Post by Kentos Fey’lya / Adamis on Sept 15, 2005 4:54:07 GMT
Ok I don't really know if you are allowed to post non-Star Wars stuff in here but I will anyway and Bac can lock it later if it isn't allowed. Anyway Every now and then a get a little idea about things and from time to time I will write a little short story around them, not great or anything though. Anyway the other day I was thinking about what it would be like if the Great NZ Eagle had not been killed off by the Maori and hence the Eagle Riders of Fortan were born. Fortan is just some fiction place I made in my head and decided to put the Eagle riders in. Anyway the first part will be kind of an intro while the rest is a battle to start you off. Have fun.
[shadow=blue,left,300]THE EAGLE RIDERS OF FORTAN [/shadow]
On a small landmass in the middle of a large ocean, there once was a tiny nation of humans. This nation would seem almost insignificant, having only a population of just over 2000 and covering only an area of 100 square kilometres, but this little nation had a big surprise for anyone who tried to invade it. You see this little nation, known as Fortan to its people, was the home of one of the greatest military units on the landmass, known as the Fortanian Eagle Riders. This proud unit consisted of a group of mad men and women who where crazy enough to not only use, but to also ride on the backs of the great giant eagles that made their homes in the mountains that surrounded Fortan on almost three sides. These beasts, as some people called them, had 4 metre wingspans, were taller than a man and were strong enough to be able to carry a full grown man on their backs. Now of course this also meant that these giant birds had it in their power to be able to rip a man, or even an animal much bigger, limb from limb in a matter of seconds. This however did make them excellent war beasts, if one could control them, which the Fortanian Eagle Riders did for the most part, and this, combined with the skills of the riders to be able to fight with bows and swords and lances from the backs of these mighty birds, made facing even a small number of them a daunting task. Which was a good thing too since the borders of Fortan needed almost constant protection. You see Fortan was also famous for another reason. It was one of the few places on this landmass that had access to the ocean, had fertile soil and was easily protected, making it a very valuable area to anyone who wanted a nice safe place for mass food production. And how, do you ask, have the Fortanians, with such a tiny population been able to defend this beautiful land from many attempted invasions from the likes of Orcs and Trolls and Lizard & Birdmen and other humans? Well with the help of the Fortanian Eagle Riders of course and due to the fact that there is only one easy way into this tiny nation, that is very well protected with a large and strong wall that is constantly patrolled by the army men of Fortan. This little nation has only a small standing army of 500 men and women, but the entire population is train and equipped to fight for their life’s at a moments notice if need be. This little nation is not as insignificant as it first seems. It is in fact one of the most interesting places on this landmass, if you want to discover more about it, please do read on.
It was not going well for the Fortanians defending the walls. They were vastly out numbered with over 2 thousand bloodthirsty Orcs charging towards them, seemingly not noticing the damage that the archers were doing to there numbers. It did not help that the Orcs had brought siege weapons this time and were pounding the wall, and the men on it, with large stones that were being ripped out of the ground by the Orcs pet trolls. Darin, a veteran of many such defences, was standing on the wall firing off arrows as quick as he could, wondering if this time the Orcs would make it to the wall with their ladders. As a sergeant and leader of the men and women around him, he should have full confidence in his country, his people and himself, but that such trust had never come easy to Darin. Then Darin spotted some thing that made his blood run cold. One of the large boulders the Orc siege weapons were firing was heading straight for his position on the wall. “INCOMING!!!” he yelled to the men around him and ducked for cover just as the rest of his men did. The boulder hit, doing only minor damage to the top of the wall, before continuing to roll, from the momentum, off to the other side of the wall. Darin counted himself lucky and pulled himself up off the ground. “Where the hell is that support we called for!?! They should be here by now!!”
As if on que a large eagle, easily longer than a man and with a wingspan of at least three men, shot pass overhead followed closely by no less than 40 other such birds. Darin knew that on the backs of those giant eagles where the men and women of the support that had called for earlier. They were the most elite unit in the Fortanian military, the Eagle Riders. As they cleared the wall the riders let loose a shower of arrows on the Orcs, to join the arrows of the men on the wall. The sheer sight of these giant beasts of the air sent some of the Orcs running for their lives, as if from the Gods themselves. The Eagles swooped down and each one picked up a poor helpless Orc in its huge claws before climbing back up to a great height and then releasing the doomed Orc to fall back down to his death and onto his fellow brethren. Mean while the riders of these noble creatures where firing off shots at whatever Orc was unlucky enough to come into their sight. Within a handful of seconds the Eagles had passed over the entire army and were now turning to come back for another run on the beastly invaders. That is to say that most of the eagles were doing this, as about 10 of them had broken off from the rest of the group and were now descending on the unlucky crews of the Orc siege weapons. The Orcs had foolishly grouped the rock throwers together thinking they would be easier to defend, but it just made it easier for the riders to attack them all at once. 3 of the detached unit concentrated of destroying the dammed Orc machines while the rest began to rip into the crew. When the eagles landed their riders jumped off of their backs and pulled swords and shields from straps on their backs and formed themselves into a close group as the eagles began to float in the air using their powerful wings and striking out with their mighty talons and beaks. Within moments several Orcs were laying dead or wounded on the ground. Faced with fighting the huge and frighting beasts, the rest of the Orc crews decided it was a better idea to foot it out of there and a few were run down by the eagles before they were called back by their riders.
