TEATRC tribute & universe expansion

Wraithwain said:

EDIT: So the current Brigade only came into existence recently... what military force did the LT previously have? I like the idea that the Brigade is the LT's main military arm ever since and Saldian only reorganized things to suit his crusade (such as placing entire Brigade orders under the Devas rather than having Order Masters)

Click to expand...

You guys are trying to turn the Brigade into space marines or something. It's not divided into orders, it's just one, divided into armies comanded by the Devas, and it was entirely created by Saldian. Before the brigade the Throne had a tipycal army of a few profesional soldiers, noblemen, militia and rubble.

And....what's about my Apollonius?
He's early LT warrior that's was a model for modern Brigades.

Well I sort of created the idea of orders with my work on 'Holy City of the Lion Throne', when I mentioned them briefly in one of the sectors. I personally thought of them as little more than 'clubs', where Brigadiers could join to attain special benefits (and each perhaps catering to one Brigade in particular). But perhaps the Orders where more powerful before the creation of the brigades?

toonknight said:

And....what's about my Apollonius?
He's early LT warrior that's was a model for modern Brigades.

Click to expand...

Don't worry my dear Toonknight, I'll find a place for him. However I must say that your sister is much better at drawing 

Another installment. Sorry it took so long, my computer was ****ed up for a little. There are a few things I want to edit, but Firefox is screwed up for me right now and IE spazzes when I try to, so I'll do it later.


Sam tossed and turned in his sleep, he was having a nightmare.

“Samuel! Samuel! Come quickly!”

“What is it Caleb?”

“It’s John, he’s gone mad! He’s given us away to the Swadians! He took your daughter!”

Sam dropped his hoe and ran inside. He grabbed his rusty old sword and ran back outside. “Where is he?!”

“At the cliffs, hurry Sam!” Sam bolted off of his property and then out of the town. He pushed himself to the limit, his sword moving along with him. He flew through the woods and burst out the other side. He saw John and his daughter, side by side.

“Just what the hell do you think you’re doing?” Sam said.

“Speeding up her journey to the grave.” John smirked and Sam charged at him, fists clenched around the handle of the sword. John began pushing Sam’s daughter, who dug her heels into the ground.

She turned around, “Daddy!” She reached her arm out in a feeble attempt to reach him. Sam ran even faster. John laughed and gave one final push and sent Samantha, Sam’s daughter, tumbling down the cliff edge.

“NO!” screamed Sam, but it was too late. John continued laughing as Sam dove toward the edge and reached his hand down. Sam didn’t want to watch, but couldn’t tear his eyes away from his daughter as she tumbled down the cliff. Her head hit the side, then her body hit the edge of a part jutting out. Blood trailed behind her as she fell toward the bottom. Then she hit a pointed rock, impaling her. Sam screamed in emotional agony as he watched his daughter die. Then, after several moments, Sam got up and turned to John. “You...” he said, deep hate in his voice, “I’m going to kill you.”

John looked at Sam and for the first time ever, Sam saw deep fear in his eyes. Sam swung his sword around and went for John’s head, who then jumped back and bolted back toward the town. Sam began chasing after him, tears stinging at his eyes, broken sobs escaping his mouth. The trees swung at him, scratching him all over, bloodying his whole body. He kept running after John, running, running.......

“Wake up! Wake up!” Sam jolted up and looked over, Sarah was looking at him, tears in her eyes. “I thought you were…dying.”

Sam hugged her and stroked her hair, “It’s okay, I’m fine, just a bad dream.” Sarah started crying. He gently said, “Shhhh….shhhh.”

Sam looked over at the others, one of whom was crouched down beside him, “You gave us a scar Sam, perhaps we should take about this.”

Sam nodded, “We will, not now though, get some rest, I’ll do my shift now.” The Propugnator nodded and walked toward his cot. Sam looked at Sarah and smiled a little, then walked to the edge of the campsite.

We need more lore and I'm running out of stuff for the Halmarians!

Siege of Fort Fundin, OR The Second Battle of the Rieksvar River, March, 1496.

Recounted by Colonel (yes, COLONEL) Harnstaag.

