Chapter 27: The Battle of the Kingswood

Author's Note. Happy HOWLoween everybody. So I finally got to it. My very first full-length battle. Many thanks to my beta reader Steiner for all his help. Also many thanks to Vasun05. Vasun05 is the mastermind of most of the duels in my story. Without whom, my battles would probably suck. Anyhow read, review and enjoy.

The Battle of the Kingswood

'This will be my very first battle.' Roland thought to himself. Roland could not deny that the idea filled him with eagerness. This battle was a milestone in his life. His first real taste of combat and his first test at leadership, but most important of all. Roland's chance to prove to Westeros what he was capable of

Word of Lord Stannis' siege of Storms End reached King Renly's ears a week after Roland's departure. With haste, he gathered his entire mounted force of 20,000 men to lift the siege.

Roland and the stormlords from Renly's camp had left in the cover of night to prevent those loyal to Renly from stopping them. When he reached Fawnton, he learned that Houses Suggs and Sweet from the Crownlands had also declared for him. The additional stormlords numbered 6,000 men. This doubled his forces in Fawnton but Roland didn't want Renly to know that.

To get to Storms End, Renly needed to pass the Kingswood. Roland decided to deploy his men at the edge of the woods with the trees at their backs. Renly found his way blocked by Roland Baratheon's Stormlanders. The reinforcements that joined Roland from Renly's camp was all the Green king could see.

The two armies could not be more different. Renly's force was all cavalry, Roland's was all infantry. Renly's troops were all heavily armored and well equipped with the best steel gold could buy, Tyrell gold. These knights were the cream of his entire army armed with lances and swords ranging from longswords to the mighty greatsword. Roland's troops were foot soldiers in chainmail and boiled leather. They were armed with a variety of weapons, maces, axes, hammers, and shortswords. Not nearly as impressive, but Roland had the Lords from the Dornish Marshes with him. The Marcher Lords were the most powerful houses in the Stormlands. Centuries of battling the Dornishmen meant that their men were the most battle-hardened soldiers in the Stormlands. The reinforcements also provided Roland with 2,000 archers.

Roland forces which had been under the command of Lord Eldon Estermont had been preparing for this battle. Logs projecting long wooden spikes were constructed for a defensive barrier. These logs were then laid out in a broken crescent formation, with many spaces in between. Half of his forces were positioned outside of the Kingswood in full view of Renly's forces. The other half was hidden in woods ready to strike at the signal. Roland gave command of the hidden force to Marcus Sand. Marcus was armed with a special long axe he used during his time as Areo Hotah's squire.

Seeing as he had only cavalry, Renly was able to reach the Kingswood quickly. He arrives shortly at dusk, five days after he received the news. Seeing the broken barrier and the 6,000 men in front of the woods. Renly believed that Roland had not completed his fortifications yet nor did he have the men to withstand the might of his vanguard. Renly gave command of the vanguard to Loras Tyrell, despite Randyl Randyll's objections.

Seizing this opening in Roland's position, Renly ordered the cavalry charge. The vanguard of some 5,000 reach knights charges at the incomplete barrier. They intended to gallop through the openings and crush Roland's men. Roland, clad in his armor donned his helm, mounted his horse and ordered his men to hold fast. He strapped his shield to his left arm and prepared for the inevitable.

Roland shield, like his armor and sword, was designed specifically for him. It was a round, concave piece of ironwood with a sheet of steel over it. It was two and a half feet in diameter and featured an archive grip. Most shields of his time were kite shaped and had two leather straps. One to loop over your forearm and one to be gripped by the hand. Roland's shield had a single thick leather loop for the forearm and a wooden handle near the edge for his hand to grip. This allowed his more leverage and able to apply more force. A metal boss in the middle was used for bashing enemies

Little did Renly's vanguard know that they were charging into a trap. Roland gave the command to his archers to fire on the horses. The volley of arrows slowed the green vanguard but it could not halt it.

Once they came within distance Roland sprung his trap. The barrier his men had erected had openings in it. Roland had this done on purpose. At the signal men pulled on ropes and a row of sharpened stakes rose from the gaps completing the barrier these staked where printed directly at the charging horses."

The Vanguard had no chance to react as they realized what was happening. Thousands of horses were impaled on the wooden spikes killing them. Knights flew off their horses and those behind crashed into the halted front line.

Roland drew his sword. "LET'S SHOW THESE ROSE BOYS WHAT A TRUE STORM IS," he roared. His men responded with a war cry as they drew their own weapons and charged at Renly's dazed vanguard. Roland's men released the stakes and followed their king. Most of the vanguard didn't have a chance to draw their swords as they were overwhelmed by the horde of foot soldiers. Roland took his first victim in the battle a Hightower knight who was stuck under his horse. Ser Loras and a few other knights manage to hold their own as they fought their way out.

