"The Battle of Ebretman Hill"

Chapter 2

As Chris unrolled his map, he set up pieces on it. Each piece represented a 2 Platoon unit known in the army as a sub- company. All units except for archers were set up by these units. Arches were set up into companies, represent by slightly larger pieces. Chris then began to set of enemy pieces on the map. They were organized in 100 man groups, but it was difficult to judge how many guardians would actually take the bait.

Chris finished setting up the pieces. He hurriedly narrated the movements of each piece as he moved it around the map. The officers did not understand him though, because he rushed. He moved to a different table. There lay a 3D model of the ridge. Chris tried once more, he referenced the 3D map as he narrated. This time though, his officers understood the plan. They were ready for action.

( Plan not yet revealed in story. Builds suspense.)

The battlefield itself was at Ebretman Hill. Ebretman Hill was a relatively unknown area, but it was an excellent spot for Chris to fight his battle. Chris had immediately chosen the area as the area in which he would make his defense. He purposely led the enemy army off course for 3 days in order to fortify this location with war machines, and tools. His soldiers performed mock battles against sheep, pigs, and other farm animals. There had only been one casualty in these battles. A chicken managed to sneak into a formation and a soldier tripped on it. It was a long way down.

The hill itself actually had slopes. Bader's slope, the largest slope, a 35 degree angle. Jolon's slope, a 50 degree slope that was narrower than Bader's slope. But what separated the two slopes was Xavzer's slope. Xavzer's slope was elevated about 40 feet above the other two slopes, and was thickly forested. It ran directly down the middle of the other slopes. It was a 25 degree angle, much easier to hike than the other slope, but climbing to the correct elevation was difficult. All three slopes met at the top of the hill, but each slope had a different way to the top. Facing toward the three slopes from the top of the hill, Jolon would be on your left, Xavzer would be in the middle, and Bader on your right. Next to Bader's slope, there was a branch of the hill. A ridge, which was filled with foliage such a bushes. It was an excellent over watch position, and the only way to reach it from the bottom was a vertical climb up the side. Next to Jolon, there was Ebretman Lake, a very deep lake which had a fierce undertow. Not an ideal place to end up, especially not with armor on. There was a slight extrusion on the top of the hill where Jolon was, where trees grew. This made it hard to fall in from the top of the hill. Finally, there was the rear slope. The rear slope was really long, but very gentle. However, it would take two weeks to walk around the hill to reach the other side. The front passage ways were the shortest route up.

The geography played in heavily with Chris's plan. He couldn't have asked for a better place to battle, because he was on top of the hill.

The morning came, the briefing was issued, and people assumed defensive positions around 1:00 PM. The scout report indicated that the enemy might be an hour early. The report was correct. After 2 hours of waiting, the Guardians arrived. Tension was high in the air. The Guardians took a break for about an hour, then moved to the bottom of the hill.

Chris smiled. They were in position. His heart was racing, beating excitedly. He was scared shitless, but the adrenaline was making him tick like a clock. He checked with his officers, all units knew the plan. He looked down on the Guardian army. They looked rag-tag. They wore all different armor, and wielded different weapons. But he could tell that many of them were wielding salvation blades. Chris had plenty of foresight.

Chris muttered to himself before he prepared to give his oration "Damned barbarians. Easiest victory I'll ever get."

Chris looked at his troops. Each wielded an 8 foot long spear, made of thick wood with a hard iron core. The back of the spear contained a counter-weight. This allowed the shield to remain balanced, and more of the shaft could be used. The counter weight was adjustable for the distance at which you wanted to stab, and a handgrip bound with rope was present, attached the counterweight to adjust with it. They all wore a stylized armor, jet black armor plates protected the chest, the shoulders, the upperarms, the shins, and the back of the neck. Underneath, there was a layer of flexible chain mail, which covered any areas the plates didn't. The helmet covered head, and came down to the cheeks, leaving nose exposed. A plume rested on top of the helmet. They carried large, circular shields, made of steel layered with bronze for effect. Each soldier carried three backup weapons, a curved blade steel short sword, a 12-inch dagger, and a 7-inch steel spike, which could penetrate armor, bones, and skulls. Each soldier carried 60-pounds of gear into battle. But the troops did not despair over their load. 60-pounds was nothing to them. They had formed lines, exactly to battle plans.

Matt gave a speech, "Men, today, we are going to crush them. I've never lost a battle before, and today is no exception. Time to hack and slash. Come down here, you weak cowards, fight us like men!"

Chris decided the moment was now to initiate an engagement. "My soldiers, today, we are gathered here to fight these 'men'. The are self-righteous, pompous assholes. They serve false leaders, people who have no concept of leadership. They are mere barbarians. They cannot stand up to our might. We are the greatest fighting force Lore has ever seen, and we come in the name of the Devourer. Today, these fools will be humiliated by us, they will be defeated. Our might is unstable. Running ends here. We choose this to be where we stand and fight, and where we destroy their pathetic armies. They are sheep for the slaughter. Be ready today, for you all may slay 100 of them a piece. They call us cowards, and weaklings? We could easily have you all uncreated, couldn't we? Instead, we will fight here, and we'll put your theory of us being 'The Weaklings' put to the test. If any of you ever live to tell your children, which may I add were sired by the town drunk of Battleon, you will tell them of the horrors we inflict on you and give them more nightmares, other than the ones they get from looking at your faces!"

Chris was beaming, he could sense that at the bottom of the hill, they were getting pissed. He continued to rant on with every insult possible. Matt was about to explode. "So let me ask you, 'men' of Battleon. You call us cowards for sitting here on this rock where it's comfortable. My men would love to cool off right now. They'd love to just relax for a moment after practicing so hard in our last drill. And I'd prefer they not get cramps while massacring you all. If you're so tough and brave, why don't you come get us and our cowardly selves? Hmmmm…. That's right. YOUR TOO MUCH OF PUSSYS TO DO ANYTHING!!!!!!" Chris began to do a range of taunts. He had chosen a light armor cuirass for the specific reason of launching taunts while not looking like a fool on the battle field.

Matt couldn't stand it. He just screamed "Destroy ever last one of those bastards. Make them die slowly and painfully! ATTACK!!!" His men stormed up the hill, running as fast as they could. Matt's bodyguards and Ricobabie held him back, they were nervous he'd do something stupid and get himself killed in the angry state he was it. On a hill, a mistake could cost you your life.

Chris muttered under his breath again, "Vegetius-What can a soldier do who charges when out of breath?" Chris was amused by his quote, and smiling, because in 5 seconds he would give the order, and all hell would break loose. 5…4…3…2…1…