Herzland War for Independence

After the winter of 1,451BD, the people of Herzland were starving. Duke Heinrich had petitioned King Sigismund XI for supplies of grain but was refused citing the hardships faced in Valtiere too. This was somewhat true, the harsh winter of 1,451BD had affected all of the mainland harshly and the failed harvest of 1,450 further exacerbated the problem. That being said the King indeed a grain to send that he was holding in reserve in case of another failed harvest the next year. In 1,450BD, Duke Heinrich travels to Grifyn to plead the King for support. When he is rebuffed and by one account, laughed out of the building, Heinrich travels to Andoloth the seek to aid of the Gods or maybe even King Andol LI. When he is refused an audience with both the Gods and Andol on basis that he is not their subject but a vassal of Valtiere; Heinrich is incensed.
He returns to Eisenwald and gathers up all the men he can find a form the first army of Herzland. Heinrich marches this army east and raids Springton and the surrounding area, robbing it of its precious grain supplies. March 3rd 1450BD, King Sigismund XI declares Duke Heinrich a traitor and outlaw for his theft of the grain which will surely cause the region to starve.
April 9th, Duke Heinrich is defeated outside Saltreach as he attacks its grain stores and is taken back to Grifyn for a trial. The trial of Heinrich is a long affair with people coming from all over the give witness to the Dukes generosity and general good nature culminating with Triticor himself testifying that Heinrich had indeed petitioned Andoloth with no response and had only done what he thought best for his people after his King refused.
Despite all this, on the 1st of January of 1,449BD, Heinrich is hung, drawn and quartered like a common traitor on the Orders of King Sigismund XI. Yet, he makes one concession to Heinrich, he will allow his young son Wilhelm to inherit his titles after his death, a decision he would surely regret.
Wilhelm was 15 when he inherited his fathers titles, leaving him and his brother Werner in a precarious position. Both Wilhelm and Werner fought at Springton when their father sacked it and would endeavour to avenge him for their entire lives for they knew his cause was a just one.
1448BD, now that the regency is over and Wilhelm is Duke of Eisenwald in his own right, Sigismund demands Wilhelm and Werner travel to Grifyn and pay homage to him as their liege Lord. In a humiliated ceremony in which they are surrounded by depictions of their fathers defeat at Saltreach and his subsequent execution, they are made to kneel at the feet of their fathers killer and swear their allegiance, a moment the two boys would never forget.
1,445BD. Wilhelm is now 19 and faces his greatest threat yet. Following his fathers death, the Duke was forced to borrow heavily to solve the grain shortage and now those debts are ballooning with no clear and consistent income. He decides to take a army west to raid the farmlands around Wither Rock. Werner keen to help, takes a ship and becomes a privateer for the Hydrian Navy, eventually becoming one of their most famous sailors after his daring capture of the Caladorian Flagship during the 10 years war over the possession of the island known as Draydon.
1440BD, Wilhelm returns from the west with a large horde of treasure stolen from the western lands and wins the Battle of Burning Fields against 2,000 men of the King of Wither Rock, cementing his reputation as a shrewd military leader. When his brother Werner returns in 1439BD, the two sail south to Sapnir and conduct another raid, stealing thousands of barrels of wine, grain and coins. They return rich men.
1438BD, Lord Roger of Damka arrives at Eisenwald to give Wilhelm personally a letter from the King. It demands that his bounty belongs to Valtiere and not Wilhelm himself and orders Wilhelm to give 50% of his treasure to the King, a clear act of tyranny as the previous highest tax level placed on a Lord or Duke was 10%. Knowing the King is still too powerful for a direct challenge, he acquiesces.
1436BD, the new King of Wither Rock leads a force of 10,000 men into the Duchy, raiding all lands west of Adlerfurt. Having maybe 6,000 men at his command, Wilhelm sends a request to the King for support which is subsequently refused. Wilhelm sends another saying that if only the treasure of last year was returned he could pay for the men he needs which is once again rebuffed. Wilhelm did not know that the money taken from him was used to pay the debts of the Kings young son and heir Sigismund and could not be offered to anyone.