Meanwhile the arrival of the Eagle riders had signalled the Fortanian trackers, that were hiding in the bush and undergrowth near the Orcs approach path, to jump out of hiding and add their own arrows to the already large number that were being laid down by the rest of the army. With only 40 of their number present once the Orcs started to notice them and send a unit or two their way the trackers fall back into the bush where they had the advantage, even over the wild Orcs. Here they spread out and hid, waiting in ambush for the clumsy Orcs to come crashing through looking for them. Striking as if out of nowhere the trackers cut down the Orcs who had been send to hunt them and then regrouped to move to a new location. This would help in two ways as if any more Orcs come looking for them they would only find the bodies of their dead kin and it would make the Orcs think that they were fighting more than just 40 men on the ground.
Once the rock throwers had been disabled or destroyed the riders remounted and took to the air again and moved to rejoin the rest of their kind. By this stage the Orcs where in disarray, with huge birds attacking them from the air and with the constant barrage of the archers from the walls, their numbers where thinning. For the most part they flee in the face of such a daunting task, while a few fanatical units threw themselves at the wall with new viger, until they were cut down. The Eagle rider units persuaded the fleeing army for a couple of minutes before they where out of sight of the wall. Darin looked out at the field of battle where hundreds of Orcs now lay dead or dying. Fortan had been defended yet again, thanks mostly to the help of the elite eagle riders, but at what cost. Darin did not doubt that the Fortanian casualties would be low but there would be one or two of his fellow archers who defended the wall that would have gotten hit by boulders. Another family would have to morn the lose of a son or daughter, but it won’t be one of the Eagle riders. It never was. Funny how they always got all the credit for the victories but never actually paid the price of the battle. But that was the way it was in Fortan, and not Darin, not anyone would be able to charge that. Not ever.
[shadow=blue,left,300]THE EAGLE RIDERS OF FORTAN [/shadow]
On a small landmass in the middle of a large ocean, there once was a tiny nation of humans. This nation would seem almost insignificant, having only a population of just over 2000 and covering only an area of 100 square kilometres, but this little nation had a big surprise for anyone who tried to invade it. You see this little nation, known as Fortan to its people, was the home of one of the greatest military units on the landmass, known as the Fortanian Eagle Riders. This proud unit consisted of a group of mad men and women who where crazy enough to not only use, but to also ride on the backs of the great giant eagles that made their homes in the mountains that surrounded Fortan on almost three sides. These beasts, as some people called them, had 4 metre wingspans, were taller than a man and were strong enough to be able to carry a full grown man on their backs. Now of course this also meant that these giant birds had it in their power to be able to rip a man, or even an animal much bigger, limb from limb in a matter of seconds. This however did make them excellent war beasts, if one could control them, which the Fortanian Eagle Riders did for the most part, and this, combined with the skills of the riders to be able to fight with bows and swords and lances from the backs of these mighty birds, made facing even a small number of them a daunting task. Which was a good thing too since the borders of Fortan needed almost constant protection. You see Fortan was also famous for another reason. It was one of the few places on this landmass that had access to the ocean, had fertile soil and was easily protected, making it a very valuable area to anyone who wanted a nice safe place for mass food production. And how, do you ask, have the Fortanians, with such a tiny population been able to defend this beautiful land from many attempted invasions from the likes of Orcs and Trolls and Lizard & Birdmen and other humans? Well with the help of the Fortanian Eagle Riders of course and due to the fact that there is only one easy way into this tiny nation, that is very well protected with a large and strong wall that is constantly patrolled by the army men of Fortan. This little nation has only a small standing army of 500 men and women, but the entire population is train and equipped to fight for their life’s at a moments notice if need be. This little nation is not as insignificant as it first seems. It is in fact one of the most interesting places on this landmass, if you want to discover more about it, please do read on.
