Post by Gamemaster on Jun 29, 2009 6:06:11 GMT -5
(Out Of Character: {OOC:} Many of the words are given in both English and the Zekresh language. It is one of many languages in the Empire, but it is the official language used by the government and the military.)
Trayavix fortress (Kast Trayavix)
Trayavix Province (Salan Trayavix)
Zekresh Empire (Vyloran Zekresh)
Day 40, Month 2, Year 41 of the reign of Emperor Cledman VI
(Oron 40, Salgan 2, Adonsik 41 Vylor Cledman VI)
Captain (Gurikan) Danifar walked briskly across the courtyard of the great Imperial Army fortress of Kast Trayavix. He sought out his commander, Lieutenant General (Ekanor Falan) Marivan, the commander of the Trayavix garrison. Another soldier walked behind Danifar. He was soaking wet from the knees down as if he had just waded in water. He had no helmet, weapon or armor. There was nothing to indicate that he was a soldier, but he had told a story to the guards at the gate that was all too plausible.
When Danifar found Marivan, he was standing near one of the storage rooms talking to Sternin, the senior advisor to Governor (Ulor) Tervin, the head of the provincial government of Trayavix province.
"Sir, this man has come down the river bearing grave and urgent news from the North."
Marivan immediately shifted his attention to the bedraggled soldier, "What is it?"
The soldier said, "The Tronds are attacking Serat Shasa."
Marivan said, "We've heard rumors of this and they turned out to be untrue. Did you see this for yourself or did you hear it from a passing merchant?"
"I fought in the battle myself, sir."
"You're a soldier?"
"Yes, sir. My name is Javeen. I am a member of the 1st Kantora Foerfen (1st Foerfen Regiment)."
"Very well. Tell me what happened."
"We were stationed at Kast Vort (Fort Wolf) in Foerfen province. News came that thousands of Tronds had overrun Kast Gorumyva and all of Glantogran Province. Ulor Landyva began stockpiling food for a siege, but before he had enough, news came that the entire army of Aatan had joined with the Tronds and that their combined force was marching towards us at Kast Vort."
"And your brave Ulor Landyva abandoned the provindial capital to the enemy and fled the province without a fight like a coward. I've heard this news already. What happened at Serat Shasa?"
The soldier looked insulted, "Scouts reported the enemy had over 5,000 soldiers."
"I know, but I don't believe it," Marivan said, "Besides, you grant them too much credit to call them soldiers. They are Trond barbarian rebels."
"If that is what you have been told, sir, then it is lies. I fought them myself at Serat Shasa. It's many, many more than that and though some are barbarian warriors, many of them are Imperial Soldiers from the garrisons at Helmarie and Aatan who have joined the rebels. From the walls of the fortress as Serat Shasa, my commander, Gurikan Havuk, counted seven kantoro (regiments) of spearmen marching together with Imperial Army equipment and discipline. His estimate of the total enemy army was more than 10,000 men, a great many of them archers."
"How could they possibly have so large a force? And so many Imperial Army troops? The mutiny in Helmarie involved only a few and the rest were mostly driven out by the Tronds."
"We heard that rumor as well, sir, when the Zekresh officers they drove out came to Kast Vort. I don't think it's true."
"Mind your place, soldier. Tell me what you saw and I'll sort out fact from fiction."
"I saw an enormous army that filled the fields around the city of Serat Shasa. I saw thousands of men who looked and acted exactly like Imperial Army soldiers. So many, in fact, that when they approached from the south, we thought at first that they were reinforcements come to help us."
"They came from the south?" Marivan asked in dismay.
"Yes. It may have been a ploy or some tactic to cut off our retreat and pin us against the junction of the two rivers, but even though the army that drove us out of Kast Vort and to Serat Shasa had come from the north..."
"You don't mean to suggest that the rebels have two armies, do you?" Marivan raised his voice in anger.
"No, sir. It was probably the same army. They may have merely moved past us and crossed the river south of us before advancing on the fortress. They were probably afraid we would ambush them crossing the river in a more predictable place."
"Yes, I concur. What happened next?"
