Third Battle of the Plains of Talenta

Military action

In a combat freed from the nearly immobile battle lines along Scions Sound, Cyran and Karrnathi forces clashed in the Plains of Talenta. The site of the battle was a hundred miles southeast of Vulyar.   The 900 Cyran heavy cavalry rode clockwork steeds, and the Oak and Ash Regiment added 400 heavy foot. King Connos’s forces also featured superior arcane might from two companies of the First Metrol Wands (including a young Shaldra Antarielle, later a famous traitor), as well as 3,500 mercenary elf archer/skirmishers and the 2,000 light cavalry of the Kalazar Horse Brigade. In addition, the Making First Legion, the Making Fourth Legion, and the Saerun Pike were all present, adding 7,000 infantry to an army totaling roughly 15,000.   The Karrnathi forces were more numerous, including the First and Second Atur Legion (3,000 skeletons and 3,000 zombies), 4,000 displaced Rekkenmark crossbows (2,000 of them undead), and the 8,500 soldiers of the Korth and Vedykar heavy infantry. The heavy cavalry numbered 1,800, including bone knight regiments from the Order of the Onyx Skull and the Order of the Emerald Claw, as well as an undead heavy cavalry force, the City of Night Regiment. In total, Karrnath brought more than 20,000 units to the battle. Its most valuable force was a group of Talenta halfling scouts who called themselves the Thunder Riders.   Cyre knew that its infantry, even with excellent wand and archer support, could not withstand the shock troops of the heavily armored Karrnathi bone knight cavalry. King Connos’s troops chose their ground, dug a magically disguised trench, and made clever use of illusions to draw their opponents out. In the morning, the plan went, the Karrnathi cavalry would see the weak formation of Cyran infantry in the center and charge. Instead, the horses would fall into a leg-shattering pit half a mile long. Cyre’s plan unraveled when one of the halfling Thunder Riders tumbled into the trench while scouting perilously close to the Cyran lines. He returned to the scout camp and reported his finding. An enormous debate erupted. Some halflings urged silence. Others insisted that the Karrnathi overlords who held their leaders hostage should be punished. The majority, however, reasoned that since the pit would destroy the Karrnathi mounts, the Cyran trick was dishonorable and evil—few things have more value to Talenta halflings than livestock, whether reptilian or equine. So the Karrnathi were warned, and the next morning, the cavalry charged the flanks while Karrnathi skeletons and zombies fought through the trench.   The fight was vicious. Even though they avoided the trap, the Karrnathi army failed to rout the Cyrans. The Valenar mercenaries, in particular, caused havoc wherever they rode, their skirmishing speed and aggression more than making up for their lighter armor and weapons. The elves devastated the Rekkenmark crossbows at one point, throwing the Karrnathi flank into confusion and preventing the Order of the Onyx Skull from fully exploiting its advance. In the end, the Cyran lines were forced back, but they did not break.   The following day, the pattern was repeated, with Cyran pike and wands holding up the Karrnathi heavies. On the third day, the Karrnathi undead and riders attempted to bypass the Cyran forces by marching through the night, but Cyran mounted scouts noticed the movement and countermaneuvered. Rather than attack against prepared forces, the Karrnathi troops set up defensively. The Cyrans, already tired, declined to engage, and both armies withdrew.   Cyre’s triumph in facing down a superior force through superior tactics and generalship was soon dashed. King Connos had fallen in the battle—a fact that was hidden from all but his closest supporters. (His page, a lad named Marson, wore the king’s helm and armor on the third day.) The march back to Metrol became a funeral procession as word spread of the battle’s cost.