The Scroll of Nemt

The Scroll of Nemt
Mission to Kopixer

by Ekanor Arno
of the 3rd Kantora Zekresh



I am Ekanor Arno, an officer in the Imperial Army assigned to the 3rd Kantora Zekresh. I was witness to many of the events described in this scroll, but this is not my story. It is the story of my commander, Gurikan Nemt.

Nemt is the scion of a very old family that has lived in Zekran since the beginning of the empire and has lived in the area longer than that since they trace their roots to the native Shell People who are indigenous to the area where the Imperial Capital City of Zekran now stands. Shell People are considered fully Zekresh since the Zekresh are simply the people of Zekran and Zekran's original inhabitants were a mix of Frayeth, Shell People, Cliff People and Seagull People. Of these, only the Shell People are indigenous to the site of the city. All the others came across the Gateway Waters from the South.

As is the custom of his own people and nearly everyone else in the Empire, Nemt has no last name. Nor do I.

Nemt has made his career in the Imperial Army. He began as an officer because his father purchased an officer's commission for him. (They are routinely bought, sold and traded and only rarely based on merit.) Not just any commission, but command of the prestigious 3rd Kantora Zekresh (3rd Phalanx from Zekran). This commission carries the rank of "gurikan" (captain).

For those of you who are not soldiers, these are the ranks of the Zekresh Imperial Army:

kantor = spearman
ekanor = assistant (lieutenant)
gurikan = leader (captain)
ekanor falan = high assistant (lieutenant general)
gurikan falan = high leader (captain general)
gurikan falanorata = leader above all (field marshal)

Ranks in the Imperial Navy are almost the same:

tamlish = seaman
ekanor = assistant (lieutenant)
gurikan = leader (captain)
ekanor falan = high assistant (vice admiral)
gurikan falan = high leader (admiral)
gurikan falanorata = leader above all (grand admiral)

Because he was stationed in the capital city, came from a prominent family and carried out his duties competently, Nemt caught the attention of Field Marshal Krulmuk, the commander of the Imperial Army. Krulmuk is also a member of the Stavuk Vyloresh (Imperial Council.)

Nemt's family is so well connected socially that they are routinely invited to the Emperor's parties. The Emperor is very fond of parties and drink. Nemt was attending one of these parties and happened to be sitting near the Emperor when the festivities were interrupted by one of the Emperor's advisors coming in to tell the Emperor, "Your majesty, riots have broken out in Salan Kopixer because of the famine there."

The Emperor looked annoyed rather than concerned and said dismissively, "Don't we have someone to take care of that?"

The advisor said, "You mean the Ulor. He has resigned."

"Well..." the Emperor began, but then seemed at a loss, "can't we get someone to replace him?"

Nemt immediately volunteered, "I'll do it!"

The Emperor blinked and looked over at him as if to rebuke him for interrupting. Just then, Field Marshall Krulmuk leaned over and said quietly to the Emperor, "He's a good man, your majesty. He would make a fine governor."

The Emperor's expression changed. He smiled and said, "So be it. Congratulations young... what's your name?"

Upon being told, the Emperor said, "Congratulations Ulor Nemt. Now, let's have more wine and less talk of provinces and such."

Krulmuk winked at Nemt and later told him it was a shrewd move to volunteer for that position, but that it would be difficult. Krulmuk said it would be almost impossible to just go there and take over. The situation out in Kopixer was dire. Krulmuk promised, and later arranged, for Nemt to take the 3rd Kantora Zekresh with him in a convoy of navy ships along with two shiploads of grain. Krulmuk told him that there were three phalanxes of imperial troops in Kopixer whom he could take command of, but it would be best to bring the 3rd Kantora Zekresh just to have at least one reliable unit. There was no telling what shape the provincial garrison phalanxes would be in.

Nemt was already supervising the loading of his troops into the ships when he received this message from the Lord Chancellor notifying him that his appointment had been made official:

Greetings Nemt,

You have been appointed Ulor of Salan Kopixer (Kopixer Province).

The effective date of your appointment is Oron 1, Salga 5, Adonsik 40 Vylor Cledman VI. (Day 1, Month 5, Year 40 of the reign of Emperor Cledman VI)

Kopixer province is relatively new. It was conquered in the 9th year of the reign of Emperor Cledman II which was 173 years ago.

It is province number 52 on the standard province map. (The Lord Chancellor's letter had a map with it. A link to the map is below. It was this map:
http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger2/6312/324847301494804/1600/488147/ZekreshEmpire04.gif
)

Kopixer is bordered on the West by the Shasa Liss (Snake River). It is bordered on the North by Sligifter Province, on the East by Frangees Province, on the Southeast by Blib Showatan Province and on the South and Southwest by unsettled barbarian lands beyond the frontier of the Empire. The boundaries are shown on the map by a light blue line on the West representing the river and by black lines on all other sides. The red dot or square marks the provincial capital, Arinixervolt, which is located on the East bank of the Shasa Liss (Snake River). The Province is about 775 Talong (about 400 km) wide from East to West and about 1175 Talong (about 600 km) wide from North to South. There has been no census taken, but the population is probably nearly 100,000 people, most of them from the Kopixer tribe after whom the province is named. There are also a considerable number of Sligifterians and Frangees. There are very few Zekresh people in the province.

