I woke up to screams and the din of combat, rolled out of bed and fell flat on my face. Roderick was up as well and managed to pop to his feet gracefully. Since I was on the floor anyways, I reached under my bed and tugged my shield out and stood up, trying to make it look like I had meant to do it. Luckily for me, Roderick was too busy shoving himself into his armor, and I hastened to help. With me helping Roderick and then Roderick helping me we managed to get fully armored in a few minutes, culminating in both of us belting our swords, hefting shields and sprinting out one after the other.
I followed Roderick as he made his way to the command center of the Pele tower. Gerald was already there, being armored up as he received a situational report about what in the hell's was happening. Roderick and I came up to him as a man was saying, "Lord, our northern positions have received a short cavalry charge and there is about a company of crossbow men in the woods volleying into the camp." said the Captain who was on watch for the night and had been responsible for the security of the camp.
"Very well, push men out of the gate and form a shield wall on the northern gate. They're to keep the enemy from blocking the gate and allow us the ability to sortie. Get our long bowmen in position to return some volley's and that should drive the crossbow men back. Dedicate two companies to the task, I want a brand new forest there before the night is over," Gerald ordered the man calmly, who sprinted out to make sure it got done. Gerald turned around to us, "Roderick, form one company of heavy and one company of light cavalry and prepare to sortie. I want you to sweep their cavalry squadrons aside and destroy them en masse. No quarter." was all he said to us before he turned and started to speak to the commander of the mage corps attached to them, Master Dorman.
I didn't hear any of what he was saying to the mages since I followed Roderick out. We made our way to the stables where others of Gerald's Hexenguard elite were gathered.
"Okay gentlemen, we're taking a company of heavy and a company of light," Roderick began without preamble, "Both companies will sally out of the northern gate, and the light cavalry will swing out and to the right picking their way through the forest. I want the light to come back and block their exit. The heavy will posture to keep the enemy forces looking at us until we see the light coming up from behind. Corsca, you'll command the light and I will command the heavy," Roderick issued orders rapidly and we all hastened to obey. The heavy cavalry force stood by while the light cavalry rode out of the first game and on to the second.
"Lets go," Roderick said and we kicked our horses into gear. If you're wondering what the big difference between light and heavy cavalry is, it's simple. The light cavalry wore lighter armor and usually used spears or lighter weapons while the heavy cavalry utilized heavier armor and lances. The light could move faster and for longer, and they would be able to dismount and carefully pick their way through the rocky terrain of the valley's slopes while the heavier cavalry could take a beating and deliver more punishment in return. Our horses were also armored with heavy baldrics.
"Zerial, I am giving you the van," Roderick said suddenly and I looked at him with surprise, sure he would place me in the second or third rank to ensure I lived to see the end of the battle. The most glory was in the vanguard of the charge, but so to was the most danger. The first rank would usually absorb most of the kinetic impact of a strike, with the second and third ranks serving as a disruption and damaging force. That was against an infantry force.
Charging against other mounted forces was a different manner. Since they had equal mass and were likely moving at equal speeds, ramming horses into horses was a good way for both sides to end up dead. Instead you wanted to kill or unhorse the other man without being unhorsed or killed yourself. If you ended up dismounted in a battle between two opposing forces of cavalry it was likely you would get trampled or slain. Doing so in the dark was even more dangerous, but I imagined that our charge would get lit up like the noon day sun considering the presence of several mages in our ranks.
"Understood," was all I said, moving to the middle of the line and taking the center forward position with Roderick riding just behind me. It was not long until we exited the literal hole in the wall that passed as the northern gate. I got a little nervous passing under the giant stone suspended by rope and magic hanging above our heads. I was the first out of the gate and I kept my position until the entire force of roughly one hundred horsemen rode out behind me. Already I could see that the light cavalry had ridden to the east and entered the woodlands. They had dismounted and were walking their horses to ensure no horse stepped in a hole and killed someone during the night time stroll.
