The Battle of the Broken Blade
Prologue
Luthor emerged from the ruined shrine and held the shattered sword in the light so that he could examine it. Despite being broken into several shards, it glowed from within and still held its edge. Baraccus glanced over the templar's shoulder, "good find sir, and it is obviously magical and would make a fine weapon for one such as you."
"Indeed it shall", he replied as he continued to look at the fine workmanship he held, it must have sung when it cut the air he thought to himself. Wrapping it up in a cloth he placed it in his warhorse's saddlebag, "make ready the troops Baraccus." As the mage walked off the templar looked around, this open field was much nicer than the swamplands of the marches of Couronne they had passed through he thought as he mounted his horse. Looking across the plain he suddenly noticed a line of banners appear over the crest of a hill. As he watched the knights of Bretonnia slowly approach he saw a single arrow fly through the air and land in the ground near him. The master engineer Matios Prolos walked over and grabbed the attached scroll, unfurling it and reading aloud for Luthor, "Return the blade to its resting place and leave, or face the wrath of the Lady."
Luthor scoffed, "a blade this fine deserves better than to be a grave marker, but if they are serious..." Luthor looked around slowly and thought quickly, "send a reply with our cannons."
Across the field Luc Arkhame watched as the Empire forces prepared for battle while their leader simply stared toward him. The Grail Knights on the right flank dismounted and knelt in prayer, followed shortly by the rest of the Crusaders of Holy Light. Luc jumped off of his white purebred and stabbed his massive bronze sword into the ground before kneeling behind it and joining his men in silent prayer.
Empire Turn 1
The Templar's Forces formed up and began the march across the battlefield toward the praying Bretonnians. Preacher Marius tried to pray to Sigmar for guidance but a massive magical presence interrupted him. Baraccus rode up beside the preacher and the Greatswords of Carroburg.
"Warlock, a pair of witches rides with the knights this day," Marius told the wizard. The priest despised magic and disagreed with the lore of death that Baraccus studied, but he did agree that it was useful in a fight.
"I'll see what I can do padre," the wizard replied as he summoned the wind of shyish, but the knights were too far away to be affected.
Matios signaled to the other crew to target the Grail Knights and both cannons let loose in their direction. The cannonballs landed amongst the knights and killed two of their number, but the unphased Grail Knights simply continued to pray.
Bretonnia Turn 1
Standing, Luc pulled his sword out of the ground and jumped back onto his warhorse. The Crusaders slowly remounted and waited for the command. Rearing his steed, Luc pointed his sword at the Empire lines and yelled, "For the Lady!"
The knights spurred their steeds headlong at the empire, their banners fluttering, armour shining in the sun, and trumpet calls mixing with the thunder of hooves. Alana and Lisa, the damsels of the Lady, hurried to catch up.
Empire Turn 2
The forces of Luthor continued to march across the field. The Knights of the White Wolf attempted to add a burst of energy and meet the Knights led by the blue armoured general but their horses tired quickly from the strain.
Baraccus called forth the wind of death again but could only watch in despair as the damsel Alana withdrew a scroll from its case and banished the magical energy.
As the two forces seemed ready to collide, Matios saw an open shot and took it, firing on the Grail Knights again. He watched in anger as the shot cleared the Grail Knights by at least the height of his father and looked accusingly at the rookie. The other cannon took aim at a lance of knights led by a figure in blood red armour, claiming one life.
Luthor grimaced as he realized he had overextended his forces, the Bretonnians would not fail to reach their targets. He felt as though the gods themselves stood against him.
Bretonnia Turn 2
It was time. "Charge!!", the order was sounded and with much fanfare the knights of Bretonnia lowered their lances to obey it. Alana glared at the wizard who had snuck behind their lines and unleashed her spells against him, causing the earth itself to attack him. The aura emanating from the armour he wore protected him from even the earth's fury, but not from the swampy pit that appeared beneath him.
Luc ignored the fearsome banner the knights of Ulric held and smashed into their lines, taking the champion for himself. The knight was no match for the Bretonnian Lord and fell to the ground in several pieces while the lances of the Light of the Unicorn found homes in two of the knights of the white wolf.
