A lone figure on horseback stands in the foggy morning. The rider looks over the mountains across the open plains. She sports an ebony wavy hair and natural chocolate skin like the people from the coasts.

Beyond the mountains, lies the lands of the enemy. Barbarian tribes that live in the harshest parts of the mountain and the ever expanding kingdom of Valais with their fast resources and manpower has landed on the shores of Jutenheim and annexed lands from the bickering princes of Rhumland. As she continues to wonder, another rider approaches. He quickly dismounts and kneel before her.

"Milady” greet the man while lowering his gaze before his princess

“Morning Jonathan” she replied with a flat tone

The princess stares at the mountain. She awaits eagerly like a child waiting for her birthday present, gazing at the towering, snow capped, grey wall of rocks in front of her.

“What are you waiting for your highness” ask the young man

“Didn’t I told you to drop the honorifics on the field..” her commanding tone make it seems that she’s displeased, but her playful attitude shows as she turns her head into her kneeling squire “... Jonathan” said the gallant lady with a friendly smile.

“Of course… Lady Eris” the squire laxes a bit,

“see, that wasn't so hard”

The princess’s gaze suddenly averted back to the mountains as a band of riders appeared.

“Bandits?” ask Jonathan

“No…” she took out her telescope after answering her squire ”Just as I suspected”

Eris’s expression looks sour, then, turned to glee as the smoke gets thicker and clears revealing banners and armed men, screened by horsemen clad in mail with blade and lances. Many of them carry lanterns with them,marking their position and marching formation.

Those are not bandits. But Valaisian soldiers, coming to pillage and raid the lands of Asturia in a show of force.

“Your orders ma'am?”

Ask the squire

“Let's get back to the others”

Eris rides back to her troops with Jonathan following soon. As she trotted into the camp, her men stood and converge at her position eager to hear what their princess findings

“Everyone I have grave news. The enemy ...did not bring us breakfast”

The camp burst into laughter, one of the men on the crowd shouted…

“That's unsporty mam” another man also said…

“We should give em a good old Asturian welcome then”

The crowd cheered eager to be the first to draw first blood at the enemy. Soldiers grab their weapons and mounted their steeds. The horsemen under the Princess’s command are drawn from the lower nobility and merchant class, often the 3rd or 4th sons of their family who had a poor chance of inheriting their families wealth and position, thus they seek glory on the battlefield.

The cavalrymen lined up, preparing to march at the command from their princess. Eris went to her tent first, donning her armor. Shining steel plates with her scarlet skirts and fabrics with golden linings.Her men fashions heavy armor, half plates, covering their mail and padding below. Asturian man at arms like them sport plumes on their helmet, brightly colored in red, blue, yellow and the combinations of two or three colors.

Eris give the men with a hand signal to move, the fog will lift soon, they will need to keep a brisk pace trying to keep the noise of their mounts and armor to a minimum until the very last moment when it's time to charge.

Meanwhile, in the Valaisian army, a young noblemen rides to his commander looking a bit concerned

“Sir, I have a bad feeling about this, we should stay in the mountains to….”

“And risk losing our element of surprise with the fog, no way. I have traverse this path before, we won't get lost”

“Yes sir”

The young man reluctantly backs away and rides to the rear of the formation. He stayed vigilant for incoming attacks from the rear. The lightly armed soldiers on the rear are his personal units raised from his family estate, crossbowmen barely using any armor except for their metal helmets and padded jackets carrying their pavise shields, large broad shields that they would deploy as mobile covers. While his commander fielded medium armed units with an assortment of polearms of pikes, glaives and spears along side light horsemen to screen the main body of the army.

The fog started to clear, the veil of mist lifted from the valley and the men turn off their lanterns to save the oils. Then one of the riders way it. Heavily armored knights with colorful tabards and plumes in battle formation. He was stunned, unable to even yell to his comrades who can only followed in silence, and then the sound of a bugle from those horsemen ranks, they galloped closing in faster than the Valaisian can even form ranks as panicked struck them faster than the lance of the Asturian horsemen.