As news of the defeat of the northern tribe’s army spreads it reaches the ears of Hortu, furious he gathers his personal raiding party and orders the gathering of our main force, the central tribes. His raiding party is made up of around 400 men, these are our best troops and veterans of many raids and battles. Hortu has learned from the mistakes of the northern tribes, we can’t beat these men in a conventional battle, we need to innovate. Now that it’s the beginning of the dry season the grass has hit its tallest point of the year, and also the most dangerous... Our scouts find the enemy army marching deeper into our lands. Hortu splits his 400 men into 23 smaller groups, they spread out thin along the enemy force, sneaking up using the tall grass. In their packs they have brought fire stones, lard and black water (oil). The men light fires and quickly run to their horses a little further back, riding hard, they know what is about to happen. The fires grow exceptionally quickly, filling the area with a thick smog, Katphursiyan troops stumble around confused and terrified. The fires quickly turn into a huge firestorm engulfing the area, and burning the entire army to death, most of them die of asphyxiation (inhaling smoke). Most of the enemy army is dead, 2,654 soldiers. In comparison we suffered 223 casualties from soldiers not reaching their horses on time to escape Hortu is known as “the lord of flame and bone” for his victory.
