Battle of Onci

The **Battle of Onci**, also known as the **Battle of Orki**, was a generation-defining battle fought between the Tugar and Merki Hordes for control of the Northern Steppe of Valdennia.

Fought 24 years before the events of *Rally Cry* (ie. roughly in 1841), this confrontation pitched the Tugars of Jemugta against the numerically-superior Merki, led by the father of Jubadi.

## Location and Order of Battle

Onci/Orki is located near the human city of Constan, along an inland sea far to the west of Rus. The terrain inland slopes up, so that the locale of Onci formed three narrow passes.

The Tugars of Qar Qarth Jemugta, and the Merki led by Jubadi’s father, met along the shores of the inland sea, fighting for three days and nights. Muzta later estimated that the Tugars fielded 20 umens (200,000 soldiers) and the Merki 50 umens (500,000).

The elite Olkta umen of the Tugars fought during the battle, the last time before the Tugar War in Rus. On the Merki side, their Vushka Hush were present on the field of battle.

Qubata was a commander of the Tugar forces, and Muzta credits him for ‘plann[ing] the defeat of the Merki to the south. It was you and your brilliance that saved the Tugar horde from oblivion.’ Even Tamuka refers to him as the ‘hero of Orki’.

## First Day and the Deaths of the Qar Qarths

The first day involved a massive charge of the Merki into the Tugar lines, but this attack was ultimately broken. In the midst of these initial clashes, the Qar Qarths of both hordes were slain, with Jemugta of the Tugars receiving an arrow to the chest and falling off his mount while leading his host in his own great charge. He died without a word, only a thin, enigmatic smile on his face.

In the midst of the fight, Qubata cut out his heart, and squeezed the blood over young Muzta’s head to consecrate the new Tugar Qar Qarth. Following this, they strapped Jemugta to his horse, and a sword to his back to keep the corpse upright. With this done, Qubata returned weeping to battle, slaying more Merki while helping Muzta to hold up his father. By the end of the battle, Qubata is said to have killed a dozen Merki warriors, included the standard bearer of the Vushka Hush.

The Merki strapped Jubadi’s father to his horse, and Jubadi received the ceremonial wound to confirm his role as the leader of the Merki Horde. Out of necessity on the field of battle, his shield-bearer, Hulagar, dressed the wound with a piece of torn banner. Both dead leaders were kept mounted until the third morning at the battle’s end, and their sons took command of their respective forces.

## Remainder of the Battle

According to Jubadi, the Tugars forced the Merki ‘to divide between three passes and then defeat[ed] each column in turn’, which resulted in their ultimate victory. In this way, the Tugars and Qubata in particular won acclaim for fighting with ‘cunning and skill’ against the superior numbers of their opponent.

One memorable moment during the battle was the the last stand of Qarth Barg, commander of the Yushin Umen’. This umen fought to the last warrior to hold the pass of Orki itself, withering under a shower of Tugar arrows, singing their ‘death songs’ as they fell.

Amongst those who died in this action was the father of Tamuka; he was present at the battle but was too young to take part.

Ultimately, Muzta led a final charge that brought victory to the Tugar Horde.

## Aftermath

At the end of this epic battle, the great yurt of the Merki was captured by the victorious Tugars, ‘a humiliation that still burns their hearts’.

On top of the death of his father, the Merki Qar Qarth Jubadi had lost two brothers during the battle. On a more positive and touching note, Jubadi used his newly-gained power at the end of the battle to grant his shield-bearer Hulagar 1000 horses, in repayment for saving his life in a snow-storm years earlier.

The Battle at Onci/Orki was a defining event in the modern history of the Tugar and Merki hordes – it is a point of pride for the Tugars, and a source of bitter regret for the Merki, who ultimately seek to avenge their losses. Jubadi Qar Qarth, outlining his genocidal plan for the Tugars after defeating the Republic, summarised the bad blood between the hordes by reminding Hulagar that ‘I have not forgiven Orki’.

## Miscellaneous

The name ‘Onci’ only appears in *Rally Cry*, with 'Orki' being used consistently in the next three books of the series. This could be an editing error, a creative decision on Forstchen’s part, or even a naming variation between the two Hordes (although this seems unlikely).

The descriptions of Jemugta and Jubadi’s father being strapped onto their horses during the Battle of Onci is a clear nod to the legend of ‘El Cid’, the medieval Spanish warrior who ruled Valencia during the late 11th century. The legend (falsely) claims that El Cid died during an Almoravid siege of Valencia, and outlines how El Cid’s men strapped him onto his beloved horse, Babieca, and strapped his sword Tizona into his hand to inspire the defenders to keep fighting.