"At first, we thought it was an Imperial Army force, but then we saw the hordes of thousands upon thousands of barbarian warriors coming up behind them. The civilians in the city saw this also and began to flee easterward in terror, taking only what they could carry or merely dropping everything and running or riding horses out of town. At that point, Ulor Landyva commanded all the soldiers from Foerfen to attempt to flee eastwards as well."
Marivan scoffed.
The soldier looked down in shame, "We had no choice. Ekanor Falan (Lt. Gen.) Koling, our provincial commander, was there and he ordered us to run and try to get away before the enemy besieged the fortress. So we ran. Yet the enemy had already nearly cut off our last route of retreat before we got out of the gate. We found ourselves overtaken and embattled. Just two kantoro (regiments) of troops from Foerfen with no help at all from the local garrison. We were engulfed by an enemy army so massive it was like we were two pebbles dropped into the sea."
"Did you at least fight bravely then?" Marivan asked.
"We fought, some bravely, some not. We were not in formation. We had come out of the fortress gate in a narrow column, running and losing all order in the process. We had no hope. Most of us were cut down by arrows before we could even strike a blow on the enemy."
"Proper use of a shield can protect you from arrows," Marivan said as if he were lecturing new recruits.
"They were coming at us from all sides. Also... some of us had dropped our shields while running."
"How came you to survive?"
The man's shoulders dropped as if in defeat and a pained expression came to his face, "I fled. I know you will call it cowardly, but that was what I was ordered to do and there was never more reason to obey an order than on that day. I broke away from the others and ran towards the river that runs along the north side of the city of Serat Shasa, flowing in from the east until it meets the North River. Most of the enemy followed the main group and I outran the others by tossing aside my spear and armor. They chased me to the river's edge, but seeing me swimming out into the river, they gave up. I floated down the river until I was swept into the North River and continued there until I gained the opposite bank. There I waited for hours, trying to determine what was happening and what I should do. I saw an enormous column of smoke. I could not clearly see where it was coming from so I climbed a tree. Then what I saw confirmed my fears. The enemy had set fire to the city of Serat Shasa. The whole place was afire. Then I began walking downriver until I met up with some fishermen who agreed to take me here to bring you this news. We stopped along the way at Kast Ulmuk to inform the garrison there."
Marivan considered this, "Is that all?"
"Yes."
"How long ago was this?"
"Three days ago."
"I see. Danifar, assign this man to the 2nd Kantora. You are both dismissed."
The Ulor's advisor, Sternin, had heard all this. Marivan looked at him and then gestured to the storage areas, "I think the issue we were discussing has taken on a new urgency. Instead of merely assuring adequate food for the troops, we need to be stockpiling food for a siege. Militarily, Trayavix is the most important place in the whole North River Valley. It is here that the river meets the sea. Since there are almost no roads in the lands north of here, most trade is by the river. Much of the revenue of the provincial governments depends on taxes on trade, as you know, but that isn't the most important reason. Even with the river current against them, ships can move troops up the river far faster than they can march. Even now, if Serat Shasa holds out, we might be able to bring food and reinforcements to them by water. The fortress sits on the river bank, the better to assure a supply of fresh water in the event of a siege."
"Reinforcements to Serat Shasa? You only have two kantoro here. Half the garrison force hasn't returned from the south yet. Who could you afford to send?"
"I know. I don't propose to send troops from this garrison. I have news that the Imperial Army is sending a large expeditionary force here to put down this rebellion. I look for the sails of their ships every day. They could arrive at any time."
Sternin looked at Marivan strangely and said, "That may serve us well in dealing with the rebels, but it might not be good news for you."
"Yes, I know," Marivan said, "I am in a very difficult situation these past two months because of my role in the Crisis of the Regents. This won't make it easier."
"The Ulor thanks you for your loyalty and your service."
"Is there anything he can do to protect me when the expeditionary force arrives?"
"I don't think so. The special authority the Lord Chancellor granted to Ulors during the Crisis of the Regents to command Imperial Army troops in their provinces has been superceded by the express wish of the Emperor that the Lord Chancellor and his government should leave the affairs of the army to the generals."
