The Battle of Weyseer Island

The Battle of Weyseer Isle

Following months of raiding and pillaging along the Salt Coast of Valeria, and an initial reticence displayed by the southern lords of the Small Council to commit to a military campaign in response, it was a blight induced famine which compounded the plight of the Northern Realms and spurred action led by Lord Nordrejeep, Duke of Myr. The Small Council hoped that they could goad the mysterious and elusive Salt Coast Corsairs into a decisive battle and in so doing make safe trade in the North Sea. Time was short to secure relief shipments of grain from abroad as autumn drew to a close, and so after heated debate, Lord Nordrejeep and his unlikely ally, Montfarro Ricordea, Duke of The Iron Hills, were able to convince the council and the Crown to muster a force in the Port of Magdeburg on the 10th of Ready'reat. The noble houses of Valeria committed only 2,630 levy freemen, 230 archers, and 100 light footmen. King Harold was able to gather a fleet of 30 ships, and hire an additional 30 privateer vessels in Magdeburg. A plan was concocted wherein the blighted grain would be used as a decoy to draw the corsairs to the village of Endscott on Weyseer Isle at the mouth of the River Vale. The ground forces, ferried in secret to the island would lie in wait in the hills West of the settlement, while the royal fleet would conceal itself around the southern point of the island. Once the dread fleet was confined to the straights between the isles, the royal navy would engage it while any raiding party was engaged ashore by the combined forces of the great houses of Valeria.

On the 22nd of Ready'reat, the forces under command of Lord Nordrejeep departed Magdeburg for Weyseer Island, and made camp in the forested hills that formed its spine. A careful quarantine of the islands inhabitants was maintained to prevent word from reaching unsavory ears of the trap which had been set, and rumors were seeded by royal agents amongst the merchants of Valeria that a massive shipment of grain and goods was to be staged at Weyseer. The strategy of the royal forces banked on information uncovered by Inquisitor Almaric which indicated the pirates were not simply opportunists, but had been hired by some outside entity to engage in strategic raiding along the Salt Coast with the intent to sow instability in the Kingdom.

1st of Sunsebb, 803 CA, Midnight, Endscott, Weyseer Isle, Magdeburg

The light of the quarter waxing Celene dominated the clear midnight sky as Luna was new and unseen in the heavens. The red glow of the wild moon tinged the fog rising from the water's edge where the warm southern waters mingled with the frigid North Sea, and gleamed off the fallen snow, still thick among the trees west of Endscott. The men of Valeria readied themselves in the wood line. Marshall Raithar and Lord Nordrejeep huddled together with their chosen commanders. The blaring of a distant horn grew nearer. To the east, the dense stand of barren trees gave way reluctantly to rolling hills, fenced here and there where the plots of local serfs were sown in the spring. The fields sloped generally downward to the village, normally home to a few hundred freemen and serfs, but now home only to soldiers. The Flyrish men of Lord Tonraq's retinue, disguised as merchants and dockhands, loaded crates of blighted grain onto the two longships docked at the village pier. The recently abandoned cluster of a few dozen buildings dominated by a church bell tower were alight with lanterns and torches to lend them a lived-in appearance. Lord Nordrejeep and Marshall Raithar hastily advised the assembled commanders of their orders. Erwin, Count of Redwater, a diminutive man more accustomed to court politics and bureaucracy than warfare would lead the Northern Flank of the Valerian line comprised mostly of levies from the Iron Hills. Ricard, Earl of Westford, a known drunkard and philanderer, would hold the Center with a combined force of Myrish and Valen levies. Einrich, Count of Airedale, a would-be scholar, would lead the Southern Flank with the combined levies of Haldir and Delebor. All three commanders were instructed to, upon the signal of Marshall Raithar, advance at double time on the Corsair raiders should they land a force. Two Myrish freemen, captains of the Myr militia, Dane Erikksen and Galt Vrektel, would lead small companies consisting of the most promising fighters from amongst the levy freemen around the north and south flanks respectively. Marshall Raithar was to command the few professional troops positioned at the front of the Valerian line, just one regiment of light footmen and two regiments of archers. King Harold’s nephew, Duke Gregorr of Valen was to lead the reserve forces of mixed levies and a small contingent of thirty Haldiran archers.

Over the water, the horn grew louder still, and soon enough a swift merchant vessel, hired in Magdeburg to play rabbit to the Corsair hound, appeared through the fog - sails billowing and oars pounding as it made for the harbor. A few long moments later, as the merchant vessel was pushed aground by a frantic crew, towering and ghostly silhouettes appeared across the bay. Huge white sails billowed from enormous masts. Bells rang in the village as the Flyrish soliders, carrying their lanterns, shouted in alarm and fled from the anchored ships. The bells were met by a hauntingly off-key chorus of horns from the ghastly ships and the pounding of drums.

