The Great Battles

The Great Battles were the style of fighting in the Mythical Age.

Opening

In each Battle, the Light or the Dark would issue a challenge; whereupon both sides would spend the next few decades gathering all the allies, armies, mercenaries, and levies they could call, from all over the Known Worlds and beyond. This meant a huge display of cultural diversity on the field. When every faction was assembled, and all the levies trained, the two armies would meet on an open field surrounded by mountains, and fight to the death.

Style of Fighting

In principle, equivalent ranks fought their equivalents: champions fought champions, chariots fought chariots, cavalry fought cavalry (after an initial charge, to break the infantry lines), machines fought machines, fortresses fought fortresses, and infantry fought infantry. In practice, cavalry often broke infantry lines (or rescued some of their own); machines broke fortresses; air-power destroyed machines; and champions killed infantry. But the end-result was usually that the various ranks engaged in single combats, all over the field; and the two champions especially. When the champions met, everyone cleared part of the field around them, and the two of them fought with only a little interference. When one or both champions yielded or died, the battle was cried a halt, and the other ranks fell upon each-other, equivalent upon equivalent, and systematically hacked each other to pieces, which left only a few survivors on each side. The last warriors standing, claimed the victory. If the champions were wounded, but showed a promise of recovery, the duel was postponed to the next day.

Aftermath

After the battle, the survivors collected themselves, and prepared for the next. Because any two given battles could happen centuries apart, the factions usually scattered, and had to be re-assembled (or replaced) in the next. Once won, a world stayed won, until the next battle; and there were very few worlds, on which more than two consecutive battles were fought: an assurance never duplicated in the real world, or later in the Course Books' time-line.