A forest of frámeás - A second try

[The Celtic Viking]

A vision is born

Spring is here. Gone is the winter, and with it went the snow. No more hiding in our holes, waiting for the sun to come back; no more long, dark nights until the next winter. But now spring is here, and the sun shines again with omens of a new age. The gods have given me a vision, a vision of a greater prosperity for us, and for our people. Wodánáz has told me that it is now that all the tribes should unite under the banner of the Sweboz Confederacy. It is time for truly heroic deeds!

That is what Héruwulfáz, my Kuningáz and master, told me that morning. I, the narrator of this chronicle, am only his servant, told to record his achievements from this day and onward. He says that the workings of the gods, for he is descendent from the gods, must be remembered by all lesser men and it is my task to make sure it will be so.

That whole day Héruwulfáz and all his warriors prepared for the offensive. Soon we will move out. I say we because, even though I am but a slave and not a free man, and thus not expected to fight, I have been ordered to come along to record His battles too, from first hand. It is important, he says, that he who writes about the battles must have seen the battles, or he shall not write at all. I am not worried about my own safety, though – I know Heruwulfaz is a great man, warrior and leader, and he will not fail. I have nothing to fear as long as I am by his side.

So finally we were ready. Our warriors were gathered, supplies packed, destination set and we were about to move out. We went north towards Gáwjám-Rugõz, and on the way we joined up with Ánsuhárjáz, a great warrior and general too, having proven his valour many times already. But it would take some time yet to get there. In the meantime, Héruwulfáz sent word down to Hrábnáz in the south to start moving north-eastward. His objective was to bring Ascaucalis into the federation, whether by force or diplomacy. The people of Ascaucalis are fierce in battle, and it is told that, even though Hrábnáz had hired a gang of mercenaries in Silêngolándám, they still outnumbered him and his men, so they will probably not give up their independence without a fight. It is for Hrábnáz to prove himself as a competent warrior.

An emissary, namely Hágárádáz, sped to make trade arrangements with the people of the south, seeking wealth for our money stripped lands in a more peaceful way. Atháwulfáz stayed to govern Swébotráustástámnoz.

The Battle of Gáwjám-Rugõz

As soon as Héruwulfáz came into reach of the town, he ordered the attack. He did not wish to wait in a siege when he outnumbered the enemy so. With 1245 infantrymen, 404 riders plus himself, Ansuhárjáz and their bodyguards, he felt certain to win.

The village didn’t have any wall at all, and the main way in were completely left open to whoever wished to walk there, if he could get past the defenders. Héruwulfáz, not being a fool, realized that he could use this to his advantage, as he had more men. He himself would lead the main attack straight on. Supporting him were, other than his own bodyguards, 402 spearmen and 120 archers. Ansuhárjáz would lead a flanking force to the right, together with 603 spearmen and 120 archers. In between them were 202 horses, and to the left of Héruwulfáz were the remaining 202 riders, who were supposed to flank to the left.

Immediately as he moved forward, the enemy sent forth a band of skirmishers. Armed with javelins, big shields and a framea for melee, our left wing cavalry would be in trouble if they were left alone with them. But Héruwulfáz saw this attempt by the enemy, and intercepted them before they could reach the horses. While those skirmishers were well suited to take on our light cavalry, they had obvious problems standing up to heavy infantry such as Héruwulfáz and his guards. With quality swords they hacked through the skirmishers, killing many and suffering little, and when the skirmisher band were about to turn and flee, half of the riders from the left wing set loose upon their rear, defeating all hopes of escape, killing them to a man.

Meanwhile, Ansuhárjáz moved on unchecked to the right, and the middle band of cavalry saw the enemy archers open, unprotected straight ahead of them and charged in to take advantage of their apparent vulnerability. That is not all good news though, because out sprang 200 spearmen who had been hiding in the buildings, set for an ambush! Héruwulfáz didn’t waste a second. He quickly ordered his spearmen to rush in and take over the fighting, while he sent one cavalryman from the left wing to give the orders to withdraw to the engaged and threatened cavalry in the middle. He and his men then rush forward just behind his spearmen, having been winded from his fight with the skirmishers.

With the order to withdraw, Héruwulfáz middle cavalry retreated as orderly as their training and discipline allowed. As they retreated, they threw their last javelins at the enemy and left the fighting to the frámehárjoz. Ansuhárjáz, who had moved further up on the right, rushed to flank the enemy skirmishers, who had joined up with their ambushing spearmen, in their rear. He sent his spearmen to move to the town square from the southern main road together with the archers. The left cavalry wing moved on to do the same from the north.

With the enemy ambushers firmly occupied, Héruwulfáz passed them, in order to intercept another band of spearmen, who had moved up to flank Héruwulfaz’s frámehárjoz. Being more experienced than the lightly armed skirmishers from before, they offered a better fight, if still being the losing side. Still, they had the advantage in local numbers, and Héruwulfáz and his men were getting more and more tired as the fight went on. He had of course his archers right behind, who could also serve as light infantry should the situation call for it, and there were yet more spearmen he could draw forward, but the enemy had reserves as well.

After a short while, it was the enemy who took the initiative. Under a rain of arrows, the enemy general charged into Héruwulfáz left flank, trying to make a decisive strike and turn the tide of the battle right there and then. At first it seemed as if he were at least somewhat successful, driving Héruwulfáz’s men back, but his charge failed to deliver any true force, and they become bogged down in melee. Héruwulfáz’s men quickly took up their frameas again to fight this new, mounted threat.

At the same time, the spearmen who had tried to ambush Héruwulfáz’s cavalry felt they had had enough and ran. Ansuhárjáz were now free to help his Kuningáz, and spearmen moved up behind to help Héruwulfáz on his left flank. That was all that was needed to give the Kuningáz and his exhausted men a break. The enemy general along with what was left of his bodyguard and his spears, fled back towards the town square, where his swordsmen were already engaged by the spearmen Ansuhárjáz earlier had ordered to come from the south. At the same time as the enemy general made it there, the riders that had moved up the left flank charged him in his rear, killing both him and all his guard. They then proceeded to attack the enemy Sahsnotoz in their backs. After a short fight the town was conquered, and the population forced to swear loyalty to the Kuningáz of the Sweboz confederacy. This was Héruwulfáz’s first victory in his campaign to unite the tribes.

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