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Introduction
Old depictions of Vaiken raiders- in this particular painting, a Lorminwulf unit- ambushing across a Bayne contingent attempting to cross the Loringâst Forest. The ensuing battle would not have been a clean fight, and most likely would have resulted in a massacre for the invading forces. Lorminwulf are highly defensive of their lands, and intrusions were not taken lightly.
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[beebox2=450]Introduction
Old depictions of Vaiken raiders- in this particular painting, a Lorminwulf unit- ambushing across a Bayne contingent attempting to cross the Loringâst Forest. The ensuing battle would not have been a clean fight, and most likely would have resulted in a massacre for the invading forces. Lorminwulf are highly defensive of their lands, and intrusions were not taken lightly.
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It is to no great surprise that a kingdom as varied and diverse as Trevast would have its own equally colorful history. What started off as a collection of nomadic tribes that eventually settled down in their location of choice, has over the past thousands of years grew with the help of historical catalysts into a prosperous land- yet the past is not so easily ignored, from the northmen tribes trying desperately to breach the Northern Houses to the Eastern menace of the Boteri horse-riders seeking to expand their vast empire into fertile soil. In this treatise of a brief collection of some of Trevast's turning points in history, this author (Gregory Payne) will share some insight to the events and the logistics, socioeconomic and political situation that had beleaguered many scholars until now.
The history of Trevast can be divided into four peiods: The Pre-Unification era or the 'Time of Many Nights' as it were to the common folk; The Boteri Invasion followed by the Unification Era or the 'Age of Reclamation' and lastly the recent Post-Unification Period, having started not 40 years ago when the Boteri was finally pushed out from Trevast in a humiliating battle for the horsemen at the Battle of Kaith. Many theories exists as to the potential ramifications of certain actions and the outcomes of key events, but rest assured as the explanations of this book will attempt to take perspectives from the contemporary arguments.
The Pre-Unification Era (Time of Many Nights)
Prior to its current existing state as a unified kingdom Trevast was initially an unnamed peninsula south of the northern continent- compared to the icy mountains, inhospitable volcanoes and generally lack of sufficient flat lands for agriculture, Trevast was not surprisingly seen as a godsend to the few tribes who reached it first. Its ecosystem was relatively stable and had a consistent weather, and most importantly was sheltered by the Westerland bodies during monsoon seasons providing incentive to settle down and grow roots into their new homes.Over time some of the tribes and clans began to merge with one another on the basis of regional similarities, geographical distance and sometimes purely because of other beneficial reasons which lead to the formation of a governing body which was usually a family, otherwise known as Houses. Each region with its as-of-yet-unofficial borders had at least a single ruling House, and at times multiple who would fight for dominance such as the Riverlands which was split four-ways between House Riddermark (Later Eladized [Spoken in the dialects of the prevalent Elad ethnic in the South-West] as Rivermark), Rendall, Rosmann and Elódi (Later Eladized as Eule). At that time materialistic wealth and titles were limited to the store of grain they had for winter and the term 'Chieftain'.
Fast forward to fifty or so years later and the houses started to see past beyond the simple prospect of survival- abstract concepts such as chivalry, family honor and duty were still at its infancy but was growing at a rapid rate, eventually becoming a societal norm in many areas. It was particularly prevalent down south, closer to the shoreline. The idea was resisted by the north for a long time who had a more pragmatic view of life due to their constant exposure to tribal influences, but eventually succumbed to the trend as well. By now the ruling Houses had begun to form diplomatic relations with each other and set to drawing borders around their lands- some disputes were had but ultimately the victors of the battles would gain much of advantageous lands for themselves. House Bann (later Coùmonized [Spoken in the dialects of the prevalent Coùmonn ethnic in the south] as House Bayne) is a particular example of such a victor, who defended their claims from House Courant, Glenndale and Erêa.
By now Trevast was split into two sections, further segmented into territories held by the ruling lords: The North, simply called by its inhabitants, was a harsh territory reminiscent of the Northern continent and had jealously guarded entrance into the south for many years. The most prevailing families of the time were House Barran, House Vaiken, House Centerridge (Now extinct after years of intermarriage between House Vaiken and Barran. The closest living male descendant is now a simple footman residing somewhere within Lorminium.). Below them were the Southern Principalities, dominated by House Bann, House Anor (later supplanted by House Wolnier) , House Rendall, House Riddermark and still emerging at that time, House Elódi. In this era a number of petty wars over minor disputes erupted across the lands, but not many were documented (officially, anyways.). What were readily available for inspection and scrutinization mostly told of the wars in the south.
