Dream of Legends (53 page)

A number of banners marked the origins of many of the units, and it could be discerned that the Duchies of Baraban, Thurgian, Sachia, and the Margraviate of Holsheim had provided a great portion of the foot soldiers within the Ehrengardian forces.

The concentrated units of archers amongst them were easy to identify, as they were wearing distinctive, kettle-shaped helms. With a little scrutiny, the positions of the crossbowmen could also be ascertained, as they strode forward carrying their heavy weapons in both hands, telltale hooks hanging down from their belts for reloading the weapons.

The right side of the host of Ehrengard, where the striking part of an Ehrengardian force was often deployed, was the area that attracted the most attention and dread from the watching Saxan defenders.

A deadly forest of elongated spears seemed to crawl across the grassland, covering it like a dark tide sweeping menacingly towards the Saxan ranks. In the midst of this huge formation flew ebon banners, and within each was woven the image of a single, red blade. Many thousands marched proudly and boldly under the black and red ensigns, at the forefront of the right flank of the hosts of Ehrengard.

These were the Halmlander, greatly feared and despised far beyond the lands of the Sacred Empire.

Though nominally from the lands of the Duchy of Baraban, the Halmlander were a storied mercenary company, whose skill was more than equal to the high cost that it took to bring them into a war. Many infamous mercenary captains had led their great companies, serving under many kings over the years.

The legendary exploits of Mercad, serving a Norengal monarch, and Adoc, for a Gallean king, were two such examples. Now, a grizzled, brutal man named Gerhoch had come at the behest, and generous pay, of the Sacred Emperor, bringing his foreboding, ravenous horde along with him.

Overflowing in ferocity, and maintaining discipline in battle, the Halmlander’s mere presence had been enough to scatter more than one significant enemy force. Those that they fought knew fully well the dire consequences to villages and towns should the defenders fail to stop them. Even so, many forces had willfully chosen not to oppose the living plague, while knowing that the malignant horde would ravage their lands nonetheless.

Without ties to homes of their own, the Halmlander gave great advantage to those who sought their services. Unlike regular levies, and those contingents under feudal obligations, the Halmlander could be kept for overly extended periods in the field, as long as wages were paid when promised. Their home was wherever they were, and a king who had coffers full enough could depend on the Halmlander from the start to the finish of an entire campaign.

The mercenaries were men who had fled from the law, fortune seekers, heretical clergymen, disloyal knights, and other rootless men who found a haven in concentrating together as one force. Together, all past histories no longer mattered, and they could enthusiastically indulge in bloodlust and rapaciousness.

They were men that needed to be constantly employed in a state of war. If they were not being used, they often turned upon the very populaces that they dwelled amongst.

The history of Gallea, Norengal, Ehrengardian principalities, and many other lands could testify to the horror of the ravenous appetites for blood and violence that the Halmlander possessed. Such was the menace, and chilling deadliness, of the Halmlander.

Bearing their long lances, the foot-soldiers of the Halmlander were spurred forward by the few rogue knights that helped to command their great company. The seemingly innumerable shafts with their deadly points served to create a dense hedge of protection for the force of mounted knights that was coming up just behind them.

The knights comprising the force located in back of the Halmlander, on the farthest right of the Ehrengardian force, were truly among the most prime warriors in all of Ehrengard.

The symbols of the Duke of Schueva, from which the imperial Staffes family line had come, the Duke Leopold of Aestrius, and the Duke of Baraban, from whose lands the Halmlander themselves had been hired, were visible on the shields, surcoats, and pennons amongst the great knights.

Imperial banners, showing a great, black dragon, with wings outstretched wide, set against a field of gold, flew from the contingents from Schueva, as their widely renowned Duke possessed the unique honor to display the imperial ensigns.

There was a sense of elegance to the attire of these greater knights. A good number of their helms were fashioned with an aesthetic fluting, whose graceful contours beautified a design that carried great practicality, resulting in perhaps the strongest helms found in any realm. Others wore helms with full iron visors affixed to the brow, protecting their entire faces. A few still wore older, conical designs, which had little more than a nasal guard extending down for facial protection.

