Battle of Arlickson's Field
The only occasion in living memory when the entirety of the Valorian Knights has been mobilized, the Battle of Arlickson's Field was brief considering the scale. Nonetheless, it left its mark not only on the pages of history, but on all who fought there and on the landscape itself. This contest of Valor's finest against a powerful remnant of the Raithar Empire will likely pass into legend, never to be forgotten.
The Conflict
Prelude
A squad of young knights first spotted the dragon as they approached the border to the Forsworn Lands, on a regular patrol. They immediately turned and flew back to to The Valorian Temple, pushing their Gryphons' endurance to the limit to make their report. The news was passed directly to green-flag Flight Command, though there was doubt as to how accurate their report could be--though clearly the knights had seen a dragon, the size and characteristics they described could only be a War Dragon, long thought to be extinct.
Sensibly, however, they recognized that there was no time for debate. The green-flag Command dispatched their finest Wing to delay the beast while they called on the Temple Council to authorize a larger mobilization.
Deployment
With one squadron on their way, the Temple Council debated how many others to send. Though they had their concerns, it was wisely agreed that it would be best to err on the side of excessive force than to send too few. All four Flights were called to arms, and were dispatched in waves over the course of a few hours as each Wing reported their readiness. Word was passed to the camps, and within half a day, every mounted knight in Valor was on their way towards the Forsworn Lands to meet the threat.
Watching a squad of gryphons fly past is a special treat, a whole Wing is a curiosity. But that day, seeing countless Wings filling the sky in staggered lines... it felt like the world was ending. But at the same time, if that's how it was going to go, I was proud to see it happen.
Ever since, every time the sky clouds over, I just remember watching all the gryphons passing over, silent and steady to face that horror.
Battlefield
Arlickson's field was a large farm only about an hour's travel past Damerel Shire by air. There, the first Wings to arrive found the dragon standing over the remnants of that initial squad who had so bravely held it back. It was widely agreed that, without their sacrifice, the battle would have taken place instead in Damerel Shire itself, with incredible loss inevitable. As it was, the beast was engaged in farmland, and pushed back nearly halfway to the Forsworn Lands before it was felled.
Aftermath
The dragon succumbed to its wounds in a relatively remote area, mid-way between Arlickson's Field and the Forsworn Lands. The Hunters Guild was contracted to harvest usable materials and otherwise handle the remains--unfortunately, dragon meat is not edible, and even in that location, no one was fully comfortable leaving that much dragon out to rot.
After weeks of work, everything usable had been removed and enough of the rest had been burned or carted off for disposal in the Forsworn Lands that it was deemed "handled." There are, however, still some bones left in place, being either too large to move or not worth the trouble of it. In particular, the skull remains; though there was interest in displaying it, moving it was determined to be too difficult and no good place to put it had been identified. It remains where it fell, though now stripped of horns and fangs.
Meanwhile, a temporary hospital was set up in a manor-house at the edge of Damerel Shire, and in it's fortunately large stables. Between the recovering knights and gryphons, more coming and going to see to them and carry reports, and the Hunters Guild workers and their shipments, Damerel Shire was an unusually industrious place. Residents has little good to say of the changes, and were uniformly relieved that everything did, eventually, return to normal.
Historical Significance
Legacy
The Valor Majestic formally recognized the Knights' skill and bravery at large, and awarded medals specifically to the Flight commanders and to the first Wing to reach the field as part of the full mobilization. Finally, he awarded the kingdom's highest honor, the Ascendant's Chain, to the sole survivor of the Wing sent to delay the dragon. That survivor became known as the Hero of Arlikson's Field; the Bane of Dragons; the Faun that Saved Damerel Shire.
The Battle of Arlickson's field seemed to be the only topic of conversation for years after and still elicits tales from all who saw any part of it, or even just remember the constant buzz of tales, rumors, and speculation. Some believe that the dragon's defeat marked the conclusive extinction of the Raithar Empire's dread War Dragons; others consider it proof that the breed lives on. The Valorian Knights still benefit fromthe boost to their reputation, well earned not only by the victory, but by how quickly they rose to action. That the most visible hero of the battle was a faun led to a boost in the number of faun applicants which still has yet to taper off.
A statue honoring her (and her fallen wingmates) stands in a plaza in the heart of Damerel Shire. Cast in bronze, it depicts a tall spear embedded in a boulder, with a cracked helmet hung on it, and a gryphon feather all but suspended in the air beside it. The boulder itself bears deep gouges, but also a single sprouting plant. It drew some controversy, as some felt it was too somber to mark a resounding victory, while others felt that it was oblique purposefully to exclude that it was a faun, not a human, that saved them. Mostly, however, it has been accepted by the city.
In Literature
Countless songs, tales, paintings, and tapestries depict or reference the battle in some way or another, including one of the masterworks in the royal antechamber. The typical approach is a romantic rendering of the Valorian Knights triumphant over a reminder of the Raithar Empire, keen to show how Valor has outmatched their one-time oppressors. They may even depict Valor Ascendant returned from the divine to lead the charge herself. Others may focus instead on the tragic bravery of the Wing sent ahead on their own, sometimes even positing that they actually went against orders, while leadership hesitated to rise to the occasion.
Expert: Valorian Knights
I think adding maps would be helpful. I'm having a hard time visualizing it as I did not create it :/
Thanks for the tip! I'll bump up maps for this on my priority list. It'll probably still be a little hard to follow without being familiar with some of the related topics, but I'll watch for ways to clarify things.
I mean as long as you map out the different types of military units (like cavalry, infantry, etc.) and show where they move in the battlefield, I think it'll be easier. Nothing in the text really needs to be reformed