The Battle before the Storm

A unique name but then again you need that for the so many conflicts in the area... I believe this otherwise would be called the 12th battle of Brynsce...

— Everam, Teller of Nimenra

One of the few battles that had a much longer and lasting impact on The War for Marlun than at the time one would realize as it lead to the desperate measure called The Worrios Storm. The Battle before the Storm as it would go down in history as was a one-sided victory for The Council of Four Kings. With a heavy loss of their leaders Nekuram was forced back from their last line of defence in Brynsce and all the way back to The Crossroad. This was the last time a king participated actively in a battle of the war.

Prelude and deployment

The war had at the time been ongoing for 60 years with the frontline moving both close and far from Glarn, the objective for Nekuram. Council forces had been able to make up unusual resistance mostly thanks to Renvar forces and their leader, King Arwin IV Lionhiron. Arwin was a veteran leader already when he had lead forces against Nilaminra which had started skirmishes with the Kingdom of Telaron 30 years earlier. This attack had led to bad blood between the countries in which both had withdrawn plenty of their forces to protect themselves.

Arwin had during the leadup to the battle asked both sides for reinforcements, both of which were very hesitant to answer the call to arms. Their total 35 000 committed troops were instead held by both sides' generals in Glarn for the time being. This left Arwin and the Marshal of The United Council, a noble man from Orfordwhelm, with a total of 20 000, many which was a mixture of veterans and newly arrived levy and conscripted from the last reinforcements from Telamirein.

On Nekuram's side, several losses had led to a council meeting which had decided to dispatch several of the royal family members to Marlun. Their presence was a morale booster but also due to the fact that the three princes had wide experience with military conflict by now. In addition to this Nekuram dug into the village, preparing a large barricade to prevent cavalry and missile units to do damage. Nekuram proceeded to send most of their standing forces to the field.

Battlefield

Brynsce was a well-known battlefield at this point since at least five battles had already taken place in the last 60 years in the village. No villagers had lived there for the last ten ever since Nekuram took back the location. The village's importance was little beyond that it provided a good field for food, close proximity to the main road and housing.

Conditions

The summer had been a dry one, crops and plants perished because of the high temperatures that reached a local 32°C over the days of the battle. At its peak, the temperatures reached 36°C. This was, to be mild, a hellish condition that many soldiers suffered under. The landscape was thus dry and dirt storms were a threat to both sides.

Type
Battle
Date
Four days on the summer of 2534
Results
Council forces route the Nekurian, opening the way to Unsirgea and Fenhergea

Belligerents

Council of Four Kings

• Kingdom of Ravero
• Kingdom of Telaron
• Nilaminra {The Theocracy of Nilari and Minrans}
• Orfordwhelm

Nekuram

• Nekuram

Strength

A total of 20 000 troops:
12 000 Renvar forces lead by King Arwin Lionhiron
4 000 Orfordian forces led by the Marshal of The United Council
4 000 Telar and Nilaminran forces led by various generals and commanders
(Additional 35 000 Reinforcments off the battlefield).

60 000 Soldiers, mostly levy and conscripted:
400 of the The Royal Nekuraith Guard for three princes, one princess and ten other members of the royal family.
Most of the current The High Officers of Nekuram excluding the regent and king.

Casualties

3 500 losses in total

35 000 soldiers, all of the commanders except general Lian Croscryn and all of the royal family members present with their accompanying guard

Objectives

Defeat the Nekurian army and pave a way to Unsirgea and Fenhergea for the prepared siege equipment

Defeat the Council forces to retaliate and prepare a new offensive

Engagement

Nekuram engaged the first from their fortified position with artillery and magic. This initial strike proved fruitless when powerful magic was put in place to create a barrier thanks to the preparations from the marshal. Arwin proposed a charge into the lines as a test of the enemy's strength the same day. This was not put into action on the remark that the horses were too tired. During the night, fresh water supplies arrived at the Council forces. This sparked an idea in the king. He ordered night sabotage of the well, blocking it and placing out a forward unit of Telars to attack any supply trains.

The second day proved that the timing of placing ambushes was good since in the morning supply trains had been attacked by the Telar forces. The marshal heard of Arwin's tactic and as per usual he did not like the interference that he made in the command chain. Arwin countered by calling the marshal passive. The second day had continued skirmishes with Renvar cavalry proving a tactical benefit over the exhausted skirmishers that Nekuram employed. The second day resulted in about 500 casualties for Nekuram.

It was during the third day that Arwin took his chance. Having learned the pattern of guard changes through the employment of scouts with wizards knowing sight amplifying magic, Arwin ordered a ranged assault, bombarding the enemy camp in the early morning with missiles and charged cavalry into the enemy camp. Nekuram was not prepared for this action. Most of the command was having a meeting in a tent which caught on fire. Inside several officers and royal family members lost their lives as they tried to run out only to be attacked by cavalry charging through the camp. Arwin himself is said to have killed 35 enemy soldiers in the surprise attack. All in all, 10 000 Nekurian soldiers died in the exchange, with 1 500 losses to Council forces, many including the brave cavalrymen that charged straight into the enemy camp but successfully killed many of the officers and leaders of the enemy army. The king's gamble, one would call it in hindsight, shattered the enemy forces.

On The fourth day Nekuram's forces were still in disarray after the previous day and with supplies having been destroyed in the raids both in the battle and outside. The leadership tried to reorganise and prepare for another morning attack or a full-out assault. Since the fortifications proved unuseful in preventing the raid no one made any effort to repair them. Instead of a day assault, however, an evening assault was ordered and proved to cripple the last of Nekurams efforts. This final blow caused a route for the remaining Nekur forces.