Battle of Coraeus

The Battle of Coraeus was a major battle fought between the Nirvan Republic army led by Vibius Calenus and the Ilaka army led by Alkis Vatio. It is one of the many battles fought by the two nations during the Asger War.

## Background

In **512PR** the Nirvan Republic declared war on Ilaka over a minor political issue, using the reason to further expand their already rapidly growing borders.

On Asunak, two Nirvan armies crossed Ilakan borders, one led by Vibius Calenus, marching with 31,000 troops and the other led by Quintus and 4 legions. The Ilakans originally only had one army led by Alkis Vatio, who faced off against Vibius in the Battle of Sora. After the battle, he marched his troops to fight Quintus, who was much closer to the capital, while Vibius slowly conquered the Ilakan lands.

In **513PR** a second Ilakan army was created, commanded by Vaso Cosmotis. He chose to chase Quintus and the Nirvans on the Eastern front, allowing Alkis to go and deal with Vibius. Both entered battle roughly the same time, the Battle of Coraeus occurring first.

## Command

### Ilaka

The main commander of the Ilakan forces was Alkis Vatio, choosing his own officers under him rather than ones influenced by the King. On the wings he had Alekos and Demos, Demos being the descendent of famous Ilakan general Minos. The main body was led by Miron Vatio.

### Nirvan Republic

Still having Decimus as his right-hand, Vibius chose to break doctrine and lead from near the front, having an idea on how he was going to win the battle. At the back, Decimus led the legions, already gaining their respect during the war from his own fame.

On the flanks were the cavalry, led by Lorenzen Knights Silas Ludvigsen and Eigil Busk. Silas was the more experienced of the two, fighting in the Lamion War and against the Nirvans in the Second Lorenzen War.

In the reserves were the legions commanded by Arruns Aebutus, Vibus’s nephew, and Decimus’s legion, taken over by his cousin Herius Auxilius.

On the front, the legions were commanded, from right to left, by Aulus, Decius, Appius and Gaius.

## Strategy

### Ilaka

The Ilakan strategy was to break through on the wings with their superior Atkan troops, having more this time due to the experience the Drakos gained when fighting Quintus and the battle before with Vibius.

The Atkan were to be aided by the Companion Cavalry, their objective to distract the Lorenzen Knights so that they could not charge the flanks of the Atkan. In the centre, the Drakos led by Miron had the sole goal of holding back the enemy.

### Nirvan Republic

Unlike the Nirvans, Vibius had recognised that the Ilakans had only a small command structure. By leading from the front, he aimed to personally target each of those commanders and officers for the spearman troops, who had much weaker morale. After the officers and the Ilakan leadership were dead, he believed that they would retreat, giving him the victory.

Decimus had different ideas, though none would conflict with Vibius as the two had discussed the night before. His goal was to keep strong on the wings and use Vibius in the centre to push through. A lot of emphasis was placed on the Lorenzen Knights breaking through the Companions and flanking the enemy, though if it was only the Drakos on the sides, then he wanted the Knights to go around and hit the Atkan.

## Battle

The battle started with horns sounding, leading both sides to advance to meet one another. Each had felt confident that they could win, trusting the strategies that the leaders and their advisors had come up with.

When they reached each other, the Thurim archers began to shoot volleys, but being so far back they only managed to get a few off dealing very minor damage to the Drakos. Instead it was the javelin throw that had its usual success, hitting the lightly armoured spearmen and causing some to waver. This time, Miron kept them in line, shouting orders as the two sides charged into one another.

For a short time the fighting remained stable, neither side fully implementing their tactic just yet out of fear of what surprise the other might have. But, Alkis realised this favoured the Nirvans much more, known for being able to fight for hours or even entire days. So, he called for the Atkan on the sides to push.

While the Atkan were much more experienced and equipped, the Nirvans held their own, fending them off for a bit before losing ground. Realising that his legions were falling behind, Decimus sent messengers to the Lorenzen Knights to up their game, only to realise that the Companions had managed to halt them for once, despite taking heavy casualties. So instead he pushed up his reserve legions, making sure they could act quickly if the Atkans pushed too far ahead.

Not having a good view of the battle, Vibius in the centre continued to push moderately, using the Nirvans stamina to their advantage. Miron was facing opposite troubles, his troops slowly becoming tired and less effective. While he could’ve swapped out the lines, he realised that it could be seen as them losing, spiking fear through their lines.

Two hours into the battle, Decimus got the good news that his knights had finally broken through, letting them charge the Atkan flanks. At the same time he sent a message to Vibius, unleashing him into the battle.

Hearing the call, Vibius was excited to try out his strategy, charging into the battle. At first, he didn’t use his magic, simply fighting with his own skill beyond the lines of his troops. Then, after getting sight of an enemy officer, he charged, blowing apart the enemies in his way and taking out the officer. Next, came another, rushing through the lines and killing them before they could even issue the command. Inspired, the Nirvan troops fought zealously, shoving the enemy back.

With two officers down the Drakos began to waver, forcing Miron to enter the field to keep control. But, this was what Vibius wanted. Charging ahead and getting the early strike on the Ilakan commander. Wounded, Miron wanted to retreat but realised he had to fight, swinging his longsword and scraping Vibius’s shoulder. Enthused by the battle, Vibius decided not to kill him with the opening, backing off and letting space form.

Once the Drakos backed off, Vibius lunged, slicing Miron twice, one across the leg and the other on his shield hand. Pushing through the pain, Miron managed to swing again but missed. Aware that he shouldn’t recklessly play with his life while a father, Vibius grunted and lunged again, cleaving Miron’s clean off and impaling the shortsword in his chest. The Drakos retreated quickly after, followed by the Atkans who fought their way out, ending the battle.

## Aftermath

Vibius was happy to see that his theory panned out, killing all three officers that commanded the centre of the Drakos. Later, he would allow the Ilakans to collect their dead, including Miron, but first looted the man for his signet ring.

On the wings, the Nirvans were exhausted, fighting some of the best troops that the Ilakans had to offer but somehow holding their own. As respect, Vibius decided to award both the soldiers on the wings and the Lorenzen Knights who helped save the battle.

The Ilakans would pull back to the city of Serdica to regain their forces, unable to confidently face Vibius and the Nirvans in battle.