Boyzilla: (Laughs) I think Hakuno's biggest fan talked.
Sors Salutis et Victutis
(Salutary and Victorious Fate)
The ground germinates what we plant there. This year again we will collect corpses.
(Fatalistic remarks of an Old World peasant after his field once again served as a battlefield).
The rendezvous of the Bretonnia army had been fixed on the 28th of the month of Harvest at the Tertre de Landrel. Hakuno Kishinami and her Servants arrived on the 20th, accompanied by a thousand knights who had escorted them from the Couronne.
In fact, Hakuno did not leave her quarters for the next few days. The organization of the army was mainly carried out by Seneschal Kay, while Artoria Pendragon was in charge of all that had to do with politics, in particular by receiving the lords who arrived at the Tertre de Landrel.
In all, a few hundred and forty captains - the elite of the Bretonnia lords- arrived to place themselves under the command of the Sovereign of the Moon Cell, designated by King Louen Leoncoeur as head of the relief army.
At the beginning of the month of Decline, 25,000 men camped around the Tertre de Landrel. Half were veterans, knights or squires, well-armed and mounted on war horses. The rest were levies of summarily armed peasants.
The combatants themselves were joined by a mass or less three or four times more important of merchants, prostitutes, and all the interlope fauna that could attract soldiers the hands full of the fruit of the plunder
As the army assembled, Artoria received the messengers from King Louen and joined them in a war council for organizing the campaign.
The doors of the great hall were guarded by Men-at-Arms in blue cloth gambesons, wearing mail gauntlets. All you could see were their faces under the aventail and the chapel-de-fer that covered the rest of their heads. At the parade guard, they leaned on halberds, watching over the lords who were feasting.
In the center of the space, a troubadour dressed in bright colors drew some plaintive notes of a musical instrument called guiterne (1). Before starting a boring song:
"Quand nous sommes dans les tavernes,
de ces forts vins buvant,
Et ces dames qui vont nous regardant,
À ces gorges jolies, ces colliers attirants
Ces yeux resplendissant
de beauté souriante,
Nature nous sermonne d'avoir
Cœur désirant,
D'attendre à la fin
promesse de merci
Comme si nous étions Gilles le Breton
ou Louis le Preux.
Mais quand nous sommes au camp
Sur nos destriers courants
Nos écus à nos cous, nos lances baissées
Dans le grand froid
qui nous gèle
Les membres s'effondrent
et derrière et devant
Et nos ennemis
arrivent sur nous
Ainsi,
face à un si grand danger
Qui peut donc nous condamner
de ne pas tenir nos vœux ?" (2)
The banquet hall of the city of Tertre de Landrel was a large rectangular room. The walls were decorated with large banners, weapons displays, and tapestries. The table of the feast formed a long U. In its central part, was reserved for the king and is family, the back heated by a large fireplace.
But the king was not present, Hakuno Kishinami stood in the place of honor. The teenager was silent, a little pale... and very embarrassed by the splendid dress she was wearing. She wore a beautiful cotardia of blue satin embroidered with gold threads.
Of course, in a society as hierarchical as a feudal kingdom, the place occupied by each reflected its rank. The members of the royal family, their close advisors ate by their side. The nobles of high ranks were located further from the fireplace. Then, the courtesans and the smaller guests who found themselves pushed back to the ends of the two branches of the U formed by the banquet table.
All, however, ate in silver dishes, surrounded by many servants. Each high-ranking nobleman had his own carving squire to prepare his food, and above all to ensure that his master was not poisoned. Young pages dressed in blue and gold tabard adorned with the lion of Bretonnia came and went continuously. Some wore basins and ewers so that the guests washed their hands, while others filled the wine cups.
The fourth service began with a procession of servants from the kitchens. They carried pâtés in crust, whole poultry trimmed with their own feathers and surrounded by vegetal filling. Each dish looked like a work of art and was greeted by applause and shouts of admiration from the guests.