Renly looked in horror as his vanguard was smashed. 'This wasn't supposed to happen' He thought to himself. 'Roland was supposed to crumble, why won't he crumble.' Renly then remembered that his lover was down there. Without a second thought. Renly drew his sword and led the rest of his forces into the fray.

Seeing that his uncle was joining the fight Roland ordered his men to fall back behind the barrier. Renly reached the barrier and dismounted. The rest of his men did the same. others lashed ropes to the barrier and used their horses to rip it apart. With Roland's barrier gone Renly's Greens now clashed with Roland's Blacks.

Roland looked around and saw the Greens gaining ground. Roland knew they couldn't fight fully armored knights an open field, that is why Roland had ordered his men to slowly give ground on purpose.

The Greens pushed their enemy back closer and closer into the woods. The Blacks had started retreating to the right, so they followed. Soon they were in the Kingswood. Now the ground was uneven and there were woods that Roland's stormlanders knew well. It was when the greens were now completely in the woods that Roland sprung his next trap and gave the signal to Marcus Sand. Marcus raised his long axe and the Blacks that had been hidden in the woods revealed themselves and threw themselves at the Greens. The greens were caught off guard, now they were being hit on both sides by Roland's forces.

Now it was the Stormlanders that were on the offensive. Their lighter armor meant they could handle the terrain better than their heavy opponents who stumbled. Most of Renly's men were reach lords, they were use to open fields not the grounds of the woods. But it was still not easy for them. The armor that Renly's knights wore were serving their purpose. The heavy plate was able to deflect most blows thrown at them and many stormlanders died. So Roland's men resorted to different tactics, most of which were dirty.

In the chaos, Roland is thrown off his horse when a Reach knight speared his mount in the chest. The horse neighed as the spear brought him to an abrupt halt. He landed roughly on the hard ground with a grunt.

Roland got up groaning from the fall and pushed himself back on his feet, his sword drawn and shield raised. Despite his losses, Renly still had the greater numbers as Roland saw a knight charge at him on his right with a sword in hand.

If Roland hadn't noticed him before the loud war cry would have alerted him as Roland simply sidestepped out of the way of the attack while also cutting his opponent's exposed legs in the process. All knights seem to wear heavy plate armor and chainmail to protect themselves but many forget to protect their joints as well. Roland took advantage of this as his sword cut into the exposed knee joint in the knight's armor and cut through the leather protection of the armor without issue.

The poor knight fell in pain over his disabled leg while Roland continued to move until he saw his target. Other Reachmen had charged at him, one attempted to strike him from behind and Roland merely struck the fighter with his shield before running the poor man through the stomach with his sword. He never even bothered to acknowledge the fighter as the Prince continued to move towards the heat of battle, his lighter armor allowing him to move faster than most knights.

Elsewhere, Shadow was leaping around tearing the throats of faces off many of Renly's knights that were unfortunate enough to lose their helms. Some tried to cut down the ravenous hound, but Shadow moved too quickly.

Roland never felt more alive than in this moment. He now understood why his father found war so thrilling. The adrenaline that pulsed through his body as he cut down one foe after another was like reaching nirvana. Roland realized as his sword sang its fatal melody that this is what he was meant for, what he was born for.

Roland saw a fallen Reach rider recover from the fall of his horse and considered allowing the poor man to live when he took note that the man had a spear in his hand. Quickly moving side face Roland saw the spear pierce the empty air of where his heart would have been. Whatever mercy the Prince had for the man disappeared as Roland grabbed the spear with his left hand and yanked it away, thankful that his shield was still strapped to his arm before taking note of the spear. It was double bladed meaning it had a spear tip on both ends so Roland quickly thrust the other end of the spear into the man's heart.

The young prince barely registers the man's death when another man came rushing at him from the right with the intention of gaining glory no doubt. Roland freed the spear from the other man's heart and quickly thrust the other spear tip into the charging man's gut, the momentum from the man's charge and Roland's Baratheon strength allowing the spear to run through the man.

Never one to be caught off guard Roland sensed another man attempting to strike him from behind and simply ducked and spun around, his sword still in hand and saw his opponent. The man had the sigil of House Randyll on his breastplate, no doubt a branch member judging by the lack of proper armor as Roland's sword cut clean through the armor, the skin, the muscles and the bone of the man's right leg.

He hobbled for a moment but the weight of the armor and his lack of a leg soon caused the Randyll fighter to fall to the ground. Roland never allowed the man to recover or realize his leg was missing, he merely drove his sword through the man's chin and out through the top of his head.

Freeing his sword Roland continued his push forward as two more opponents came charging in, these ones were at least wise enough to attack Roland together but sadly the one on the left was faster and therefore was closer to Roland that his friend.

