Atlantic Roleplay Community Boards

[King Sidhe]

---

As the sun sets, and darkness falls upon the land, I sit alone, in my home; I am troubled by dark thoughts. The war has been protracted, and casualties high for both sides. There are threats aplenty against the Duchess, from both friend and foe. How can I honorably discharge my duties to Molly, when my desire to protect her against all these threats would indeed go against her wishes? She has asked me to not challenge Talon, hiding him behind her skirts, and although I can agree with her reasoning, I still can not blindly accept his leadership in battle.

In battle, orders must be given, and followed without question. I know this from my own experience of handing out orders that could have easily resulted in the death of men in my command. I also know that those orders must be thoughtfully prepared, and that the men must have faith in the sense of laying their lives on the line for a reason. Men will not charge into battle when they question the abilities of those leading them or ordering them into the fray. Trust must be earned as does respect. Without either, a commander is useless.

I ponder the meeting that we held in this same room last evening, and search for hidden meaning in the things that have progressed in recent days. King Talon is one of her oldest and most trusted advisors. She assured me that he is serving as Commander to the Consensus’s armed forces to the best of his abilities. Why does that not provide me with some comfort? I can’t escape the feeling, that there are ambitions and desires that dwell within his chest that do not bode well for the Consensus, and may prove to be the greatest danger to my Liege Lady. It was during her absence at the last meeting of the Consensus, that I began to truly question his motives as he appeared to be overstepping his bounds as commander.

I remember a clandestine meeting with a masked agent after that same meeting, where there was mention of dissension within the Consensus that threaten my Lady’s safety. Although I disagree with the methods of this masked man’s master, I have to agree that all is not as they appear. What is it that they are trying to recruit me for? Would what he ask of me go against the welfare of the Duchess? If so, he will find himself on the wrong side of a man who has seen more death and suffering than he might imagine in his darkest nightmares.

As these thoughts weigh heavily upon my soul, I will honor the Duchess’s request and put some suggestions on how to improve our standing in the war. I pick up pen and paper, and begin…

A Dissertation on Defending a Castle…

When defending a fortified structure against a vastly superior force, one can not simply hole their forces inside, hoping to outlast the siege. Here are ways to turn the tide of battle.
a. Have an entrance/exit away from the front lines. This exit should remain hidden and guarded in case of discovery. This exit will allow for retreat in case the castle is overrun, but will also allow for the dispatching of guerilla forces to attack isolated portions of the attacking force, whittling them down to size.

b. Training is paramount to defense of the castle; troops must know the location of and how to access hidden entrances and exits throughout the castle. They should be able to safely traverse the structure without being left vulnerable to attack from outside.

c. Fortifications should be sturdy, but simple. In the heat of battle defending forces do not have time to find their way through a maze to safety. The entrance should have baffles that will allow defenders to quickly get under cover, and provide choke points that can be easily defended against intrusion.

d. There should be healers ready to render assistance to the fallen, and although they are classified as non-combatants, they should be clearly identified and defended at all costs.

e. Guerilla forces should be dispatched to pick off and attack isolated enemy forces from the Flank. History and nature has shown this to be an effective method to defend against superior invading forces. These guerillas should be small teams, trained to work together, and strike fast and undetected where they are not expected. These attacks should harass the attacking force continuously, and should not focus on any one particular part of the opposing force. When they attack to the east, they should then move quickly to pick off stragglers from the opposite direction. Fast haranguing attacks are how small packs of wolves take down larger prey. Feint from one direction to draw the attention of the intended victim, while quick strikes from the rear hamstring the beast.

f. These guerilla forces can also be used to lure portions of the attacking forces to within striking distances of ranged attacks from the castle. However there should be a way for these forces to quickly get under cover when the wolf is chasing behind them. Back to the baffles I discussed earlier.

g. The officers of the command should observe fortifications of the homes around Yew on the Felucca Facet. The murderers there defend their homes against many brave souls looking to bring justice and law to the facet. The tactics used by these murdering bands, are truly effective at repulsing the honorable souls come to rid the lands of their tyranny. If the commanders are not brave enough to travel to these lands to observe, surely they should send members of their intelligence forces to observe how these murderers defend their homes.

These are but a few ways to turn defense of a castle into a winning proposition. The key to winning battles is training and trust. The men must trust their commanders to lead them into battle, and to bring them home again when it is over. Training should make actions and efforts come naturally to the soldier.