Army of Emperor Athdus III

The Imperial Army under Emperor Athdus III is widely regarded to have been one of the most effective fighting forces in world history. With Athdus at the helm, it was able to utterly subjugate approximately half of Inecuria, conquering vast swathes of land and millions of subjects in just a few short years.

Many historians consider the Imperial Army to have been at peak effectiveness during the wars against Onshi and Adwan, after Athdus had learnt valuable lessons waging war in Asmukhar and had integrated many Asmocarian soldiers into his forces. While it would remain one of the world's finest armies for the rest of Athdus's life, its quality would erode in subsequent years as the War for the World slew many veterans and filled up the ranks with conscripts; the decreased quality and increased scale of his army forced Athdus to significantly simplify his operations and tactics.

The organisation and strategy of Athdus and his army have been studied extensively for centuries, and are still used to teach military officers around the world to this day. The study of Athdus and his army underwent a strong revival during the gunpowder age, when warfare once again became centred upon the kind of formation-based warfare which was waged during Athdus' era.

Several key factors are typically pointed to as making the Imperial Army so indomitable; the general consensus is that superior equipment, training, tactical doctrine and peerless logistical capabilties were combined with Athdus's own good generalship to create a force that very rarely suffered defeat. Historians often debate which of these factors was the most important, but it was a combination of all which made the Imperial Army so successful.

Towards the end of Athdus's reign, the Imperial Army began to transition into what would become known as the Peacekeeper Army - also sometimes termed the Post-Athdusian or Pre-Troubled army - but it was not until after Athdus passed away that the Imperial Army truly shifted into the new mode it would occupy for the next eight centuries.

## Logistics

Many historians have argued that Athdus's logistical innovations contributed the most to Imperial success; after all, Athdus could never exploit his army's quality to win a force of arms if he was unable to get it anywhere.

The impressive logistical capabilities of the Imperial Army were partly inherited; all the armies of Nesaria had refined their logistical organisation over the course of the multi-generational War of Succession, forced to optimise every aspect of supply as the land became steadily more depleted by each successive campaign. The Imperial Army, by the time Athdus came to the throne, had already developed into a highly efficient force. The armies took few non-combatant servants with them, as the soldiers were both trained and expected to undertake most menial duties themselves, with their duties ranging from digging trenches to mending clothes to milling grain. The efficiency of the Imperial Army was partly tied to their organisational structure - discussed in its own section - and is often compared to the unusually impressive logisitics of the Roman legions.

However, the innovations which made Athdus's otherwise ludicrously impractical campaigns possible were all of Athdus's own personal design, inspired by his extensive study of Nesarian military history and his observations of magic at work. Previous commanders in Nesaria - and much of Inecuria at large outside of Saveria - had been largely ignorant of the usefulness of magic in managing logistics; magic was typically thought of only as a battlefield weapon, likely because its battlefield effectiveness was so utterly devastating that it simply never occured to non-magical beings to think of magic in a non-combat capacity.

Although Athdus did indeed make prolific use of battlefield mages, military records show that few of the mages in his army were actually considered "battle mages" - that is, a mage whose primary occupation was soldiering, who fought on the front lines and primarily used their magic on the battlefield; this classification mostly referred to Vampire Raven Guard and Bloodthirsters, but did also include Elvish warriors. The majority of the mages were instead categorised as "operations mages". While operations mages would take to the battlefield if required, they were not trained soldiers, nor were they expected to put themselves in danger; they were expected to support allied formations with their magic and remain in relative safety, rather than making aggressive offensive manoeuvres with the battle mages.

Operations mages were overwhelmingly concerned with logistics, and most of their time and energy was spent on relatively menial roles. While their position won them little glory, they are considered by military historians to have been an absolute necessity for the Imperial Army. All types of mage had a role to play in logistics, and while some had obvious roles - such as healing mages, who were crucial in improving both the likelihood and speed of recovery from wounds and disease - others had applications that were less straightforward, but no less essential.