I had been promoted after I had a second Battalion attached. One of my loyal Majors commanded to depleted but grizzled 1st Battalion. The 2nd Battalion was as green as cabbage. I hate cabbage. The Regiment was sent to guard Fort Fundin after our forward base near Astraknan was burnt down and we retreated back to our main depot.  It was burnt down during a Vaegir raid where a recruit was carrying a torch, but was killed, and so dropped the torch on a tent stocked with artillery shells. We did rout the Vaegirs, but we did take some casualties.

The Crown Prince had come earlier this month, and morale was high. However, we had heard that the Laurians had bought military access from the Vaegirs for one month for a two-pronged attack by the Laurians from the West and the Vaegirs from the south. There was only one barrier, the River Rieksvar. We had an earlier engagement there last year, where we trashed the Vaegirs. Now the only ford was guarded by the new stone fort we built there, named Fort Fundin. And yes, we were straight in the danger zone again.

We decided that, considering that there was a huge munitions dump nearby, to take all of it, and use it to make grenades and satchel bombs. We also decided to make fake cannons out of painted tree-trunks and use cardboard cut-outs to "man" them. Obviously, some of us had seen the usefulness of the cardboard cut-out during the Battle of the Cheeses. We decided to block the main gate after closing it with a Swadian Battle Wagon. Why on earth the High Command had these and how they actually got them was a mystery to us common soldiers. A few days after we had been told of the Vaegir and Laurian attack, Maj. General Sir Edward Gutenviem, commander-in-chief of the Light Division and a direct descendant of the legendary Captain Gutenviem, the trusted captain of Iohann I, arrived and told us that he would support us. He encouraged us to prepare defences, and reinforce the walls. He was a great leader of men, and spread morale greatly, which happened to be a trait of the House of Gutenviem.

Due to our plundering of the munitions dump, we also had a lot of food. Some local peasants tried to take refuge in the Fort, but we sent them away to the HEF's HQ. Our barracks were already full. Gutenviem had also brought along some light cannon, and so we replaced some of the fake ones with the real ones. We prepared for an attack from all sides, the Fort was a small Star-Fort, and some Nirdamese refugees came to the Fort after fleeing from the Tsar's regime in the Tsardom. Many of these Nirdamese had decent, if not good skill in the use of the bow, and so gave us their aid. Their leader insisted on speaking to the Major General, so we let him speak to him. The General sent him off to HQ, telling me that the Grand Duchy, which had allowed refugees from the Tsar's regime, and the odd Ellisian into their lands, had started to become rather full of refugees, and so requested a military alliance, or at least a NAP and that the Halmarians allowed refugees to enter their territory.

We had a small redoubt on the hill where the Vaegirs had placed their artillery in the first battle, and 2nd Battalion and some sharpshooters and sappers were garrisoned there, as well as some of the Nirdamese and some mercenaries. We had made sure that we could rig the thing to blow up so that the Vaegirs or the Laurians could not occupy it and bombard it with their oversized cannon. Of course, it took around half an hour to an hour to fire these things, especially the large bombards and the Laurian "Field Mortar". How on earth they managed to make such useless and big artillery weapons I have no idea. It's probably not worth sending spies to find it out anyway.

At first, we encountered the odd Vaegir raid, nothing much, as they clearly weren't expecting a fort and a redoubt where there used to be rolling hills and forest. We killed most of them. Then a Laurian detachment arrived. We killed most of them as well, but most of our mercenaries decided to charge out of the redoubt and got impaled on the pikes. Then a small Vaegir army arrived with a small mortar. Our sharpshooters killed the artillerymen and the officers and the Vaegirs charged the redoubt. We had a few dead and a few wounded, but we captured the mortar.

Finally the Laurians and the Vaegirs came in force. The Redoubt was quickly lost, but when it blew up it took out most of their artillery. They surrounded us and built ladders, then after a few days, charged us with ropes and ladders. Satchel bombs and grenades did kill many of them, and our musketry, artillery and pistolliers finished the first charge.