"In that case, I may not long continue to be a general. The orders have already been issued for me to be relieved from command and killed if I resist. If they had anyone in this province who would obey that order, I'd be dead already. So far, they dare not risk an open conflict with me and my troops or the Emperor might consider it a renewal of the hostilities of the Crisis of the Regents after he ordered that all such fighting must stop. But if they have thousands of troops here for some other purpose, it would take very little to arrest me and put this garrison back under Loyalist control."
"I will warn Ulor Tervin. We'll see what we can do, but it probably won't be much. If the rebels are as strong and as close as this latest report, we should be more worried about them than about general Nemt and his expeditionary force. You say you expect Nemt to arrive any day, but I have news that he has only just reached Bakoya Kajak and that most of his troops are coming by land, not by sea."
"WHAT???" Marivan demanded, "That can't be true. They wouldn't be here for months."
"I know. I'll get an emergency allocation from the provincial treasury for supplies for a siege and deliver the funds to your quartermaster."
"Are we supposed to hold off the rebel army with only two kantoro (regiments)?"
"It's all we have. Fear not. If they besiege Serat Shasa, that will buy us time and the fortress of Kast Ulmuk still stands between them and us with far more troops than we have here."
"We've already lost five provinces to the rebels in only a few months. The fact that Kast Ulmuk still stands between us and the rebels is little comfort. They could overrun Kast Ulmuk and the rest of Baaniferan province in a matter of days. Then they'll be here."
"What should we do, then?" Sternin asks.
"Prepare to defend Trayavix with what we've got, what else can we do?"
"Maybe you could send someone on horseback up north to warn us if it starts getting close. Then, if Nemt's Expeditionary Force hasn't arrived yet, we could evacuate by sea."
"Evacuate? You mean flee like cowards. No, but sending scouts is good and perhaps I shall speak to the commander of the Imperial Navy base about keeping us supplied by sea in the event of a siege. For that matter, maybe he can bring some of the Expeditionary Force troops by sea to reinforce us if we are besieged. Now all we need is to prepare to withstand a siege. That means we need a lot of food stored in the fortress before the enemy arrives."
"Right. I'll go to the treasury and get started on that."
Trayavix fortress (Kast Trayavix)
Trayavix Province (Salan Trayavix)
Zekresh Empire (Vyloran Zekresh)
Day 40, Month 2, Year 41 of the reign of Emperor Cledman VI
(Oron 40, Salgan 2, Adonsik 41 Vylor Cledman VI)
Captain (Gurikan) Danifar walked briskly across the courtyard of the great Imperial Army fortress of Kast Trayavix. He sought out his commander, Lieutenant General (Ekanor Falan) Marivan, the commander of the Trayavix garrison. Another soldier walked behind Danifar. He was soaking wet from the knees down as if he had just waded in water. He had no helmet, weapon or armor. There was nothing to indicate that he was a soldier, but he had told a story to the guards at the gate that was all too plausible.
When Danifar found Marivan, he was standing near one of the storage rooms talking to Sternin, the senior advisor to Governor (Ulor) Tervin, the head of the provincial government of Trayavix province.
"Sir, this man has come down the river bearing grave and urgent news from the North."
Marivan immediately shifted his attention to the bedraggled soldier, "What is it?"
The soldier said, "The Tronds are attacking Serat Shasa."
Marivan said, "We've heard rumors of this and they turned out to be untrue. Did you see this for yourself or did you hear it from a passing merchant?"
"I fought in the battle myself, sir."
"You're a soldier?"
"Yes, sir. My name is Javeen. I am a member of the 1st Kantora Foerfen (1st Foerfen Regiment)."
"Very well. Tell me what happened."
"We were stationed at Kast Vort (Fort Wolf) in Foerfen province. News came that thousands of Tronds had overrun Kast Gorumyva and all of Glantogran Province. Ulor Landyva began stockpiling food for a siege, but before he had enough, news came that the entire army of Aatan had joined with the Tronds and that their combined force was marching towards us at Kast Vort."
"And your brave Ulor Landyva abandoned the provindial capital to the enemy and fled the province without a fight like a coward. I've heard this news already. What happened at Serat Shasa?"