### Plasma Magic

Plasma mages served numerous functions, many of which were related to improving fuel efficiency. The red plasma of Vampires was hot enough to rapidly aid the process of drying firewood whilst not being hot enough to set the wood alight; normal Elvish plasma was unable to reach temperatures low enough to avoid instant auto-ignition. However, while useless for drying, plasma was of course extremely useful for burning; plasma mages completely eliminated the need for kindling, as larger pieces of firewood could be immediately set alight. Not only did this substantially save on fuel, but it also saved time in cooking; soldiers and servants were able to dedicate more time to other tasks when they did not have to wait for their fires to get up to the right heat. The average evening of a plasma mage in Athdus's army consisted mostly of lighting fires, or using their plasma magic to heat pots directly.

Plasma mages were also extremely useful for maintaining arms and armour on the move without the need of a forge. Elvish smiths powered by plasma magic (typically referred to just as "plasma smiths") were a rare commodity, and they were both well-paid and well-guarded; they were one of the few types of operational mage expressly *forbidden* from taking to the battlefield, as they were far too valuable to put in harm's way. Plasma smiths could create little without a proper forge - a thing which could only be set up in an extended stay in a camp - but they required relatively little equipment for welding, a process which had ever been the specialty of the plasma smith.

Welding was useful for all kinds of maintenance, but was especially valuable for creating and repairing mail, which was very widely used by the Imperial Army. It is likely that most of the plasma smiths in Athdus's army had been responsible for manufacturing this mail in the first place; the value of plasma-smithed mail was known well before Athdus's time, as the ability of plasma smiths to weld with incredible power and precision allowed them to make *every* ring in a piece of mail armour solid. Mail made of completely solid rings was substantially less likely to break than mail made of riveted rings, especially against thrusting attacks, making the Imperial Army better armoured than their counterparts.

Though plasma smiths demanded high wages - they knew full well just how valuable their abilities were - they could both forge and repair equipment not only more quickly than mundane smiths, but with far less fuel. Because of this, when production was scaled up to an entire army, they were actually substantially more cost-effective than ordinary smiths. The gains were marginal when it came to plate armour, but the cost saving on mail was immense, which was what enabled the majority of Athdus's army to be outfitted in mail - an armour normally reserved for officers and cavalry.

### Frost Magic

Frost mages largely negated the issue of spoilage by keeping food frozen; this extended the longevity of fruits and meat in particular, which was a significant boon both to nutrition and morale. Athdus was certainly not the first Nesarian commander to realise the value of frost mages for preserving supplies, but he was the first to employ them on any significant scale.

Frost mages were additionally incredibly valuable in aiding military movements; when moving men, horses and wagons through muddy terrain, frost mages would march ahead to freeze the ground solid. Writings from Athdus's enemies sometimes note with surprise the ability of his army to move through terrain that they thought impassable due to mud, occasionally enabling Athdus to out-manoeuvre his foes and take them by surprise. Though it was a very unglamorous role, frost mages were also useful in freezing excrement left in latrines to prevent it from rotting and filling the air with a horrid stench - a subtle but important factor in maintaining morale and wellbeing.

Frost mages also proved to be extremely valuable in the hotter climates the Nesarians encountered; soldiers who had spent their lives in the cool temperate land of Nesaria were very grateful for the cooling presence of a frost mage in the hot summers of Onshitama and the scorching deserts of Kalzuranur.

### Air Magic

All the mages of the Imperial Army had an essential role to play in Athdus's campaigns, but many historians have argued that none were as important as the air mages - though it is arguable that the Nesarians of the time (including Athdus) did not necessarily realise this, given that they did not prohibit air mages from risking their lives in combat similar to the plasma smiths.

The importance of air mages was in alleviating the "tyranny of the wagon equation" by significantly reducing the need for draft animals through the use of wind-wagons - also called sail-wagons and landships. These were wagons equipped with sails rather than pulled by animals, and though they could be powered by natural winds if the gusts were especially strong, they were mainly powered by air mages generating artificial wind. Unlike normal wagons, they could also be brought to a halt and reverse with ease by simply blowing wind in the opposite direction.

