The Fireseed Wars

"Yes, sir." Captain-General Errock turned and gave orders to form up his cavalry, while Hestophes ordered his dragoons to fall back. He ordered the remaining Mobile Force cavalry to divide and go down both sides of the stream about a half march to outflank the nomads and keep them bottled up. More of the enemy, mounting up and screaming war cries, were pouring out of the trees and shrubs at the top of the bank. Soon several hundred nomads were riding furiously toward the Hostigi when Errock gave the order to charge and the trumpets sounded.

Errock had formed his cavalry into three lines of about five companies each, with his own lancers at the fore holding aloft the Thagnor banner of a red bull's head on a green field over the maroon keystone of the Royal Hostigos Army. The earth started to rumble as the first line began its charge. The nomads appeared startled, craning their necks to the left and to the right, only to find a line of mixed musketeers and arquebusiers at either flank.

The next line of Hostigi heavy horse started their charge. More nomads were coming, many mounted and some on foot, pouring through the trees and over the stream bank, but they appeared hesitant about where to go-many were shouting and milling about. A few shots rang out and some of the horse archers began to fire arrows. Then the final line of men-at-arms began their charge.

This is going to be like spearing fish in a barrel, thought Hestophes.

Suddenly, like an irresistible wave, the first line of Thagnor lancers smashed into the Urgothi horsemen. Nomads were thrown backwards and to the ground as the lances hit home. The more lightly armed and poorly-armored nomads and their small horses were clearly overmatched. A moment later the first line of Hostigi horse rode over the bank and down to the stream. The tribesmen were completely disordered and were starting to scatter, but there was no place to escape to as the Mobile Force dragoons began to fire into their flanks from both sides. The remaining Mobile Force cavalry were emplaced along the river both downstream and upstream, leaving the nomads nowhere to go except down the bank and into Phrames' arms.

The second line of heavy horse ran through the disordered nomads as if they were made of Kalvan's early batches of paper. The third line of horse had already slowed to a walk as there was no more substantial opposition. Suddenly thousands of tribesmen poured over the banks, riding pell-mell in every direction to escape the slaughter. The third line of Hostigi heavy horse, only a few hundred paces away, charged again and smashed into the routing nomads like an avalanche of steel and horseflesh.

The heavy men-at-arms rode over their opponents and down the bank to the stream bed, out of Hestophes' sight, but bringing a world of pain to the nomads. The screams of dying men and wounded horses ripped the air. Hestophes marched the Mobile Force riflemen and pikemen up to within thirty paces of the disordered tribesmen and ordered his men into formation.

"All ranks, fire!" he cried.

The first volley cleared the area of anyone, chest-high or taller, who wasn't hiding behind a tree or scrambling over the bank. The ground was littered with dead and dying men and horses. As they marched forward, he ordered the Rathoni auxiliaries to cut the throats of all the wounded men and animals. Next, he ordered the dragoons, riflemen at the fore, to the top of the bank.

The sight that met his eyes was one out of Regwarn's Caverns of the Dead. The stream was filled with dead and dying nomads and the water was streaked with red ribbons of blood and gore. Some of Phrames' men were still facing the creek, but most were receiving an attack from the war band of horsemen who'd been chasing them.

Hestophes signaled his trumpeter and gave the order to charge. The Hostigi cavalry, not actively fighting the nomads on this side of the creek, formed ranks and moved across the ford to support Phrames' force.

About half the nomads on Hestophes' side of the stream were dead or wounded, while the rest were throwing down their weapons and raising their helmets and fur caps in surrender.

He watched as the Hostigi heavy horse forded the stream and regrouped behind Phrames' wagon laager. It took less than a sixteenth of a candle to open the laager and let the Hostigi loose on the milling nomads on the other side of the creek. Having seen their allies routed and defeated, the nomads showed their true colors. The "army" that had been harrying Prince Phrames for the past half moon was suddenly in full flight with the Hostigi heavy horse and the Thagnori lancers in pursuit. The Hostigi wouldn't stop until either every horse was blown or every nomad was dead or captured.