The Battle of Sanglante Slopes

- Mass Katherian war weariness and eventual surrender

- Annexation of Katheria under the Republic of Valdieri

The Battle of Sanglante Slopes, also commonly known as the Battle of Pianure Rocciose by Valdierians, was a large, decisive battle fought between the Republic of Valdieri and the Kingdom of Katheria, with both armies being heavily reinforced by various mercenaries from across the land.

## Prelude

Following the aftermath of the Siege of Frerengard and the annexation of the Duchy of Northholm under the Kingdom of Katheria, Katherian hegemony across the north was nearly unrivaled. From Lake Katheria to the frozen northeast, the Kingdom had annexed, absorbed or established new lands, allowing King Einar Osluf-Chapelle to consolidate his power. Such consolidation of power was largely assisted by the Katherian's heavy utilization of mercenary warriors from The Krov'yan Horde, who led the vanguard in almost all of Katheria's military conquests. This rapid expansion made their neighbors wary, specifically the Republic of Valdieri, who geographically were split into western and eastern Republican provinces as a result of the Kingdom's location along Lake Katheria and their newly acquired eastern territories. The Republic began to mobilize both politically and militarily to prepare against what they believed to be an inevitable threat to their peoples, using their considerable wealth to hire mercenaries from across the realm before preemptively declaring war on Katheria.

Following the declaration of war on Katheria by the Valdieri, The Krov'yan Horde, long seeing how invaluable their services had been to the Kingdom in their recent conquests and hegemony, demanded that their continued services be met with increased payment to its warriors. King Einar would ultimately refuse the Horde's demand, this denial, alongside the Horde's belief that Queen Maria Osluf-Chapelle had insulted the honor and name of the late Khan Hegedüs Horváth, led new Khan Radovan Korda, to annul the contract previously established between the Krov'yani peoples and the Kingdom of Katheria. With their services now open once again, the Horde offered to their services to any who were willing to pay for what they believed they were worth, to which the Republic of Valdieri promptly took the opportunity to hire Horde warriors, acknowledging their martial prowess firsthand from the many skirmishes fought against them. This change largely influenced the balance of power between the Republic and the Kingdom, with the latter having lost a large portion of their initial military capability in the field of battle. However, Katheria would supplement the loss of it's mercenaries by hiring elite Roi warriors from the far southern reaches of the Indonaga Clan.

## Battle/Siege

The battle would ultimately take place along the Sanglante Slopes, southwest of the Katherian capital. King Einar positioned all of his forces along the elevated slope, giving his outnumbered army the benefit of the high ground. Valdieri forces, spearheaded by horse archers from the Horde, would advance on the slopes, skirmishing as they advanced, inflicting many causalities. Although the Katherian army initially held their ground, the army as a whole began to lose cohesion under the consistent arrow and crossbow fire. A majority of the Katherian militia began to become separated from main army, and were unconsciously moving farther and farther down the slope they had been ordered to hold. This alongside the loss of most of the Katherian cavalry during the skirmishing prompted the Valdieri army to charge upwards the slopes, further breaking the cohesion of the defenders. Fierce and bloody melee would ensue as cavalry charged into the ranks of Katherian infantry. Despite many Katherians valiantly holding their ground, all cohesion had been lost and the remaining groups of survivors were quickly run down by pursuing cavalry.

## Aftermath

(What events were influenced or situations changed as a result of this battle/siege, anywhere from 1-4 paragraphs, same as before, if longer use a main article redirect)