Athdus did not invent the wind-wagon, and they had been used in Nesaria before him, but they were typically quickly abandoned when attempted because they were ordinarily only viable on well-maintained paved roads; it was much harder to free a wind-wagon stuck in mud than an ordinary one pulled by animals. Athdus's key innovation was combining the wind-wagons with frost mages to make solid any soft or otherwise unsuitable ground - though it remains a matter of some dispute whether it was actually Athdus who came up with this idea or whether he learnt about it from elsewhere and was simply the first to deploy it.

Though an air mage who worked all day powering a wind-wagon would require a great many calories and therefore eat more than the average man, they still ate far less than a draft animal, meaning that wagon space could be dedicated completely to rations for the soldiers and camp followers. Combined with the fact that frost mages could ensure food remained edible for months rather than days, this meant that Athdus's army could go much further and longer between resupplies than other contemporary forces, and never faced a truly desperate supply situation; as such, daily foraging was only small in scale and was far less destructive than a typical army of the time.

### Non-Military Effects

The reduced frequency of resupplying the army through the use of magic was not only militarily useful, but also extremely politically useful. Athdus considered it essential to win over the hearts and minds of those he conquered, which was far easier to do when the army acquired its supplies in an orderly fashion - and, importantly, *paid for* those supplies - rather than plundering food from peasant farmers along the way.

During the Nesarian War of Succession, Athdus had been in a position to witness first-hand the terrible toll an army could inflict upon civilians through its mere *existence*, by ravenously drawing out food from the countryside and leaving the farmers starving - or, at the very least, without any surplus to sustain them through hard times. The need to avoid relying on plundering farmland for supplies was not just a practical consideration for Athdus - it was also a moral one, for stopping the suffering of innocent bystanders was a major part of why Athdus set out to unite the world in the first place.

Historians have characterised this incessant desire to escape the need for foraging and plundering as being a key factor in the eventual consent to Imperial rule within Asmukhar. For the nomadic pastoralists of the steppe, the survival and growth of the grasses was absolutely essential for their survival, and so they were always ready to cast out trespassers with lethal force to prevent them from grazing on their lands. Though there were still many animals within the Imperial Army which ate into the grass - much to the chagrin of the tribes who controlled the affected land - the damage was relatively light and easily recoverable, since the only grazing animals were the cavalry horses and a relatively small flock of sheep which provided milk and wool, and not the massive legions of draft animals that typically accompanied the armies of settled civilisations.

The sources state that this took the Asmukharians by surprise - after all, their extremely hostile reaction to the Nesarians was partly based on the assumption that they had come to eat the plains, and that the war was one of survival. Though the grassland would still have been damaged, the nobles had expected the Imperial Army to completely annihilate the steppe and leave a lifeless trail in its wake, as had been the case for other settled armies they had encountered. Once they realised that the Nesarians were not destroying the grasses they relied upon to survive, and understood how the Nesarians were avoiding it, they became far more receptive to the Nesarians and, ultimately, joined forces with them.

## Experience

Nesaria was not a peaceful land when Athdus ascended to the throne; the country was embroiled in the gruelling War of Succession, one of Nesaria's longest and most destructive wars, only exceeded by the Mortian War. Though the conflict had exhausted and devastated much of the country, it had refined armies from all corners of the country into highly skilled and experienced war machines.

Not only had the soldiers and officers gained valuable combat experience, but decades of ceaseless war had taught the commanders of Nesaria hard lessons in logistics and management of supplies. The sheer length of the war had also greatly influenced the economy of Nesaria, greatly increasing the scale and efficiency of all industries related to military matters. This made military equipment and supplies comparatively much cheaper than in the rest of the continent, enabling even common soldiery to be more heavily armed and generally better supplied than their counterparts elsewhere.

