The Epic Tale of Navalon (Redux)

[Kramerman]

War With Etruria

Annhyicus wanted nothing more than to stay in the comfort of his home with his newfound love, but knew he had to return to the new northern frontier to press on against the menacing Etrurians. Allya at first begged for him to stay, but knew she would never sway him, and instead begged to go with him. He explained to her that he promised her father to keep her safe, and that he had almost failed that just a few weeks earlier. He would not take any more risks, the battlefields were just to dangerous. She reluctantly agreed, and helped Annhyicus don his armor.

Just as the Imperator sent a servant to fetch old Arch, still in the peak of his life thanks to Annhyicus’ sacred ritual (he was truly a worthy horse), he heard the keep gate slam open. He knew at once it was a messenger sent from the front. He ran down to meet the courier in the antechamber, there he was, sweating and out of breathe after a hard ride.

“Sir, the Etrurians attacked the 3rd Legion’s encampment outside Rome around mid-day yesterday, though Supreme General Wilmus was prepared. Shortly after I was dispatched, I viewed the Etrurian force of about 10,000, twice that of the 3rd Legion, begin to break through the lines and overwhelm the Legion. However the 1st Legion had appeared over the ridge about 2 kilometers to the east of the battlefield and moved to reinforce the 3rd. I am not aware of what happened after that, but I am certain a rider has been sent to tell you of the outcome,” the young horseman panted.

Annhyicus spoke to himself more than anyone else present in a concerned tone, “I must leave immediately. Assuming the Legions were victorious, the Etrurians would not be expecting, nor be capable of repelling a swift and sudden strike into their territory ---“

A guard entered the antechamber, “Imperator, a Minoan squadron of warships are approaching the harbor.”

The first thought to enter Annhyicus’ mind was that he had been betrayed. King Minosus knew Navalon had virtually no defense, especially with much of its navy exhausted while covertly helping in the war against Greece. Would that old man dare backstab his most helpful ally in the middle of a preexisting war?

“Father!” Allya squealed, “He has finally returned after more than a year!”

Annhyicus took a sigh of relief. “Of course,” he thought to himself, “I think I’m becoming paranoid by my warmongering ways.” He ran to his chambers as fast as he could in his armor, and returned to the antechamber and grabbed Allya’s hand. “I don’t ever think I’m going to get to the front with my boys,” he thought to himself as he rushed outside and towards the docks with Allya and a couple of the keep militia guards trailing closely behind. He met the Minoan king, who had aged most noticeably in his previous year of struggle, at the foot of the dock. He had a big smile and laughed as his beloved daughter ran and hugged him.

“Oh dear, Allya, what happened to your neck, my child,” the king inquired, most concerned.

“Come my friend, I have much to tell you,” began Annhyicus, as he started off to describe the year’s events. By the time they had reached the keep, Annhyicus had gotten to the results of his trial, and there he concluded.

The Minoan king was happy with his friend’s successes against his northern threats thus far, was saddened by his daughter’s calamity, but was heartened by what Annhyicus had done to the sick man. The king had news of his own, which was the main purpose of his trip to Navapolis, he had agreed to a cease-fire with the Greeks. At the time of the cease-fire, Minoa had recaptured many of its lost islands and captured many Greek islands, almost making up for its losses in territory. The war had taken its toll however. Minoa was in shambles; most of its wealth had been spent on funding the war and its population had been ravaged by the hostilities. King Minosus was optimistic however, and was looking forward to the challenge of rebuilding. Allya was thrilled to hear her homeland was saved, and both father and daughter thanked Annhyicus, telling him it could not have been done without his help.

With that, Annhyicus declared he had one last piece of business to take care of before he must leave to the front. He stood up full and tall and explained to King Minosus IV that he was deeply in love with his daughter, and as was the fashion of the day, asked his permission to ask her for her hand in marriage. King Minosus was absolutely ecstatic.

“I’ve been waiting for you to ask me. I was beginning to fear you never would!” the king chuckled. “It would truly be an honor to include such a fine man as yourself into my dynasty.”