The man went for a high swing, his target was Roland's shoulder instead his sword made contact with Roland's shield and Roland's sword made contact with the man's heart.

Angered at his friend's death the other man charged quicker than before, Roland merely twisted his sword lose from the body and kicked the corpse away before bringing his sword up to catch his opponent's blade.

Parrying the blade to his right Roland's opponent didn't have the proper footwork so he overextended and Roland capitalized it by taking the man's head with a simple swing of his sword.

'Never fool around in battle, finish him and move on.' Roland remembered the teachings of his mentors well so he quickly moved forward.

Another group came charging at him, Roland merely bashed the first man with his shield and pushed him to the side before noting another man coming in to attack him on his right. Roland swung his shield around and causing the men's head to connect with the edge of the shield. Another man came forward, Roland quickly slashed his blade across, striking at the man's right hip bone and continuing through flesh and armor with minimum resistance.

'I owe much to my half-brother Gendry for this sword.' Roland thought to himself, most swords would break or dull under the strain Roland was placing on his blade but Gendry's did not. Instead, it cut through his opponent with ease and Roland delighted at this fact before swinging around to his left and thrusting his blade into the gut of another opponent.

Another opponent came charging at him again from the right only this one was too slow and Roland merely used his Baratheon strength to cut across the man's chest with ease. Roland brought his shield up to catch the sword arm of another opponent, stopping whatever attack was coming to him and running his sword through the breastplate of the soldier.

Roland found the battlefield never-ending as an axe came soaring through the sky towards him so he batted the flying weapon away with his shield. Charging forward Roland sidestepped another opponent and cut into the man's right rib before swiping his shield across the chest and pinning him to a nearby tree. The man roared in his attempt to break free but Roland merely cut the man's neck deep enough with his sword to cause the man to bleed out.

It was no longer a battle it was carnage as another man came charging at Roland before the previous one even died as Roland quickly held his shield close to the chest and watched as the blade merely deflected itself off of his shield. Capitalizing on his opponent's shock Roland struck the man's face with his shield, pushing the man far enough away that Roland swung his sword and cut across the man's chest.

Roland found the battlefield never-ending as an axe came soaring through the sky towards him so he batted the flying weapon away with his shield. Charging forward Roland sidestepped another opponent and cut into the man's right rib before swiping his shield across the chest and pinning him to a nearby tree. The man roared in his attempt to break free but Roland merely cut the man's neck deep enough with his sword to cause the man to bleed out.

Then he saw it, his target wearing his green enameled armor, golden antlers on his helm and wielding a heavily decorated longsword. It was his Uncle Renly, the leader of the enemy and the cause of this folly. If only Renly wasn't so power hungry perhaps all of this bloodshed would have never occurred instead Renly took what was not his and sought to become a usurper on this day.

Roland would not allow this as he charged at his Uncle, his men merely standing in his way as he parried the blow of another Reachman and cut his neck open with his sword. Another man attempted to swing on his right so Roland countered with another parry and a sword into the man's exposed chest.

He ducked as a spear was driven at his head, narrowly avoiding the fatal blow but forced to leave his sword in the chest of his previous opponent. Reaching towards the spear with his left hand and grabbing the spear with all his might, preventing the man from retreating without losing his weapon. Rising up to full height Roland quickly swung the spear until it was trapped in his left armpit and drew the knife from his sword belt and plunged it upwards into the man's jaw and through the brain.

Roland withdrew his dagger from the dead man's skull and wiped the blood and brain away on his pants before turning at the newest charge.

Sheathing his dagger Roland took the spear in his right hand and charged, intent on retrieving his sword later when his opponents weren't as numerous.

The first man was not prepared for battle as he had the look of shock when Roland charged at him and ran him through with the spear. Quick jabs, that's what every spearman was taught if they ever want to use their spear more than throwing and Roland was no exception as he quickly lunged at another opponent.

Unlike most fighters, this one had the common sense enough to carry a shield but he clearly wasn't skilled enough to attack and defend at the same time as Roland saw the moment the man switched between defense and offense and took his shot. Roland ran the spear underneath the man's shield and straight into his gut before quickly yanking the spear free and swinging circular over his head to scare away his next opponent.

The tactic work as Roland saw a man retreating to his left in fear so Roland quickly turned towards his opponent and pierced his chest.

"BARATHEON!" Roland heard as he turned to his right to see a charging knight coming towards him.

He recognized the man easily by his ridiculous flower armor as Loras Tyrell, the man who lead his King to his doom. Riding atop a new horse he had managed to acquire.

Roland knew he was in a disadvantage, Ser Loras was on horseback with a war lance in hand meaning a shield would do little good so he was left with one choice.

