Author's Note
As always, images for the figures can be found on the Wattpad version.
Main Square, Gim, Principality of Qua-Toyne
Spear-Bearer Adem Aspietes hopped off his horse in the middle of Gim's main square. He walked into the shadow of the nearby bell tower and looked around as he waited. Qua-Toyne's defenders had truly abandoned Gim to the Lourians. The bell tower was positioned in the middle of the northwest side of the square. Narrow streets threaded through the surrounding buildings, and a market hall was raised over the center. From the square, he could see scouts on watch duty taking positions on the city's wooden walls facing the Inner Gim Forest. This far from the mountains, there was a lack of stone for building, so everything here was mostly wood and thatch.
The Qua-Toynians had made the correct choice. If they had attempted to make a stand Adem had planned to simply call the wyvern squadrons to burn the walls down and any buildings the defenders took cover in. Louria had uncontested local aerial superiority, and the wyverns were free to conduct ground strikes instead of anti-wyvern operations. With the Lourian navy able to travel much further than the army in a day, Adem suspected that the Qua-Toynian wyverns had been relocated to the coasts to counter the fleet. He expected he'd first encounter major aerial resistance in the skies above the plains past Inner Gim leading towards Fortress Ejey and the mountains.
The dirt-covered shelters built beside the walls would still have to be dealt with. Throughout history, they protected against wyverns coming in from high angles of attack. The tight spaces between them and surrounding buildings meant wyverns did not have enough space to land and take off near them, so they would require clearing one by one by infantry.
Luckily for the Lourian Army, Adem had a secret weapon to snuff them out. The artificers had a group of men trained on portable flame guns developed from the flame cannon program. These flame guns would allow a single man to unleash multiple fireballs or a single stream of fire onto a large target such as structures. In anti-shelter work, the door would set alight, and the fire would quickly spread along the interior wooden floors and walls.
In the case of stone shelters with metal doors, the door would have to be breached by a battering ram, and the artificer would have to carefully spray fire on as much of the interior as possible through the open doorway. It was too dangerous for the artificer to step through the doorway, as he could be shanked immediately from the sides before getting a chance to fire. Once the flames died, swordsmen would have to rush in to remove defenders who managed to hide in blind spots and avoid getting lit up by the artificer.
Accompanied by a squadron of cataphracts, Adem entered Gim while Domestic Pandour Raoul waited outside the walls with the rest of the army. It was up to Adem to decide the fate of the city and its remaining inhabitants who failed to evacuate.
Two Shield-Bearers marched up, escorting an old human man who hobbled along on a walking stick.
"Spear-Bearer, we found this man standing in front of his home near the dwarfen quarter. He speaks Lourin and has agreed to speak to you regarding the local conditions."
Adem nodded and spoke to the old man. "I am Deputy Adem Aspietes, commander of this force under Domestic Raoul of the East Lourin Army. Introduce yourself."
"I am Molt, a retired carpenter. I was born here, lived here all my life, and will die here, whether today or tomorrow."
From the way Molt was grasping his stick, it was clear he suffered from the conditions that affected all old human people. Adem thought Molt would topple over and break a few bones if he suddenly kicked away the stick. "Who remains here in Gim?"
"Just us old folk and our adult daughters crazy enough to remain to take care of us. Well, aside from the dwarfs packed into the dwarfen quarter. As soon as word arrived of your invasion, the dwarfs immediately scurried inside and closed the gates. They paid me to tell you that they follow the directions of the head clans in the mountains and will take no sides in this war."
Dwarfs were loyal to each other, and only each other to a fault. Chief Kalsio Planudes once lectured Adem over lunch about the origins of the dwarfs of Rodenius.
Long ago, when the three peoples of humans, elves, and dwarfs fled from the Central Continent to the beastfolk-inhabited continent of Rodenius in the Demonic Invasions, also known as the Ravernal Reconquests, the dwarfs were commissioned to use their expertise to help quickly build ships for the evacuation. In exchange, they were allotted multiple ships for their clans. As the army of the Demon Lord approached the ports, the humans and elves panicked and stormed the newly completed ships, seizing the boats meant for the dwarfs in an orgy of violence. As a result, only a much smaller group of dwarfs escaped during the chaos than initially planned. Only a few of their clans survived; the rest were slaughtered by the humans and elves or later by the army that finally swarmed the ports. The dwarfs would forever remember this incident long after they finally found refuge and settled down.