Annhyicus then pulled a small, plain, gold ring from his purse that hung from the belt at the bottom of his armor, it was the thing that he ran to his chambers for earlier (It always disgusted Annhyicus that he lived in the same building where Tyranicus lived. He could not wait until he had the money and resources to demolish the place and build a real fortress outside Navapolis), and explained to Allya that his father, Arius, had given a very similar ring to his mother, Adalae, as symbol of his eternal love to her. He asked Allya if she would accept his pledge of his eternal love to her, and except his gold band. She practically pounced on him and kissed him and Annhyicus took that for a yes. A few hours later, late in the afternoon, with King Minosus IV present, the couple was wed in the small, modest chapel in Navapolis that hailed the God of Cosmos as its patron. Afterward, the king said farewell, that he had to return to his land and begin the rebuilding, and asked for them to visit him soon because he wasn’t getting any younger. That evening the newly wed couple consummated their marriage, and soon after Annhyicus began his ritual for his most worthy Empress. The next evening he had finished, and with a tearful good bye, was finally off to the front, a month after he had originally planned to return, to fight the last battles he hoped he would have to fight for a long time to come. His thoughts of his wife just inspired him to conquer the north all that much faster so he could soon return to her.

[Kramerman]

The Northern Front 21-22 AR

Annhyicus, late one evening, arrived at the encampment of his combined 1ts and 3rd Legions. They had slugged it out just two days earlier against an Etrurian army that nearly took the 3rd Legion by surprise. Luckily the 1st Legion was near and arrived in time to flank the Etrurian army of 10,000 that was in reach of victory over the 3rd. The combined forces however then quickly routed the surprised and out maneuvered Etrurian army. The Etrurian force was typical of the Etrurian Civilization, it was made almost entirely of infantry armed with large wood-shafted, bronze-tipped spears, large ovular wooden shields, hemispherical bronze helmets, and only a small bronze breast plate for body armor. They fought using the old phalanx style tactics pioneered by the Greeks centuries before. The strategy was still brutally effective against numerically inferior forces, and also if the phalanx network could avoid being flanked; however even the best trained and most disciplined soldiers could not avoid being outmaneuvered by the quick and nimble Navalonian Legions. The Legions owed their great recent success and successes to come to their outstanding versatility, as will be shown.

Annhyicus entered the encampment alone, mounted on Arch, to a battered army. He first noticed the decrepit defense of the encampment, which he figured were probably abandoned by the General after sustaining as much damage as they had from the attackers, in order to counter attack the assailing army in battlefield tactics. Riding through the camp, he saw on his right row upon row of bloody, defaced bodies of dead soldiers and on his left he heard the moans of the gouged and injured and the voices of those tending them. Most, he knew, would not survive. He did not know exactly what caused life and death, but he knew that when he learned this secret, he would save many lives of his brave troops. He was already amazed at how well the Etrurian technique of setting broken bones helped those who had these injuries recover. Just a few months before, if one were to break a bone, they would never recover full use if it were a limb and they would feel pain from that spot for the rest of their lives. Annhyicus could only hope more wonders like this would come, allowing those who had sustained injuries of any kind, be it a deep wound or severed limb, a chance at life and full recovery.

When he approached the General’s tent, a guard stepped forward to take his horse. Annhyicus dismounted and entered and was immediately greeted by the officers inside.

“Supreme General Wilmus, congratulations on your victory against the Etrurians. You may not know it, but this first battle and victory against the northerners spells their defeat. I say this for two reasons. First, the soldiers that got away will tell how battered this army is here, and their command will think us incapable of putting forth any substantial offensive any time soon. Second, with the oncoming winter they may think that by the time we are capable of invading, winter would be in full swing and the cold would make us hold until better weather allows next spring. For these reasons, they think that they have stalled us to allow them plenty of time to build up their forces, and that this battle was indeed a victory for them. I tell you we will be ready to march in a week, and in five weeks beyond this, before the full swing of winter, all of Etruria will be under our control,” spoke Annhyicus optimistically, “Now, let us plan our attack.”

“All do respect, sir, but it took us more than a month just to get into any fighting condition after Rome, and it will take us at least another month now,” skeptically informed General Wilmus, “I do not see how we will be able to move before winter. I fear the Etrurians did succeed in stalling us.”

“By the end of this week, General, 3,000 reinforcements from the south will arrive. Within a few days the 2nd Legion should arrive. As we speak a 4th Legion is being trained. As matter of fact, I need officers for that Legion badly, so I need you to give me a list of promotions of your own officers that I can send back to the developing Legion. Do not worry, you will promote the men under them who most deserve it, and then those soldiers’ spots will be filled by the arriving reinforcements. Like I said, by the end of the week we should have three fully functioning Legions ready to move at full march,” replied the Imperator”

“Very well,” conceded the old General, “I didn’t realize. But what of this 4th Legion, it will not be ready if we indeed conquer all of Etruria in a month like you plan. What is its purpose?”

