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Post by Gandalf on Jul 6, 2020 21:28:18 GMT -5
Stannis Baratheon’s vanguard (led by Stannis himself) takes up a defensive position against the armies of Lord Randyll Tarly on the Kingsroad. With the King’s outriders having brought word of Tarly’s advance, Stannis arrays his men in a defensive position along the Kingsroad, near Sow’s Horn. (waiting for confirmation from LM on the terrain and weather) {Stannis’ Force}Commanders:
Stannis Baratheon (+6 authority, +3 intelligence, +1 charisma, +3 resilience)
Lord Lester Morrigen (+3 authority, +3 charisma, +3 resilience, +2 intelligence)
Justin Massey (+2 authority, +2 intelligence, +5 charisma, +3 resilience)
Army:
200 Heavy Cavalry
100 knights of the Flaming Heart
5300 Heavy Infantry
7400 Light Infantry
5300 Archers
3000 Light Cavalry
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Post by Magnate Lucius on Jul 7, 2020 10:51:12 GMT -5
The terrain, near Sow's Horn, was relatively flat leading into the Crownlands and toward King's Landing. There were little hills here as the terrain is relatively smooth. A thin forest lies to the north. Although Winter has not progressed this far south, the sun does not feel as warm as it used to.
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Post by AxBrew Sunster on Jul 7, 2020 21:15:58 GMT -5
When the outriders gave word of a host marching south down the Kingsroad, Randyll Tarly reacted quickly. The order to halt forward progress was relayed down the lines and soon his commanders were spurring their horses up to his own, ready to receive orders. Lord Tarly reached to his side, where Heartsbane was strapped along his steed's flank. He ordered his men into a defensive position, preparing to intercept the Baratheon army and stop their progress. However, as hours passed by, it became apparent that Stannis had no intention of attacking, however. Tarly had his orders, and Aegon needed him to claim the Riverlands, so it would be the lot of the Reach host to press the attack. Orders were adjusted accordingly, and the host began to press forward again, towards the teeth of Stannis' defensive position. Mathis Rowan, who had been unofficially appointed as his second, was by his side as the Baratheon forces came into view. Randyll drew Heartsbane and raised the might blade overhead, sweeping his gaze across the ranks of his army, ensuring that they held the proper positions.
"The infantry stand ready, Lord Tarly."
Another knight of the Reach rode up on his other flank, Ser Axell Flowers, who had often joined the Lord on hunts through the forests surrounding Horn Hill, adn who was in charge of his outriders and light horse. "The cavalry too are in position, my Lord."
"Then all is in place," declared Rowan.
"Aye, so it would appear indeed." With a great downward sweep of his blade, he began the advance.
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Post by Gandalf on Jul 7, 2020 21:31:22 GMT -5
”Archers.”
Stannis stood with Melisandre in the midst of his men, armoured in the blackened plate and mail that had served him from Storm’s End to Winterfell. His cloak of heavy fur had been unbuckled and tossed to his squire, who held the King’s sword. Lightbringer came alive as it was drawn from the sheath, fire dancing across the steel as the Red Priestess sung her praises to her eastern God. Ser Horpe and Ser Farring loudly echoed their King’s orders, the arrows drawn from the quiver and nocked to the string, muscles tense and aching as they waited for the Huntsman’s men to pass into range. Baratheon watched on, grim faced, the visor on his crowned helm raised so his vision remained unrestricted.
”Fall back, my lady. The battlefield is no place for you.”
The King commanded, his eyes never leaving the advancing lines of Rowan and Tarly men. They were forever faithless, these same lords who had feasted before the walls of Storm’s End, crowned his usurping brother and then smashed his host at the Blackwater. Their cloaks had turned again for this mummer’s dragon, and the king would see their heads on spikes before the war was done.
”LOOSE!”
Bellowed Horpe, and the sky rained iron and steel.
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Post by AxBrew Sunster on Jul 7, 2020 22:28:13 GMT -5
Blade now drawn, Tarly rode amongst his knights, some of the finest the Reach had to offer, as their force rolled foward. Arrows rained from the sky among the infantry and knights that rode forward, occasionally striking one down, but they could not break formation now. Discipline is what won battles, chaos is what lost them. Any warrior who served under Lord Randyll Tarly knew to hold his place in the lines. He slammed the visor of his own helm down to ward against any errant projectiles and continued the advance. To the left and right, the flanks were pushing slightly ahead of the slower center, and archers there were soon in position to begin returning fire. Arrows rained down among the Baratheon men now too, another the sign the battle was soon to be joined properly.
