[B]Province of Shardvul[/B]

The sounds of the battlefield had long been gone from fields and forests of Shardvul. The soldiers and horse riders of Khazaria were bloodied yes but victorious and victory was enough for Alp Tarkhan. The camp he had set up after the battle against Dorist remained jubilant and there was something particular in the tents that had been brought by the Khazarian army because there was a clear divide between the aesthetic side of the tents of the cavalry and the foot soldiers. The tents of the foot soldiers were modern and adjusted in a triangular manner made with cloth. Alp Tarkhans tent and that of the clans who had recently united the Khazarian army instead used yurts, circular tents made out of wool these were far more rustic and colorful that the rest of the tents of the army.

If one had an eagle view of the camp of the Khazarians, one could see a very westernized half and another far more rustic side of the camp. Many officers and aides from Teclav and Stevata would after the war comment on this divide, one such account from a Stevatan officer named Fedor Zima would say. [I]"From afar our allies look like a single army, but it is enough to see the different colors of their cavalrymen and infantry to notice a great divide,  even the smell of their officers is different from one side of their camp to other."[/I] As such, even the allies of Khazaria while not saying so directly acknowledged that the Khazarians still had a wild aspect to their nation. One that had only been reinforced early and that had begun to even rub off the more westernized side of the Khazarian culture, it became a sort of a fad to wear the ancient styled feathered hats even the hairstyles of many began to change. 

During this moment in history, Khazaria reconnected to its roots due to the victory that they had achieved against Dorist. But these roots also reignited the calls of a past era, when the Emperors of Khazaria were nothing else but the first amongst equals, something that empowered the house notables with their ancient dynasties to feel the right to call the emperor to focus on the rightful enemy of the Khazarian people, the kingdom of Komentiolos. A nation full of rulers that without a doubt only wished for the worst for the people of Khazaria, who wouldn't doubt to massacre its towns and villages, burn their temples and cities. The outcries against the kingdom of Komentiolos only grew lauder after with the help of Paranas a stalemate was once again achieved at sea. They claimed that it was time to redirect the efforts of the army to the border to finally take revenge upon the kingdom that had been nothing else but a curse through the history of Khazaria, that the elders of old would never forgive us for letting Komentiolos go away unpunished from this war. 

As Alp Tarkhan planned to secure his final victory and return to Khazaria. The Emperor prepared to placate the house of notables once again, but words wouldn't suffice not for too long. The war in the west had cost the Khazarian treasury and people a great lot, and when their allies to the south had begun to support their maritime force against Komentiolos it became clear that it was time for the Emperor to remember the tale of the two princes once more or someone would have to remind him. 

[B]Winter Palace[/B]

"Wolfgang Draton that's his name! A coward a terrible general one that will let his army starve before taking the merciful option that our allies have allowed for them.  With the forces Stevata and Teclav have stationed there already, we can ensure that they will be dealt with swiftly. Please, your imperial majesty bring back Alp Tarkhan and his army of stallions to win the war to our south! Paranas is already with us, it is time to secure the southern strait for us and our allies to let Khazaria never again be threatened by the backstabbers to our south." One of the clan nobles gave this speech while many more applauded him. The Regents and the Emperor looked at them, their gazes as unbroken as ever. The young emperor had learned well from his aunt and it showed.

"Paranas is helping us, the army of Dorist is corraled in their city and the seas remain contested. You are correct, we are holding this war correctly and I gave it to the right hands. But until peace is signed with our name between the victors in the west, we will have to keep our soldiers there. I will not risk defeat for a battle that right now, is not worth being fought. I lament the destruction of our towns, but we will make the Komentiolos repay once their fleet is finally defeated." The Emperor declared. "It will be enough for the new recruits to be sent to the army of Yitzhak, a portion of them will replenish the losses of Alp Tarkhan but a great portion will go to Yitzhak if that will placate your worries. Also remember, that this war is not going to be won in the mountains where our forefathers had their horses die in the hundreds, it will be won in the seas and once we secure the sea, we will be able to strike anywhere in Komentiolos even their capital if we so wish it. All I ask is patience, the war in the west will be over soon and the south will be ours too. Nursultan didn't win the crusades in a single year and I don't seek to make it so that I lose a war in four months. Dismissed."

With that said the forces of Yitzhak would be replenished and the forces at sea, supported by Paranas were now to become more aggressive. Their goal to force another battle with their beleaguered navy and where else than in their shipyards.  Where the ships of the line of Paranas and Khazaria could wreak havoc at a pace that no other could achieve.