From then on, the dwarfs would charge a blood fee for any work they undertook with humans and elves, and they still held a near monopoly from their sole expertise in several fields. Disputes arising from pay often became bloody conflicts as human and elven communities would launch pogroms to recover the wealth earned by dwarfs through their industrious labour.
Eventually, the clans established permanent strongholds in the mountains of Qua-Toyne and developed an intricate system of retaliation against those who would harm their outer enclaves. Chief Planudes had used several terms that Adem had forgotten about, but the retaliations were related to damaging the ability to conduct trade and putting up bounties against their foes. Their power in enforcing their will centred around their absolute control of mountain mining.
The Kingdom of Louria eventually officially apologized and paid compensation for the Betrayal at Cartalpas, but the Principality of Qua-Toyne never made such an official gesture of reconciliation.
"Would the dwarfs be willing to conduct trade, provide labour, and provide compassionate care to the injured?" asked Adem.
The old man thought for a second. "I believe that doesn't violate their laws, and they need to make a living if you end up staying."
That was perhaps the best he could hope for from this dwarfen enclave. Plus, the King had issued a royal declaration that the dwarfs should not be harmed where possible. Adem turned to the scouts. "Are the city granaries intact and the wells left unpoisoned?"
"Yes, Spear-Bearer. It appears the city was evacuated in such a rush that no sabotage efforts were taken."
Adem nodded, then raised his hand to gain the attention of the soldiers in the square. "In consideration of the fact that my troops have been spared from fighting here, I'll permit no harm to the remaining people of Gim or looting of any residences or businesses still occupied by them. Those who violate this decree will hang for their insubordination," he announced.
He called to his cavalry messenger. "Inform Domestic Raoul of my decision. Request for guards from the garrison troops to protect these people. I recommend that the Chief Planudes and his quartermasters arrive first so they can designate unoccupied buildings for billeting soldiers. I will wait for the Domestic in this market hall."
"As you command, Spear-Bearer." The messenger cantered away.
Adem turned to Molt. "Go to the dwarfs and invite them back to their trades and their regular lives. The East Lourian Army needs their work. You two, see to him safely."
Adem strode underneath the market hall past abandoned food stalls as the two shield-bearers left with the old man. It was open on the ground, with two-story tall wooden rectangular columns supporting the upper floors. He walked up two flights of stairs and entered the building.
Figure 9.1 Gim Market Hall
Inside, long tables and benches supported a public gathering in a hall with large diamond-shaped bevelled glass windows. A single wooden coat of arms hung on the wall opposite the stairs. He walked over, took it off with two hands, then dropped it on the ground and stomped into it with his boot over and over again. The face of the goddess on the escutcheon soon cracked and then shattered under the Lourian foot.
Figure 9.2 Principality of Qua-Toyne Coat of Arms
On Board the Grand Galley Sword of Ta Lou, North Qua-Toyne Sea
The Sword of Ta Lou was a grand galley capable of launching a squadron of wyverns from its wide flattened deck. As the first of two ships of its class, Grand Duke Sharkun commanded it as the flagship of the Lourian Navy. As the Kingdom of Louria's first foray into wyvern carriers, it was filled with compromises. The ship had three sails to travel with the wind and allow the banks of rowers below the deck some time to rest. However, the sails were rather low, so landing wyvern riders had to navigate a rather tight margin of error or else crash into the sails or the deck.
Also, the wyverns were exposed to the elements as the only space on the ship they could be on was the deck. If it started raining, the wyverns would be miserable, so their combat performance would degrade severely.
On the upside, the Sword of Ta Lou and her sister ship, the Band of Four, were the only wyvern carriers around the continent of Rodenius. The Qua-Toynians relied on swarms of light galleys that operated in the range of coastal wyvern squadrons. This meant that only the Lourian Navy could have wyvern support in its independent offensive operations. The Qua-Toynians would first have to go through the trouble of marching soldiers up along the coast to establish wyvern bases to have the same support in their naval offensives.
