The Aestwäld Saga (13) - The battle of Mirtas Castle

[TitusV]

The Aestwäld Saga (1)

The Aestwäld Saga (2)

The Aestwäld Saga (3a)

The Aestwäld Saga (3b)

The Aestwäld Saga (4)

The Aestwäld Saga (5)

The Aestwäld Saga (6)

The Aestwäld Saga (7)

The Aestwäld Saga (8)

The Aestwäld Saga (9)

The Aestwäld Saga (10)

The Aestwäld Saga (11)

The Aestwäld Saga (12)

The Wolf and the Knights

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Alric looked up from the fight. He, together with his Avalonian Guard, had stormed the gates Midras Castle and, after a long and bloody fight, managed to breach them. Now they were in the courtyard, the Drow-soldiers in front of him fought for every inch. The cobblestones were soaked in blood.

Above him, Cath had led the Drond's Troops into a close space combat on top of the walls, and, seemingly miraclous, they even managed to slay the enemy back! Almost the whole wall of the formerly Avalonian Border Fort was freed, and she had even managed to put the Drond's flag back.

Suddenly, a female voice cried out:

"Alric! I'm here!

Alric looked up, and finally, after so many weeks, his eyes met again with the eyes of his wife.

-"Elysabet! I'll come get you!"

But, while conversating with his lover, he wasn't paying attention to the battlefield around him. A long-handled axe came down.

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The general looked up from the fight. Yes, they were winning, but he feared the cost of victory. And he was not thinking about money. His trained eye glided over the courtyard. The close space in worked in their favor, since they had less men then the enemy did. The left flank was weak though, so he decided to sent some reserves there. Their centre was the their strongest point, and it was there that Lord Alric led the elite Avalonian Guards in a charge to reach the other side of the yard. He sighed. Young Alric shouldn't do such things. He could get himself wounded. Yesterday, the general had heard of a girl breaking both legs in a duel, and this was not a duel, this was a battlefield! Then he saw his liege... And he saw the ax coming down, knowing it would take too long to get his sword out... So he jumped.

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Alric heard the sound of falling metal behind him. He lifted his sword hand in a desperate parade, but in his heart he knew he would be too late. The he heard the sound of metal crashing on metal, followed by human screams. When he turned, he saw the General lying on the ground, an axe stuck in his head. A cold anger welled up, and with a short thrust of his blade, he finished the enemy soldier responsible for this. Suddenly, the voice of his wife sounded again:

"Alric! Be quick! They're here! They'll take me with them! Help!"

A second shadow appeared before the window.

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After calling a last time to her husband, Elysabeth gave in to the Drow-soldier wanting to take her with him. If only her hands were not bound in chains, she would have rammed his own spear through his throath!

She turned for a last glance on her man, but heard a strange, rattling sound behind her. When she turned again, the guard was dead. In his place, a wolf-knight and some undead-soldiers stood in the room. She screamed, and in response on her scream, the wolf-man howled out loud.

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When Alric heard the scream of his wife, his blood turned ice-cold in his veins. If they had even touched her, he would stuff their guts through their own throaths! He didn't want to think of what to do when they had raped her. But then he heard the howling of the wolf, his strange ally, and smiled. Their plan had worked! With refreshed energy, he charged into the enemy, followed by his soldiers who didn't want to seem less in the eyes of their commander. The Drow, unable to stand their charge, the fighting on the walls and the third attack from the Wolf at the same time, turned. First it was one man, then two, and suddenly their morale collapsed and the whole garrison fled the field of battle.

While his soldiers turned the battle into a slaughter, Alric went to meet his wife. They umbraced each other, and after Alric had made sure his wife was fine (wich was so, aside from a few bruises and scratches), they went to the walls, to congratulate Cath with her succeeded attack and get a look at the fleeing Drow. Outside the castle, these were slowly regrouping... When a horn sounded. Alric smiled again, this was becoming a very fine day indeed, and watched how Beorthan's heavy cavalry finished all Drow but a few. These were lucky to be able to swim, and as such got iver the river, out of the horses reach.

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But their victory had been costly in lives, as the general had forseen. His own live was on the butcher's bill too, so someone was needed to replace him. Alric choose Burrich, a veteran who had fought under his father and even seen Artorious Rex!

But Burrich had been Captain of the Drond's Guards, so he needed to replace that position too... And it was not gone by unnoticed that the woman, Catharina or Cath as she wanted to be called, had fought very well today, even managed to win the fight on the walls, and had so received the respect of the soldiers.

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An hour later, all commanders were gathered in the main building of the castle. Alric opened:

"My Lords, my ladies,... My friends.