Seeing their leader handily defeated by the figure in blue armour, the knights of Ulric turned and fled, their speed great enough to escape the pursing bretonnians.
The Seekers of the Hart crashed into Greatswords of Carroburg. The battle standard bearer, Gilbert Darmani, and his knights slew 4 of the veteran warriors, too which no reply was made. But the stubborn warriors and the warrior priest of Sigmar held their ground as the knights expanded their lines in preparation for a long fight.
Luc's brother Philippe spurred the Phalanx of the Firebird into the spearmen, preventing them from aiding the greatswords. With an unmatchable fervor the knights cut through the state troops and scattered them to the eight winds.
The Grail Knights came thundering down upon the crazed worshippers of Sigmar. Five of the fanatics fell under the charge while their flailing downed one of knights. Regrouping, the Grail Knights dug in for a protracted fight.
Empire Turn 3
The White Wolves pulled themselves together and turned to face Luc and his knights. Luthor cringed to see his forces being decimated so quickly, turning he pulled the knights panther around the flagellants as much as possible.
Baraccus looked around and saw that it was on him to try and make a difference. Summoning the winds of shyish he first attempted Death Dealer on the Greatswords, but the damsels of the Lady quashed his power with their own. Baraccus then tried the wind of death on Alana, but the spell went awry and the magic slipped away from him.
Matios signaled the Firebirds as the target for the pair of cannons, and so the power of the artillery school was unleashed upon them. The engineer was smiling until he saw the cannonballs' paths being altered by some unseen force and then colliding in midair, the loud crash startling one horse very badly and causing it to fall on and kill its owner.
"By Sigmar!", Luthor exclaimed as he watched the cannonballs, "what is going on here?"
Marius continued to fight off the knights until he found himself face-to-face with the bronze armoured battle standard bearer of the Bretonnians. Gilbert issued the challenge and the priest met it, but neither could break the other's guard. The knights downed another of the veteran warriors, but their armour proved too thick for the greatswords to make a reply. Again the two units continued to fight.
The prophet of doom suddenly found himself all alone, surrounded by the elite grail knights. He was able to survive simply by keeping the knights at bay, but could do no more.
Bretonnia Turn 3
Luc and his knights continued to charge at the rallying knights of the white wolf, while the knights led by Philippe Arkhame turned toward the cannon crewed by the master engineer.
Alana summoned up the mastery of stone but felt the power taken from her by the wizard's anti-magic. Lisa would not be so denied and tapped into the awesome strength of the Bear's Anger.
Luc swung the Sword of the Quest and cut through the armour of one of the knights of ulric as if it were silk. His knights could find no openings in the empire knights, while the enemy swung their hammers and felt an invisible force around them hinder their attacks. The white wolves felt courage return to them at seeing the powerful Luc seem human again, and the two units dug in for a tough fight.
Gilbert held the army's standard stoicly as he squared off with the warrior priest. Swinging his magic blade he cut deeply into the priest’s arm, forcing him to drop his hammer. The Seekers of the Hart cut down two of the greatswords, but lost one of their own to the steely veterans. Even with all their training, the warriors could no longer hold after losing so many of their number, and fled from the standard of the crusaders, their remaining troops scattered by the pursuing knights.
The Grail Knights defeated the last of the fanatics, finally tiring him out enough to finish him off.
Empire Turn 4
Luthor continued to wheel his knights around behind the Grail Knights. He watched everything fall apart around him, but he could not run now, this Bretonnian would not scare him off.
Baraccus turned and tried to cast the death dealer but a female voice in his ear threw off his concentration and the winds of magic escaped him entirely. Scowling he looked over at the damsel Alana, who smiled mischievously and gave him a little wave. The wizard cursed as he contemplated his next move.
Matios ordered his cannon to fire at the approaching knights but the rookie screwed up the gunpowder ratio, and the ball rolled harmlessly out of the cannon. The engineer began cursing as he walked over and hit the rookie in the back of the head, "pick it up you fool."
