OG: Zani Horde Interlude

The Zani have for millennia lived in the hills and vales of the Black Mountains. Ever since being driven from their original homes far to the south in the lands of the unquiet dead, in fact. They are a people long accustomed to hardship. Their Gods are not the soft, weak ones of those who dwell in the fertile plains to the South, nor are their ways those of the decadent lowlanders who squander the fertile lands they have seized from other, weaker men. Indeed, to the Lowlanders of the Border Princes, there is little to distinguish the Zani from the Norscans, save the superficial aspects of material culture.

This could not be further from the truth, as the Zani, while prone to raid and pillage, are not followers of the Ruinous Powers. Their gods may be harsh and uncompromising, but that does not make them followers of chaos. It is a difference the lowlanders never grasped, and thus, there could not even begin to be anything approaching a lasting peace between the Zani and the so-called Border Princes. Indeed, because of the Lowlanders' inability, or perhaps plain disinterest, in learning that crucial difference, they and the Zani seemed destined to be forever locked in the cycle of raid, invasion, and counterattack that had been occurring for over a thousand years and counting.

The reasons behind such a cycle, at least from the Zani's perspective, were simple. Though the hills and vales of their adoptive homeland were dear to them, they were scarcely fertile. The Zani were a pastoral people who had only a handful of permanent settlements. More often, the Zani tribes would follow the herds of their great aurochs from vale to vale, as one vale was grazed to uselessness. However, such a lifestyle, while it made for excellent warriors, was not one that could sustain many thousands of people. When that happened, the Zani would form a massive horde, much different from the small raiding bands that tended to raid and skirmish with the Lowlanders, and elect among themselves a Warchief to lead it.

This horde would then sweep down upon the Lowlands, attempting to loot and pillage their towns and seize their more fertile lands for themselves. Such gains never lasted for long. Always, there was another band of Lowlanders, and even when the Zani made gains, many surviving warriors would return to the hills and vales of their birth with their spoils, leaving a reduced presence in the newly-gained fertile lands. It did not make for a lasting presence. However, the Horde acted as a vital pressure release valve on the Zani population pressure. The reduced numbers from the fighting always allowed the Zani to continue in their hills and vales, even if they never got to keep any gains in territory in the more fertile Lowlands.

That release valve had recently been pulled, and at the worst possible time for the Lowlands, as well. The Principality of Malko was in a state, led by the Boy-Prince Dirk Heuver, fourteen-year-old son of the recently deceased Prince Pieter Heuver. Malko's leadership is not in the most stable of hands, and this was a fact compounded by the other fact that help which would usually arrive from Ghoulstone Keep or Khypris would not be forthcoming. The Former was under attack by Greenskins, while the Latter was dealing with a massive incursion of Beastmen.

This, it turned out, was something of a Golden opportunity for the Zani. They only needed to elect from among themselves a Warchief, and they would be able to sweep down from their hills and possibly seize Malko, a well-fortified town that would allow them control over the fertile lands around it, possibly for generations to come. That election, however, was going to be easier said than done, as it soon became clear that instead of one clear candidate, four strong candidates had materialized from out of four of the fourteen Zani Tribes. These were Princes Alibek the Sharp-Eyed, Khasbulat Swiftcharger, Khurshit Far-Traveled, and Myshaost the Scarred.

As the election process deadlocked, the Four Would-Be Warchiefs met in the fortress of Kinshypa, the ancient seat of the Zani High Chieftains, back when such a thing existed. Now, Kinshypa served as a last line of defense for the Zani, should the Lowlanders ever strike back and attempt to conquer their hills and vales, for the Zani Tribes were not truly united as more than a loose confederation these days. They met at Kinshypa to discuss the election, which was dragging on now. All of the candidates were accomplished in battle and in tactics, and thus must hash things out for themselves, as the Tribes were deadlocked.

Alibek arrived first, in his fine silvered armor, stolen, they said, from an Elven Swordsman who made the mistake of traveling through the Zani Lands thinking he could not pay the Zani for safe passage. In his arrogance, the Swordsman found his throat cut in his sleep, Alibek taking his fine mystical armor of silvered steel for himself as recompense. This cunning act, as well as several successful raids, made Alibek a favorite candidate for Warchief. His wiry frame belied a surprising deftness with a blade, and his dark eyes sparkled with the cunning to know when best to use it.

Next arrived Khasbulat, in his Bronze Breastplate and Mail. Khasbulat's fearlessness on the field of battle was well known, as was his skill ahorse. He used both to great effect against a force of Greenskins which had threatened his tribe, coming down from the Mountains in the North. Khasbulat's charging maneuvers not only routed the Greenskin's Wolf Riders in the ensuing battle, but also carried him into personal combat with the Orcish Warboss, where he slew the Greenskin single-handed. His brawny, dark-haired, long-bearded frame matched his fearsome reputation. His Runic Spear of Wutroth and Dwarven Steel was said to have been forged for him by a Dwarf Smith who did so in thanks for slaying the Orcish Warboss, whom the Smith had declared a Grudge Against.

Next, Khurshit Far-Traveled arrived, wearing scale over chainmail. The only one of the four to seek fame on battlefields in foreign lands, Khurshit fought alongside the Order of the Black Lynx in defense of Black Fire Pass against a recent attempt by Greenskins to force their way into the three towns of the Pass, Munzig, Grenzsdadt, and Ummenbach. He learned from the Imperials of the Order of the Black Lynx, as well as the Tilean Stradioti, who were also hired for the battle, and brought those tactics home with him when he returned, laden with gold and a mystical Shortbow which he claimed had been looted from the Greenskin Camp in the aftermath of the battle. All knew his skill with mounted archery was no joke, and the sharp glint in his flint gray eyes and muscular arms surely showed the truth of such claims of prowess.