By now the bulk of Renly's forces were engaged, leaving Roland alone enough to face the man who no doubt convinced his uncle of betraying his family and convincing the Reach to join in this nonsense. If Loras were to fall Renly would be distraught if he were to be captured Renly would sue for peace if Loras was injured Renly would retreat. Victory lies with Renly's death or Loras's own so Roland knew what he needed to do as he dropped his shield to lessen the weight and keep his balance perfect.

He raised his spear and knew he needed to throw the weapon, years of hunting with his father had taught Roland many things but the most important one is how to hit a target. Loras was farther away than anything he had ever struck before, he had full plated armor and a shield which meant Roland would need to catch Loras off guard.

Ser Loras was a knight through and through. He had heavy plate and chainmail. The fact that he was the son of the second richest man in Westeros meant that his armor was the best money could buy. The fine orientations on the armor added to the cost. It would take a miracle for Roland to land a lucky hurl at the vulnerable spots in his armor. But Roland saw one thing that wasn't so well armored. He was aiming for Ser Loras' horse.

Running forward Roland concentrated on his target, he tightened his muscles and saw nothing but the white horse Loras saw fit to take into battle. At the perfect moment, Roland threw the spear towards the charging knight as Loras no doubt expected Roland to strike at him instead so he merely brought his three rose shield up to defend.

Sadly this blinded the Knight of Flowers as the spear struck his horse in the neck as Loras quickly found himself thrown off before even realizing what had happened.

The resulting toss would no doubt kill most men but Loras had experience falling off of his horse several times as he landed on the ground sideways, using his shield to absorb the brunt of the fall and quickly moving out of the way of his fallen horse.

Roland expected such a thing to happen as he saw his sword within reaching distance, still in the chest of its victim. Quickly yanking the sword free Roland strapped his shield back onto his arm and quickly ran at the Knight of Flowers while he was still recovering. Chivalry has no place in the battlefield as Loras quickly recovered from the fall and saw the quickly charging form of Roland Baratheon.

There simply was not enough time to draw his sword as Loras eyed a broadaxe within arms reach and quickly took a hold of the weapon. Roland's sword connected with Loras' broadaxe. Now the Black Prince and the Knight of the Flowers circled each other. Roland made a gesture at Ser Loras, beckoning him to come forward. "Let's see what you got flower boy." He grinned sadistically.

Ser Loras swung the weapon wildly as Roland saw the attack and quickly jumped back far enough away for Loras to rise and begin his own attack.

It was clear to Roland that Loras had the advantage in reach as Loras quickly struck Roland with the eye of his axe. Roland quickly brought his shield up in defense and was relieved that the axe lacked a spike on the end or else his shield would most likely have been punctured.

Despite his 'girlish' figure Loras was a capable fighter as he advanced towards Roland and swung the axe down hard, causing Roland sidestep out of the way as Loras swung sideways in response. The axe as Roland brought his shield up to defend once more.

Roland stepped away but Loras did not allow the gap between them to grow wider as he quickly brought his axe high above his head and brought it down like a woodsman would chop wood.

Pivoting to his right Roland dodged the weapon again and quickly tackled the axe with his shield, sending it swinging away enough for Roland to strike as he quickly took a stab at Loras's breastplate.

Loras sidestepped the attack and gripped the axe with both hands before striking Roland's face with the belly of the handle.

Disoriented for a moment Roland took several steps backward as Loras smirked and swung underhanded with the intent of no doubt shattering Roland's left hip and leaving him crippled for life. Roland instead backed away further while Loras found that he overswung his axe, leaving him wide open for Roland's counter attack.

Quickly an onslaught of power blows was unleashed upon Ser Loras as the Black Prince forced the Knight of Flowers to retreat and merely defending with all his strength to block such powerful blows. Roland struck hard and fast with only one arm while keeping his shield prepared to defend himself should Loras find a way to counter or even strike at Roland. No doubt Ser Loras expected the bout to be like his earlier clash with Lady Brienne but that was where he was wrong as she relied solely on her superior strength to win while she was also weighed down by her armor. Roland did not have such a disadvantage in his lighter armor and he was certainly quicker as Loras began to tire himself out from wielding such a heavy weapon.

As Roland and Loras battled, another duel was taking place. Marcus Sand had cut through scores of Randyll men. He fought his way to Roland knowing he would need support when going up against Renly's rainbow guard. As Marcus buried his long axe into another knight. He found himself face to face with the finest commander in the Reach, Randyll Tarly. The Lord of Horn Hill had already slain his fair share of Roland's men with his sword Heartsbane. Now he set his sights on the dornish bastard with Heartsbane in hand. Marcus drew his own sword Twilight and they circled each other.

Both men were armed with a greatsword. Randyll smiled sure that he would cut this bastard down easily. Under normal circumstances, Randyll would have cut Twilight in half. But Twilight was not like most swords. For Twilight's true name was Dawn.

