The Battle of Pasdjit
The battle of Pasdjit is a military conflict that occurred in the year 862 Re, and marks the year 0 Flamesfall in the Rukhmarite calendar. It is widely considered to have been one of, if not the most important military engagement in Pretheyan history by most scholars. The victory of the Pasdjitan forces in the battle is thought to have allowed the Grannrormrlen to survive for another 150 years, and to have prevented Pretheya's conquest by the Leskeln.
Faced with vastly overwhelming numbers and superior firepower, Lihwen quickly assessed that it would not be possible to defeat the Leskeln in a pitched battle. Therefore, he instead devised a plan to attempt to break the morale of the opposing force. He would array the entire Pasdjitan force on open ground near a chokepoint in the canyon, to make it appear as if they intended to make use of the narrow entryway to nullify Lyri's numbers advantage. When their line inevitably began to be pushed back, they would retreat gradually until the entirety of the enemy army had entered onto open ground, at which point the second phase of the plan would begin.
The battle commenced the next morning, with the Pasdjitan army arranged in an inverted crescent against the opening of the canyon, spearmen at the front and archers at the back. The plan began to fall apart almost immediately, as Lihwen - having never had to fight the Leskeln - had severely underestimated the destructive power of the Treescourge's divinities. Several holes came close to opening in the Pasdjitan formation, but the line was able to be kept intact by the direct intervention of the other four human members of the Band of the Phoenix, and their forces began to gradually give ground, drawing Lyri's forces further and further in. Once enough had entered the battlefield, Lihwen gave a signal, and moments later, a radiant form emerged from behind one of the mountain tops and began to descend towards the centre of the Leskeln force.
Rukhmar arrived by landing upon one of the Leskeln, immediately crushing it to death with the weight of her stone talons. Before any of those nearby could react, fires began to break out in the immediate area around her. The battle had taken place during summer, and it had not rained in the mountains for days, meaning that the entire battlefield was parched and dry. So it was that within seconds, the immense heat given off by the phoenix caused archers' tunics to begin catching fire, which spread throughout the ranks as the immolated started to flee in terror.
The Leskeln were particularly affected by the Firebird's appearance. Possessing partially wooden bodies, fire was one of their greatest fears. Though their hides were normally large and thick enough that things like arrows coated in pitch were not a threat to them, the flames that dripped from Rukhmar's body were hot enough to cause them to ignite on contact. As such, as the first of their number began to go up in flames, they immediately began to panic, desperately attempting to run from the incandescent terror in their midst. In their haste, they trampled dozens of their allies and some even set other Leskeln alight, further spreading chaos throughout the army.
In the moments that followed, it seemed as if this surprise attack might be enough to shatter the army of the Leskeln all on its own. But before Rukhmar could complete her death blow, she was surrounded by the remaining paladins who had travelled south with Lyri, who succeeded in suppressing her while the Leskeln were able to retreat, and preventing the complete collapse of the army. Despite this, the host remained on shaky footing, and the surprise attack had completely thrown the concentration of all of the theurges among them, giving the Pasdjitan force time to regroup. By the time the paladins had driven Rukhmar from the back rank, Pasdjitan esoterikii had moved to the front line, and were now close enough to unleash their arcanums upon the out-of-place Leskeln. They began to let loose devastating bursts of fire and strikes of lightning to lethal effect, cutting down the Leskeln in swathes. Finally, in order to prevent them from wiping out the Leskeln entirely, Lyri took to the battlefield herself to stop the esoterikii.
The details of what transpired next are not clearly known. It is said that Lihwen and the other members of the Band of the Phoenix carved their way through the enemy ranks and took the fight to Lyri, where two among their number - Vardaran and Isalendar - were slain in the fighting, before Lihwen himself perished while landing the final blow, being run through by Lyri's spear, Ormrslayer.
