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A host of blaring horns heralded the coming of Avanor’s force in the heart of the three primary forces, scant moments before they surmounted the horizon. Their line of pennons and gonfalons proudly rose up and spanned the edge where the world touched the sky.
They faced the middle of the Saxan line, connecting the army of Ehrengardians on the Avanoran’s right flank to the massive force from Andamoor on their left. A continuous wall of lethal intent now confronted the Saxan ranks.
A solid line of foot soldiers advanced at the forefront, well equipped with long triangular shields, solid lances, and conical helms, and an ample portion of them wore coats of mail. They were no mere peasant rabble, but rather professional soldiers, filling feudal obligations and receiving steady pay in return.
Marching just behind the line of spearmen were sizeable numbers of archers and crossbowmen. Mostly without armor, and armed with little else save a dagger, they shielded themselves for the moment behind the ranks of heavy infantry, at least until the need for their deadly missiles was required.
An unrelenting rumble filled the air, as another mass of warriors then came into view, causing many Saxan observers to feel their breath catch in their throats. Rank upon rank of heavy cavalry followed closely behind the front lines of Avanoran foot soldiers, archers, and crossbowmen.
This new formation held the most feared element of the Avanoran force, and perhaps the most formidable amongst all of the forces gathered upon the battlefield.
The middle and rear ranks of the cavalry formation were filled with a thick mass of stout warriors, comprised primarily of mounted sergeants and squires. Many dedicated contingents of sergeants had come from ecclesiastical lands, equipped and supplied under the order of bishops or abbots, to fulfill the clergymen’s feudal obligations to Avanor, as any lord would be required. The greater part of the sergeants were hardy, experienced warriors, armed capably with cavalry maces, lances, swords, and shields. Yet as tough fighters as they were, the sergeants were not the ones that elicited an instant dread at their mere presence on the battlefield.
The squires were also fiercely dedicated men, some on their way to becoming knights, and others fully content to serve as squires. Whatever path their future held, every squire assiduously attended to the needs of his master.
Beyond attending to equipment and war horses, they formed foraging parties in hostile lands, and conducted wood gathering forays. Many had received considerable training in the arts of war, so that when they stood on a battlefield, they were staunch opponents in their own right, if they were made to engage the enemy.
Their purpose during a battle was dual in nature, for as much as they could fight, they kept up a close watch on the masters they served, bringing spare horses to knights whenever their steeds were injured or killed under them. Such was the deadly duty that required much courage to execute, and a mass of squires was a force not to be underestimated, imbued with great bravery and solid, martial skill. Still, like the sergeants, they also evoked little outright fear within experienced, defending ranks.
The ones feared were those whom the squires served, and the sergeants rode behind, the warriors whose lofty status soared far above even the best of fighters among the latter. These men were located right at the front of the mass of heavy cavalry, positioned there for all opponents to see without obstruction.
The great knights in the cavalry formation rode upon mighty war stallions. The elite steeds were given diligent care, resulting in coats exhibiting a rich sheen, one that effectively displayed the sculpted contours of their impressive musculatures. Never before had there been such a concentrated, luxurious display of well-bred destriers, such as the mustering of Avanoran war horses upon the battlefield that day.
Carefully cultivated from stock once brought from Andamoor, which itself reached back to bloodlines originating from the Sunlands, the Avanoran breed of war horses were exceptional creatures. Compared to any mount within the Saxan ranks, even among the absolute best of the defender’s cavalry, the Avanoran warhorses had noticeably longer backs, thicker hindquarters, and substantially greater body mass and height. They even had longer manes, now flowing free and unbraided after their journey by sea.
The vaunted human bloodline of Avanor was represented in its most elite, potent incarnation in the knights astride the magnificent steeds. Men of prowess, they hailed from a land that had spawned a great many conquerors and renowned warriors, ranging from Norengal to Paleria, and even extending to the coastal kingdoms in the Sunlands.
They bore their lances high, the pennons signifying the positions of smaller units, called conrois, that had trained, lived, and fought together until they could flow as if one body upon a battlefield.
Saxans who knew of the Avanoran methods of war, and had knowledge of the accounts of their battles, knew the grave danger inherent in those upright lances when in the hands of such skilled warriors. Leveled, with shaft gripped just under the arm’s pit, and carried forward at a force ranging from a brisk canter to full charge, there was little to nothing that could withstand such an assault, if ever the Saxan shield wall was broken.
Some of the knights held authority over strong counties, others presided over a single castle, and many served in simplicity as household knights for their lords, but all were of a storied, proud brotherhood of arms. A great many were knights that had honed and exhibited their skills at the great tournament melees held within Gallea, many gaining considerable fame for their proficiency at arms. Most were knights who had already seen, and excelled in, the face of war, and had thoroughly bloodied both sword and lance.
All of the knights, whether a higher lord or household knight, whether possessing fame garnered from war or tournaments, or just newly ordained into knighthood on the eve of battle, were Avanoran. The legacy of that mythic heritage flowed amongst, around, and before them onto any battlefield, Athelney being no exception.
It was an energy and sense of threat that was felt by friend and foe alike, from the Ehrengardians to their right, to the Andamooran’s on their left, and to the Saxan lines that they were marching towards.
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