Nice build-up.

And a cameo, too! Thanks!

Looking forward to the rest.

Indeed, a very good start, though I question if I'd protect Rome or not Either way, I like it and am eager to see it finished to the fullest.

An exciting way to begin this presentation. I'm looking forward to the rest of it...

Thanks guys..

^{Part 2: Bearer of Joyful News}

Alex carried the news back to the encampment with the fleetness of foot that only a messenger with bad news can attain. Cresting a small rise, Alex saw the encampment. With only one gate in or out, it’s back to a cliff and its sides protected by impassable rocks it was a defender’s dream. Alex took this in as he kept running and running, towards his goal and to release the knowledge he kept. Upon nearing Fort GC named after a favourite faction of the band, the Greek Cities, Alex was called upon by the gatekeeper.

“Hail Alex!” Shieldwall greeted Alex, “What is the problem and why aren’t you on Sentry duty?”

“Etruscans approach Rome…” Alex managed to say through his breathlessness and fatigue, “... Appear ready for battle to take Rome”.

“No doubt intending to pillage the village, capture the population as slaves and re-establish their dominance over the Tiber and Trade routes it lies on.” Widely regarded and acknowledged as one of the most intelligent on the warband, his suspicious and guesses were most usually correct, “ No doubt as well that you better take this message straight to the old man as well, he would want to organize a response himself.”

The gate swung open as Shieldwall pulled the lever from atop his gate house and Alex sprung through the widening gap, fitting through a space half of what he would normally occupy in his haste to take news the commander in his tent. The command tent was situated on a small rise in the middle of the camp and thus was visible easily. Alex aimed himself towards the ten and mentally through of the quickest route to it. Deciding to take the back way in order to avoid the people and their questions, he soon came upon the tent where he was forced to stop by the guard.

“Halt Alex! Our commanders are in a secret meeting and no one is allowed to go in sorry”

“I have to go in MusCypicus! I have importan…” Was all Alex managed to get out before he was cut off by MusCypicus.

“NO ENTRY!” he reiterated with force.

“But the Etruscans are marching towards Rome!!” Alex yelled out of desperation

“Well why didn’t you bloody say so then! Go on in!”

Alex pushed back the flap of the tent and stepped into the command tent of the warband. Immediately he was confronted by a whole host of sensations and smells. The room was gloomily lit by candles and their smoke produced a soft haze inside the tent. Alex could smell the smoke along with mead and the smell of old animal skins and leather. The smells were typically Viking in nature and Alex knew he was instantly in the right place. Looking around the tent Alex glimpsed a full set of fur garments that looked like a type of armour on a stand in the corner of the tent with a gigantic war hammer resting on another stand beside it. Terikel, General Sajaru and Drakontos were all seated at one end of a large table situated in the centre of the tent and in the middle of a deep discussion. Reacting with the speed of warriors, they noticed Alex and halted their conversation midstream.

“You there!” barked Drakontos, “Alex isn’t it?”

“Yes sir” replied Alex meekly, honoured to be addressed by an officer of the warband.

“This is a private meeting!” Drakontos continued in his barking tone, “Leave at once!”

“Lay off him” General Sajaru interjected, “Can’t you see this man has ran a great distance in a short amount of time, so it is most likely bad news that he carries with him. Tell us the news my friend.”

Undoubtedly the nicest person in the warband, his intelligence was also well noted and could only be matched by two others in the warband with those being Shieldwall and Punic and his helpfulness on difficult matters was also only matched by Punic and Terikel, the commander. Alex mustered his breath and began to tell his information to the three officers.

“… so the Etruscans are about to attack Rome and Punic stayed behind to watch them for a time until he could tell their dispositions and strategy.” Alex concluded.

The tent was silent as the news sunk into Drakontos and General Sajaru whilst Terikel’s face broke out into a massive grin. After remaining silent since Alex entered, finally Terikel spoke in his deep booming voice that could easily match the sea during a storm,
“So the Etruscans are set to assault Rome… interesting…”

“So what is our plan Commander?!” Alex dared ask to hear the genius of the man’s thoughts.

“We fight them of course!” Terikel replied in his deep voice as a throaty chuckle was emitted from his massive frame, “We fight them and we kill them!”.

