Upon the collapse of the Aerneg Empire, the northern provinces were divided into four main kingdoms the largest being the Kingdom of Marshalburye which held a sizeable portion of the former Royal army.
Soldiers of the Kingdom of Marshalburye were armed with a 7 to 8-foot-long spear, a kite shield and an arming sword with a chest-plate and pauldrons on the torso and shoulders respectively with a padded Gambeson underneath and chainmail covering underneath the chest-plate. The helmet was conical shaped and had nasal protection and cheek flaps providing the user with some amount of face protection. The kingdom of marshalburye kept a standing army of around 25,000 troops with each region within the kingdom having the right to raise levy troops to assist the main army.
Prince Aethelwulf was declared king of the Wulfburg which was the smallest kingdom within the Northern realms, Lord Thorold of osburgh declared himself king of the Northern Marches while Lord Aneirin of the City of Ancpool declared himself King of the west coast and the new kingdom of Ancpool was the last of the four kingdoms to form.
The armies of the Wulfburgh shared the same armour as their fellow soldiers from the kingdom of marshalburye. The standing army of the Wulfburgh consisted of only 7,000 troops with levy troops able to be mustered in times of war. In complete contrast, the soldiers of the Kingdom of the Northern marches were primarily mounted soldiers due to the border with the South and relied heavily upon round shields and chainmail armour and they carried 6-foot-long lances and short swords and they also relied heavily upon the bow. the Northern marches had around 13,000 soldiers under arms at any time with more being able to be assembled at short notice. The Soldiers of Ancpool had similar armour to the armies of the Wulfburgh and marshalburye but relied upon short spears, short swords and javelins. they carried into battle a mixture of heater shields, round shields and buckler shields. the armies of Ancpool could call on 18,000 soldiers in their standing army with more able to be called up.
These four kingdoms stood alone as the southern portion of the continent divided them from the rest of the known world and that the northern sea routes were super dangerous to traverse with the like of Sea monsters and storms being a constant threat to shipping. The shattered remnants of the Aerneg Empire stood as mere city-state enclaves and a rump island state unable to assist their former territory in the north. Simply put the situation in the North was dire both economically and militarily.
To combat the threat of the South the four kingdoms formed a military order which they called the Rangers of the Northern Marches. The first Captain General of the Northern Marches to be appointed was Prince Aethelstan. Around 700-1,300 soldiers volunteered for this order. For the next few years, the Rangers performed raids and built refuges in the south reaching as far as the abandoned city of Dohemina.
Rangers relied heavily on gambesons, leather armour and green cloaks with backstrap round shields. For weapons, they primarily used the bow and javelin with secondary weapons being axes and short swords and other such weapons.
In the year 2 A.I.C, a force of 4,500 goblins launched a raid on the Kingdom of the Northern Marches. At the fords of Alantir, the goblin raiding force was checked and destroyed by a fast-moving force of Rangers and soldiers from the northern marches. Four swift-moving companies of cavalry and 6 companies of rangers numbering 480 horsemen and 900 rangers fell upon the goblins as they attempted to cross the fords. The goblin vanguard of 1,250 goblins was broken as they were wading across the river. The companies of goblins marching up the road behind them were left in disorder as the vanguard tried to fall back through the advancing companies. the fast-moving cavalry and fleet of foot ranger companies had swept across the river in mere minutes of routing the goblin vanguard and ambushed the main body as it advanced towards the fords.
POV Aethelstan
Our arrows flew out of the trees in massed volleys. The Goblin bastards didn't know what hit them until the first arrows flew into their densely packed ranks. The Goblin warlord gathered his elite warriors and charged towards where it believed the main body of rangers were deployed. As the cavalry swung behind the charging goblins to assail the main body marching up, I lead a countercharge with drawn swords. I meet the goblin warlord head-on with mine own sword while my elite rangers engaged his elite warriors. Frantic hacking, slashing and stabbing ensued as I tried to kill this huge goblin who easily overpowered me with his size.
The goblin Warlord backhands me into a tree and the tree drops on top of me. All goes black. I wake three hours later in one of the refuges around 3 miles from the battlefield. I soon learn that the raiding party had been destroyed when additional cavalry forces arrived and that the goblin warlord had escaped with only a few hundred of his warriors. The fallen tree had shattered my arm and broken a few ribs but otherwise, I was fine.
News reaches me of a great northern council being summoned at Marshalburye in which all the major lords, kings and princes are ordered to attend. I get to Marshalburye 7 days after being summoned on account of my injuries. Over 200 lords have assembled in Marshalburye for this meeting and all the other kings aside from my two royal siblings. all six of my ranger companies follow me to Marshalburye and we come in singing joyously of victory. I soon dispatch three companies back to the border. The meeting is in full session when I arrived. 200 voices shouting over each other as I walk in. I give my apologies to the chairman who was my royal brother King Aethelric I for my late arrival and take my seat in the council.
Authors notes
A.I.C means After Imperial Collapse
