march, screened by a picket line of flying, griffon-
mounted elves.
The White Wing, in contrast, had not yet located its
foe, though it marched along Laurana’s trail, and must
have known that the Army of Solamnia had preceded it
only by a matter of days. A wide screen of sivak
draconians flew ahead of the wing, while the white
dragons remained behind with the main body.
The following day near noon, the sivaks and elves
came into sight of each other nearly a thousand feet above
the ground. The armies advanced to meet on the bank of
the Vingaard River, near the rapid channel called, simply,
the Narrows. (That channel would give its name to the
battle that occurred here.) The airborne skirmish was
quickly reinforced by dragons on both sides, and by
midafternoon the forces on the ground had formed parallel
lines of battle.
Finally Laurana found the chance to unleash her horse-
mounted knights, and the lancers of Solamnia added much
glory to their names on this bloody afternoon. The Knights
of the Rose led the charge, supported quickly by those of
the Sword – and here, Excellency, we learn the name of
the captain called so quaintly by Mellison “Sir Rose.” He
is Bendford Caerscion, and he led this thunderous advance
from the saddle of his night-black charger. His report to
Gunthar gives us a first-hand and thorough account of this
pivotal melee.
“Eagerly the knights answered the call to attack –
trumpets brayed and our restless steeds exploded into a
gallop. Pounding hooves reverberated through the ground
as the line of armored knights and horses gained
unstoppable momentum. My heart swelled with pride – the
moment culminated a lifetime of training and devotion. A
heavy lance, well-couched at my right side, extended far
past my war-horse’s snorting head.
“The plain before me seethed with draconians. I saw
their snapping jaws, heard them hissing in hatred and fear,
as we knights stampeded closer. The reptilian horrors bore
swords and shields. The few with spears lacked the wits to
brace them to meet the charge. As our thunderous
formation neared the draconians, several companies of
baaz turned and fled – crashing into a rank of brutal sivaks
who tried to whip them back to the fight.
“But it was too late. My knights ripped into the ragged
line of draconians with scarcely a falter in their
momentum. My lance pierced the body of a huge sivak,
pinning the creature to the ground. I released my lance and
drew my sword. The monster remained stuck on the lance,
its wings flapping, feet kicking, like some monstrous
insect pinned to a display board.
“The knights’ charge smashed draconian after
draconian to the ground, crushing their limbs with
pounding hooves, for we were rumbling forward at a fast
canter. I slashed this way and that with my blade, aiming
for the heads of the monsters and leaving a dozen badly
injured in my wake.
“Then we broke through, leaving the shattered
remnants of the draconian force to scatter in panicked
flight. I hauled back on my reins as soon as the enemy
broke from the fight, but my horse – and most of the others
– were so excited that they continued the frenzied race for
nearly a mile.
“Our two companies of knights numbered less than
three hundred in total, but the stampeding momentum of
our charge split the draconian line in two. We whirled
back and rode against a small contingent of hobgoblins
mounted on great wolves. This rabble, too, was quickly
scattered or destroyed.
“A shadow flashed over me as this melee ended in the
enemy’s rout. I felt a chill wind strike me and then, to my
horror, I saw a trio of brave knights – riding in close
formation – buried beneath the full weight of a diving
white dragon. The monster bore men and horses to earth,
and dispatched the riders with crushing blows of its great
claws and rending teeth.
“Then the serpent’s jaws gaped and it belched forth a
swirling cloud of numbingly cold frost, slaying several
more horses and riders in an instant. I urged my charger
toward the monster, but the steady horse refused to go