In the language of the Kopixer people, kopix means poison. Kopixer means "poisoner" which is their term for scorpion. Large scorpions are commonly found in the province and they are the totem animal of the Kopixer Tribe. "Arinix" means trade and "volt" means town. Arinixervolt means Trader Town.

The province is arid, tending towards desert in the south, but the lands along the Shasa Liss are arable and under cultivation.

May fortune smile upon your endeavors. Long live the Emperor!

Rubanya Cledman,
Lord Chancellor of the Empire


The Imperial Navy provided 18 galley ships (propelled by both oars and sails) for the journey. 16 of these carried the men of the 3rd Kantora Zekresh while two more carried grain to provide famine relief and to replace seed grain reportedly stolen by the rioters. There were 800 men of the 3rd Kantora Zekresh. A kantora is supposed to be 1,000 men, but only two kantoro (kantoro is plural of kantora in the Zekresh language) are actually at full strength. These two are the Kantora Solurenesh and the Kantora Ramoro. The Kantora Solurenesh (the "Golden Phalanx") was the Emperor's bodyguards. The Kantora Ramoro (the "Lions Phalanx"), also known as the 1st Kantoro Zekresh, is Field Marshall Krulmuk's own phalanx which he has turned into an elite unit.

All the other phalanxes in the army are under strength. Often the phalanx commanders report higher numbers of men than are actually in the unit so that the Empire will allocate money to pay men who don't exist. The phalanx commanders then pocket the extra money.

The men of the 3rd Kantora Zekresh are armed with swords and spears and equipped with shields, helmets, breastplates and chain mail tunics, all made of iron.

The newly appointed Ulor of Kopixer was assigned a translator and advisor named Danask who was in Zekran, but is originally from Kopixer Province. He is a member of the Kopixer tribe and can speak their language fluently.

The ships provided by the navy were not in the best shape. The ropes were frayed, the sails were moldy and they stank and leaked seawater.

A ship had reached the city of Zekran just before the convoy was to depart. The ship brought a report that rioting in Kopixer had turned to outright rebellion.

Shortly after hearing this, Ulor Nemt and his men were ready to set off on a journey of over 6,000 Talong to the port of Osim in Zamarula Province from which they planned to march to Kopixer.

The Ulor's advisor, Danask, turned to Ulor Nemt just before the convoy was to head out into the Gateway Waters and set a course for the Western Sea. Danask asks, "Is there anything else we should do to prepare or should we head out now?"

Nemt confidently replied, "I see no reason to waste time with so much work to be done. Cast off the mooring lines and set course for the Port of Osim."

Danask and I went to the sailors to convey to them Nemt's orders for the ships to cast off and set course for the distant Port of Osim on the other side of the Western Sea.

The sailors informed us that only the troops were under Nemt's direct command. They said the ships and sailors were under the command of Ekanor Falan (Vice Admiral) Otunuk. Upon hearing that Nemt and the troops are ready to depart, Admiral Otunuk invited Captain Nemt to join him aboard his flagship and then gave the order for the ships to set sail.

The two ships carrying grain were small galleys (galleys have a single square-rig sail and a row of oars along each side). Fifteen of the ships carrying the troops were large galleys. The flagship was the largest of all. It was a bireme, a galley that has two decks of oars and therefore is much faster in battle.

The flotilla of 18 ships carrying grain and the 800 soldiers of the 3rd Kantora Zekresh cast off the mooring lines and floated out into the Gateway Waters, heading West, towards the slowly sinking afternoon sun.

Vice Admiral Otunuk was friendly and seemed competent. He also had aboard his flagship fine wine and a number of delicacies which he was quick to share with Captain Nemt.

Nemt was polite, but thought it necessary to subtly remind the Vice Admiral that he was Ulor Nemt, not just Gurikan Nemt. While it was true that an Ekanor Falan (Vice Admiral/Lieutenant General) does outrank a Gurikan (Captain) even if one is in the Navy and the other is in the Army, no military officer outranks an Ulor. An Ulor is not generally empowered to give orders to the military, but can command the garrison force in his own province during an emergency. More importantly, there are no circumstances under which any military officer is empowered to give orders to an Ulor. Nemt did not mention all this. He didn't have to. He just corrected one of the naval officers who called him "Gurikan Nemt" and said he preferred to be called "Ulor Nemt" now. The Vice Admiral seemed to take the hint and began calling him Ulor Nemt after that.

