[b]In the Northeast of the Axasiri Khaganate. Lands of controlled by the Aunchini Great Clan and their tributaries[/b]

Shesk Aglur-Byhar tightened the grip on his lance as he watched the unfolding skirmish from a vantage point atop a hill. In the plains below a couple hundred Grogars warriors, the remnants of a larger band, tried to stave off the Axasiri cavalry. Hundreds of horse archers riding in a wide circle around them, peppering the surrounded enemies with arrows as they tried to catch up with their enemies. 

Shesk scanned the horizon. Hours before his sister and Ghazan had led a mounted detachment to chase off the Grogar riders, disappearing into a cloud of dust and dirt beyond the rolling grassy hills in the horizon. Leaving him to deal with the Grogar infantry. Which suited him just fine. The enemy couldn't hope to catch up to his riders as they so painfully learned during the last hours of futile chases and charges, one needed only to look to the bodies spread across the battlefield, peppered with arrows and trampled with very few of his own warriors.

Back to the battle, Shesk realized that most of the horse archers were now disengaging and distancing themselves from the Grogar remnants, [i]ran out of ammo most likely[/i] he thought to himself, not that it mattered much by this point. This battle had been won when they Paleskin had allowed their cavalry to be chased off the field, and not even the hulking females that remained, now looking more like pincushions than anything else, with the footmen were enough to turn the tide.

"Sound the charge Mogha." Shesk ordered as he took hold of his horse's reins. "We can at least bloody our blades before the others return." He joked as he and his retinue trotted down the hill, gradually increasing their speed as they rode towards the disorganized mass of Grogars. Who were just now starting to try to form up something resembling a shield wall even as the remaining horse archers unloaded upon their backs.

It did not work of course, the paltry line of scavenged spears and shields did nothing against the sheer mass of almost a hundred charging heavy lancers. Shesk's retinue hit the Paleskins and trampled their way out of the shattered enemy easily. Somewhere during the act Shesk's lance had been broken and so he charged back with an axe in hand, slashing and hitting his way through what was left of the mob.

With the battle properly won and the enemy cut down to the last, Shesk left behind most of his riders to deal with the dead and wounded while he rode with a party in search of the rest of the warband. 

It wasn't hard to find them, the running battle between the Axasiri and Grogar cavalry had left a veritable ocean of tracks and casualties behind them. And by the time Shesk and his fifty riders found Ghazan and his forces the Axasiri were already in control of the battlefield. Shesk and his men rode towards a group of riders at the edge of a sparse woodland, where the largest yellow-colored Aunchini banners were flying.

Ghazan rode towards him and the two met halfway through.

"I really hope that this isn't all that's left of your force." Ghazan teased as he leaned forward to clasp hands with Shesk. 

"You know what it's like." Shesk replied smiling. "It's very hard to defeat an enemy force that can't catch up to-"And then he stopped, eyes focused beyond Ghazan, on the crowd of commanders and chieftains by the treeline. There, Shesk noticed his sister's absence and in a split second a thousand dreadful thoughts filled his mind. Ghazan, noticing his half panicked expression spoke up:

"Your sister is fine, Shesk." He smiled, gesturing back to the trees with his thumb as Shesk was filled with relief. "I've sent her to take care of the stragglers and sack their camp, she earned the privilege. The Paleshits put up quite a fight but once we dealt with their females they broke and ran. She should be back in camp by nightfall."

"We had no problem dealing with the infantry." Shesk replied, now recomposed. "Honestly, it was somewhat disappointing." He smiled.

"Don't worry, Shesk. Next time I will save a female for you to kill." Ghazan grinned. "But come, let's drink to our victory!" And with that he turned his horse around and rode back to the crowd of now dismounted nobles. Shesk followed and by the time they reached the treeline, cups of haoma and fermented milk were already being distributed.

Ghazan and Shesk dismounted quickly and sat side by side in the circle. The two of them soon found themselves with cups in their hands.

"Do you like it?" Ghazan asked, lifting his own cup while Shesk stopped mid gulp to look at the skull cup. "Had it made from the first Paleskin warlord we defeated. Once I get back home I will have it decorated with gold precious stones." He grinned. "A proper memento for my first command, don't you think, Shesk?"

"A bit pretentious don't you think?" Shesk replied, slightly cocking his head as he took another sip of fermented milk mixed with blood. "We're just exterminating disorganized raiders. It's not like you defeated the Pale Horde."

"Is that so?" Ghazan snorted. "Maybe we should go hunting for a proper enemy then, my scouts tell me the Paleshits have gotten themselves a new warlord. Supposed to be gathering what's left of their strength up near the border."

"Our next target then?" Shesk asked. 

"Yes, as soon as we deal with the last stragglers here we will move north to join my grandfather and ride against this Paleshit warlord." Ghazan replied confidently. "One last glorious battle before destroying their filthy nests to close this campaign on a golden note."

[b]Somewhere in the Continent.[/b]

Anukyr dropped the last load of firewood into the lit firepit before falling backwards on the bench. At any time now the Blue Priests would return to the ruined fortress the party had camped in with the night's dinner. Above him, the moon's glow filled the room through the cracks in the ceiling as the Red Priest placed a pot filled with water above the fire pit. Tea would do wonders for the group after a hard day of travel.

Anwukhuar entered the dilapidated room, crouching slightly as he crossed the treshold, greeting his fellow Red Priest with a smile and sitting by his side, on a large piece of rubble. Silently Anwukhuar retrieved a pouch from inside his tunic and leaned closer to the pot. But Anukyr stopped him with a shake of his head and a hand on his shoulder.

"I just put the water on the fire." He explained. "Let it boil first." Anwukhuar nodded and settled back on the rubble.