Athdus and his officers were not only able to put their own personal experience to use, but they could draw upon the knowledge gained from the entire multi-generation conflict due to the highly detailed reports from Imperial commanders. The Imperial Army obliged its commanders to note the specific details of campaigns and battles so that their experiences could be used to teach others - and also so that incompetent commanders could be easily rooted out. This was a policy which originated much earlier during the era of the Republic of Nesaria, which the Empire inherited and continued. The only contemporary country of Inecuria which had a similar system was the Republic of Onshi, which also forced its commanders to provide detailed reports, but this was utilised merely as a safeguard against incompetence rather than as a learning tool for military students.

## Infantry

Whilst most military historians believe that Imperial heavy cavalry is the key factor as to why the army was so dominant on the battlefield, cavalry can only operate at its highest potential when supported by quality infantry - and the Imperial infantry were nothing short of elite. The core line infantry were professional career soldiers, though in the War for the World they were far outnumbered by conscripted levies with inferior experience, training and equipment (especially armour), who had to be quickly brought up to speed by the professional veterans.

The heavy infantry of the Imperial Army blended numerous traditions of Nesarian warfare, and had been refined through the bloody but highly instructive War of Succession. The chief inspiration was not actually the way of the Ascarians, but rather the Mortani pikemen of Chief Eddon Ralekan, who had fought in a dense formation called a "hedgehog" - though it is better known to European readers as a "phalanx". The Mortani hedgehogs operated with highly effective Wydlan cavalry for a brutally effective hammer and anvil tactic that was difficult for the Ascarians to overcome; the hedgehogs formed a line that was essentially impenetrable from the front, holding the enemy in place to be flanked by the Wydlans.

Whilst the Imperial army operated on the same principles as the late Mortani army, it did not actually make use of pikemen; whilst Athdus and other Imperial officers were well aware of how dominant a pike block in good order could be on the field, they were not fond of a formation that could be so easily defeated by rough ground - especially since Athdus had *literally* no idea the kind of terrain his army would have to go through - and the War of Succession had shown that hedgehogs were of very limited use in sieges, which had grown substantially in frequency and importance as fortification techniques had improved. Whilst Athdus did not know how many sieges he would have to undertake - again, he had *literally* no idea - he knew better than to structure his force on the probably (and, in the event, actually) incorrect assumption he would not have to do them.

### Arms and Armour

There was some variation in how Imperial infantry were equipped, but at minimum they were required to carry a spear, a shield, a "short weapon" and at least two war-darts, and were required to at least wear a helmet for protection. The professional career soldiers typically went far beyond the minimum requirements, whereas the conscripts of the War for the World sometimes barely managed to meet them. Most arms and armour were sourced from official military smiths, resulting in far more uniformity in equipment than other contemporary armies, but there was still notable diversity.

#### Spear

The spear was 2.5 to 3 metres in length, generally clustering around the 2.7 metre mark; this is towards the longer end of one-handed spears, but not especially long. Unlike most contemporaries, the spear-heads were made of steel and not iron, and had a relatively long and wide leaf-shaped blade which allowed the spear to cut and cleave as well as thrust. These spears had a butt-spike which both acted as a counterweight and enabled the spear to be planted into the ground to withstand a charge; the spike was usually bronze, but iron examples also exist. The wood used for the haft varied, but the written sources say it was typically young oak.

During the War for the World, the archaeological record shows that spear-heads became more pointed and generally more oriented towards thrusting; this may have been a reaction to the tough armour plates of Cosmovores, which could not be meaningfully cut through but could be pierced or thrust between. These more thrusting-oriented spears often appear with lugs or wings at the base of the head, which not only prevented the spear from going too deep and getting stuck, but also prevented a Cosmovore from running themselves through on the spear to get to the wielder.

#### Shield

The standard shield produced by Imperial armouries was oval-shaped and large, being approximately 120 centimetres from top to bottom, with a bronze or iron (or - generally only amongst officers - steel) boss. Other than the boss, the shield was flat - a departure from Ascarian norms, and possibly inspired by native Nesarian shields. The reasoning for flattening the shield remains debated, as many historians have argued that this reduced the ability of the shield to deflect blows and removed the ability of a soldier to press themselves into the curve for more complete protection against missiles. The mainstream theory, generally supported by tests done with reproductions, is that flattening the shield made it more effective as a weapon; it is much easier to align the edge with the target when punching with the shield if it is flat.