Wilhelm is forced to place his men in Adlerfurt to protect the crossing and can only watch as his lands and people are devastated. On the 12th of August 1436BD, Wilhelm gets first stroke of luck as the men of Wither Rock array themselves up outside Adlerfurt in preparation for a siege. Camp fever quickly breaks out amongst the attackers and the army is decimated, forcing the King of Wither Rock is march his men back home, only able to take half of their treasure back with them, they burn what they can and dump the rest into the river before leaving.
Wilhelm pursues and on the 8th of September catches the King a few miles from the town of Salzich where he captures him. They make a deal, The King will be allowed to keep is remaining treasure as recompense for the raids 1445BD but will both agree to never raid each other again and will allow Wilhelm to take out a loan from the bank of Wither Rock with favourable interest rates. The loan will allow Wilhelm to pay for the increasing and modernising of his army.
1434BD, after 2 years expansion and training of military the size of the army has grown, as of 1436BD the Eisenwald formed around 7,000 men at its peak, now in 1434BD, the army has grown to 15,000, mainly comprised of trained militia whom have trained with Pikes, swords and shields. Due to the lack of quality warhorses in Herzland at this time, the cavalry portion is very low, possibly being as low as 800 men.
Fearing the growing power of the Eisenwald army, King Sigismund once again sends Lord Roger of Damka to Eisenwald with a letter from his King. When he arrives on the 2nd of October, the war begins anew.
Lord Roger presents Wilhelm with a demand for all Lords of Valtiere, they will now send 20% of their armed forces to the King to form a royal army to be used for 'The protection of all citizens of Valtiere'. Seeing how this act is directed almost purely at him as most other Lords could field armies of around 2,000 men at this time, he refuses and takes Roger prisoner. Wilhelms sends 2 letters that night, one to Andoloth to protest against the tyranny of Sigismund and one to Sigismund himself protesting the new law. The letter to Sigismund stated that to refuse Wilhelm and his 'just and honest' demands was to declare himself as an enemy to his own people and a tyrant whom must be deposed. When Sigismund refuses, Wilhelm removes the head of Lord Roger and begins the Herzland War for Independence.
Wilhelm immediately moves his army to the fortress of Blutstein which surveys almost all the eastern lands of Herzland and tasks his brother to take the entire fleet of 28 ships to Woodridge to patrol the area, ensuring that no surprises come from the Valtieri fleet stationed at Saltreach.
1st of December, Wilhelm hears word of an army marching and arrived at Springton the day earlier. Wilhelm rushes for the eastern bridge to prevent Sigismund from crossing his army into Herzland. Wilhelm arrays his army along the banks of the Eisbach in anticipation when he hears grave news. The letter he received was in fact 4 days old and Sigismund was crossing the Eisbach at Oberhofen to the north-west, behind his current position.
Wilhelm force marches his army for 4 days, covering some 200 miles to arrive at Hohenfell before Sigismund, losing many of his horses and wagons in the march. on the 7th of December, Wilhelm is informed of fires being started in the forests around Eisenwald. They quickly grow out of of control due to high winds and the land being quite dry this time of year. By the 8th, the entire forest is ablaze illuminating the entire area for a month known as the "Long Day" as the people of Eisenwald try to keep the blaze away from their homes and villagers. The blaze had another effect, the destruction of the prominent wildlife that lived in the forest that thousand of people relied on for their food.
As the fires raged, Sigismund split off his army into smaller groups of 500 and sent them all over the duchy to raid their grain stores to supply his army whose supplies are quickly dwindling as they too have no access the the wealth of the forest.