After departing from Jin-Hark, the Lourian Royal Fleet crossed over from the North Louria Sea to Qua-Toynian waters without any resistance. A scattering of Qua-Toynian armed merchant light galleys initially shadowed the fleet from a distance until Sharkun sent out the wyverns to drive them away.
A soldier came up to him as he smelled the salty sea air.
"Grand Duke, the wyvern scout has a message for you," reported the man.
"Alright. Navigator, come with me."
Sharkun briskly followed the soldier down below decks to the manacom station.
"Grand Duke, the scout wyverns report that fleet of Qua-Toynian ships is directly ahead," said the manacom operator.
"How many?"
"They see about five times the numbers of our fleet."
Sharkun's battle fleet had almost fifty ships. That meant the Qua-Toynians had around 250 ships.
"Navigator, what is our position?"
"Grand Duke, we are just off the Shoulder of Orion. Thus, we are nearly directly north of the capital of Qua-Toyne, with Maihark southeast of us."
"Then the Qua-Toynians mean to do battle here. This is likely the enemy's main fleet. If we crush them here we can blockade Maihark and safely comm in the invasion fleet. Send up the wyverns of the Band of Four. Once the fleets are engaged, the Band of Four wyvern squadron will lead both squadrons in the interception of enemy wyverns, or in their absence attack the flanks of the enemy fleet. Next, message Duke Hoyle and order the war galleys into line-abreast formation with his ship at the centre and his other heavy galleys at the ends of the line. The wyvern carriers and our escort galleys will follow behind."
The manacom operator nodded and completed his orders. After a minute, he spoke to Sharkun. "Duke Hoyle asks if he should unveil the dragon heads now or wait till the enemy ships are in range."
"Wait until they're in range. We do not want to spoil the surprise." Sharkun grinned.
In the Skies Above the North Qua-Toyne Sea
Wyvern Knight Maarpatima's 6th Wyvern Squadron had finally rendezvoused with the Ëaron Liyúmë (Great Fleet) that was hastily assembled to defend against the Lourian naval attack. Flying alongside the 6th were the 2nd and 10th squadrons based in Maihark. As the only wyvern squadrons in the immediate area, they were the Great Fleet's lone aerial support as the capital's wyverns rushed to the port city.
From his bird's eye view, he saw that the Great Fleet easily dwarfed the size of the Lourian fleet. Taking advantage of superior numbers, the Great Fleet now formed a crescent shape. In combat, the fleet's horns would turn the flanks of the enemy and roll up each galley one by one. This was a decisive advantage since galleys were designed to fight head-on.
As he reported onto the naval battlefield, he saw two squadrons of Lourian wyverns in the distance. This was not surprising, as briefings informed him that the Lourians had completed construction on two wyvern carriers several seasons ago and were almost certain to use them in battle.
Praavti growled as Maarpatima spotted two large flat-topped galleys trailing behind the main enemy line. Smaller galleys flanked what must be the carriers.
He swallowed and briefly thought about his beloved. There had been no time to go and say goodbye to her before taking to the skies on Praavti. He silently vowed to survive this fight and see her again. He dismissed an errant thought about asking for her hand if they won the battle. His focus now was on the enemy. Soon he would find out if all his training paid off.
"2nd to 6th squadron. 2nd to 6th."
"6th receiving 2nd."
"Your squadron achieved the best results on attacking naval targets. I'm entrusting the 6th squadron with that task. The 2nd and 10th squadrons will engage the enemy wyverns and clear the way for you. Form up directly behind us."
"Affirmative 2nd, 6th squadron will engage the enemy ships." Maarpatima formed his arm into a series of relentlessly drilled signals. His squadron mates on either side repeated the signals and thus transferred his orders down the formation. With their objectives made clear, the rest of the squadron would seek to follow his attack patterns without further detailed communication except by the sounding of horns. If he became incapacitated, they would attempt to regroup and continue to destroy the enemy fleet.