Moving his head more now to account for the loss of vision that came with lowering his visor, Lord Tarly kept his gaze across the battle lines, watching how each step would play out, and preparing to adjust for any changes. He glanced back for a moment, to where the Chequy lion of House Osgrey bobbed above the men he had left as a rearguard. He had spoken to the lord before the battle, in a ritual that had become a common occurrence for him since the world had become less certain and his life had draw closer to its end - and asked him to take Heartsbane to his son if he fell in battle. It was not a guarantee that it would be followed through, but it at least gave him some peace.
An arrow rattled of his steel pauldron, skipping off the dark grey metal and into the dirt. The lines were drawing close now, and he reigned in his horse, calling the cavalry to a halt. Outrunning their infantry would be suicide for the knights, and would likely lose them the battle. He watched Mathis Rowan's banner bobbing along the flank of the army, drawing closer to Stannis' lines.
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Post by Magnate Lucius on Jul 8, 2020 12:24:45 GMT -5
The Baratheon host took position on the northern edge of the battlefield, with its backs to the forest nearby. They were already entrenched upon the arrival of Lord Tarly and his Reachmen host. The battle began with a skirmish, followed by the advance of Tarly's infantry. The horn sounded and the ranks began to move forward. It was a cautious advance, one that allowed the Baratheon archers to felt the enemy from afar. The gap began to close as the lines drew closer and closer. Commanders, on both sides, barking orders as formations tightened, swords were drawn, spears were leveled and shields were made at the ready. One Reachman commander felt something was off as he stopped upon the ground. It shifted slightly for a moment. Then, along the center and left flanks, the ground gave way, swallowing up the first few lines of the infantry. Below, stakes, caltrops, and all manner of sharpened points speared into the limbs and torsos of the Reachmen infantry. Baratheon's infantry, with spears at the ready, began to stab the screaming and injured infantry.
Tarly loses six hundred men to these traps and being left defenseless against the Baratheons
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Archer volleys were traded between the two sides, during the advance and into the first engagements. The attempts, by the Reachmen, to pelt the rearguard of the Baratheon lines were not entirely successful due to the trees and branches. Many of the arrows simply landed against trunks or were lost in branches. Still a few good shots managed to puncture armor and flesh. The archer fire on the enemy archers, however, dealt its usual damage. Baratheon's, however, weren't aiming for the missile units on Tarly's side. Horses were targeted as well as their riders. Shots were heard as scores of horses and their riders were pelted and peppered by arrow fire.
Stannis loses 500 archers on the center flank
Tarly loses 500 horsemen (50/50 in terms of light and heavy) in the center flank
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Casualties were beginning to mount and, with the traps in the front and left flanks of Stannis' formation, it would prove to be slower advances for the infantry and a detriment to Tarly's enemy horsemen.
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Post by Gandalf on Jul 8, 2020 12:50:23 GMT -5
The King’s men held the line, the green-boys in boiled leather and linens surging forward to cut down those who attempted to climb from the ditches and pits that had been dug in front of their lines. Those in plate and mail edged forward in the shield wall, a porcupine bristling with speartips and sword blades. Horns blared, men screamed and yelled as they fell to arrows or blades. Some lay at the bottom of the pits with broken ankles and shattered legs, crushed as their comrades clambered over the top of them to be cut down. The King lowered his visor and lifted Lightbringer aloft, bellowing through the steel mask for the line to hold and the men to stand firm. Horpe and the Giantslayer waded into the front lines, the former carrying the King’s own standard as those men of the Narrow Sea bloodied their blades on the men of the Reach. On the flanks, the light cavalry surged forth, slinging spears and missiles at the enemy as they circled around the enemy heavy cavalry, keeping their distance save when a group of them surrounded a straggler and cut down his horse from under him, leaving a heavily armoured knight like an upturned tortoise in the dirt.
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Post by Magnate Lucius on Jul 8, 2020 16:52:19 GMT -5
A shift began to be noticed along the Reachmen lines. Lines of infantry were being shifted over to the the Reach's right, Stannis' left. The pit traps were no longer a venturing point for Tarly's advance and he decides to change his strategy, utilizing the traps as a barrier, hopefully. On the flanks, Reachmen and Baratheon light cavalry skirmish along the Reach's Left, Baratheon Right. It seemed that the Reachmen were getting the better though as their marks were hitting solid blows to Stannis' light cavalry. Despite this, the Baratheon troops still did a number.
Stannis loses 450 light cavalry on his left
Tarly loses 350 light cavalry on his right
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With the shift, the Reachmen advance goes full throttle as they slam against Stannis' right. However, despite the growing numbers and pressure, Stannis' men still hold the line firmly.
