>>>>In Dragon Pass terms, I am thinking of 3 to 6 units equal to the
>>>>mounted Sartar city militia.
>>> Which is a heck of a lot of cavalry to raise out of nowhere. It is
>>> not as if Tarsh has a culture of horsemen.
>>It does have a history of daring cavalry charges - compare the history
>>of Yarandros (contemporary and friend of Derek Pol Joni).
> Sure, but the basic culture isn't of horsemen. So to recruit cavalry
> you first have to train people to ride and then to fight from
> horseback.
Sure. I do seem to recall that even Phargentes was a cavalry commander, though. Orlanthi-culture horse warriors ought to be fairly common in Saird, which is part Sylila, part Provinces, and there are some tribes that made it into the Pass region. (The Dinacoli are such a tribe.)
I think the entire project of creating a Tarshite force of shock troops, preferably cavalry, was part of Moirades' schemes which involved the conquest of Boldhome and his becoming King of Dragon Pass. Fazzur's brother was a direct supporter of Moirades when Terasarin was killed by Moonbeam. Fazzur himself appears to have served with Lunar forces in the Provinces, on the cavalry side.
>>I don't necessarily limit the riders Fazzur recruited to Tarsh, either
>>- if he brought in people from his other estates in Saird/Sylila, along
>>with horses, he still could have offered the veterans small holdings in
>>his Tarshite estates.
> Same problem. The only people who can be recruited quickly will
> be the minority who already know how to ride and a high proportion
> of them will already be in the cavalry.
Which might explain why the Native Furthest cavalry is so crappy compared to that of the Sartar City Militia - Fazzur drew on their personnel for the nucleus. If you look at the geography, the Tarshite cavalry should outnumber that of the Sartarites by 2:1. (Not counting the Barbarian Horde.)
>>> I would have expected a road southwards as well. At least from
>>> Wilmskirk to Roadend. Looks about right for the border between
>>> Sartar and Volsaxiland.
>>Yes, forgot that one. Built by Tarkalor, and possibly continued all
>>the way to Whitewall, but fell into disrepair when the Volsaxi tribes
>>chose not to follow Terasarin.
> So 30-40 years of neglect.
Meaning potholes, but mostly a servicable road, compared to the alternative. The Roman highways remained in use throughout the British middle ages.
>>> If there's a significant difference between the royal highways
>>> and other major roads then the Lunars are going to have problems
>>> getting supplies to WW. Unless they've improved that road.
>>Royal highways are paved. Other roads are strips of open land where
>>tracks avoid the worst mud - mediaeval rather than Roman roads.
> This is important. It means that when Fazzur takes a Lunar army
> to Heortland he's going to trash the road. It doesn't affect him
> too much because he can get supplies from allies in Esrolia and
> conquered land.
By rushing ahead to Smithstone, Fazzur ensures that his forward troops are supplied. The picket left outside of Whitewall (that's how the siege started) got supplies from Wilmskirk. As the picket grow into a full-blown siege, the scenario you paint below started:
> The army beseiging WW is different - whichever
> direction their supplies come from they have to go along that road.
> Looks like one of Tatius's first jobs is to rebuild the road so
> he can move troops and supplies. I think he'd probably take it
> as far as Smithstone. From the impressions I'm getting of Tatius
> he'd probably get followers of Hwarin Dalthippa from the CoM to
> do the job.
This is after Jorkandros Blinder botched taking Whitewall by force and Bat.
> So that's a nice scenario. A lunar force protecting the priestesses
> building a replacement road by magic. The Orlanthi trying to
> disrupt the operation. It should probably be impossible for the
> Orlanthi to do more than delay the road's completion.
Possibly even forcing them to take an alternative route (through Locaem rather than former Kultain lands). I would expect the road from Wilmskirk to Roadend (and beyond) to have some magical resistance against the special roadbuilding magic of Hwarin.
>>> Not enough military resources to round everyone up. In any case
>>> it would flood the slave markets.
>>Ah, different economic interests in the Heartlands, that might be a
>>good explanation. And the tax and rebel slave contingents make for
>>a steady supply of Sartarites to the Heartland slave auctions.
> Yes, I see variations in demand for slaves being a significant factor
> in how hard the Lunars crack down on rebels and tax avoiders.
Now that would be a fun scenario for hillbilly Heortlings to learn about. (And then start a plot to send false stock market reports to the Lunars in Sartar to lessen the pressure.) Tricksters and sneaky bastards to the front...
>>> I expect some Dara Happen has created a plan for the pacification
>>> of Sartar based on that idea. Opposing it are the missionaries
>>> and the traders. It isn't just a matter of who is in charge but
>>> who is on the ground doing the work and when you get different
>>> groups working at cross purposes generally not much happens.
>>Sure. In addition to that, I see the Royal House of Tarsh as a major
>>player much closer to the action, with as big a stake as any Dara
>>Happan league may have.
>From my understanding of Leagues and Associations the Royal House
> will be a League within an Association which includes Leagues
> from other parts of the Empire. Unless Moirades is trying to
> create a purely Tarshite Association but I think he will want
> some connections in Glamour.
I am certain that Moirades maintains close connections in Glamour, if only to counteract the Sylilan ambitions to control the Provinces. I guess it must smart that he did not inherit the post of Provincial Overseer from his father, despite his success at becoming King of Dragon Pass, and there will be a full regiment of Lobbyists working to keep the Sylilans out of occupied Far Point and Sartar, and, if possible, out of Kethaela as well.
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