Battle of the Maw

The **Battle of the Maw**, also called the **Slaughter at the Valleys**, was the largest and most decisive engagement of the Imperial invasion of Tyvanis, one which arguably led to the end of the conflict as a whole.

## History

### Prelude

In early 170 AE, a massive Imperial army crossed the border between Tyvanis and Sabarissa, blessed by the Emperor himself to conquer the Freehold's territory and incorporate it into the Empire. The Freehold panicked, caught off-guard by the sudden offensive and unable to mount an effective response for some time, due to their armed forces being significantly weakened from prior years of insurgencies and dissent.

The Imperial army began a campaign of raiding the countryside, burning and robbing all villages within fifty miles of their base camp. The fearsome legionaries encountered token resistance, mainly in the form of farmers and militia groups.

However, as the Imperials continued to sack holdfasts and villages, Grand Captain Ramon Zentharon managed to gather a sizeable force of Tyvanian men, numbering about two hundred total. This force was predominantly made up of guardsmen from the city of Tyvanis, as well as contingents from the outlying castles and several mercenaries. Zentharon, however, decided to march his force to meet the Empire immediately, sacrificing waiting for more reinforcements in favour of stopping the Imperial attack as soon as possible. The Grand Captain's decision proved to be a rash one unfortunately, as the Imperial army outnumbered the Tyvanians 3:1.

### Battle begins

The Tyvanian army reached a strategic valley about half a day's march from the city, and began setting up their defences in the form of a small wooden palisade. The mood in the defences was dark, as the soldiers were rattled from varying rumours of the size of the Imperial force, some saying there were thousands, and some saying there were hundreds of thousands. Its said that the night before the battle, a few men were so terrified that they fled the defence with whatever they could carry.

In the morning, the weather was cold and slightly foggy, unnerving the men further as the forest just beyond the palisade had a ghostly appearance. But the nerves of the men were soon heightened, as the rising sound of thundering hoofs soon filled the air, and a resounding cheer from hundreds of Imperial cavalrymen made the Tyvanians' skin crawl. As the men rushed to man the defences with pikes and spears, they were suddenly bombarded by volleys of arrows from archers hidden in the forest, suffering losses by the dozens.

The Imperial cavalry, led by General Xerxon himself, seized the moment and rushed the Tyvanian line, smashing into the palisade and destroying parts of it with the sheer momentum of their stallions and the toughness of their armour. The horses sent the Tyvanians into disarray, and their officers could do little to stop the frenzied melee that broke out in the centre of the field. Seeing the success of Xerxon's attack, Legate Janos (commanding the Imperial infantry) ordered the Imperial legionaries to charge, rushing toward the Tyvanian's left flank and clashing swords there. Though thrown into chaos, Sir Donnel Vardis managed to organise several dozen men into a phalanx that proved effective against the enemy cavalry, but Legate Janos countered this by sending a company of long-axe-men to hack them apart. The phalanx was destroyed and Sir Donnel was beheaded.

On the right flank, the contingent sent by the Cervalic Order fought to push deep into the Tyvanian formation and split their force in two, forcing a hasty retreat. The religious militants fought with such terrifying fanaticism that some of the Tyvanians were spooked and ran from the field.