Battle of Vasan

Location of the Battle of Vasan.

The **Battle of Vasan** (Veshkis: Vas'an) was fought several kilometers to the west of the city of Vasan as part of the Veshkis Unification Wars in early 851 UA, at the time part of the Kingdom of Shynet. The battle would be fought between the Mishkunon-based forces of Jytynekis and the defending army of Shynet, ending in a decisive victory for the forces of the young Veshdyn. The battle would cause a short-lived civil war in Shynet between the various noble factions, and would long-term be the springboard for the entirety of the empire Veshdyn would establish, acting as the first victory in a 350 year sequence of near complete regional domination.

## Background

*Main Articles: Veshdyn, Shynet (Kingdom), Four Kingdoms Period, Veshkis Unification Wars*

Entering into the battle, both sides had cemented themselves as the political poles of the Veshkis world. Shynet having been the far senior of the two, coming into existence in the late 750s UA and being the largest city within Stinjel for most of that time. Veshdyn on the other hand had only existed for a mere 3 years, having been formed by Jytynekis and his Council of the Light by overthrowing the Kingdom of Mishkunon and reforming the city into a theocracy. Citing a cause to unify the Veshkis people, Jytynekis had been preparing to invade the Kingdom of Shynet for months in order to swiftly remove his largest obstacle along the path towards conquering Veshktant and the surrounding islands. The Shynetis noble leadership on the other hand had not been so concerned. They were well aware of what a Mishkunon-based power could do, having fought with the fallen kingdom in the Pantant War and narrowly emerging victorious. However, political in-fighting combined with a lack of confidence in what the young theocracy could do made the Shynetis response unusually relaxed and lackluster. In the end the veteran Jalsh Jyseton Shadash, head of the ruling family, took it upon himself to stop the Veshdynis advance towards Vasan. Jytynekis attended the battle from the rear, leaving his most trusted general, Sinis Vaskytolton Cylvtisot, in charge of the army.

### Deployment

The Shynetis forces deployed first, deciding to take a position on a hill along a thin portion of the Shakan River to defend the city of Vasan as its defenses were poorly developed. When Vaskytolton approached during dusk he decided to deploy out of range of the Shynetis archers and to scope out the situation, assuming a defensive formation with his cavalry advanced on the flank. The remaining hours would be spent by both planning the next day's battle and probing the defenses of enemies who got too close to the river.

## Battle

The armies of the Veshkis powers would approach on the night of 8/2/851 UA, engaging in mild skirmishing for the first night. The bulk of the battle would take place the following day on 9/2/851 UA.

### Early Skirmishes

On the night of 8/2/851, Vaskytolton sent a small contingent along the river to investigate the Shynetis defenses. They reported that the enemies occupied a hill across the river and the two sides briefly exchanged arrow fire. The activity of the day ended soon afterwards with both sides planning their next move.

The next morning, Vaskytolton ordered his cavalry around the river in the upstream direction, having them cross out of sight with the goal of harassing the forces of Shynet. However, the defender cavalry met and a horse-back battle broke out. The outnumbered Shynetis cavalry were defeated and forced to retreat to the rest of the army, but the Veshdynis cavalry ere unable to accomplish their goal. Vaskytolton's intent was to have the cavalry group up behind the river, but Jytynekis personally rode out to the riders and ordered them to remain across the Shakan to hide behind the nearby hills and await a signal. Jytynekis and Vaskytolton convened and decided upon a course of action.

### The Battle Begins

Jyseton, expecting the army of Veshdyn to perform a frontal assault and flank from the left, constructed defenses in both areas and put his best formations of mixed-integusorcerer-infantry on the weakened flank. The Shynetis defenders had judged a crossing of the lower Shakan to be too dangerous for the Veshdynis to undergo and had ruled out the right flank as an assault option for the attackers.

Jytynekis had noticed the great defensive position he was to attack and had decided on two principles. Firstly, he wanted to drive them out of their hill defenses as to remove a substantial advantage the Shynetis had. Secondly, he wanted to take advantage of his larger force by splitting the Shynetis army and widening the front as much as possible. As such, he and Vaskytolton agreed on a three-pronged attack.

As the Sun reached its height in the sky and noon came about, slightly over half of the army of Veshdyn marched north and crossed the rapid river out of sight of the defenders. Over a hundred soldiers died in the crossing, but the position was secured. Vaskytolton led this section of the army from his sanguisorcerer unit and started to advance in the direction of Vasan. Seeing this, the army of Shynet panicked and quickly ordered a charge towards the rear to defend their supply lines and Vasan. At this moment, Jytynekis' half of the army began to attack across the river, not committing but threatening enough that some units were left behind by the Shynetis to prevent their envelopment.

On the east side of the Shakan, Vaskytolton's and Jyseton's armies began to enter combat. At this moment Jytynekis gave the order to the cavalry across the river to charge by lighting a signal fire. With the Shynetis army divided the Veshdynis *josh'is'ech* circled around the defenders' hill and charged downhill, trapping them between the river, Jytynekis' army, and themselves. Almost immediately the Shynetis forces began to route, but for most it was too late. The men that weren't cut down and instead retreated were pursued by the Veshdynis cavalry.

### Vaskytolton's Breakthrough and Route of the Shynetis

Following the defeat of the initial line of troops, Jyseton realized that he had to either defeat Vaskytolton immediately or retreat. The more conventional option would have been to retreat, but for whatever reason Jyseton did not make this decision. It is commonly thought that his knowledge of the political intrigue in Shynet influenced his decision to return victorious or die. He ordered an all-out assault into the Veshdynis lines before their other half of the army could cross the Shakan River. Vaskytolton's sanguisorcerer unit was well equipped to deal with this and quickly punched a hole in the charging center. Suffering quickly rising casualties and with the army of Jytynekis approaching, a general route began against orders. In the confusion, Jyseton was killed along with most of what was left of his army. Those that escaped retreated east to Vasan and south to Shynet.

## Aftermath

*Main Articles: Veshdyn,* *Shynetis Civil War*

The Battle of Vasan was on the smaller side of historical battles, but had an extreme and long-lasting impact. Upon the battle's conclusion and death the ruling noble family's patriarch, Jalsh Jyseton Shadash, a civil war would occur in Shynet between the in-power Shadash faction and the more numerous Vakin faction. This war would simply expedite the conquest of Shynet by Jytynekis and his army, ultimately having no significant effect on what was to come.

The true impact of the battle came to be what it would snowball into. The pan-Veshkis theocratic and militaristic goals of Jytynekis and his experimental Veshdyn were affirmed. The battle would be their first victory outside of the old Kingdom of Mishkunon and result in the conquest of the only other significant Veshkis power. This paved the way for the unification of the Veshkis, further conquests in Stinjel, and ultimately the thalassocratic empire Veshdyn would form. In some historical circles the Battle of Vasan is actually preferred as the birth of Veshdyn over Jytynekis' coup for this reason (as Veshdyn was never proclaimed, the name gained popularity gradually under Jytynekis' rule, making the border between Kingdom of Mishkunon and Veshdyn somewhat blurred).