The battle for the gorge
Once there were two lords who were always at war. Between them lies a great gorge that is about 1000 ft. deep (Or deeper) and only 40 feet wide. The lords only focused on ranged weapons for war because the gorge stopped them from sending knights to each other's castles. One lord focused on using bows and cross bows and the other lord focused on catapults and siege weapons and had his scientists focused on searching for a magic dust that blows up when it is touched by fire. The daily routine was to get up at 8 every morning, and fire arrows and rocks at each other till teatime. Both lords would stop to have tea and their armies would also have a brake, then at four they would go at it again till six, eat dinner and go to bed. The routine was same every day for 5 years until the lord with the catapults figured out how to make this "magic powder". Things were going well for him for a while for all he had to do was get a barrel of this stuff and throw it over the gorge with a catapult and it would blow up the other lords wall but the other lord noticed that there was a little wick sticking out of it and he wondered what would happen if he started shooting fire arrows at those barrels before he catapulted them to his castle. The results were disastrous for the catapult man and he was forced to think of a better way to use his 'powder". The lord who was skilled in arrows sent two assassins two the other lords keep by throwing ropes across the gorge. The assassins snuck in and stole a small crate of this "magic powder". The arrow lord wondered what would happen if he put this “powder†in a tube with one end blocked. His scientists soon
Found out not to go near the open end for a big blast of flame came out. The lord put one plus one together and told his scientists to put an iron ball at the end of the tube. The next day the catapult lord was in for a surprise! The arrow lord took out his tube stuffed with “magic powder†and fired it at the forts wall. The wall fell over in three hits! But the catapult lord soon reacted and sent one of his improved “magic powder†barrels over. It was made of iron and had a wick on it that made it blow up after a bit of time. He catapulted it over and the arrow lord’s men went to investigate it because it wasn't blowing up. The iron barrel blew up and all of the surrounding men died and by that time it was time for tea. And so the battle carried on for many years
This war happened about 1000 ad but news of the magic powder didn’t spread to other lords until the 1400’s because the two lords got so carried away that sadly the ended blowing themselves up and nothing was left except the journal of a man who worked in the arrow lords army. Here is his description of the battle (It is written in old English)
January First 1026
I just joined the lord’s army. He be telling us we need be makin a journal of our experiences in case we die so here it is. The lords fort be nestled next to a cliff and it faces a great gorge, they say that god made that gorge when he swiped his foot across the land and at the bottom of that gorge is a lot a spiky rocks and you would be a hurtin if ye touched any o those. On the other side of the gorge lies the lords brother and they hate each other for the me lord married his wife in secret so now they be battling all of thee time. So me lord be thinking and he told our fletchers te make us a lot a bows and arrows te shoot across the gorge at his cousin.
The pages in the book are burnt and unreadable for a bit but it picks back up where I left off…..
November 30 1028
Me lords cousin has found a “magic powder†that blows up when ye put fire to it. And so all me friends be getting caught on fire as barrels of this ere powder gets thrown over. Just yesterday one a the men got caught on fire and he be jumping right over the gorge.
December 8th 1028
One a thee officers be thinking and he thought that if we shoot arrows a fire at the enemies barrels before they come flying over here they would blow the enemy up instead of us. It worked and me lord’s cousin be havin a bad day with his barrels blowing up before they even are lifted on his catapults.
December 20th 1028
Both lords have agreed to call a seize fire for the week so we can enjoy our Christmas.
December 23rd 1028
Me lord be sending two assassins over the gorge tonight te grab some o that magic powder even though …….
The book is charred and again cannot be read for a few pages it picks up again though.
January 20th 1029
Things be looking good for us fer a while. Me lord made some sort of tube and stuffed it with “magic powder†and blocked one end so the fire only be coming out the front an he put a round ball in it so when the powder be blowin up the ball will go flyin over the gorge te the enemy’s fort.
February 5th 1029
Things went terribly wrong today. Me lord’s cousin be sending iron barrels over the gorge with a long wick on it so that it be takin a while fer it to blow up an all our men think it be a dud and just as were about to carry it away it be goin boom an we lost 40 men. Arrows are no use to them and all we can do is run from em an me journal an…..
The journal is yet again burnt but this time for many pages… But yet again there is still more…
May 15th 2032
I hath just joined the army, and my lord hath given me an old journal that used to be owned by an old soldier who doth bravely ran towards one of the enemy’s fire barrels and of coarse he died and this journal got burnt and so did most of the paper my fine lord had in his storage tower so I doth use this scorched journal but that tis no problem for me for only half of it is scorched so that I mayeth write in it with ease.
May 31st 1032
Yesterday both of the lords hath sent many pounds of thier magic powder over the edge of the gorge and something went wrong for both of them and most of it doth fallen oven the edge and down below and when it hits the bottom (Which it has not yet for it is a great gorge) the sides shall fall in forcing us to use melee attacks against our enemy who is skilled in catapults.
June 5th 1032
Our greatest fear hath arrived. My lords scientists hath miscalculated the amount they threw over the gorge and hath calculated that the blast shalt destroy our enemy and ourselves.
We hath given up fighting our lords cousin and hath decided to pray for our last few hours. I am going to try and find a place where this journal shalt not be destroyed least all evidence of this battle be lost. In the lord we trust.
And that was the end of the journal. The journal was found half buried in a mettle box and was fairly well preserved. Below is a map of what the gorge probably looked like.