First Battle of The God's Lake

The First Battle of The God's Lake was the first official battle of the Lakelands Conflict of the Brotherhood of Wolves. It was fought along the south bank of The God's Lake in the Lakelands between the Lakeland Forces under Lord Anron Rocke against the Brotherhood of Wolves led by Dontar the Dread. 
== History ==
=== Prelude ===
House Rocke, alongside several other Houses of the Lakelands, had been fighting bandits and outlaws in the central region of the Lakelands during and after the disastrous reign of King Harlow I which saw the realm bankrupted and many turn brigand. 
King Warren ascended to the throne in 380 AF after the failed southern expedition which further bankrupted the realm and worsened the state of banditry in the Lakelands. Despite this, House Rocke was unable to rally any more Houses against them. In 397 AF, the first of three terrible winters hit the Kingdom which would be incredibly taxing on the Kingdom and this lead to a fallen knight of House Pyke, Sir Dontar, banding together several smaller outlaw groups in the Lakelands in 398 AF to form the Brotherhood of Wolves in order to combat the progress of the Lakeland Houses and present a united front against the realm. 
Lord Anron, Warden of The Lake and Head of House Rocke, mustered a nearly 2,000 strong force at Arrowpoint and marched to the south bank of The God's Lake where the Brotherhood were believed to be operating from. He intended to bring a quick end to the Brotherhood and crush it before it could fully begin but he did not anticipate the numbers he was fighting and marched into an ambush.
=== The Battle ===
The main bulk of the Brotherhood force met the Lakeland Force head on and locked in battle with them while a quarter of the force led by a prominent bandit in the Brotherhood moved further south and then crashed into the weak Lakelander flank, pushing them to the bank of The God's Lake and forcing a retreat back to Arrowpoint. The Brotherhood then continued to harass the retreating Lakelanders. Around half of the Lakeland Army was killed in the battle and during the retreat.
=== Aftermath ===
With half of the Lakeland Army killed, and among them the two sons of Lady Elyse Selter, the situation in the Lakelands was bleak. House Selter withdrew support from the conflict and several Houses also decided to not support the cause after the disastrous battle. It caused the remaining Lords still fighting the Brotherhood to reassess and become more cautious as they initially went into the Battle overly confident, believing they were simply fighting a loose band of bandits, not a unified, decently trained army of bandits. It also cemented Sir Dontar as a competent commander and leader of the Brotherhood, as well as a skilled fighter as he fought directly on the front himself. He earnt the nickname "The Dread" and "The Tall Man" during the battle.
Lord Anron was put into a precarious position as he was without a large army and had little support from his vassals. He returned immediately to Ravenglass to gather a larger force and ordered the other Lords to do the same. While this move did provide him with a larger army overall, it would also give the Brotherhood uncontested control over the lands south of The God's Lake, west of The Green Lakes and east of Shadebeach. This would then lead to the Sacking of Shadebeach in 399 AF, a second continuous defeat for the Lakelanders, eventually leading to the intervention of Royalist Troops in 400 AF under Prince Ronan and his detachment.
Category:Lakelands Conflict
Category:Battles
Category:398 AF