Last arrived Myshaost the Scarred, in his full helmet and scale armor. A bear of a man, his reputation was no less fearsome than the animal he resembled, as he was known for two things, his great strength and his slaying of the Manticore of Khazbokh. Khazbokh was one of the relatively few permanent settlements that the Zani possessed, and until Myshoast had slain it, was frequently assaulted by a ferocious Manticore, flying down from the mountains to savage the settlement's Aurochs and herdsmen. Myshaost tracked the fell beast to its lair after it had absconded with an Aurochs calf and slew it as it devoured the hapless beast. In the process, the Manticore's claws horrifically scarred Myshaost's face, which was the reason he always wore a full helmet in public. However, fame was not the only reward Myshaost gained, as the Manticore had slain a Bretonnian Knight with a Magic Longsword, which Myshoast kept for his own.

As all four gathered, it soon became clear that their force would be stronger working together than separately, and so they agreed to run the Horde as a unified War Council. It was something that was seldom tried, but which could potentially form a Zani Horde greater than the sum of its parts.

"After all, with we four acting in concert, the Lowlanders couldn't possibly stand against us." Remarked Alibek, who had first suggested the idea.

"It seems inefficient, but I can't deny that it would be difficult to defeat you all in the elections." Acknowledged Myshaost.

"Aye, while it is inefficient, it could work if all of us agree." Mused Khurshit.

"We would have to hash out any differences in strategy ahead of time, however." Cautioned Khasbulat.

"So let us do that now." Suggested Alibek.

"Aye, let's." Affirmed Myshaost.

"We are agreed that Malko is the richest and least contested target?" Questioned Khurshit.

"We are. How do we want to proceed?" Queried Khasbulat.

"We should be able to lure the Boy-Prince out with enough probing attacks." Mused Alibek.

"That's easy enough, aye. What do we do once we've slain him, though?" Asked Myshaost.

"Myshaost is right. A field battle is easily done with such an inexperienced and impetuous youth at the helm of the enemy. Taking the Town is another matter entirely, though. The walls are formidable, and I am unsure if we have the time to starve the town out." Pointed out Khurshit.

"We could assault with ladders." Mused Khasbulat.

"No good. Even depleted by the folly of their Boy-Prince, it is likely that Malko has enough gold to hire Mercenaries for the defense of the Town." Refuted Alibek.

"True, the Boy-Prince is served by a Mayor, who should be empowered to act in his absence." Agreed Khurshit.

"And how would you know that?" Questioned Myshaost.

"How do you think?" Queried Alibek.

"Indeed, they don't call me Far-Traveled for no reason, after all." Smirked Khurshit.

"So what then?" Asked Khasbulat.

"We might try burning the gates down." Mused Alibek.

"That risks the spoils." Frowned Myshaost.

"If we could capture some black powder from the Boy-Prince, I could measure and cut a fuse that would allow us to destroy the gates. It should have the added bonus of not catching the rest of the town on fire." Opined Khurshit.

"Your Imperial Friends must really have liked you to teach you that." Remarked Khasbulat.

"It was the Tilean Stradioti, actually." Responded Khurshit.

"Either way, it's a better plan than we've come up with so far." Intoned Alibek.

"Then it's settled. We lure the Boy-Prince to his doom and ransack his camp for supplies of black powder to use on the gates of Malko." Nodded Myshaost.

"Agreed. Once we have Malko, we shouldn't have to worry about overpopulation for a long while." Grinned Khasbulat.

And with that, their strategy was set. The four returned to the gathered warriors of the Zani Tribes as a unified War Council with a plan. The Tribesmen seemed skeptical, but with no other choices forthcoming, resolved to follow the Four's War Council and their Plan. As they began to pour out of the hills and vales of the Black Mountains, they began probing, raiding, and skirmishing. Sacking a village here, raiding a caravan there, and massacring patrols from Malko as they went. In Malko itself, the Boy-Prince, Dirk Heuver, faced increasing pressure to do something. His head was filled with dreams of martial glory, as young men were wont to dream of, and he ultimately decided to gather his forces for a field battle rather than allow Malko to be destroyed by a death of a thousand cuts.

The Town Guard and Militia of Malko, along with the forces of the Baronies of Treblecz and Geistenmund, gathered to face the Zani Horde on the Old Silk Road. Some three thousand men sallied forth against seven thousand Zani Tribesmen. The two forces met in battle at the Old Silk Road on the same day that the forces of Khypris under the Command of Konstantin Henryk Ptorski faced off against the Corpsecaller in the Third Battle of Vimera, and the Forces of Prince Ruy de Villacorta of Ghulstone Keep faced off against the Greenskins of the Orc Warboss Stabbahand at the Battle of the Thunder River. That date, the twenty-seventh of Borgheim, twenty-five-oh-five by the Imperial Calendar, would be known to some historians as the Day of the Three Battles.

And it would not end well for the Forces of Malko. . .

XXXX

AN: All right, so here's the next chapter. We get to see what's going on with the Zani while the MC is dealing with the Corpsecaller and even get hints of something going on further east at Ghoulstone Keep with the Greenskins and the Forces of Ghoulstone Keep. By now, you guys should see where the MC is going next once he deals with the Corpsecaller. Of course, with Malko and Khypris under his belt, the MC will have most of the fertile agricultural land in the Border Princes under his control, which opens up options going forward.

At any rate, the next chapter will have us return to the MC's POV and involve the second half of the Third Battle of Vimera against the Corpsecaller. I'll also have some more images and a character sheet update out before then as well.

Stay tuned. . .