Names such as the Mudd Wars and the Wolnier Expansion come to mind, the latter forcing the former war to a pause.
Mudd Wars
Though many would consider the many battles fought between the Riverlords over Elódi lands as multiple wars, it is more accurate to see it as a single war, fought in multiple battles with several breaks in between. Starting roughly around 329 B.I (Before Invasion), the Mudd Wars initially started as a Riddermark attempt to claim the lands surrounding the Mudd Bridge for themselves to alleviate the burdens of costs on their many projects through the income they would gain through heavy taxation on the travelers. House Riddermark, then led by Lord Golt Riddermark did not see House Elódi as a threat who at the time could only bring three thousand men to battle, in the face of four thousand Riddermark horsemen and two thousand infantry- what greeted them in their first encounter with the Elódi would greatly shake the Riddermark soldier's faith in their commanders, adding a stigma for their common soldiers up to this day. Lord Golt, with a host mainly comprised of mailed horsemen was greatly confident in a short and decisive battle against a predominantly infantry army hosted by Lord Delte Elódi- it was easy to see why, as during that era the use of horsemen, particularly in the west, were mainly for scouting duties or for rapid mobilization of infantry, who would then dismount to fight. The Riddermarks would start a trend by using them as effective shock units, bringing House Rosmann to its fold as vassals (rather unwillingly) and co-ercing the Rendalls to their cause; infantry at that period were expected to fall quickly in the face of cavalry, which would explain why in the days before battle, Lord Golt assumed the lack of need to send scouts to screen their army and gather intelligence. This negligence would cost him the battle, and his life.
Lord Delte, on the other hand was a rather cautious individual- raised in one of the many Elad clans, his earlier achievements were the unification of the Elad, Eldun and Erêm clans and establishing House Elódi as the ruling family. Even before Riddermark soldiers set foot in their lands he did not trust Lord Golt, having head of his actions and rightly predicting his next victim- while Golt busied himself trying to subdue Rosmann partisans seeking independence from their overlords, Delte set about raising his men and training them, often for days on end- his harshness would serve him well, as by the time the invasion had commenced his soldiers were far more effective than the rabble Golt's men had faced. To compound on his advantage, he did what Golt should have done and sent out riders to survey the lands for preferable locations for battle, preferably one with a natural funnel. In addition, Delte emptied his House's coffers to provide the best arms and armor to his men- tactically sound, though in the long run he would incur a massive debt on his household to House Courant after the battle. This debt would later be waved off after House Courant ceased to exist.
As Riddermark soldiers pressed further inwards Delte's scouts had reported back two possible avenues of battle, both of which met his criteria- The Yondau Pass, a narrow valley that led to a steep hill, easily defendable and with natural guards to his flanks and the Bitternacht Plains, which had turned muddy and wet overnight after a bout of torrential rain which would completely negate Golt's horsemen as well- it however did not have the natural guard to his flanks, the only high ground would not be enough to fit all of his men and it would also hinder his own soldiers ability to fight effectively. However, while the choice remained obvious to some commanders today, Lord Delte instead chose the Bitternacht Plains over Yondau Pass for several reasons. Given his cautious (indeed, some would say overly cautious) personality, Delte probably did not expect to win the engagement and had a few contingencies set in place- Bitternacht was closer to several nearby settlements and villages that his retreating force could fall back to in the event of a rout, allowing him to regroup and fight for another day. Yondau Pass on the other hand was extremely disconnected from civilization, and was a great distance away for his army to travel on foot- Golt's host had more mobility, and it was likely that he would have reached the pass before he did, thus negating a lot of the terrain advantage he would have used against him. Thus he enacted a controversial move, and positioned his men at Bitternacht Fields and set about fortifying his position, using the bout of bad weather that delayed Golt's forces to his advantage.
