HS&S:WT Short
Aug. 18th, 2008 07:16 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sabremeisterI saw a film on telly two days ago. I wrote this today.
“Among the Western Islands, few things are celebrated more than the defeat of the Grimvelds by the Langanders, during the Battle of Langand, over 600 years ago.
“The mages of Grimveld had spent a decade creating two dozen Teleport Gates, that they presented to their ruler Rudolph the Short. Rudolph had plans, vile plans, and the Teleport Gates his mages had created were perfect to help carry them out. He sent his armies through the Teleport Gates, across the channels and straights that separated Grimveld from Frassoo, Danop, Stova, and Sullicania. They were taken by surprise, the Grimveld soldiers appeared in their midst and slaughtered their armies. Rudolph had their populations enslaved, and sent his soldiers there to keep order, and nothing stood in his way.
“Nothing ... except one little island to the northeast of Grimveld. An island which Rudolph had always wanted, as he dreamt of controlling the artifacts that the royal family of that island owned, artifacts which gave that island undisputed control of the seas around the Western Islands. For with control of the seas around the Western Islands, Rudolph could export his foul ideas on the sword points of his armies, right across the world. And so Rudolph the Short redirected his armies, and sent them to attack that island – the island of Langand. This island.
“Now, we had been watching Rudolph send his armies to attack through the Teleport Gates. We would not be taken by surprise like the other islands. We prepared an expedition against Grimveld, ready to invade and defeat Rudolph on his own soil. But we were too slow. His soldiers appeared in our barracks, and despite our vigilance, our soldiers were decimated. We moved our soldiers to other barracks, we raised reserves, we recruited the soldiers of Frassoo, Danop, Stova and Sullicania who had fled their islands invasions to our armies – and still we were losing. Rudolph’s attacks were endless, unceasing. It wasn’t just the men we lost, but good officers to lead them. And so we suffered. We needed a miracle. We got one.
“We do not know if it was a mistake, or arrogance on Rudolph’s part, but one day, his soldiers appeared in the barracks of the Royal Guards. They did not survive. The Guardsmen were ever alert, ever ready, and they defended themselves with great skill and courage. They drove back the attackers, and followed them through the opened Gate to the place where they had been sent from. A full legion awaited the Guards. But the Guards knew no fear, and they attacked, and they slaughtered half that legion, and the mages running the Teleport Gate, and then they came home, the gate closing after them.
“It was the turning point. Rudolph could not believe that we would be so audacious as to attack him. He changed his orders. His armies were no longer to attack our barracks, our camps, our soldiers. They would attack villages, towns – cities. We were not ready for the change, but it gave us the chance to recruit more men, to train more officers, to rebuild barracks and camps. And the villages and towns and cities were emptied, and the Grimveld soldiers could only demolish empty buildings before returning home.
“Rudolph realised this was getting him nowhere. He called off his attacks. He began to plan a great invasion, but it was too late for him. The moment he stopped sending his soldiers through his Teleport Gates to attack us, he had lost. We were able to prepare our fleet again, to fill the ships with soldiers - and one day, we launched those ships. Our fleet was unopposed, Rudolph’s armies were unprepared, and within a year, he was defeated, and Frassoo, Danop, Stova and Sullicania were free of his tyranny. And it was all thanks to one man, one officer of the Royal Guards. The officer who led his men back through a Teleport Gate to attack Grimveld’s mages on his own soil. The officer who led his company and held them together against a full legion. If that officer hadn’t had the courage and the skill to turn the enemy’s own blows against him, Rudolph would not have changed his methods, would not have given us time to rebuild our forces – and we would not have gained the momentum needed to wipe out his foul regime.
“That is why we celebrate this day, rather than any other days. For this day is the anniversary, not of Rudolph’s final defeat, not of the day we launched our fleet, but of the day that an officer of the Royal Guards led his hundred men through a Teleport Gate to kill a thousand soldiers.”
“But granddad, what was this officer’s name?”
“His name? You know his name. It’s written in songs, it’s in paintings, it’s a name everyone in the Islands knows.”
“Tell us anyway, granddad. Tell us the man’s name!”