Terikel yelled in jubilation at the thought of seeing battle once again. He couldn’t wait to smash his hammer onto the heads of his enemies and let his hammer taste sweet blood yet again.

“But How?!” queried Alex, afraid that the jubilation was driving Terikel mad.

“Oh we officers shall plan that, don’t you worry my boy!” he said motioning towards General Sajaru and Drakontos who were already engaged in deep discussion on a plan, “but I have another job for you, if you are willing?”

“Of course Terikel, whatever you need”

“Good lad, run and fetch all the members of the council, I don’t care what they are doing they must be here now!” Boomed Terikel

“Yes Terikel! At once Sir!” Alex managed to say, already half outside the door on his way to complete his second and hopefully last task of the day. ‘That belly full of wine is just a pipe dream now’ Alex thought as he began to round up the council.

Well, it keeps developing in an interesting way. Well done, Awesome Eagle.

Agreed, this is turning out spledidly.

Well done!

^{Part 3: The Council and The Plan}

It took Alex less than 20 minutes to rush around the camp and gather the members of the council. The council was a collection of the best of the best in the warband for a particular year. It was the council that charged in to battle to defeat their foes and win glory for themselves and the warband. The council consisted of 10 members, and they constituted the most experienced fighters in the warband. The council would change from year to year based on the merits of members of the warband and their efforts ion the previous year. The council assembled quickly, alerted as they were to the dangerous situation at hand by Alex. At the head of the table sat Terikel. Terikel has sat on this council for centuries due to his supreme temperament and fighting ability. The merits Terikel was acknowledged to have held supremely this year included being the funniest in the warband whilst also ironically being the most mature. Terikel was also acknowledged this year as one of the best oldies, most helpful and author of this year’s best historical tome; this time on “Mercenaries and Sellswords”.

To Terikel’s left on the table sat Drakontos. Sadly, he wasn’t voted for any particular merits this year (everyone agreed he was well rounded in all merits) but his position on staff allocated a place in the council. Recent rumours had suggested that Drakontos was going to resign but with today’s tense situation that was on hold. To the left of Drakontos sat Awesome Eagle. Awesome Eagle had several merits and these were why he sat at the table. Acknowledged as the most improved warrior and was thought as being likely to be promoted to. Awesome Eagle was also thought to underrated by some in the warband but he himself thought himself to be overrated in his modesty. The left of Awesome Eagle sat Lord Almighty. Lord Almighty was universally acknowledged as the craziest in the warband but it was his conversational and debating skills that gave him his place in the council after his topic on “The Perfect Game” was so well received it became a favourite of the warband.

To the left of Lord Almighty sat MusCypricus. MusCypricus earned he seat on the council by being acknowledged as one of the underrated warriors in the warband but also like Lord Almighty was also on the council due to the range of topics he could debate upon such as Carthage, Macedon and Roman Crazy Expansion and this also made him an important source of information to the Warband. To the left of MusCypricus and the opposite end of the table from Terikel was the chair of Edorix. Edorix was a fierce warrior from the British Isle but after a series of unfortunate incidents was banished from the band. All warriors in the warband missed him most of all their previous comrades in arms and his empty seat was left empty out of respect. Whilst still in good repute Edorix crafted an excellent guide on Alternate Opening Moves for the Seleucid Empire and that tome was also a source of fame for him.

To the left of Edorix’s chair and on the other side of the table to Drakontos, Awesome Eagle, Lord Almighty and MusCypricus was Alex. Alex was honoured to have been given a seat on the council so early during his time in the warband. Alex was acknowledged as the band’s best newbie, seen as being an underrated warrior, being most likely to be promoted and his debate on the warband’s Favourite Faction was a favourite of the warband. To the left of Alex sat Punic. Recently back from his scouting of the enemy numbers and positions, the rest of the council was eager to hear the information he held. Although spending most of his time with the Carthaginian navy, he was still an intricate part of the band and his merits for the year included being one of the most intelligent, one of the best oldies, being the non-staffer that works the hardest for the band as well as being the most helpful in the band.

