The Battle of Blackmyre Castle
The Conflict
Prelude
With ser Allon Southbay injured during the Raid on The Darklyn Encampment, command of the Royal Coalition army fell to ser Darris Blackmyre. Under his supervision, the Royal Coalition once more reorganised itself, dissolving the formations ser Allon had devised in favor of deploying House formations as was traditional.
Deployment
Ser Darris organised the army into three contingents, consisting of several House militaries each. They established prepared defences in between copses of trees and broken ground to protect their flanks. A line of skirmish and ranged units would deploy as a screen ahead of the main force, ready to fall back. Meanwhile, the House levies would stand by as reserves to replace front line units as they grew exhausted from the battle.
To the south, forming the right flank, were The Men-at-Arms of House Southbay, commanded by Edam Bracks, and supported by The Lost Striders.
The centre was held by The Men-at-Arms of House Blackmyre, along with The Men-at-Arms of House Brume. They were commanded by ser Darris Blackmyre.
The left flank of the army, to the north, were The Men-at-Arms of the lowlands of the Skanler Duchy, led by ser Carreth Conklyn, and the The Men-at-Arms of House Winthrop commanded by ser Dominic Winthrop.
Battlefield
The battle happened just west of Blackmyre castle, amidst a lightly wooded marsh. Various bogs and woods had formed three approaches that the Coalition army deployed in.
Conditions
Though the battle began in the early afternoon in favorable conditions, as it dragged out towards evening it began to rain, which limited both sides' ability to manouver and engage in ranged combat.
The Engagement
As the morning gave way to noon, the Darklyn forces marched towards the Coalition army. Ser Darris had his skirmishers hold their ground until the enemy was in range before acting. Far to the north, House Fallder found itself suddenly flanked by the Company of the Third Man, who had crept into position using the forest for cover.
As the clouds parted and a bright sun shone on the field, the skirmishers of both sides loosed their arrows, causing minimal damage. Unaware of what was happening to the north, Edam, the Marshal of Southbay, ordered a general advance to minimise the frontage the Darklyns could attack. Meanwhile the Order of the Wyrm marines slunk into the nearby woods and vanished, using their ship skills to deftly clamber up the trees.
In the centre, House Blackmyre held it’s ground as House Brume continued to skirmish with the House Darklyn berserkers. In the north, House Winthrop surged forward to rescue the flanked skirmishers of House Fallder, ser Dominic Winthrop leading the charge against the mercenaries.
The foot knights of House Winthrop overwhelmed the lightly armored hired swords, who attempted to fall back and reorganize their lines but were unable to escape. Meanwhile, House Brume’s skirmishers laid down fire as best they could but were unable to stall the Darklyn advance and found themselves being charged by berserkers.
In the south, Isambard’s zealots were overtaken by fervor and began to race forwards, forcing Edam to keep pace lest a hole open up in their battleline. The Lost Striders continued their steady advance until the thundering of hooves gave them pause. A heavy cavalry unit from the Rothevalian Order of the Hippogryph bore down on them, though Brenag had his men scatter enough to let the knights ride through their ranks without causing any lasting damage. Unfortunately, this left a heavy armed and armoured unit free to roam behind the frontline.
Isambard, eager to prove his faith, stirred up his levy to charge the enemy, and his zealots ended up carving through the enemy skirmishers as the Lost Striders reformed to face the Order of the Hippogryph cavalry behind them. Miltar Perle charged more skirmishers to protect Isambards flank, with Edam following up with the Southbay Household Guard.
In the centre, House Falcin clashed with warriors from the Frozen Shore as House Blackmyre surged forth to join the skirmish battle. Meanwhile, to the north, ser Dominic Winthrop slaughtered his way through the Company of the Third Man, as Jack watched on swearing vengeance.
The Order of the Hippogryph charged again at some rapidly reforming Southbay units, but the foot soldiers managed to evade their lances, and a hail of crossbow bolts downed one of the Rothevalians. As a unit of skirmishers moved to flank the Southbay Household Guard, the Order of the Wyrm marines fell upon them from the trees, stalling their charge.
Surveying the battle from his horse, ser Darris Blackmyre noted that his flank was beginning to crumble as the skirmishers found themselves trapped between the closing armies. Messengers reported that the other divisions were doing well against their foes, even as the mainline units finally began to engage one another.
Roving freely behind the front-line, the heavy cavalry of the Order of the Hippogryph spurred their horses on, and rode with legendary swiftness to smash into the rear of Southbay’s Household Guard, slaying half their number and grabbing ser Allon’s banner.
The Lost Striders charged into the men-at-arms of the Order of the Hippogryph, reaping a bloody toll on the Rothevalians alongside the Southbay levies. Meanwhile Captain Buckwell had his archers charge the heavy cavalry in the rear to trap them against the Southbay Household Guard.
On the opposite flank, the scant few survivors of the Company of the Third Man quit the field as ser Dominic Winthrop paused to catch his breath. In the middle of the field, the Darklyn berserkers managed to wipe out some of the embattled skirmishers and begin breaking through the front lines.
Seeing the danger of being surrounded, the knights of the Order of the Hippogryph swiftly disengaged and rode into the crossbow unit of Captain Oldflowers, spying large levy formations rapidly closing in on them from the east.
