Battle of Aralus

The Battle of Aralus was the first major battle that Quintus, leading an Nirvan Republic army, and Vaso, leading an Ilaka army, fought in the Asger War.

## Background

In **512PR** the Nirvan Republic declared war on Ilaka over a minor political incident that happened in **510PR**. They followed up the declaration by crossing the Ilakan borders with two armies.

In **513PR** a second Ilakan army was created to help alleviate some of the pressure placed on the first, led by Alkis. This allowed Alkis to march off and face Vibius in the Battle of Coraeus, while Vaso, leading the second army, faced Quintus.

## Battle

### Day 1

When both armies had rested the previous day, they marched out to face one another on a plain field near the town of Aralus.

Now on the field, both sides formed up their armies, looking for any type of advantage they could muster. Though, neither found a liking to it, simply facing off against one another for the day with only minor skirmishing from the horses.

As the day came to a close, both the Nirvans and the Ilakans returned to their camps, the leaders strategizing with their advisors about the best course of action.

### Day 2

Day 2 included more of the same, the armies meeting one another on the field and finding out if they were satisfactory with their formations or not. Again, the cavalry skirmished on the side, but neither gained the significant advantage.

By mid-day the Ilakans grew bored, choosing to advance slowly instead of waiting for a better time. The Nirvans, confident since they were on the defensive, advanced as well. When the two met, javelins were thrown and they both charged. Despite their eagerness, both sides fought cautiously, unsure if they actually had the chance to win the battle since they were both so evenly matched.

The afternoon soon arrived and both armies returned to their camps for the night, exhausted from fighting for half the day. Again, leadership from both sides returned to their tents and began strategising for the next day. Vaso is reported to have been visibly angry, yelling at the officers that decided to advance and potentially cost them the battle.

### Day 3

Day 3 was different, now that they had a taste for battle, both sides advanced ahead under the weather of one anothers projectiles. The Nirvans throwing their javelins successfully before charging into the enemy. With the cavalry, the Ilakans gained the advantage, breaking through the Nirvan Equite and hitting the flanks of their enemy.

Frustrated, Quintus put his reserves into the battle, hitting the Companions and alleviating the pressure on the outer legions. Though, this became a now or never situation, the Ilakans committing their own reserves full of Atkan soldiers.

Then, came an unexpected surprise. An Ilakan messenger reached Vaso, stating that Alkis had been defeated at the Battle of Coraeus the previous day and now marched on this battle, maybe being only a few hours away.

Shocked and put on the spot, Vaso called for the withdrawal of his troops, retreating back to the next city so he could prepare to deal with two armies. Letting the Nirvans take the victory.

## Aftermath

Later, the messenger’s information was found to be false, while Vibius had defeated Alkis at the Battle of Coraeus the day earlier, he had not made major headway on his way to Vaso. In fact, he had only just crossed the Rubicon River, though Vaso had not known where the battle had happened.

Quintus made sure to make the victory a huge political gain, sending back extensive reports to Nirva where he discussed his win in depth. Mostly filled with heavy embellishment.