The Corsairs sailed their fleet of two dozen towering ships into the shallow waters off the edge of the pier and without a moment’s hesitation, hundreds, no thousands… of shapes began to leap from their ghostly decks. A guttural howling and chanting could be heard by the Valerians from their vantage point in the hills which struck fear into the hearts of the masses of untrained levies far from their home. "HOLD!" The command was repeated in hoarse whispers up and down the line. The corsairs moved with unnatural speed through the inky black and icy waters toward the village in pursuit of the hired merchants and Flyrish decoys alike.

With an overhanded motion, Marshall Raithar signaled the small contingent of archers forward. Two hundred silhouettes stepped to the edge of the woodline and readied bows. As the corsairs made the village, at least two thousand men strong (if they were indeed men), a volley of arrows arced across the sky from the wooded hills to the west. Some found their marks and briefly the corsairs appeared to hesitate, confused. Lord Nordrejeep, Duke of Myr, rode to the center of the Valerian line where, sitting upon his white warhorse between the thin line of archers and the freemen of the realms he spoke,

“Men of Valeria! The eyes, ears, hopes, and prayers of the entire kingdom are upon you in this hour! We meet on the field of battle, our land, hard fought and kept with the blood of our own! We meet with a foe that would maim and murder your countrymen! They would bind and rape your wives and daughters! They crave for the suffering, starving, and fear of all of Valeria at their hands. These are truly cowards, not fit to even wipe the Shite off of our boots! These ‘pirates’ have a reputation for might and terror… Well I say it is easy to terrorize the unarmed few of a village. Today, the Whoresons will meet with a truly terrifying foe, YOU! Take notice of the man to your left, your right, your fore and aft. These men are your family, your brothers at arms! You men are truly the most fearsome men I have ever mustered! I see a fire in your eyes that would set the ground ablaze before our enemy! A fire that has turned the very moon blood red! A fire so fierce, that any man that would dare look into those eyes of flame would shield his gaze and pause in terror! On this eve, you men have no equal! I take great pride in leading the Fiery Spear of Valeria into battle on this glorious night! Tonight, the battle is already won, and you men have made it so! With a blood red moon, so will rise a blood red dawn!! And a blood red day!!!! And the blood of our enemies will stain the land!! So march! Have no fear, for you are the terror in the night! MARCH! March to victory! MARCH! March to glory! MARCH!! MARCH TO FIERY DEATH!!”

Heralded by a blowing of horns and a mighty chorus of shouts, Marshall Raithar and Lord Nordrejeep led the midnight charge of the Valerians. His personal retainers and the small contingent of light footmen chased the volleys of the archers past the fleeing Flyrrish levies and into the scattered and disorganized vanguard of the foe. They were followed immediately by formations of Valerian levies moving at a rapid clip into the fray.

1st day of Sunsebb, 3rd Hour, Battle at Endscott

For several hours in the night the main line was in flux. The initial charge seemed to go well enough for the Valerian forces, but the corsairs quickly rallied and formed ranks unleashing a brutal counter offensive that drove into the Center and Southern flanks to devastating effect. Earl Ricard, leading the center, was killed in the first minutes of the battle when a corsair arrow found its mark in the opening of his vizor. Chaos ensued and the Myrrish led formation fell into panic until Marshall Raithar and his retainers rallied and reformed the men just to the west of the village outskirts and sent for the Haldiran reserve archers to aid in providing cover. On the North Flank, the men of Valeria fared better, but it became clear that despite the royal forces’ successful ambush, the inexperience of the royal army gave significant advantage to the battle-hardened corsair raiders.

To the North along the ridge of hills that formed the spine of the isle, royal scouts observed a formation of six hundred corsairs moving hastily toward the rear line of the Valerian forces and sounded the alarm. A runner found Lord Nordrejeep leading the rally of the southern flank and informed him of the approach of another force from the North. The Duke knew then that suspicions he had held for some weeks must have rung true. The pirates would allow themselves to be baited into the ambush, but only to spring an ambush of their own. Lord Nordrejeep rode west back into the hills with great haste.

1st day of Sunsebb, 6th Hour, The Battle at Endscott

In the east, the red light of Celene was countered by the rising of the sun, still hidden behind the horizon, but close enough to dawning as to light the sky and the fog of the battlefield a dull grey. Of some six hundred men originally sent to the Center of the Valerian line, fewer than three hundred remained, and they in a desperate state. Dozens of Valerian men lay dead with dozens more wounded and in agony on the field, and more having been surrounded and cut off in the melee. Marshall Raithar, having lost his mount, fought in the front line, cutting down a number of the foe while trying to buy time for the Valerian levies to organize themselves. The Center had been pushed back from the settlement into the rolling hills, and the forces fragmented into bands of citizen soldiers trying in vain to hold back the horrific onslaught. Two hundred levy reserves were sent into the center to stabilize the line and prevent a breakthrough.

