Battle of Aster Day 1 Pt. 3

Athan Geldstein, Month 11, Day 19, Year A.F 652. City of Aster, Kingdom of Rosalia.

The Time is up!

The horns rung throughout the clearing as I look to both Ansen and Viller. Both leading the charge of the respective men among them.

I can feel the ground tremble as I order my forces forward. The force of two thousand horses galloping towards a battle was a terrifying sight.

A sudden movement captures my attention, as hundred of shield were raised up. Is that their plan? They plan to defend against magic with shields? Perhaps they are enchanted?

I hold tighter to the reins of my horse as I spur it further, restless from the seemingly quiet resistance.

Though before I could decipher what their plan was. A seemingly endless rain of arrows flied above me. Their amount uncountable as they flew, striking my forces.

How!? What kind of weapon would allow them to strike with such damage? Plate armor shouldn't allow such a damage, with such a force.

I pull back the reins as I watch arrows strike the bulk of my knights.

The countless that fell from battle, choking in their own blood as their horses fell over them, dying in a hail of arrows.

While those who survived suffered the worst fate, their horses fell and died above them as they were trampled over the disorderly army, effectively snuffing out any chances of survival.

Each corpse of human and horse, amalgamated into an obstacle of blood. One that effectively halted our advances, leaving chaos and death in its wake, leaving us vulnerable against our enemies.

I grit my teeth as I raise my sword, hoping to put a semblance of order as I shout, "MY MEN TO ME!"

They look back to me, their eyes filled with hope. They spurred their horses as did I, trying to ignore the injured and dead behind us. With their hands forward and our range getting closer.

I shout in utter rage.

"FIRE!"

The ground trembles with tremendous force as the walls crumble before me. Dust and smoke appear as the second barrage ends. Viller and Ansen following my lead.

The first one was ineffective, now this one seems to have done the job. Since the shields of their men were immediately remo

Another storm of arrows directs itself towards me. I close my eyes as I feel the familiar pull of magic. And unlike the surrounding men, I was ready and wind was within my power.

I raise my sword up as I shout, "Spread yourselves and push forward!"

I slash with my sword, and wind blew the arrows before me. The knights besides me spread out as the winds rip apart the storm, leaving some of my men unaffected.

We galloped forward, I notice the men from the walls running and retreating. Their shields disappear along with their bows. Taking this as a boost for morale, I raise my sword as I shout out to the men, "Push Forward! They are retreating from their walls."

They immediately follow for a few moments, closing in towards the wall, made the fireballs much more powerful. Seeing this chance, my hand lights up as I order the surrounding men, "Ready your magic."

Their hands light up in anticipation before releasing another salvo. The beautiful sight of a thousand balls of fire, seemingly made of stars, rapidly making contact was a glorious sight.

But none can compare to the damage that followed. The wall exploded as chunks flew by, decimating those that remained up the wall.

I grin to myself as I watch it all. The sounds of explosion as chunks fell to the ground, cracks appear all around the wall, showing its imminent end.

Though as we push forward, an unexpected occurrence dampens our advance. Another hail of arrows, once more, directed against us.

It struck like a thunderbolt. The quick and unexpected hail of arrows caught most of my men off guard, leaving us vulnerable and wounded.

Though, unlike the first strike, this one wasn't as effective in sowing discord.

With that barrage ending, I raise my sword with a rallying cry, "Dont Falter! and aim for the gates!"

"We bring the battle to them!" The knights roar back in reply.

My hand lights up in power as we get closer. My men do the same as magic concentrates on where we stand before a great fire erupts from all of us, ripping apart the gates, leaving it in ruins.

The charred wood and melting steel fell, showing a view of bowmen, retreating quickly. A grin splits my face as the pent up frustration explodes. Their turned backs giving me an opening, one which I intend on taking.

I grin as I spur my horse forward, "Onwards men!, onwards to glory!"

The excited shouts, along with the sounds of galloping, drowned out any forms of rejection.

Ansen Rivider

"Athan! What the hell are you doing!" I shout in a futile attempt at hope.

What has gotten into him? We can't risk our knights in such an obvious trap.

But any shout of would have been too far. He's too far gone to even consider what the consequences of his action might be. I grit my teeth in frustration as I look around for a way to save him.

Another explosion comes into view as the left gate explodes, that mean Viller has opened it up. I send a man in his direction, intent on having both our contingents save Athan, to what most likely is a trap.

I look around my troops before shouting my orders to them, "Break down the gates! We take the fight to them and show them our power!"

The knights reply with an affirmative shout as their hands light up, intent on taking down the gate before us.

"FIRE!"

The cacophony of explosions could at least take the enemy's attention away from our advancing prince, though with how perfectly we were countered, I doubt it.

The gate then bursts as it disintegrates into pieces, showing an evacuated city with no troops defending.

My men shout as they ready to burst inside the city, charging in with magic at the ready. I raise my hand in a gesture as I shout, "Halt!"

The men stop as they rein back their horses. I watch Viller burst into his side of the wall. Timing our charge with his, I shout to the men, "Keep your eyes at attention, don't get too comfortable."

"Yes, Sir!"

Their shouts of affirmation were all I need before I spur my horse forward. My eyes roving through the building as my hands light up to prepare for magic.

A uneasy feeling comes over me before I duck. A cross bolt embeds itself to the ground as hundreds of men appear in the windows, bearing with them, their crossbows aimed at us.

A cacophony of shouts follow as cross bolts embed itself unto my men. The horses whine from their wounds while some of my men disembark as their hands light up in magic.

The following barrage of fireballs exploded the brick buildings, the ground trembling from our might. The buildings caved inward and every men inside prepared to retreat. Some of the knight prepared to finish the job, but I raise my arms with a shout.

"All injured and unhorsed knights, retreat to base." I have to cut my losses here. Fighting those soldiers could take our valuable time, and I can't just leave Athan under such pressure.

I raise my sword as disorderly shouts and chaotic explosions. "And anyone else, prepare to fight!"

Andrew Allister

The shouts of anger and despair, mixed with the countless explosions, serving as their futile attempts of retaliation have been amusing. I hope that the casualties I've incurred against them has been enough.

Another salvo of bolts embed themselves to the knights. They used a pile filled with dead and injured as a way to avoid the salvo.

They might not be as accurate as my longbowmen, but the conscripted crossbowmen were more than enough to take down anyone with enough surprise.

Bolts struck any knights that dared to attack and with the shield bearers closing in. We could annihilate this little adventurous contingent.

A messenger galloped towards me, his expression dire as he spoke, "Sir, the enemy from the second gate is closing in on us. The crossbowmen have retreated, and a fire is blazing near the second gate."

I furrow my brows before I smile, "Then lets see what I could make of it."

I raise my arm, "Give them an opening for escape and tell all men to retreat."

The officers before me salute as they turn around, shouting their orders of retreat. Leaving behind the blazing city choked in smoke and ash.

"Burn it down and leave every obstacle possible. I want to gain enough distance for a full retreat. I want every man alive and accounted for. We still have two days of war to go."

A smile was present in my expression, knowing that today's battle ends here. Since no one would enter a city burning.