[X] "Oh excuse me, I'm sorry, I'm just pretty sure that I'm seeing a miracle right now."
So, do we have some left in reserve or did we just cash out all our chips?
Cause if I recall right you said that once the threat their summoned for is done they get to go home, so is this the beginning of the end for the emergency break glass army?
They aren't done; not even a long shot. When they do, they will integrate back into the population by joining noble houses as Court Wizards/Forming their own houses.
Considering the battle is over but they are still around I think the 'go home' part just means they integrate back into the population, meaning we now have an army of wizard knights. And by the sound of it they have the same buffs as grail knight, meaning an unlimited lifespan.
This card might have been played but it is staying on the field for a long time.
The only question is if children will still be given to the Lady or trained in the mortal realm. And if they are sent off to the Lady will the wizard knights start being sent back with the damsels or put into storage to build up another 'in case of apocalypse' army.
Any newborn boy-child will be trained in the Otherworld, still, but will return back to the Kingdom as full trained Clerics, as opposed to disappearing for a small eternity; though they will no longer universally be Grail Knights.
(Also, Grail Knights don't live forever. They get around five-hundred before they start dying of old age)
"Oh dear to me/take hold of hope/ and rest ye weary/good made soul;
for the wheels of war roll round/and though we might elope/
I will not say nay to kin nor king."
-Anonymous
In the darkest days of the invasion, when Albion was beset on all sides by foes of the Dark-- the Druchii, the Skaven, and the Fimir-- Arzhur had great need of soldiers; not warriors, for there was no lack of champions-- but brothers-in-arms, those bound by duty and dedicated to victory instead of to glory; and they could not rely upon cavalry, for the swampy lands of Albion are, in the main, ill-suited to mass cavalry charges.
Thus it was that Arzhur read and wrote and payed and made arrangements with as many people as he could, looking especially to the clergy of his goddess' daughter, Myrmidia. Until, eventually, a small army of trainers, mercenaries, priestesses and scholars descended upon the Isles and to Londonium, where for two months the best soldiers in the world attempted to craft an army that could, despite being outnumbered, stand against the foes, using the resources of the Isles.
The Legions of Arzhur are the result.
Each bears a great shield, to protect against the blows of Skaven-hordes; a single breastplate, but quite heavy, to shield in case of firmir attacks, along with much lighter guards for shin and wrist and a helm, great plumed; a cloak, thick, to arrest Druchii bolts; and a pike, that they might hold the Firmir away-- and all of these in the style of Albion. They bound this unit, the Legion, together by simple, easily understood tactics-- the Tortoise especially, to stand against the hordes of the Skaven.
The results...were not perfect; a well-timed, well-placed cavalry charge was the defeater of these soldiers on the fields, as was magic and artillery. Time-- much time-- was taken to try and perfect their form, improve it.
But in the end, there are men on Albion, and the same cannot be said of Skaven, Druchii, or Fimir.
At the beginning there were only three of these Legions; but as time has passed their numbers have expanded, until fully ten of these legions trod the roads, bringing order, and are further refined by Arzhur. And thus it is that though the Geridmen chargers, the Kaemru longbowmen, or the Gahdwathan gunners catch the attention of bards, it is the legion that binds the kingdom all together.
Each bears a great shield, to protect against the blows of Skaven-hordes; a single breastplate, but quite heavy, to shield in case of firmir attacks, along with much lighter guards for shin and wrist and a helm, great plumed; a cloak, thick, to arrest Druchii bolts; and a pike, that they might hold the Firmir away-- and all of these in the style of Albion.
The results...were not perfect; a well-timed, well-placed cavalry charge was the defeater of these soldiers on the fields, as was magic and artillery. Time-- much time-- was taken to try an perfect their form, improve it.
If they have pikes, why are they vulnerable to cavalry charges? (Unless they come from the flank, but all units are vulnerable to being flanked by cavalry.) Why are artillery and magic especially effective against the legions compared to how effective they are against other heavy infantry?
If they have pikes, why are they vulnerable to cavalry charges? (Unless they come from the flank, but all units are vulnerable to being flanked by cavalry.) Why are artillery and magic especially effective against the legions compared to how effective they are against other heavy infantry?