Wilhem can only watch from atop Hohenfell as his lands are turned to ash and bone and yet, hundreds of miles away, unbeknownst to Wilhelm, his brother Werner makes a daring attack of revenge. Seeing the great fires from his ships at Woodridge, he has had enough sitting and waiting. 'If they burn by people, then I shall burn theirs' I reportedly said before sailing north along the Valtieri coast, setting fire to every settlement he comes across along with stealing all their goods and supplies. Werner makes it to Salt Reach before he encounters the Valtieri navy. Being vastly outnumbered by the Valtieri, they turn back and make haste for Woodridge, losing 5 of their ships in the retreat.
On the 19th of January, Werner makes it to Woodridge and sails under the Great Bridge to make for Sturmhaffen. Or at least, thats what he wants the enemy fleet to think. As the Valtieri fleet sails under the Bridge, Werner springs his trap. The 300 men he has placed atop the bridge with 2 wagons filled with fire pots. As the fleet sails underneath, the fire pots are dropped onto the ships, creating great panic amongst the fleet. Now Werner turns around and begins his attack in earnest. His ships fall upon the escaping ships, now spread out and exposed. Three hours into the attack, a group of at least 1,000 Valtieri soldiers finally make their way to the wagons on the bridge and attack the men destroying the ships below, They fight for a hour before it is clear Eisenwalders are trapped and about to die, instead of waiting, they set fire to the wagon. Werner sees a large ball of fire explode up from the bridge, enveloping the entire bridge in flame.
By this point, the flames were everywhere, the entire Valtieri fleet was burning. Men were in the water drowning rather than face the heat. Werner spies the flagship 'Griffinbane' limping away from the boiling waters with only its bow ablaze. Using climbing spikes, the Eisenwalders climb their way up and onto the ship, only to be surprised and felled by the crew aboard. Werner takes a spear to the thigh as he is escaping.
The victorious fleet sails for Sturmhaffen to refit and repair. Despite their great victory, they bear black news for their Duke. The wound Werner had taken in the assault on 'Griffinbane' had become infected and despite the amputation by his healer, the infection had already spread to his heart. By the time he arrives in Sturmhaffen on the 28th of December, his healer says that he could die any day now.
Against the advice of his generals, Wilhem sneaks out of castle with 4 of his best men with heavy cloaks covering their weapons and armour. He makes the long trek to Sturmhaffen in 6 days, avoiding Valtieri raiding parties along the way.
When Wilhem arrives at Sturmhaffen on the 4th of February, Werner is described as pale and sickly but his heart remained strong. Werner as able to speak and give instructions to his men right up until his death. It was said that Wilhelm never left the bed of his brother until his chest raised for its last time. On the 9th of February 1433BD, Werner von Hohenstein died of his wounds, he was 29 years old. After the death of his brother, it is said that Wilhelms face hardened into stone and never smiled again. Wilhelm gives the command of the fleet to Heinrich, as per his brothers request. Heinrich had served with Werner since his days in the Hydrian Navy and is the most experienced of his captains.
Despite his death, Werner had done a great service to his brother by destroying the Valtieri fleet, one that Wilhelm will surely not let be in vain. With the fires finally subsiding and the fresh supplies bought by the fleet, Wilhelm prepares his army to march to Oberhoffen to trap Sigismund and his army in Eisenwald.
By February, Sigismunds army was in terrible shape. Supplies were all but gone and by setting the fires, he turned the population against them with most people choosing to die rather than give up the locations of their supplies. With foraging parties coming back empty handed, desertion at an all time high and Wilhelm marching an army towards them. Sigismund decides to cut his losses and march his army back across the Eisbach. On the 16th of February, Wilhelm arrives at Oberhoffen to find that Sigismunds army has yet to fully cross. As the Eisenwalders cut down all those before them, the baggage wagons and horses are abandoned as the army flees in all directions. Sigismund himself manages to escape to Springton with nothing but the clothes on his back his retinue of guards. He dispatches a letter to Lord Henri of Ironshore to begin building a new army.
The year of tragedy was not over for Wilhelm yet as he had received word from Eisenwald to inform him that his wife Hilde had begun her labours. By the time Wilhelm arrives it is too late. The healer informs Wilhelm that she died from complications with the birth, but the child survived; a boy whom Wilhelm names Werner.