“It is for my future plans. I foresee all of Italia, all the way to the mountains, firmly under Navalonian control by the end of next year. If I could have had it anyway, I would have preferred a slow, decade long expansion northward, but this attack by the Etrurians has given us an opportunity we cannot resist. I plan on a lightning quick strike into the interior of Etruria. If our reconnaissance is all correct, the only city-state fortified well enough to force a substantial siege is Veii. All others we should be able to over run with relative ease. The Legions will fan out and take every city, leaving Veii alone until every other one is firmly occupied. Like I said, the Etrurians won’t be expecting an attack until next spring, so they will be taken completely by surprise. With most of their military smashed in this last confrontation, most of their city-states would be only lightly protected at most. The 1st cohort, which is of the 1st Legion of course, will separate during this action from its other cohort and encamp in the forest to the north of here, near Veii. There they shall spend a month building the siege equipment needed to take Veii. The 1st Century will travel with the 1st Legion in the absence of this cohort. Six weeks from this day we shall be marching through the streets of Veii. There will be dissent by the locals at first, but it always calms down as they realize their perks of being a Navalonian. Then, within just a few generations, they shall all be speaking our language. It is then that we will know when they are fully assimilated into our Empire.”

[Kramerman]

The Siege of Veii

“Sir!” yelled a senior officer over the commotion of clanking armor and marching sandals, “All towers are in place and the troops are ready!”

“Excellent,” replied Annhyicus, “I hope if we just puff up our chest enough, we might be able to take the city without a fight.”

“Look! The gates are opening, it’s the messenger,” exclaimed the officer. Out rode the white messenger horse with a body, slumped over the back. As it galloped nearer, a sword stuck out of the body’s back became evident. Annhyicus stewed with anger.

“Colonel!” he yelled, “I want artillery and archery to rain everything they got onto that city! You got me?!”

“Sir, yes sir!” the Colonel turned to relay the order. Moments later the massive torsion catapults that the 1st cohort had spent weeks building opened up. Their ammunition were clay shot, similar to the naval shot, only these were newly arrived from Taranteum, filled with the Greek Fire - which was more incendiary then the oils used by the Navalonians before. Flaming arrows and bolts shot through the morning sky, and the Navalonian force of 10,000 brought hell down on the Etrurians of Veii from every side. The Etrurians’ message was clear, they were going to fight, they would not surrender. Annhyicus was prepared to give them their fight.

“Move the towers forward!” commanded the veteran strategist Annhyicus to his officers, who relayed the orders down the uncannily efficient Navalonian chain of command, “Position the ram! Forward the troop formations in preparation of a breech! Guard, ready my horse.” Annhyicus’ orders were carried out by the well-trained, well-drilled, professional army. Dozens of massive lumber siege towers, wrapped in wet hides to keep them from catching aflame, rolled toward the walls of the city. The elite Centurions were inside, ready for their assault, and a legion of Legionnaires were behind them, ready to climb the towers over the walls. An entire company of troops also rolled a massive wheeled battering ram into position next to the main city gate. The battering ram had its own roof to keep the soldiers safe from the hailing defensive archery fire from the walls above. Behind them were hundreds of soldiers in ‘tortoise’ formation units, moving closer to the gates, protected by their well coordinated and placed shields. All the while flaming shot, arrows, and bolts were being hurled through the dawn sky at and over the walls. Annhyicus mounted Arch, and prepared himself for the assault.

The enormous torsion catapults and ballistae, powered by massive coils of collected horsehair, had ranges out to 200 meters, as did the archers of both sides. To protect the engineers who crewed the artillery and the besieging archers too, short matted straw walls were erected all around the city-state. The straw was soaked with water and covered with wet hides to keep them from catching fire either accidentally or by enemy flamed arrows. The artillery and archers were kept at or near their maximum range to help minimize possible casualties from the defending archers, who had a similar range.

