Battle to Capture Doldrey (1)

The fortress of Doldrey once belonged to Midland before Tudor seized it during the long war between the two realms. Perched on the frontier, it holds enormous strategic weight. A succession dispute has thinned Tudor's garrison there, and Midland sees an opening to reclaim the stronghold. Yet even undermanned, Doldrey repels every assault Midland throws at it.

The king gathers his commanders and counselors, Griffith among them, to weigh their options. As the room descends into bickering, Griffith stays quiet until a neighbor asks whether the celebrated White Falcon could take the castle. He answers plainly that he could, if commanded to. The blunt confidence rattles everyone, drawing a storm of objections, but the king quiets them and presses him directly. Griffith confirms it, adding that the task would need only the Band of the Falcon rather than the kingdom's massed armies. The council, stunned again, reasons that his mercenaries are too small a force for their loss to dent morale, and that a lone reckless gamble failing would cost little. The king orders him to march.

Afterward, generals Owen and Laban resolve to observe from afar, quietly hoping the young commander triumphs and privately aware they may be witnessing the rise of the war's true hero. Griffith mounts up, gives them a courteous nod, and rides off. In the mercenary camp, Guts lounges unbothered by the odds, reminding the others they have already done the impossible. Only Casca stays silent, then reveals a bitter truth: the officer defending Doldrey, Gennon of Tudor's northern front, is the same man Griffith once slept with to fund the band. Guts grasps that Griffith may have taken the mission for personal reasons. Inside the fortress, Adon, who feigned death during Guts' cliffside rescue, is stripped of his command by General Boscogn of the Purple Rhino Knights. Boscogn then learns from Gennon that the coming attackers are the fabled Band of the Falcon, and is ordered to capture Griffith alive rather than kill him.

Midland targets Doldrey while Tudor is weakened by a succession crisis. Griffith pledges to capture the fortress with only the Band of the Falcon, and the king authorizes the campaign. Casca reveals that Gennon, Doldrey's commander, is the man Griffith once traded his body to for funds. Adon is demoted by Boscogn, who is ordered by Gennon to take Griffith alive.

This twenty-two-page chapter opens the Doldrey campaign within the Golden Age Arc and appeared in Young Animal issue 20 on October 8, 1993. It reframes Griffith's willingness to fight Gennon through his hidden history with the man.