763’s Battle on the Hildari

Since the late 740's, palisades were erected along both banks of the Hildari, with mutual assaults and reprisals constantly occurring; however, little to no ground was gained by either side and the front seemed to be in a constant stalemate for more than a decade. On the 8th of Mother's Gift Percival Half-Elven was sent to end the stalemate by the queen of Ader Isolda Artzmit with an Aderian Royal Equine Battalion under his command, and joined the forces of the Navaran Magisterial Corps that were led by House Nesraf and House Redanerl. Coincidentally, the prince of Saltis wished to focus the principality's effort on crossing the Hildari in order to pressure the SFLK into acknowledging his nation's right for independence. Over the following month, more and more forces gathered at the massive northern and southern stockades of Guy's Bridge, with over two thirds of both armies camping in its vicinity by the 17th of Last Harvest.

Three hours before the dawn of the 18th of Last Harvest, Navaran ballista squads began launching volleys at irregular intervals, attempting and succeeding in demoralizing the Saltisian troops. When dawn broke and illuminated the battleground, the Navaran archers began shooting paced volleys of their own; these were highly effective, with each wave killing soldiers in scores. One of the earliest volleys, believed to be either the second or third, pierced Guy's armor through a miniscule chink in the neck, killing him almost immediately. Not only did this leave the Saltisian army with no leader, the sight of their prince dying caused the Saltisians' already low morale to completely break and they began a retreat; many soldiers were seen retreating even before the order was given.

As the retreating forces of the Saltisian army rallied under Bertramnus Devereux's banner, scouts reported of Navaran cavalry detachments raiding the Saltisian countryside, with the Queen of Ader's brother, Percival Half-Elven, ordering and overseeing many of the incursions.

We were convinced the battle was already won after Guy's death. We overextended, and I brashly concluded that we had free reign in Saltis. It was foolish, to say the least.

— Percival Half Elven to Isolda.

This foray proved to be disastrous: three days following Guy's death the Osviri Thunders charged the Navaran cavalry that crossed the Hildari, easily cutting them off from the main army, slaying any accompanying forces and capturing every knight and noble they could. Among the captives were Percival, and upon realizing this, Bertammus and Gaspard D'euponnet seized the advantage and conditioned their release with independence.

The battle was the decisive battle of the Saltisian war. The capture of so many high ranking nobles left the queen of Ader and the king of Navara with no choice but accepting the principality's demand for kingship and sovereignty.   Upon recovering Guy's corpse, it seemed that his helmet continued bleeding on its own; it is now the artifact known as the Helmet of the Bleeding Prince.