Despite this tragedy, it does give Wilhelm an opportunity to establish an alliance with another power. The King of Gardi turns him down because of the destruction caused by Werner on the Bridge. The Caladorians refuse as they have nothing to gain. The King of Solvi refuses due to bad weather, stating that he will be unable to bring his army across, yet Solvian records dated to this time show only calm seas. But, in William III of Ausar, he finds an ally. Long had William desired the mines of Orehold and the horses of Damka. On the 9th of May, Wilhelm marries Princess Caroline, the daughter of William III in a rushed ceremony at Sturmhaffen and not a moment too soon as word of the Valtieri army has reached Wilhelm. 25,000 men were currently stationed at Saltreach awaiting their King whom is bringing 4,000 cavalry from Damka.
After the Long Day and the Valtieri raids during the summer, Wilhelm has no trouble recruiting men to swell the ranks of his army from all across the Duchy and even some disgruntled border residents. By May he has 18,000 men under his command at Hohenfell and William has promised 15,000 men whom will be ready by the time to the snow melts in August. Wilhelm needs to keep Sigismund on his side of the Eisbach but not engage the army until the Ausarans can arrive. He keeps 10,000 at Hohenfell under the command General Otto whom served under his father Heinrich. He takes the remaining 8,000 men and tells them to strip most of their armour off, only equipping themselves with mail, crossbows, sword and helmet, about 500 of these men are mounted.
These nimble men can cover around 40-50 miles a day, vastly outpacing the Valtieri army. They arrive at Oberhoffen in 3 days and cross the Eisbach and make their way into the forest around the stunted tree to make a camp. This camp was built next to the Zenith river and covered perfectly by the surrounding forest, in present day, the town of Shadeton lies in the same location. 
16th of May, the Valtieri army moves towards Arbourgate and prepares to cross the Zenith at the village of Verpont. 2 days later on the 18th, Sigismund and his army are moving west, at a point on the road where it dips. It is here that they find themselves in a hailstorm of bolts. Sigismund quickly tries to turn and array his army to face the threat but the Eisenwalders melt away as quickly as they appeared. Sigismund may burn the forest of Eisenwald but he will not risk the fury of the gods by burning the sacred forest and stunted tree within.
Sigismund sends scouts into the forest to look for his attackers but his men never return. Sigismund faces a dilemma, push on forward with an unknown amount of at his rear and face the unknown amount of men waiting for them on the other side of the Eisbach or recross the Zenith and continue the war another day. He chooses to retreat and sends a messenger to Eisenwald to ask for a year long armistice with hostilities to resume on the 1st of August 1432BD.
What convinced Wilhelm to sign the armistice is unknown, some say it was the hardships his people faced in the last year, others say that his men refused to fight while their families needed them at home. Some even said that Wilhelm had lost his taste for battle, but considering he had yet to lose a battle, this seems unlikely. Whatever the reason, Wilhelm agreed to the armistice and sent his army home for the winter.
He also tasked General (now Admiral) Heinrich to sail for Gerra to see if any ships or men want to pledge themselves to his cause in return for ennoblement and land. While he waits, Wilhelm makes preparations across his lands. He fortifies the bridge at Oberhoffen and places a guard of 100 men to watch it. He also fortifies the eastern bridge should Sigismund try to take Blutstein as his base of operations. He also begins construction on a great warship that is the be the flagship of his navy, it is to be named "Loyalty" after his brother.
During the winter, Princess Caroline announces her pregnancy, to the delight of all except Wilhelm. whose face remained as unreadable as stone. Though their marriage was fruitful, producing four children. It was never described as a love match.
