Editing Liscor-Hectval War (section)

===Battles Against Manus===
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|Liscor's advance would be stalemated in the foothills for two months.

The day after the battle, before the reinforcements arrived, the Acolytes started a ritual of morning prayer to give the [Crusaders] hope. Olesm clearly saw that the Antinium were targeted, and started planning on how deal deal with them or account for their presence. Ramia's division was assigned to serve under Belgrade, who was placed in charge of the right wing.

In the next battle, only Manus' archers participated with the Alliance, sniping the Antinium reinforcements. Hectval was emboldened by their previous victory, but were repelled. The Antinium smashed their ranks, 4th company charged into the center of enemy lines to kill an officer, and Olesm ordered a charge when their vanguard fell apart. The battle after that was a running engagement between both armies' mounted units. 4th company was a bit battered, and the Antinium shot arrows until the Alliance peeled off.

Lulv waited two battles for Liscor to drop their guard before initiating a second assault. Hectval split up their army and attacked from four vectors, threatening to pincer Liscor. Olesm was forced to split his forces as well. He took command of one army, gave Bepol an Antinium force, and gave Belgrade and Embria each an army to command. Manus attacked the Antinium under Olesm's command from a cliff with enchanted arrows, and Lulv threw javelins. They first sent ice arrows which did little damage, melted them with fire arrows, and finally fired lightning arrows into the water. Olesm couldn't return fire due to the enemy's range and elevation, though he did force Hectval to fall back. He lost over a hundred Antinium.

Olesm then had the Antinium digging fortifications, just as Hectval spread out further. Olesm saw that Manus wanted them to spread out further so they could target the Antinium more easily. Ramia and Bepol were assigned to the left, Belgrade still held the right, and Embria was assigned to roam while Olesm attempted to hunt down Manus' forces.

Lulv leapt down a cliff face to attack the Antinium. Olesm was waiting to ambush Manus and rode in with nearly two hundred mounted archers. Wary of aiming at the [Spearmaster], he instead ordered a volley at manus' soldiers, but a taunting Skill forced him to aim at Lulv instead, who deflected the arrows. Unable to stop them, he opted not to follow them and turned his attention to the Alliance forces, who were trying to take advantage of the Antinium losses to envelop Ramia and Bepol. His archers took down the [Riders] trying to intercept him and volley'd Hectval's lines from behind. When the commander turned to box him in, he retreated and led to pursuers into an attack from 4th Company. Once again, Hectval stalemated or lost while Manus won.

Olesm next tried to scatter Antinium companies among non-Antinium forces, so that there would be no unified body of Antinium to target. In the following assault, Manus punished Liscor for this by cutting down Liscor's soldiers along with the Antinium. Lulv cut through one of Liscor's squads to get at the Antinium and attempt to kill Tersk, but Olesm's retaliation forced him back. Liscor's officers rebelled as a result of this attack. They feared incurring more casualties from Manus, and justified that there would be a thousand Antinium replacements for every hundred volunteer replacements. Olesm was forced to place the Antinium back into their own division. 

Belgrade had requested command of the Antinium division, but was denied due to his new class and his role in the war. He had been assigned more artifacts and Antinium bodyguards after the assassination attempt. Only one of those guards would die over the next month and a half of fighting. As he could not save the Antinium, he focused on the right flank. 

He experimented and applied his new Skills. [Springwood Supplies] let him deploy more traps. [Antinium-Expertise Command] let his forces dig and maneuver through narrow tunnels, allowing them to ambush and set traps for the enemy, and the Alliance soldiers retreated or mutinied rather than advance. Whenever they did try to advance, [Prepared Battleground: One Hour] let him fill the battlefield with traps and defenses, and gathered a prepared force. With this, Belgrade's division would achieve the highest kill ratio in the army, and suffered a lower casualty rate than the left wing and center. He would gradually advance from the right, threatening the rest of the Alliance.