The first day of the voyage seemed to be going well. So did the second and third days. By the fourth day Nemt noticed that they were still in the Gateway Waters, but was told by the sailors that this was normal. On the eigth day they finally caught sight of Lisal Koppa (Clam Island). Passing that island would mean they were finally out of the Gateway Waters. It took nearly a day to pass the island. Nine days had passed, a full velasik. (In the Zekresh calendar a week has nine days and is called a velasik. It is based on the cycle of the velaska, the "traveling star".)

At this rate it would take a long time to get to the Port of Osim. Ulor Nemt had been aware that the journey was more than 6,000 Talong, but it was taking longer than he expected. Furthermore, Vice Admiral Otunuk insisted on having the ships remain within sight of land rather than going the shorter route through the open sea. This added distance to the trip, making it easily more than 10,000 Talong.

The ships also had to stop for food and water four times as the flotilla crept along the coast. But this did give Ulor Nemt a chance to see a large part of the empire at first hand. It also emphasized to him just how large the empire really was. Just beyond Clam Island, they came to ancient Ilania and made their first stop at Nysarinda, the provincial capital of Ilania. Nysarinda stands on the North bank of the Warna River where it meets the Western Sea. The old city is surrounded by an ancient defensive wall, but the city has long since grown beyond the wall. Ilania was once an independent principality more than a thousand years before the Zekresh Empire was founded. Ilania existed centuries before the Frayeth Empire began. The Frayeth Empire had preceded the Zekresh Empire, though the Frayeth Empire was much smaller.

The ships sailed onward, coming to the coast of Ravelonia, another ancient land that had once been an independent principality millennia ago and was said to be the home of the gods. Beyond that, they came to Varlan Province and stopped over at Bakoy Varl (Port Varl), the capital.

Bakoy Varl was a backwater of the Empire, a small, economically depressed town. After taking on food and water at Bakoy Varl, the flotilla moved on to Nyarlan Province, the land of the Dog People. It was so named because it had once been the realm of a fierce tribe of wildmen for whom the dog was their symbol and totem animal. Beyond Varlan and Nyarlan was Barylan Province, a vast underdeveloped territory where forest gave way to open plains. The next province was Ovam (Savannah) Province and beyond that Ovam Vyex (Far Savannah) Province which lived up to their names by being nothing but open savannah country as far as the eye could see. There was virtually no farming in evidence. These provinces were inhabited primarily by nomadic tribes, ruled over by garrisons of Imperial troops and a small coterie of Zekresh officials. After a stop at Bakoy Halmuk, capital of Ovam Vyex Province, the flotilla moved on to the still more desolate country of Vindaroyan Province, named after the nomads who were virtually the only inhabitants of this flat, treeless wasteland. By now the weeks at sea had begun to wear on the men. Morale was low and there was grumbling in the ranks.

Then they came to Upinthen, the province named for the Rabbit People. In the East, Upinthen was open savannah like a thousand Talong of coastline before it, but in the West, it had some settled farming villages and scattered clumps of trees. The next province was Frangees Province where the flotilla stopped yet again for food and water at Serat Frangees (Frangees City). Frangees Province was even more arid and desolate than the savannah provinces and Serat Frangees was barely more than a small town despite being named a "serat", the Zekresh word for city. It was during the stop at Serat Frangees on the 1st day of the 6th month after 31 days at sea, that the sailors discovered that both shiploads of grain being carried by the fleet had become moldy and inedible after all these weeks in the holds of leaky ships. It is possible that some of the grain could have been used as seed grain if it were planted soon, but none of it was edible any longer and therefore could not be used as famine relief supplies.

Vice Admiral Otunuk asked Nemt whether the fleet should turn back to get more grain. He said there might be some available at Osim which he estimated could be reached by only seven more days of sailing.

At Serat Frangees, there were refugees from Kopixer Province. The news that the food riots had turned to outright rebellion was nearly a month old by the time it reached Zekran. With most of another month passed since then, the situation in Kopixer had deteriorated greatly. Refugees reported that the garrison troops had suffered huge desertions and that one phalanx, the 2nd Kantora Kopixer, had lost all discipline and joined in the rioting, then gone on a rampage pillaging farms and villages all up and down the Shasa Liss (Snake River).

Nemt's advisor, Danask, said he saw several options and asked Nemt which of them seemed best:

(A) The news that the food riots in Kopixer had turned to rebellion must have been nearly a month old when the reports arrived by sea at Zekran. If the flotilla presses on, it will have been approximately two months from the time that the rebellion actually broke out until you can get there with your troops. Press on no matter what before Kopixer province ceases to be a part of the Empire.

(B) Turn back, return to Zekran. Each province seems more desolate than the last (well, almost). Maybe being an Ulor is too difficult.

(C) Dump the moldy grain in the sea and turn back, but stop at every port along the way and buy or confiscate grain until the ships are full again and then reverse course and head for Osim as originally planned.