"So, how far are we from Ethea?" Anwukhuar finally asked after a few minutes of silence.

"Maybe a couple more weeks?" Anukyr replied, scratching his yellow stubble. "It depends on the terrain. We've made good time so far but once we enter the lands of the Plainsmen...it's hard to tell."

"That's an understatement if I ever heard one." Anwukhuar replied as he toyed with the tea-leave's pouch in his hands. "Do you have a plan for what to do once we get there? How to deal with the others that will try to claim the Eye?"

Anukyr sighed. That was the real problem in the end and they all knew it. Not only was the entire world informed of the location of the Eye but the Plainsmen themselves would certainly be on the lookout for any interlopers and foreigners infiltrating their lands. His initial plan of posing as traders would be highly suspicious and prone to failure in light of the situation. Meaning that he would have to resort to subterfuge to even have a chance of reaching the Old Empire's ruins and finding the Eye. That's not even taking in consideration all the other groups moving to take the Eye for themselves. Word on the road was that entire armies were moving north. Still, Anukyr had faith in the Goddess and that would have to be enough.

"We keep our faith, Anwukhuar." The Red Priest finally replied with a reassuring smile. "We go in and stay out of the way while the armies of the heathen and heretics bleed themselves white."

"And pray to not get caught by said armies?" Anwukhuar asked with a slight smile. 

"Frankly, Anwukhuar, you could use having a little more faith in the Goddess." Anukyr spoke as he checked the water's temperature.

"I have faith in Babash Talek." Anwukhuar defended himself. "I'm just not thinking that She will simply strike down our enemies and descend from the Heavens to hand you the Eye Herself."

Further discussion into the topic was halted however, when Savahir-Oiur entered the half-crumbled room. The priestess of Manurta sniffed the air and made a throaty noise of disapproval when she realized the tea wasn't ready.

"The Blue Priests have just crossed the bridge." She informed as she approached the fire. "In half hour they will be here, so you two better get the tea ready before we have to use the fire to cook the meat." She then sat on the ground opposite to the two Red Priests, retrieving a pipe and some herbs from her travel bag.

"Guess now it's a good time as any." Anwukhuar mumbled as he stood up and moved to the pot to start preparing the tea, Anukyr took his own pipe from his belt and extended a hand towards Savahir.

"Not even in your dreams." She snorted as she lit the pipe. "It's not my fault you smoked all your stock before you even had left the Khaganate."  Anukyr whined like a scolded puppy and made a pouty face at her.

"Please, Anukyr. You can do better than that." Sahavir chuckled. "I would've thought that with all the pity sex you get you would have mastered the skill of guilt-tripping women."

"Says the woman who has managed to develop resistance to wine." Anukyr shot back as he moved to sit closer to Savahir.

"That has no relation to the point and you know it." She replied, taking a drag of the pipe and letting out smoke through her open mouth. "And being able to drink wine without turning into a sobbing wreck is nothing to be ashamed of. It just shows that I have wealth and elegance." She smirked, turning her head towards Anukyr. "Unlike you who can't even ration your herbs."

"A single puff. Just one." Anukyr insisted. "The burden on my shoulders is very stressful, and as a member of this fellowship you should do your part to ensure that your leader is in his full faculties."

"Didn't you say something like that to that skinny servant girl when we first met all those years ago?" Sahavir remarked as she released more smoke. "Except that time you were trying to get your clothes washed for free."

"I take offense to the attacks against my integrity." Anukyr exclaimed in mock outrage, turning to Anwukhuar. "Can you believe the cheek of this woman?"

"Our great leader." Sahavir spoke up with a grin. "Bet you didn't know that part of him?"

"Just remember that I also know things about you, Sahavir-Oiur." Anukyr shot back with a grin of his own. "I wonder what the others will think once I start telling them about that time in Bishgar, five years ago-" 

"Fine." Sahavir laughed. "Here's the damned pipe." Anukyr accepted the pipe with a gracious bow of his head and took a long and deep puff, releasing a cloud of smoke with a satisfied sigh.

"The tea is ready" Anwukhuar announced as he filled his own cup. "And I for one would love to hear more about this part of our leader's youth." He added with a lopsided grin. "I'm sure it would do wonders for the morale of our fellowship.

[b][i]Karablagasun. Axasiri Khaganate[/i][/b]

Khagan Danu-Oior Paiti looked over the smoking ruins of his city from the windows of his hilltop palace with anguish. To see his beloved city, the life's work of his forefathers, half reduced to rubble and ashes in question of days was heartrending already. But to see it reduced to such state by his own subjects was almost too much. 

To be honest the Khagan wished to simply let the weight crush him, to mourn and cry with his son, who had lost a wife during the riots and his brother, who would probably not survive the month. But he had duties and obligations, both as Khagan and leader of the Paiti Clan. The city would not rebuild itself and neither would his Clan's standing be restored easily. The people would need a firm leader to guide them once they finished mourning their dead and the Paiti Clan would need a strong leader to preserve its position of supremacy within the Khaganate. Many were already whispering that the Red Goddess had shown clear disfavor towards them and so they needed to be replaced.

The High Priestess herself had fallen during the madness when the great temple was sacked and the remaining Red priests were still bickering on who would succeed her. The Khagan could use this opportunity, get one of his allies as the new High Priest and earn good will by paying for the temple's restoration.

Speaking of temple, he still had to deal with the proper rites to purify the city. Hundreds of animals and people would have to be sacrificed to appease the Red Goddess. Though Danu was unsure if it would work, they didn't even know the cause of her displeasure. Without a High Priest there was none with the power and authority to make the proper divinations and rituals to discover it anyways.

The Khagan sighed, getting away from the window. There was still much to be done and he couldn't be wasting his time brooding and sulking like a spurned boy.