To the left of Punic sat Shieldwall. Shieldwall intelligence has been noted before now but it was due to this merit of his that he acquired his seat on the council. To Shieldwall’s left sat the officer General Sajaru. General as he was known was a much heard of person in the war band. In addition to being regarded as the nicest person in the band, he was also no only one of the most intelligent and one off the most helpful people if a problem arose. General’s tome on Combined Arms was a military master piece and would be viewed for a millennium. General occupied a position to Terikel’s right and thus completed the members of the council. Another man was noticeably absent though was the best online player in the warband, Prince of Macedon, who was absent due to honing his skills in Greece in battles between city states. The council sad silently each waiting for their commander to speak and reveal his plan to drive back the invaders. Terikel realised they were waiting for him to speak and rose from his chair, letting it scrape across the rough wooden floor as he did so.

“Gentlemen, you all know why we are gathered tonight, yes?” he queried.

A nod from each member was the response he got, so he continued, “The Etruscans are invading and General, Drakontos and I have developed a plan to beat them back, but I will first hand it over to Punic to gives us an account of his scouting.”

“Thanks sir” Punic began, “the Etruscans are camped up to Tiber about 7 kilometres away from Rome and they shall have to cross the river at dawn or thereabouts in order to attack Rome. Their numbers lay in the 2000 men mark, foot soldiers only which means no archers and no cavalry so I suggest attacking them on a narrow choke point in order to negate their numerical advantage over we nine of the council.”

Punic sat down and saw nods of agreement from all of the council members

“Sounds good and thank you for the report Punic” Terikel began, “General, Drakontos and I all concur that attacking them as they attempt to cross the river will give us the greatest advantage even if it is less honourable than an open battle. I believe that they will attempt to cross the river at dawn or soon after so thus my orders are to go back to your lodgings, gather your equipment and sleep some and we shall all meet at the bridge over the Tiber near the Etruscan camp at dawn.”

“Here here” the council replayed with agreement and anticipation. Chairs scrapped, banged and were pushed over in the stampede leave the tent and prepare for battle that would soon be upon them and glory forever theirs.

‘Tomorrow shall be a good day’ Terikel mused as he moved towards bed, the sound of his hammer crying out in eagerness of tasting sweet blood on his ears.

This is going to be epic...

Quite liking how this is going, keep it up! I've always loved the Presentations.

Sorry, double post..

[This message has been edited by Awesome Eagle (edited 01-19-2013 @ 00:58 AM).]

^{Part 4: Battle and Victory, Joy and Sadness}

‘Dawn brakes upon this land with the swiftness of a striking eagle’ Drakontos mused as he reached the bridge over the Tiber just on time and rendezvoused with the other council members. It was over this bridge that the Etruscans had to march in order to attack and pillage Rome. The Tiber flowed swiftly here and the clear symphony of the water rushing past lent a sense of peace to the surrounds, which was ironic considering this was to become a place of war, battle and death.

“Everyone here and ready?” whispered Terikel, which was difficult for him and his mighty voice.

“Yes but why are we whispering?” whispered Awesome Eagle back softly

“Because,” General began “this will be a surprise attack.

Since the Etruscans won’t be expecting any resistance they will be confident and won’t take necessary precautions for an army on the move, thus by doing a surprise attack we shall devastate them and destroy their leading ranks with ease.”

“Ohh… makes sense then” Awesome Eagle whispered back, understanding the plan now more fully.

“When do I get to use my chainsaw?” whispered Lord Almighty, with a crazy gleam in his eyes.

“Never you idiot” whispered MusCypricus back, “grab out your battle-axe, this shall be an honourable fight” he said, indicating to his own battle-staff.

“Oh man…” whispered Lord Almighty back sadly.

“Enough everyone, get to your positions” ordered Drakontos in a fierce whisper, “Battle approaches”

With all their stealth, each council member moved off to their positions into bushes beside the bridge, ready to spring their trap on the unsuspecting Etruscans. Being assigned to Terikel’s group on one side of the bridge, Shieldwall approached Terikel as they were beginning to conceal themselves.

“Sir, I rigged up the bridge with Greek fire, so when you give the order I will light it and the bridge will collapse in minutes, trapping many Etruscans in the process” he indicated to Terikel where to light the bridge from.