(D) Press on to Osim and try to obtain more grain there. If more grain can be found there to replace what was lost, proceed to Kopixer, otherwise give up and head back towards Zekran trying to find more grain along the way as in option (C).

(E) Do something else.

Danask suggested option (D) Press on to Osim and try to obtain more grain there. If more grain can be found there to replace what was lost, proceed to Kopixer, otherwise give up and head back towards Zekran trying to find more grain along the way.

Nemt was not willing to turn back. He chose to do something else. I was standing on the deck of the ship beside Danask when Nemt told us, "We will continue to Osim and attempt to restock the grain in the port. If this is not possible, however, we will continue to Kopixer without the food relief. I cannot allow the province to become further loosened from the grip of the empire before we arrive, and find it especially troubling my forces may need to engage and subdue other imperial ranks. Before leaving Frangees, I shall offer to transport a few refugees, pending their understanding of Zekresh, as their return may signal a sign of faith to others and calm the situation without excess military operations."

Ulor Nemt then went ashore at Serat Frangees with an escort of eighty armed guards from the phalanx. He spoke to the refugees from Kopixer and offered safety and transportation to any who wished to return, if they knew how to speak Zekresh.

Twenty two refugees volunteered to return with the troops and immediately asked for food. Since the expedition had plenty of food for its own needs and 22 more is of little consequence, they were fed.

The refugees boarded the ships and the fleet sailed on. Seven days later, on Oron 8, Salgan 6, the fleet arrived at the port of Osim, capital of Zamarula Province. Grain was in short supply there as well. The famine was affecting the entire region.

Ulor Argif of Zamarula donated a small amount of grain for famine relief in Kopixer. Ekanor Falan (Vice Admiral) Otunuk was able to obtain more from the huge navy base at Osim. There was also an army administrative headquarters in an old fortress under the command of Gurikan Falan (Captain General) Guvalnuk. There were plenty of soldiers in evidence at the fortress, at least a thousand, and a Captain General of the Imperial Army was sitting around drinking wine while all Hell was breaking loose in the next province. In fact, crowds of starving refugees from Kopixer were gathered outside the gates of the fortress begging for food and yet inside the fortress all seemed to be business as usual.

Ulor Nemt managed to remain somewhat polite as he inquired of Captain General Guvalnuk why he was not doing something about it. Captain General Guvalnuk immediately took offense and said that if his troops moved from Osim that Zamarula Province was likely to rise in revolt as well. Also, he claimed it was not his responsibility, that he was only an administrative officer and that operational command of provincial garrisons lies with the provincial commander. He insisted that the chain of command from the provincial commander bypasses the regional headquarters and goes straight to Field Marshal Krulmuk in Zekran. He smiled and said this is because the Emperor doesn't trust the regional commanders not to raise an army and try to take over the Empire. Provincial commanders have too few troops to be a threat.

Nemt's own experience in the Army, and mine, did not include any regional headquarters because we were stationed in Zekran which not part of the regional headquarters system. In Zekran, there wasn't even a provincial commander. Field Marshal Krulmuk was in direct command of the local troops.

Ulor Nemt learned from Captain General Guvalnuk that the provincial commander in Kopixer was Ekanor Falan (Lieutenant General) Krevimuk who had been out of contact with Guvalnuk for seven weeks now. There were rumors that Krevimuk was dead and his troops had all deserted or joined the rebels, but Guvalnuk assured Ulor Nemt that this was unlikely and advised him to disregard irresponsible rumors.

Ulor Nemt took what grain was available and set off with his troops for Kopixer. Kopixer has no coast and is about a thousand talong inland from Osim. Fortunately, the Shasa Liss (Snake River) is navigable and flows along the Northwest border of Kopixer Province and forms the Eastern border of Zamarula Province, then flows into the Western Sea at Osim. This makes it possible for ships (especially those such as the galleys under the command of Vice Admiral Otunuk that aren't dependent upon sails) to travel up and down the river. Otunuk offered to take Ulor Nemt, his troops, the grain, and the refugees as far upriver as Arinixervolt, the provincial capital of Kopixer. That's as far as seagoing ships can go upriver.

The flotilla moved up the river slowly as the sailors rowed against the current with sails furled. Vice Admiral Otunuk explained that with the twists and turns in the river, the trip would be about 1,200 talong and going against the current would take about 20 days. Going back downriver with the current would take less than a week. The only other option was to go by land which would not be any faster and would be far more arduous.

Ulor Nemt noticed that some of his troops were under the impression that they would be through with living in cramped quarters aboard ship when they reached Osim. There was still more grumbling when they learned that they faced twenty more days on the ships. I reminded the men that the alternative would be to march 1,200 talong and the men quieted down. They did not appear to be on the verge of mutiny. Their discipline was still strong. They were just complaining as soldiers are prone to do.

