Battle of Cora Vale
The Battle of Cora Vale was the decisive engagement of the Varen Campaigns (189–194 IE), where Lucio Varentes and his newly-formed Swords of Varentes shattered a Beastmen horde three times their number. The victory secured the Velvet Coast’s eastern trade routes and marked the rise of the Swords as one of the preeminent mercenary hosts of the Velvet Coast.
The Conflict
Prelude
In the late 2nd century IE, Beastman tribes descended from the Varen Hills in growing numbers, raiding caravans bound for Tiberia. Several mercenary companies broke under the strain, leaving the countryside exposed. Lucio Varentes, then a rising captain, gathered surviving bands into a single disciplined force of around 2,000 men. His reorganization produced the Swords of Varentes, a company drilled to hold fast under pressure. By spring of 191 IE, a Beastman warlord known as the Horned King of Varen rallied a horde of nearly 6,000 warriors and drove south, aiming to seize the Vale of Cora - a strategic valley nestled in the foothills of Varenthia.
The Engagement
Varentes marched his Swords to meet the Beastmen force, deploying on the high ground above the vale. The Beastmen charged repeatedly, hurling themselves against the pike wall. For hours the Swords held, their discipline preventing collapse even as casualties mounted. At dusk, Varentes committed his cavalry in a sudden downhill charge that split the Beastman flank. The enemy horde broke in panic, abandoning the field.
Outcome
The Beastmen retreated into the Varen Hills, their warlord slain. The victory secured Cora Vale and the eastern caravan routes for the next decade, restoring Tiberia’s trade and earning the Swords the the epithet “The Pike Wall of Varen.”
Aftermath
The battle established the Swords of Varentes as a professional host, swelling their ranks with new recruits and cementing Lucio’s reputation as a commander who could defy overwhelming odds through discipline.
Historical Significance
Legacy
Murals in the city of Tiberia still depict the pike wall at Cora Vale, standing unbroken against the Beastmen tide. Veterans sang of Varentes’s command, saying “his will did not break, and so neither did we.”
Conflict Type
Battle
Start Date
22nd of Kaisihatch 191IE
Ending Date
22nd of Kaisihatch 191IE
Conflict Result
Swords of Varentes Victory
Comments