Stannis loses 500 infantry (50/50) on his right
Tarly loses 450 infantry (50/50) on his left
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The Baratheon light cavalry, also on the right, perform hit and runs, being an irritant for Tarly's heavy cavalry. The intensity of it was starting to show as horses and riders began to drop rapidly.
Tarly loses 500 heavy cavalry on his left
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Post by Gandalf on Jul 8, 2020 17:15:03 GMT -5
Orders were relayed through the lines, carried through the captains by the King himself. The Baratheon lines crawled to match Tarly’s own, with men from the centre brought to counter the Reachman pressure on Morrigen’s position. The butcher’s work began as the lines met, the common footsoldiers hacking each other to pieces in the name of their king, a prayer or roar on their lips as their went to meet their Gods. Amidst the chaos of the battle, a rider was sent to the Lord of Crow’s Nest, a panting Crownlander bringing word that it was time for the Huntsman’s lines to be smashed by the charge of the King’s knights. Stannis himself had not yet bloodied his blade, remaining amidst his personal guard as he waited for the hour of the wolf, when the chaos of the battle had reached its climax and men needed their Lord or king the most. A king was worth ten thousand men on the battlefield, a beacon for the common man to rally behind as their muscles ached and their resolve faltered. Baratheon’s stomach had knotted in anticipation, for though he had faced the screams and din of battle many times before it was never something that he relished.
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Post by pontifex on Jul 8, 2020 18:15:28 GMT -5
Lord Lester Morrigen's sword was sheathed at his horse's left flank, his shield wasstrung across his left arm. The Crow sigil, talons outstretched, was painted across it. His visor was down, but several of his squires and sparse remaining men held banners aloft, six in total, to denote where the commander of the Cavalry was in the fight. The flank had held, indeed relatively unbloodied as the events had unfolded. Morrigen hefted a heavy lance, tipped with a steel head, no mere tourney lance, but one which may impale several men if driven home well enough. His beard poked through his helm over his plate, but his visage in dark green enamored steel was intimidating to behold. He held his lance aloft. "For death and glory!" the cry went up "Ours is the Fury!" a second chorus. The sound of thundering hooves was monstrously deafening. Lester was in the forefront of the charge, leading the combined chivalry to the penultimate points in many careers as knights, squires, or piss boys with the wherewithal to mount a horse. The ground churned beneath the charge, leaving a brown stain on the earth.
Lester aimed his lance at the nearest man to him, just as he had at Winterfell, and it hit home. Another enemy transfixed, the line seemed to crumble in the early process. Reachign over his body, he cross-drew his sword and began hacking at the bodies around him. An arrow glanced harmlessly off his armor. Even at this range, unless an arrow found a visor hole or some such, none would penetrate his steel. Enemies were sheered left and right, though some were being pulled from their horses around him. The rage of battle was on him, he felt neither fatigue or fear.
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Post by AxBrew Sunster on Jul 8, 2020 18:15:38 GMT -5
Tarly formed an unknowing mirror of his opponent's ever-so-common features, his jaw tightened and his teeth gritted, as he watched men and horses tumble into the pit traps that Stannis had laid. He had expected as much, it was why he had sent his light infantry forward first to discover such trickery, but it still hurt to lose so many men before the fight was even joined. Flowers was a clever man, and he did not even need an order passed along from Tarly to begin pivoting his warriors away from the now-treacherous flank, and preparing to hold the line there. At Tarly's own command, his infantry in the center made a similar, less drastic shift, and rotated to engage with Stannis' own center now, meanwhile, a rider went to the right flank, and soon Mathis Rowan's men were pushing hard, with support from the center as well. Helm down tightly, Tarly adjusted his feet in his stirrups, and tightened his grip around Heartsbane's hilt. Not now, but soon, it would be time to charge in and make his own presence felt. He sent another rider, this one towards the archers, with an updated target. By planting his feet, Stannis had potentially given up his ability to adapt for temporary advantage, if his mobility could be removed.
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Post by Magnate Lucius on Jul 8, 2020 19:50:25 GMT -5
The veterancy of Stannis Baratheon's commanders and his men were what would win the day. A push and shove went back and forth for awhile, but slowly the left flank of Tarly's army was deteriorating as Morrigen's cavalry charge brought through, causing gaps in the cohesion. The Baratheon fanatics poured forward, slashing men with their swords and skewering them with their spears. The steady advance began to cause a rout of the Reachmen army. Horns were blown as Tarly's rearguard marched forward, led by Lord Osgrey, in an attempt to prevent this rout from devastating them.
