Three ships. That's all he was given. Marco Colombo had to make do with this small squadron, as he prepared to sail west into the Great Ocean. The king of Estalia, Esteban I, had entrusted this Tilean explorer with finding a route to the trade lanes of Cathay, Nippon, and Ind in the east. Although all of the king's advisers and chancellors warned against funding such a foolish journey, for all knew that Colombo would either perish in the open ocean or end up marooned on some far-off land, Esteban and his nation were in a desperate state of affairs. The incursion into dwarven lands had failed, and he needed resources and wealth to save his homeland by any means necessary. Even though Esteban had assured his lords and ladies that this voyage would be nothing more than a trade mission, the Estalian ruler quietly mobilized a small contingent of state troops to sail with Colombo's crew. If the merchants of the Orient did not allow Estalian trade, then the king's troops were to secure it by way of fire and sword. Although a paltry number, they supplemented their meager party with enough arquebuses and ship cannon to scare the soul out of any eastern soldier.
Yet, where they were going, gunnery alone would not win the day. For as Colombo's three ships, La Pinta, La Gallera, and La Santa Clara, set sail towards the setting sun, it would be two months before the vessels finally made landfall not on the beaches of the Orient, but on the coasts of an entirely new continent. Lustria, home of the lizardmen, pirates, elves, and countless other unknown peoples and creatures.
Colombo's voyage to the New World primarily consisted of coastal travel along the coast of the Old World, mostly near Araby. After having evaded Arabi corsairs along the way, they sailed southwest into the Great Ocean and arrived not in Cathay or Ind. Instead, they landed on the coasts of Lustria.
Colombo was not alone on this journey. In addition to his crew, King Esteban sent the Tilean explorer with a contingent of 150 troops, ranging from musketeers, to swordsmen, to even pikemen and cannoneers. In addition, a party of questing Bretonnians, seeking riches and fame, accompanied their allies to the New World.
Upon making landfall, Colombo christened the landing point as territory of Estalia, naming it Santa Myrmidia. Estalian soldiers and Bretonnian adventurers, following the lead of a young knight named Sir Ramsay whom was in service to the previously mentioned Lady Sabina d'Roussel and her champion Sir Robert of Cousland, disembarked from their vessels and swiftly established camp on the shores. The Estalian contingent, led by the newly re-instituted Hector Navarro, that man who had once retreated from the battle for Irrana Pass, began to set up defenses while the Bretonnians chose to scout inland in search of honor and glory. Navarro had much to prove, for his sentence of ten years had been pardoned by King Esteban himself on the condition that the young commander be demoted to captain and serve his duty abroad in the exploration fleet. In short, Navarro had exchanged his penance in a dungeon with service in unknown lands, fraught no doubt with danger and disease. It was better than rotting away in a dungeon, for sure. Nevertheless, as Navarro and Ramsay prepared their forces, Colombo too surveyed the area. After three days, all parties reported no sightings with any local inhabitants. Just an endless, dense jungle that went on for miles. With no contact, Colombo commanded a force of Estalians and Bretonnians to pierce deeper into the heartland of this place in order to find some evidence of civilization. Navarro advised that the party proceed along the coast for the sake of safety, while Ramsay eagerly propositioned a push west. Colombo, although driven by desires for fortune, fell on the side of caution and chose to send the troops south along the shoreline.
"By the Lady, what are those?!" As patrols head south, the natives of the land make their presence known. Lizardmen warriors, brandishing spears and obsidian blades, charge into the fray! Bretonnian men-at-arms, in service of Sir Ramsay and his band of questing knights, defend themselves best they can.
For two more days, the troops managed to make it along the coast without any problem. At least not from any sentient lifeforms. Disease did begin to claim some of the soldiers and adventurers, as men keeled over from the summer heat, fevers, or dehydration at the hands of horrid blights that drained them of all life and energy. Finally, as the party grew thin both physically and in literal size, the sounds of snapping tree branches and rustling foliage began to wear on the nerves of the company. By midday of the third day of marching, these sounds revealed themselves to be the inhabitants of this land: the lizardmen of Lustria. Warriors charged from the undergrowth, archers and skirmishers pelted the invaders, and massive war-beasts chased off the remaining survivors. Entire parties were lost in this fashion, and when both Navarro and Ramsay heard of this, both knew they had to find a fortified position quickly. Being too far in to make it safely back to the landing point at Santa Myrmidia and seemingly close to nearby structures promising shelter or loot, the Estalians and Bretonnians pressed on for one more day of travel. Then, finally, they stumbled upon a complex of temples that had been teasing them in the distance. However, upon their arrival, the air around them grew heavy and the jungle became thicker and denser. Darkness soon fell upon them, almost as if the sun had ceased to exist and was instead replaced with the blackest of nights and the most ghastly of fogs known to sentient man. The explorers had entered the temple complex to the Monument of the Moon, a sacred site honoring the lizardmen's god of Tzunki, god of water and the tides.
The Monument of the Moon, dedicated to the old god Tzunki, was shrouded by a mystical darkness that compelled all outsiders to steer clear. It was in these conditions, shrouded by endless night and thick fog, that the Old World explorers and lizardmen forces engaged in open battle for the first time.
