Cleansing Of Kelae

Introduction

The Heir's War saw the ambition of the Sadafi Empire come to independent fruition. Great armies marching under the Holy Emperor attacked and laid siege to Kelae, as battles were conducted in the north. Scholars disagree as to the truth of whether the Reveians colluded with the Sadafi to punish the Primeans, but the evidence is scarce.

Course of the Battle

Finally, ethnic tensions boiled over to worse. A great horn call sounded from Typhos to Tesephernis, and the first to arrive was the Emperor himself. Atop a great worm, he led a great host first to Kelea. Several villages were captured or put to the torch, where zealots led by the Sadafi clergy conducted forced conversions and executions of the local officials. A truly barbaric affair. It was recorded in one town that a group of elders who were trusted for wisdom, numbering ten, were burned collectively at the stake in the center of their town square.

Emperor Taezaanid IV lavished in his dream finally realized. Great fire rained from his hands, torching any resistance in his path before finally his magic relented. His army came to clash with a mercenary band given the charge of defending the southern border. Outside of Kelea, the Grapeland Cheveliers charged into the ranks of Sadafi guerillas. Camel cavalry attempted to match them but failed to best them in skill or equipment. A zealot captain recorded the battle was a truly bloody scuffle, even for mercenaries. Their zeal was noteworthy, and they assumed that the Chevaliers likely saw their role as the last stopgap against a true Sadafi invasion. From the hilltop, Sadafi fire dancers put several cavalry groups to the torch, turning horse and knight alike to ash and cooking both in their heavy armor. They fared poorly in the heat.

The Siege of Kelea began in earnest. Fireballs were thrown into the walls and gates, and the worms ripped stone from its entrenchment. The first assault on the gates was repelled, only to succeed with the second. Great elephants crushed the pike levy within, splattering Primean blood against the stone as the Sadafi put the first of Triumite churches to the torch. Hakam Al-Nasser was a veteran of the Sadafi Unification War, and was the first to enter the Apella where the remaining government members were kept in sanctuary. He spared no expense in slaying many in the eyes of Alnaari.

Outside, the Chevaliers were forced to the hills, fleeing the field of battle with many losses. The use of fire magic on the field rendered their casualties more severe. A Grapeland captain, carried by his brothers in arms, saw burns he would likely never recover from.