A month had then passed. They arrived in greater numbers, and charged us. We lost the northern wall, and we fought bravely to retake it. We even turned the cannons round. Eventually, they pushed us to the main square in the Star Fort, and we ran into the blockhouses, spraying lead at any who came near. Eventually, the cavalry came. They came and hacked to death the tired and exhausted enemy. And we rejoiced.

I think it's time to properly compile all this into a list of canon and non-canon lore. Venitius, your list would be helpful to compile all that. And once Tibby gets his huge hands out of his ass and starts working on the mod I think we'll have time to stick something else in there and give them our results. 

What would you exactly consider canon lore? I'll do it tomorrow or in two day's time.

Any acceptable information about the factions, maybe we can get D' in here to help out with that.

Currently I can see a few categories:

Journals, diaries, stories, minor conflicts.

Battles ,Treatises, Operations, Observations, Wars.

Factions & Races.

Relating to certain units (i.e. War song, Hussars, Routines)

Other. (Dispatches, maps, quotes.)

I think it's safe to exclude some of the battles and wars, those related to units should be properly categorized (single units, companies, orders, etc.).

The Czarny Choragiew of Lubnie

…Among the best of the forces of the Grand Duchy are the Czarny Choragiew, the black banner. The Czarny Choragiew are the elite of the elite, only the most prestigious of the winged hussars from the border town of Lubnie are able to join their ranks. The unit was founded in 1392, immediately after the second battle of Braclaw, to guard the southeastern marches of the Grand Duchy from the Khergits and later the ambitious Ormeli Empire. In 1391 a vast host of Khergits, fifty thousands strong and gathered from every corner of the Khergit Khanate marched on the lands of the Duchy. They wiped out three large ducal armies and laid siege to Lubnie. The main part of the garrison of Lubnie had been killed trying to hold back the horde, and all that remained in the city were two banners, or choragiew, of winged hussars and four thousand scythemen and Haiduks gathered from the nearby villages. Trapped inside Lubnie were the Prince-Sovereign Izak Maksymillian, his wife and their infant son. The Khergits surrounded the city and wasted no time in constructing several artillery pieces and siege towers. Ducal Haiduks in the city exchanged fire with Khergit archers over several days, taking a heavy toll on the unprotected invaders. On the sixth day of the siege the artillery were completed, and mangonels and trebuchets pounded the city walls with rocks almost non-stop.

On the eleventh day of the siege, the catapults ceased firing. Eight assault towers placed at various points at the walls moved slowly towards the city. The city militia were gathered and sent to reinforce the walls, along with one of the two banners of hussars. Brutal fighting on the walltop continued for a day and a night, then, on the evening of the thirteenth day of the siege of Lubnie the Khergits planted their banners on the parapets and at once let out a great cry. The Khergits opened the main gate and their cavalry swarmed into the city, burning and looting and killing and raping. In the town hall waited Prince-Sovereign Izak Maksymillian and a single banner of winged hussars. As the Khergits reached the central square of the city the doors of the hall were opened and the great bell of Lubnie was tolled three times. On the third toll, the hussars charged out in two ranks, Izak Maksymillian at their head. They drove the Khergits from the town square, the Prince-Sovereigns wife in the second rank, carrying the infant heir to the Ducal throne. Their lances broken, many unhorsed, the banner of hussars fought their way to the second gate of Lubnie. The Prince-Sovereign Izak Maksymillian and three quarters of the surviving hussars held the gateway against the Khergits already inside the city, as the remainder escorted the Queen-Consort and heir to safety. A parting shot from a Khergit on the parapet struck the queen and slew her, but one of the hussars managed to save her son from falling.