The second cannon fired at the battle standard but once again the ball curved in the air and took down only one of the knights of Bretonnia.
The blue-armoured Bretonnian Lord swung his sword yet again and another knight of the white wolf found himself without a head, but his knights could find no openings, while the cavalry hammers brought down two of Light of the Unicorn. The two forces pushed in tighter and continued to battle.
Bretonnia Turn 4
Philippe reared his steed before charging with the firebirds at the cannon crewed by Matios Prolos. The engineer leveled his rifle and picked off one of the knights before they came thundering down upon them.
With the strength of the wild pulsing through her, Lisa charged at the wizard Baraccus, who refused to flee from a woman, regardless of her magic.
The Seekers of the Hart and the Grail Knights reformed to face their new targets, the other cannon and the Knights Panther respectively. As her counterpart charged the empire wizard, Alana found herself facing the Knights Panther. Her eyes glowed with magical energy as she turned the ground beneath their horses into marshland, the intensity of the spell, untouchable by the preoccupied Baraccus.
Luc found himself surrounded by the knights of Ulric, but offering a quick prayer to the Lady he swung the blade again and three knights of the white wolf died before they hit the ground. This was enough for the knight of the white wolf, who fled before the wrath of the Bretonnian Lord. The Bretonnians gave chase and scattered the white wolves from the battlefield.
The damsel charged into the wizard and threw him from his steed with a punch, pumped up by the power of the bear that ran through her. Landing several feet away the wizard got back to his feet, cursing himself for underestimating her magic. Ducking under a sweep of her blade he ran to his horse and remounted, circling away from her.
Philippe turned his steed slightly and skewered the engineer Matios Prolos, forcing him to circle back around to retrieve his magical lance from the burning corpse. The crew slaughtered, the knights reined in their steeds rather than charging off into nothing.
Empire Turn 5
Luthor looked at the Grail Knights with anger and sounded the charge, but the knights of the panther could not escape the marsh that had appeared under their feet, bogging them down and making them a sitting duck.
"A hundred curses upon you witch!” Luthor screamed in frustration and anger.
Baraccus avoided another of Lisa's magic enhanced attacks and hit her with a burst of anti-magic, removing the spell. He then turned back and went after her to continue the duel.
The cannon crew was scared, one lance of the knights seemed ready to charge them and another was coming their way already.
"Grapeshot!" the head of the three man crew yelled as they prepared to shoot the stampeding knights. The plume of fire and shrapnel burst into the Light of the Unicorn and killed four of their number. Forced to avoid the full on blast, Luc pulled the knights off to the cannon's side.
The two mages came at each other again, but without the magic they found themselves evenly matched. Baraccus cursed as he was forced to circle around again, this would give her too much time, and she could cast another spell.
Bretonnia Turn 5
The Grail Knights saw their opening and took it, charging the swamped knights panther and Luthor Oklar at their head. Luc pulled his knights around and regrouped quickly, attempting to get as far away as possible from the cannon to avoid losing more of his knights.
The Seekers of the Hart marched closer to the cannon and readied themselves for the charge. While this happened, the phalanx of the firebird turned toward the Grail Knights, heading off to support them.
Lisa found herself far enough away from Baraccus to recast the Bear's Anger. Turning she rode back at the wizard and after blocking his hammer grabbed him and forcefully threw him through the air. Baraccus landed hard against a boulder and promptly went limp.
The Grail Knights crashed into the remaining Empire knights, putting their lances through five of the knights panther. Luthor tried to fight back, but found each of his attacks turned away by the elite Bretonnians. The knights panther broke and ran, forcing Luthor to follow suit or be slaughtered. The Grail Knights were about to pursue, but stopped themselves when they noticed that the broken sword had fallen from the Lord's saddlebag. The head of the Grail Knights dismounted and retrieved the blade.
Empire Turn 6
The battle was nearly over, but Luthor refused to be sent running. Forcing his knights to turn around and face the Grail Knights he cursed them and invited them to the grave.
The cannon crew fired another grape shot, killing one more of the Light of the Unicorn's knights and catching Luc in the leg.