“Excellent work lad!” Terikel beamed, astonished that he didn’t think of such a brilliant plan.

The council waited in their positions, split into their two battle groups. On the right side of the bridge lay the Anvil Battlegroup which consisted of Awesome Eagle, Lord Almighty and MusCypricus and they were commanded by Drakontos. These men would be the first to engage the enemy once their leading ranks were partially over the bridge. This group would make as much chaos as possible and draw out the Etruscans and divert all their attention onto them. Once they started to get pushed back by the massive numbers against them, Battlegroup Hammer would descend on the Etruscan flank. This group consisted of Punic, Alex, Shieldwall, and General and were commanded by Terikel, who would lead the charge himself. Surprised as they would be by the first ambush, the Etruscans would be doubly surprised by an attack on their flank.

The groups waited silently, double checking their equipment; that their swords or blades were sharp, their armour fitted perfectly and of course keeping a watchful vigil upon the bridge. Terikel enjoyed this time before battle, the calm before the storm. His mind focused and controlled, eager to win glory and victory but also keep his council alive. Edorix was sorely missed during battle these days. The Britannic warrior and his war chariot could have sliced right through the amour of the Etruscans and created disorder in their ranks. 'Either him, or some Gothic cavalry would make this a slaughter' Terikel mused.

For Alex though, he thought his nerves would be the death of him, rather than any action by the enemy. Although the victor of many battles and veteran of many conflicts he still had trouble controlling his nerves before a large battle. He also knew he would have to shine in this battle, and take as many Etruscans lives as he could to show that his place on the council was his. It was only an hour after dawn that the Etruscans were sighted. Supremely confident in their victory over a measly little village, they marched without sentries and in one big mass, eager to reach the spoils of an easy victory. The two-thousand men of the enemy appeared a large force but the members of the council knew that barely any would survive to see the sun hit the horizon again. Very slowly the Etruscans began to cross the long bridge, their leather sandals slapping the wood of the bridge as they marched purposely forward. ‘Wait until the first four ranks have passed, then attack their fifth rank,’ Terikel’s orders echoes around in Drakontos’ skull, giving him comfort as he watch the Etruscans begin to march past.

“1……2…….3…….4…..NOW!” Drakontos yelled as he began to charge. Drakontos rushed out of his concealed position and into the fifth marching rank of the Etruscan, who never had a chance to react in time. Swiftly making use of his already drawn sword, he slashed the first man he came upon and what seemed like only a millisecond the Etruscans, had his sword imbedded into the stomach of another. Seeing in his peripheral vision that his comrades were similarly engaged; MusCypricus with his battle-staff Lord Almighty with his battle-axe and Awesome Eagle dissecting enemies with his strange green glowing sword, he continued his rush on in, taking down numerous enemies before they even knew they were under attack. Left and right he hacked and slashed at anything that came into his reach but there never ceased to be enemies upon him. ‘Four men against two-thousand, those are good odds,’ he thought sarcastically, ‘Hurry up Terikel!’

MusCypricus dodged a thrust by an overeager Etruscan and rewarded him by slamming his bladed staff into the man’s throat, severing his vital arteries in one stroke. He spun, deflecting another blow with his staff. In the corner of his eye, he saw an Etruscan lunge, his spear inches away from impaling him when a glowing green sword burst through the attackers chest, saving MusCypricus’ life and allowing him to recover.

“Thanks Awesome Eagle” was all MusCypricus had time to say before swinging his staff to break a man’s leg in one stroke.

“No sweat” was all that Awesome Eagle had time to say before pivoting and slamming his hilt into the exposed neck of an attacker.

More and more Etruscans joined the fray as they crossed the bridge. Soon enough, sheer weight of numbers caused the Anvil group to be forced back and give ground, whilst still hacking, smashing and crushing anything that came into their reach. Terikel noted with pride the efforts of his subordinates as they killed an excess of twenty men in their first charge alone and had managed to dispatch fifty more since then. Sensing the flow of battle, Terikel realised it was time to put the Hammer down.

