Ken Makmai
Legend of the Iron Breaker
Upon the declaration of war between the Renyan Unitary and the Bast Oligarchy, Kalren Lahban charged Ken Makmai, the commander of Seiran Dyrae to take a force of 242 Bal Kaeren and delay the Shimmering Host to give Kalren Lahban time to levy more men. Accepting this mission, Ken Makmai and his troops harassed the Shimmering Host all the way from the border to Seiran Dyrae.
To start the battle, Ken Makmai lead his elite in a charge through the lines of the Wretches who could not possibly hold against such a force. He hunted down the Lightclads that lead the Bastites regulars and struck with solid blows of his mace, leaving their armour ringing. His squire would then dart in and knock them to the ground where the third squad member would finish them by driving a wooden stake through the fallen Lightclad's visor.
Even as Ken Makmai and his elite killed the best of the Bastites army, his rear guard holding his line of retreat was overwhelmed. The weight of the Wretches pushed the rear guard back and the entire force was surrounded.
Of the 242 men who took the field that day, less than one hundred remained. With massed Wretches blocking their way back to the keep, and the bloodied Lightclad surrounding them, the day seemed lost.
In a moment of stillness as the lines reformed the Wretches saw the impossible; The leader of the Bal Kaeren still stood and the Lightclad, their oppressive masters, lay dead around him. The Wretches took their chance for freedom and charged passed the beleaguered Ken Makmai and his few remaining men and flung themselves at their previous masters.
The Bast forces broke and the relieved Bal Kaeren collapsed, exhausted but thankful. Sadly Ken Makmai has suffered too many injuries and upon collapsing with his men, he would never rise again. His stand left the War of Wood and Steel to quietly come to a close a year later and in death he earned the name Nai Meahab (Iron Breaker).
"My liege, we cannot abandon Seiran Dyrae to the enemy. We will leave you a path of corpses for when you march to reclaim it." - Last message from Ken Makmai to Kalren LahbanThe Battle of Mossy Keep in the year 299 pitted the skill of the Bal Kaeren against the iron and steel armoured Bastite and their massed slaves.
To start the battle, Ken Makmai lead his elite in a charge through the lines of the Wretches who could not possibly hold against such a force. He hunted down the Lightclads that lead the Bastites regulars and struck with solid blows of his mace, leaving their armour ringing. His squire would then dart in and knock them to the ground where the third squad member would finish them by driving a wooden stake through the fallen Lightclad's visor.
Even as Ken Makmai and his elite killed the best of the Bastites army, his rear guard holding his line of retreat was overwhelmed. The weight of the Wretches pushed the rear guard back and the entire force was surrounded.
Of the 242 men who took the field that day, less than one hundred remained. With massed Wretches blocking their way back to the keep, and the bloodied Lightclad surrounding them, the day seemed lost.
In a moment of stillness as the lines reformed the Wretches saw the impossible; The leader of the Bal Kaeren still stood and the Lightclad, their oppressive masters, lay dead around him. The Wretches took their chance for freedom and charged passed the beleaguered Ken Makmai and his few remaining men and flung themselves at their previous masters.
" They taught us to steal metal from the dead, we finally had the day that it was them." - Dost survivor of the battle
The Bast forces broke and the relieved Bal Kaeren collapsed, exhausted but thankful. Sadly Ken Makmai has suffered too many injuries and upon collapsing with his men, he would never rise again. His stand left the War of Wood and Steel to quietly come to a close a year later and in death he earned the name Nai Meahab (Iron Breaker).
Cultural Reception
In retelling the harassment of the Shimmering Host and the Battle of Mossy Keep the Bastites focus instead on the cowardly tactics of the Bal Kaeren and how disloyalty was the only way they survived. In their tales the Bastites believe themselves to be a force to punish crimes against them and their defeats to being always outnumbered.
To the People of Dost the Battle of Mossy Keep is almost a creation myth, their telling focuses on their own struggles at the time but revering Ken Makmai in the same way.
To the People of Dost the Battle of Mossy Keep is almost a creation myth, their telling focuses on their own struggles at the time but revering Ken Makmai in the same way.
Date of Setting
The year 299
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