The soldier looked insulted, "Scouts reported the enemy had over 5,000 soldiers."
"I know, but I don't believe it," Marivan said, "Besides, you grant them too much credit to call them soldiers. They are Trond barbarian rebels."
"If that is what you have been told, sir, then it is lies. I fought them myself at Serat Shasa. It's many, many more than that and though some are barbarian warriors, many of them are Imperial Soldiers from the garrisons at Helmarie and Aatan who have joined the rebels. From the walls of the fortress as Serat Shasa, my commander, Gurikan Havuk, counted seven kantoro (regiments) of spearmen marching together with Imperial Army equipment and discipline. His estimate of the total enemy army was more than 10,000 men, a great many of them archers."
"How could they possibly have so large a force? And so many Imperial Army troops? The mutiny in Helmarie involved only a few and the rest were mostly driven out by the Tronds."
"We heard that rumor as well, sir, when the Zekresh officers they drove out came to Kast Vort. I don't think it's true."
"Mind your place, soldier. Tell me what you saw and I'll sort out fact from fiction."
"I saw an enormous army that filled the fields around the city of Serat Shasa. I saw thousands of men who looked and acted exactly like Imperial Army soldiers. So many, in fact, that when they approached from the south, we thought at first that they were reinforcements come to help us."
"They came from the south?" Marivan asked in dismay.
"Yes. It may have been a ploy or some tactic to cut off our retreat and pin us against the junction of the two rivers, but even though the army that drove us out of Kast Vort and to Serat Shasa had come from the north..."
"You don't mean to suggest that the rebels have two armies, do you?" Marivan raised his voice in anger.
"No, sir. It was probably the same army. They may have merely moved past us and crossed the river south of us before advancing on the fortress. They were probably afraid we would ambush them crossing the river in a more predictable place."
"Yes, I concur. What happened next?"
"At first, we thought it was an Imperial Army force, but then we saw the hordes of thousands upon thousands of barbarian warriors coming up behind them. The civilians in the city saw this also and began to flee easterward in terror, taking only what they could carry or merely dropping everything and running or riding horses out of town. At that point, Ulor Landyva commanded all the soldiers from Foerfen to attempt to flee eastwards as well."
Marivan scoffed.
The soldier looked down in shame, "We had no choice. Ekanor Falan (Lt. Gen.) Koling, our provincial commander, was there and he ordered us to run and try to get away before the enemy besieged the fortress. So we ran. Yet the enemy had already nearly cut off our last route of retreat before we got out of the gate. We found ourselves overtaken and embattled. Just two kantoro (regiments) of troops from Foerfen with no help at all from the local garrison. We were engulfed by an enemy army so massive it was like we were two pebbles dropped into the sea."
"Did you at least fight bravely then?" Marivan asked.
"We fought, some bravely, some not. We were not in formation. We had come out of the fortress gate in a narrow column, running and losing all order in the process. We had no hope. Most of us were cut down by arrows before we could even strike a blow on the enemy."
"Proper use of a shield can protect you from arrows," Marivan said as if he were lecturing new recruits.
"They were coming at us from all sides. Also... some of us had dropped our shields while running."
"How came you to survive?"
The man's shoulders dropped as if in defeat and a pained expression came to his face, "I fled. I know you will call it cowardly, but that was what I was ordered to do and there was never more reason to obey an order than on that day. I broke away from the others and ran towards the river that runs along the north side of the city of Serat Shasa, flowing in from the east until it meets the North River. Most of the enemy followed the main group and I outran the others by tossing aside my spear and armor. They chased me to the river's edge, but seeing me swimming out into the river, they gave up. I floated down the river until I was swept into the North River and continued there until I gained the opposite bank. There I waited for hours, trying to determine what was happening and what I should do. I saw an enormous column of smoke. I could not clearly see where it was coming from so I climbed a tree. Then what I saw confirmed my fears. The enemy had set fire to the city of Serat Shasa. The whole place was afire. Then I began walking downriver until I met up with some fishermen who agreed to take me here to bring you this news. We stopped along the way at Kast Ulmuk to inform the garrison there."