After the death of Arthur Dayne, Dawn had been placed on it special rack in Starfall. Usually, House Dayne would wait for one among their family to be worthy of wielding it.

But one among their family had no intention of waiting. His name was Gerold Dayne Arthur's cousin. He had already tried to take the sword by force but was stopped by Marcus Sand. The two were the same age and had always been bitter enemies since they were children. Constantly fighting over any offense.

Arianne Martell had bedded both of them. Leading them to fight over her affections. Arianne loved to string the two along. Though she found Gerold fairer, she was drawn to Marcus' wild and hot-headed nature.

When Marcus became a squire for Aereo Hotah. Allyria Dayne approached him. Her nephew Edric had taken ill under mysterious circumstances. Though she could not prove it. Allyria was certain that Gerold was responsible. To protect him, Allyria had sent Edric to squire for her betrothed. Beric Dondarrion. Allyria then gave Marcus Dawn, to safeguard it from Gerold. Marcus tried to refuse, but Allyria was insistent on it as Edric was too young and there was no one else.

Marcus treasured the sword and he never used it during his time in Dorne. Now Marcus stood against Renly's finest commander ready to put his weapon to the test. Marcus took a middle guard stance with the point of Twilight aimed at Randyll's eyes. The two circled each other, studying their opponent.

Marcus was the first to act and lunged and swung his sword with a strike aimed at the neck, Randyll countered and brought her sword up. Marcus kept up with his attack with a number head strikes before switching tactics. Now he aimed to slice at Randyll's hip. one of the few weak points in his armor.

Right, left, high low, downward, sideways. the two warriors clashed. Marcus rained down blow after blow on the lady knight. He dove and ducked, struck and slid, parried and countered. Upward left, upward right, criss-cross, Marcus, and Randyll seemed evenly matched.

Randyll lunged for a stab just as Marcus did the same. the ended up passing each other. the faces were so close that they were almost kissing. "Those eyes don't belong with that face." Marcus couldn't help but think. As he whirled around and tried to slash at the back of his legs. Randyll manages to bolt aside in time as the blade came down.

Randyll lunged again, Marcus sidestepped but this time Randyll was ready and crashed his elbow into Marcus' face. Marcus stumbled to the ground and Randyll was on his sword raised. Marcus rolled away as his sword came down. The power of the slash caused Randyll's weapon to get stuck in the ground. This gave Marcus enough time to flip himself back on his feet and charge.

His years of training in Dorne had trained Marcus to be quick. However, Marcus knew that having muscle didn't hurt either, a fact the sand snakes learned the hard way when he was pitted against the four eldest at once. But Randyll was a rock, he could take a hit and he knew how to move. Every blow rattled the bones in his arm. He needed to end this quickly or Randyll would win by attrition.

Loras was no Baratheon even if he has been stabbed by one several time, Loras knew this as he found the wood that made his axe began to chip away against the onslaught of power blows directed against him. The blasted thing was made of heavy wood, suited for Reachmen and a weapon of this weight. But now as Roland concentrated his blows in the same area the wood that made up the handle began to weaken.

Loras was getting desperate and attempted to move away or counter only to find that he simply couldn't find enough space between himself and Roland. Yes, Loras had the advantage in distance but when Roland got past Loras's zone of defense the axe proved to be a disadvantage and Roland had gotten close enough to bash Loras' helm with the boss of his shield. Loras was dazed for a moment when he saw Roland com at him again and Loras soon found himself relying solely on the handle to protect himself.

Roland continued to hack at one area before randomly switching to another area and catching Loras off guard long enough to actually cut Loras several times, though the strikes were light and meant to merely cut the knight or weaken his armor. The tactic work as Loras began to see when Roland would switch targets and rather than it being an advantage to the Knight of Flowers, it was an advantage for Roland.

Finally, Roland saw it, the axe was beginning to crack under pressure, it would not stand against the brutal assault of Roland Baratheon for much longer. With one massive swing of his sword by Roland with all his might he struck the cracked handle about a foot away from the axe blade itself.

The sound of wood breaking was heard as Loras stepped back, shocked at his now destroyed weapon but he quickly recovered enough to surprise Roland with a broken end of the handle being thrust at his face.

Quickly bringing his shield up to defend Roland parried the blow but sadly blinded himself as Loras swung the still intact axe as a one-handed version. Roland saw the axe coming towards him from below out of sheer luck and quickly backed away and this time Loras used the retreat as an advantage.

The Knight of Flowers tackled the Prince with all his might and while Roland was no doubt strong enough to stop Loras under normal circumstances, full plate armor made the Reach knight heavy and the combined momentum created from Loras' charge and Roland's retreat. Roland found himself falling to the ground.