Around the table were a hundred and forty lords and almost as many ladies. Dressed in precious velvet and silk purple, embroidered with gold, the captains of Bretonnia were feasting loudly. The wine untying the tongues, one of them rose to brandish a magnificent glass of crystal and silver, turning to the lady of his thoughts:
"Never will I be greeted by my dear paramour if I do not return to a castle or to a city, without having shed the blood of the enemy or shed mine".
That said he drew his sword, in a challenge against Marienburg.
The gesture was welcomed by toasts and other lords continued with their own chivalrous vows, each taking a lady from the audience to witness. All wanted to show their bravery and resolve to return victorious and covered with glory.
It was Artoria Pendragon's turn to stand up, brandishing a golden cup. Unlike Hakuno, she was dressed like a man. Her doublet had punctured sleeves, which showed a red silk lining embroidered with gold tulips. As usual, she was superb and the male costume was not deceiving. Much more, her cold and graceful beauty distilled a murky feeling in such an outfit.
"Chevaliers de la Belle Bretonnie, I will not promise you that the campaign that begins will be easy, or that we will return easily victorious. Antagonizing us is Marienburg, the city of the Princes-Merchants. Gold enters its walls by whole ships, but very little leaves. This gold is used to finance armies, such as the lansquenets, these fearsome mercenary pikers, or the van Kluff's Buccaneers, privateers who have received the nickname "Scourge of the Reik" because they skim the course of this river and the nearby lands on behalf of the Princes-Merchants. The city of Marienburg has powerful fortifications and its own cannon foundries. Don't doubt it, it is a formidable opponent. However, you are the sons of Bretonnia, the protectors of the Holy Grail! You will overcome the trials and come back victorious! For the Lady of the Lake, for King Louen!"
The lords rose in their turn, the glass-filled and emptied it in a formidable hurrah that resounded under the vaults of the castle.
After her speech, the King of Knights sits down. As usual, Artoria showed a good appetite. She sometimes responded briefly to her neighbor on the left - a little too enterprising for her taste- but did nothing to feed the conversation.
Hakuno Kishinami was even quieter. Sitting between Artoria Pendragon and Kay the Tallman, she had also eaten little. She hated the part she was made to play. She was used as a... mascot, a sort of banner for the Bretonnians who saw her as a second "Lady of the Lake".
She really hated that role. First of all, she just didn't like being transformed into a kind of doll with a pretty dress. Hakuno had not been educated in a noble family. Apart from the last three weeks of the Grail War, the Master had never been in the center of attention.
Deep down, she was a shy teenager... almost to autism.
However, Hakuno Kishinami also used to play roles. She had played several in her short life. Each time, she wanted to save her life... first, her own, yes... Hakuno was not a heroine. When she had finally understood the stakes of the Grail War, Hakuno had then used her wish to end the Masters' massacre and to prevent forever that one's killing one another to reach the Moon Cell Core.
The teenager girl could sacrifice herself for others if needed... she had a tender heart.
However, anger grew in her.
Hakuno felt used... not that it was a new feeling for her. She was - after all- accustomed to wars between humans for causes she didn't really understand and didn't approve of.
She slipped a glance at Sir Kay, who was chatting with a lovely lady who had been placed beside him. The seneschal of Artoria had tried to explain to her... he had spoken of honor (a concept quite empty in her eyes) but also of politics and relations with states. Something like: "The King of Bretonnia was obliged to retaliate after the violation of his territory and the Merchant Princes could not now retreat under penalty of losing their prestige." After that, Kay had given her a painful long explanation on relations between states and the important part accorded to the notion of " lose face".
Hakuno Kishinami didn't really understand.
The honor of nobles, the pride of states, why ordinary people have to die by the thousand for ideas without substances? The life of the peasants was so worthless that they were sacrificed for something so abstract?
On the 5th of the month of Decline, the army set in motion, forming three columns that plunged into the territory of Marienburg. It was a region called Badlands, a name that certainly deserved. In the west, the mountains were occupied by the "Skulls Breakers" Ork tribe who made frequent raids on the plains. Further south, the peaks were invaded by the necromancers of the Legion of the Mound. Suffice to say that the peasants of the region used to see armies breaking into their lands to plunder and devastate.
