Editing Battle of Trudana Felik

<big>'''5247-CHAD vs Azcala-Battle of Trudana Felik'''</big> 

== History==
[[Trudana Felik]] is a waymet on the world of Trudana, a barbaric world experiencing a sword age.  The advent of the Jeweled Road has made is somewhat cosmopolian in connection to worlds in similar shape as it is for a large number of shadow

==Participants==
Amber:
*12th Legion of Amber led by Prince Benedict.  
*[[CHAD]] Forces
**King Arin of Freestate's Second Force of Chad. 100 Horse, 200 Infantry.
**Sir Reltorious' Savior Slayer First Horse.  70 Heavy horse
**Dame Topatia's Armopred Cleric's Order.  100 ACO Heavy Infantry
**Dame Harriet's 200 Healing Core
**[[Digan]] the Ruby Mage
**[[Vonnilia]] & Shaharazad  

Azcala
*King ? of the Yellow Scar Force- A client king of Tonocat
*100,000 Light infantry.
*30,000 Medium Infantry
*10,000 Light Infantry
*10,000 Puma Cult Infantry

==Action==
The Azcalans were in march order on the Jeweled Road seeking a suitable world to conquer and establish a forward base in pursuance of its war with Amber.

The Savior Slayer paladins led by Sir Reltorious struck achieving complete surprise. The Armored Cleric Order of the Savior Slayer, (ACO) entered battle alongside the Paladins.  King Arin's forces were directly behind the SS& ACO troops.  All the Tosians were extremely well equipped with magical armor and weapons, as well as using a variety of haste spells.  The Amber forces under Prince Benedict used traditional line and fire team tactics that essentially held Azcalan forces in place for the more actively violent Tosians. 

The ferocity of the Tosian attackers combined with the use of strongly magical and materially superior weapons and armors made the ability of the Azcalans to damage them nearly impossible.  

Azcalan battle tactics were a combination of traditional line tactics and with Puma and Jaguar Cultists using skirmish tactics.  Tosians used group swarm wolfpack tactics supported by combat magics used by magicians as well as non-magicians using artifact or innate powers.  The Tosians were also supported aggressively efficient combat clerics and healers able to resurrect the dead in a combat situation.   The Combat Clerics as well as the Armored Cleric Order assisted the Amber forces in battle as well allowing them to remain uninjured in the battle despite their lesser quality of equipment.

The SS, ACO, and CHAD Second Force struck the Azcalan 4th Band and completely overwhelmed it in moments. 

The 5th Band broke morale and fled into Trudana and where chased by the Leprechaun Vonnila and her companion Sharaharazad the Cat.  The two used widespread elemental magics and mental horror dominations abilities to cause fear and death even in hardened Azcalan forces unaffected by frequent bloodshed due to their religious creeds and practices. 

The Lord of Chaos Digan the Rube Mage assassinated the Azcalan force Commander. He continued to assassinate Azcalan leaders as they were identified destroying their command structure.

The Amber forces entered battle after the flight of the 5th Band and the destruction of the 4th band assaulting the 3rd and 6th Bands.  As the Azcalan forces disintegrated the 2nd, 7th, & 8th bands surrendered.  The combined forces defeated the 1st, 9th, 10th bands,.  The 11th through 15th bands surrender without giving battle. 

The battle took less then 30 minutes and was a complete victory for the Tosian and Amber forces.

==Aftermath==

20,000 Azcalans slain.
60,000 Azclans wounded.
10,000 Azclans missing.
60,000 Azcalans captured.

No Amber casualties.

Under the direction of Dame Harriet leading the Tosian Healing Corp all the Azcalan wounded were fulling healed.  Then all captured Azclan had their the left ear removed as a sign of surrender and magically prevented from regrowing as a sign of their conditional parole. The condition was that if captured under arms again they would receive no mercy. 

While mutilation of captives is not a practice of the forces of Amber it was given permission by the overall commander, Prince Benedict.

==Bleys' telling of Benedict's report to the King==
Random looked out over the west wall to the lit city below. Its lights were new and set a different look to the city from the torches of his youth. Less smoke and tar, more fairyland glow. Like Disneyland with nightly bloodletting.

Beside the king on the battlements stood two people as he pondered the news. A third stood far aside, waiting.
Bleys leaned next to the king, passing a blue bottle to him.  Benedict stands to the other side silently, smells of fresh battle, of fire and blood, though his garments are clean  as he looks out over the city, waiting his turn to speak. 