Roland fell hard, the wind knocked out of his chest from the blow as he found his sword had fallen off of his hand while Loras quickly prepared to finish the fight. The Knight of Flowers raised his axe over his head, ready to deliver the finishing blow and Roland knew he had to do something. Roland's hand found a fistful of dirt so he quickly held as much as he could in his hands and threw it at the knight's face.

Loras was lucky to be wearing full helm but his visor still had gaps wide enough for the dirt to get through as blind him as Roland kicked the Reach knight away. Grabbing his sword Roland kicked the knight away and quickly rose to his feet, ready for the match to continue. All the while Loras was forced to drop the axe remove his helm and rub away the dirt that managed to get into his eyes before drawing his blade.

"That was a dirty trick Ser." Loras proclaimed as Roland merely looked at the Knight of Flowers weapon with amusement. "Says the man who cheats at tourney's, Ser Loras," He replied.

It was a simple longsword decorated with the golden rose of House Tyrell and nothing more, the poor weapon would serve better as a decoration than a proper weapon as Roland chuckled and said: "Knight of Flowers indeed."

Loras saw this as an insult as he retrieved the axe where it fell and prepared to fight Roland with both weapons.

In truth Loras had a fine blade, it was the rose décor that amused the Prince as he examined the weapon. Two leaves acted as the guard with the two ends meeting in the center with a golden rose and while it was beautiful to look at Roland knew that the guard could easily be broken with a powerful swing. The pommel was a closed golden rose that sadly wasn't sharpened with a green vine wrapped around the grip that had no real advantage.

The weapon was nothing to fear as Roland merely assumed the traditional Braavosi Water Stance, standing side face with his feet even separated, his sword held at shoulder length but pointed towards his foe and his right hand, with his shield strapped to his left arm, behind his back.

Watching the First Sword of Braavos train Arya helped Roland create his own version of the famed style as Loras smirked, no doubt believing he was at an advantage now.

The duel had made him increasingly hot-blooded as Loras charged headlong into battle as Roland waited with a calm figure as he prepared to defend himself.

Loras struck with his sword first, using it's range and versatility to his advantage by aiming at Roland's exposed face. Of course, the Knight of Flowers seems to forget that he was at a disadvantage again, this was no practice field not all blades were made the same and Loras soon learned that when he attempted to pivot to Roland's left. Say what you will about the hot-blooded knight he at least has some common sense as he struck at Roland's left for a reason the moment Roland struck.

He baited the Prince to attack and Roland answered as he swung towards Ser Loras's head only for Loras to raise his own axe to block the blow. Loras took advantage of this "unexpected" blow and arrogantly swung his sword with the intent of stabbing Roland's sword arm. Pity the poor knight was so arrogant, he may well be more skilled than most knights, but instead, Roland merely pulled his sword arm back while turning his body to the right.

The speed was only achieved thanks to Roland's armor as his sword arm safely retreated out of range of Loras's own, leaving the Flower Knight exposed and Roland, in turn, struck the knight's arm with his shield, using the momentum of his turn and speed in place of strength. Roland struck fast, striking at the knight's forearm with enough force that it was no doubt damaged but not enough that the arm was broken.

Loras let out a scream of pain before forcing himself to bite down and return the favor by swinging his sword at Roland's face. Roland back stepped away only for Loras to swing his axe at Roland's right ribs in anger, causing Roland to quickly deflect the blow with his sword as Loras jabbed his sword at Roland's left eye.

Quickly Roland parried the strike with his own blade and quickly retreated when he noticed Loras's left shoulder flinched. There are many tells a fighter can read and Loras sadly is riddled with them as Roland avoided an axe blow to his leg.

Loras was winded, heavy plate armor, carrying an actual war lance and then a heavy battleaxe and falling off a horse is no doubt affecting him while Roland did not have such weakness. Roland was raised for actual combat and trained by proper knights, Loras sadly was squired by Renly Baratheon, a man who would rather stab Loras in the bedroom than properly teach the younger knight.

Roland playfully twirled his sword with his wrist, a technique that removes stiffness in the wrist during a battle, an advantage many knights sadly did not know Loras and Renly clearly one of them as Roland moved on the offensive.

Advancing fast and hard at the Knight of Flowers with a powerful one-handed strike at Loras's left shoulder. Loras brought his axe up in defense and quickly parried the blow with all his might, causing the young knight to feel his arm shaking from the Prince's strike.

Undeterred Roland did not allow Loras to recover and quickly slashed at Loras' stomach, the knight quickly stepping back but not enough as his plate found itself cut deep by the top of Roland's sword. While Loras was not harmed himself he knew that Roland would finish him given the chance so Loras began to focus on defending the vital parts of his armor as Roland charged again.