For two weeks the Bretonnians advanced towards Marienburg, covered by a vanguard of two thousand horsemen. On the 12th of the month of Decline, new emissaries of King Louen reported the presence of two enemy armies on their way. Dividing their force in two, Artoria advanced towards the one while Kay took the bulk of the forces to attack the most important army.
Only the Marienburgers refused the confrontation and went to take refuge behind the walls of the small vassal cities of Marienburg.
Finally, on the 23rd of the month of the Decline, the relief army reached Marienburg. The first movement of Artoria was to besiege and take the castle of Waltighoffen, north of the city. The King of Knights left a garrison of two thousand under the command of Sir Gawain to protect Hakuno Kishinami.
On the 25th of the month of the Decline, cavalry patrols risked at the foot of the city walls to inspect them. Only they came so close to the walls that a salvo of harquebus cost the life of many of them.
Artoria Pendragon then sent the vanguard, commanded by Sir Kay, before Marienburg. She hoped that the garrison would make an exit. Most of the army had to take the city.
Initially, the strategy worked.
A contingent of 2,500 defenders came out of the city to battle the Bretonnian troops, five times as large.
The confrontation could not have been more violent.
The Marienburgers formed a heavy infantry dressed in half-plates, puffy breeches, and wearing large scarlet velvet berets with a long feather. These landskenechts, bearded like Dwarves, were known for their resistance to the cavalry. As their first lines sprang into a hedge of stakes capable of stopping a heavy charge, the men behind massacred the immobilized horsemen with their formidable halberds or with two-handed swords.
Three phalanges of landskenechts advanced to the sound of drums and fifes, opening the way to two companies of harquebusiers carrying their heavy weapon to the shoulder. Above them slammed large banners adorned with the Marienburg coat of arms: a knight shield marked with a mermaid held by two seahorses, all surmounted by a feathered helmet.
In the front row was a priest of Sigmar, with his skull shaved. His armor of half-plates carrying multiple sacred parchments sealed with wax. He held a powerful warhammer with both hands. Behind him walked a novice who held the holy book of worship, reading aloud inspirational passages from the life of the emperor became a god.
Opposite, Sir Kay rode among Mounted Sergeants-at-Arms dressed in gambesons and wearing Chapel-de-fer. On their left arm, they had large almond-shaped shields depicting the crowned lion of Bretonnia, and they clasped in the other a long spear with a clattering pennant. The powerful formation of riders advanced between two flanks-guards composed of mounted yeomen, riders armed with short bows. In the front line, the Damsels of the Grail mounted unicorns and wielded magic wands.
In spite of their ferocity, the rains of arrows blasted by their archers and the spells used by the Damsels the charges of the Sergeants-at-Arms broke one after the other on the hedgehogs formed by the landskenechts. They attacked continuously for a good part of the morning, in vain.
"Sigmar mit uns!"
The warrior-priest wielded his fearsome hammer illuminated with white light. The weapon trembled in his hands, while an incredible force flowed through his veins. The sweat-covered forehead, with his teeth clenched, the priest strove to channel that power which made him almost drunk.
In front, Sergeants-at-Arms were coming towards him; their big shields raised, their spears pointed, the hooves of their mounts hammering the ground drenched with blood, covered with broken weapons and corpses.
"Pour la belle Bretonnie!"
"Pour la Dame du Lac!"
"Pour le bon Roy Louen!"
In an instant, the five horsemen were upon him...
There was a sound shock and an explosion of light as a sudden gale lifted a veil of dust... About ten meters away, the broken bodies of the Sergeants and the horses fell to the ground.
Sir Kay had observed the whole scene in the midst of the melee. Camelot's seneschal shook his head, incredulous:
"Tell me I'm dreaming?"
Yet it seemed mostly a nightmare.
The sound of shooting made him turn his head. Harquebusiers had just fired; their bullets of lead had sown death among the mounted archers. Kay here heard the cries of pain from the horses on the ground.
Closer to him, the Sergeants were circling around a square of defenders who were hitting them with their picks. Between the two groups of combatants, a horrible mound of corpses of men and horses intertwined reminded the failure of previous charges.
