Godherja Encyclopedia

Battle of Ten Trees (concept)

Widely considered to be the bloodiest battle during the Sjalvolki Migrations, the Battle of Ten Trees took place in the eponymous clearing in 1247 IS. Sixteen Legions, mostly natives of Kalathipsomi and local State Legions, marched south from lines across the Pathos River after the defeat of the Varicadd Imperial Clique. Hoping to winter in the nearby homesteads, they instead ended up marching straight into the vanguard of the Witch-Breaker's right flank. After a disastrous series of battles for both sides, the Legions retreated... and did so straight into the center of the Sjalvolki horde.

The following battle would last for nearly six months, as the Sjalvolki and Imperials brutally fought through the worst winter in Kalathipsomian memory, more soldiers freezing or starving to death than dying in any battle. By the end the Sjalvolki would come out victorious, however, and the shattered remnants of the Legions would disband, join the last remnants of Imperial control under the treacherous Legon Kresox, or retreat south to be wiped out at the Elysian Pass.

While overshadowed by the Battle of the Elysian Pass, most scholars agree that the Ten Trees was the last time the Aversarian Legions posed any threat to Cenware's horde, and veterans of the battle often speak bitterly of the 'glory' of the Pass and the forgotten misery of the Ten Trees. Today, there is little more to remember the battle besides the oft-found bones and scraps from hundreds of forgotten skirmishes, or of the six surviving trees in the clearing.

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