The written sources indicate that the infantry were allowed to decorate their shields however they pleased to begin with, but not long after the campaign began, Emperor Athdus ordered that the shields should bear the symbol of the owner's cohort, making it easy to immediately recognise at a glance which cohort a soldier belonged to. Imperial soldiers continued to add their own individual decorations and colour schemes - which could sometimes be spectacularly elaborate - but the cohort's symbol was always in the centre and was never cluttered or overshadowed by other designs.

#### Short Weapon

As well as their spear, soldiers were expected to carry what the sources term a "short weapon"; many historians have noted the use of this language rather than referring to them as "secondary", "backup" or "reserve" weapons, indicating they were expected to be used as much as the spear. "Short weapon" does not mean a weapon that is actually truly short, rather merely one that is shorter than their spear - in other words, not a polearm. Short weapons were used when the infantry were closely pressed against the enemy; at such a distance, the long reach of the spear became a hindrance rather than an advantage. They were also used in sieges and urban combat, where the lack of space and necessity for fast movement made spears less practical. They were also, of course, used if the soldier's spear broke in battle.

Prior to the War for the World, by far the most common short weapon was the sword - specifically a pattern of sword known at the time as a "Cortath sword" or "Cortath blade", because its design was based off those used by native Cortathians. Despite being called a short weapon, the Cortath sword was actually notably longer than typical Ascarian swords, which were generally relatively short; Cortath swords tended to cluster around 98 centimetres in length and probably weighed around a kilogram. They were double-edged and were straight for most of the length, but quickly tapered to a sharp point towards the top; this design made the sword brutally effective at both cutting and thrusting. Perhaps the most significant aspect of the design taken from Cortath was the crossguard - in that it actually had one, unlike prior Ascarian swords which had a small round wooden guard, often compared to the Roman gladius and spatha.

Once the War for the World began, the sword began to fall out of use since it had difficulty penetrating the tough armour plates of Cosmovores; the infantry instead took up a wide variety of axes, war-picks, hammers and maces which could either penetrate the armour or simply inflict massive blunt force through it. This period saw the development of early forms of the halberd and pollaxe for the same reason, but these weapons would see essentially no use amongst the Imperial army until after Athdus's death.

#### War-Darts

Though the bare minimum count of war-darts a soldier had to carry into battle was two, the written sources say that the soldiers were "ashamed" to carry fewer than four, and some carried as many as six - though the same written sources also say that carrying so many was awkward and encumbering. The sources provide no information on how these darts were actually carried, leading to several different theories; they may have been held in a quiver on the waist or back, they may have been strapped to the shield, or they may have been held in the belt; it is possible there was no standard form and so all of these may be true.

The war-darts had iron or steel heads that resembled an arrow, attached to a fletched wooden shaft. Barbed heads were more common before the War of the World, whereas bodkin-style heads appear both in the written sources and in the archaeological record as being more common when the war begins; though the wounds they cause are smaller, this kind of head was more effective at piercing the armour of Cosmovores. The war-darts were weighted to increase the force behind them, usually with lead but occasionally with bronze or iron.

It remains debated whether the darts were designed to break upon impact; the sources sometimes describe the darts snapping or bending when hitting a solid target, but it is unclear whether this was a deliberate part of the design. Breaking on impact would have been more logistically burdensome (as work needs to be done before they can be used again) - and it is well understood that Athdus was always keen to eliminate any logistical burdens he did not absolutely need, suggesting that it was not intentional - but it has also been suggested that the darts breaking on impact would have served a useful battlefield role, by preventing the enemy from throwing them back.

#### Armour

The minimum armour requirement was a helmet, but Imperial soldiers were very keen to protect themselves and were some of the most well-armoured infantry in the world at the time. Even the conscripts of the War for the World generally wore more than the minimum, protecting their bodies with textile armour such as gambeson or linothorax.