Maarpatima watched as the two friendly wyvern squadrons flew toward the enemy wyverns. Soon enough, he saw flashes of orange light appear from the Lourian wyverns. He immediately began a controlled descent to lead his squadron underneath the clash of fire and claws as the first engagement of the battle began.
Figure 9.3 Battle of the Shoulder of Orion - 1. Ship icons are not directly representative of the number of ships present or their exact locations.
On Board the Heavy Galley Wyvern of the Seas
Duke Hoyle watched a wyvern plummet from the sky with a wing torn off. He thought he saw a green caparison adorning the wyvern just before it and its rider smashed into the water ahead of his ship as if it was stone with a horrifying, possibly imagined, snapping of bones.
As the mass of pulverized scales and bone sank beneath the waves, Hoyle swallowed his fear and directed his attention to the mass of enemy ships approaching. The wall of green sails seemed to go on and on, and he could hear the enemy rowers chant as they propelled their ships to their destiny.
"Incoming enemy wyverns ahead at noon position!"
Hoyle looked up and saw that a Qua-Toynian wyvern squadron had slipped underneath the ongoing fighting. The formation was flying directly parallel to his ship at fireball-spitting altitude. He ran away from the front of the ship towards the center and shouted, "Ready ballistae!"
"Aye aye! Ready ballistae!" shouted the ballistae commander. The ballistae crews scrambled to point their ballistae up toward the wyverns. The heads of their readied iron bolts glimmered darkly under the sun from beneath the box magazine holding additional bolts.
"Fire when they're in effective range."
"Yes, Duke! Aim!"
Hoyle knew that the new charge-stone repeating ballistae could launch their bolts much further than the old ones. If the enemy was aiming to conduct an aerial bombardment from outside normal ballista range, they were in for a big surprise.
"Loose!" ordered the ballistae commander.
With the command, Hoyle heard the swing arms smack into their release positions and his eyes watched the hail of bolts fly into the sky.
In the Skies
Maarpatima's squadron flew as trained in an arrowhead formation. They were lined up so that the ship lengths below were directly parallel to them, allowing for the chance of multiple hits from an altitude safely beyond the range of ballistae.
As Praavti started gurgling to prepare to spit out a fireball directly below, Maarpatima started to hear wooshing sounds. Black streaks flew out in front of him, then a screech directed his attention to his left as he saw a bloody hole freshly made in the wing of another wyvern. Then with a thunk, the afflicted wyvern's head went flying off as a black streak separated it from the rest of the body. Maarpatima gawked at the blood squirting out of the stump as the headless wyvern continued to glide perfectly for a few seconds before a wing twitched, sending it falling as its unfortunate rider screamed to his doom.
With that, the squadron's formation crumbled as everyone hastily split away from the center of the formation. Maarpatima swore as his mind finally processed that they were under ballistae attack even from this altitude. As he flew away, he realized that he could hear more bolts flying behind him in a continuous cacophony. Somehow the barrages were coming on continually!
At this point, the bombardment run had failed as the wyverns flew past the enemy front line of ships. Finding a horn tied to him, he blew on it to signal a change of movement and dug his fingers into the controlling points on Praavti's back, causing the beast of war to dive toward the group of galleys in the rear.
Figure 9.4 Battle of the Shoulder of Orion - 2
On Board Wyvern of the Seas
There was a loud cheer as someone nailed one of the enemy wyverns, causing the rest to scatter and abandon their attack on the line. With the safety of his ship momentarily assured, Hoyle directed his attention back towards the front. He could see movement on the decks of the enemy galleys as troops lined up in formation.
"Foreward ballistae. Target the enemy ship directly ahead and attack when in range! Ballistarii form up and prepare to fight!" he yelled. As his orders were carried out, he quickly walked over to take up cover in the stairwell leading to the rowers' deck. There was a little observation hole in the wall that he could peek through toward the oncoming fleet.