We have won a great victory today, and Drond's Feelds will always be in your debt. But the enemy is not yet defeated, and noone sazw their leader today. At the same time tough, we have other matters at hand. As such, I decide to split up in three: Cath, you will take some infantry and a contignent of the Avalonian Guard to pursue this foe. Burrich, you will escort my lady home, and make sure she is safe. Fenrir, I'll come with you to Shadowmere. Beorthan, what are your plans?"

"And for now... Leave me alone with my love. We have something to do..."

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I'm sooooo sorry you had to read through all this, but I enjoyed the writing As you can probably see, this build is based in Simon S's builds, and also a bit on SK's. Anyway, CC is very appreciated!

Additional images:

Edited February 13, 2016 by TitusV

[soccerkid6]

I like the waterfall coming through the fortress, and the dense foliage looks good for an Avalonian scene

The angled walls you incorporated are great,and I like the little underground storage room you added in the base

[Blufiji]

Don't apologize for writing, It was a good read. As far as the build, the walls, foliage and textures are all nicely done.

[The Steward]

Great build!! And your writing was pretty good!

[Lord Vladivus]

Love the build! And great story!

[Bregir]

Great build, Titus - althrough the read I was looking for an overview picture to see how much space you had used to cram in all this action! Luckily, you included a few in the end!

I think the castle is looking great, with the angled walls, parapets, and tudor section. You have really managed to put a lot of action into a very small place!

I like the action shots and the tide and ebb of the castle, and I too enjoyed reading the story! My favourite part is, of course, where Beorthan heroically comes to the rescue! (Although a bit late )

After discussing with Alric and Fenrir, Beorthan has sent the following message to the Trifork by raven:

My dearest Mary,

We have won a decisive victory at Midras Castle on the border with Kaliphlin, with Alric's troops storming the walls together with Fenrir, the Shadowmere General I wrote about earlier. Alas, I arrived to late to tip the balance to avoid too much bloodshed on Alric's part, but we did rout out the fleeing enemies and stopped them from regrouping for a counterattack. The men performed well, and you will be happy to hear that our niece have been rescued and that she is in fine spirits! Her and Alric truly seems to have become close.

However, we are not yet done here, and I fear I cannot return to you as swiftly as my heart desires me to. The prisoners told us of more enemy troops in the southern hills of Drond's Feelds, and in consort with some of Alric's finest troops I shall be pursuing these, to cleanse our lands of their scourge. Fret not, I shall take the utmost care to return to you in one piece.

I know these are not easy times to manage the Trifork, but I am also certain that you are able to do so as well, if not better, than myself. I may not be easy to reach, but Drake has camped on the Southern road, and is building up defenses, so should you need him or his advice, you may reach out to him at your discretion.

Yours for now and ever,

Beorthan

[Full Plate]

Great work Titus! The story is very entertaining I think leaving the overview photos til later was a good move for the story. Makes you feel closer to the action somehow. Looking forward to the next chapter

[LittleJohn]

Excellent build, Titus! The angled wall sections are great and I like the waterfall

The landscape is very nice as well

[Gideon]

Nice diorama!

I like how you've made those windows "presentable" both from the outside and the inside

[Jacob Nion]

It's great how you depicted all rooms and corners for the different scenes in one build. That's not easy and requires a bit of planning. Your buildings keep getting better and better. It's also pleasing to see you on the right site in the upcoming conflict.

[en_zoo]

ehhh I'm digging up oldish stuff here, I know.. but hey, I've just finished to read the whole thing from the start and it was epic ^^

a lot of cool builds and I really enjoyed the story! the only thing I couldn't get is why Fenrir was considered a traitor, but I guess that's either something I forgot about the lore or just another story

anyways, great job! it was a pleasure to read and look at - can't wait for more!

[TitusV]

ehhh I'm digging up oldish stuff here, I know.. but hey, I've just finished to read the whole thing from the start and it was epic ^^

a lot of cool builds and I really enjoyed the story! the only thing I couldn't get is why Fenrir was considered a traitor, but I guess that's either something I forgot about the lore or just another story

anyways, great job! it was a pleasure to read and look at - can't wait for more!

Thank you!

If you want more, consider reading my collab with Blufiji, wich is kind of a spin-off from this story!

[en_zoo]

Thank you!

If you want more, consider reading my collab with Blufiji, wich is kind of a spin-off from this story!

uhh, where? where?

[TitusV]

uhh, where? where?

Well, they're a bit spread out, and we have no list of them like the Aestwäld Saga. They're generally accompanied by a lot less text. I'll see what I can find for you