The events of 746 had not ended talk in Reetland about re-establishing the
Pelorean Empire. The idea was not universally popular,
however, and support particularly in the Pelorean church waned. When the ambitious King Adalgrim II
came to the throne therefore had to spend
some years convincing his nobles and the church that it was his destiny to rule a wider kingdom.
At first he set his eyes on the independent southern cities on the coast of the Blue Sea. These were,
however, powerful city states and in 1056 his advisors having looked at his ideas in some detail
were unanimous in suggesting that the risk of the cities uniting and formimg a common alliance
against Reetland was too great. Adalgrim had built up his army, however, and immediately asked
his military commanders to consider an invasion of
Cambria instead.
There were good reasons for thinking such a plan stood every chance of success. Adalgrim had
built up a formidable organisation of spies and both the terrain in Cambria and the nature
and capabilities of the Cambrian army were well documented. Both the heavy cavalry and
several battalions of the Reetland infantry were now clad in platemail which made them impervious
to arrows so ambushes were far less likely to succeed. Indeed many of the woods on the road to Pell's Hold
had been cleared and been replaced by farmland. In order to ensure victory, however, Adalgrim's
commanders developed a plan to entice the Cambrian army to come to them. To keep the Elves and Dwarves
out of the battle the Reetlanders would, once the invasion was launched, make clear to them that
they would honour both races' territory
and also in the event of victory honour all Cambria's existing treaty commitments to them.
The first part of the Reetland plan was executed without flaw. A well-equipped Reetland army marched into
Cambria and captured the first two walled towns of the road to Pell's Hold. They then halted their advance
and dug in waiting for the Cambrian response which they hoped would shatter itself on the prepared
defensive positions. Two weeks went by and reports came in that a Cambrian force was being gathered
and was approaching the Reetlanders. Then came some shattering news: a combined force of Cambrians, Dwarves
and Elves had cut the road at the border and were even advancing to take the nearest Reetland border town.
That was not all, however, news came that armies from the southern independent cities were on the march
in southern Reetland and therefore no reinforcements were likely to come from the east.
The Reetland commander considered fighting his way back into Reetland but he quite rightly had huge respect
for the dwarven infantry and was also under orders to avoid the conflict with the dwarves
and elves where possible. He thought moreover that the Cambrians expected him to move east and had left the countryside
to the west badly defended. He suspected that if he could engage and defeat the Cambrian army to the west then Pell's
Hold itself would be relatively undefended. He gathered his troops from both towns and marched up the Dwarven Road in
the direction of the Cambrian capital. The Reetland army had travelled about half the distance to Brimmingstone when
they saw the Cambrian army on an open hill to the North about half a mile from the road. Even better from the
Reetlanders point of view was the fact the woods to the north were broken by a stretch of farmland leading
down to a line of trees on the banks of a small stream at the foot of the hill. So began the Battle of Maddon,
named after the small farmstead nearby.
The Cambrian army was only half the size of the Reetland force and lacked any cavalry. Furthermore about half
of the Cambrians were lightly-armoured irregular troops. While the Reetland cavalry formed up by the road
the Cambrians came hurrying down the hill. Thinking that Cambrians were aiming to escape along the line of the
stream the Reetland cavalry were too eager and charged before they were fully formed. Worse was to follow for
the fields had been ploughed
and became very boggy as the ground approached the stream. The Cambrians instead of running away poured arrows
into the field. Although the plate armour of the Reetlanders protected them their horses were less well armoured
and many fell. Those who remained mounted found that the Cambrian infantry were protected by stakes driven into the ground amongst
the trees on the other side of the stream. The closer the Reetland knights got to the Cambrians the more
the Cambrian archers were able to pick out weak spots in their armour. Those that had lost their horses
found it impossible to move effectively in the cloying mud and were often knocked to the ground by the more
agile Cambrians.
The Reetland commander had ordered an infantry advance to follow up the cavalry charge and now
that also ran into difficulty. The infantry plate was not as effective as that of the cavalry at repelling
arrows and the heavy ground tired out the soldiers. Although the Reetland commander threw many more troops
into the battle none succeeded in breaking the Cambrian lines. So devastating were his casualties that he
realised he had little choice but to retreat in the direction of the Reetland border. A week later the
Reetlanders, under pressure in the south of their own country, sued for peace. In the aftermath Adalgrim, in order to preserve
his crown, was forced to give up the right of the King to declare war without the support of his
council.
As a footnote many in Reetland believe that the Cambrians used supernatural means to prepare the
ground on which the battle was fought. It is also said that the Reetland Army's own chaplains warned the
commander to avoid the battle but were ignored.