Reykjavikdragon
Knight
The Siege of Jerusalem
Out across the seas and coasts of Caldaria there was a storm, raging and howling all day every day, ripping villages to shreds, carrying thier livestock off into the seas and destroying thier harvests. Soon the castles and cities began to hunger and the talk of war began to spread amoungst the nobles of one such castle held by a group of French men who had invaded the spring before.
So it was decided in a dark cold room, with the fire sputtering out that they would set sail for Jerusalem and raid the holdfast of the Merchant navy their in hope of capturing thier ample food stocks and in the bargain perhaps control of the Navy's trade route's and slave mines. So at the coast by seaward harbour they musterd thier forces and waited for a ship to arrive through the rain and storms.
When a ship did arrive it twas on of the costal wardens, a group of able bodied sailors which patrols the coasts guarding them from raiders and Slavers, put up a fight when these frenchmen boardered thier vessel and claimed it as thier own, the two crew took down many of thier adversaires and wounded many more, without thier sacrifice Jerusalem would have been in thier teeth much sooner.
Mean While the Merchant Navy having heard of the frenchmens plans from thier commadore who was giving relief to one of the ruined vilages along the coast, began to dig in building ship traps along the coast, stockpiling arrows and bolts and weapons for the defence, they armed the slaves and armed the marines and set up patrols along the coasts, but not daring to brave the sea because of its animalistic fury that still raged, and they sat and waited for the storm to break and the French to arrive on thier shores.
At the French dock, they had finally healed all thier wounded and repaired the Coast wardens ship The Hawk and set about loading and getting ready for thier journey, two times the sea thrust them back into port, but on the third attempt they made headway and made it out into open sea, but not without losses, the sea in its vengance at them escaping its unatural blockade swept two of thier sailors from the ships deck with its watery grasp.
Soon the men of Jerusalem saw the white sails of the french vessel hove into view on the horizon, the war horn was sounded, and the men manned thier posistions along the docks, soon the french vessel broke through the thick veil of fog and rain and broke into range of the bows and bolts of the Navy's ranged troops. Down they hailed flaming bolts and arrows, bringing down many of the french even before they landed upon the sandy shores of Jerusalem. But still the ship came on ablaze and listing it managed to dock and its passengers spewed forth onto the beach but to thier amazement the soldiers of the Merchant navy had vanished, so they proceded up towards the crest where upon a Mighty horn sounded and Captain Blade of the Merchant navy and his mounted men, followed by thier slaves and footmen charged over the lip and into the french ranks, allthough outnumbered two to one the Navy fought hard and for every foot gained the French invaders paid in pints of blood and pain. Again and again the defenders saw of waves of the enemy until they were drenched in blood, thier armour battered and broken, thier swords broken and knotched and thier quivers empty, but still they held on and the Island still held.
Soon they were at the gates, pounding and cutting thier way through but then a Lowley slave by the name of Hervard stepped up and lead the remaining men out to battle against the crippled french, a bloody battle ensued in which the french took heavy casualities and thier lord was locked in mortal combat with Captain Blade, through an fight worth of an epic in which both men sustained hundreds of cuts and fought like Demi-gods amoungst men, thier swords rang together with such force that it burst the eardrums of those nearby, night and day they fought man against man, no soldier daring to intervine until Blade landed a clean blow with his sabre which took the french lords head clean of. Soon the french, having seen this display of godlike prowess, were running towards the shore but to only find the Mining slaves, With Hervard at thier head, blocking thier way with Murderous glints in thier eyes and knives in thier hands, the screams went on for hours afterwards and even the bravest of the Marines did not dare to approach the site of the carnage.
Meanwhile on the mainland, the Commadore of the Navy now knowing that the majority of the french force was off fighting decided to cause some mischief of his own, he gatherd his loyal crew around him and friends from the villages and set off to raid the French traderoutes and patrols, little did the french know as they suspected him dead or fled.
Back at Jerusalem the remaining French had been sent into slavery and thier Lords and Nobles sacrificed to the Gods in thanks of victory on that day, the Hawk was restored and gifted back to the Coast wardens, and the port of Jerusalem rebuilt, better and stronger under the guidance of Captain Blade and his new Seargent Hervard. But The tale of the Commadore was never found out, he vanished after the war was over, some say he died, some say he returned home but we can be sure of this the ships flying the ensign of the Merchant Navy WILL NEVER GIVE UP WITHOUT A FIGHT.
Soon afterwards the french lands were captured by the local lords, the men of the French invasion force were scattered and hunted down and soon peace returned to the land and the storm which had raged all the time of this conflict finally dissapated and the seas became tame once more and the Navy could trade with the lands of the Caldarians once again.