As the ships moved upriver, I saw a steady stream of refugees going the other way. Ulor Nemt encouraged some of them to go back and gave a few a ride on the ships. Some of the refugees seemed glad to see the troops. Others seemed beyond hope. They were just skin and bones, trudging along the dusty road towards Osim with no possessions except the ragged clothes on their backs. Some were clutching crying children or a few possessions. Imprecations to them to return to Kopixer were met with wide, staring eyes and defeatist comments. Danask translated what they say because hardly any of them spoke Zekresh.

One refugee said, "It is too late. We will all die. If you had come two months ago, this could have been stopped. Even a few weeks ago, all was not yet lost. Now, it is too late for us."

On Oron 20, Salgan 6, the twelfth day going up the Shasa Liss, soldiers could be seen on the shore. They were Imperial troops of the 1st Kantora Zamarula. They were guarding villages from the refugees. Dozens of corpses were being dumped in the river. The troops had no compunctions about killing Kopixer refugees who caused trouble.

Further upriver, still in Zamarula Province, the villages along the river had been burnt to the ground and looted. Armed bandits fled on horseback at the approach of the ships. Kopixer refugees and Zamarula farmers alike had been victimized by the bandits and then fought with each other for what the bandits didn't loot. No one aboard the ship spoke the language the Zamarula people speak, but Danask could talk to the Kopixers. They said the bandits were coming from Kopixer. There was no point in pursuing them on foot since the bandits were on horseback.

The ships moved further upriver. By the end of the second velasik (9 day week), Danask and Otunuk were fairly sure the ships had passed into Kopixer Province. There, the villages were burnt down long ago. Farm land was not being tended. Everything seemed to have reverted to barbarism. Even the land was returning to wilderness. Weeds were already growing in the fields and amidst the ruins of the farmhouses.

Those of us on the ships told the few people we saw that the Imperial Army had arrived to restore order and that we were bringing grain for famine relief. A few weary refugees turned up to claim some grain when the ships stopped, but after pounding it into a foul mush and eating it cold, they staggered downriver, heading for Zamarula to join the other refugees there.

On Oron 28, Salgan 6, the twentieth day on the river, the ships arrived at Arinixervolt, the provincial capital. It is a small town ringed by a defensive wall with an Imperial Army fort overlooking the town from a hill within the wall. In the first sign of hope, crowds of cheering, desperate people poured out of the town and ran to meet the ships. Imperial soldiers also came out of the town. They were looking ragged, ill-fed and ill-disciplined, but they were not mutinous nor in complete disorder. They were members of the 1st Kantora Kopixer. Ulor Nemt was glad to learn that they were still holding the capital together with the remnants of the 3rd Kantora Kopixer and they were still under the command of the provincial commander, Ekanor Falan (Lieutenant General) Krevimuk who was there at the fort at Arinixervolt.

The soldiers from the local garrison informed Ulor Nemt that the city was effectively besieged by rebels and bandits who were attacking anyone who went very far beyond the city walls. They urged Ulor Nemt to go to the fort and meet with Ekanor Falan Krevimuk.

Ulor Nemt quickly set about the work of saving the town of Arinixervolt from famine, chaos and rebellion. First, he split the Kantora into two parts, one under the command of Ekanor Garon which he sent to the city, and the other under the command of myself which was entrusted with guarding the ships. Ulor Nemt told us not to assume the local garrison was on our side so we were on the lookout for treachery and ready for a fight.

Ulor Nemt then gave a speech to the crowd of people who had come out to the ships to meet us. He made them listen to the speech before he gave them any food.

Of course, I don't remember his speech word for word, but the key points were these:

-While I would like the famine to be over, my priority is to restore
order and security, not to feed everyone, regardless of how complementary
these goals may appear.

-Imperial power holds mandate over all regions of the empire, including
kopixer, regardless of proximity to the central power structure.

-I act personally as a direct extension of the emperor, and am above
reproach for the time being.

-Any form of insurrection will be punished severely.

-Kopixer province will endure.


He ordered us to distribute a little bit of relief grain, while Ekanor Garon's men offloaded the rest quickly, and stored it somewhere in the city under heavy armed guard. Meanwhile, Nemt attempted to find out what was going on before distributing any more. This prevented the people from rioting or starving, but didn't deplete our supplies much.

The populace listened to the speech with sullen expressions and a bit of grumbling. When some food was handed out, they went wild, but when they realized we were only giving out a little, they became very alarmed. Mobs of people followed Ekanor Garon's soldiers who carried the food into the city. Some of the soldiers had located a warehouse near the market place that had already been emptied by looters. Ekanor Garon ordered his men to take it over and store the grain there with a hundred soldiers guarding it.

A crowd lingered around the warehouse and began to grow larger. The people were begging ever more urgently for food.