Marivan considered this, "Is that all?"
"Yes."
"How long ago was this?"
"Three days ago."
"I see. Danifar, assign this man to the 2nd Kantora. You are both dismissed."
The Ulor's advisor, Sternin, had heard all this. Marivan looked at him and then gestured to the storage areas, "I think the issue we were discussing has taken on a new urgency. Instead of merely assuring adequate food for the troops, we need to be stockpiling food for a siege. Militarily, Trayavix is the most important place in the whole North River Valley. It is here that the river meets the sea. Since there are almost no roads in the lands north of here, most trade is by the river. Much of the revenue of the provincial governments depends on taxes on trade, as you know, but that isn't the most important reason. Even with the river current against them, ships can move troops up the river far faster than they can march. Even now, if Serat Shasa holds out, we might be able to bring food and reinforcements to them by water. The fortress sits on the river bank, the better to assure a supply of fresh water in the event of a siege."
"Reinforcements to Serat Shasa? You only have two kantoro here. Half the garrison force hasn't returned from the south yet. Who could you afford to send?"
"I know. I don't propose to send troops from this garrison. I have news that the Imperial Army is sending a large expeditionary force here to put down this rebellion. I look for the sails of their ships every day. They could arrive at any time."
Sternin looked at Marivan strangely and said, "That may serve us well in dealing with the rebels, but it might not be good news for you."
"Yes, I know," Marivan said, "I am in a very difficult situation these past two months because of my role in the Crisis of the Regents. This won't make it easier."
"The Ulor thanks you for your loyalty and your service."
"Is there anything he can do to protect me when the expeditionary force arrives?"
"I don't think so. The special authority the Lord Chancellor granted to Ulors during the Crisis of the Regents to command Imperial Army troops in their provinces has been superceded by the express wish of the Emperor that the Lord Chancellor and his government should leave the affairs of the army to the generals."
"In that case, I may not long continue to be a general. The orders have already been issued for me to be relieved from command and killed if I resist. If they had anyone in this province who would obey that order, I'd be dead already. So far, they dare not risk an open conflict with me and my troops or the Emperor might consider it a renewal of the hostilities of the Crisis of the Regents after he ordered that all such fighting must stop. But if they have thousands of troops here for some other purpose, it would take very little to arrest me and put this garrison back under Loyalist control."
"I will warn Ulor Tervin. We'll see what we can do, but it probably won't be much. If the rebels are as strong and as close as this latest report, we should be more worried about them than about general Nemt and his expeditionary force. You say you expect Nemt to arrive any day, but I have news that he has only just reached Bakoya Kajak and that most of his troops are coming by land, not by sea."
"WHAT???" Marivan demanded, "That can't be true. They wouldn't be here for months."
"I know. I'll get an emergency allocation from the provincial treasury for supplies for a siege and deliver the funds to your quartermaster."
"Are we supposed to hold off the rebel army with only two kantoro (regiments)?"
"It's all we have. Fear not. If they besiege Serat Shasa, that will buy us time and the fortress of Kast Ulmuk still stands between them and us with far more troops than we have here."
"We've already lost five provinces to the rebels in only a few months. The fact that Kast Ulmuk still stands between us and the rebels is little comfort. They could overrun Kast Ulmuk and the rest of Baaniferan province in a matter of days. Then they'll be here."
"What should we do, then?" Sternin asks.
"Prepare to defend Trayavix with what we've got, what else can we do?"
"Maybe you could send someone on horseback up north to warn us if it starts getting close. Then, if Nemt's Expeditionary Force hasn't arrived yet, we could evacuate by sea."
"Evacuate? You mean flee like cowards. No, but sending scouts is good and perhaps I shall speak to the commander of the Imperial Navy base about keeping us supplied by sea in the event of a siege. For that matter, maybe he can bring some of the Expeditionary Force troops by sea to reinforce us if we are besieged. Now all we need is to prepare to withstand a siege. That means we need a lot of food stored in the fortress before the enemy arrives."
"Right. I'll go to the treasury and get started on that."