| 1) |
For whatever reason, Praxis has used his contemporary naming
conventions for units under Mobius' command.
Pre-Ascendancy human armies led by Mobius were still using
their original names for the most part. Many of these names were deemed 'destabilizing'
following the imposition of The Compact. No doubt this is the reason for using
the 'wrong' names.
For example it has been passed down that what is now referred
to as the Fourth Legion was once the Rosyaye Horseguard. The Fourth Legion, 2nd
Regiment, B Company light cavalry used to be simply "The Cat Hunters",
a name dating back to duties against 'The People' in aid of Sul and Keril.
The armies of the other races have also undergone similar 'corrections',
costing us a great deal of historical knowledge and appreciation.
For more information on the current Army
of The Ascendancy check the library for a book that I am currently working
on.
|
| 2) |
Mobius' rather foolhardy attack across the Aethry leaves one
major question: why did he so extend his forces into Darshak territory while much
of Khorobil was still in enemy hands?
The position of his forces leads me to the conclusion that
he was trying to cut off and capture the city that is now called The Capital as
soon as possible.
The original name of the city that existed here at the time
of Mobius' defeat of the Darshaks has been expunged from all official records,
but careful research of prewar histories and maps has revealed a fair amount of
information on the city that probably existed there at the time.
The city was likely named Hendly(3)
although Henttly and Hendlic also appear in a number of sources. I will use Hendly
hereafter in these notes.
Hendly was not an important city at the time. Most sea traffic
out of Khorobil passed through Town's End and Vestor. The main channel of the
Aethry Delta passed several miles north of Hendly so most river traffic passed
out of the delta and docked at Town's End.
There was no bridge across the Aethry at Hendly at that time
although a number of ferries operated a short distance upstream.
There is no indication that there was a major Darshak garrison
at Hendly either.
The ferries near Hendly may have been Mobius' target, or perhaps
the town itself had some unknown significance to him. Could Hendly have been Mobius'
birthplace?
|
| 3) |
The name 'Hendly' appears in the most sources including a book
published around 83BA by "Yulakka", who I am told was a well thought
of Thoomish herbalist of the time. The name also appears number of histories from
Sul and Khorobil.
'Henttly' appears on a number of Dwarven and Sylvan maps, but
that spelling may simply reflect their own pronunciations.
The name 'Hendlic' was found in some Halfling texts and at
least one source out of Liranth.
|
| 4) |
Despite the existence of contemporary documentation, Praxis
has published establishment strengths for Mobius' forces rather than their actual
strengths at the start of the battle.
I have yet to find a published source listing the actual numbers
of Sentinels present at any given battle.
Colonel Praxis has also used some unusual naming conventions
on his maps. This is mostly due to a reorganization of the army in 450.
Praxis refers to all of Mobius' forces by their Legion number
and the company number A-J without any concern for Regimental identity as it existed
at the time.
The reorganization divided the 4th Legion into 1st regiment
(Heavy Cavalry) and 2nd regiment (Light Cavalry), and 3rd Regiment (Mounted Infantry).
4B LCav is referred to as 4IIB LCav while 4I Minf is now 4IIIA
Minf. 4C HCav is now 4IA HCav.
|
| 5) |
The Darshak Priests that were present at The Battle of Aethry
Crossing escaped so were never counted. This force would have been a mix of Priests,
Acolytes and slaves.
|
| 6) |
This B Company light cavalry is the ancestor the unit I led
before my exile.
|
| 7) |
If you've ever ridden a horse into a forest - even the dry
forests of northern Rosyaye - you'll realize how ridiculous this statement is.
In actual fact, 4A company merely rode around a corner to where they were out
of sight behind some trees.
|
| 8) |
Not only doesn't Praxis tell us exactly how many soldiers were
present on Mobius' side, he also fails to detail casualties figures throughout
his book! Oh, no! We wouldn't want to make Mobius look bad, now would we?
|
| 9) |
I doubt Mobius planned to retreat all the way to Hyrios. I
believe he wanted to stop farther north, but his commanders wisely declined to
fight such a large force on the open plains of Khorobil or Rosyaye.
|
|
10)
|
This is a rather fascinating piece of information! Either the
Sentinels some received new orders from a distant Mobius OR they were able to
make a very important tactical decision on their own.
|
|
11)
|
Call me a cynic, but... you don't usually use the reserves
unless the battle isn't going well! More likely the vast numbers of uncaring soldiers
in the Horde managed to push the heavy infantry of 5 Legion back.
|
|
12)
|
The Priests are arguably the most important part of their force!
Yet somehow Praxis manages to dismiss their escape with that one sentence!
The only reason the Darshak fell apart (not that it mattered
in any case) was that the cultist army lacked the direction of the priests.
|
|
13)
|
I've seen three copies of this book. One here in Puddleby,
one in the library in Hyrios and one at the Imperial War College. All three copies
had this passage 'burned away'.
Parts are legible: "The D** (probably Darshaks) ******
managed to e********** yaye. (probably Rosyaye) Th**** this battle."
I'd love to find an intact copy of this page.
|
|
14)
|
The Darshaks had no command structure left at this stage of
the battle. Despite their fearless nature I doubt they
were offering much resistance at this point
|