During the armistice, Sigismund is anything but idle. He appeals to the priests of the Thebian Temple to annul the marriage between Caroline and Wilhelm on the grounds of consanguinity but no evidence could be provided. He seeks out an alliance with the King of Gardi, citing the desecration of the Bridge. King Robert II seems to be interested but is struck down by a sudden illness and dies on the 4th of June 1433BD. He is succeeded by his young son Henri IV whose uncle Charles is raising men to try and take the throne from his nephew. With Henri IV far too embroiled in his civil war, Sigismund looks to King Richard IX of Solvi whom refused Wilhelms offer of alliance earlier in the year. Richard is interested but requires that Sigismund pledge himself to Richards claim on the Kingdom of Khai. Sigismund accepts and on the 20th of June, Prince Sigismund marries Princess Joanna in a lavish ceremony at Grifyn and by the 24th the Solvi fleet is anchored off the Saltreach coast.
Sigismund also send his younger son Roger to Greensea order another fleet of ships from the Arsenal there. They promise 10 new warships a year for the next 5 years. Combined with the already large Solvi fleet of 55 warships, this force represents the largest known fleet in existence, if the order can be completed.
As the winter winds down and and snow beginning to melt, Admiral Heinrich returns on the 8th of August with 15 large and experienced warships to bring his fleet up to 33 warships. Though Ausar may control Greensea, it is not considered a seaborne power with 90% of ships being produced in Greensea sold to external powers or merchantmen, As of 1433BD, the Ausaran fleet is numbered at 15 smaller merchant ships.
Worried about a sudden attack, William III asks Wilhelm to keep their fleet together at Sturmhaffen, far from Solvi fleet. Arkaous is also considered by as it is too far from Eisenwald, it was disregarded.
Wilhelm spends the remainder of 1433BD going from village to village and seeing to their needs. Some have lost their homes, others their husbands and sons, but most their forest, source of food and way of life. Though the forest was blaze and at this moment is a charred ruin, through the exhaustive work of the people of what is quickly becoming the land of Herzland and the men of Wilhelm, the forest is mostly restored in 12 years and reports of wildlife as early as 8 years.
The early days of 1432BD saw both sides preparing. Lord Henri of Ironshore has gathered 20,000 men, though quite inexperienced, they are joined by Richards 10,000 men, fresh off crushing a rebellion in Dyri. 
Lacking vast amounts of horses, Wilhelm turns to Wither Rock and purchases 1,500 horses for his army, all but draining the treasury. He also gains the services of an engineer named Vuk Toppenvich. Vuk worked under the Great Engineer Rodya who built Wither Rocks walls which still stand today. He sets Vuk to work creating an unit of engineers within his army, ready to create great engines of war as needed.
Wilhelm now spends months training and drilling his army in formations and tactics. On the 5th of March, Princess Caroline gives birth to her first child, a boy who is named Heinrich after Wilhelm's father. 22nd of March, the Warship "Loyalty" is completed though much of the wood needed to be imported from the west. Vuks engineers outfit the ship with new weapons of war, the arbalest and the trebuchet.
5th of June, Princess Caroline announces her second pregnancy. Coincidentally on the same day, a force of unknown men try to force the crossing at Oberhoffen but are repelled. Wilhelm is convinced this is the work of Sigismund and detaches a group of 1,000 light troops under the command of General Otto to cross at Oberhoffen and sneak into Valtieri territory dressed like bandits. Once across, they are to raid and burn all they see but melt away before any resistance.
Otto recrosses the Eisbach on the 15th of July with wagons full of stolen goods to be distributed amongst the people. Wilhelm receives furious letters from Sigismund who blames him for the raiding, but with no proof, Wilhelm tosses these letters in the fire. On the 18th, another larger group of unknown men try to force the crossing at Oberhoffen but are repelled by Vuks arbalests who reap havoc amongst the attackers.
With barely a week left on the armistice, Wilhelm summons his army to Hohenfell with the exception of the forces guarding the crossings. It is this moment when Wilhelm states his intentions. He will never accept Valtieri rule again, he plans to establish a new Kingdom for the people of Herzland. To do this he will need recognition from the other Kingdoms, which can only be given by the Gods. He needs a great victory on the field and points to a location of the map of Valtieri. "In 3 months time on the hills near the village of Evvery, we will smash the Valtieri and take our Kingdom for ourselves!" To do this would require great knowledge of the area and logistical planning, something that Wilhelm has spent the last year accomplishing. He will lead the Valtieri army on long manoeuvre to think they have the Herzlanders on the run, inviting them to attack them at Wilhelms chosen ground.