Meanwhile, Ekanor Falan (Lieutenant General) Krevimuk came to meet the new Ulor. He hastily informed Ulor Nemt of the situation. Here's what he said:

He was down to 421 soldiers in the 1st Kantora Kopixer and only 16 men from the 3rd Kantora Kopixer. There were none from the 2nd Kantora Kopixer. The unit mutinied over a month ago. Many of the troops were now with the rebels.

It was not clear whether the rebels had any political goals or not. They had spoken vaguely of the Kopixer peoples becoming independent of the Empire, but they had done nothing to set up an independent government. Their actual focus was on pillaging food from any place they could get it. When there was none to be looted, they hunted in the wild lands like so many other people had been doing because of the famine.

Krevimuk said that if large amounts of food could be brought into the province quickly, that would solve most of the problems. The famine would end. Political unrest driven by desperation would abate and if Imperial forces had plenty of food while the rebels were still starving, the rebellion would end quickly.

Krevimuk said he thought the rebels might even surrender en masse for just the promise that they would be fed while being held prisoner. He said he would have made such a promise himself even though it would have been a lie, but it would have been too obvious a lie to be convincing. Now that ships full of grain had arrived, the rebels might believe it. Or at least some of them.

Krevimuk was horrified to learn how little grain the ships had actually brought. "That won't even feed Arinixervolt for a week, much less the rest of the province! What's worse, many farmers haven't been able to plant anything. That's partly because seed grain has been looted from so many of them. It's probably already too late to plant this year. This virtually guarantees that the famine won't end when harvest time comes. Without a lot more famine relief than the Empire is ever likely to send, tens of thousands more people in the province are going to starve to death. There may be nothing we can do for them at this point. But if the chaos and rebellion continues to interfere with farming, the whole province could become almost entirely depopulated. Already some significant percentage of the population has fled to other provinces or beyond the borders of the Empire."

Krevimuk suggested sending the ships back immediately for more grain wherever they could get it. He suggested using the grain we brought to feed the troops. If more grain could be brought fast enough, he suggested it should be given out for use as seed grain only. If it arrived too late or if there was enough, then people should be fed, with first priority going to farmers who were still working on their farms. The vast majority (over 95%) of the population were farmers, but the few who were not were concentrated in the provincial capital and other towns. Krevimuk said the craftsmen and such from the town would be first in line for relief supplies, but were less important for stopping the famine. Krevimuk seemed to hold craftsmen, "money grubbing merchants" and other townspeople in low esteem. He says the townspeople had some hope of making a living somewhere else for a while. The farmers were nothing without their farms. Krevimuk suggested offering to transport townspeople to Osim if they wanted to go.

Krevimuk also advised launching an attack on the rebels as soon as the troops could be fed. He suggested using all our troops and all his own in an combined attack on the rebels lurking just outside the city.

The Ulor's advisor, Danask, suggested accepting Krevimuk's plan.

Nemt agreed and took Krevimuk's advice. He gave orders to feed the troops, send the
ships for more grain and ship townspeople to Osim if they wanted to go.

In addition, Nemt thanked Krevimuk for his counsel, and reaffirmed his belief
that Krevimuk had done all that he could to prevent rebellion in the province and that Nemt did
not blame him for the woes of the area, even if others do. Nemt also asked Krevimuk his opinion of
conscripting some locals, despite their potentially weak physical condition and lack of training, to aid with fighting rebels until more food relief arrived.

Krevimuk said, "Conscription of local people will not be necessary. Promise to provide food to anyone who joins the army and you will have all the volunteers you need. We do not have weapons for them, but most of the townspeople have armed themselves already because of the chaos and the danger of being robbed of food. They don't have military weapons, but you can get armed volunteers just by feeding them. Give them enough food that they can bring some home to their families and you will win their loyalty. At least, for the duration of the famine."

Nemt agreed to proceed to raise an army of half-starved volunteers with ad hoc weapons.

In the meantime, many people did volunteer to go to Osim and the fleet left to take them there and bring back more food.



Ulor Nemt and Ekanor Falan Krevimuk were in agreement. An attack should be launched against the rebels by all available forces as soon as the troops were fed. Unfortunately, due to delays and logistical problems, it was nearly dark by the time all of the Kopixer garrison forces were fed. The attack was postponed until the following morning.

Before dawn on Oron 29, Salgan 6, the day after Ulor Nemt and the 3rd Kantora Zekresh arrived in Arinixervolt, over 1,200 Imperial soldiers assembled in Arinixervolt. The order of battle was as follows:

3rd Kantora Zekresh 800 men
1st Kantora Kopixer 421 men
3rd Kantora Kopixer 16 men

The troops marched out of the city gate in good order just as dawn was breaking in the East. They headed Northeast seeking an enemy base camp reported by Krevimuk's spies. Ulor Nemt and Ekanor Falan Krevimuk, both on horseback, led the troops.

