Battle of Aster Conclusion Pt.3

Vincent Dunsten, Month 11, Day 21, Year A.F 652. City of Aster, Kingdom of Rosalia.

The thunderous roars were deafening as a thousand men clash in battle. I watched it all as reports came back and forth from the commanding tent.

A messenger runs in, "Sir! The center has entered a deadlock!. Not one inch has advanced. "

"Good, continue to defend their against their onslaught." I look down at the map as the tent turns into a flurry of activity as officers came in and out relaying their messages.

Good, good, if they keep this up any reinforcement I left in the rear would be unnecessary. Though the right flank worries me, perhaps because of the amount of knights concentrated there.

"Sir, the right flank cavalry has made contact!" Another officer runs in, his breathing tired as the ever-growing sun beats down on all it's subjects

His words, though, make me stop in thought. The right flank cavalry? Isn't that the one with Viller as its leader? No, I'm sure he'll be fine. If he heeds my words to stay at the back then, he'll be more than capable of retreating in time.

Then another messenger runs in, "Sir! The left flank cavalry has made contact!"

The one with the overwhelming odds on our side, the one side fighting a force half its size, "Good, tell them to not chase after them, they'll be more useful in breaking the deadlock in our center."

two hour passes as the sounds of battle remained unending, I take off my overcoat as the sun now take it's toll on my old and feeble body and another one enters the tent to send a message.

"Sir! The right flanks have entered a state of deadlock!" The messenger shouts.

"Have them avoid chasing, we cannot allow them to fall under a trap." I said to him.

A simple reason but the truth of the matter is, I cannot allow myself to have Viller get himself into anymore danger than he has to be.

And perhaps this was good news. If they held their troops with enough time, we could at least leverage our numerical superiority by forcing a battle of attrition, one they cannot hope to win.

"Sir! The first infantry group is requesting for a retreat!" Another messenger enters with a shout.

"Why?"

"Their commanding officer suffered an injury. The men are low on morale after taking the brunt of the damage in the center." He reports to me as he salutes.

"I see. Have the tenth infantry group sent in as their replacement. We can't afford to lose ground now, especially in such a critical time." I flourish my hand as I order him, my eyes never leaving the map before me.

"Sir! We're pushing back the center, the enemies are bleeding out in our center."

"Tell them to keep holding, we shouldn't risk our advantageous position on such early parts of the battle." I intertwine my fingers in thought before another messenger runs in.

"Sir! The enemy's left flank broke!" A messenger comes in a hurry, his face flushed as he gasped for air.

"Have them strike at the center," I look to the surrounding men before shouting, "Send messages on every infantry group to avoid advancing. We can't afford to have them too far for retreat."

The men around me salute as they scramble to send my message.

The battle has proceeded smoothly, no problems popped up.

Athan Geldstein

I sigh in defeat as I watch the battle finish without me. They have left the left flank destroyed as a hundred knights retreat in battle, leaving behind a hundred more dead.

Though as I think this to myself, a messenger runs from the right flank. His expression distraught and frustrated as he spurred his horse forward in my direction, with intent to the commanding tent.

Curiosity got the better of me so I shout to him, "Stop!"

He stops his horse and turned in my direction. He bowed. "My Prince."

"What message do we have on the right flank?" I cross my arms as my guards stand behind me.

He looks around in worry before bowing, "The right flanks are crumbling from lack of leadership."

His words took me by surprise as I ask, "Then what happened to Viller Dunsten? Isn't he the one designated to lead that part of the army?"

The messenger looks down in shame before speaking, "They have captured Lord Viller and, along with the officer's death, the right flank crumbled into a mess."

The situation was frustrating, yet there's not much I can do at the moment. I let the man go gesturing him to send back the message, "I see, thank you. Send that information to Duke Vincent and tell him I'll be taking Viller's place."

The man salutes in affirmation before quickly riding his horse forward towards the commanding tent. I look at his back and sighed.

I then pull on my horse, pulling on the reins as I ride in urgency, there is no time to waste, I look back to see my men armored and ready as they rode behind me. I take up my sword as I rode to battle, hoping to mitigate the damage this incident has caused.

Vincent Dunsten

I tap my chin in thought as I keep watching the map before me.

The left flanks cavalry has already started their move, their center is now in imminent danger of collapsing. A simple prod and a charge here would be more than enough to have them retreat.

The only thing left now is for the right flank to hold against the eight hundred cavalry on our right.

Only with such thoughts did a feeling of dread come over me and a bloody cough comes out. The officers look to me in worry as the world spins in a nauseating mess.

I raise my arm to hold them off, only to be interrupted by a messenger.

"Sir! Prince Athan has entered the battle and is leading the battle on our right flank."

I look to him in shock as I wipe the blood of off my mouth before I spoke, "What! Why! Viller has already taken hold there, unnecessarily interfering would only lead to confusion."

The messenger looks down in shame and dread washes over me. I shout to him, "What happened on our right flank!"

"They captured Lord Villler-"

I wasn't able to hear what followed, my ears suddenly rang as bells tolling for my death rand. All I heard was his capture, and what it entailed was enough to urge a bloody cough.

The once nauseating feeling mixed with the dread turned dark. The world faded as my eyes turned heavy and I lost all strength to stand up.

Around me, the world felt dark and heavy, my hearing erodes, I met the sounds of shouts and screams with silence, and before I knew it, I slammed into the ground.

Bernard Allister

"Sir, the right flank has crumbled," a messenger shouts as he enters the tent.

This does not bode well for us, but it matters little. I'll just have to hold them off long enough and hope for the best.

"Send all our reserves there! Send the orders that all remaining infantry groups are to reinforce the right flank." I shout to the surrounding men, hoping to buy enough time to win this battle.

Though as I stay here standing, in deep thought, a knight enters. The officer salutes to me as he shouts, "Sir! We captured a hostage."

I furrow my brows as I look up from the map, only to widen my eyes in surprise. The man bleeding from his forehead was Viller Dunsten, a familiar face during my stay at the capital and one of the Prince's enemies.

"This is great!" I exclaimed loudly as I grabbed the knight by the should

The knight removes his helmet and bows, his red skin and hair more than apparent. "I live to serve you, my lord." He spoke to me.

I nod to him as I watch Viller Dunsten, his expression filled with fury as he looked back at me. I smile at him, "Welcome Lord Dunsten."

Andrew Allister

I have done all that I can. The man before me left no hole in his defenses. Any excursion I've tried failed by his hand. I slam my hand in frustration as I watch the army before me return to a passive state.

How!? Where have such a man stayed all this time. Where was he when I entrapped every possible siege. And why is it now that he bared his fangs.

I slam my hand onto the table. The anger and resentment as I watch the army my brother brought be washed away and overwhelmed. The helplessness knowing that I couldnt help him only makes angry.

Unfortunately for me, it was about to get worse, "Sir! We have sightings of a fleet." A messenger enters with a shout.