The Anarchy

In 320 3E the lords of the marches had become powerful enough to challenge the established kingdoms. Raids, plunder, kidnapping, and extortion emanated from the marches committed by robber barons and mercenary bands. The exact date when this disorder became general and pervasive, rather than episodic, is uncertain, but it is generally agreed that it began sometime around the year 320 during the disastrous reigns of Eric III of the Eastern Realm of the Vallarian Kingdom and Robart IV of the Western Realm.

   Background:

King Pendrak VI of Alba was in his ascendancy, employing his vast wealth to field numerous mercenary armies and interfering in the internal affairs of the neighboring kingdoms. Robart IV of the Western Realm ruled by tyranny with the support of the Alban king, opposed by the incompetent King Eric III.

Scholars believe the anarchy could have been avoided had Robart IV been reigned in by his councilors, the antagonism against the E.R. consumed Robart and his predecessors, and they funded and encouraged the marchers to frequently raid and attack the E.R. making the marcher lords rich and building up increasingly rapacious and independent mercenary companies over a period of 80 years.

It came to a head when Robart was deposed and executed by his leading nobles with the support of the military orders, leading to a split between the orders and the priesthood that persists to this day. The rebel Hedrin I was crowned new King of the W.R. with the support of the King Eric of E.R. then his son Roric IV. Meanwhile, King Pendrak increased his support for the mercenaries and funded expedition after expedition to restore the friendly line of the house of Renalf; nearly bankrupting the treasury and increasing the power of the mercenary lords and marchers.

The 100 years of terror:

The anarchy lasted over 100 years of constant warfare, raiding and terror across the east. The elves shut their borders, Liefing took advantage, supporting all side, and the Dragonborn bought slaves - the principle export of the anarchy years. Stonemonte emerged as a leader and began a campaign of conquest and consolidation, conquering Lakton and executing the ruling family and replacing them with loyal stooges. Encouraged, Saxxon warriors with Stonemonte backing invaded Mithrine.

The battle of Stone Hill:

The situation began to reverse itself in the era of King Theodrin I of the E.R. King Theodrin took the throne extremely young, before his majority, and accompanied his armies on punitive raids against the marchers across his eastern territories. He spent his youth suppressing his increasingly rebellious eastern lords and defeating mercenary armies from the marches.

His true genius was in diplomacy. He isolated King Sithric II, the last King of House Renalf, from his traditional allies, precipitating his fall to the house of Hedrin under Renfrik II. He courted the beleaguered King of Mithrine and neutralized the King of Alba whose nation was tired of the expense of supporting the intrigues of the marches.

It came to a head when, having stabilized his own lords, he took the offensive into the marches at the head of a coalition of the E.R., Mithrine, and Rheagus. His armies liberated Lakton, defeating several Marches and destroying the cohesion of the Saxxons forcing their submission.

His coalition defeated and maneuvered the lords to meet him on the battlefield at a place called Stone Hill. There his army held off the combined might of the Marchers, until a relief force could arrive to crush them.

