Ninth Collateral Session
| Campaign | The Collateral Campaign |
|---|---|
| Game Date | Wednesday, September 29th, 2021 |
| Start Date | Tamiz 14th, 261 IM |
| Start Location | Halperion, Halperion Prefecture, Jalinjeri |
| Ending Date | Tamiz 14th, 261 IM |
| Ending Location | The battlefield of southern Jalinjeri |
| Next Session | Tenth Collateral Session |
There was considerable preparation for this battle as the Garis fell back from their ambitions to invade Halperion Prefecture. Rayjok Halperion, armed with great insight into the instincts of the Garis aligned his forces to prepare for their incursion on the southern border of Jalinjeri.
Spire, Earth Builder
Spire, a curious character from Rayjok Halperion's cabinet. He was prompted to communicate with the local stone giants to release one more aquifer from the mountains to cross the Jalinjeri landscape. Hedgewind Jalinbeti had employed Spire for this exact same enterprise when he first rounded the town of Jalinbeti.
The exact time for the release of this new river was to coincide with the advancement of the Garis military. Spire, did exactly what was asked, sorting out two possible paths for a new river based on his understanding of the lay of the land. He seemed to be able to draw from a knowledge of the composition of the various geological formations that exceeded that of the most knowledgeable wizards. Some speculation suggests that he may have borrowed a Meme of Aspan, specifically the meme On the Craft of the Miner to help his insights.
Rayjok, Diplomat
To change the ridiculous odds stacked against Jalinjeri, Rayjok Halperion sent embassies to Soltistik, Maercland, Ælfwode, Shuwalu, and even the southern nation of Kiskentay. His message was simple; "Join us now to crush the Garis together, or wait your turn to be overrun." This message certainly rang true as the Garis had already taken possession of Batis, Ortalyk, most of Aydahar, and all but the capitol of Ontustik.
All of these nations responded positively, if not enthusiastically... save Shuwalu which favored neutrality in this affair, not believing the Garis would attack them. Queen Kara Muz of Soltustik immediately mobilized her army with orders to march south. Dana Agash, the king of Ælfwode mobilized anyone capable of wielding a bow. Zhandos Kirgin, Warmaster of Maercland rallied the Grendel to arms, with no shortage of recruits.
Meanwhile to the south. the Queen Mother of Karazalik, Lyailim Ali, sanctioned the use of force against the Garis already threatening her country's borders. They vowed to cut off any retreat to the south that the Garis might make from Jalinjeri should their forces somehow be stopped.
The Adversaries Square Off
The sixty divisions of heavily armed Garis arrayed themselves in the mountain pass in southern Jalinjeri, their rear flanks protected by mountains on either side. They did not expect a large contingent of the Karazalik military to come up on their rear, but did not concern themselves as they did not consider the Karazalik to be a viable threat.
To the north of the Garis, the Jalinjeri forces made up the vanguard, with Soltustic and Maercland divisions on either flank respectively. Interspersed among all of the defending divisions to the north were the Ælfen archers who provided continuous and deadly support to the infantry. In all nearly 600,000 Grendel troops faced off against a combined force of nearly one and a half million souls, arrayed in 144 divisions.
Given the success of the Garis military and the superiority of their weapons, the lack of numbers was of little concern to their general, Zhannur Timurlan. Each of the generals of the defending forces knew, however, that had they not joined together on this day, they would only have had to wait for the day when they would have had to face this army alone.