A Sergeant charged a swordsman. The man graciously took a side step, and then struck the horse at the neck as he passed by him. The animal rolled on the ground in a last whine... it was then his rider's turn to scream... to implore life save then the blade struck again.
The blood of Kay goes to the head, plunging his mount; he rushed to the heart of the melee. In a black flash, Mortemain mowed the ruthless swordsman.
He could no longer let things go on like this. It was not a battle, but a terrible carnage!
He pulled the reins of his steed, heading towards the Sigmar priest.
At Waltighoffen Castle, Hakuno Kishinami bit her lips. In one of the virtual windows opened by the Regalia, she saw Sir Kay's rush. The result...
The horse of the Knight of the Round was kneeling on its forelegs, whining with terror. Between the knight's sword and the war hammer, electric arcs were born. Kay staggered, his face tense with anger:
"I am a Servant! How can you counter my attack so easily?"
Hakuno, with her eyes wide open, asked the same question. The priest was a normal human... Immediately, the Moon Cell provides the answer in the form of graphics and text scrolling through a side window. The warhammer was blessed and allowed to channel the faith of the faithful, strengthening its physical capacities in an extraordinary way (3)!
"Möge Sigmar mir die Kraft geben, dich zu bestrafen, Ungläubige!"
Catapulted out of his saddle by the raging priest, Sir Kay found himself on all fours and shook his head to try to give some clarity to his thoughts. He only had time to roll aside...
The priest had just jumped, knocking down his powerful hammer just where he stood. The ground exploded, once again projecting Kay from a distance. The knight straightened himself, sword in hand. His hair was smoking and his cape was turned into a burnt rag.
The priest of Marienburg stood in the middle of a crater three meters in diameter. Camelot's seneschal swallowed:
"Oh... Oh... Oh... isn't that a bit exaggerated?!"
[Calm down, Berserker! I'll guide you!]
The mental appeal of his Master calmed Kay a little... though he would never admit it.
[Okay, Little Mouse, I'll give you the tactic, but you better win!]
Hakuno did not answer, she concentrated. The Marienburger returned to Kay.
[Guard!]
Kay parry with Mortemain. Fantastic glow and sparkling sheaves were born at the point of contact between the two powerful weapons. In the process, the Knight of the Round kicked the priest. The believer of Sigmar didn't even seem to be affected.
[Attack!]
Jumping to the enemy who was absorbing the divine power of his warhammer, Kay struck the priest, crumpling the steel plates of his chest, causing the blood to flow.
[Break!]
Kay leaps, knocking his sword with a black blade on the Marienburger who was trying to counter it. The priest of Sigmar tore off the ground and drove more than three meters. Nevertheless, it took more than that to stop him. He welcomed the seneschal with the hammer in his hand, haloed in white light.
[Attack!]
A second bloody scar appeared on the priest's chest. Two new exchanges followed. Each time, Kay touched without being touched, and the fight was now largely in his favor.
Nevertheless, Hakuno hesitated when she saw the enemy adopt a posture she had never seen. Attack or maybe Break? She did not know what to choose...
[G... Guard!]
Kay obeyed, but... the blow came under his defense and hit him in the belly. Thrown to the ground, he rose up, spitting out dirt.
[Little Mouse! ]
Even in a mental message, Kay's betrayed "tone" left little doubt as to his bad mood, and Hakuno waved her hands with embarrassment:
[Sorry Berserker!] Seeing the priest return to the charge, Hakuno proceeded on to a new order: [Skill!]
Kay grabbed his sword with both hands:
"May my passion set me on fire, may I be on fire!"
Flames enveloped Kay, communicating to his sword whose blade turned to red. The priest, pierced from side to side, immobilized himself with a strange expression of surprise. Then he opened his mouth, spitting blood:
"Möge Sigmar... mich... rächen!"
Sir Kay smiled and looked at his cloak and his horse with broken limbs that were dying. His face turned red under the effect of anger...
"My horse... do you have any idea how much my horse is worth?"