As the sun began to slowly set, the battle turned into a grinding bloody affair. Captain Oldflowers' crossbow unit proved itself capable in short range combat, slaying six knights of the Order of the Hippogryph , as House Blackmyre continued to stand defiant amidst the bleeding forces of Houses Falcin and Brume.
House Teeze began to reinforce the centre line as House Winthrop continue to wreak havoc on the right flank, and the left flank saw a sudden upset when the Southbay Household Guard fell after enduring continuous attacks from all sides.
With evening slowly coming, Captain Oldflowers rallied his soldiers and had them unleash a storm of bolts at the retreating cavalry of the Order of the Hippogryph, wiping it out. It's leader, ser Brigit, managed to escape, but was forced to leave behind not only ser Allon’s banner but her own as well. Seeing their commander quit the field, the men-at-arms of the Order laid down their arms and surrendered to the Lost Striders.
In the middle of the battlefield, the House Falcin and Brume forces attempted to disengage and fall back to the House Blackmyre lines. The Darklyn men-at-arms however refused to relent their assault and give them an opporutnity to escape.
The Darklyn left flank by this point had crumbled under the continued onslaught of Houses Winthrop, Teeze, and Conklyn. The poor organisation of the Darklyn army meant there were no reinforcements commited to assist, and so left on their own, the Comfort Eagles had their commander, Riler Stally challenge ser Abagal Skinner to a duel. The berserker won, managing to quit the field with their warriors alive in exchange for sparing the life of the fallen knight.
With their flanks falling apart, the Darklyn army paused its advance in the center, giving ser Darris time to reorganise his frontline as fresh banners are spotted behind the enemy. At first, the Coaliton feared it to be Darklyn reinforcements, but the it turned out to be the Skanler Houses from Lowall, led by ser Prestan Greydall.
Suddenly caught in a pincer, the Darklyn forces fractured. The indentured fighters from Baycotte and the Frozen Shore fell into confusion as the Darklyn men-at-arms battled their way southwards to the coast to avoid becoming trapped. Exhausted, the Coalition army permitted them to get away.
Outcome
The destruction of the Darklyn army effectively marked the end of House Darklyn's capability to go on the offensce. This allowed the Coalition to strike directly at their stronghold - Darklyn Point.
Aftermath
The victory at Blackmyre Castle was a stark contrast to the victory at Eastcross, highlighting the drawbacks of accepted Somercrag organisation during wartime. All of the participating Houses would take the lesson learned to heart, and begin experimenting with more dedicated formations than the combined arms units favoured throughout the kingdom upto that time.
The humbling of the Order of the Hippogryph, and indeed its presence on the field aligned with House Darklyn, was a strain of the bonds being established between Rotheval and Somercrag. It led to King Tyon's declaration that the Somercrag Chapters of the Rothevalian Orders were forbidden from undertaking mercenary work, to avoid a repeat of the incident.
Historical Significance
The battle remains a strong highlight in Blackmyre history, being cited as an exemplary instance of House Blackmyre committing to defending its lands, fulfilling their noble obligations with honour and humility.
However, within the greater Duchy it is remembered as the one battle in the Darklyn War not orchestrated by ser Allon, and being the costliest as a result. Many rivals of House Blackmyre also tend to point out how it was House Winthrop which reaped the greatest glory from the conflict, decimating all who crossed their path, and how ser Dominc Winthrop led from the front whilst ser Darris held back from the frontline.
Technological Advancement
The brutal effectiveness of crossbows against heavy cavalry proven in this battle led to a greater interest in the weapons, which resulted in a boom of strange experimental designs throughout the Duchy.
Belligerents
The Royal Coalition
- House Blackmyre of Blackmyre
- House Brume of The Green
- House Conklyn of The Clerewood
- House Falcin of Calford
- House Fallder of The Glade
- House Skanler of Farcastle
- House Southbay of Southbay
- House Teeze of the Icewater
- House Winthrop of Hess Hall
- The Kingsguard of Tyon I Cray
Led by
Strength
- Shela Blackwood, commanding The Men-at-Arms of House Brume.
- ser Darris Blackmyre, commanding The Men-at-Arms of House Blackmyre
- Gurnar, ser Darris' squire.
- ser Nathan Eastford, leading a detachment of The Kingsguard of Tyon I Cray made up of ser Arwin Levi, ser Mortin Bettley, and ser Falar Maezenhath.
- ser Virginie Locke
- Ashlanna Peake, ser Virginie's squire.
- ser Karden Hawthorne
- Shett, ser Karden's squire.
- ser Delmar Harvester of The Order of The Wyrm
- Sylvina, ser Delmar's neophyte.
- Benarg Tyren, leading The Lost Striders.
- Herric Darklyn and Derric Darklyn, commanding the Men-at-Arms of House Darklyn.
- Jack of The Trades, commanding The Company of The Third Man.
- Cake, commanding The Comfort Eagles.
- ser Bredgit Velvinius, commanding the The Order of the Hippogryph.
- Levies from the Frozen Shore and Baycotte.
Casualties
- Estimated at around 150 soldiers.
- Estimated at around 300 soldiers.
Objectives
- To repel the enemy army from the Blackmyre.
- To destroy the Coalition army and sack Blackmyre Castle.
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