Mustering the troops

[Yvain Wintersong]

A war camp had been set up in the plains around Avakair. Brightly colored tents and banners waved gaily in the noonday sun, and mighty horses neighed their approval of the festivities.

The horses would be left behind, of course. Along with the banners, the swords, the spears, and most of the hangers-on. The Ynnraileans could fight as well as anyone with machine guns when they had to. But the nobles needed their rituals and celebrations, Yvain knew. There would be time enough for gritty reality in the weeks to come.

That was assuming they found out which side they were fighting on, of course. Or whether the war was even still going on. Yvain was almost certain he was on the Kaiser's side, but his top spies had been unable to figure out which side was the Kaiser's, and whether the Kaiser actually supported himself. Until they found out, his nobles had been ordered to continue partying, a directive they took to with relish.

Sir Anthenor of Holwinn was leading his men in a rousing war-chant. Their yells echoed against the hills to the west, shouting their defiance against whoever their enemy turned out to be. From his perch on the ramparts of Avakair Castle, Yvain could just barely make out the words:

I don't know but I've been told (I DON'T KNOW BUT I'VE BEEN TOLD!)
We'll wait and watch events unfold (WE'LL WAIT AND WATCH EVENTS UNFOLD!)
Our swords and spears will not be drawn (OUR SWORDS AND SPEARS WILL NOT BE DRAWN!)
Till we find out what's going on (TILL WE FIND OUT WHAT'S GOING ON!)

Yvain approved. He himself was waiting for a message from Baron Maksym of Modan-Lach, whom he expected knew slightly more than himself about this sort of thing. If it didn't come, well, there was enough wine in Avakair that the party could go on indefinitely.

[Yvain Wintersong]

A partial listing of the HEROES OF YNNRAILE:

SIR ANTHENOR OF HOLWINN is, as is not uncommon among Holwinnese, part demon. He claims to be 1/3 demon himself, and says the exact logistics of how one becomes a third anything are too horrible for description. Unlike many of his compatriots, he defies his nature and uses his power (mostly superhuman strength and will) for good, fighting against his demonic kin and for the good of the realm. He is impervious to bullets, but is terribly embarrassed about this and, when shot, will scream and crumple to the ground lest he offend his assailant.

SIR RATTATOR OF TEPHAR, known as Sir Rattator the Vengeful, is best known for the incident surrounding the death of his brother, Sir Kallawan. Sir Kallawan was murdered in cold blood by the Dread Knight of Demonsfall - Sir Rattator swore never to rest until he had personally slain his brother's killer. Unfortunately for him, the Dread Knight of Demonsfall died in a motor vehicle accident a few months later, leaving Sir Rattator's vow unfulfilled. Unable to rest due to the vow, he spends his time secretly hoping someone will kill his other brother, giving him a chance to redeem himself. He can frequently be found in the company of criminals, discussing his remaining brother's vast wealth and poor self-defense skills.

THE HIDDEN KNIGHT (SIR RHYNDON) appears seemingly from nowhere, in dark armor that covers his entire body. He never uses a coat of arms, and upon winning a victory, he rides off mysteriously without revealing his name and purpose. Unfortunately for the Hidden Knight, his wife revealed several years ago that he was in fact Sir Rhyndon of Goldendown. Now he still does the whole appearing out of nowhere thing, and he still rides off mysteriously after a victory, but you can tell his heart isn't in it anymore. Also, every time he arrives at a tournament, people greet him with "Welcome, Sir Rhyndon", and he shouts "Stop it! I might not be Sir Rhyndon! Maybe I'm a different hidden knight! You have no way of knowing!" Everyone feels very sorry for him.

SIR MENDAVERE OF DIARSANTA is also known as Sir Mendavere the Cruel. He wears a belt made of the ears of all those he has killed in combat; since he is not a particularly good fighter, there are only five ears - one of his victims was a one-eared man, something he still complains about and attributes to sheer bad luck. It is considered a bad idea to taunt him about this; the last person who taunted him for having only three ears on the belt became ears four and five.

SIR AMRAHAS THE PURE is the only person to have successfully taken simultaneous vows of chastity, temperance, silence, poverty, and nonviolence. Mostly he just sits in his room. It is rumored that he has been blessed by God with invincible strength and wisdom, but no one can be sure because he never does or says anything. There is another rumor, that he is dead, but this is considered unlikely due to his failure to decompose.

SIR GLYNIWY THE FORESIGHTED, during his childhood years, went on a quest to the Pool of Time. It is said that those who bathe in the Pool of Time become great prophets, able to see far into the future. Sir Glyniwy dipped his toe in, discovered it to be really really cold, and refused to submerge himself. But because his toe had bathed in the water, he was gifted with the ability to see up to ten seconds into the future. This is useless for foreseeing catastrophes, but a great boon in combat, when he can predict his enemies' next move. Sir Glyniwy always answers questions right before they are asked, which has caused him to be ostracized from polite society.

[hypatias mom]

This is, indeed, a most curious roster of heroes. I long to hear more of their great exploits.