Our job was to keep the enemy looking inward at us and distracted and not checking their rear. We would do that by acting as aggressively as possible without over committing. We could probably carry the day through sheer ferocity, but that would only ensure that the enemy was routed and retreated back to their county. If we let the light get into place first they would be unable to retreat. They would fight harder, but we would be able to annihilate an enemy force and discourage such attacks in the future. I doubted the crossbow men in the woods would be able to get away, not with the green wardens out there and likely approaching and now with mages now aware of their location.
As I had the thought I watched as the night was lit up by a massive fireball exploding out of our fortress and arcing into the air. It seemed to hang at the apex of its arc, and for a moment I thought that they were just providing light. I was proven immediately wrong as the fireball itself elongated into a bolt and oriented towards the woods before shooting off with a wailing scream that could be heard over the din of hooves and men yelling.
The fireball impacted into the woods with a muffled whump that turned into a roaring conflagration at its impact point. Night turned to day at the point of impact and I watched from afar as dirt and limbs scattered away from the initial blast. It was gruesome to watch but thankfully i wasn't close enough to see the rest of it.
"Always impressive to watch the mages work, eh boy?" asked a grizzled knight to my right, probably placed there by Roderick to ensure I didn't die in my first charge. "Names Cromwell," he said by way of greeting, sticking his hand out for me to shake.
"Sure is, Zerial," I said as if he didn't already know and we clasped forearms in a back-and-forth shake.
"Now we got our own job to do, so lets get to it before our mages scare the bastards off," Roderick said from behind and we kicked ourselves into a gallop across the well worn cobbled road and even countryside. We rode around the infantry force that had set up a forest of spears and wall of shields in front of our gate and rode past the bodies of the men who had been picketed there before.
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"How the fuck did they get so close," one man wondered aloud.
"It's likely they brought their own ma-" Zerial was interrupted as a bright bolt of vivid lightning arced out from in front of us. It passed through us harmlessly and hit the wall. I didn't know if it went through or not but judging by the explosion in the center of our camp and the giant blue bubble that suddenly popped into assistance to absorb it.
"I think I agree. Probably a cloak or obfuscation spell," said one of the three mages who rode with us, "To get this close they have to be moderately talented or really powerful. We have counter spells set up to cancel out obfuscation or light bending spells. They cant have brute forced it, since that would've alerted the sentry mages. Might be a team, one to obfuscate, one to slice through our wards, and one to detect and counter our early warning wards," the mage informed us all. "Though I am just guessing. Dorman'll likely have us combing the field with a fine tooth comb to figure out how their magic works and then we'll develop counters to it before we get into a real hairy situation," he finished and went quiet as the enemy cavalry force came into view.
For the next thirty minutes each side would feint at each other, draw up short, wheel around and return to their lines. Most of it was spent riding up and down and pretending that we were in place to screen our gate and infantry forces from further harassment. Generally that meant we just stood around and looked intimidating, though I don't think our enemies were very intimidated. They felt secure in whatever force of arms and sorcery they held in reserve. They warranted the arrogance, since Aurelia had the preeminent heavy cavalry force in all the countries on our continent.
Suddenly the night sky lit up above the Aurelian Cavalry force.
"Dress the line," came the lackluster order from Roderick. It was said quietly but still somehow carried to all of our ears and as one our entire force wheeled around and cantered into a more-or-less straight line. Once we were more or less set for the charge, Roderick called another order and this time it seemed to boom across the land and echo off the hills and mountains. "Charge."
And just like that we kicked ourselves into a canter and then a gallop as we charged across the field. I felt exhilaration blossom in my heart as we thundered over the lightened field and towards the suddenly concerned faces of our foes. A magical response from their side arced out in the form of a giant blue-and-white blinding bolt of lightning, but it seemed to veer out of the way suddenly just before it struck our lines and grounded on the field.
"As if those idiots would try lightning. It is literally the oldest trick in the counter-cavalry tactics book," laughed Roderick and some mages beside him grinned evilly. I didn't have much attention to spare for them as we approached the enemy lines at breakneck speeds. They had erred in issuing the counter charge so late, and now we had the speed advantage.
