CLASH OF SPEARS... THE DUN RHEGED CHRONICLES II

Domina Abducted by Irish Raiders!

In the middle of the desolate moorland of Lugovallium, stood the ancient stone circle of Brawanmuir, a place of dark and ungodly ritual sacrifice, inhabited by Duna, the Old Crone, priestess of the secret ancient rites of the druiada.

Cronehenge...

Since the onset of the Season of Plenty, Conchobhar, the Warlord of Dal Riatta, had twice drawn swords with his sworn enemy, the Romano-British Leader of Battles, Barbula. Thus far, honours were even, but the Dal Riattan yearned to defeat this thorn in his side once and for all and so, he hatched a plan to bring the host of Dun Rheged to battle and destroy them in one final cataclysmic encounter.

Duna the Priestess...

Conchobar's plan was a simple one; he dispatched his cavalry, under the command of Oengus the Witless, to ride to Villa Lurkio and seize the Domina, Fulvia Meretrix. Oengus announced that Fulvia was to be taken to Cronehenge, where she would be offered as a sacrifice to the Goddess of the Soil, knowing that the Dominus would immediately send riders to Barbula to plead for help to foil the raiders' fiendish plan.

Conchobhar with the Domina, Fulvia Meretrix... The Irish Warlord looks as though he may be regretting bringing the lady along!

After their failure to deliver essential supplies to the Villa Lurkio, the warlord, Publius Decimus Barbula and his faithful lieutenant, Octavius Calavius Verax, regarded the rescue of the Domina as a matter of honour and they hurriedly gathered their forces together to intercept the heinous Conchobhar and his reckless band. 

The two forces lined up, facing each other across the moorland. The Irish Raiders had their horsemen on the right flank, with a unit of javelinmen supporting them. Beyond, were two units of the fearful Warrior Raiders with the Warlord and his concubine and, on the left flank, a unit of slingers. Barbula lined up his warband with slingers on the left, Pedyts next in the line, the Commanipularis, Limitanei and archers on the right.

Much depended on the Commanipularis with their thrusting spears, ring mail armour and large shields.

On the right of the Dun Rheged line, the Limitanei and the archers came under the command of Octavius Calavius Verax.

The action began with the missilemen of both sides advancing to exchange projectiles. The experienced Irish slingers quickly got the upper hand, causing a casualty and forcing the archers to build up fatigue.

On the opposite flank, Oengus launched his horsemen forward but, amazingly, the British slingers managed to skittle two of them from their saddles and stalled their advance. The Pedyts moved forward to support the slingers and formed up in close order.

In an unusual display of thinking, Oengus sent his javelinmen forward to engage the slingers who were unable to respond. If the javelinmen could finish off the slingers, the cavalry would be able to focus on the Pedyts.

In the centre, the dangerous Raiders swept forward around the henge.

The Commanipularis hurled themselves into the nearest Raiders and a vicious melee ensued.

The encounter turned into a bloodbath and the units were left torn asunder. Unfortunately for Barbula, the loss of so many of his Commanipularis meant that his plan to rescue the Domina was going to be very much more difficult.

To make matters worse, Oengus' plan to push his javelinmen forward reaped its intended reward, as a combination of fatigue and casualties, lead to the slingers turning and fleeing from the field. With the troublesome missilemen out of the way, the horsemen were able to renew their attack on the British Pedyts.

Even though the missiles of the horsemen forced the Pedyts to break ranks, the spearmen bravely and defiantly held their ground.

In a desperate attempt to break the Irish centre, the remaining Commanipularis switched their attack to the second unit of Irish Raiders... it was a forlorn manoeuvre, which required perfect timing and the luck of the Gods to succeed.

Barbula's luck had deserted him, and his elite household warriors succumbed to the ferocious onslaught of the Irishmen. With the loss of the Commanipularis, Barbula had little choice but to withdraw what remained of his warband. The fate of the Domina seemed to be sealed as she saw her rescuers streaming away from the battlefield... however, the history of Fulvia Meretrix was full of situations far worse than this and the outcome of this one will be revealed in the next exciting episode of the Dun Rheged Chronicles!