> "…The first day dawned bright, with clear skies after near 4 days of constant rain which did not seem to touch the rocky soil of the King’s chosen position. King Theodrin arrayed his forces along the ridge, and prepared well his positions. He ordered his men at arms to cut and gather thicket to protect his flanks and through great labour dug several pits into that stoney bed to deter the foe’s charge.
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> Before long the foe approached the field, arrayed in good order. Grand Duke Rhegred led the host in the center, with the greatest strength in arms. On the left was the Prince Theos of Wecmarch with a great host of armoured knights, on the right was the Duke Beorsa of Seaxmarch and many knights and barons of Saxxon that had continued to fight after their lord has bent the knee to the good King. In the vanguard were the shining heart of Spearmarch on tall and sturdy mounts. Among them also were the great captains of the lordless companies and their wolves. The knights and men at arms of Good King Theodrin looked upon this great host with some despair, for there was such overmatch in numbers that for each man in our force we faced four of theirs.
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> The first assault came with great fanfare as the host of Spearmarch rode out under the banner of the Prince’s son Count Lornas. They advanced in such order, the strength of their great eastern mounts held in tight check by confident and strong hands.
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> The king had deployed his forces in line. His great knights had dismounted and stood shield to shield with the men at arms. In the front order were men of the Realm protecting a small host of archers from the Duchy of Lakton, strong men with bows as tall as they were. On the flanks were our knights, on foot for the horses could not be effectively deployed against such a force, and a screening force of Mithrine horsemen.
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> The knights of Spearmarch advanced at a canter, and my Lord gave a loud and clear order. The archers from Lakton pulled back their great bows and loosed such a storm as I never witnessed. The sky was blotted with black shafts, and a cheer arose. Grand Duke Rhegred, at the head of his host looked on and simply raised his arm bearing a black rod. Our storm of arrows, that had so struck me with awe and terror were swept aside as by a prophetic wind, and no man or horse was felled.
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> The Blood Prince Lornas charged then, and our force was saved from being shattered in that first pass only by the careful preparations of the King, for the pits had checked the speed and strength of their horses. Still, many archers and men-at-arms were crushed and met their patron Gods in that rush before they would be beaten back.
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> Spearmarch retreated and met an advancing force of Knights and footmen from the main force of the Grand Duke. They turned for a second charge ahead of the advancing infantry. This new enterprise was  meant to weaken a gap in our shield wall for the men of Stonemonte, girded by dismounted knights from the Saxxon forces to break through and begin a great slaughter.
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> As before, the flight of our arrows were checked by the miracles achieved by Lord Rhegred through his dark relic. Then, without orders the Mithrine horsemen dismounted and redeployed before our host. The King was not ill pleased, as through their courage they broke the wave of horsemen by firing their small curved bows straight into the charging host at close range. The short flights were not as affected by the power of the relic, and knights and horse were pierced by their wicked darts, causing such panic that the charge was stayed. All men were awed by the courage of this act, as these men, ill suited to contest the field afoot against more heavily armoured foes were at the mercy of the advancing host and many were cut down in the hand to hand fighting that ensued. This first assault was met shield to shield, spear to spear, by the valiant arms of our knights. They held the field against such a force as no warrior had faced since the days of the conquest, in brutal and bloody fighting. Their unmatched thews wielded their weapons with a ferocity enhanced by the presence of our King and his great banner whose haft was made of the sacred spear of our Goddess Bellona. This fierce contest lasted near two hours before our foe deemed it lost and their courage failed them. They retreated in good order, and the King held his force from pursuit.
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> All this I watched from the front and attest to the elation and exhaustion of the men; their courage and prowess proved. On our flanks too the knights and barons scored a great victory and checked an assault by Prince Theos where that magnate was grievously injured by a blow from the lance of Sir Hetgir of Maisonfort. As the foe retreated the priests and clerics moved among the lines pressing relics to the men and relieving pain and injury. The dead were collected and moved to the back out of the sight of the remaining men, who though they were bloodied, remained resolved and had gained such confidence now having met the foe and taken his measure.
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> The respite was short lived. The sun now beat down on our forces, who remained arrayed in battle order as the foe had not left the field, but conferred in war council. Hardly a man had not fought hard in that first assault, and the King walked among them and spoke even to the smallest of soldier, giving them great encouragement. Cup bearers circulated to quench the suffering of the men, and soon our supplies were strained as there was no water to be found in this rocky natural fortress.
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> The foe’s host broke again late in the day as the weather cooled, and advanced upon us sure of the power of their relic to protect them from the missiles of our archers. With a great shout and trumpets blasting, Spearmarch once again led the charge with the knights of Wecmarch and Saxxon. They broke upon the line, smashing into the shield wall. Once again, the arrows of the remaining Mithrine checked the force of their charge and it did not break deeply into our lines. Even the archers of Lakton, inspired by the fatal courage of the Mithrinites took up their longbows or the bows of the fallen and fired straight at the approaching horsewall. They paid a great price for their courage, for few would escape the battle whole or unmaimed.
