Battle of Cardend

The Battle of Cardend was the first battle between the Templars and Mages in the Second Uhekian Mage War. It goes down as a signficant battle for the mages and an example of the fog of war for the Templars.

## Prelude

In **565PR**, Hosmer began the very slow transportation of his mercenaries into Uhek, with some mages and followers alongside. It was eventually discovered in Caesan **567PR**, causing a naval blockade for the rest of his troops from coming in.

Hosmer required a port for the rest of his troops to break through the blockade and reach, so in Jika he captured the town of Cardend, slaughtering most of the townsfolk in revenge for the previous war.

Solomon and his troops felt comfortable knowing that Hosmer's forces were cut off and eventually moved to meet them in Octavioum, not knowing that Hosmer's breach in the blockade was successful and he was soon to be reinforced.

## Location

The location of the battle was a relatively flat plains near Cardend. It was adequate for both sides, as the Templars wished to use their cavalry and make for a quick war. Hosmer liked the location so he could hide his larger numbers, as he had realised that Solomon pushed without the information.

## The Battle

The battle commenced in the mid-day of Octavium 13. Both forces had already placed their men in formation, simply waiting for the other to move. The information of Hosmer's reinforcements had yet reached Solomon, who was feeling confident to place his name on the same level as his ancestor.

### Templars Advance

With the assumed numbers advantage on his side, and the council wanting a quick end to this war, Solomon pushed forward with his army. On the right, a heavy cavalry charge in an arrow-formation hit the enemies flank, causing major casualties for the Mages.

In the centre, the heavy infantry he had placed there held like a rock against the enemy, slowly pushing them backwards. It was only on the right flank did the issues present themselves. Hosmer had stacked a large amount of archers on each side, but with the speed of the cavalry he wasn't able to effectively use them, on the other side it was a different story. The archers, much more than expected, fired volley after volley into the enemy. While the extended line (Which Solomon thought would be thin due to the numbers disadvantage) began surrounding Rikhill and his soldiers.

During this time, Solomon finally got the information that Hosmer had reinforcements and they were likely fighting him right now.

It was here that he had a choice to make, continue with the push and take heavy casualties but have the chance of winning, even with the numbers disadvantage, or retreat now, save his forces and prepare better for the next battle.

### Solomon's Retreat

Biting down on his tongue, Solomon called the retreat. He could see no cavalry used by the enemy (which was due to the ships), so the retreat would not be as costly. While he still lost troops from the Mages charge, the threat of Oliver and his cavalry was significant, able to flank the enemy with a devastating charge if they were to push forward.

While Hosmer wanted to chase, Lindblad and Hansson convinced him otherwise.

## Aftermath

The battle was a victory for the Mages, who managed to push the Templars back for the first time since the abandonment of Gartaca in the previous war. While they still took losses, seeing the enemy retreat increased morale immensely, which Hosmer kept up by having a victory party.

The loss of this battle meant that Hosmer had a stable base of operations in Cardend. Something the Templars could only regret.