Arnia 2

293AC

The fortified wooden camp of Norvos was set on a hill just east of Dagger Lake, which afforded a great view of the surrounding plains, the old Valyrian road stretched southeast of it, bending so as to avoid the cursed land of sorrows, which he could see shroud in that section of the Royne with the darkness of its eternal fog even in the midst of the day. He eyed the area with suspicion and annoyance, the need to move supplies overland in this part of the region was an expected but nonetheless unfortunate issue.

Further south he could see the flood-plains of the lesser Royne stretch out for miles and miles, down towards the lands of Volantene Holdings. To the north, a branch of the great black road led to Qohor, and upon it marched a host of men, far smaller than the camp of Norvos, at perhaps ten or fifteen-thousand, however even at this distance it was clear that little flesh was visible in the army. No, the army of Qohor marched forth underneath the heaviest armor seen in the lands of Essos, worn in many cases by the Smiths who made it.

It wasn't long at all before the host arrived at the foot of the hill, and the general of the army road forth under the banner of the black goat.

"Magistrate?" The man at the gate asked, and Arnia nodded, signaling the gate to be opened. "Let him in. We have much to speak of."

He stepped down from the battlements as the gate was pulled open, and the General of Qohor road in. He was an imposing sight, a large man clad in silver armor engraved with black spirals and tracings. His helm was shaped like the skull of a great goat, and his horse bore as much armor as the man, clattering with an unholy screeching as it trotted. He could only imagine the sound it made as it charged.

The man dismounted after being let in, removing his helmet. "Greetings. Magisterial General. It is good to see that Norvos has been so willing to support our people's ancient alliance."

"Certainly, we have as much to lose from Volantene aggression as you, especially with all the sellswords they've been buying up." He nodded "If I may introduce myself? Arnia Hotihan be my name."

"Aurion of house Vaehar." The man said, nodding looking back and forth. "You have chosen an excellent place for a camp, Magister Hotihan. This will be a good place to wait for the host of Lorath, especially with Triarch Maegyr leading his army north."

Arnia blinked at that, "My scouts had reported no such thing."

"The Birds of Qohor sing that he has marched north from Selhorys with eighty-thousand men and 300 elephants, though half of his men are levies." The black-haired man said, shifting his eyes about. "But surely there are better places to discuss this."

Arnia stopped himself from asking anything more, closing his eyes instead. "Yes, please, follow me."

He led the man into the command tent, strung beneath banners of horse-hair that shifted in the breeze above them.

"Now. You were saying?"

"The old Tiger marches to meet us with the lesser of the two armies of Volantis." The Qohorish lord gestured to the map which was strung across the table. "I suspect he plans to meet us in open battle where his war-elephants can best serve their purpose, on the floodplains."

"And his forces outnumber our own? Volantis shouldn't be able to raise enough men for two armies of that scale."

"They have aid. The cities of Slaver's bay have sent them ten-thousand unsullied, and the cult of the Red God has swelled their numbers with willing Levies, though both those forces March on the Orange Coast with Triarch Valos. What we have to contend with will mostly be citizen levies and sellswords."

"I see…" He stroked his bright red mustache thoughtfully, twirling the end around his finger. "I have fifty thousand with me, ten of its elite. What of Qohor."

The man's face tightened. "There have been sightings of a Dothraki Khalasar north of Qohor, we have had to hold back our unsullied legion as a result. The Ten-thousand men I bring are the majority of our forces, with another five-thousand cataphract to come once their preparations are finished. They should arrive by the time that Maegor does if not sooner."

"And what of your current forces?"

The Black hair man paused in thought for a second before continuing.

"Two-thousand Cataphracts and Noble horsemen, and eight-thousand citizens with their armor. They are better trained and equipped than the rabble that Volantis has called up, likely a match or better than most sellswords companies. They were founded after the sack of Qohor by the Golden company eighty years ago and were intended to prevent any such disasters in the future. They have done so admirably since."

Arnia tugged at the space between his eyes, nodding. "And we can hopefully expect some twenty-thousand from Lorath, though of what quality I don't know." He turned to face the map. "Let us hope that they arrive before Maegor does. I would like to meet him in the hills and valleys East of the Sorrows if I might. That will at least confine the impact of his elephants."

"That is reasonable, but we should not act with haste, and wait for the Lorathi to arrive. That should allow us to outnumber even his great host." Aurion said, before stopping for a moment. "If will have our engineers begin building siege weapons, with any luck the elephants will not be a problem after all."

"Aye," Arian said sternly.

"We can hope."