As they waded through the darkness, Sir Ramsay and Captain Navarro took up their positions with their respective contingents. Navarro, eager to rectify the wrongs of his sins at Irrana Pass, marched forward aggressively into the darkness. Sir Ramsay sought to follow the man's lead, but he found that his troops were not as eager to follow him along. Many, intentionally or otherwise, slowed down their marching speed. Ramsay, who began to grow impatient, roughly ordered his warband to quicken their pace and head inland. Eventually, after some motivation, particularly concerning threats of flogging or flaying, the Bretonnian host moved into the dark jungle. In the distance, hisses and war-cries could be heard. The lizardmen were here, and it would be at the Monument that both forces were to clash for the first time since Colombo's landings some days ago. Navarro made contact on his left flank, as his hand gunners took up position and prepared to open fire. However, in the dark, they could barely see their targets, thus their volleys were not very effective. From the thick brush, lizardmen warriors leaped out at the Estalians and cut down many of their soldiers. Nearby swordsmen rushed to the aide of the gunners, but they found barely any survivors upon their arrival. In the center, Estalians and Bretonnians engaged brave lizardmen champions, warriors chosen for their prowess and devotion to the gods. Armed with massive blades and adorned with ancient armor, they dueled with the explorers and smashed their way through formations of these would-be conquerors. The Bretonnian right flank was faring better, however. Ramsay's heavy cavalry was giving the lizardmen quite the beating, no doubt frightened by the appearance of heavily-plated knights riding atop thundering hoofed beasts. These horsemen trampled their way through swathes of lizardmen foot infantry and skink skirmishers, some of which were crushed during the Bretonnian charge.
Hector Navarro and Lady Myranda, huntswoman and part of Sir Ramsay's retinue, fight atop one of the temples within the complex of the Monument. Lizardmen warriors, sworn to protect their holy sites and people, duel with the Old World conquerors under darkened skies. The occasional spark of metal grinding against metal lights up the night!
As the battle progresses, things begin to look bleak for the Estalians. The swordsmen sent to reinforce the slain gunners are routed by a lizardmen cavalry charge, while under-equipped ship crew, sent in to reinforce the Estalian royal troops, are beaten back near the center of the fighting by lizardmen warriors and infantry. Eventually, Captain Navarro charged forth alongside Lady Myranda, part of Sir Ramsay's retinue, and engage a pair of lizardmen atop one of the temples. Navarro manages to wound one of the mighty temple defenders, but he quickly notices the state of his troops. As the darkness lifts over the field, the horrid sight of his contingent in utter disarray strikes fear and concern in his heart. Not wishing to abandon the survivors of his company, he informs Lady Myranda that he must retreat. "Coward, then!" shouts the Lady, sprinting towards her lord, "I shall inform Sir Ramsay, but your lack of spirit shall be noted!" Navarro, for a second time, flees to fight another day. The troops under his command had fought bravely, but he knew he was no infantry commander. He dreaded reporting back to Colombo in Santa Myrmidia. Meanwhile, Sir Ramsay and his troops fared better. Although Ramsay had elected to stay back and not join the fighting personally, choosing instead to leave such duties to his underlings, his troops were winning the day. His cavalry had smashed the lizardmen flank, and the remaining troops were now charging forth and mopping up any remaining resistance. What few Estalian stragglers remained joined the nearly full-strength Bretonnians at the center of the field. By now, whatever wizardry was cast over the Monument was fading, for sunlight now pierced the thick forest canopy. The lizardmen forces were now surrounded upon a nearby altar, were they were beaten back -- thus opening a path further inland into Lustria.
Surrounded! The remaining Estalians rush to aide the main Bretonnian advance, finally managing to contain the remnants of the lizardmen host at a nearby altar. After a bloody final stand, the remaining lizardmen flee into the jungle, while the humans regroup and count their losses.
Bretonnia had, for all intents and purposes, won the day. The Estalians had guarded the flank, but all their forces had fled or been slain to a man. Taking into consideration that the Estalians were undermanned, however, things turned out in favor of the human explorers. Yet, it was a shallow victory -- many were dead, the lizardmen had not been beaten decisively, and the reality of the situation had been revealed. Lustria was crawling with countless kingdoms and tribes of lizardmen, all now banding together to defend their homelands from the outside invaders. Colombo didn't find the Orient. He found himself and all those with him in the middle of an all-out war! Still, not all was lost. The remaining troops near the Monument of the Moon began excavating nearby burial mounds and raiding the sacred temples, finding untold amounts of gold and artifacts. Although Lustria did not hold the profitable trade lanes of the Orient, it did contain precious minerals and great wealth rivaling that of any eastern nation. It would have to do. Neither Colombo nor Estalia were about to abandon their efforts just because, as predicted, Colombo didn't find the Orient. Lustria was to be Estalia's salvation, even if it meant hard fighting.
And so it was that the first steps towards the conquest of the New World began. Estalia would not stop until their ships were filled with gold, and treasure fleets sailed to and from Lustria without impediment. It was the dawn of a new age. An age of conquest, exploration, and great suffering on all sides. From this conflict, Estalia's new motto would be forged.
Plus Ultra -- further beyond the great sea.
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