“Hawker Spytfer.”
Never in the Field
“Among the Western Islands, few things are celebrated more than the defeat of the Grimvelds by the Langanders, during the Battle of Langand, over 600 years ago.
“The mages of Grimveld had spent a decade creating two dozen Teleport Gates, that they presented to their ruler Rudolph the Short. Rudolph had plans, vile plans, and the Teleport Gates his mages had created were perfect to help carry them out. He sent his armies through the Teleport Gates, across the channels and straights that separated Grimveld from Frassoo, Danop, Stova, and Sullicania. They were taken by surprise, the Grimveld soldiers appeared in their midst and slaughtered their armies. Rudolph had their populations enslaved, and sent his soldiers there to keep order, and nothing stood in his way.
“Nothing ... except one little island to the northeast of Grimveld. An island which Rudolph had always wanted, as he dreamt of controlling the artifacts that the royal family of that island owned, artifacts which gave that island undisputed control of the seas around the Western Islands. For with control of the seas around the Western Islands, Rudolph could export his foul ideas on the sword points of his armies, right across the world. And so Rudolph the Short redirected his armies, and sent them to attack that island – the island of Langand. This island.
“Now, we had been watching Rudolph send his armies to attack through the Teleport Gates. We would not be taken by surprise like the other islands. We prepared an expedition against Grimveld, ready to invade and defeat Rudolph on his own soil. But we were too slow. His soldiers appeared in our barracks, and despite our vigilance, our soldiers were decimated. We moved our soldiers to other barracks, we raised reserves, we recruited the soldiers of Frassoo, Danop, Stova and Sullicania who had fled their islands invasions to our armies – and still we were losing. Rudolph’s attacks were endless, unceasing. It wasn’t just the men we lost, but good officers to lead them. And so we suffered. We needed a miracle. We got one.
“We do not know if it was a mistake, or arrogance on Rudolph’s part, but one day, his soldiers appeared in the barracks of the Royal Guards. They did not survive. The Guardsmen were ever alert, ever ready, and they defended themselves with great skill and courage. They drove back the attackers, and followed them through the opened Gate to the place where they had been sent from. A full legion awaited the Guards. But the Guards knew no fear, and they attacked, and they slaughtered half that legion, and the mages running the Teleport Gate, and then they came home, the gate closing after them.
“It was the turning point. Rudolph could not believe that we would be so audacious as to attack him. He changed his orders. His armies were no longer to attack our barracks, our camps, our soldiers. They would attack villages, towns – cities. We were not ready for the change, but it gave us the chance to recruit more men, to train more officers, to rebuild barracks and camps. And the villages and towns and cities were emptied, and the Grimveld soldiers could only demolish empty buildings before returning home.
“Rudolph realised this was getting him nowhere. He called off his attacks. He began to plan a great invasion, but it was too late for him. The moment he stopped sending his soldiers through his Teleport Gates to attack us, he had lost. We were able to prepare our fleet again, to fill the ships with soldiers - and one day, we launched those ships. Our fleet was unopposed, Rudolph’s armies were unprepared, and within a year, he was defeated, and Frassoo, Danop, Stova and Sullicania were free of his tyranny. And it was all thanks to one man, one officer of the Royal Guards. The officer who led his men back through a Teleport Gate to attack Grimveld’s mages on his own soil. The officer who led his company and held them together against a full legion. If that officer hadn’t had the courage and the skill to turn the enemy’s own blows against him, Rudolph would not have changed his methods, would not have given us time to rebuild our forces – and we would not have gained the momentum needed to wipe out his foul regime.
“That is why we celebrate this day, rather than any other days. For this day is the anniversary, not of Rudolph’s final defeat, not of the day we launched our fleet, but of the day that an officer of the Royal Guards led his hundred men through a Teleport Gate to kill a thousand soldiers.”
“But granddad, what was this officer’s name?”
“His name? You know his name. It’s written in songs, it’s in paintings, it’s a name everyone in the Islands knows.”
“Tell us anyway, granddad. Tell us the man’s name!”
“Hawker Spytfer.”
