Vassos grunted, clearly not someone with quite the same faith in the Dawnbringer as Loan and the Prince, "If you will come with me to the Command Tent, I will show you what our scouts tell us we are up against.

The tent wasn't far. A somewhat rickety camp table stood in the centre, which Vassos beckoned the group to form up around a map of what looked like, for the most part, open farmyard dotted with the odd copse and small hamlet. The map was dotted with wooden tokens denoting where troops were to form up.

"Your men will deploy here," he tapped a section of the map where markers indicated the presence of infantry, "There are about 40,000 of Voron's infantry across these fields. With your troops this gives us... around 18,500 infantry in opposition. However, we also have about 17,500 of the finest cavalry in the Empire. Voron has fewer cavalry, 8,000 or so, and they are not of the same quality. They will deploy on the flanks of the infantry with the intent of driving Voron's cavalry from the field, then surrounding his foot. It's the same strategy Orrian employed at Lysfelt to great success on that day."

He paused, "Do not imagine this will be an easy day. We anticipate that Voron will attempt to break through our centre, destroy our infantry and guns, then round on the cavalry. It's the inverse of what we are doing. Our battalions will be a part of that centre formation, will be tested and likely outnumbered in the opening phases. Our job is to hold the line and pray that the Cavalry show up before we are destroyed."

"Any questions?" he finished.

"I have been persuaded to observe the battle from a distance," Andronika chipped it, probably much to the relief of anyone who knew of her tendency to try to 'lead from the front'.

Edwin Aeorouant and Loan Klodig

The high ranking Quinian officers followed Vassos and Andronika to the tent. They studied the map provided to them by Vassos and listened to what the Lieutenant-Colonel had to say. The plan is sound, heavy cavalry has been a decisive factor in many battles and this strategy worked against Voron the Younger before. They did, however, understand that the battle will still be a difficult one for the allied armies. Voron the Younger would be likely to try and counter the strategies presented by the Lieutenant-Colonel; he would be a fool not to after his defeat at Lysfelt. And at the end of the day, Voron’s infantrymen heavily outnumber those of the allied armies.

When Vassos asked the men for any questions, there were some silence before the Prince briefly cleared his throat.

“We have brought around 600 light lancers in our march,” he said. “Would you like for our lancers to join with the cavalry or have them dismount and be part of the main formation? They should be good for either role so let us know what you feel best fit for them.”

"Though they may prefer cavalry role moreso," Loan added.

When Andronika announced that she was to observe the battle from a distance, Loan gave a small chuckle. He's been alongside her enough that this may not be her first or even second option. She may have been lucky the many times that Death tries to catch her back then but better to have their symbol of the Hasikos restoration still alive to continue on if the battle was lost. Not that he expects this battle to be their defeat but as Vassos said, it won't be an easy battle to win.