Swung his sword high into the air and crashed the sword down upon his foe as Loras raised both of his weapons to defend himself. Crossing his blade Loras no doubt hoped to catch Roland's sword in the beard of his axe and yanked the weapon hard but Roland anticipated such a move and pulled his sword back.

Roland quickly jabbed Loras in the right shoulder, piercing the chainmail armor Loras was wise enough to wear beneath his plate armor as Loras screamed in pain again. In that moment of pain, Roland batted Loras's axe out of his hands and kicked the Knight of Flowers in the chest, sending him tumbling back.

Twirling his sword in his hands Roland felt the stiffness in his wrist fade as he advanced at Ser Loras, who rose and gripped his sword with both hands in an attempt to power through. Had Loras carried a proper sword perhaps he would have succeeded as he brought his sword crashing down on Roland but instead of finding sword strike flesh Roland raised his shield and allowed the strong wood and metal to take the blow. Roland saw his opponent was exposed with his sword still in the shield so he jabbed at Loras's left shoulder, intent on disabling it.

Loras twisted his body enough the dodge the strike as he backed away again and attempted to swing around behind Roland and strike at his back but Roland knew better and merely struck Loras with his shield once more. At least this time the Knight of Flowers did not fall on his back but he was forced backward as Roland advanced again using light glance blows he struck at Loras's arms and shoulders, legs and knee. The young knight deflecting each one handed blow with his blade but sadly Loras was not quick as Roland as the Prince trained in Water Dancing and as such knew an old trick.

He would allow Loras to get used to his speed and strength and then suddenly increase the speed to catch his opponent off guard by striking him across the breastplate. Variable acceleration, a classic training technique in Braavosi but not one often used in Westeros let alone seen as Ser Loras no doubt learned rather quickly.

The Knight of Flowers was thrown back once more and yet the young knight managed to right himself up despite the wounds.

Roland could see most of Loras's wounds were superficial they were bleeding yes but Loras was lucky to belong to such a wealthy family and could afford such high-quality armor. Had it been even one grade lesser in quality Roland's blows would have reduced the armor into a cheese grinder but alas Loras Tyrell was lucky, if you can call him that.

"Give up Ser Loras it's not worth it," Roland demanded, the fight was taking it's toll on the Knight of Flowers as the man gasped for air.

Panting was all that Loras could do, the battle was at an end and Loras knew that yet he managed to soldier on and with one large scream Loras shouted "NEVER" before charging again.

Marcus and Randyll continued their ferocious clash. Randyll was taken off guard by Marcus weapon. He had expected another easy kill but this young man fought with a fierce determination. As they locked blades. Randyll struck up a conversation. "Where did you get such a sword?"

"Sold my soul to a Qohorik priest," Marcus joked with a grin. "It was worth it."

Randyll frowned, Qohor was infamous for making blades equal to valyrian steel. Though he had heard that they use blood magic to accomplish this. Randyl figure that was where he got his weapon. 'Where else could he possibly get it. Little did Randyll know that he was crossing blades with the sword of House Dayne.

The two broke off and continued their duel. Marcus lunged again, Randyll spun around and knocked Marcus to the ground with his elbow. Marcus hit the ground as Randyll raised his sword for the kill. That was when Marcus saw it. a space at the elbow with only chainmail to protect it. Marcus tilted his head to the side Randyll stabbed down. missing Marcus' head by inches. Marcus raised Twilight and thrust upward with all his might.

A scream of pain could be heard as Marcus blade had hit home. Slicing through the elbow and piercing the shoulder blade. Randyll dropped his sword and fell to his knees clutching his injured shoulder. Marcus punched the man in the face before moving on leaving Randyl Tarly to be carried off the battlefield by his bannermen.

Loras struck first once more with an axe aimed at Roland's neck and so Roland backed away from the blow before bringing his shield up to defend himself from Loras's blade jab to the neck. The blade did not pierce the shield and Loras knew this the knight forced as much strength as he could to his legs and tackled the Prince to the ground, wrapping his arms behind Roland's leg in order to trip him.

Roland fell hard on the ground, even managing to injure himself from some rocks and while Loras lost his weapons during the scuffle Roland was on the ground and pinned under the weight of Loras and his armor. The Prince was stunned long enough for Loras to take advantage of his opening by grabbing Roland's dagger from his belt and prepared to plunge it towards Roland's face.

Holding the dagger with both hands Loras raised it above his head with a loud roar and plunged the dagger with all of his might at Roland.

As Loras plunged the dagger towards Roland the young Prince felt time slow as he managed to regain enough sense to thankfully raising his shield in defense, watching the steel dagger plunged through the shield as Loras continued to scream in rage.

Seeing his attack failed Loras decided to rid Roland of his one advantage and yanked the shield away from the injured Prince.