“Now it’s our turn lads!” he yelled triumphantly, “Everyone follow me!” Terikel charged out of the bushes and charged with his friends on his heels into the exposed rear of the Etruscans, who were so focused on their four enemies they didn’t notice the additional five that just appeared. Surprised as they were by the first attack, the second devastated them. Charging into the rear of the enemy, Terikel’s hammer struck out in deadly flashes, smashing any person fool enough to have stood in his path and wielding his massive hammer as if it was light as a stick.

General felt the exhilaration of battle, and it felt fantastic. His vision clear, his mind focused, he swept through the rear Etruscan ranks like a wave. Using his blade be quickly despatched the enemy as soon as they came into his radius. Alex was having a ball of a time. Now the nerves were gone, replaced by lightning quick reflexes. Being of Greek heritage, he would have felt more at home impaling his enemies on the end of his Dory or spear but was instead forced to use his short sword or xiphos in this close quarters battle.

The battle raged relentlessly for hours and it felt like an eternity of time. Each second felt like an hour and each hour felt like a year. The ground was stained red with blood and Etruscan bodies began to pile, making the ground unstable for the more heavily armoured Etruscans. The Etruscans had been whittled down all day and only one-thousand and two-hundred of them remained fit enough for battle, whilst the nine members of the council continued on, ignoring the numerous scratches and cuts they were unlucky enough to receive. It was just as the sun reached its highest point in the sky that Terikel noticed that all the Etruscan troops were committed to battling their demons that tormented them, and that none were guarding the bridge, their only avenue of escape.

Yelling in his voice that made even the thunder-god of heaven cringe in fear, Terikel boomed “ Shieldwall! Light the bridge!”

Shieldwall looked up from his dispatching of foes, nodded in recognition and raced off to light the Greek fire that would destroy the bridge in minutes. Reaching the bridge, Shieldwall notice the lack of Etruscans, as they all had their attentions completely focused on the council. Successfully lighting the trail of Greek fire that ran to the supports, Shieldwall moved to re-join Punic and battle to finish off the Etruscans before the inevitably fled. Smelling smoke and rightly assuming the bridge, their only avenue of retreat was on fire, the remaining Etruscans broke. Throwing down their swords, shields and spears and attempted to run over the burning bridge to safety, away from the demons that haunted their simple pillaging of a village. Few made it over the bridge before it collapsed, taking a further toll on the Etruscans left. Of the two-thousand strong army that and engaged in battle that morning, a paltry eight-hundred remained, now captives of the men that they had so viciously battled with. These men would be enslaved and sent to Rome to help kick-start its growth into a small town.

“A good fight lads!” beamed Terikel, so proud of the efforts of his men in today’s battle, “and a special congratulations and well done for Drakontos, for leading Anvil so well!”

“Here Here” resounded from the councillors, who acknowledged the skill and bravery that Drakontos had shown today.

“Thanks Terikel”, began Drakontos, sobering up as he made his dreaded announcement. “I have some news for the rest of you, as of tomorrow I am resigning from staff. It was an honour to sever under you Terikel and an honour to serve with the rest of you men. Don’t think I am leaving, I will still be around, just I won’t be ordering you around”.

The joke lightened the sobering mood that over took the members of the council, who wasted no time in laughing and thanking Drakontos for his service. A great victory had been won on that day, as an army of two-thousand men was defeated by a band of nine. The battle would be sung about for as long as it would be remembered, which would be a long time indeed.

And what of those not mentioned in this tale of glory and victory? The other hardworking members of the band that received no recognition for their part in victory. Alas theirs wasn’t a tale for me to tell. However, this was but one year in and one victory in the eternal life of the warband, and the council changes every year and who knows who shall win glory next year, as they take their seat on the council.