The helmet in question was usually the standard helmet produced by Imperial armouries, usually called an "Ascarian helmet" by historians (though the Nesarians themselves do not appear to have used this terminology). The helmet was made of iron or steel unlike earlier helmets that were made of bronze - but other than the material, the design of the Ascarian helmet had changed little since the days of the Mortian War, mainly because the design was effective and did not need to change.

The Ascarian helmet is distinguished by its cheek-guards which do not cover the ears - though presenting a vulnerability, this was crucial to allow infantrymen to clearly hear orders amidst the din of battle, and the ears were partially protected by protruding ear-guards - as well as a ridge across the forehead to protect the face from overhead slashes, and a sloped neck guard. Though often compared to the Imperial Gallic type of Roman helmet, there are notable differences; Ascarian helmets were generally more utilitarian in form and lacked the same level of decoration, their neck guard was shorter, and the cheek guards lay flat on the face rather than projecting outwards at the base. Officers were also marked out using plumes attached at the back of the helmet rather than crests.

As mentioned under the logistics section, the prolific employment of plasma smiths combined with impressive economies of scale meant that mail was not as expensive for the Imperial army as it was for the rest of the world - though this should not be exaggerated, as mail was still expensive, just not so expensive as to be restricted solely to the wealthy. As a result, most infantrymen had access to a mail hauberk, though most were vests that did not cover the shoulders, and it was generally only officers who had access to hauberks with sleeves that reached all the way to the wrist. This was worn atop gambeson or some other kind of textile padding. As was also mentioned in the logistics section, the ability of plasma smiths to perform complex and precise welds with ease meant that this mail was not only cheaper but also stronger than its contemporary peers, since all the rings could be welded solid.

Metal plates were rare amongst the infantry; they were prohibitively expensive for most soldiers, and were generally seen as being of little use compared to their cost. They were not, however, unused; officers were known to have sometimes worn iron or steel greaves and pauldrons, though there is no record - either written or archaeological - of plates being used to protect the torso in the form of a cuirass or similar piece.

## Heavy Cavalry

Many historians have argued that the Imperial Army's greatest advantage in battle over its contemporaries was its use of heavy shock cavalry. Though the concept of heavy cavalry was certainly not unheard of in Inecuria before Nesaria took to the stage, the sheer aggression and effectiveness of the Imperial cavalry took the enemies they faced completely by surprise. There are three key factors which made the Imperial cavalry so much more devastating than their counterparts elsewhere; equipment, armour and the horse itself.

The adoption of stirrups and cantled saddles completely revolutionised Nesarian heavy cavalry, and at the time were unique to the Nesarians; even the highly equestrian Asmocarians did not have them. Stirrups and cantled saddles significantly improved the stability of the rider, making them able to charge into the enemy with full force and allowing them to use sturdy long lances which ordinarily would have thrown the rider off the horse's back. When this lance broke, or when close proximity to the target made using such a long weapon impractical, the Imperial cavalry would switch to using their secondary weapon. In the beginning of Athdus' campaigns, this secondary weapon was usually a straight sword, but many adopted the curved sabres of the Asmocarians after fighting against them - and following the war with Onshi, where many of their opponents were armoured, a large proportion began to carry maces.

The Imperial heavy cavalry were, by all accounts, extremely difficult to kill. The horse was draped in steel scales to make it practically impervious to cutting or slashing attacks - though most riders only armoured the front half of their horse which would be facing the enemy, since fully draping it in armour made the horse become fatigued much faster. The riders were also clad in armour; their arms and legs were encased in segmented steel plate, their torso was protected by a long coat of steel scales atop a layer of gambeson, and they wore padded mail sheets around their necks. Some riders opted for a helmet with a visor which fully enclosed the face, but the majority - Athdus himself included - wore a faceless helm, sometimes compensating for the lack of armour by extending the mail up to the nose-guard. Though the faceless helm obviously offered less protection, most riders preferred the increased visibility and ease of breathing, especially in the hot climates of the west.