As expected, the Lourian ships had the first shots of the day against the enemy fleet. He saw a bolt skewer a whole line of Qua-Toynians as they stood awaiting to be in the archery range. Soon enough, a torrent of Qua-Toynian bolts was loosed in response as the ships drew ever closer. Water splashed as many projectiles completely missed their targets. Wood splintered as bolts scraped or partially punctured through decks. Several went into the sails and tore holes right through. This was followed up with more numerous but less devastating hand-ballistae and archery volleys. An unfortunate man hunkered beside the front of the galley yelped in pain as an arrow embedded itself in his shoulder.
Despite the numerical advantage of the enemy, it became clear that Louria's brave sailors were not outmatched in the throw weight of arms. For every barrage of Qua-Toynian bolts and arrows, the Lourians answered with continuous launches of six volleys before reloading.
Finally, it was time to unveil the reason for his ship's name.
"Uncover the flame cannon!" yelled Duke Hoyle over the cries of battle.
Several men previously behind the galley walls rushed over to pull off the canvas covering. A man went down when an arrow caught his throat, gurgling as his fellows ignored him after glancing at his deadly wound and finished pulling the canvas off before unceremoniously dumping it over him. As a pool of red started soaking the cover, a gleaming bronze-coloured wyvern head stared out towards the oncoming ship with a gaping mouth. An arrow bounced off it and splashed into the water.
Hoyle could see the whites of the enemy's eyes. He roared, "Fire!"
In the Skies
As Maapatima dived, he checked behind him and noticed that only about half of his squadron was with him. Such horrendous losses against ballistae attacks were unheard of for many years. As the two carriers below seemed to be putting up heavy attacks that proved too dangerous for his risk level, he guided Praavti towards one of the light galleys on the right.
His wyvern began gurgling as they got ever closer. He saw the Lourians on the deck of his target begin running away as the ballistae crews seemed to be reloading their hated heavy weapon. The ballistae on the carriers were still launching bolts against him, but their aim was off and they could not turn fast enough to catch up.
Their efforts were all for naught as Praavti levelled off and exhaled a continuous stream of fire across the whole length of the ship.
Figure 9.5 Battle of the Shoulder of Orion - 3
On Board Wyvern of the Seas
Hoyle could smell roasting meat mixed in with the salty air as burning men screamed and ran. Those lucky enough to be on the deck were able to throw themselves off the galley as their green sails began turning brown under the fire. Unfortunately for them, they soon emerged from underneath the water's surface screaming and still on fire, for this was a magical fire. As long as there was fire mana left to consume, the fire would continue burning.
All across the line, Lourian galleys were roasting the enemy to devastating effect. The flame cannons were performing better than expected.
The Wyvern of the Seas turned its attention left to its next prey as it rowed past the burning ship. The Qua-Toynians were in a panic now as they saw her close in on them. The enemy galley turned and promptly collided with another Qua-Toynian galley. Both galleys slowed down as their crews began yelling at each other before joining the dead as both were engulfed in flames by the bronze wyvern head. The Lourian monster continued her journey and now broke past the line of ignited ships.
The wall of green that faced the might of the Lourian Navy was no more.
Figure 9.6 Battle of the Shoulder of Orion - 4
Just Above the Waves
As Maarpatima guided Praavti around, he heard a cry and a splash as the ballistae on the carriers finally had an easier shot against the backs of his squadron. Angered by the loss of yet another squadron member, Maarpatima directed Praavti to head straight toward the closest carrier. A ballista bolt flew right over his head as the wyvern flew so close to the water that the flat deck of the galley was now just above him. Just before flying straight into the side of the carrier, he guided his wyvern up to skim over the deck.
Lourians ran away in surprise as Praavti unleashed his wrath by setting the deck alight. A couple of people with quick reflexes jumped off the ship before the stream of fire reached them. As Praavti ran out of breath to exhale, Maarpatima felt the creature instinctively fly right towards a man standing paralyzed at the far end of the deck.
The Lourian started screaming before Praavti stabbed him with his claws, carried him for a few seconds, and tossed him into the water.