Yet their sacrifice was not in vain, for the death of Lyri threw the opposing force into chaos. With Rukhmar still wreaking havoc amongst their lines, and most of the paladins who had been attempting to suppress her now little more than charred corpses in the dirt, the Leskeln force finally began to collapse, lines breaking apart as men turned and ran back through the canyon. The Leskeln themselves, unable to flee quickly enough, were slaughtered wholesale; their gods unable to save them. The battle soon drew to a close thereafter.
Belligerents
The battle was fought between the forces of the Kingdom of Pasdjit, which were assisted by the Band of the Phoenix; consisting of Lihwen the Hero, who prior to the battle was given control of the Pasdjitan forces, and his companions as well as Rukhmar the Firebird. The opposing force was the main army of the Leskeln, which consisted of the Leskeln themselves, various human troops from the twin forest kingdoms of Balakar and Orissa, and various ex-Grannr auxiliaries, including their commander; the former paladin Lyri of Grestvyt.Forces
The Pasdjitan army consisted of around 4,000 men, 100 of which were esoterikii. Roughly two thirds of the force consisted of spearmen, while the remaining third were all archers. The forces of Lyri's host consisted of around 5,000 soldiers from Balakar and Orissa, around half of which were archers and the other half spearmen, along with 50 theurges capable of calling upon the Divinities. In addition, Lyri's force is thought to have been accompanied by more than 100 Leskeln from the north of Ethlarnashem, and she herself brought with her around 1,000 defectors from the army of the Grannrormrlen.Prelude
"You are Lihwen, of the Grannrormrlen, are you not? Formerly, now, I presume. 'Tis strange company that you keep. Nonetheless: I stand before you as an envoy of the Leskeln. Forfir, the Wyrm Lord, is dead, and the Grannr will soon die with him. I come now to ask that your liege allow my army to pass through his kingdom, that we might travel into Summerlen and liberate the people there from the Grannr yoke. I give him my word that we will not take so much as a head of corn from his lands, nor harm even a single of his subjects."The Battle for Pasdjit was triggered directly as a result of Forfir's death during the Grannr army's siege of the northern Holdtree in Ethlarnashem. With the Wyrm Lord's death, cohesion among the Grannr forces immediately began to dissolve. The majority of forces present at the Holdtree or in Ethlarnashem deserted, with a significant number coming over to Lyri's side. In response to this, Lyri sought to take her host south and skirt the edge of the Blasted Mountains to mount an attack on the Grannr's Summerlen province, but was forced to reconsider when scouts discovered that the armies blocking the pass from Ethlarnashem to Summerlen had not collapsed. Instead of risking a conflict with the Grannr army blocking the pass, Lyri opted to take her host south towards the northern border of Pasdjit, with the intent of passing through the kingdom, then travelling due north-west and fording a strait to enter into Summerlen through an alternate route, which she knew from her time serving in the Grannr army to be lesser guarded.
"You think to give your word as assurance, after the betrayal you have committed? Forfir lies dead by your hand, struck down - from what I am told - in his own chamber. You are an oathbreaker, paladin, and none among us are fool enough to put stock in the words of a viper such as yourself. My lord, the King of Pasdjit, has already given his answer to the envoys sent by your host. Neither you nor the traitors who follow you will be granted passage through the kingdom."Upon sending envoys to the kingdom of Pasdjit, however, her request to pass through the country was denied. The Pasdjitans had been neutral in the conflict between the Grannrormrlen and the Leskeln prior to now; an arrangement which had largely suited both parties, as it kept the war contained to two fronts, when it would otherwise have spread out over an enormous area. Lyri's request to the king of Pasdjit essentially created an ultimatum for him, as allowing the Leskeln to pass through Pasdjit in order to invade Summerlen would be tantamount to throwing his lot in with the Treescourge. Eventually, the king of Pasdjit chose to decline Lyri's request, and to join the war on the side of the Grannr instead. Thus, when Lyri's forces began to march down the mountain pass leading from Ethlarnashem to Pasdjit, a battle between the two forces became inevitable.
"I see. Then when next we meet, I will just have to put you and your liege down, like the dogs of the Grannr that you are."