Assyra at war

### The gods

During wartime, Assyrans look to their gods for guidance in all things. The most important within the pantheon is Brontus, god of warfare and bloodshed.

### Horses

Before each battle, prayers are given and sacrifices made for the horses that will ride into war. The priests ask that the lives of the horses be spared, and that those who suffer death are given ones that are swift and clean. They ask for the forgiveness and mercy of Brontus, that he might not unleash the full extent of his rage when he sees the horses' death.

The priests light bonfires and pray over them to Brontus, asking for him to protect the horses and the men who guide them. Individual soldiers pray around smaller fires for the lives of their mounts. They may hold little figures of clay or stone of horses. Many kneel before their mounts and some pray to them directly, believing Brontus will listen to their horses before themselves.

Soldiers ask forgiveness for times they may have been cruel or spoken disrespectfully of their mounts. They ask Brontus to protect their horses, who have lived only to serve him, and to grant them mercy. They understand that in the eyes of Brontus, all horses are faultless and without flaw, more perfect than any mortal.

Men who have served Brontus well, those who have slaughtered many in war and proven their courage and devotion to the gods, are believed to be given a higher chance of mercy. The men who have treated their horses with attention and care, who have given them food while going hungry and provided them warmth and comfort first, may please Brontus and earn good deaths.

In the time just before the coming battle, the priests walk and bless the horses of the great generals and leaders. They touch their foreheads and call them "Ignotis noti," *Noble creatures.* There are not priests enough to bless each of the cavalry of great forces, so soldiers pray to their own mounts and also call them "Prestori motis," *Favored ones.*

Many soldiers do not look on their horses as animals, but as companions with intelligence and compassion equal to men. They believe the Assyran horse is above all other creatures that walk the land. Greatest among horses, the blessed ones most beloved by the gods, the Assyran is the supreme beast of war.

### After the battle

When the battle has ended, the wounded and dying horses are seen to first. Those who have been too seriously wounded to live long and those who are in great pain are put to death quickly and cleanly by sword. Priests go among the horses, praying to them and sitting with them as they die, telling them of their deeds in the battle and how well they have fought alongside the soldiers.

Horses that have already died are prayed over and blessed. When the leaders of war lose a mount, it is anointed with sacred oils and its corpse burned upon a sacrificial bonfire to Brontus, so that it will not suffer the indignity of rotting in the field. Men have been known to cover the corpses of dead horses with tarps or brush.

Deaths of horses on the field are taken very seriously. It greatly angers Brontus to see a horse die in war. It is believed that the god himself will walk the field of battle afterward and gives painless deaths to the horses, particularly those in the cavalry ranks. Men have told stories of seeing the figure of Brontus standing over a dying horse and touching its forehead with one hand, giving it words of comfort and strength. He quiets their screams and gives them peace before taking their lives and bringing them into his halls of war in the afterlife, where they will live in tranquility and paradise for the rest of eternity.

Men who died fighting bravely in the battle, those who fought well or achieved a great feat of warfare,