five miles from ground zero. More than a few major US cities were destroyed by these large asteroids including New York City, Boston, Miami, Atlanta, Denver, San Francisco, Houston, and Oklahoma City. Chicago, Los Angeles, Washington DC and a several other cities survived the impacts.

The problem with the impacts was not just the initial damage they inflicted. They also tossed a huge cloud of dust and debris into the atmosphere causing the once white and fluffy clouds to turn a brownish gray color and in many cases blotting out the sun for several days. Also contained in the asteroids and released into the atmosphere was a virus that infected 98% of the survivors. Of the original 7.5 Billion human inhabitants of planet earth, 6 billion were killed during the initial 36 hours of impacts. Over the course of the next two weeks, another 500 million were killed from the fall out.

The virus, released by the asteroids began to take effect on the surviving population, roughly one billion people, about four months after the celestial event ended. The world was then a desolate place, with cities in ruin and dead bodies piled everywhere. By September, 2018, people began to show signs of mutation.

The mutated humans developed primal behavior upon succumbing to the virus. They retain enough of their higher intelligence to build and copy complex traps they may have previously seen. The mutants’ adrenal glands give them increased mobility. The increased metabolism sped up their heart rate, breathing speed and body temperature, and made them constantly hyperventilate.

Other symptoms of infected humans include dilated pupils, enflamed gums, hair loss, albinism, and a primal state of madness. Another major symptom is a severe intolerance of UV radiation, causing sunlight and other sources of ultraviolet to burn their flesh. Because of this intolerance of UV, the mutants, now called Darkseekers, are forced into a nocturnal life cycle; lurking in dark, derelict structures during the day, and only leaving at night. The intolerance of UV is also so extreme, direct exposure to sunlight for more than a matter of seconds can be fatal to them.

As their adrenal glands are constantly open, the Darkseekers possess adrenaline-enhanced speed and endurance. Darkseekers apparently gained a heightened sense of smell.

A small group of survivors, fled the Fort Riley, Kansas area and have made their way to the Front Range of the Colorado Rockies in search of other survivors and a place they could live unmolested from the darkseekers. They believed the mountains would be a good place to start. They ended up at Fort Carson, Colorado, just south of Colorado Springs.

@POOHEAD189

The Band of Fools

@Mattchstick When I bump into something I don't know, I usually google it. So I just googled horse stables. The first immages I saw were of children's toys. LOL The next group of images which filled up the first page were of immaculate beautiful horse stables owned by elite billionaires. Neither of these examples would be accurate.

I remember visiting my grandfather's farm as a child. He had cows. I know horses don't use stanchions like cows, but they do get their own space and there is a lot of hay on the floor. One more thing, it stinks to holy hell. Someone needs to shovel the poo out of the area where they do their business every day and usually more often than once a day. There are large wooden bins containing corn or whatever feed the horses eat besides hay. There are usually individual buckets available for water. There will also be a tackle barn nearby where the horse's bit, barding, tackle, saddles (all leather goods) as well as any other accoutrements would be available for steeds used in combat in this setting.