Upon seeing this, a great rage came upon Izak Maksymillian and he fought like a madman, taking up the fallen standard of Lubnie, which appeared black with blood in the twilight, as did Maksymillian himself. The hussars around him fought to the death until finally, Izak Maksymillian stood alone atop a pile of corpses. Pierced with many arrows the dying Prince-Sovereign lifted the standard of Lubnie and placed it into the pile. No Khergit dared cross the threshold of the gate to pursue the infant who was now the Prince-Sovereign, and he escaped north to Tarnowd. He became a rallying point for the armies of the Duchy, and in September 1392 the great host of the Grand Duchy brought the Khergit horde to battle outside Braclaw castle, and vanquished them. After the victory, a new unit was formed from the surviving hussars of Lubnie as the first line of defense of the duchy. They were named both for the Khergit legend of the black madman of Lubnie and in mourning for the much loved Izak Maksymillian. They bear all black armour and weaponry to this day, even taking the feathers of their wings from carrion crows. The Czarny Choragiew function as scouts and guardians of Braclaw pass, and are currently led by Leopold Znaniecki, castellan of Braclaw. Znaniecki’s career is detailed elsewhere in this book, but it is safe to say that he is fully capable of commanding such an esteemed unit as the Czarny Choragiew…

Excerpt from “The Complete History of The Armies of the Grand Duchy” by Gunter Kindheim, published 1492 Marienburg press.

Just a quick job, if I have the time I'll rewrite some of it tomorrow.

The Carnie? Interesting.

Diary of General Erik Lampresch of Haelmar Union before he bound for Calradia

----Tomorrow, the ship will bound for Calradia, the land of opportunity and wealth. It's unlike our Nordland and I am exciting about a new challenges that's awaits me and my men. But I can't forget about my old days in the north. when I rode together with Hackapells to fight against Laurians and other enemies that would threaten my homeland.

I still remember when I was an officer in 7th Hackapells Regiment during Bermianese Wars. That time was a climax point of my military career. From Lieutenant to Major, from Major to Colonel, and from Colonel to General. I spent most time there. at Bermia. I still can remember when I was a part of the famous Charge of Hackapelles during the Zena Campaign. during that time, 7th Hackapells Regiment was led by Lord Colonel Rickardson. He's my commander and also my trainer. When the charge's begins, he was a one who clash against enemy ranks first. The charge was success but he had been killed by firearms when he try to save me. His last word was "Do your best, for yourself and for the Union."

Since then, I fought in many battle in Bermianese Wars and been promoted until i was a General in the present day, when the new front had opened at Calradia. I've volunteered myself to go there and fight for the Queen and for the Union.

I'm not wished to survived and live to see the brighten or fallen future of Haelmar. but I wished to die if this can make our children proud to called themselves as Haelmarian. Proud when they read our deeds in the History books. Proud when they saw our flags fly on their own towns. Proud when They haven't been oppressed and enslaved by foreign enemies such as Laurian.

I think that would be enough. I have to go now. To our new frontier.

- General Erik Lampresch

The Bermianese Wars: Battle of Ravenhearth, central Bermian, 1427.

Opposing Factions:

HAELMAR
Magnus XI
15,000 men.
Around 2,500 Bermianese allies, mainly of communal peasants.


LAURIA
Jose "The Mallet" Encerferzada
32,000 men.
Around 5,000 Bermianese allies, mainly of aristocratic entourages.

The Battle began with the famed artillery of Halmar bombarding the slopes of the hill the Laurians were on. They caused much death among the Laurians, until they pulled back behind the hill. On the Halmarian left flank was a large mountain crag. There was a small path around it, but could not be climbed. This path was guarded by a Halmarian force mainly consisting of men from the newly raised Finni regiments, a race of people living mainly in the territory of Nordland, and some Bermianese allies. However, unknown to the Halmarians, two squadrons of Laurian heavy cavalry, mainly of knights, and a contingent of Bermianese heavy cavalry were coming towards them. The doomed Halmarians and Bermianese formed a square, but the mass of plate and horse rode the Halmarians and their allies into ruin. The commander there sent a messenger for aid when the enemy were spotted, and so the messenger, exhausted and shot at by Bermianese mounted crossbowmen, slumped his way to his King, told the message, then got thrown off his horse and died as a Laurian Field Mortar shell exploded nearby.

