Battle of Laurelorn

The battle of Laurelorn was the major engagement in the Alexandrite war between the Council of Tards and the Kingdom of Laurelorn, the latter being supported by the Council of the Horselords. It was a tactical stalemate and resulted in the Peace of the Stones.

Background
For the full background see page: The Alexandrite War Possession over the Tard crown jewels and especially the Alexandrite stone after former Tard king Gabianus was captured by Laurelorn sparked a war between Sulla and the Tards and Orion I, king of Laurelorn. A Tard army invaded the forest and burned down a way towards the capital, also called Laurelorn. The advance was slowed down by the arrival of a diplomatic envoy of Horseking Gekke I who harassed the Tard supply lines. 2 weeks later Kithband, Laurelorn's military, decided to stand between Sulla and the capital. This army was led by a man called Chiron. Gekke I was on his way to the battlefield as well.

Kithband
Kithband's primary role is to defend the forest from intruders and thus they are highly trained in more asymmetrical warfare. Chiron's battle-plan was to play hide and seek with the Tard forces, picking them apart and killing them one by one whilst waiting for Gekke's forces to arrive. The main body of his army consisted out of Wolf-warriors; strong, sword-wielding infantry wearing wolf skins to frighten the enemy. He brought 6.400 of these men supported by 800 female hex-bearers. Besides the Wolf-warriors line Kithband brought 3.200 spear wielding night hunters, specialized in ambushes. These men were put on both flanks accompanied by the cavalry, 1.600 in total, called the Riders of the Hunt. The cavalry was light and its main purpose was to draw in the more heavily armed Tard cavalry. Then the night hunters would deal with them. Chiron's personal bodyguard consisted of a unit of 160 elite sword masters, he situated himself behind the main-line of Wolf warriors. Kithband had the advantage of knowing the forests very well but their units were not specialized in field-battles and most units were inferior to the battle-hardened Tard forces, especially the Silver Guard.

Council of the Horselords
Gekke I's forces were small in size as they were merely a diplomatic envoy. The Horseking had brought a grand host of his best fighters with him, including his personal guard of heavily armoured camel cataphracts which was feared as the strongest cavalry in the world. Besides this unit, consisting of 800 riders, he had brought 1.600 heavy lancers on horseback, mobile and deadly on the charge. Gekke I would race towards the battlefield, not knowing if he would arrive on time as the forest terrain was not suitable for cavalry.

Council of the Tards
The council of Tards brought their standard issue army. 6.400 infantry, bringing with them powerful javelins hurled at the enemy before engaging. Besides this main line were the peltasts, skirmish infantry quite capable in close-combat situations, Sulla brought 2.400 of those. The cavalry consisted of 1.600 heavily armoured nobles, in open field battles these units could be devastating but due to the forest terrain they were slowed down enormously, but they were superior to the Kithband light cavalry, although being outmatched by the steppe cavalry of Gekke I. Lastly Sulla brought the Silver Guard which he and Labienus commanded personally. Sulla situated his cavalry on the open plain on the left flank where they could be used in great effect. His infantry was lined up in the forests right of the open plain and behind them were the peltasts, ready to support if necessary. Sulla kept the Silver Guard in reserve at the back. His right flank was commanded by a promising new officer called Octavian.

Initial contact
The forests where the battle was fought made it hard for both armies to know just where exactly the enemy was. The Tard cavalry on the open plain made sending out scout parties impossible for Kithband but the cavalry positions made Chiron guess that the Tards would be advancing on the open field where they would have the advantage. Sulla had chosen to attack through the forest however and when he advanced he met Chiron's left flank, completely to the surprise of both generals.

With his trademark fast advancing style Sulla attacked catching Chiron off-guard. Many Wolf warriors charged in, trying to buy the right flank time to come back and encircle the tard forces. In the meanwhile Octavian, the Tard commander on the Tard right flank pushed some isolated warriors. Chiron ordered his center to countercharge the Tard forces but was intercepted by the Tard cavalry which had descended from the plains, their charge broke however and they quickly had to retreat. Their charge did buy Sulla precious time however and this enabled him to prepare for the counterattack, breaking any hope for Chiron to surround the enemy.

Kithband layered retreat
With the battle turning out badly for him chiron decided to play time and wait for the Council reinforcements to arrive. He ordered his troops to disengage and fell back, with Sulla in hot pursuit. In the meanwhile Kithband cavalry managed to catch their more elite Tard counterparts but the night hunters helped them out and killed many of the enemy cavalry. Things were looking bleak for Kithband in the center though, as the Tard forces managed to catch the tired Kithband forces retreating. In the meanwhile Octavian had managed to break the right completely after a small encirclement and he now advanced past Kithband whilst they were being caught. Some Wolf warriors turned around and gave their brothers a chance to escape but a Tard cavalry charge halted the retreat and Chiron was forced to fight once more. The battle for the center seemed quite even for a while until Octavian arrived from the back, charging into Kithband lines from the rear. Although Chiron was encircled he did manage to take out the enemy cavalry, giving a slight chance of breaking through the encirclement. The Silver Guard regiment led by Labienus would prevent this however and Chiron gave his troops the order to prepare for a last stand whilst slowly being killed off. Only the ambushing force on the Kithband far right managed to survive in fighting condition but luckily for Kithband Chiron and some of his troops managed to escape, be it without enough men to continue fighting.

Gekke's arrival
Just as Chiron forces were killed and driven from the battlefield Gekke I and his cavalry arrived on the battlefield. They quickly took the plains, covering off any possible Tard retreat. Sulla, being surprised by the sudden arrival of over two thousand horsemen, formed a defensive square formation in the forest, deterring Gekke from attacking Tard forces and turning the tide of battle. Gekke controlled the retreat and supply lines of the Tards whereas Sulla had his way towards the capital without any proper army contesting it. No side could win against the other, the only loser in the situation was Laurelorn as their home was being attacked. Thus negotiations were opened on the field of battle, practically ending the engagement.

Negotiations
Claiming that since his army was stuck in enemy territory Gekke I and Chiron demanded that Sulla surrender. Surrender rebutted this by saying that the road to the capital was open and that he could occupy it whenever he wanted, even though his army would be harassed. Sulla also stated that he had beaten Kithband and that this meant that he could be demanding concessions. In short, both sides claimed victory, not tactically, but strategically. Gekke then threatened to kill any Tard leaving the safety of his lines to which Sulla responded to raze the country to the ground. After this negotiations were called off and the stalemate continued. It was only when Orion I, the king of Laurelorn himself, arrived that an agreement was reached and the Peace of the Stones was signed.

Aftermath
The Peace of the Stones dictated that the Tard crown jewels be given to Sulla, including the Alexandrite stone. In exchange for this the Tards would retreat from Laurelorn, leave its forest alone and give Laurelorn 50% of their profits from controlling the Salamander Strait. It did not stop tensions and Trinsulae would soon seek friendship with the Council of Tards as Laurelorn claimed the forested island of Svean which was in the Trinsulaean sphere of influence according to the treaty of Utrond. The battle, although a stalemate, was a big victory for Sulla and put the Tards on the map as a regional power. Gekke I claimed victory too as his troops alone prevented the Tards from gaining total victory. in Laurelorn itself the fallen Kithband were seen as martyrs dying to protect the forest and they helped create revanchist feelings amongst the people of Laurelorn.