Hardyng’s Harrowing

The Battle of Hardyng's Harrowing was a conflict that took place in the early days of 410 AC, and saw a large company of Valemen reduced to ruin. It was the last battle before winter's arrival.

Background
Under the instruction of Lord Osric, a group of Andal knights and men-at-arms under the command of Harrold Hardyng adventured into the mountains. They were to scout the lands for possible dangers, and stamp out whatever small clans and tribes they could come across - a bloody business, but one that was increasingly necessary with the harvest coming in.

The band traveled deep into the mountains, meeting little resistance and no true battle. It was late autumn, and so many thought they had ample time before snows fell -- forgetting that in the mountains, winter comes early.

A dark night saw a storm arrive, sweeping in heavy snows that all but trapped the Hardyng forces in their mountain pass. Unable to retreat the way they had come, the Hardyngs advanced instead - hoping to find another way down from the mountains.

Instead, they came across a large group of Mountain Clansmen, near four times their number.

Harrold sounded the retreat, urging his men into the hills and away - with the clansmen hot on their heels, pursuing them through the frost and cold.

Engagement
Harrold engaged in a fighting retreat, using what horses he had to form a screen behind his infantry, hoping to drive off the pursuing barbarians. It proved little help - the clansmen smelled blood and were in fine form, with a ragged standard of a bloody hawk raised above their ranks.

The sign of the mythical King in the Mountains struck fear into the hearts of the Valemen, and many would desert or flee in the night, further reducing Harrold Hardyng's supply of horses. The Andals found little rest or respite, unable to stop with the relentless horde hot on their heels. As casualties mounted, many began to fear that every man who had marched into the mountains would die there.

Desperate for a solution, Harold came to a black and painful conclusion. He took volunteers for those who would stay behind and fight, enabling the others to escape down the slope and find salvation. They would lead the clansmen on a merry chase, thereby sparing the lives of the rest of the army - at the cost of their own.

Some two hundred men volunteered for the task, and Hardyng accepted their offer with grim resolve. Placing the rest of the soldiers under the command of a young officer, they handed the remaining horses and supplies to those who would be escaping - and sent them on their way. Every man of that party would make it back to the Vale, cold and hungry but alive. Hardyng's men were not so lucky. Their ruse worked well -- the clansmen pursued them in earnest.

Eventually the hunt proved too close to escape, and Hardyng's men were forced to stand and fight. They took up positions in a narrow defile, hoping to use the unscalable bluffs to their advantage. But the Redfeather was a man of the wilds, and perhaps even magical, according to some rumours. He sent archers up to the heights, and they rained down deadly bolts as the rest of the Clansmen swept in.

The Valemen fougth hard, but it was a hopeless engagement - they died in droves as the eager First Men cut them apart. Hardyng ordered one final retreat, escaping up the valley floor towards a nearby mountain; withdrawing into a cave for shelter and some meager means of protection. The Valemen whispered their prayers, and prepared for their final defense, waiting for the sound of the Clansmen's last, terrible charge.

But it did not come. Royce was not eager to waste his men in a bloody struggle, no matter their bloodlust and their desire to prove themselves in battle. He set up archers around the cave's entrance, and sat the rest of his forces behind them - waiting for the Andals to come out.

It is not known how long Hardyng and his men within the cave lasted. Some could not bear to starve, and charged to their deaths. The rest waited, desperate, huddled together for warmth within the cave, praying for a rescue against all odds - that would never come.

Aftermath
Word eventually filtered to the lowlands of Harrold Hardyng's sacrifice, and many were heartbroken by the horrific loss of him and his men. Others, however, merely found their hearts all the more hardened - the Clansmen were implacable and cruel, it would seem, and would not give any quarter.

It was this painful truth that contributed to the mood before the liberation of Highbrood, for when word of that attack came many remembered Harrold Hardyng and his harrowing. Against better judgement, Osric Arryn would lead an assault on the walls of Highbrood, fighting to lift the oppression of that town even as the winter snows arrived in earnest.