Over another four assaults, Manus had taken two deaths, both shot through the head, and four major wounds. Another thousand Antinium had perished, resulting in a third wave of reinforcements. Liscor bombarded their own lines multiple times to force them to retreat.

Calruz would fight enemy combatants alone, as he was not permitted to lead soldiers. He would still inspire a battalion of Antinium to adopt the virtues of the Beriad.

Artur was rotated between battalions due to his morale Skills as a [Flag Bearer]. Due to his non-combatant role, he was ignored by Manus, who opted to kill armed Antinium first. He was also privy to information from Olesm's tent as he stood outside of it, such as the 213 Antinium reinforcements, Olesm winning a protracted battle, and a shipment of [[Corusdeer]] steak as premium rations. Bepol led his squads into a failed charge when he mistakenly believed there was an opening, causing them to lose faith in him and be transferred to other divisions. Artur was next assigned to Ramia's command, as an excuse to transfer three of those squads with him. Belgrade, doing well in his theatre and having destroyed an enemy camp, sent reinforcements to the center to support Ramia. Artur participated in two battles under her, then was sent back with a commendation and returned to Bepol's division. As more of Liscors flags, he became more of a target by the Alliance. 

Artur saw that Bepol was making the same mistake as before, as he became fond of shield-breaking charges after it had worked the first dozen times. This time, the Significant Beavers squad was bogged down by a reinforced second line. And as Bepol focused on saving his charging soldiers, he never noticed the Alliance [Riders] until they cut into his forces. Liscor squads briefly had to fight on two sides and suffered casualties before retreating. Artur gained a new Skill, making him more valuable. Tersk and Bepol argued about who needed him more, but Tersk eventually ceded as Bepol recently had notable losses. 

The next day, the Alliance charged them, but Bepol got tunnel vision again. As he set up a killing zone for the enemy vanguard with [Shield Walls] and archers, once again he didn't see the [Riders] coming. Artur first tried to warn him, but then directly issued an order to counter. They felled half the [Riders] and Bepol rotated the squads out when he noticed the disturbance. Olesm figured out that Artur was the one that saved Bepol's soldiers from another side-charge, and Artur was the first Antinium to be promoted, becoming an officer.

A [[The Traders of Roshal|Trader of Roshal]], Cubol, approached Olesm. He tried to appeal to his anger to convince him to sell prisoners of war into slavery, but Olesm broke the Skill used on him and refused, banning him from Liscor's camp.

Olesm would visit the part of the camp where morale was lowest, which meant he often went to visit the Antinium. While attending one of their sermons, he said that the Antinium should feel anger towards the soldiers who kill them. He later ordered that all Antinium soldiers are to receive standard Liscorian rations, that each new Antinium reinforcements are to be fed before entering battle, and made a request to Liscor's Council for supplies like books for their use. Tersk was told to announce their next meal from them on. His officers objected due to their shortened supply from this, but Olesmhad the order stand as a matter of morale. After seeing the Antinium make their food paste, the officers no longer objected.

Theophilus tried to raise morale with his sermons, but was disheartened as Lulv and his forces kept killing the crusaders. That would give way to anger, and in his rage-filled sermon he denounced Hectval as evil and hellbound. He inspired the [Crusaders] to fight more ferociously and the other [Acolytes] to go to the front lines, and he and Jerimy became [Clerics] while [[Zimrah]] became a [Priest]. Faith had been restored among the Antinium, and the Alliance was retreating in the face of this new fervor and unknown powers some displayed.

The Alliance asked Manus if they would do something about this. Manus had taken less than ten casualties in every engagement, less than five in most, and kept their losses near non-existant. The three irregular Antinium were marked, but their protective rings and amulets protected them from potshots. On two occasions a commander had tried to issue Lulv orders and were ignored, and he threatened to quit when they tried to court marshal him. [Slaver] Cubol approached the Alliance to convince them to sell Antinium and they were receptive to this for the amount of gold he was offering, but Lulv had forbidden slave-trading and threatened to leave if they did so. Lulv was considering giving up as it seemed that the levelling Antinium weren't a non-replenishable resource, and more unique Antinium were appearing.

