In the year 470 (1448 IC), the war-torn southern realm of Estalia was invaded by Sultan Jaffar and the armies of Araby. Diplomatic envoys pleaded with Bretonnia to send aid, and the king sent a call to war out to all of Bretonnia. Throughout all the dukedoms, this call to war was heard, and countless knights pledged their lance to their king's holy cause. In his noble wisdom, King Louis the Righteous gave permission for warriors of the Empire to cross Bretonnia on their journey to Estalia, for they too had pledged their aid, despite the lack of unification during the Age of Three Emperors. This military campaign has since been named the Great Crusade, in homage of the zeal of these warrior-knights.
Within time, the armies of Jaffar were pushed back by the more mobile and heavily armoured forces of the Crusading Knights, forcing him to relinquish his hold on most of Estalia. Retreating back to Araby, but leaving a token force of troops around the important city of Magritta, Jaffar's armies were hounded by the Bretonnians, who pursued them tirelessly. The Crusader army eventually reached the sandy beaches of Araby and invaded the major city and trade-port of Copher.
As the crusaders sailed with the aid of Estalian ports and Tilean warships, Jaffar and his men prepared for the coming invasion by fortifying most of the major sea-ports. When they finally arrived in the spice-trading city of Copher, it was heavily fortified and the defenders were well prepared for the coming battle. Yet they weren't prepared for the wrath of the northern kingdoms that Jaffar had brought upon them, and once the defenders first started faltering against the onslaught of knights and siege towers, a breach was made and soon the high spires of Copher were pulled to the ground and much of the population were put to the sword.
Not even the harsh desert conditions could perturb the knights, and their fervour very slowly took its toll on Jaffar's warriors as many desert tribes under Jaffar's control began growing tired of this war of attrition. Despite Jaffar having a vastly larger army than the crusaders, Jaffar's armies began to disband, for many of the tribes of Araby grew weary of the despot's incompetence. After frustrating months of minor skirmishes, the Bretonnians faced Jaffar at the Battle of El Haikk.
Elemental spirits of the deep deserts were summoned to fight alongside Jaffar's armies, and with their numerical superiority, they overwhelmed the outnumbered crusaders on all sides. Just when all hope seemed lost and the army was almost at the breaking point, a host of both Empire and Bretonnian knights charged furiously at the tightly packed army, mowing down the lightly armoured soldiers until finally the armies were scattered by the sudden death of Jaffar by a Bretonnian lance. Disliking the harsh, dry lands, for it proved too vast and hostile to be completely conquered, the Bretonnians sailed back home, with cargo-ships laden with exotic goods and treasures, whilst the Empire knights remained behind to hunt down the remnants of Jaffar's army for another century, which would eventually lead to the creation of several more knightly orders.
Imagine.. wearing a heavy armour over a padded gambeson, a great helm on the head an surcoat on the armour, riding a barded horse under the scorching sun of Araby.
Almost as hot as the weather now in Italy.
This month has been the toughest so far, with little time and condition not great for painting, but still a little progress has been made.
I (almost) painted a small unit of Knights of the Realm. Almost painted because I over estimated my ability to paint the heraldy. It's still beyond me.
Unfortunately I do not have the original decals, but there are some great options I can buy online, just not in time for this month.
With this unit the project is completed! Not as much as I wanted but still another small army I can play with.
I'll be back in july with some addition, now that I have a little bit more than the core 500 point army I can easily add something to reach 1000 points (and comment on the other splendid armies posted!)
See you in July!
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