Battle of Forked Creek
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The Battle of Forked Creek was a clash during the War of Broken Thorns, taking place at the fork of Forked Creek, a traditional watering stop for the herding peoples of Marukan. When war had broken out between Thorns and the Confederation of Rivers the previous year, forces from Thorns had achieved significant advances, their barded heavy cavalry mounted on battle birds smashing through the Marukani horsemen and pushing deep into their territory, while amongst the Confederation, initial surprise had finally been dispelled and reinforcements (including numerous mercenaries) were advancing to the front lines in hopes of driving back the invaders.
The battle broke out when a unit of Thorns knights had ranged far ahead of the main army, their commanding officer winglord Elharu Noran eager to gain glory. They had been forced to stop at Forked Creek, encamping to water their birds and maintain their armour, as well as to forage for supplies and enjoy the slave spoils they had taken in their advance. Military officers who later examined the battle noted that Elharu maintained poor discipline and did not fortify his encampment or set out patrols along the likely approaches as ought be done according to the Thousand Correct Actions of the Upright Soldier.
Against this lax force, the Confederation deployed the Golden Company, a force of Southern mercenary cavalry freshly hired out of Nexus. Their scouts spotting the vulnerability of the Thorns encampment, the Golden Company approached from the west, launching a well-executed charge of lancers and archers when the light of Sol Invictus was setting brightly at their backs. This charge proved devastating: the surprised Thorns troops struggled to equip and mount up, and with the creek st the backs many of the plate-clad knights who tried to flee fell into the shallow waters and were drowned or trampled (winglord Elharu amongst them). Their mounts, naturally fierce beasts, aquitted themselves far better, fighting back against the charge, buying time for some knights to rally and join the struggle. The Golden Company was bloodied, but the Thorns force had been crushed.
Survivors of the clash retreated southward in disarray, before encountering a force of Realm medium infantry detached from the 2nd Imperial Legion, serving as escort to Senator Ledaal Lethas, dispatched by the Realm's Deliberative as observer for the war. While the Realm was officially neutral, its soldiers and officials serving in advisory roles, the distinctive gold-cloaked garb of the Company proved an unexpected weakness: though the Confederation of Rivers continues to insist the Realm falsified an excuse for military action (and some hardline Immaculates have also decried Lethas for manipulating the faith to serve political ends), the Realm's accounts state that senator Lethas and his Immaculate spiritual advisor, on hearing reports of 'gold-clad warriors glowing with the light of the sun', determined that the knights might have faced an army tainted by the Anathema. A Wyld Hunt was immediately declared, the Thorns survivors and Legion escorts conscripted into its service.
The forces of the Hunt marched quickly towards the fork of Forked Creek. They did not attempt to ford the waterway, instead deploying on the plain west of the river under cover of darkness. The Golden Company, patrols identifying their approach, began to break camp and make an ordered crossing, hoping to make their attack before Sol's rise in the east blinded their vision. As the glow of dawn filled the Eastern sky, they launched their charge.
It was sorcery that won the day, in the end. On the course of the battle, Thorns talonlord Canaris Octen spoke that "Three times did the Brilliant Raptor fly, and three times did cloaks of gold alight with flame. Then, the Legions advanced, and as the few still living scattered our birds began the hunt".
The battle devastated the Golden Company, costing it most of its number along with its Dragonblooded leader... though a talon-sized rearguard had been delayed in Nexus and escaped the battle, this force had little impact on the War, its only notable participation reinforcing the Marukani charge at the Battle of Mishaka. While considered a victory for Thorns, some have commented that a loss at Forked Creek might have served their cause far better: turning Elharu Noran's defeat into a win on paper meant his errors were not noted and corrected in Thorns' military establishment until far later in the war, when the cost of the mistakes ran far higher.
