Battle of Ayteran

Combatants| Alliance* Carto Empire
* Gonarundu

The Battle of Ayteran was a decisive battle in the War of Revenge and a victory for the allied forces of the Carto Empire and Gonarundu against Ilaka. It happened at roughly the same time as the Battle of Newell and was a pivotal part in ending the war.

## Background

In **581PR** Emperor Adonis Carto of the Carto Empire and King Miguel Fidalgo of Gonarundu entered a military alliance, presenting a unified front against Ilaka and the nations previous oppression of the region. Threatened, King Aetios Kostides of Ilaka began a recruitment drive in order to boost his armies numbers.

On Mak **583PR** the Gonarundun forces led by Prince Daniel Fidalgo crossed the Kunan River and met up with Adonis and the Carton forces. After discussing their plans the two marches across the border into Ilakan territory, declaring war and officially beginning the War of Revenge.

First, the allied armies had to go up against a series of fortresses the Ilakans had made for border defence. Despite their larger number they struggled, making it a slow process that gave Aetios ample time to not only boost his numbers further but train them and give them proper equipment. At the same time he sent out troops to harass the invaders, using recruited tribal members more experienced in the method.

In mid **584PR** the final fortress fell and both sides marched out to meet one another in battle, both confident they had the advantage. This turned out to be the Battle of Kulak, an Ilakan victory. The two sides faced one another again in the Battle of Lonan, an insignificant military victory for the allies but a powerful political one.

To deal with being on the defensive again, the Ilakans began raiding the supply lines of the allies, forcing the small Battle of Ulin, a costly victory for the allied forces.

In **586PR** neither side had a major victory and with pressures from internal politics decided to force an encounter. The Ilakans decided to split their army this time, fighting in both the Battle of Ayteran and the Battle of Newell.

## Leadership

### Allies

Over the course of the war, the Gonarunduns and Cartons began to synergise much better, letting Daniel and Adonis spread out their command and troops.

Starting from left to right was Prince Daniel, leading the cavalry like he was known too. Feeling confident he took solely his best horses and cavalry at his disposal, keeping a group of lightly armoured horse archers to use when needed.

The wing was commanded by Gael, an officer who rose through the ranks but had yet been proven as truly capable on the field. Along with the influence of his family, he mainly got to his position after everyone ahead of him died during the war. In the centre was Adonis, using his HQ to deliver messages to both Gael and Eubulus. On the right was Eubulus, commanding both his own cavalry and a mix of Carton and Gonarundun troops.

### Ilaka

Ilakan leadership was similar to the Battle of Kulak. The centre would be commanded by Aetios, a capable leader who no longer needed to micromanage all his other officers, their own experience and skills beginning to shine. On the left wing was Cycnus, commanding part of the cavalry and a small number of Atkan. The right was commanded by Nothon, an officer who was quickly rising through the ranks and a personal apprentice of Cycnus.

## Strategy

### Allies

Still not completely synergised, the aim of the allies was to push up through the middle and get victories on the flanks with the cavalry. If the cavalry were unable to push through in applicable time, it was up to Adonis and his centre troops to push through, weakening the centre of the enemy with the famous Gonarundun archers.

### Ilaka

Ilaka employed a different defensive strategy with all 3 commanders, intending to confuse the superior ally force rather than focus on conventional tactics. On the right, Nothon focused mainly on his Pratan, intending to deal constant attacks to the enemy and having his cavalry protect them from any retreat. While he had the most Atkan, they were simply to weather the storm while the Pratan would deal the real damage.

In the centre Aetios just wanted to hold the line with bodies, using two units of Atkan to abuse cracks in the enemy line whenever he could. With two lines in the centre, he had no use of the Pratan.

On the left Cycnus planned to take a very aggressive approach, lining up his wing with many ranks deep, mixing both Atkan and Drakos soldiers together. His aim was simply to punch through the enemy and fight them on the flank. The cavalry he had at his disposal were to either stop the enemy cavalry or punch through as well when they saw an opportunity.

## Battle

The battle began with horns blaring from the alliance side, ordering the troops to march forward at the Ilakans. Playing the defensive side, the Ilakans simply waited, getting reassuring messages from their King standing just behind them.

As the two got into range of one another, the Ilakan Pratan unleashed volley after volley into Eubulus’s men, hitting both their cavalry and their line. With the Cartons expecting the volleys to come from the centre they were immediately surprised, taking heavy losses and forcing Eubulus to push up his reserves to fill in the gaps. In the centre Adonis’s strategy was working fine, attacking the Ilakan centre with ranged attacks from the Gonarundun archers. While they could only use volleys from the lack of elevated land, the skill of the archers still met good results. On the left was a different story. The moment Daniel and Gael got too close, Cycnus charged, sending 6 units of infantry straight into their line and forcing the Carton elite to immediately get involved. Daniel met their aggression with his own cavalry charge, hitting the Ilakan Companions and having their own form of melee.

While the battle raged on the ally forces were looking grim. They only held two positive positions, in the centre Adonis was breaking through, but now faced the second line of Ilaka and on the left flank Daniel was winning in the melee. Everywhere else the Ilakans held the advantage, especially Cycnus who forced Gael to use his reserves and call for support from Adonis.

In a surprise turn of events, Adonis decided to use a different method than brute force in order to get the victory through. Sending messages through the lines stating that the Emperor had fallen in battle. At the same time he sent his Gonarundun archers to the right, letting them easily deal with the Pratan who could output more arrows but not as accurately.

When the rumours began circulating through the Ilakan centre, they began to break. Aetios was late to hear about them and was unable to get to the front before his line started to crumble and rout. As the centre fell, both Ilakan wings held the advantage, pushing through and actually killing Eubulus.

Now open to Adonis, they charged, but were blocked by the Gonarundun reserve. Buying enough time for Adonis to push through the middle, now split in half. For Cycnus he managed to capture Gael but was forced to retreat, seeing that the battle was lost with his routing middle. Calling for retreat came just in time as Daniel managed to break through the cavalry and would’ve hit him from behind but instead was fended off as the rest fell back.

On the right Nothon refused to surrender, instead continuing to fight to the very end. He was eventually surrounded but managed to take many lives with him, likely influenced by his Atkan to hold a last stand.

## Aftermath

While the Ilakans had managed to kill many of the allied forces, they had lost many of their own in the rout. Aetios was unable to stage a rally point and most of the Drakos from the centre never returned, instead deserting the army altogether.

The allies took advantage of the chaos and pursued peace with Ilaka, stating that they take the areas they conquered and Ayteran in order for a treaty. When news came out about the Battle of Newell it complicated manners, but both sides eventually entered negotiations.