>From the window of the council chamber, the Duke of Caladyn could observe the
frenzy of construction surrounding the city of Unnirand. The old fortifications
set in place by the Mirans and Cedonians in ages past were being restored, and
new works were being thrown up around the city. At this distance, individual
workers could not be seen, but the Duke knew that combat engineers from his
legions were out there among the Therani, assisting in any way they could.
He turned from the window as the last member of the War Council, the Dun Ri of
the Therani, entered. The arrival of the host of the Council was a signal for
those assembled to take their seats around the table. The Duke smiled to
himself as he noticed that he had been seated as far away from the Burcany
representative as possible.
"As I believe we all now know each other, and time is short, we will skip the
usual formalities that a meeting of this sort demands," said the Dun Ri. "While
normally, as host of the meeting, I should preside, I feel it is more
appropriate to hand the gavel to Warlord Riacrasada, as the overall commander."
He inclined his head in the Warlord's direction.
Riacrasada grimaced, then rose, saying, "Honored Dun Ri, I will accept, with
the caveat that I am a soldier, not an administrator." She glanced around the
room, as if hoping for a reprive, and, not finding one, sat down again. "The
first order of business, I think, is a situation report . . . no objections?
Very well." Turning to one of the junior officers sitting around the outside of
the chamber, she said, "Major, your report."
The major, a man dressed in the uniform of the Cedonian light cavalry, came to
attention. "Yes, sir!" He marched to the front of the chamber, where a large
map of the Tal River valley hung. "Wyr had definitely fallen to the Shanari,
and Hadrair was preparing for a siege. That much we had from refugees nearly
four months ago. About three months ago, word came that Hadrair had fallen. At
that point, it was too late in the season for the Shanari to embark on an
active campaign of conquest, and they went into quarters until the end of the
storm season. That season," he said with a sour look, "ends this month, and the
Shanari will soon break camp."
Pausing for water, he continued: "I have only recently returned from a scouting
mission to Hadrair to evaluate the Shanari. To be blunt, we are in trouble. At
last report, our forces consisted of 40,000 Cedonians; 20,000 or so Mirans; the
entire Royal Army of Taltheran, 2,000 men; the private armies of the Taltherani
Merchant houses, that's 6,000 to 8,000 men, depending on if anyone's sulking;
small contingents of mages from Burcany, Myr-Kun, and the Fae; and finally
roughly 100,000 Therani, most of whom are either refugees, untrained, or both.
In total, our forces consist of about 150,000 men. The Shanari outnumber us
nearly five to one, my lords and ladies." At this final statement, the chamber
broke into an uproar.
The Warlord called for order, smashing her mailed fist on the table, but it
took several minutes to calm things down. "That's impossible!" shouted one of
the Miran officers, "There's no way that the Calarnar Desert can support
three-quarter of a million Shanari warriors, let alone their families and
herds!"
The Cedonian major nodded in response. "Quite true, Colonel Eurioytsa. But the
Shanari are not alone. Based on my observations, and refugee reports, the total
size of the force opposing us is around 640,000 men. Of that force, only about
100,000 are Shanari, and those represent every able-bodied adult Shanari male.
Another 100,000 are Terebuani who have converted to the Shanari's religion. The
remaining 440,000 are hapless Milakanuri and Bel'Adne who have been drafted to
serve as raven fodder. Their training and morale are both poor, however, and
the Shanari probably realize that they cannot depend on them. In fact, during
the period I and my men had the Shanari under observation, they used the
draftees to do all the dangerous and dirty jobs in the camps. This concludes my
report." He returned to his seat.
The Duke rose and spoke: "My staff and I have reviewed the Major's report, and
we have reached certain conclusions. First of all, we will not have to face the
entire nomad army. Unless the Shanari completely destroy and depopulate Wyr and
Hadrair, they must maintain garrisons at those cities to maintain lines of
communication and supply with their homeland. However, they will almost
certainly assign that duty to a portion of the Milakanuri and Bel'Adne
draftees, probably under Terebuani supervision. Our best estimate is that we
will have to face an army of only 300,000 or so . . . but those 300,000 will
mostly be fanatics."
[to be continued]
=====
"Our Lady of Blessed Acceleration, don't fail me now!"
--Elwood Blues
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