He splits the army into 3, one group commanded by General Otto will take 10,000 infantry north to hide in the forest for a month as the plan unfolds. The 2nd group, commanded by the young and brave Artur, he has command of the 2,000 cavalry. Wilhelm himself commands the 3rd group, a smaller group of 3,000 elite swordsmen and crossbowmen.
1st of August, Wilhelm sends Artur ahead ordering him to spread out his cavalry and kick up a lot of dust, screening the movement of his army. By the 5th, Wilhelm is 20 miles west of Springton and reminisces of how that was his last happy memory with his entire family, "...and now there is only I". On the 6th, Artur informs Wilhelm of the approaching Valtieri army, perhaps only 2 or 3 days away. He dispatches Artur with 500 of his cavalry to slow their advance with skirmishing actions, while the remaining cavalry continues to screen their movements. Wilhelm retreats further west towards the Zenith, towards a small crossing point. 
On the 9th of August, the war truly begins anew when Sigismund's advance cavalry reaches Zenith before Wilhelms men can cross. The cavalry are repelled by a storm of bolts which allow the rest of the Herzlander men to cross. By the time the rest of the Valtieri army arrives, Wilhelm and his men are long gone and on the 14th, they enter Arbourgate and cross the Eisbach back into Herzland. Sigismund and his men are in quick pursuit but suddenly hear reports of enemy movements behind them and are forced to retreat back towards Saltreach or risk being surrounded. These enemy movements are in fact Artur and what remains of his 500 cavalry kicking up dust and attacking messengers, ensuring that Sigismund felt isolated. Artur retreats before the Valtieri army and makes north to hide themselves in the northern edge of the forest. As Sigismund is retreating, Wilhelm is once again on the advance and on the 21st, he enters Springton, establishing himself in the castle there.
Though not the impregnable fortress that stands today, the Springton Castle with its high cliffs and high walls was still a formidable emplacement. Once inside, he writes Otto to tell him to begins his operations. Otto begins his march on the 28th and on the 30th, he enters the forest and begins to head north at a cautious pace as their monsters that dwelt in the forest were well known. 
2nd of September, after hearing word from Springton of its fall, Sigismund marches on the city to reclaim it, splitting his army 4 groups of 5,000 men that will take wide routes to the city to ensure Wilhelm cannot escape while Richards army takes the direct march to Springton. 7th of September, Artur arrives at Springton with only 200 men remaining after riding 4 days non-stop. He tells Wilhelm of all he saw, the wide movements of the Valtieri force and the large Solvian force moving directly towards his position. Knowing they mean to surround him and entrap his army, Wilhelm makes to flee the city, though not before putting it to the torch. After his soldiers have raided of the supplies they can carry with them, they set fire to the granary to Sigismund cannot use the supplies. Yet, tragically, the coastal winds were high that day and with most of residents in the city living within thatch homes, the fire quickly grew wild and ingulfed the city. They say 10,000 people died inside the city, and Springton itself did not recover until over 300 years later.
Wilhelm marches his army west again towards the Zenith crossing again and on the 5th finds 5,000 Valtieri men barring his way. Knowing the rest cannot be far behind, he once again orders Artur to begin screening his movements and to scout ahead for the main army. He orders his crossbow up front to delay the Valtieri and his main force can move north. After an hour of skirmishing, Wilhelm is able to move his men north keeping the Zenith on his left. Wilhelm was fortunate to get his army moving that quickly as an hour after he move north, another 5,000 men arrived to reinforce the Valtieri men protecting the crossing. They set off in pursuit while dispatching a message to Sigismund saying that they have caught the main army before they could cross back into Herzland. Delighted by the news and eager to avenge Springton, he turns the entire army west to face Wilhelm whom is seemingly trapped.