Three Elódi warriors standing side by side- judging by their quality of armor these were probably part of Delte's special few who were fortunate enough to be part of the group to receive subsidized armor: many of his soldiers had to pay for their own arms and armor, but a standard man-at-arms usually had a 'Sipaki' (Short sword, primarily for thrusting, although historians today have shown it also had a cutting edge.), 'Trobak' style shields made from pinewood and the 'Pyd' spear. For their time, this was the hallmark of a well equipped force and. The standard warrior at the time knew his job well, and was trained to act on it but was still affected by their original tribal style of fighting; it the thick of the muddy, bloody melee it was easy to forget their training and fall into their instincts.
When Lord Golt finally arrived at Bitternacht Field, he was surprised at the presence of the Elódi defenders, whom he expected to have met him over at Yondau Pass. Seeing their chosen point of defense however, it was unsurprising that his contempt for the Elódi grew along with his overconfidence- open fields with little to no readily available natural terrain? He either thought them foolish or brave, and at 8 in the morning proceeded to charge them with his cavalry enmasse in his usual brute force style. As his cavalry floundered in the muddy, water-logged field however, it was soon made readily apparent to him that he had chosen poorly: half his riders were stuck in the man-made bogs the defenders had dug out the night before, filling it with water to deceive the attackers. Some simply were stuck in the mud, or were shot down by Erêm bowmen who wore down the charge with their hail of arrows. By the time Golt's men had reached halfway through the fields it was clear that his usual frontal assault would not work; he ordered a hasty withdrawal and gave his men- and the defenders who suffered minimal casualties- a chance to rest. The first wave was costly- of the 6000 strong army he had brought with him, 4000 were horses- of the 4000 he sent, 2791 (The numbers vary from historian to historian, some over-exaggerating the numbers to perhaps gain favour of the current Lord Eule- many however can agree the range was between 3000-2000.) returned in fighting condition; the rest were dead or too heavily wounded to carry on. For the attackers, it was a staggering blow in morale and manpower and for Delte's brave few, it was an astounding act of defiance that blunted a terrifying force.
The Erêm bowmen of the Elódi host played a crucial role in the Bitternacht Battle, wearing down Lord Golt's force even when rain poured- the strings which they used to string their bow were made of the stems of the Harbê plant, which transposed its natural water-resistant qualities to the refined object. This allowed the archers to continuously fire with minimal interference even during the downpour, while the Riddermark archers struggled to get in range- to this day Erêm archers hold a special place in the Eulean military, often seen as Prekoyai or armed with the bow as Volkssturm.
Furthermore, the charging Riddermarks were greeted with a clap of thunder, and a sudden torrent of rain- Rosmann auxiliaries suddenly had a harder time performing their jobs, forcing them to close the distance along with their shield brothers only to be caught in the ensuing hail of arrows. Battered, bruised and beaten, it is not so difficult to see why the attackers chose to withdraw, which turned into a full rout as the defenders charged forward- Lord Golt and his retinue, in an attempt to rally his routing forces was struck by an arrow to his neck. By 4 in the evening, the battle was well and truly over and Delte had won in the face of an army that had forced lords to bend their knees. This of course would not be the only time he would have to fight, as the Riddermarks would return with an even greater force, often with auxiliaries from their allies but for now the Bitternacht Battle was an astounding success, a perfect military example of good use of land, range and natural resources to negate an opponent's advantages. The invading force fled, leaving behind a grand total of 4652 dead or wounded behind, while the Elódi suffered 152 in total casualties. Prisoners caught, especially riders were given a choice- join the Elódi as part of Delte's own initiative to emulate the Riddermark's fearsome riders for his own, or be executed on the spot- not surprisingly many chose to join Delte's army, later amounting to an impressive 2000 in total of horsemen.
In the end, many historians would mark this as House Elódi's rise and a hallmark event that would pave way for the many military successes they would enjoy in the battles to come. Their armed forces would evolve as Lord Delte refined his strategies and training regimes, forcing a gradual change that would become the infant stages of Eule's army into its professional, drilled force. Lord Delte's legacy would pass on to his son, Lord Desel the Humiliater who would later be famous for his infamous Plain's Run- multiple conflicts would erupt over in Delte's time as a Lord, later passing on to his son and the next lord. The Mudd Wars would only see an end when the Wolnier Expansion started, forcing the four Houses to an uneasy truce as they fought (and very rarely banded together) against the Wolnier Overlords.
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