Into the Ice Fields
I come from a land that is harsh and unforgiving
Winter snows can kill you And the summer burn you dry
Harsh an Unforgiving C. Kaldor
In today's episode, it is we who come to a land that is harsh and unforgiving. For the first time, we are met on the field of battle by the hearty Sturgians.
Our pikes mass in the ankle-deep snow, hot breath puffing from under cold steel helms. We haven't faced this threat before - we've heard of the Sturgians, of course... but in living memory there has always been a Battanian buffer between them and us. Sure, now and then some of our kin would work as mercenaries fighting alongside, or against, Sturgian forces... but those were nothing like this.
Our borders have expanded until old friends have become bitter rivals. Once we marched shields locked with both Battanian and Sturgian brothers, intent then to crush the Empire that had trod on us. Now look at us less than a generation later, squabbling over territory while the Western Empire expands. Mark my words... the real threat is the Empire, and we will face it as a united force even if I have to conquer every city of the Battanians and the Sturgians to do so.
The snow makes for less-than-ideal terrain for our cavalry, and the thick pikes of the Sturgian infantry are problematic. It is well that we face a general as unfamiliar with us as we are with him. Their line crumbles under the sheer weight and speed of our charge, and before the blood can even melt into the snow our own infantry is there to capitalize on their broken formation.
This first contact is heavily in our favour. By the time their line breaks and runs, the ground is strewn with the bodies of their fallen.
We have both learned something from this, though time alone will tell who has learned the most.
Our next tangle with the Sturgians will happen outside of Flintolg Castle as an enemy army sets upon our besieging army.
The enemy outnumbers us and as we reach the field of battle the winds swirl and falling snow obscures their forces. Visibility is going to play a factor in the battle to come.
We move our archers into position late - enemy forces crest the hill a mere 200 feet or so before us.
The Sturgians are used to fighting in these conditions, and their archers are already picking off some of our units. How they manage to draw and fire with such precision is beyond me. The fingers of our own archers are stiff and cold.
Over the chaos of battle orders being shouted and troops moving into position, a new sound cuts through the roaring winds whipping through these icy hills. The pounding of hooves was softened by the falling snow and howling wind, letting them get far far too close to us before we're able to react.
Even as we spot them, a moment later they are obscured again - swallowed by the churning snows like boogiemen of ancient stories.
Too late I realize that the group I spotted was but half of their cavalry. The right flank crests a hill on the other side of their wall of infantry, crashing into our own lines.
Damn these ghosts of winter.
Their infantry closes as their cavalry wheels for a second charge. They fight like wolves. My own men give as good as they take, but the rest of our army... we're bleeding off men too fast. The winter conditions leave our hands numb and our feet like wooden blocks, while the northern army fights as though they don't feel the cold at all.
Peasants replace our wounded and dead professional soldiers as the battle drags on. We've hit them back hard, they'll bloody their noses on this win, but it's surely going to be a win for them.
I do what I can to rally the flagging morale of the peasant conscripts. This is a terrible way to learn the art of war, and I feel badly that so many of them will not live to see the next sunrise.
We fight tooth and nail for what feels like hours in this damned wind and snow, but finally, it's time to withdraw. Some few of my troops are still on their feet, and gods be blessed, many are simply wounded... but we've done what we can here for our kinfolk.
We carried this battle, and I will not let the efforts of my men and women be in vain. Of the 146 enemies slain, 123 were from my army. I brought soldiers, apparently, our kinfolk brought bakers and potters.
We manage to route, 21 able-bodied troops and 106 wounded. We need to rest and recuperate, rebuild our forces, and take to the field again another day.
The enemy sends several smaller forces to chase us - they must have noticed whose heraldry was adorning the soldiers actually fighting back. We flee south, hoping to find a friendly port to rest amid the once-enemy Battanians.
We are caught in the village of Andurn by an enemy general. Fighting her feels dangerous, so we try to escape. We scatter in different directions, intent to reform on the road south to Seonon. The plan goes fairly well, though 27 of our soldiers are lost. Whether they were captured by the enemy or simply took this opportunity to defect, we'll never know.
Finally, we find the safety we were seeking within the walls of Seonon. With Sturgian troops hot on our heels the entire time, this is a well-deserved bit of downtime, and we enjoy some of the local ale at one of the city's many taverns. It's a solemn affair. Many of our companions were lost, and yet more are still wounded. They'll heal, in time, but this has been a battle and retreat that won't soon be forgotten.
The wolves of the north have our begrudging respect.
...They fight almost as well as we do.
I hope you enjoy this slightly more narrative and story-based recap of today's video. There's gameplay beyond this that is included in the video below, but that is not included in today's post. For the full episode, please check out the video below and feel free to toss me a like and sub - it helps a lot!
Until next time friends, Happy Gaming!