The third key factor which made the Imperial heavy cavalry so powerful, and the one which many historians have argued to be the most significant, was the horse itself. The Imperial heavy cavalry rode a breed known as the Highland Shadow, a war-horse developed in Cortath over numerous generations of unceasing conflict, concentrating together the strongest, fastest, sturdiest and most savage breeds of Nesarian war-horse into one single bloodline. These black-coated beasts were much larger than the war-horses on the rest of the continent; as a result, they possessed incredible strength and force, and their long stride made them very quick on the charge. They were also much harder to scare than most breeds of horse, not easily rattled by the din of combat or the sight of enemy weapons - though this did make them more troublesome to train and to discipline. The Highland Shadow's monstrous appearance gave it an intimidation factor that was arguably more powerful than its actual combat potential, since the sight of these huge steeds galloping at high speed - especially with a heavily armoured warrior sitting atop them - was terrifying both to men and to other horses, and few formations would stand before them.

## Asmocarian Integration

The integration of the Asmocarians into the Empire caused a shift in how the army operated in several ways. The most immediate change was that the Asmocarians overwhelmingly took over the role of the light cavalry, as they were quite simply unmatched in their horse archery. Asmocarians were also used as light infantry, primarily in skirmish and ambush roles.

However, the Asmocarians made contributions to the Imperial Army beyond just this; the Asmocarian sabre became the favoured sword of the Imperial cavalry, as it was easier to cut effectively with good edge alignment with the curved blade rather than the straight sword previously used by the Nesarians. The Asmocarian style of bow, made of both wood and bone and recurved upon itself, also became widely adopted amongst the Nesarians - though many of the bowmen, especially those of Eshérian descent, refused to give up their military tradition and stuck with the more powerful but notably more unwieldy longbows.

## Changes in War for the World

The War for the World brought with it many unique challenges which forced Athdus to rethink his battle strategy. The hammer and anvil tactic worked well for Athdus because it was effective in breaking the enemy's will, but such a plan would not work against the Cosmovores - not only because their vast numbers made it difficult to flank them, but because their will was fanatical and suicidal; it was simply impossible to rout them, as they would only retreat if explicitly ordered to do so by their Queen. The war also forced Athdus to adopt a more quantity-driven approach in his army, as many of his veterans began to fall and the extreme odds necessitated taking upon countless thousands of new recruits. As such, the quality of equipment fell and less time was spent on training.

To combat the Cosmovores, Athdus lessened the focus on cavalry and expanded the role of the pikemen, as the hedgehogs proved effective at grinding through the Cosmovore swarm and halting - or, at least, slowing - their relentless assaults. Since the Cosmovores had a tendency to throw themselves upon formations in close order, the hedgehogs were supplemented with battle-mages, whose magical attacks proved devastating against the massed swarms. Though the cavalry still retained an important battlefield role, their main purpose was no longer to deliver the decisive blow, but to funnel the enemy into the lines of infantry and prevent any flanking manoeuvres.

The soldiers also began adapting their equipment to face the Cosmovores. Whilst pikes were effective weapons against them, swords proved to be of minimal use compared to axes and maces, which were far more effective at getting through the sturdy exoskeletons of the Cosmovores. Whilst a sword-blow to the head of a Soldier Cosmovore might do little damage or even simply glance off, a hard hit with a mace could crush in the skull and cause almost instant death. The Imperial army learnt quickly, and these weapons soon became near-ubiquitous.

The Imperial army was no stranger to artillery and used it extensively in sieges, but Athdus took inspiration from the Onshians to deploy field artillery en masse. The Cosmovores made fairly easy targets given the haphazard and clustered nature of their hordes, and given that Cosmovores could not be routed and the focus had to be on pure slaughter rather than shock tactics, artillery became indispensible as being the only way of killing them at long range.

A diverse range of field artillery was employed by Athdus, especially in the climactic Battle of Millions, which was reported to feature light repeating ballistae, heavy non-repeating ballistae, catapults, trebuchets and even Onshian "fire-breathers", early flamethrowers that spewed a sticky flaming substance not unlike napalm. The battle-mages also employed wind artillery; they would load heavy balls of stone or metal into wooden tubes and gather together several mages proficient in air magic to launch it at high velocity, effectively creating a powder-less cannon.