As drew nearer to the counter charging enemy I hyper focused on the man in front of me. Details of what he was doing flooded my mind from the way he canted his shield to the way he held his lance. I could tell that my enemy was a true professional by the way he hunched forward in his saddle and the way his lance tip never seemed to waver, always constantly pointed like an arrow in flight at me. For my part I held my lance pointed at him and from my many hours training on horseback to wield the weapon and my size, I was able to keep the tip steady and my shield canted over my body.
We impacted, his metal tipped lance slamming into my shield and deflecting down as I tilted and shoved my shield out while I drove my lance as hard as possible into his shield. He managed to deflect the blow as well, and I felt the wood along my lance crackle and splinter - and then I was through to the opposite side. I kept riding fast and soon came upon the light cavalry, who had kept pace with the charge and now slowed to allow the heavy riders to filter through.
I slowed down and passed through their lines, breathing heavily and feeling the adrenaline course through my blood at the sheer reckless abandon that had flown through me as I guided my horse on wings of death into an enemy lancer - and failed to slay him. He had stayed horsed and would return to strike again at us. As I turned about and got towards the front of our new line I saw torn up ground and ruined bodies of horse and man from both sides laying where we had just fought.
It was a gruesome sight, and one unhorsed man had made a wild dash towards out lines, only for a magical lance of lightning to reach out and cook him in his armor - our mages were too far to extend the protection he needed. It pissed me off and I drew my heavy cavalry sword from it's sheath on my horses saddle. Many men had already done the same and I saw everything from axes and spears to maces and halberds, a forest of deadly metal implements waiting to find their homes in human flesh.
On the opposite side, the enemy had also drawn various implements of death. We waited a heartbeat before someone - I don't know who - ordered the charge and both sides surged at each other once more. Our light cavalry stayed in place, ensuring that the enemy would have to fight through them to escape.
Judging by the grim atmosphere from the heavy, I didn't like we would leave many for the light to clean up. We smashed back into their lines at a slower pace and I fought a hammer wielding man, trading a few blows with him before one of my compatriots felled him with a blow to the head. I moved on to the next fight, reeling my horse around only to get smashed off of my horse with a blow to my shield that seemed to have been meant for my body. Cobalt began to buck and rear wildly when he felt me leave his back, and I had to force my breathless body to roll out of the way before my own wild horse murdered me.
I scrambled to my feet and immediately caught a blow on my shield, thrusting the weapon aside and stabbing out with my sword, slashing the mans horse on one of it's legs and removing it entirely. The man dropped off of his horse gracefully and turned to me. I could tell he was enraged, but so was I.
I didn't give him a chance to recover. On horseback he might've been the better, but we were on two legs now and I had fury and fear in my heart. I proceeded to take the man's defense apart piece by piece. In went the thrust of my sword and his parry pushed it aside only for my shield to follow behind and smash into him with the full force of my charging body behind it. He stumbled backwards and the tip of my sword came swinging around, ringing painfully against his helmet and dazing him further. He seemed lost for a second, and it was a second too long as I shoved him onto the ground, right into the path of a charging horse.
The man was trampled and I rolled out of the way of the horse, jumping to my feet and rushing to the fallen man. He drew troubled breaths from his crushed body and I finished him easily with a sword thrust through the visor of his helmet. Turning I found Cobalt had gone a few dozen yards away and stood lost in a field of dead. The majority of the battle had moved away from me and I rushed to remount.
Once I was horsed I charged back into the fading battle, and managed to kill one more foe from behind before suddenly all the fighting was through. I looked around and I could only see the uniform army of the Hexenguard heavy cavalry. Roderick rode up to me, looked me up and down and nodded slightly. "Glad to see you didn't get killed," was all he said before he ordered us to check over the dead and make sure they were actually dead.
Congratulations, you have defeated two opponents and assisted in the defeat of a third. Experience awarded.