Over their mail coats, several knights wore finely fashioned surcoats, complete with “V” shaped necks, and drooping, pendant sleeves. Exquisitely crafted swords rested in gilded sheaths, tied into belts whose ends were split into slits, and then knotted together in a fashion common across the lands of Ehrengard.

Their shields were largely of the variety prevalent among Ehrengard’s knights. Broad in width, with the two top ends rounded and extending downward, they narrowed gradually into a narrow, curved bottom that evoked a shorter, wider rendition of the elongated kite-shields carried by so many of the foot soldiers.

Even their robust war stallions carried an elite aura about them, many being covered in quilted trappers, richly colored to match the colors on their riders’ shields and surcoats.

The majestic appearance of knights was not limited just to those in the rear on the right side of the line, but were spread among the other mounted elite of Ehrengard that followed the masses of infantry in the center and left.

The imperial dragons flying in the center of the formation heralded the presence of Heinrich VIII’s most powerful Oath Knight, Markward of Augenberg. The powerful, proud form of the great knight sat astride a regal war steed, covered in a spectacular trapper, fashioned entirely of glinting chain mail.

Markward wore a fully encompassing great helm, surrounding his face and all parts of his head with iron, a new style of helm that had just started to be crafted and used. He was surrounded by a host of lower-ranking Oath Knights, all of whom were bonded to Emperor Heinrich.

Not far from Markward, was the Archbishop Anno of Colgonach, one of the Empire’s greatest ecclesiastical princes. Like Markward, he was also mounted on a great warhorse that was clad in a full mail trapper.

A distinctive type of leather mitre-cap, with two vertical extensions, curving gradually to rounding summits, one rising in the front and one at the rear of the mitre-cap, crowned his iron great helm. The mitre-cap was snow-white, with curling red patterns interwoven on it. The two facings in the front and rear were curved slightly outward on the edges of the great helm, forming an open space between the two extensions.

The cap was held in place by a circular base that wrapped tightly around the top of the helm, with a white cloth mantling hanging down in the rear, covering the back of the great helm.

The Archbishop was a vision very different from that of a humble rural clergyman or monk, the latter two striving to distance themselves from the temporal world. His tall stature was covered from head to foot in a finely fashioned suit of mail, surmounted by a blood-red, sleeveless surcoat that was split up to the waist in the front and back.

He carried a mace with flanged head that was not intended for any act of faith. One would have presumed that the mace, in a great stretch of the proper intentions, addressed the commonly held belief that the clergy of the Creator should not shed blood. Such a notion was imminently refuted by the presence of a prominent sword, fit with an ornate pommel, resting in a finely-crafted, silver gilt scabbard hanging outside his surcoat at his waist.

Like many of the martial bishops and archbishops of Ehrengard, Archbishop Anno had brought a mighty contingent with him, and would not hesitate to lead them into the thick of the fighting.

Though a few drops of water could do little to alleviate a parched desert of dismay, the notable absence of black spear blades on white backgrounds amid the Ehrengardian host was a welcome recognition among the Saxan leaders.

The Order of the Sacred Lady, whose fierce monk-knights bore forth the legendary, black spear blade ensigns during their countless struggles, had evidently not deemed the Saxans to be apostate foes of the Western Church.

It was an exceptional absence in light of the great force arrayed against the Saxans, as the Order’s high masters had gained the status of Imperial Princes during the reign of Gerard III, the grandfather of the current Emperor, Heinrich VIII.

With the apparent cohesion among the great princely and ecclesiastical powers of Ehrengard, the addition of the Order of the Sacred Lady to the force would have been nearly too much to bear for a defending army whose apprehensions were already being pushed to their outermost limits.

*

The Avanorans

*

A host of blaring horns heralded the coming of Avanor’s force in the heart of the three primary forces, scant moments before they surmounted the horizon. Their line of pennons and gonfalons proudly rose up and spanned the edge where the world touched the sky.

