>> Broyan is supposed to flee or die. The fact
>> he does neither should be deeply disturbing.. ...
>
>Except that the Lunars have him trapped there, already.
I don't believe this is true. Jorkandros doesn't have the troops to prevent exit and entrance from Whitewall. Broyan could escape and at least some of the Orlanthi fled when the Bat approached. Broyan doesn't flee because Vingkot wouldn't flee. Vingkot would fight so Broyan does. There's also the matter of what the Bat would do if the defenders flee - if it is turned on nearby clans then Broyan has failed as High King. Confronting impossible enemies is part of the job of Orlanthi kings.
>I remember reading a comic AltHist take on the Alamo, where the
>Mexicans defeat the Texans by leaving an easy way out of the mission
>(and no Fannin/Goliad Massacre before they do); we have a similar
>situation here. If WhiteWall was more like Bastogne and less like
>Helm's Deep, the Lunar would have had an easy win (and we would have
>never have cared about it).
This was discussed on the Whitewall list at length and the conclusion was that the Lunars failed early on because they didn't commit enough troops to either assault or starve it out. Later on when Tatius had the troops he delayed because he was more concerned about the magical fight to kill or enslave Orlanth than taking the city.
-- Donald Oddy http://www.grove.demon.co.uk/
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