Huh? Look - in really dire straights, the Heortlings perform the summons of evil and summon their foes to them - if they defeat the foe, they get power over their enemies. The WW defenders did just that - the Bat showed up, the Heortling defeated it and held off the Lunars for two more years. But Whitewall ultimately fell, with great consequences to the Orlanthi (for that matter, Vargast and all of his co-defenders died at the Verge).
Before the Verge, Vargast and his allies performed the summons of evil and an army of the Bright Empire showed up (as well as Lokomoko and Palangio). Before the assault on WW, Broyan and his allies performed the summons of evil and the Bat showed up. Before the battle of Iceland, Broyan and his allies performed the summons of evil and a Lunar army showed up. And so on. Each of these battles were transformative and magical events - not just tactical exercises. Sometimes they are clear-cut victories like Iceland. Sometimes they are transformative events that take years for their consequences to show up - like the Immolation.
Jeff
PS. And I expect the Lunars would deny that the Heortlings summoned the Bat. Just as Palangio would have denied that the Heortlings summoned him.
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