They faced the middle of the Saxan line, connecting the army of Ehrengardians on the Avanoran’s right flank to the massive force from Andamoor on their left. A continuous wall of lethal intent now confronted the Saxan ranks.

A solid line of foot soldiers advanced at the forefront, well equipped with long triangular shields, solid lances, and conical helms, and an ample portion of them wore coats of mail. They were no mere peasant rabble, but rather professional soldiers, filling feudal obligations and receiving steady pay in return.

Marching just behind the line of spearmen were sizeable numbers of archers and crossbowmen. Mostly without armor, and armed with little else save a dagger, they shielded themselves for the moment behind the ranks of heavy infantry, at least until the need for their deadly missiles was required.

An unrelenting rumble filled the air, as another mass of warriors then came into view, causing many Saxan observers to feel their breath catch in their throats. Rank upon rank of heavy cavalry followed closely behind the front lines of Avanoran foot soldiers, archers, and crossbowmen.

This new formation held the most feared element of the Avanoran force, and perhaps the most formidable amongst all of the forces gathered upon the battlefield.

The middle and rear ranks of the cavalry formation were filled with a thick mass of stout warriors, comprised primarily of mounted sergeants and squires. Many dedicated contingents of sergeants had come from ecclesiastical lands, equipped and supplied under the order of bishops or abbots, to fulfill the clergymen’s feudal obligations to Avanor, as any lord would be required. The greater part of the sergeants were hardy, experienced warriors, armed capably with cavalry maces, lances, swords, and shields. Yet as tough fighters as they were, the sergeants were not the ones that elicited an instant dread at their mere presence on the battlefield.

The squires were also fiercely dedicated men, some on their way to becoming knights, and others fully content to serve as squires. Whatever path their future held, every squire assiduously attended to the needs of his master.

Beyond attending to equipment and war horses, they formed foraging parties in hostile lands, and conducted wood gathering forays. Many had received considerable training in the arts of war, so that when they stood on a battlefield, they were staunch opponents in their own right, if they were made to engage the enemy.

Their purpose during a battle was dual in nature, for as much as they could fight, they kept up a close watch on the masters they served, bringing spare horses to knights whenever their steeds were injured or killed under them. Such was the deadly duty that required much courage to execute, and a mass of squires was a force not to be underestimated, imbued with great bravery and solid, martial skill. Still, like the sergeants, they also evoked little outright fear within experienced, defending ranks.

The ones feared were those whom the squires served, and the sergeants rode behind, the warriors whose lofty status soared far above even the best of fighters among the latter. These men were located right at the front of the mass of heavy cavalry, positioned there for all opponents to see without obstruction.

The great knights in the cavalry formation rode upon mighty war stallions. The elite steeds were given diligent care, resulting in coats exhibiting a rich sheen, one that effectively displayed the sculpted contours of their impressive musculatures. Never before had there been such a concentrated, luxurious display of well-bred destriers, such as the mustering of Avanoran war horses upon the battlefield that day.

Carefully cultivated from stock once brought from Andamoor, which itself reached back to bloodlines originating from the Sunlands, the Avanoran breed of war horses were exceptional creatures. Compared to any mount within the Saxan ranks, even among the absolute best of the defender’s cavalry, the Avanoran warhorses had noticeably longer backs, thicker hindquarters, and substantially greater body mass and height. They even had longer manes, now flowing free and unbraided after their journey by sea.

The vaunted human bloodline of Avanor was represented in its most elite, potent incarnation in the knights astride the magnificent steeds. Men of prowess, they hailed from a land that had spawned a great many conquerors and renowned warriors, ranging from Norengal to Paleria, and even extending to the coastal kingdoms in the Sunlands.

They bore their lances high, the pennons signifying the positions of smaller units, called conrois, that had trained, lived, and fought together until they could flow as if one body upon a battlefield.