POV King Aethelric I
All my senior commanders and lords gather round the table with a map of the realm in my command tent when a servant comes in saying that the outsiders have returned and are not alone. Henri Phillepon comes in and I look at him with curious eyes.
"Who did you bring back?" I ask my bastard cousin.
"Announcing Prince Aethelstan, his retinue and fellow survivors of the Sacking of Dohemina" declares Henri Phillepon with a sad smile. My younger half-brother Aethelstan walks into the tent with his two household officers. All three are still soaked in blood from the heavy fighting they were in at least four days ago. I embrace my half-brother who I have not seen for around four years. Aethelstan embraces me back before drawing his sword and kneeling to pledge allegiance to me. I accept his oath and he rises.
"Aethelstan shall lead the vanguard" I announce to all the lords and officers in the command tent. The tent breaks into murmurings of discontent.
"Why should your half-brother lead the vanguard? he's only 16 and still a boy my king" states Lord Artur of the house of Lanncam. "I should be in command my king as I have fought at your lord father's side hundreds of times" Lord Artur continues.
"Prince Aethelstan shall lead the vanguard as he has experience in battle against the Imperialist cause and it is not up for debate my lord Artur," I say. Lord Artur concedes with a bow of his head.
"I thank you, my king," Aethelstan says as his head bows towards me. He and his two officers wheel round and leave the tent.
"My lords and officers, it is getting late we shall reconvene on the morrow," I say and depart the command room of the tent into my private quarters.
I wake up at dawn and walk outside of my tent to see the vanguard of 5,000 soldiers assemble. 3,000 cavalry including 1,500 armoured knights and the other 1,500 being light cavalry and 2,000 infantry. the banner of my half-brother flying proudly above the vanguard. I turn to my Castellan and simply say one word. "Muster."
My Castellan screams muster at the top of his lungs and trumpets and drums begin sounding across the camp. soldiers and officers scramble out of their tents as quickly as possible after getting dressed as camp followers scramble to put down all the tents. Lords awaken and get dressed in order to lead their contingents of troops. battalions form and manoeuvre into a marching column as the vanguard slowly marches off back towards the mountains in which my half-brother appeared from yesterday. I look over and see Aethelstan mounted upon a horse, not his gryphon. I allow the main force to rest for an hour and have breakfast before marching on in pursuit of the vanguard.
An hour later I mount my horse and lead the main column off after the vanguard who marched ahead of us. Tens of thousands of soldiers set off after I spurred my horse forwards. Light infantry and horsemen serve as picket troops on the flanks of the heavy infantry and cavalry. The vanguard every hour sends a dispatch rider to inform the main column of anything.
POV Prince Aethelstan
The vanguard comes to a halt by a river that has a crossroads with the road crossing the bridge leading into the mountains to the south and the longer yet safer route around the mountains leading southwest. I ride my horse up to the front of the vanguard and order a temporary camp to be set up.
The camp at the crossroads was fully constructed when the main column arrived and began constructing their own camp. The outsiders report that Imperialist forces were in the vicinity mainly their levies from those who live in the isolated mountain communities. 7,000 mountain men and 2,000 armoured imperialist infantry had assembled in the vicinity across the bridge. Probably the vanguard and screening force for the main enemy army I think to myself.
I inform the King of my intelligence that hostile forces were in the area and he gives me my orders. I am to find and bring the enemy into an engagement where I can crush them. my elder half-brother the king assigns me the forces of House Lanncam to help in my mission tomorrow. A further 10,000 men including 3,000 cavalry and 7,000 infantry.
At dawn, the Imperialist force can be seen across the river formed up for battle. A further 3,000 cavalry had joined them in the night. I begin issuing orders to my forces and the 15,000-strong force marches out of the camp and across the bridge and form up for battle. My older half-brother has formed up the main army in reserve.
Skirmish infantry move beyond the safety of the main infantry line. I've taken command of the right flank with 3,000 horsemen. I watch as the 7,000 mountain men fall for bait that is the skirmishers and charge forward. The skirmishers retire slowly as they use their ammunition. the main infantry line steadies itself for the impact of the charge with the ranged troops opening up and the melee troops lowering their pikes, spears and polearms. The mountain men smash into the infantry line. The royalist infantry line starts buckling under the weight of the charge. Royalist infantry officers steady the line as the Royalist infantry on the flanks begin pouring fire into the mountain men assault. this steady rate of fire causes the enemy charge to at first falter and then fall back in a rout. The Imperialist professional soldiers watching on begin retiring making up the rearguard of the routing mountain levies.
I order the cavalry forward to complete the victory and our skirmish infantry follow forward as well. The Imperialist infantry beat back the first assault of my cavalry and during the second attack, they break and run as they see the main army cross the bridge. The Imperialist cavalry launches a cavalry charge to cover the retreat of the Imperialist infantry. The Imperialist charge is broken by pistol fire from the Royalist cavalry. As the day waned complete victory was achieved on the battlefield and the Royalist army made camp again at the crossroads.