The Macedonians did it with their phalanx. It just made them less maneuverable. Which is part of why they are vulnerable, to an extent, to cavalry and artillery and mages: if you manage to flank them, or wheel around to their back, then attack, it's GG no Re in most cases; something made relatively easier by the fact that twirling and spinning and swirling are harder for them than it is for say, your men at arms, what with their giant fucking pikes. They also travel in near ranks, meaning that, say, a Purple Sun of Xereus, or air-burst artillery, or trebuchet shot, can fuck some days up.
That said, it is really good for fighting massive armies of poorly trained slave soldiers, something both the Skaven and Dark Elves did a lot, especially in the early days; and the Firmir are essentially a bunch of front-line charging assholes, so presenting a wall of pikes and steel and death to them is a pretty good way of eventually grinding them down.
Macedonian phalangites did not use great shields. They used shields, but they were smaller than hoplons (the shields which hoplites used and were named after) which were in turn smaller than great shields.
Macedonian phalangites did not use great shields. They used shields, but they were smaller than hoplons (the shields which hoplites used and were named after) which were in turn smaller than great shields.
They are called great shields because, compared to the usual, sparse, basically plain wooden bucklers of traditional Albion make, they are big-- and they are bold, too, often festooned with jewels, covered with the symbols of those the bearer has slain, and covered in art, particularly of Verena.
But they're not proper great-shields-- in many ways closer to a kite-shield, except smaller.
"Oh excuse me, I'm sorry, I'm just pretty sure that I'm seeing a miracle right now."
The Knight before you, Cyril, looks confused at what has you flabbergasted.
Looking around the building that you're in, you see plain white walls, a roof of thatch, and a bowl of soup. In the kitchen, one of the Sisters of Shallya is grinding a particularly...strong poultice.
"You... you are a Cleric. Men have spoken of you-- but I did not believe you would ride out until the End of the Kingdom."
"Half of Bastonne destroyed, an army of orcs that could reach a million strong--if not greater-if allowed to bind themselves together as they wish, and a young King and Enchantress alike... these were dark times; dark enough that we were needed." Then Cyril looks at you and rears back in shock as though he realizes something...fantastic in the extreme. "You are the August Knight, the One Who Hung! Is it true you beat Vikscrum the Despoiler to death with his own helmet?"
"Yes. I would prefer not to talk about what I did, and did not, do in Mousillon."
The Cleric looks down, as though slight shamed.
"How went the battle after I fell?"
"Your men were Lions. They saw you slay the Hobgoblin leader and their wrath grew dark indeed-- and they fought with reckless abandon, throwing themselves against the Hobgoblins, whose treachery burst into a wave of death for their own foul soldiers-- men died, many men, knight and peasant alike; but they died well, justly, dragging the Hobgoblins to their own deaths with vigor and fury. This, indeed, was before our own charge struck proper-- and beset on three sides, the greenskin host still fought-- but was indeed ground down by lance and fang and hoof."
"What of my sons, both?"
"The Flower Knight personally strangled the last of the Shamans to death, sans a hand. Charles fulfilled his duty well enough."
"I...I must have time to think and to pray to our Lady. I thank, sirrah. The hospitality of Montfort is yours, if would have it."
"Nay, nay. We head farther and farther to grind down the greenskin, and remove them of the land; for now is the time. News was received, Duke-- the forces of Wurzag and Morglum alike planned to ambush the King and the Enchantress; but they expected reinforcement from the Hobgoblins-- sans that their own forces fell apart. The king killed Morglum in single combat, split him in half at the waist. The Enchantress turned Wurzag into a chicken; I am told he made a fine feast."
--
Survived the Hobgoblin Ambush of Montfort!
Casualties are being tabulated, stand by for next post soonish.
The Enchantress is one of the most powerful Mages on the planet, just straight up; invading her turf is a shitty idea in general, never mind with the [SPOILER STUFF] specific to Morgiana.
And while King Josu is no Louen, he ain't no bitch-boy, either.
There are, of course, reasons why the greenskins looked at this and thought they'd try it-- I mean, beyond just the whole "Greenskin" thing-- but even they acknowledged it'd be incredibly dangerous. They just got to use that as a selling point instead of as a problem.
