Re: MP Game - Yarnspinners
Machaka: Turn 19
The time was right. His forces were ready. Cetewayo was pleased that the High Priests in the capital had managed to recruit this large force. He had a mixture of heavily armored hoplites combined with a large number of lightly armed archers. Hopefully the combination would prove strong enough. He decided that he would be prepared to become the deciding factor himself should it prove necessary.
Day began to lighten the field. Karo faced the coming battle with mixed feelings. He looked forward to the battle, but dreaded it as well as all experienced warriors did. However, his mind was further divided. It had finally happened. The King, The God, had given him orders in direct conflict with those given by the High Priests. The High Priests had given absolute orders for a constant retinue of guards for the King. There had been times when the King had disappeared. Karo knew he would be held responsible for those disappearances that had occurred while he was on duty. However, now he was leaving the King's side to fight a battle. Of course, he was doing it on direct orders of the King. He was very unsure what the High Priests would do. They were very... direct with those who disobeyed their orders for whatever reason. But he HAD to obey the God didn't he?!? Surely they would agree, after all they were HIS High Priests... weren't they?
Cetewayo could tell that his orders had caused considerable consternation among the guards who had been scheduled to attend him that day. He had been very careful not to challenge the High Priests' power directly. However, the immediate victory was more important than some petty political posturing. The response would also give him valuable insight into the motivations and intentions of the High Priests. Some might think him paranoid, but they did not have his finely honed political sense, that ability to feel the currents of power and influence. It was possible that the High Priests had not been behind his recent illness, but he was not willing to take that sort of naive risk.
The battle began slowly, as did most. The defenders began the battle. They had one of those deluded mortals who claimed to be a priest. Cetewayo was amused. What god did this priest worship? Cetewayo could sense the other quasi-divine beings in the world and he could tell that this priest worshiped none of them. This creature would prove to be ineffective, his powers weak. Cetewayo hoped to be able to eviscerate the fool himself. The defenders launched a full flight of arrows at extreme range. They were very lucky and actually killed a couple of the Machakan soldiers. Babu the Prophet began the response by shouting a prayer for vengeance upon The God's enemies. Cetewayo was pleased that Babu was so enthusiastic, but he thought that Babu could surely do something a bit more practical. As for himself, Cetewayo decided that he would prepare to take part in the battle should it become necessary. He focused his powers and suddenly everything seemed to slow. Everything was moving at half speed. His own archers fired arrows to darken the sky. They caused damage, but killed no one. Cetewayo hoped that things would improve. More incoming arrows proved completely harmless, not even bouncing off of a shield. To Cetewayo's great approval, Babu began a rousing prayer that seemed to instill an almost mindless fanaticism among the troops. Cetewayo further cast Mistform and Protection as his archers released once more. This time they created havoc among the enemy, killing a number of his archers and wounding that stupid priest.
After casting Ironskin and Mirror Image Cetewayo decided that he would join in the fight immediately rather than wait for dire need. He quickly approached the lightly armed militias. As he approached them he noticed that the enemy priest had fallen under a hail of arrows. His visage was frightening indeed as he laughed his way into battle. He fought alongside his hoplites. The archers proved almost too effective, mowing down the militia men before Cetewayo and the hoplites could engage them. There were plenty more heavily armed infantry men behind them though. The battle degenerated into a bloody fray.
That night around the camp there was much celebration. The men were happy to have survived, although there were some wounded. Cetewayo was pleased. This province was a wealthy one. It was a rich farmland and the trade along the river was an additional bounty. Losses had been light. Soon it would be time to further expand the Machaka nation.
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