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> Another fierce melee ensured, with men and mount straining hard to break the wall of shield and pike while the most valiant of our Lord’s knights smote the foe with their swords. The overwhelming press of men gained ground inch by inch, men collapsed to wounds and exhaustion. Men suffocated in their armour, as the enemy drove forward. A bold cluster of Saxxon knights broke upon the King’s guard and pressed the king, hoping to capture the most valuable prize on the field. Sir Carrach de Vallorroy, the king’s personal bannerman, struck about him with such strength of arms that seven knights fell before him before an unknown Saxxon clove his helm with an axe. For a moment, the King’s banner fell, and the protection of the relic’s magic failed us. The line surged inward, ready to break. A young knight, Sir Raymon Hansa, a boy of no more than 17 that had just earned his spurs, cut his way through to the King and took up the banner. He drove back the Saxxon, his sword in one hand and banner held high. The line was held. The Saxxons were beaten back, 24 of their ranks, including several prominent barons lay dead. The King himself slew four men with his sword. It was near night when the press slackened and the foe retreated again to rejoin the Duke’s reserves.
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> There was no elation or hopeful pride in the men as they waited for the opposing host to return. The priests and clerics were quickly exhausted, and there were more wounded or dying than they could minister to. The stones were stained and slick with men’s blood. So tired and thirsty were the men that some died of shock, others drank deeply of wine when the water had run out. Many of those would not last the night, which was spent in utmost vigilance.
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> Just before dawn the blast of trumpets signalled the final assault. The Grand Duke, impatient, and with the forces of Spearmarch bloodied beyond recovery, signalled an all out assault on the King’s position. The remnants of Wecmarch harried our flanks as the main host, led in person by Rhegred began to advance in canter.  The great charge began. The King was silent, and all sensed he knew this would be the end, not simply of the battle, but of the peace and prosperity of the Realms.
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> Then, when hope was at its lowest, the tight order of the advancing host began to waver. Among their horses could be seen moving great hounds. The hounds, a ferocious and huge eastern breed, danced among the horses, the white of their coats stained red as they severed the tendons of cantering horses. Then there was chaos, as a screen of Mithrine knights hit the flanks of the great army with harassing arrow fire from atop their swift chargers. The dogs continued to sow further chaos. From the east came another host, their horses forming a wedge with the lords of Mithrine at the point, and the Knighthood of Rheagus on the wings. Among them was the King’s son, Prince Renward, and his retinue in shining mail and plate banners flying proudly.
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> I cannot recall now the relief I felt at the sudden appearance of aid, for it has been forever subsumed by feelings of revulsion from my memory of what followed. I had seen men die before me during this, my first battle, but nothing before or sense has shocked me as what came next. The Lords of Mithrine, in their black masks, led the tip of the assault. From the tips of their lances arced bolts of lightning that crashed into the opposing host like the sparks of Vokkan’s skyforge. Men and horses burned and died screaming. Globes of fire rolled before them engulfing the mercenaries of the lordless companies, who fled the field in terror. The rocky ground turned soft and wounded men, badly burned and crying out for mercy sunk drowning in bloody pools of mud. Around these pools swarmed our saviours. I watched a great lord simply dissolve and scatter in the wind before the shocked eyes of his bannermen.
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> The King was not slow to seize upon this new hope, for even now the host before us had two men for each of ours and our position was disadvantageous. He turned to his men and gave a rousing speech, bidding them to mount their horses.
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> “Now is a time for boldness. Now is a time to ride. Find in yourselves the deep courage of our father’s fathers and mount. Shake off the tiredness of fear. No more shall we cling to these meager slopes as our enemy presses his will upon us to make a feast of our blood and valor. Now we strike and give all to fate. Not merely to be a bone in the gullet of the gluttons, to slow their dread feast of our nations. No, we shall be a spear in the throat of the tyrants. Destiny is everything. Let us give voice to our greater destiny and ride! Ride my warriors! Ride my brothers! To the heart, and strike!”
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> With that his guard and every able knight mounted and began a charge, so unexpected that it sowed great panic and discord in the ranks of the enemy’s forces and they shattered. Still as we rode, the terrible fire and energies of the Mithrine crashed upon the Grand Duke and his men. Added to the mundane fates of men being trampled, skewered on lances, and crushed by axes, they were burned and consumed by dark forces beyond our understanding. Groups of men stopped fighting suddenly clutching their helms and screaming, only to turn on their brothers and slaughter each other. Rhegred fell to an arrow in the eye, his banner trampled beneath the feet of our knights and his fleeing forces. His eldest son Count Tenkrid surged to defend his father’s body, and was met by Prince Renward. They dueled and the Count was felled by a mighty blow of Renward’s sword.
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> The rest of the battle is lost… my memory fails me. No witnesses will speak of it to me even now, many years later. For twenty years after this battle I served King Theodrin and his heirs and fought many more engagements. None of these has scarred me as deeply as being witness to the terror of men consumed by sorcery and fire. The memory of these things, above all, led me to surrender my spurs and retire to the monastery where I write these accounts many years after their conclusion.
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> The Prince of Wecmarch surrendered the field in person to King Theodrin, giving him his sword and submitting to his justice. The negotiations were short, and many hostages and ransoms were taken. There was much killing still, and many villains of the lordless companies were slaughtered by the victors. Of good and noble men, there were sacrifices on all sides. What follows is a solemn list of the fallen…"
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