Meanwhile, to the North and South, the double flanking maneuvers led by the Myrrish Captains, Dane Erikksen and Galt Vrektel, took the corsairs unaware resulting in a breakthrough along the Northern Flank and a stabilization of the Southern Flank. In the bay, the royal fleet, consisting of thirty ships and augmented by a company of privateers hired in Magdeburg, emerged from its ambush position to the South and slammed into the corsair fleet in the harbor. Flaming arrows arced from the ships’ decks and extinguished themselves against the corsair hulls, but boarding actions, ramming, and sheer weight of numbers lent some limited success to the King's Navy.

To the North along the Spine, the corsairs advanced to flank behind the main Valerian line but were intercepted by a charge of some five hundred Myrrish levies, two regiments of mercenaries, the Nordrejeep House Guard, and the Duke of Myr himself. The Duke, in his paranoia now justified, had secretly transported men through Flyrbjorn from Lake Egret, to Weyseer and hidden them well behind the royal forces in the deep forest of the Spine, to be deployed at the first sign of treachery.

1st day of Sunsebb, 9th Hour, The Battle at Endscott

As the sun rose over the Vale River delta, the center of the Valerian line barely held on. Marshall Raithar had sustained several grave wounds, and his personal retainers lay about the battlefield dead. On the edge of collapse, Raithar signaled all remaining reserves to join the fray in a desperate bid to prevent the Center from falling. The North Flank turned in favor of the Valerians with the corsairs being driven to the outskirts of the village and Count Erwin successfully forming the troops into a cohesive formation as Captain Erikksen wreaked chaos in the formations of enemy archers along the shore. The South Flank was still very much a bloody quagmire, but the untrained levies of the realm held strong.

In the hills, the House Guard of Lord Nordrejeep led the levies and mercenaries of his personal forces as they cut through the ranks of corsair raiders to the northwest of the main line. The foemen were systemically dissected, isolated, and slaughtered by the disciplined Myrrish troops.

On the sea, several of the corsair ships were overrun or sunk by the Royal fleet in a chaotic maelstrom of ship-to-ship combat. In the chaos, warning bells rang from the royal ships at the sight of some thirty long ships flying no colors approaching from the southeast.

1st day of Sunsebb, 12th Hour, The Battle at Endscott

After sustaining heavy losses, the North flank of the corsairs' main line collapsed and the men of Valeria fell upon the northern flank of the enemy center. The beleaguered forces of the Valerian center, having suffered hundreds of casualties, let out a cheer as the enemy forces descended into chaos, but perhaps too soon, as the corsairs rallied, and counter charged to devastating effect and nearly turned back the momentum gained by the flanking action. The tide of battle seemed to turn in favor of the Valerians on the southern flank as they reformed and pushed the corsair raiders to the outskirts of Endscott.

In the hills of the Spine, the Myrrish reserve forces ravaged the ill prepared and underequipped corsairs. The Nordrejeep House Guard in particular cut through the enemy as a spoon through vinegar. On the bay, the unknown ships crashed into the rear of the Royal Navy and several royal ships were destroyed in the ensuing mayhem.

1st day of Sunsebb, 15th Hour, The Battle at Endscott

Despite the addition of troops from the North Flank and reserves, the Valerian center fell back on its heels, pushed now in disarray to the wood line. Marshall Raithar was pulled from the field by the King’s few remaining light footmen having lost two fingers, sustained a gash to the bone of his thigh, and a wicked wound across his face which left his left eye a pulpy mess of blood and viscera. The southern flank maintained its momentum, pushing back the foul pirates inch by inch.

In the hills to the northwest, Lord Nordrejeep and his men routed the corsair flankers, but did not pursue, choosing instead to wheel back toward the main line and making haste for the faltering center.

At sea, a second fleet of twenty long ships with stricken colors appeared through the smoke and flame having sailed south along the river from an unknown ambush position. The Royal Navy now pinned between the towering white ships of the pirate fleet, the ambushing fleet from the southeast, and the rocky shores of Weyseer Island began to falter under the sheer weight of enemy ships. But, to the north sailed in to view a detachment of thirty ships bearing the colors of Myr. The Myrish ships, having been concealed after ferrying Lord Nordrejeep's troops from Lake Egret, gave chase to the ambushing fleet which had appeared from the North.

1st day of Sunsebb, 18th Hour, The Battle at Endscott

The center of the Valerian line made a desperate stand in the wood line west of Endscott. The Southern Flank rallied under the command of Einrich and executed a massive charge which overwhelmed the formations of the corsairs and drove them into the village proper. The second fleet of unknown origin joined the throngs of ships in bay in an assault upon the Royal Navy and several more ships were overwhelmed.

1st day of Sunsebb, 24th Hour, The Battle at Endscott

The personal forces of Lord Nordrejeep slammed into the corsair center from the woodline and drove them back through the fields toward Endscott as their Southern Flank collapsed. After a full day of combat, the men of Valeria gave chase to the chaotic flight of the dread pirates, killing most and capturing some few who, with their fleet engaged in the bay, were surrounded upon the shores. The fight in the bay continued with no clear advantage being taken by either side.

Conflict Type

Battle