“Its not like we didn't know they were out there." Bleys says, "This is just the first real battle.  The first battle of the red war after twenty years of cold war. They have been skulking the Jeweled road for two decades since Swayvil released Tonacat and returned the Key of Azcala to him. Its a damn good thing he can't find his sword. Fifteen years ago one of the harbor gangs flushed out a Jaguar cult cell here in Amber and spiked them to the walls of the Harbormaster's shack. Thats what convinced you to hire those lunatic tosians in [[CHAD]]. CHAD has been hanging puma and jaguar cultists up and down the Jeweled Road since they got here. They've been working with Duke Yaro's [[Jeweled Walkers]] picking up hunter teams. Hell, it was that little nightmare [[Vonnilia]] that tipped us off to this troop movement in force in the first place.  An army that size wasn't a threat to Amber but they wouldn't start conquest on our doorstep anyway.”

Random sips and nods, “I know, Bleys, its just one of those ''burden of the crown'' things”

Looking to the shadow and the third person, waving him to come closer.

Walking forward, the small man in fox tan tweed bows to the king, moonlight glinting off the three green mithril trees on the right of his forehead. The four colored stones on the left of his forehead are barely concealed under his feathered slouch hat.

Random extends a hand. “Well met, Fortunadas. I expect you came to hear Prince Benedict's report of the performance of your troops?”

Fort smiles as he greets the king. “Yes your Majesty, and if there is a card game you know of, I'd like to hear about that as well.”

Chuckling, he looks to the tall dour marshal of Amber, “Alright Ben, what's the butcher bill? “

He steps forward and uncharacteristically takes the bottle and a pair of goodly chugs before talking. His drinking thusly surprises his brothers.

“We arrived by trump at Trudana Felik. The Azcalans were transferring a force of one hundred and fifty thousand, all foot troops save their commanders.  Marching them bold as brass balls down the Jeweled Road past Drisna. The CHAD scout, a dwarf assassin I'm sure, named Merceno, gave us the numbers. I put ten thousand of our troops on the field, mostly foot of the 12th legion with a thousand horse and twenty Elites. The CHAD contingent had something around six hundred. Their 3rd Force Command, under King Arin of Freestate and his bodyguard Sir Taroos, consisted of two hundred foot, a hundred horse, fifty of their Savior Slayer Corp under the corps leader Sir Reltorious himself. Twenty of their SSC's Armored Cleric Order. They had the healer group under the leadership of a very interesting woman, Dame Harriet. Two hundred clerics of Tosian origin. At the time it seemed like a token force and their healing troop looked very little like our surgical teams. They resembled something akin to singers for the dead or drunken camp followers. Its my first time seeing them in a large scale action on our behalf. They earned their pay, that's for certs. “

“I was hoping our force could follow the Azcalans and work the shadows to a favorable ground. Then import the rest of the legion and take them to battle at something like 5 to 1 odds. 30 thousand of ours to 150 thousand of theirs. But once Sir Reltorious saw the foe he and his Savior Slayers attacked without so much as a damn them or a word asking for permission. Seventy heavy horse against one hundred and fifty thousand. King Arin and his half-orc companion were a heartbeat behind them leading a wedge of their knightly heavy horse. Apparently the Tosians trust the Savior Slayer battle lust. Their foot came swarming in like monkeys tossed off towers. Lastly this small ugly woman riding a frigging' [[dottle]] came up to me and asked if Amberites take ears? I told her we didn't and she rode off on that beast, leading the rabble followers with a Reardan cudgel in one hand and a Rearden tankard of mead the size of Gerard's head in the other.  Her whole crew stank of mead, wine and smoking herbs.”

“I was prepared to watch them be slaughtered as a lesson in restraint. I was with my commanders when that red mage, his talking cat, and your girlfriend, Bleys, that [[Vonnilia]] leprechaun, rode up and sat with us watching, a crystal glass of wine in his hand, toasting them. “

“It was a pretty splashy mess. I don't think the Azcalans expected it. Not sure I did and I've seen them fight on Tosa.”

Random passed the bottle around to Bleys and Fortunadas, “Do tell.”  Fortunadus chuckled at Benedict's appraisal of Sir Reltorious's surprise attack.

“First, I don't think the Azcalans had weapons able to penetrate the mithril and Reardan panoplies of the Paladins or their ACOs. They rained down edged hell and trampled the wounded. Beyond that the majority of the tosians were not...line fighters. Heros, more like Elites. Irregular Heavy Elite A Infantry I would call them.  Extraordinarily Irregular. Mixed weapons, mixed armors, mixed fighting styles, mixed battle cries. Noisy as fuck. The Azcalans kept trying to move forces in lines of battle to face them but they moved too fast. Hyper-fast almost.”