Twelve Talong Northeast of the city, the Imperial forces came upon the base. Krevimuk had thought it impossible to surprise the enemy since rebel spies were believed to be watching Arinixervolt day and night and ambushing all traffic coming in or out. Yet this day, the Imperial forces were able to march up to the rebel camp while some of the rebels were still asleep. When Imperial forces were about four Talong from the rebel camp, the rebels cried out the alarm and assembled their forces hastily. Their force appeared to be about 300 men, mostly a rabble of bandits, thieves and desperate men with a small number of deserters from the 2nd Kopixer Kantora amongst them.

With a nod from Ulor Nemt and a sharp command from Ekanor Falan Krevimuk, the Imperial forces advanced. The rebels stood their ground at first, but then began to waver as the Imperial forces lowered their spears and the rebels saw just how badly outnumbered they were. Rebels began to break ranks and run, first one at a time, then in small groups. Then the whole rebel line began to give way.

Gurikan Ondiluk, commanding the 1st Kantora Kopixer ordered his men to charge the enemy. As the 1st Kopixers charged, the other Imperial units were ordered to do the same.

Rebels tripped over each other trying to get away, but many of them could not escape because others ahead of them were retreating too slowly. The rebels were overtaken by the Imperials. After the first few rebels got spears in their backs, others turned and fought desperately. The shrieks of men being impaled on spears and cut open with swords were a bit of a shock to Ulor Nemt who despite his military career, had never seen actual combat before.

He was also alarmed to see the entire Imperial force thrown into disorder at the first sign of resistance from a fleeing enemy. Ulor Nemt found himself in the middle of an affray that resembled a riot more than a battle. Then Ulor Nemt's horse began kicking at Imperial troops who had accidentally stuck it with their spears. The troops panicked and backed off, but Nemt was thrown from the saddle by the panicked horse. He lost his grip on his sword in the process and it went flying. Nemt landed hard and was dazed and in pain. No one stopped to help him up.

In the confusion, the horse ran off and soldiers rushed past him, stepping on him and tripping over him until he struggled to his feet. He could no longer see what was happening, but someone shouted, "Look out! They're coming this way!" and the imperial soldiers began to run away in total disorder. Rebel bandits and 2nd Kopixer mutineers seemingly from nowhere ran forward and attacked Imperial troops. Nemt tried to make his way to a group of Imperial soldiers who, with raised shields and terrified expressions on their faces, were trying to mount some kind of defense as they retreated. Nemt could not reach them and found himself surrounded by enemies. A soldier rushed up beside him. Nemt thought the soldier was there to help him until the soldier grabbed his arm and said, "You're a prisoner now, officer". Nemt realized the man was a mutineer on the side of the rebels. Three other rebels nearby cheered at the sight of this. Nemt's armour was obviously that of an Imperial officer, but likely the enemy did not know they had actually captured the Ulor of the province.

Nemt wrestled his arm free, grabbed the mutineer's spear and tried to pull it from the man's hands, but to no avail. Some sort of weapon struck Nemt from behind inflicting great pain, but not much injury due to Nemt's armour. Nemt let go of the spear and ran, dodging enemy spearmen and then tripping over a wounded man. Nemt pulled a sword from the wounded man's hand, turned and saw eight rebels coming at him with spears and ran as fast as he could in the direction he had seen his own forces going. A bandit armed with a hatchet and using a makeshift wooden shield tried to block his way and Nemt struck at him viciously with the sword. The sword struck a glancing blow at the shield and the bandit backed off. Nemt fled until the men chasing him gave up. By then, he was no longer in the main battle. Seeing groups of Imperial soldiers fleeing, he raced to catch up with them and assume command again.

Nemt ordered the Imperials to halt and they did. He got about thirty of them to form a battle line and to move towards what seemed to be the main action, but they were obviously afraid and Nemt feared they would bolt if attacked in strength. Nonetheless, he was able to get them to advance. They came upon a dead rebel with his face cut wide open as if by a sword. Blood was everywhere. As they moved towards the only fighting they could still see, they came upon more men, some of them horribly wounded and begging for help. As far as Nemt could tell, all of them were enemy so he passed them by.

As they advanced towards what Nemt thought was the main battle, it turned out to be a minor skirmish involving no more than three dozen men on each side. The arrival of Nemt's small force set the rebels to fleeing. By now it seemed that most of the forces on both sides had fled, the Imperials fleeing mostly Southwest towards town and the rebels fleeing East and Northeast. Dozens of dead and wounded men were left on the battlefield, some limping away, but most of them lying on the ground in the blood and the dust, crying out in agony and clutching their wounds.

Nemt's men became anxious and urged him to let them go link up with the main Imperial force before the rebels counterattacked. At least two dozen rebels could be seen now on a hilltop to the East, possibly part of a larger force rallying for just such an attack.