The brash king of Halmar decided to re secure the pass with his bodyguard and the remainder of the Halmarian cavalry which had arrived. II Corps had yet to arrive, and III Corps' cavalry had lost all their horses during a raid. And so, the King of Halmar rode to the pass, and was never seen alive again. Without a leader, the Halmarians were plunged into disarray, when the Count Fernstaag, chancellor to the King and former general, ordered a general advance. And so, with artillery support but no cavalry, I and III Corps advanced up the hill. The Laurians stepped up and formed up on the ridge. They pounded and pounded the Halmarians. Then Fernstaag deployed his trump card. Jaegers, the Light Division and Irregulars had formed up in a nearby forest, and poured a hail of fire onto the exposed Laurian flank. Instantly, half of the Bermianese on the Laurian side fled. The Laurians advanced down to meet the Haelmarians. Then the clash of pike and shot began.

After some time, the balance was even, but the superior armour of the Laurians appeared to pay off, but the Laurian arquebusiers stood little chance against the musketeers of the Haelmarians. The superior Haelmarian artillery fired and fired until a Laurian field mortar shell blew up right above the battery, killing everyone except the Lieutenant, who was badly wounded. He was Lieutenant Anders Harnstaag, ancestor of Colonel Harnstaag. Harnstaag, covered in shrapnel wounds, limped over to a loaded cannon, and fell on it. Striking a light, he placed his burning tinderbox over the fuse of the gun, and it recoiled back, throwing the man to the ground. Harnstaag began throwning up the remains of his lungs, and died. However, the gun hit the Field Mortar straight in the barrel, breaking it and causing the shell inside to explode, shredding the Laurian battery. For his gallantry in the face of the foe, Lt. Harnstaag was awarded the Military Cross for Valour in the Field and brevetted posthumously to Lt. Colonel.

The remaining Bermianese infantry on the Laurian side charged the Haelmarians in the wood, and there was a great melee between the two sides. The returning Laurian cavalry pressed the Haelmarian left hard. The depleted Maelstrom company under the Jarl Furgilforson, which was advancing towards the wood, swung round and hit the Laurian cavalry. The surprising attack caused the Laurians to loose momentum. The lightly armoured Bermianese cavalry, which had slowly advanced towards the Haelmarians, dismounted and fired their crossbows into the Nords and charged with their cut and thrust swords. Militia were sent up from the reserve, and in a skirmish line, fired their blunderbusses, carbines and muskets into the melee, killing both allies and foes.

Eventually, the Light Division broke free from the Bermianese in the woods, routing the Berminese. The pike and shot formations of both sides began to withdraw, and the Light Division, Militia and the Bermianese defended the rear. The two sides withdrew, the Laurians without their cannon, and the Haelmarians with their cannon, but they had lost their King. Haelmarian Hackapells from II Corps, newly arrived, brought the King's corpse back, and the Foot Guard carried the King down from the plateau of Ravenhearth, and began the long trek back to Haelmar, struggling against raids and the weather, loosing their artillery and wheeled transport, the army limped back home. Fernstaag had preserved most of the army from defeat and annihilation. The abandoned artillery were spiked, and the transports had their wheels removed. It had been an unsuccessful and indecisive battle for both parties, but the Haelmarians had suffered the most. Less than half of the men present at the battle returned, and many of their nobles, and their King, lay dead on the field.

Jose Encerferzada was shot by Gutenviem during the battle, and two of the Laurian Grandmasters that rode to battle lay dead. The patriarch of a Bermianese family was dead, as was many a Laurian lord. Two Laurian generals lay dead, along with around 15,000 men. The Laurian baggage was plundered by Bermianese locals, and the starving Laurians trudged back to their depots.

Extract from "The Bermianese Wars", Haelmar Press, Second Edition 1479.

(Sorry for double post, but....)
Militia Ordinances of 1400
By the order of his Royal Highness, Magnus XI, the following must be done by each Trained Band or Militia Company,
1. Each Company or Band shall have the Banner of Halmar on their Colours.
2. Each Company or Band shall be led by a man from the gentry.
3. Each man in these Companies must be able to fire two rounds per minute.
4. Each man shall provide his own uniform and weapon; if he cannot, the master shall provide him with the equipment, but he shall have a fraction of his pay deducted.
5. Each man shall be trained to form square, line or skirmish order.
6. One man in five men shall carry a pike.
7. Musket drill will be performed with live ammunition.
8. Officers and NCOs shall carry a spontoon or a sword.
9. Every man shall wear a blue armband and sash to represent the Kingdom of Halmar.
10. The following weapons are allowed to be carried by an ordinary militiaman, with the exception of a short sword or a pike if he is assigned one:
Caliver
Blunderbuss
Matchlock Musket
Flintlock Musket
Carbine
Arquebus.