Bleys nods, as surprised by Benedict's cursing and drinking during an after-battle report as the results of the battle, "Adventurers from the Stone of Skull shadows in Tosa... Spice addicts. Tosian mélange doubles one's speed. You see the blue in blue eyes on them and that's it. Their wizards and their magics specialize in haste magic as well.” Fort nods, his own blue in blue eyes shaded by night and his foppish feathered hat.

Ben nods, “Indeed. The ones that were wounded, suddenly had one of the drunk clerics that Harriet led running into the middle of battle, swinging maces and cudgels to tag the injured, who popped up like jack-in-the-boxes and began rending flesh again. Its as if the clerics knew the moment a warrior fell.”

Fort nods, “They do. Its a clerical power of theirs to know the fading strength of those around them”

Ben's eyes widen, “That's certainly convenient. Anyway, after about 3 minutes of contact the whole center of the Azcalan line broke.  Ten thousand feathered troops running off the road into whatever world was there. That Red Digan tossed the leprechaun girl and the cat to the ground and they ran through the battle following the fleeing troops. He said we wouldn't need to worry about chasing those ones down. I watched his empty crystal goblet refill magically with wine."

Bleys sighed and responded slightly agitatedly, “Frigging rabid elephants, Random, I tell you there will be rabid elephants in the streets.”

Random slaps his shoulder hard, knowing well the opinion Bleys holds of the Tosians, and waits for Benedict to continue.

“My commanders were anxious anyway and it was quite a sight. I admit my own blood-lust was rising. About then the commander of the Azcalans, likely a high noble in jaguar robes, came to the rear of the Tosians. Red Digan pointed at him and his flesh melted like boiled wax. He sat his horse bereft of flesh and looked up at us like he felt betrayed by the gods of war. Then his skeleton fell apart. His horse came trotting up to Digan like a puppy. Creepy as hell. I had to let my commanders go or they were going to mutiny. So we took battle to them at 15 to 1 odds against."

“12th Legion lost perhaps 2000 troops dead immediately, 6000 wounded in the first few minutes.. But those drunken healers started riding among us healing our people like nothing I've ever had the power to use. Raising the dead on the field. It was....extraordinary."

Bleys “That's high praise from you, Brother. I've rarely heard you so keen with your regard.”

Ben nods to his red-haired brother, taking another drink,  “I'm used to a certain level of cool professionalism among my troops. Calm regard in battle saves lives and allows for a smooth flow of battle toward victorious ends. CHAD, well, lets just say they approach it differently. Its rarely been my experience to see that kind of enthusiastic bloodshed. Amber has had its eager killers, its barbarians, even its berserkers. We do what we must in battle and some of us love it too well. I've seen Gerard, Julian, Corwin, Eric, Dalt, Osric, Borlak, even Caine, and all have gloried in battle and reveled in bloodlust. I am guilty of that sin myself at times. Bleys, you and Corwin fought one of the finest battles I ever witnesses to gain the courtyard of Amber up the Kolvir Stair. But these warriors take joy in battle to a fairly insane point. Little or no unit cohesion but bloody work and enthusiasm. This group had few wizards but their clerics were incredible. Dame Harriet guided the clerics to provide a kind of stability to their battle. Their clerical magic was powerful and direct. Its a hell of a shame we don't have anything like it. “

Random quietly asks, “How did it end?”

“There came a point in battle where we began taking surrenders. As soon as that began Dame Harriet's clerics snapped to and each went to a member of the SSC and healed them completely. I have heard of their tendency to execute the wounded and the prisoners but it was interesting to see the clerics swarm them to insure their mania didn't lead to organized murder.”

“Once the Azcalans loss morale they either fled or surrender. We killed perhaps twenty thousand. Another 60 thousand were wounded. Ten thousand fled into shadow and when we found them they were dead or mindless in madness. We took 60 thousand uninjured prisoners.”

“That's when that Harriet came up again. She said there was time to raise the enemy dead if we wanted. I declined. She then asked if I was sure about the ears? I thought she meant from the dead. While I am not a fan of mutilating the dead I told her to go ahead. “

Fortunadas took the bottle, holding up his hand to request a pause and passed the bottle after his drinking from it.

Fort breathed, “I know what's coming but go ahead, sir”

Ben looks to Fort then to his king, “So these clerics and the other CHAD go to the wounded, then to the prisoners. They went to each and clove their left ear from them and healed their wounds, telling them that if they were caught making war on Amber again they had loss the right to ask for mercy. Imagine, Azcalans asking for mercy...Random, I may have to ask your permission to marry her someday.”

Random spits the sweet whiskey of Amber and chokes briefly. Beside him Bleys and Fortunadas laugh.