[Maksym Hadjimehmetov]

Maksym Hadjimehmetov places a piece of paper upon his desk and begins to write

M'lord Baron of Ynnraile,
I have heard your request for some advice as to military strategies for the commencing of the destruction of these rebels. Although I have not yet assembled my troops, it is my strongest advice to you that you retain a large contingent of troops at all fortified areas of your Barony's coast, as well as guarding any rivers which could be used by the enemy to attack cities deep inland from their naval vessels. I suggest we both follow up this idea and rendezvous with our forces at Musica as soon as is convenient- someone will need to guard the all-important river valley leading to Shirekeep itself, and our Niftiness the Kaiser.
This letter will of course self destruct *boom*
For Mors V!
Hadjimehmetov

*closes with sealing wax, stamps personal seal and dispatches to Ynnraile post haste*

[Aurangzeb Khan]

Into this amiable if somewhat archaic occassion a somewhat discordant note was struck by the arrival of a military courier in Zjandarian, that is to say Babkhan, uniform, who sped up on his motorbike to the tent of the Baron Wintersong and promptly dismounted, unholstering his OAH 9mm pistol and pointing it in the direction of a somewhat curiously attired knight who had a belt made out of five ears.

"I have a message from my Lord the Khan for his His Excellency the Baron of these parts. It is for his eyes alone."

With his spare hand the courier unfastened the lid of a metal tube and from it drew a scroll tied up with tanned Elfinshi skin and tossed it to the Baron who gingerly untied the grissly knot and prized off the seal of the Khan to unfurl the scroll and read the message contained therein.

My dear Baron Wintersong

My noble cousin, we have in Lesser Zjandaria just received the good news concerning your muster at Avakair on the High Coast of Elwynn. We are glad to hear that you and your comrades are safely assembled and in good spirits. If the reports are to be believed quite a party is underway. My dear baron it is noted that you are an avid student of chivalry and whilst our retinues are in the field it would be quite remiss of us to delay in sending greetings to such a noble personage as yourself.

It would be all the more fitting for us to do so in person. I write this letter to inform you that it is my intention to meet with your good self before the city of Avakair and there to offer my personal saluations in the Babkhan fashion. I trust my noble Baron that I can expect a warm reception.

Kindest regards

Ardashir Khan
Khan of Vijayanagara
Count of Lesser Zjandaria

The message being thus delivered the courier re-holstered his pistol and was about to remount the bike when his head was struck clean from his shoulders by a mysterious knight in dark armour who had appeared as if out of nowhere. Spurting blood, the headless corpse of the courier slumped down on to the bike, knocking it over.

"Well done Sir Rhyndon." Said a man-at-arms who came bounding up to greet the dark knight. For his troubles the man-at-arms was cleaved in two.

"Stop it! You have no way of knowing! I could be anyone!"

At this point the Hidden Knight was dragged back into seculsion by the men in white coats.

[Yvain Wintersong]

Your Khanitude:

Allow me to present my sincere apologies for the death of your courtier. You will find enclosed along with this missive some of his personal effects. I assure you security will be tight for your visit tomorrow and no further beheadings will occur.

I am pleased that you are arriving in my capital tomorrow and will be offering salutations in the Babkhan fashion. I have already tripled the usual complement of guards and ordered my knights to be armed and ready, out of a sense of foreboding about just what the Babkhan fashion of salutation might be.

I extend to you the offer I made to Count Ardas - that if you are on AIM tomorrow, I will try to get in touch with you. What is your IM screen name?

[Aurangzeb Khan]

My dear Baron,

My AIM login is Ardy Khan. However you may find it more condusive to contact me via MSN.

In the event that we do not communicate directly before the meeting may I assure you that Count Aradas speaks for me also.

[Yvain Wintersong]

ORDER OF BATTLE (in case it proves needed)

"Knight" is a Ynnraili term for a well-trained, regular warrior who has received special recognition for skill in combat and long service. Knights should not be assumed to be armored or cararying swords, though they may do so for ceremonial purposes. All soldiers not listed as knights are competent and may still be regular warriors, but are not quite as distinguished. Note that this knight is not the same as the political knight mentioned in the "Thoughts on Ynnraile politics" thread, and in a real Ynnraili language would probably have a different name.

Most armies are raised within a county, or within an even smaller area controlled by an individual knight. They tend to stay together unless the Baron has a very good reason for breaking them apart. The Baron also has several extra battalions, for example one of siege weaponry, that fill niches too specific for any smaller area.

The strengths listed here are fighting men only. Each battalion also has several hundred support personnel. There are also several tens of thousands of reserve personnel, who have some small amount of military training and a basic organizational system that will allow them to be called up in a hurry if the Barony is threatened, but no actual combat experience.

GOLDENDOWN BATTALION
Leader: Sir Glyniwy the Foresighted
Strength: 300 knights, 3,000 men
Location: Based in Diarsanta, but currently in Avakair

SYRELWYNN BATTALION
Leader: Sir Rhyndon of Quinewynn
Strength: 600 knights, 4,000 men
Location: Based in Syrelwynn, but currently in Avakair

HOLWINN BATTALION
Leader: Sir Anthenor of Holwinn
Strength: 500 knights, 4,000 men
Location: Based in Demonsfall, but currently in Avakair

ASANTELIAN BATTALION
Leader: Sir Gossaram of Avakair
Strength: 700 knights, 5,000 men
Location: Avakair

BARONIAL GUARD
Leader: Baron Yvain Wintersong
Strength: 1,000 knights, 9,000 men
Location: Avakair

BARONIAL ARTILLERY
Leader: Sir Exelot the Pyromaniacal
Strength: 400 men, 50 guns
Location: Avakair

BARONIAL FLEET
Leader: Admiral Llanfalwys
Strength: 600 men, 6 Pridwen-class destroyers
Location: Avakair
TOTAL: 29100 men

[Maksym Hadjimehmetov]

Llanfalwys

Didn't know Ynnraile was Welsh...
Fifty [insert whatever shirereithan currency is] here says that guy's first name is Huw or Daffydd.

[hypatias mom]

The Shirerithian currency is called the Erb, which is a stylized manuscript upper case E.