Maarpatima started chuckling at the unexpected actions of his animal companion before a shadow fell over them. On pure instinct, he hunched forwards and directed Praavti back down precariously close to the water. Two huge claws barely swept past his head, and as he glanced back he saw a red caparison-covered wyvern spit a fireball directly into the squadron rider behind him.
Yet another hero of Qua-Toyne splashed into the water, never to be seen again.
Maarpatima turned forward and looked up into the sky to check on the fighting in the sky. The sparingly few wyverns remaining on both sides had disengaged and were now headed away from the battlefield.
This meant that the Lourian wyverns were now headed for the carrier that was not currently on fire.
Maarpatima checked behind him again to see that he was alone. None of his squadron members were left, and the enemy wyvern that attempted to kill him earlier had chosen to not pursue him and instead land on the carrier.
As he looked back forward, he saw wreckage after wreckage of burnt floating husks, almost unrecognizable except for the few untouched strips of green sail remaining. He urged Praavti to a higher altitude. Ahead of the wreckage, the fleet of Lourian galleys had stopped around several Qua-Toynian galleys that had raised the white banner. was now chasing after the retreating Ëaron Liyúmë. To his horror, the remaining vessels of Ëaron Liyúmë now retreating towards Maihark were only slightly more numerous than the Lourian ships behind. This meant that at least three-fifths of the fleet was gone, either destroyed or captured.
Wyvern Knight Maarpatima solemnly headed back home.
On Board the Grand Galley Sword of Ta Lou
Grand Duke Sharkun watched the Band of Four burn down to the waterline. They had rescued all those who had managed to escape the fire caused by the final wyvern attack. After all the fighting, the wyverns remaining now made up just about half a full squadron.
He thought over the enemy wyvern attack. They had managed to sneak in so low to the water and so close to the galleys that the ballistae, positioned above deck, had a point where they could no longer target the wyverns. Only the ballistae on a neighbouring ship at a just far enough distance away could continue launching their bolts against them.
While the ballistae compliments on the grand galleys were enough to thwart the initial diving run against it, the escorts were targeted and destroyed as a result because their throw weights were not enough to discourage an attack against them. With the escorts destroyed, the Band of Four's blind spots were no longer covered.
If any Lourian wyverns were remaining, they could have disrupted the attack made against the carriers and escorts in the first place.
So from the wyvern carrier operations perspective, the Grand Duke learned three things. First, ships must be kept far enough apart when possible for ballistae to cover each other's blind spots. Second, instead of simply using light galleys, dedicated escorts with heavy ballistae armament should be used. Third, when possible a wyvern reserve should be held to defend against wyverns attacking the carrier.
The Grand Duke wondered about the lessons the enemy learned from this battle. The Lourian Navy had revealed its full capabilities, and now the enemy could adapt to them.
Figure 9.7 Battle of the Shoulder of Orion - 5
Gim Market Hall, Gim, Principality of Qua-Toyne
Domestic Pandour Raoul watched the last Count ranked Spear-Bearer enter the room and fill the last of the seats at the table. Along with his two deputies and support staff. The twenty counts, the commanders of the banda that formed Pandour's tagma needed to know the current operational plan. Afterwards, they would have to relay the info down to their centurions who led their kentarchiai.
He took a swig of light cider to quench his thirst before standing up from his chair. Behind him hung the vexillum of the Kingdom of Louria, which depicted the black horse of Roden crossing east over the blue ocean. Atop the vexillum was the Circle of Stars, the symbol of the Church of the Four Stars. The vexillum represented the journey Roden's tribe took as they fled the Central Continent from the demonic hoards, as they were the ancestors Lourians claimed lineage from.
Figure 9.3 Kingdom of Louria Vexillum
"Everyone's here. Let's get to business. We will be going over the operational plan to take and maintain control of the Inner Gim Forest. Chief Planudes?"
Chief Kalsio Planudes placed a square block onto the drawn map on the table. The map depicted a traveller's view of the route from the City of Gim to the Capital of Qua-Toyne. Pandour would kill to have a bird's eye view map of Parpaldian make, which detailed features of terrain off the beaten path from directly above, but the possibility of losing such a precious resource to the enemy was too high a risk.
