March on Point Mikhail

Combatants| * City-State of Point Mikhail

Commanders| * Mayor Fokar †
* Captain Borkosov †
* Watch-Commander Sorovihn
* General Ull'lox
* General Ghar'rok

The **March on Point Mikhail**, also known as the **Klerrvex Incident,** was a major diplomatic existence between the City-State of Point Mikhail and the Empire of Hrek which took place in 471 AW. Ultimately, Point Mikhail was spared by Hreki Emperor Gix'xol IV, yet it could have easily been destroyed in the course of the conflict.

Point Mikhail, plagued by nomadic Dra Kh Lozzi tribes raiding it on a daily basis, organised an expedition force under Captain Borkosov consisting of some 700 men and left the safety of the city and the surrounding area, venturing into the untamed wilds of Nuj Tarrok. The expedition went well, and the nomads were driven deeper into the jungles. However, on the 12th of Greenburst, Borkosov encountered something unexpected: a large settlement.

They had run into the occasional hovel before, yet this was a settlement of stone with a much higher population. Unbeknownst to the denizens of Point Mikhail, they had come across Klerrvex, a minor settlement in the borderlands of the Hreki Empire. Borkosov made the assumption that this town belonged to the same Dra Kh Lozz that had been harassing the City-State, and made the doomed choice to attack it. The local garrison, some 5,000 strong, outnumbered and surprised the attacking Krighal Vitna, driving them back with heavy casualties. Immediately, the proper Hreki authorities were alerted of the repelled attack and trackers began following Borkosov's forces as they retreated towards Point Mikhail. Within four days, a general by the name of Ull'lox had arrived with 40,000 men, cutting off Borkosov's retreat and slaughtering the entire expedition. In the following days, more reinforcements poured in, as trackers followed the route Borkosov had originally taken back to Point Mikhail, a city unknown to the empire thus far.

With a further 100,000 soldiers arriving under another general, Ghar'rok, the Hreki built their strength in and around Klerrvex. In late Greenburst, they set out for Point Mikhail with more than 200,000 soldiers. Around this time, the Hreki Emperor, Gix'xol IV, also took note of the incident occurring in the western edges of his Empire. In the coming days, he would begin passing orders down to the troops and ultimately spared the City-State from destruction.

On the 3rd of Nyara's Summer, the residents of Point Mikhail awoke to a deafening rumbling coming from the woods south of their city, as hundreds of thousands of Dra Kh Lozz emerged from the wilderness. Mayor Fokar and Watch Commander Sorovihn organised a comparably pitiful defence of the city with around 3,000 soldiers, reservists, and militias. For two days, the Hrekis sat outside the walls of Point Mikhail. their war drums beating and their siege camp spreading as far as the eye could see. The denizens of Point Mikhail, at this point, had already lost all hope and urged Fokar to surrender, hoping that this would lead to mercy. Fokar stubbornly refused. On the 5th, the Hrekis began bombarding the walls with the power of their fire god, Sheh'hok. The defenders of Point Mikhail were no match, as thousands of Dra Kh Lozz poured into the settlement and many parts of the city caught fire. Casualties were heavy and it looked like the day was lost when, unexpectedly, the Hrekis turned around and returned to their camps. Gix'xol IV had given the order to spare the city-state, drawn in by his curiosity towards the strangers on his shore.

The following days were marked by uneasy negotiations, as neither side spoke the other's language. However, in time, an elementary form of communication was established, mostly through the use of drawings and hand gestures. The Hrekis made it abundantly clear that the only way that Point Mikhail would continue its existence is if they spat out the one who had ordered the doomed attack on Klerrvex. Mayor Fokar, when learning that the city planned to hand him over, tried to flee on a ship to the Mainland, but was apprehended and delivered to the Hrekis, where he was promptly beheaded by General Ghar'rok in front of all to see.

In the coming weeks, diplomatic relations were established. Klerrvex became a diplomatic centre open to the Krighal Vitna and the nomads who had been harassing them were promptly wiped out by the Hreki military. The March on Point Mikhail, abrupt and costly as it had been, led to a new era in the city-state's history, and remains an important event to this day. It taught the Krighal Vitna that Nuj Tarrok was not a continent filled with savages and anarchy, but that deeper inland was an empire more powerful and numerous than in any other corner of Enselonde. It also served as a warning to all mayors who came after Fokar that crossing said empire would lead to the immediate destruction of their city-state.