Roman Awards
RTWH Drusus Award (Nicest Forumer) – General Sajaru
RTWH Aristotle Award (Most Intelligent Forumer) – Shieldwall, General Sajaru, Punic Hoplite
RTWH Pharoah’s Ambassador Award (Funniest Forumer) – Terikel
RTWH Caligula Award (Craziest Forumer) – Lordalmighty
RTWH Senator Award (Most Mature Forumer) - Terikel
RTWH Octavian Award (Best Newbie )- Alex the Bold
RTWH Gaius Marius Award (Best Oldie )- Terikel, Punic Hoplite
RTWH Militia Hoplite Award (Most Underrated Forumer )- Awesome Eagle, MusCypricus, Alex the Bold
RTWH Advocate Award (Non-staff forumer who works hardest for the good of RTWH) – Punic Hoplite
RTWH Lucius Cornelius Sulla Award (Most Improved Forumer) – Awesome Eagle
RTWH Cornelia of the Gracchi Award (Most missed RTWH Forumer) – Edorix
RTWH Tribune of the Plebs Award (Most Helpful RTWH Forumer - gameplay) – Punic Hoplite, General Sajaru, Terikel
RTWH Hannibal Barca Award (Best RTW Online Player) – Prince of Macedon
RTWH Evocatus Award (Most Likely to be Promoted) – Alex the Bold, Awesome Eagle
RTWH Victoria Award (Best RTWH Gameplay Article) - Combined Arms -General Sajaru, Alternative Opening Moves Guide: The Seleucid Empire -Edorix
RTWH Livy Award (Best RTWH History Article) – "Mercenaries and Sellswords" by Terikel
RTWH Best Game Thread – Carthage- by Mus Cypricus, Macedon by MusCypricus, The Perfect Game by Lordamighty, Favorite xxx Faction by Alex the Bold, Roman Crazy Expansion by MusCyrpicus
RTW Favorite Unit – Gothic Cavalry
RTW Favorite Faction – Greek Cities
RTW Favorite Mod – Amazon:Total War Re-Ignited by ParthianShot, Europa Barbarorum


Thanks for following my tale and to Terikel for his assistance. I hope it pleases you reader.

By Awesome Eagle

[This message has been edited by Awesome Eagle (edited 01-18-2013 @ 06:32 PM).]

A very nice tale, Awesome Eagle...

That has to be the best double post in a long time

Great job on the presentation! Hope to see the tradition of great stories continued for years to come in this hallowed halls.

Thanks guys!

Indeed, very well done Awesome Eagle!

I remember when I won the award for Best Newbie six years ago. Aaahh those were the days. Back then we didn't have "Total War: Shogun 2" or "Total War Rome 2", we had Shogun: Total War and Rome: Total War! And another thing, we didn't have those weird DCLs or whatever you call them we had proper expansion packs and... *continues oldie rant*

The good old days when all you needed was a disc and no Internet to play or install a game? I miss them days.Thanks DU..

An excellent presentation.

*raises horn of honey mead* "Skål!"

Very well done.

Congrats to the winners, better luck to the rest.

Thanks Terikel..
*takes mouthful of honey mead*

after a series of unfortunate incidents was banished

You are very generous, Awesome. They were in fact deliberate, responding to a playful challenge by God knows who, although admittedly in very poor taste. Actually as you can see I have long been unbanished.

Awesome Eagle dissecting enemies with his strange green glowing sword

Also made me laugh. There were a couple of other very humourous lines as well but I forget which they were. Your writing seems to have improved much in my absence, you're definitely getting towards professional standards (if my judgment is worth anything). A very entertaining presentation overall!

You must forgive me for waiting till the awards were over to reveal my continued presence. I wanted to make sure I had thoroughly won my place in the empty chair. Because I'm a dick basically.

Hey Ed, long time no talk.

You are very generous, Awesome. They were in fact deliberate, responding to a playful challenge by God knows who, although admittedly in very poor taste. Actually as you can see I have long been unbanished.

Yea i know, just wanted to make you look noble..

Also made me laugh. There were a couple of other very humourous lines as well but I forget which they were. Your writing seems to have improved much in my absence, you're definitely getting towards professional standards (if my judgment is worth anything). A very entertaining presentation overall!

Thanks for your generous comments..

You must forgive me for waiting till the awards were over to reveal my continued presence. I wanted to make sure I had thoroughly won my place in the empty chair. Because I'm a dick basically.

haha, you definitely won it..

Welcome back, Edorix. Long time no see...

[This message has been edited by Alex_the_Bold (edited 01-20-2013 @ 03:11 PM).]

Yea i know, just wanted to make you look noble..

I know. Very kind of you.

Welcome back, Edorix. Long time no see...

Hullooo.

An excellent tale. I am honoured to star in it. :3