As all the siege equipment and infantry were moving into place and taking action, the substantial Navalonian cavalry units began to gather several hundred meters out beyond the main gate, poised ready to charge into the city once the gate was busted down. Annhyicus quickly joined up with them, eager for the thrill of battle he had found himself more and more addicted to. Balls of fire were seen erupting all along the top of the wall, where catapult were making repeated direct hits after their initial trial shots. Many still were seen flying clear over the walls, as intended in order to create panic and fear inside the city, and others were seen exploding against the city-state wall, which was not intended due to the no effect that resulted. One clay shot that fell short, to Annhyicus’ horror, hit nearly dead on an approaching tower that was already having trouble keeping itself off fire. The resulting inferno quickly engulfed the lumber structure. A dozen or so Centurions were seen fleeing from the bottom of the vehicle, along with dozens of Legionnaires that were around the craft. Many were struck down by arrows as they broke formation in panic. Annhyicus quickly ordered a cease-fire from both the artillery and the archers, furious with himself that he waited so dangerously long to do so. Before the towers would reach the walls, another would erupt in flames, this time do to the enemy, though most did get out alive and the cool-headed commander of that body of troops was able to keep the soldiers in order.

Nearly simultaneously, the towers hit the walls with a charge of heavily armed, heavily armored Centurions who tore through the awaiting wall defenders. Those defenders were not prepared for the ferocity, nor the skill of the Centurions. As the Centurions fanned out to clear the walls, Legionnaires poured over the towers and over the walls to clear the city of defenders. Just minutes later, the Centurions successfully took the gatehouse. Almost like clockwork, at nearly the same instant, the battering ram breached the main gate. The cavalry now joined with the flood of Legionnaires, and they flew through the city streets looking for resistors and heading to the central palace of the Etrurian king.

The Legionnaires fanned out through the city in a highly organized manner, moving ever closer to the palace center, block by block. They methodically searched every building and house for any potential threat (but obviously ignored those that were burning to the ground), but stayed under strict orders from their Imperator not to loot, pillage, or rape, with a severe corporal punishment if caught doing so. Annhyicus hoped to assimilate these people, he didn’t want to enrage them. He merely wanted to find those that resisted his conquest and either capture them, or kill them. A little less more chaotic, and for intimidation purposes, was the cavalry charge through the city streets. They quickly galloped ahead of the marching Legions and mercilessly cut down those who attacked them, mostly militia, but a few regulars as well as armed citizens.

Annhyicus led the charge, followed closely by a Lieutenant Pilos and Captain Montius of the 1st Legion’s cavalry division. Several other horsemen struggled to keep the ferocious pace of the powerful horses ahead. The triplet of men sprinted their mounts straight toward the palace ahead of them down the main thoroughfare. As they approached the inner gate to the palace, they saw the massive twin doors begin to close. Annhyicus, desperately wanting to get through to capture the king, pushed Arch to his limits. Annhyicus was actually surprised to see these walls around the palace, and even more surprised that they had waited so long to button up the palace. It seemed as though they were surprised to see the city taken so swiftly, so hadn’t locked up everything, yet. Annhyicus guided his horse through the closing doors of the gate, not realizing how far behind the rest of hi men were. The thought passed his mind as he passed through that threshold that he had not heard the hooves so loudly behind him. As he rode on through he looked behind him and saw the lieutenant and captain just able to make it through before the gate slammed shut. The other dozen crack mounted soldiers were locked on the outside. The three men now found themselves, with the noble intention of capturing the king and his court in their minds, cut off from their friendly forces and surrounded by potential hostiles…

[Kramerman]

Inside the Gates

Annhyicus hesitated. His two companions found themselves dumbfounded at their commander’s heals. Annhyicus thought to himself frantically. He tried to stay cool, to stay calm. His rational mind immediately began to think, to analyze the situation. He observed the area around him. He saw the main palace complex just 20 meters down a pebble road from the main gate at which he now stood. The walls surrounded this modest palace at a fairly constant 20-meter space. Annhyicus heard commotion on the wall, but he could see nothing. In this split-second of time since he entered the walls, he and his men all saw the gate mechanism on the side of the gate, and a crew of four uniformed men operating it. The Lieutenant, the Captain, and the Imperator charged the four men, who had already readied their weapons against the attackers of this compound. Their short swords were useless, however, against the superior reach of the mounted soldiers. The four gatemen were cut down swiftly. Annhyicus could hear the commotion outside the gate and from on top of the walls, as the guards on the walls battled the cavalry force still outside.