Parpaldia's military support was still limited as they did not want to encourage interventions by the other nations of the Philades Continent, certainly not Altaras, on the Rodenius Continent. It would have to be Lourian men alone to bring the elves to heel.
The Lourian-made map thus had roads drawn between different villages, towns, cities, and forests as it snaked to the capital. Each landmark was drawn facing the viewer profile-on as if from a nearby hill, so for example the great walls and towers of Fortress Ejey were clearly shown and prominent. Unfortunately, many details directly behind those walls were hidden, unlike on top-down maps and there was no way to assess the distance between features within a location.
The same went for the Inner Gim Forest. The nature of the twists and turns of the path travelled by many a merchant was not visible on the map. The army had to ask the merchants amongst the camp followers for information, but naturally oral and written accounts of a 'steep turn' or 'muddy trails' were not as helpful for detailed planning.
The Chief brought out twenty red rectangular blocks to represent the infantry and four triangles to represent the cavalry of the tagma, placing them along the road from Gim to the forest. Additional blocks followed behind, representing the follow-up forces and camp followers.
"According to our sources," continued Pandour, "passing through the Inner Gim Forest will take a full day on foot. The path is of simple dirt, normally trodden down together by traffic, and it consists of several winding turns that take one out of sight of the path behind the turn due to the density of the vegetation. The path passes over a small stream around the middle of the journey.
Due to the exodus of people from Gim, the path has been abandoned for a few days. Due to the special nature of plants in Qua-Toyne, particularly after the Principality has abandoned the region, we expect the path to already be partially overgrown. Without action, heavy vegetation will soon overrun and completely hide it. To keep the route through the forest open, we'll have to improve the soil. Thus, the artificers will construct a full Lourian public road on it. With the new road's completion, plants will be unable to easily grow over it anymore.
The forest is normally inhabited by foresters based in several lodges deep in the woods. In peacetime, they patrol the forests and protect travellers from bandits and wild animals and hunt down unlicensed poachers. They harvest wood and raise giant boars for supplemental income. The foresters are usually of human and elven composition, though sometimes beastmen can be found among them. From the last failed invasion where our ancestors were lost in this forest, they are likely to be supporters of the Principality and thus can be expected to lead raids and ambushes against us if not part of a larger host. Beware of their skill in archery and their capacity to use giant boars as war beasts.
To defend the new road, a series of watch towers visible to each other will be built along it. Two forts will be built. A smaller one at the center of the forest, and a larger one at the other side. Thus the main concentrations of Lourian military presence will be here in Gim, the Inner Gim Forest fort, and the Far Inner Gim Forest fort. The anti-cart ditches dug on either side of the road will be extra-wide to prevent giant boars from getting onto the road without noticeable enemy activity.
My fellow soldiers. I must emphasize how important it is we secure and maintain control of this forest. Without this overland supply route, our axis of advance on the western front will collapse and we'll be forced to concentrate our efforts on attacking by sea from the northeast. In such an event, the Qua-Toynians will be able to quickly concentrate their forces against such an effort and we'll lose our local numerical superiority thanks to having a large standing force attacking before they can raise and gather levies.
As Place Warden Aspietes will be leading the first half of the tagma into the forest, he will now present his orders. Go ahead."
"Thank you, Sir."
Pandour sat down as Adem stood up to inform the men which of the light infantry banda and scout cavalry kentarchiai would be assigned to screen the advancing columns.
Author's Note
Sorry for the long wait, I spent the past month (September 2022) abroad to visit my grandfather, who's currently in the hospital as of October 2022. I technically finished most of the writing before I left, but it took a while after I returned before I could get back to editing the writing, reorganizing some Lourian ranks (previous references in past chapters have been edited), and finally learning Adobe Illustrator to bring you all these new flags and battle maps (Unfortunately not displayable here on . Also broke copy-paste formatting from Google Docs :( ). Expect future battle-heavy chapters to take longer than normal chapters as I'm committed to making a series of relatively simplified battle maps for them.
Note: Despite being led by a kentarchos, better known in English as a centurion, a kentarchia only consists of 40 soldiers rather than 100.