11th of September, Wilhelms fights another delaying action at a location known as Le Rocher or The Rock. This large rock formation situated along the Zenith that allows for a great view of the surrounding area. Unwilling to assault such a strong position, the armies giving chase opt to wait for their King to arrive before attacking. Instead Wilhelm attacks them, sending Artur and his cavalry directly at them with crossbows in support. With the crossbows positioned up on Le Rocher and able to shoot over the cavalry, the Valtieri men quickly flee giving Wilhelm the breathing space he needs and quickly dispatches a single rider into the forest with an important message.
22nd September, the Valtieri force has converged, some 30,000 men strong and is only 5 days march behind Wilhelm when he arrives at the village of Evvery and finds General Otto waiting for him with his 10,000 men. Ditches have been dug every 50 yards on the left flank, the Zenith protects the right with its fast flowing waters. The village of Evvery has 5 distinct hills. The largest one, nicknamed King Hill by the Herzlanders is nestled between 2 smaller hills. The other two hills, known as the Green Mounds, were on the other side of the Zenith and slightly obscured by the forest. Otto has 3,000 of his infantry hidden behind the Green Mounds. Wilhelm has placed most of Ottos remaining 7,000 men behind Kings hill, out of sight of any who would approach. He orders spikes placed in the ground in front of Kings hill to protect against cavalry. He also dispatches a dozen men to carry a critical message cross Valtiere and into Ausar.
After 4 days of preparation, The Griffin banner of Valtiere can be seen at the head of a large army arriving at the village, though a few miles away. Wilhelm arrays his elite force of 5,000 men along Kings hill, daring Sigismund to attack. 28th of September, Sigismunds entire force begins the assault, marching his infantry up Kings hill while keeping his cavalry in reserve. As his men prepared to meet the Valtieri force, Wilhelm donned a crowned helm, drew his sword and thrust it into the air where Sigismund could see. A direct challenge to the King.
The first wave under a thunderstorm of bolts and finding no purchase on Kings hill quickly retreat before the Herzlander spears. What happened is a matter of some debate as blame was thrown around in the aftermath of the Battle of Evvery. Sigismund claims to Richard threatened to pull his force back to Saltreach if Sigismund did not attack "his enemy while he can see him". Richard claims that Sigismund hated Wilhelm with every breath, that along the march he boasted of all the ways he was going to punish Wilhelm and now that he thought he had Wilhelm trapped, he flew into a blind rage and sent his entire force up Kings hill, hoping to quickly overwhelm the defenders.
It was at this moment that Wilhelm unveiled his masterpiece. As the full force of Solvi and Valtieri made their way up Kings hill, he waved a new banner, a crowned black eagle on a white field, the signal for Otto to attack. At once, 3,000 men streamed over the Green Mound using makeshift bridges and fell on the exposed cavalry sitting in reserve. Simultaneously, Artur charges his cavalry around and smashes into the exposed flank of the Solvian infantry before they can from up their spears. This devastating charge was the beginning of the end. The Valtieri cavalry, faced with the choice of charging forward into the death trap that was Kings hill or fleeing, found themselves running before they even had a chance to attack. With the enemy cavalry fleeing, Otto and his 3,000 men attacked the Valtieri rear.
Despite all this, Sigismund and Richard had cut a path up Kings hill and were within spitting distance of Wilhelm before his 7,000 reinforcements came up behind him, triggering the rout. Sigismund and Richard both managed to escape towards Grifyn, though at the cost of most of their armies. Numbers of dead are not exactly known, but modern estimates have it at 15,000 killed, wounded or captured for the Valtieri and the Solvians. While the Herzlanders only lost around 1,200 killed or wounded. A crushing victory and one that would etch Wilhelms name into the book of great military leaders in human history, a position furthered when Belkus names Wilhelm as the Saint of Strategy in 1426BD.
Before Wilhelm could celebrate his victory, he needed King Sigismund in hand or the war would continue endlessly. He formed up his remaining cavalry under his command and set off after Sigismund while the rest of his army rested and would march for Grifyn under Otto in 2 days time. 