It was not going well for the Fortanians defending the walls. They were vastly out numbered with over 2 thousand bloodthirsty Orcs charging towards them, seemingly not noticing the damage that the archers were doing to there numbers. It did not help that the Orcs had brought siege weapons this time and were pounding the wall, and the men on it, with large stones that were being ripped out of the ground by the Orcs pet trolls. Darin, a veteran of many such defences, was standing on the wall firing off arrows as quick as he could, wondering if this time the Orcs would make it to the wall with their ladders. As a sergeant and leader of the men and women around him, he should have full confidence in his country, his people and himself, but that such trust had never come easy to Darin. Then Darin spotted some thing that made his blood run cold. One of the large boulders the Orc siege weapons were firing was heading straight for his position on the wall. “INCOMING!!!” he yelled to the men around him and ducked for cover just as the rest of his men did. The boulder hit, doing only minor damage to the top of the wall, before continuing to roll, from the momentum, off to the other side of the wall. Darin counted himself lucky and pulled himself up off the ground. “Where the hell is that support we called for!?! They should be here by now!!”
As if on que a large eagle, easily longer than a man and with a wingspan of at least three men, shot pass overhead followed closely by no less than 40 other such birds. Darin knew that on the backs of those giant eagles where the men and women of the support that had called for earlier. They were the most elite unit in the Fortanian military, the Eagle Riders. As they cleared the wall the riders let loose a shower of arrows on the Orcs, to join the arrows of the men on the wall. The sheer sight of these giant beasts of the air sent some of the Orcs running for their lives, as if from the Gods themselves. The Eagles swooped down and each one picked up a poor helpless Orc in its huge claws before climbing back up to a great height and then releasing the doomed Orc to fall back down to his death and onto his fellow brethren. Mean while the riders of these noble creatures where firing off shots at whatever Orc was unlucky enough to come into their sight. Within a handful of seconds the Eagles had passed over the entire army and were now turning to come back for another run on the beastly invaders. That is to say that most of the eagles were doing this, as about 10 of them had broken off from the rest of the group and were now descending on the unlucky crews of the Orc siege weapons. The Orcs had foolishly grouped the rock throwers together thinking they would be easier to defend, but it just made it easier for the riders to attack them all at once. 3 of the detached unit concentrated of destroying the dammed Orc machines while the rest began to rip into the crew. When the eagles landed their riders jumped off of their backs and pulled swords and shields from straps on their backs and formed themselves into a close group as the eagles began to float in the air using their powerful wings and striking out with their mighty talons and beaks. Within moments several Orcs were laying dead or wounded on the ground. Faced with fighting the huge and frighting beasts, the rest of the Orc crews decided it was a better idea to foot it out of there and a few were run down by the eagles before they were called back by their riders.
Meanwhile the arrival of the Eagle riders had signalled the Fortanian trackers, that were hiding in the bush and undergrowth near the Orcs approach path, to jump out of hiding and add their own arrows to the already large number that were being laid down by the rest of the army. With only 40 of their number present once the Orcs started to notice them and send a unit or two their way the trackers fall back into the bush where they had the advantage, even over the wild Orcs. Here they spread out and hid, waiting in ambush for the clumsy Orcs to come crashing through looking for them. Striking as if out of nowhere the trackers cut down the Orcs who had been send to hunt them and then regrouped to move to a new location. This would help in two ways as if any more Orcs come looking for them they would only find the bodies of their dead kin and it would make the Orcs think that they were fighting more than just 40 men on the ground.
Once the rock throwers had been disabled or destroyed the riders remounted and took to the air again and moved to rejoin the rest of their kind. By this stage the Orcs where in disarray, with huge birds attacking them from the air and with the constant barrage of the archers from the walls, their numbers where thinning. For the most part they flee in the face of such a daunting task, while a few fanatical units threw themselves at the wall with new viger, until they were cut down. The Eagle rider units persuaded the fleeing army for a couple of minutes before they where out of sight of the wall. Darin looked out at the field of battle where hundreds of Orcs now lay dead or dying. Fortan had been defended yet again, thanks mostly to the help of the elite eagle riders, but at what cost. Darin did not doubt that the Fortanian casualties would be low but there would be one or two of his fellow archers who defended the wall that would have gotten hit by boulders. Another family would have to morn the lose of a son or daughter, but it won’t be one of the Eagle riders. It never was. Funny how they always got all the credit for the victories but never actually paid the price of the battle. But that was the way it was in Fortan, and not Darin, not anyone would be able to charge that. Not ever.
