Donatos War - In the Shadow of the Black Tower: After days of laying low, still securely hidden at Zeta-Lambda-Rho, two sentinels of the 454th Cadian Regiment reported having seen two wandering Knights in distinctive House Chimaeros panoply. Tracking the enemy, they discovered that these Knights were part of a larger group. The two sentinels reported to their own officers before being heard by the newly-elected High King and his council. The most belligerent Knights sought a reckoning with their traitorous brethren. To deny them such an opportunity was to invite discontent within the Loyalists' ranks. Additionally, Danial feared that if he did not give the order to attack some would simply bypass his authority and attack by themselves.Reports showed that the party of House Chimaeros Knights only numbered a dozen Knights -- a formation consistent with hunting duties or the personal bodyguard of a ranked Noble. With the very real chance that they might catch Gerraint Kar Adrastapol or one of his lieutenants off-guard and isolated, High King Danial agreed to sally forth. But while the Chivalric Code demanded that he lead the punitive force personally, he was careful to appoint a direct successor should anything happen to him: his sister, Jennika Tan Draconis. Likewise, his base of operations needed to remain a secure fall-back position, so he let Jennika have her pick from the entire force to constitute a small garrison of no more than 10 Knights. The remaining 40 Knights would follow the High King. With both numbers and surprise on their side, the Loyalists were optimistic that they would emerge victorious from the battle to come.The High King and his warriors followed their foes to a hunting camp, a temporary base established inside the fortified walls of an abandoned Adeptus Arbites precinct fortress located at the base of a series of great cliffs. Thanks to Lady Eleanat Dar Pegasson's Knight, Sagasitus, and its boosted Auspex systems, the High King was able to get a clear picture of what awaited them inside the fortress. The enemy hunting party definitely numbered no more than a dozen Knights, three of them currently standing guard outside of the fortifications. Denying Grandmarshal Gustev's request to intone House Minotos' traditional battle-anthem to retain the element of surprise, the Loyalist Knights launched their attack.Hopelessly outnumbered, the guards were swiftly destroyed. Even the precinct's armoured walls did not slow down the vengeful survivors of Adrastapol's three Loyalist Houses. Two lances of Knight Errants spearheaded separate assaults on the precinct's walls, their Thermal Cannons making short work of the armoured ferrocrete whilst the force's Knight Gallants concentrated on the keep's gate. Surprised, the Chimaeros Knights within the keep offered little resistance save for a trio of Knights Gallant standing still in the precinct's main mustering ground. At their head stood Hectour Dar Chimaeros, a former Knight of the disgraced House Manticos. And in the palm of his Knight Gallant Blade Aggressor’s Thunderstrike Gauntlet, he held the thin figure of his captive -- Alicia Kar Manticos.The fighting immediately died down as the Knights reacted with shock to such an unchivalrous act, for every Knight was compelled by the Chivalric Code to let no harm come to any woman. Even outnumbered ten to one, the Renegade Knights haughtily held their ground, demanding the High King parlay with them. Danial accepted this offer with the faint hope of convincing the Renegade Knights to surrender. But wary of a trap, Danial ordered his Herald, Markos Dar Draconis, to gather 10 Knights and guard the Loyalists' back.