Bretonnia Turn 6
Luc pulled his knights as far as possible from the cannon while the Seekers of the Hart and Gilbert charged in. The Grail Knights accepted Luthor's invitation to battle and charged at the regrouping knights panther.
The battle standard bearer and his knights routed the crew of the cannon and stopped themselves from pursuing nothing; there was no need to continue charging.
The Grail Knights and knights panther met and their weapons clashed, the empire lord found himself outmatched by one of the living saints, his sword removed from his grasp. As the dust settled, four more knights of the empire were left dead and the survivors scattered.
Epilogue
Luthor refused to retreat, his sword had been taken from him and several lances were pointed at him in a circle to keep him from moving, but he would never surrender. The Grail Knights made no move to attack, simply keeping the templar at bay as Luc approached.
"Noble warrior, you have fought and you have lost, you did not heed my warning as you should have and now your men have paid the price", Luc spoke as he walked toward Luthor.
"But the sword has been returned so you may return to your empire alive, if your honour can survive such a disgraceful journey", the blue armoured knight raised his visor and stared the templar in the eyes. "Know this though, should you choose to ever return to Bretonnia, I will kill you."
"Now begone from my sight", Luc told him as he returned to his horse with a slight limp. Luthor stood and stepped out of the circle of knights and walked slowly from the battlefield in shame, what choice did he have?
The Armies Involved
The Crusaders of Holy Light - 1989 points
Grand Marshal Luc Arkhame -243pts- Virtue of Confidence, Armour of Agilulf, Sword of the Quest, Questing Vow
Sir Philippe Arkhame -126pts- Virtue of Duty, Wyrmlance, Knight's Vow
Sir Gilbert Darmani -124pts- Battle Standard, Gromril Great Helm, Knight's Vow
Lady Alana LaFleur -155pts- 2x Dispel Scroll, Mistress of the Marsh, Master of Stone
Lady Lisa Jouilon -169pts- Staff of Sorcery, The Oxen Stands, The Bear's Anger, Warhorse
Phalanx of the Firebird (8) -216pts- Joined by Philippe
Seekers of the Hart (8) -241pts- Warbanner, Joined by Gilbert
Light of the Unicorn (11) -318 points- Banner of Defence, Joined by Luc
Champions of the Lady (9) -397pts- Conqueror's Tapestry
The Templar's Forces - 2064 points
Luthor Oklar -245pts- Holy Relic, Dawn Armour
Baraccus Irrint -159pts- Armour of Tarnus, Wizards Staff, Death Dealer, Wind of Death, Warhorse
Preacher Marius -101pts- Hammer and Shield
Matios Prolos -77pts- Hochland Long Rifle
Knights Panther (12) -352pts- Knights of the Inner Circle, Joined by Luthor
Knights of the White Wolf (13) -454 pts- Banner of Ulric, Knights of the Inner Circle
Spearmen (17) -144pts
Carroburg Greatswords (15) -210pts- Joined by Marius
2 Great Cannons -200pts- One Joined by Matios
Flagellants (10)- 122 points
Victory Points
For Empire- 1/2 the value of the Light of Unicorn - 159 points
For Bretonnia- All troops killed - 2064 points
Banner Captured by Grail Knights - 200 points
Banners Capture Elsewhere - 300 points
3/4 of Table Occupied - 300 points
General Killed - 100 points
Total- 2805 points in favour of Bretonnia, therefore; MASSACRE
NOTES- I am still teaching my step-brother to play the game, he is a quick learner, but still no match for my Bretonnians. I decided in advance that this would be a battle report, it is too bad it was so one sided.
Nice report, Luc. Did you take any pics, or is that too much to ask for? ^_^
I like this kind of battle report the best. It's clear what is going on in terms of game mechanics, and it's nice to read a bit of plot as well. Good work!
Cheers,
DLJ
Excellent text, Luc. I always appreciate reading your very interesting battle reports. Continue your awesome job. I didn't read a lot of reports as good as this one. Of course, it's much more interesting when it's not a massacre...
