[caeso]

 

"I adhere to the terms of our agreement.

From rampart to rampart, there will be nothing left."

In the western steppe, there is the rumbling of hooves and horses. Sand rises in the wake of traveling parties: a single banner hoisted over the horizon.
Recent events have not flagged determination, and the window of peacemaking begins to close with the first strikes exchanged.

What rides on Audhild is not an organized army in neat and orderly ranks, but savages with spears and bows. Volleys of arrows wreathed in the fire of the Dunes to turn the homes of families into no more than a winter's night kindling: each day spreading the encirclement to chip away at the defender's morale. Their intention is made clear: not to accept negotiations or diplomacy, but to make an example of the tradecity for some cause left unspoken. Not even the Khan appears to issue some declaration or speech: only occasionally weaving through ranks and reinforcing his people.

The relative quiet of the far west ends with the onset of a storm most foul, dark clouds of ash and smoke blotting out the skies. For all of a moment, it might appear as if an eclipse had come upon them: and what will follow is the height of their first offensive to pierce into the underbelly of the city. A number of bloody skirmishes were sure to come before any peace could be found on the savannahs that dot the edge of the Silent Expanse.

TARGET: Audhild.

OBJECTIVE: Razing, siege.

DATE: Wednesday 31st, 630 PM EST