And Manus soldiers were still suffering from mysterious [Sniper] attacks, which accounted for most of their deaths at this point and several Alliance officers. These attacks prompted Alliance officers to remove easy markers of their ranks like plumes or badges. They could not seem to permanently kill the Worker responsible. In Liscor's camp, Dekass noted that the archer squad B-Squad had a member unaccounted for. Lulv prepared for an assault to kill at least one of the odd Antinium.<ref name=":2" />

Calruz began going into battle with Battalion 6 of the Antinium division, dubbed the Beriad of the Free Antinium, who all carried two-handed weapons. At first there were thirty of them, but in later battles hundreds were part of the Beriad. <ref name=":3" />

Liscor received reinforcements of two hundred [[Painted Antinium]], sent with the collective approval of Pawn, Xrn, and the Free Queen. They proceeded to outperform every battalion in the following battle, where they handily beat Drisshia. They had high morale, fought in perfect sync, and were generally higher leveled than the [Crusaders].

Manus had prepared for them, hoping for their appearance. They first let the Alliance's first assault tire them out, then Lulv and four hundred of Manus' soldiers left the Alliance lines to charge them. A bombardment of [Valmira's Comet] launched from [[Wyverns]] hit the Antinium, and four [[Oldblood Drakes]] ambushed the presumed [Sniper] when he showed himself to shoot Lulv. He then killed one of the [Clerics], and a [Mage] hit the backlines with [Chain Lightning]. Tersk ordered Battalion 1 to split into squads and was targeted by multiple attacks and wounded by Lulv. A volley of arrows prevented Lulv from executing him. Olesm was riding towards the battle but was intercepted by a [Fireball] and unhorsed. Lulv threw a javelin that killed the other [Cleric] and Manus fell back. Manus lost two dozen soldiers in the engagement.

Antinium morale plummeted with the recent defeat. Theophilus, Jerimy, a hundred and forty Painted Antinium and as many [Crusaders] had died. The remaining sixty Painted Antinium left the next day. Tersk was incapacitated by poison and ceded command to Dekass. Zimrah could no longer heal and kept away from the front from then, and Artur was sent to Belgrade's division for protection. Dekass counted casualties aloud and Olesm invited him to have a drink later. Having lost hope, Crusader 51 was the first Antinium to desert in the history of warfare.<ref name=":2" /> Crusader 53 survived the battle and was the first Antinium to be captured by the Alliance in this war. He was taken in by Big Yam squad of Luldem, who were hoping to be assigned guard duty to take leave of the next battle.<ref name=":3" />

The rest of Squad 5 did not divulge where Crusader 51 went, and he was declared dead. Liscor received unexpected reinforcements. Zimrah tried to fill Theophilus' role in the sermons and inducted new Antinium into [Crusaders].

Manus redoubled their assault. They attacked Liscor's camp to cut off Dekass and kill the remaining Painted Antinium before they returned to Liscor, and only thirty of them were left. The Painted Antinium had received reinforcements by way of the Magic Door before Manus destroyed its mana stone. They were gathered up on a hill as Manus prepared a final push to wipe the remaining forty, who were making a last stand. Olesm managed to down a Wyvern, Manus' spells were intercepted, and a squad rallied around Calruz.