(Sorry for triple post, but in order to make it readable and easy to archive...)
The Bermianese Wars: Battle of Ardensfjord, south-west Bermia, 1398.

BRIXIAN LEAGUE
22,000 Infantry and Cavalry of the League
200 Haelmarian regulars, mainly pioneers or sappers.
3,000 other troops, mainly mercenaries and some Swadian expatriates.

DUCHY OF RONDA-FAVENTIA
20,000 Infantry and Men-at-arms
5,000 Shock Cavalry
500 Laurians

The Brixian League, a confederation of states around the south-west of Bermia, near Fransaborg, conquered by the Haelmarians in the time of Iohann I, had gone to war against the Duchy of Ronda-Faventia, a long-standing ally of the Laurians. Marching to war, the two armies came to a standstill a the Ardensfjord, a large fjord that ran through Southern Bermia. There was only one way across the great expanse of water, a stone bridge constructed by the Brixian League 150 years ago. The defending League dug in and defended the bridge, with Haelmarian regulars rigging the bridge with explosives, should the bridge need to be blown. Most of the defences were rudimentary, such as barrels of meat strapped together. The crossbowmen took cover behind barricades, the infantry in ditches, ready to counter-attack at the correct time. Most of the cavalry had drawn back out of artillery range, but some stayed with the infantry to fight.

The breaking of the Swadian provinces from the Ellis Empire had caused many men to leave Calradia in search of new homes. One such group landed in Bermia, and formed the Swadian Regiment. This was a grizzled regiment that fought in the Swadian style, but many had gotten rid of their pikes and traded them for Haelmarian-produced calivers and muskets. These men were stationed by a fence that ran along the fjord's banks. They piled rocks up, and filled baskets with soil then placed them in front of them as a defence. Two small bombards had been brought up and placed on a small hill. Stakes were placed on the bridge.Then the rain began to pour down as the enemy arrived.

The Rondans and the Faventians advanced in a column up the road to the bridge. Immediately, their cavalry charged the bridge. They were held back by the stakes, and the ranged infantry of the league loosed a hail of bolts at them, puncturing the plate of the cavalry. The a hail of musketry came from the Haelmarians and the Swadians. They had covered their locks with cloth to protect the powder. Many of the muskets failed to ignite, but the ones that did fire caused much chaos. Then two consecutive shots from the bombards cut a swathe of bloodied meat through the formation. The knights immediately withdrew. The Rondan infantry then charged the bridge with sword, warhammer and spear. Without the time to reload their clumsy weapons, the Brixians drew out their melee weapons and braced for the impact. The impact instantly routed a unit of inexperienced crossbowmen. Then, the swordsmen in the ditches climbed up and charged the foe. And so, the two Bermianese forces slogged it out in the pouring rain.

The battle had little effect, with both sides pouring in reinforcements. However, two hours into the battle, the less well armoured Brixians began to tire, and when allied cavalry fired upon their own troops, confusion filled their ranks and the army fled. However, the Swadians and Haelmarians fought on, desperately. Many of the experienced Bermianese charged the Duchy troops, and slowly pushed them back. The Swadians and Haelmarians then tried to destroy the bridge with axes as the Bermianese held them off. A Swadian managed to lift up a cobblestone and see the exposed fuse. He then prepared to light it when a crossbow bolt hit his neck and killed him. The fleeing Brixians rallied and charged the Ronda-Faventians with great vigour. Artillery from both sides missed their targets and hit the sides of the bridge, breaking off the stone walls preventing the troop s from falling off the bridge. The wet surface caused many Bermianese troops to slip and plunge to their deaths in the river.