On the 4th of August, some 15 miles south of Amberwick, the retreating Valtieri and Solvian forces run directly into the path of the Ausaran army led by William VI. The army is quickly destroyed with most fleeing at the sight of the Daemon banner of Ausar. Sigismund and Richard are taken captive and are held in Amberwick awaiting the arrival of Wilhelm.
9th of August, during a dark and terrible storm, Wilhelm arrives at the head of his cavalry at Amberwick. He greets William warmly and William congratulates Wilhelms on his great victory. He is then led to the dungeons where Sigismund and Richard await judgement. Sigismund is dragged out by Wilhelm and Artur into the courtyard of Amberwick castle where Sigismund falls to the feet of Wilhelm asking for forgiveness and saying that he'll give Wilhelm whatever he wants, it is said that he made a woeful display before Wilhelm, crying and begging.
Wilhelm ordered a noose be brought out and Sigismund be given his crown back "for a King must die as one" Wilhelm reportable stated. The noose was placed around the neck of the Valtieri king and pulled up until he finally began to choke and spam where he was let back down again to catch his breath, a which point he would be pulled back up again. This continued for a full day until Wilhelm came over to Sigismund and asked what he wanted, when Sigismund said "forgiveness", he ordered another day of hanging.
As Sigismund cried out, Wilhelm went to see the other King his custody, Richard XI. Having played to part in the burning and raiding of Herzland or the lead up to the war, Richard agreed to ransom of 100,000 silver pieces, a guarantee of peace between the 2 realms for 100 years and Richards 4 year old second son Geoffrey will come to Eisenwald to live until he comes of age.
On the 3rd day, Wilhelm went to see Sigismund again who was barely coherent at this point once again asked for forgiveness. Wilhelm ordered another day.
On the 4th day, Sigismund seemed more himself and spat in Wilhelms face. "The Gods will punish you for this" he reportable said. "As they did you?" Wilhelm asked before ordering another day.
On the 5th day, General Otto arrived the rest of the Herzlander army and Wilhelm quickly sent them onwards to begins preparations for a siege of Grifyn. Sigismund was let down once again where Wilhelm once again asked him what he wanted, "Andoloth, to plead my case before the gods". Wilhelm didn't even respond this time, he ordered Sigismund gelded and allowed a night of rest. A skilled man with a blade made quick work of it, resulting in very little blood loss from Sigismund.
On the 6th day, Wilhelm asked what Sigismund wanted to which Sigismund replied "death". To which Wilhelm replied "Oh, it will not be so easy for you. You will wish for death like my father in the end" and took at hot knife from a fire and cut out the tongue of King Sigismund IX. Sigismund was placed in irons and brought with them when they joined Otto outside Grifyn.
Upon seeing the large force outside Grifyn and only defended by its garrison of 1,000 men. Prince Sigismund, fearing his fathers fate, raises the gate and rides out to meet with Wilhelm. Wilhelm takes Prince Sigismund to meet his father or what is left of him. Wilhelm bids the Prince sits and tells him the story of how they got here, from the famine of 1451BD, the Long Day right up to the Battle of Evvery and Sigismund's punishment at Amberwick. Sigismund was suitably cowed and on the 16th of August 1432BD, formally signs the Treaty of Grifyn. The treaty formally recognised Wilhelm as King of Herzland and formalised the de jure territories of Herzland to be those south of the Zenith. It also agreed to pay restitution for The Long Day and recognised the execution of Duke Heinrich as unlawful. The territories of Damka and Orehold and given to Ausar as agreed for their part in the war and Sigismund IX abdicates but is not returned to his son. His is to stay in Eisenwald as a hostage for the remainder of his life. Sigismund lived another 5 years before seeing his chance and throwing himself out a window at Hohenfell.
On the 10th of October during a grand ceremony inside the Pyramid of Andoloth, A crown is placed atop Wilhelms head by Obelisk himself and proclaimed King of Herzland.