Lord Osgrey's attempt to put up a staunch rearguard, but it failed to halt the momentum of Baratheon. Lord Tarly, utilizing his mounted knights, fared better, but the field belonged to the Chosen Prince at the end of the battle. The field covered in the dead of Reachmen and Baratheon soldiers alike.
Tarly's Losses
6,400 dead
3,000 captured
Total: 13,600 men remaining (retreat to Duskendale)
Mathis Rowan 63 - Free
Randyll Tarly 73 - Free
Axell Flowers 51 - Free
Eustace Osgrey 36 - Captured
Addam Marbrand 9 - Bedridden for 3 days
Stannis' Losses
4,000 dead
Total: 16,000 men remaining
Justin Massey 54 - Free
Stannis Baratheon 25 - Minor Wound (-1 Resilience for 2 days)
Lester Morrigen 74 - Free
Trait Rewards
Lester Morrigen gets a +1 to Authority for his breakthrough.
Stannis Baratheon and Randyll tarly get a +1 to Authority too.
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Post by Gandalf on Jul 8, 2020 21:09:16 GMT -5
”Drive them from the field!”
The King clutched at his side, the ringmail stained with wet and warm blood. Lightbringer burned no longer, the flames quenched by battle after Stannis himself waded into the centre to fight alongside his standard bearer, rallying his worn and wearied troops forward as the chivalry of the Reach pushed against them. They had pushed right into where the fighting was thickest, driving the enemy back across the ditch that was now filled with their corpses. One man, a Roxton boy, had tested his mettle against the king himself, the blade finding purchase near the ribs before the Red Sword of Heroes settled the matter with a brutal cut to the temple. With the black crow of Morrigen advancing on the right, the Baratheon men pushed onwards, a valiant rearguard action from the Chequy lion shattered and the Lord of Coldmoat captured, among many other knights and minor lords. They would be taken to the baggage train to be held for ransom or judgement upon the war’s end, while the lowborn that were taken prisoner would be offered a simple choice: hold a sword for King Stannis or meet the end of one as a traitor. With the day drawing to an end and the battle done, the King would find a suitably defensible position to make camp and bury the dead. Outriders from the rearguard drew lots, the unfortunate winners being those who would pursue Lord Tarly’s army and keep watch for any sign of another advancing enemy.
”Horpe. See to it that terms reach Lord Tarly. If he bends the knee and surrenders his army, I will allow him to take the black and see his son rule Horn Hill in his stead. Let us see if his resolve to fight for this Targaryen has been cracked by this defeat.”
Ser Richard bowed and scurried off to bark the orders to his inferiors. Melisandre emerged from the King’s tent, creases of worry etched into her face of porcelain as a man-at-arms helped the king with his armour. They exchanged some hushed words, but the king waved away her concern as his squire ran over with a cloth and some hot wine to press into the now exposed wound.
“Bring me my bannermen. Our victory lies close, now. I would have them know of it.”
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Post by Magnate Lucius on Jul 8, 2020 21:15:04 GMT -5
An hour after the battle had ended, new horns were heard behind Baratheon's army. The banners of the Vale, dominated by the newly weaved banner of House Arryn, approached to reinforce the victorious army. From afar, Harrold gazed out, seeing bodies all over the place. A great number of them being Reachmen, but there were piles of Baratheon soldiers. Banners laid across the field, horses had flies over their carcasses, and the wounded were being retrieved. He watches as a series of Reachmen soldiers are taken away in chains, prisoners of the battle. As his army moved into to join Stannis' soldiers, Harrold looks at Albar Royce and Symond Templeton who were present with him.
Seems we missed quite the fight.
Lord Arryn says before snapping the reins of his horse as he galloped into the encampment to meet with His Grace.
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Post by Gandalf on Jul 8, 2020 21:25:43 GMT -5
”We were too late. A shame.”
Albar grunted from Arryn’s left, a fierce set of blackened whiskers poking out from beneath his visor.
”I pray the pretender’s own men are made of sterner mettle, to show us a real battle. I take no honour from an easy victory.”
The Knight haughtily concluded, sneering down at the ragged men in chains being hauled to the baggage train.
—
Harrold is admitted to see the King; Stannis sits within his command tent, with perhaps half a dozen serving men and a maester attending to him. The Red Priestess stands by two braziers, warming a small dagger.
“Lord Arryn.”
The King grunted, bare chested but for the wine-sodden cloth wrapped about his torso.
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