Declaration of war

Lord Gerold Grafton was currently sitting in his seat of power in his castle. Kneeling before him was a man from the domains of House Royce who had ridden in the night to inform the lord of Artys's decision. The messenger handed the letter to Lord Grafton with a worried expression on his face. He didn't know how the Lord would react to being declared war and he certainly didn't want to be executed for delivering such a message.

Lord Grafton read the contents of the letter with a serious frown on his face, which only grew the more he read.

"Dear Lord Gerold Grafton

I have proof that you conspired with my brother to cause several assassination attempts on my life, as such I consider you to be nothing more than a common malefactor, as such I have decided that I will take your life as well as your rule over Gulltown as a reward for their treacherous actions. Hereafter I Artys Royce, Defender of the Vale and Steward of Runestone named as such by my father Lord Yohn Royce; I openly declare war on House Grafton. May the gods have mercy on his soul, for I will not!

Sincerely,

Artys Royce, Defender of the Vale and Steward of Runestone"

Lord Grafton glared at Artys's messenger with fury as he finished reading the message before thinking aloud.

"So the boy finally decided to act after so long."

Afterwards, the man rose from his throne of power and descended his steps. Gerold is a broad man with thick arms and shoulders, but he is not tall. His hair is a dirty blond mop. There was a fierce look of determination in his steel blue eyes as he glared at the messenger.

"You may return to your master and tell him he is a fool for declaring war against me, I am not one of the savage clans he easily subjugated and I will return the favor by taking his life!"

The messenger quickly nodded and spoke to the enraged lord.

"I will do as you told me, my Lord"

Afterwards, the man ran back to Runestone as fast as he could. On the other hand, Lord Grafton summoned his weapons master, who appeared around the corner; he was listening to the whole conversation from afar. Gerold quickly gave him his command.

"Gather the troops, let's see what this boy is made of, shall we?"

A wicked smile spread across the weapons master's face as he responded with enthusiasm.

"Yes, milord!"

***

Artys's armor was composed of three-quarter plate of blackened steel that was adorned with rune bronze like his previous set.

The set of armor even had an armored codpiece to protect his crotch and a pair of matching wedges. Of course, the codpiece was hidden under her waffenrock; as such, he did not feel self-conscious about having such equipment. He used a heavy cavalry sword based on the British Standard Cavalry Sword of 1788.

After changing into his suit, he left his quarters and went to the Castle's stables and mounted his horse, where he placed a set of two pistols inside the holsters in his cell.

After riding to the Army Quarters, Artys met with Ser Julius, who was already in command of the troops. The infantry were fully equipped with steel Landsknecht armor, colored blue and bronze issued to all their troops. Nearly a quarter of his troops were equipped with the new rifled musket, which had been remanufactured and rifled to accept the .58 caliber Minie Ball shell. Because of this, some of his infantry now had the ability to engage targets beyond 300 yards. They were formed into their own rifle companies and fought alongside the standard smoothbore musketeers.

The combined tactics of Riflemen and Musketeers would prove to be an effective means of combat, at least until he managed to have all his muskets remanufactured in the new design. In recent months, the army had grown into a very professional force, with its own officer class made up of a mix of knights, clansmen, and commoners. Since it was entirely based on merit, anyone could become an officer with the right education and training. Since he didn't have time to set up a full military academy, Artys had been content to select rare talent and train them with his vision of early modern warfare.

Finally, Artys reunited with Ser Julius and the troops that would be part of this expedition and marched to Gulltown.

***

As he marched alongside the incredibly advanced forces of his army, Artys wiped the sword in his hand, which had been crafted and equipped for his cuirassiers; it was an example of a 16th/17th century Dussack. Which gained prominence in the cavalry forces of Europe and the western world during the early modern period.

In the hands of his Cuirassiers, it was a deadly weapon and would wreak havoc on the many lightly armored feudal infantry they would surely fight against in the coming battle. Ser Julius approached Artys in his armor with his musket slung over his back.

"Milord, what are your orders?"

Artys gave his orders.

"Let the men rest; at daybreak we will march into enemy territory. I want the men to behave civilly, without rape or trespassing, and without unnecessary murder. We will be ruling these people soon, and I don't want useless grudges to be bred Anyone who behaves this way will be convicted of war crimes and executed by firing squad, understood?"

Ser Julius nodded at the words; he really was getting old. With Artys in command and his ethos of how warfare should be conducted, the savage forms of mass looting and destruction following a successful siege would soon disappear. The dawn of a new era of warfare was on the horizon. The two men continued to talk for some time before parting ways for their tents that night. When dawn came, House Grafton would feel the wrath of a new era knocking on its door.