Annhyicus commanded the two officers to dismount, and to open the gate. As the men followed their order, a dozen wall guards began descending the walls via stairs about 50 meters distant on both sides of the gate. Annhyicus figured they must have noticed the struggle beneath them and were now coming to stop the intruders. As they bottomed the stairs, the palace doors just 20 meters away began to open, and out came 4 spearmen. Annhyicus knew he had to buy his officers time. The two men were doing a four-man job, and struggling with it. The biggest threat was the spearmen. They were closest and their spears, if they were well trained with them, could easily defeat a mounted soldier, as Annhyicus presently was. The half-dozen men moving in from the right, and the other half-dozen moving in from the left would have to wait.

Annhyicus dismounted Arch, taking on four spearmen while mounted was an impossible task… taking them on foot would merely be extremely difficult. Now a veteran swordsman, master with his glorious sword and shield and most confident in his powerful armor, Annhyicus fearlessly charged the assailants. The first spearman thrust his spear at the charging man, while the second, third, and fourth fanned out to attempt to flank Annhyicus. Annhyicus was quick however, and caught the spear in his shield, swiftly slashed down with his sword to behead the spear, and then continued forward against the spearman. He then backhanded his sword and slashed the man across the neck. At this moment he had two spearmen on his left (one moving to get behind him) and another on his right. Annhyicus jumped and spun 180 degrees to avoid two spear thrusts and then to face his attackers that had gotten behind him.

The spearmen decided that a direct confrontation, as their comrade had tried, would not work on this masterful swordsman. They decided to employ standoff tactics, where they would attempt to slowly circle and gain position on the lone fighter, and then go in for the kill. Annhyicus realized this himself and now saw that he was indeed in trouble. If the spearmen weren’t enough, the wall guards were on the brink of joining the fight and subduing the Lieutenant and Captain. They, at this point, had managed to get the gate cracked open just enough for dismounted soldiers to attempt to squeeze through. Within moments, four Navalonian horsemen had dismounted and squeezed through the crack in the gates. They were just in time to meet the dozen swordsmen from the walls who had just arrived. It was now the Navalonians who were using standoff tactics. They only attempted to hold the guardsmen back with their shields and parrying with their swords, just long enough to allow the other horsemen to get through. As Navalonians were feeding through, Captain Montius and Lieutenant Pilos ran off to help their Imperator.

Annhyicus was able to maneuver to get his back against the palace wall. This did not remedy his situation, but meant that he now only had three flanks, ones that he could see relatively well, to worry about. He had parried multiple thrusts and was really beginning to worry when he noticed his two comrades, Pilos and Montius, were upon his attackers. With the spearmen distracted by the newcomers to this skirmish, Annhyicus took advantage of the situation and charged the spearman on his right. Performing a similar maneuver as he did on the intitial spearman, he blocked a thrust, severed the spear, and then moved in for the kill. He then turned to see the Lieutenant and Captain finishing similar attacks on the remaining two spearmen.

Turning once more, Annhyicus surveyed the battle near the gates. He noticed the number of men in his squadron of horsemen (which was originally a dozen) was now minus three. However only a couple of wall guards remained.

Annhyicus shouted to his men, “Once those guards are subdued, open the gates fully to allow our troops to enter freely when they arrive! Then mount your horses that are outside the gates and wreak havoc to distract and confuse the guards that remain in the compound!”

Annhyicus then sprinted off toward the now open main door to the palace complex. Pilos and Montius followed closely behind…

[Centauri18]

Bump. Please continue...

[Kramerman]

wow, what a suprise it was to see this in my email box when i checked this evening

I am also glad to see this story is still generating interest after so long Although its not visible in this 'clean' thread, in the 'raw' story thread i think i mentioned it was unlikely i would finish after much initial optimism of continuing its too long anyway
no, but seriously, i have felt the creative juices stirring once more, so who knows. but if nothing comes, please dont be angry at me

Thanks
Kman

[Grandpa Troll]

well. makes me want to get busy gettin writing again on one of my many "started but not finished stories"

Keep us challenged and good work here

Gramps

[Paddy]

Originally posted by Kramerman
wow, what a suprise it was to see this in my email box when i checked this evening

I am also glad to see this story is still generating interest after so long Although its not visible in this 'clean' thread, in the 'raw' story thread i think i mentioned it was unlikely i would finish after much initial optimism of continuing its too long anyway
no, but seriously, i have felt the creative juices stirring once more, so who knows. but if nothing comes, please dont be angry at me

Thanks
Kman

well glad to see this indeed

and more power to you

[Grandpa Troll]

yeah, I am up to 40 PBEM's now..but need to find time to do some more writing..

hmm..maybe over next day or so..

at any rate keep 'em flowing my friend..