The Duchy commander was on foot, fighting with a poleaxe when he was concussed by a blow by a bec-de-corbin from an enemy soldier. Another Brixian soldier stabbed the commander in the belly with his pike. He then kicked the commander into the river, and a large splash was heard and seen due to the heavy plate he was wearing. His banner bearer was also killed in the same way. Upon seeing their commander dead, the Duchy troops began to flee, but the Laurian auxilliaries fired upon their allies and the Duchy cavalry charged the fleeing men. Seeing the confusion on the bridge, the Brixians fled the bridge after lighting the fuses. After a few minutes, the bridge exploded in a hail of powder, wood, metal and stone. Thousands of Ronda-Faventians and Laurians were blown up or drowned in a short period of time. The Brixians had defeated the invasion force.

Extract from "The Bermianese Wars", Haelmar Press, Second Edition 1479.

You better be refering to a class at art college or some higher education pathway because if your not then Im going to eat something rediculous!!! I could spend many an hour looking at these pictures, I salute you!

Only idea I can think of would be to begin the game with a fief with the option of either begining ones own Kingdom or already sworn to a faction...Oh and an export/import feature for ones current party! 

Rickardson's Charge, during the Battle of Zena, 1462.

Rickardson's Charge of the 7th Hackapells at Zena, Bermia, is one of the most famous charges in Haelmarian history. Colonel Rickardson was in command of three other regiments of cavalry, as his brigade commander was shot in the previous battle. The 45th Hackapells, 21st Hackapells and 6th Dragoons are not as famous as the 7th, but there is no doubt that they played their part, even though they did not capture as many standards and cannons than the 7th. The charge was at the high point of the Battle of Zena in 1462, which was a great victory for the Haelmarians due to the capture of the Laurian artillery and the destruction of their left flank.

The charge was partly to reinforce the battered XVII Division, having marched through fire, shot and shell to be faced with a hail of canister and bullet upon leaving the fog and smoke that filled the battlefield. It had taken severe casualties, having only a quarter of its men left fighting fit after the campaign. The Division was later taken off the line for the rest of the war, which ended not soon after.

A notable participant of the Charge was a Major Erik Lampresch, now a General in the Haelmarian Expeditionary Force. He was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel and later Colonel after the death of Rickardson at the climax of the charge. The charge wasn't impeded for most of it, but then a skirmish line slowed it down slightly as cavalrymen stopped to cut down the fleeing skirmishers. However, most of the charge was at full momentum as the cavalry charged the battery. However, during the charge on the guns, Rickardson was hit by canister and arquebus fire at point-blank range, forcing him to slump over in his saddle. His last words were to Erik Lampresch.

Then a fresh battalion attacked the cavalry, resulting in the death of the Lieutenant Colonel, who was shot in the chest, and then hurled off his saddle to be stabbed by a broadsword. However, sharpshooters were sent up and drove off the fresh battalion with the cavalry. Upon seeing the capture of the battery and the destruction of the enemy flank, the commander of the Haelmarian force ordered a general advance. The dragoons and the sharpshooters then manned the cannon and fired upon the Laurians, and a cannon shell decapitated the Laurian commander. The exhausted cavalrymen rested while the rest of the Haelmarians mopped up the enemy.

Not long after the victory at Zena, the Haelmarians were forced to withdraw due to their Queen reaching a peace agreement with the Laurians. Not long after the Haelmarians left, the Laurians secured Bermia. The discontented Haelmarian troops either stayed at home and gloated, or left for Calradia in search of loot and adventure, bored of the tedium of peace. A few years later, with the Queen in her final illness, the wide-spread Haelmarians returned, and secured part of Bermia under Crown Prince Iohann. Later, these grizzled veterans would fight in the Haelmarian Expeditionary Force to Calradia.

Extract from "The Bermianese Wars", Haelmar Press, Second Edition 1479.

hey Venitius, it's almost 1500, it's about time the Laurians begin their exploration around the world, they already look the part, maybe starting with a treaty with one of the other powers like the one Spain and Portugal had, the earlier gets everything in the east and the latter gets everything in the west or something like that.