Nemt took his small force Southwest and soon linked up with Gurikan Ondiluk, commanding the 1st Kantora Kopixer, or what was left of it. He had gone into the battle with over four hundred men, but now had only a hundred with him. Gurikan Ondiluk said he had seen troops from the 3rd Kantora Zekresh heading back to Arinixervolt with prisoners and was trying to decide whether to go that way himself.

Ulor Nemt asked where Krevimuk was and Gurikan Ondiluk did not know. Together Nemt and Ondiluk decided to lead their forces back to Arinixervolt.

Upon arriving, they found that Krevimuk was not there, but over three hundred imperial troops were there. Nemt and Ondiluk tried to get the troops organized again into units instead of just the panicked mob they had been. Krevimuk eventually returned with hundreds more troops saying he thought the battle had gone well. Still more soldiers straggled in throughout the day. The defenses of the city were organized against the possibility of a rebel attack, but as more and more troops returned, it became increasingly unlikely.

Nemt thought long and hard about what happened. First, he attempted to learn what the outcome of the battle had actually been. It was not clear at the time. Secondly, he tried to determine why his troops had so quickly been thrown into disorder.

Nemt asked the officers what they had seen and was dismayed at the completely contradictory accounts of the battle. Some said they saw hundreds of dead on the battlefield. Others said there were no more than half a dozen dead and a couple dozen wounded. Other estimates were in between. Some thought the rebels had been massacred. Others thought the Imperials had lost more men than the rebels.

Nemt ordered a count of his men the next day. In the first count, there were only seventeen men unaccounted for. They were later found elsewhere in the city. To the astonishment of both Nemt and Krevimuk, every single one of the 1,237 Imperial soldiers who went into the battle came back. None of them were even badly wounded. More than a few had bruises and minor cuts, but that was all. There was not a single real casualty on the Imperial side. Furthermore, the Imperials had brought back 38 prisoners.

Krevimuk took twenty men on horses and went back to the battlefield. He found over two dozen dead men dressed as Imperial soldiers and nearly a hundred dead rebels and bandits. Of those who could be identified, all the dead Imperials turned out to have been mutineers from the 2nd Kantora Kopixer who had fought on the rebel side.

On the third day after the battle, Krevimuk and Nemt compared their observations and concluded that they had in fact won a resounding victory. It had not felt like it at the time.

"If we could have kept the me in good order and pursued the enemy, we would have utterly crushed this rebellion right then and there," Nemt said.

Krevimuk said, "We may still have crushed the rebellion. Though our men were dismayed, the enemy must be even less eager for another fight like that one. I'll spread the word in the ranks that we killed over a hundred and lost not a single man. It will help bolster their confidence and fighting spirit."

By the fourth day, famers from the outlying areas were able to reach Arinixervolt unmolested by bandits. Krevimuk's spies reported that the rebel force had been scattered by the battle and was not known to be regrouping. Some were said to have fled across the Snake River to Zamarula Province, thinking the Imperial Army was chasing them.

Nemt said, to Krevimuk, "I don't know if I've told you, but that was my first battle. It seems that it was a complete victory. I really don't understand why it seemed like a defeat. We didn't lose a single man."

Krevimuk said, "I've been in five other battles. That one was actually the easiest for me. The fact that you were unhorsed and nearly captured may have affected your impression of the battle."

Nemt said, "It's not just that. Even before that, our troops were thrown into complete disorder as soon as they met the enemy. And the enemy was already retreating before the first blow was struck."

Krevimuk said, "Well my own men have had enough fighting and one good meal wasn't enough to overcome the privations of the famine. I had to threaten to flog them to get the troops to march into another battle. Your men were eager for the fight, but that's only because they'd never been in one before. Your men from Zekran were as inexperienced as new green leaves in springtime. They didn't know what they were in for."

Nemt objected, "They're one of the finer units in the capital. I'd call them an elite unit. They have more discipline than most, but out there they seemed to have no discipline at all."

Krevimuk laughed, "I've seen that before. Your men had parade ground discipline. That's not the same thing as keeping your wits in a fight. They'll do better next time. Don't blame yourself. There is no substitute for actual combat experience. Ever. The whole Imperial Army has the same problem. Until this rebellion broke out, I had never seen combat, yet I gained the rank of Ekanor Falan and was appointed garrison commander for a whole province. And I rose through the ranks instead of just buying a commission like so many other do. The Empire hasn't fought a serious war since the nobles revolt and that was nearly a hundred years ago."

"If there's another war, we're not ready. Back in Zekran they think we are, but we're not," Nemt observed.

Krevimuk said, "Don't fret about it. We don't have any serious enemies anymore either. You saw what we're up against. That rabble we scattered was the most serious rebellion against Imperial rule in my lifetime. A few hundred half-starved men plus one phalanx of inexperienced troops put them to flight without losing a single man."

Nemt concluded, "Then our situation is much better than I had feared."

Krevimuk said, "militarily yes, but the famine is not so easily defeated."