Looking for a weapon Loras found his sword within reaching distance and took a hold of his sword once more, prepared to drive the sword into the Baratheon's skull. If only he had acted sooner the battle would have been different but poor Loras did not act as fast as he should of as Roland recovered enough to reach for his sword.

While he couldn't swing his blade he could certainly use it as a weapon as Roland jabbed the spiked pummel through the left ribs or Ser Loras. A cry of pain from the knight was all that Roland needed before smacking his still free left arm towards the knight.

The impact no doubt would break Loras's jaw but it did not matter as the knight fell off Roland as the two fighters began to recover from their surprise. Both recovered at the same time only this time Roland screamed at the top of his lungs and charged with all of his might towards Loras.

Bringing down the full might of the Baratheons toward Loras Roland swung his sword down at Loras, the impact causing the Reach blade to crack as Roland quickly went to strike Loras's left side. Loras underestimated Roland's strength, believing the Prince would be at the same disadvantage as Loras is with his blade but sadly this was not the case as Loras just barely managed to intercept the blade in time. Despite blocking the blade Loras was still sent sideways from the strength of Roland's blows, his sword at its last legs. Roland kicked the knight in the chest before he could recover as Loras fell on top of a tree and forced his sword up in time to block Roland's next barrage of attacks.

Each blow seemed to be more feral as Loras managed to hold on, his steel somehow surviving the onslaught spoke words of the smith's skills but alas the blade simply was not meant to survive the fury of a Baratheon as with one final blow Loras found his sword shattered.

Loras then felt the tip of the blade against his throat and looked up to see Roland Baratheon staring back at him.

"Yield." Ser Loras raised his hand in surrender, "I yield." Was all that he spoke, Loras was angry at the idea of yielding, he had come too far to yield. He was Lord Commander of Renly's Rainbow Gaurd. If he yielded he would have failed his love. 'I promised him the throne and he believed me.' Yet If he tried anything it was likely that he may never see Renly again. The thought tore him up inside as he raised his other hand in surrender.

At that moment Roland relaxed as he considered his options. Killing him would break Renly, 'it would serve him right,' he thought. He could spare him, but after everything he has done, it would be too kind. 'No' he thought, 'he needs to learn a lesson, one that neither he nor his family is likely to forget.'

Roland moved the blade away from Ser Loras' face and turned around with the supposed intention of leaving. Ser Loras was able to get in the upright position when Roland suddenly whirled around and slashed at Loras' face. The move was so surprising and quick that the Knight of the Flowers never got a chance to react. He felt the blade flash across his face. For a moment Loras was unsure what just happened. Then a gash began to open up and blood flowed as the pain found it's way to his brain. The scream Ser Loras let out seemed to come straight from hell. He clutched his face and dropped back to the ground.

Roland looked down at his fallen opponent with a smirk on his face. The Reach will attempt to pin the blame on Roland but he didn't care. The scar on his face will serve to remind the Knight of the Flowers every day of his arrogance. Roland placed a boot on the knight's chest, "not so pretty now are you?' He asked with a smirk.

He was about to turn and walk away when something heavy slammed into him. Caught off guard, Roland found himself sprawled on the ground as his head hit a rock. The force of the hit had caused him to drop his sword. His sword arm was pinned behind his back and his shield arm was pinned by a heavy foot. Roland looked up groggily and saw the gleaming green armor of his uncle. Renly looked at him from behind his great antlered helm. His sword was directed at Roland's face. From the sound of his heavy breathing, Roland could safely guess that he was enraged.

"You will pay dearly for that you arrogant little shit," Renly screamed as he raised his sword. Roland closed his eyes accepting his fate and waited for the blow. But that blow never came and a whistling sound of arrows could be heard. Roland opened his eyes curiously before they widened in shock. Renly was standing in the exact same position. The only difference was a dozen arrows stuck to his armor. In his rage, Renly had raised his sword revealing the only vulnerable spot in his armor. The space between the helmet and the gorget. In this tiny opening, one arrow found it's marked. Renly's massive body swayed in the standing position for a few moments. Roland saw blood begin to flow down his breastplate as his uncle gurgled. Finally, Renly Baratheon, Robert's youngest brother and Lord of Storm's End crumpled to the ground.

At the site of their king lying dead on the ground, Renly's army lost all heart. The reachmen turned to flee while the stormlords dropped their weapons and dropped to their knees in surrender. Brienne of Tarth let out a scream of anguish as she rushed to the body of her king. Brienne wailed uncontrollably as she cradled Renly's corpse.

Roland closed his eyes sadly. This was not an ideal turn of events. Scarring Ser Loras was one thing, but Renly's death will bring about a massive consequence in the future. Roland had dreaded this would happen, even though he had hoped to avoid it. But now the only thing he could do was improvise on his initial plans for the war.

His injuries, the blow he took to the head, mixed with exhaustion finally caught up with him and Roland passed out.