Having leveled his [Bug Collector] class into [Ant Farmer] away from the battlefield over the course of two weeks, which had a strange interaction with the Antinium, Crusader 51 could feel the peril the other [Crusaders] were experiencing and returned. He charged into Hectval's lines from the side, and the [Sniper] attacks resumed at that moment. Crusader 51 survived the first arrow volley from Manus' archers, and was soon surrounded by Alliance soldiers. Lulv threw a javelin through his shoulder, but he kept fighting. Getting stronger by the moment, he deflected the second javelin. Crusader 51 summoned a blinding pillar of light and became the first [Templar] of the Antinium. He fought Lulv and Manus' soldiers by himself as the other Antinium retreated, directed to do so via Crusader 51's [Minor Telepathy]. Barriers of light prevented Manus from pursuing, and he singlehandedly killed at least thirty enemy soldiers. Thanks to his sacrifice, the Antinium forces successfully escaped.<ref name=":2" />

The next day, Olesm had a debriefing about Crusader 51's last stand with those that witnessed it. The Painted Antinium returned to the Free Hive with a letter from Dekass detailing the recent events, and Olesm sent a public posthumous commendation for Crusader 51 with him to post with the casualty reports. He also passed a request to the Council to increase the squads on weekly break from 2 to 3, one of which being an Antinium squad, letting sixty soldiers return to Liscor every week.

A delegation of nineteen Drakes from Yolden entered Liscor's camp. Seeing an opportunity to fight back against the Hectval-Luldem-Drisshia Alliance and break the monopoly on iron Drisshia has over them, they offered an alliance proposal to Liscor. Olesm drove a hard bargain to make them commit significant forces, then sent messages to other nearby cities to see if others would ally with them.

The immortal sniper returned, and its arrows began piercing through enchanted armour. Olesm advancing his class meant that his officers could use his [Instantaneous Barrage] Skill, threatening Manus' Wyverns. Manus received information on Liscor's army from Pallass, specifically reports from Bepol, who was a Pallassian officer before joining Liscor's new army and had requested to Pallass to pull Manus out of the war.

Over two thousand Yoldenite soldiers entered the war on Liscor's side, mostly as skirmishers. They attacked from hilltops, and threatened one of Drisshia's mines, which made them want to pull out of the war to secure it. Three hundred soldiers riding ponies attacked the Alliance with slings in hit-and-runs. Unused to the intensity of the war, they suffered significant casualties when a Hectval line of crossbows opened fire on them. They also tried to capture a group of Luldem soldiers, but ended up in a close-quarter fight when they refused to surrender. The Yoldenites later collapsed a shelf onto a hundred and fifty Alliance soldiers. They would also trade up their gear for plundered armor and weapons as the war progressed.

While Crusader 53 was held prisoner, the Alliance was trying to source an expert to interrogate him while Big Yam guarded him. Manus demanded that the prisoner be placed into their custody. 

Cubol then approached Big Yam to convince them to sell him their prisoner immediately, before Lulv came. With his wealth and Skills or spells, he had convinced the whole squad except [[Vess]] to accept the deal, and to murder Vess to cover up their transaction. Just as Cubol's bodyguard was about to kill Vess, the [[Silent Antinium]] intervened. They had come to rescue Crusader 53, and slew Cubol, his slaves, and Big Yam except for Vess. After the rescue, they also ambushed Lulv and forced him to run, killing six of his soldiers in the attempt. They retreated with Vess as a captive as two Wyverns arrived to blast the area.

From this point on, Silent Antinium would be part of the war, and Armored Antinium would bolster the number of Antinium soldiers among the four hundred eighty-two latest reinforcements, though their participation was not officially acknowledged. The Alliance pulled back its forces as the right wing had been completely overrun, where Liscor had built a giant dirt-and-stone fortress to sally from, and Manus received reinforcements. Olesm made a deal with the Alliance High-Command, letting eighty prisoners return home on the condition that they didn't rejoin the war.

The Liscorian Army sent reinforcements, the 6th and 9th Companies, and 11th Company who had escorted [[Relc Grasstongue|Relc]] and the Gnolls of Cellidel. Embria ensured that there would not be disputes between them and Olesm.<ref name=":3">[https://wanderinginn.com/2022/02/16/interlude-hectval-pt-3/ Interlude - Hectval (Pt. 3)]</ref>
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