He vomits a flood of insults on the priest's corpse... who answered nothing... of course. Grabbing his head with both hands, Kay then screamed with rage... a sound that no longer had anything human.
[Berserker? Calm down!]
But the Servant did honor to his Class by entering in a crisis of fury that nothing could control. His body was undergoing a staggering change... growing up. Kay soon reached the size of a large tree, overhanging the battlefield.
Allies and enemies all had stopped fighting to contemplate him with horror.
With his scarlet eyes, his face convulsed, Kays turned to the landskenechts. His voice shook the sky:
"You dared! You will pay!"
He then threw himself into the mass of enemies, wielding his sword to smash the Marienburgers by ten at a time.
Hakuno continued to call Sir Kay, trying to reason with him, but he seemed to have completely forgotten his Master.
The sound of iron-kicking came closer and a hand landed on her shoulder. Turning away from the virtual screens, Kishinami looked the grave face of Sir Gawain. The Knight of the Sun nodded heavily:
"Lady Kishinami, I have seen Sir Kay like this before. Until he is calmed down, he will be uncontrollable. You'd have to use a Mark of Command to stop him, Master... and he's attacking the enemy, so I don't see the point."
The knight was right, of course... but... Hakuno swallowed. So that was a Berserker?! A shiver descended along her spine. She had first thought of some sort of joke when she had seen that the Berserker's madness seized Sir Kay only when he lost money. But the Sovereign of the Moon had suddenly lost all desire to laugh.
Seeing that the contingent that had attacked Sir Kay was in trouble, the gates of Marienburg opened once again to bring help from several thousand defenders.
It was the moment the King of Knights was waiting for to intervene according to the plan she had stopped. While the avant-garde monopolized the attention of the Marienburgers, she advanced towards the now defenseless city. However, her maneuver did not go unnoticed by reinforcements.
The Marienburgers understood that they had been played. They turned around and returned to the city before the arrival of the legendary King of Britain.
The retreat of the Marienburgers caused a strong movement of concern among the landskenechts engaged against the cavalry. Finally noticing that they were facing an army far superior in number, they wanted to return to the city. Eventually regaining his normal size as his self-control, Kay took advantage of their loss of cohesion to attack them with redoubled force and cut them to pieces.
Some of the troops nevertheless managed to take refuge in a temple of Shallya.
After suffering such losses, the Bretonnians were now drunk with rage. Kay made fired the trebuchets until the temple was a pile of rubble. The Bretonnian infantry, Swordsmen-at-Arms, Spearmen-at-Arms, peasants, squires and battle pilgrims then attacked and faced the surviving landskenechts in close-combat. The melee was fierce and continued until evening.
The losses were terrible.
4,000 Bretonnians died, including Robert de Brézé, the king's minister's brother, and Bayard de Melle, the commander of the cavalry. Only two hundred landskenechts – all seriously wounded – returned to Marienburg. None retreated, none surrendered. They held the oath they had sworn on the eve of the battle: They had returned their souls to Sigmar and their bodies to the Bretonnians.
Such a commitment of course had consequences to its measure. Certainly, the Marienburgers had just suffered a defeat. However, the victory of the King of Knights had taken place in such circumstances that the prestige of the city-state grew rather than diminished.
(1) Also called "rote" or "guitar", it is the ancestor of the instrument of this name that we all know. Its appearance, in the fourteenth century, is close to a mandolin with three strings.
(2) Translation:
"When we are in the taverns,
drinking these strong wines,
And these ladies who are going to look at us,
Those pretty throats, those attractive necklaces
Those bright eyes
of smiling beauty,
Nature sermons us to have
Heart desiring,
To wait at the end
promise of mercy
As if we were Gilles the Breton
or Louis the Valiant.
But when we're at camp
On our current steed
Our shields at our necks, our spears lowered
In the great cold
that freezes us
Our limbs are falling apart
and behind and front
And our enemies
arrive on us
So,
in the face of such great danger
Who can condemn us
not to keep our vows?"
(3) And this priest is not even a "Legendary Lord"! The Warhammer World is one of the few universes in which the Servants of Fate can face adversaries capable of outperforming them.