No Man can Tame a Jaguar into a Kitten

[Moshel-Generał]

Mēili sat on his throne, lounging as he listened to his advisors. It was finally time to deal with the humiliations that had been forced upon them. After several minutes he raised his hand, silencing the advisors. He looked at the highest ranking tlamacazqui present. "Are the preparations ready?" The priest nodded, the fear evident in his eyes, Mēili was not known to be nice to those who displeased him. "Good. Now you know my demands. The treasonous chiefs must be brought to heel." He crushed the fruit in his hands, feeling the juice run down his fur. He let it go and licked it. He glared at the advisors. "Why are you still here? Get moving."

The advisors scrambled to get away. They had demands to send. A small group of soldiers would head to the tribal republic to their west. Eventually they would arrive at the capital of Utrax, and the demands were given:

1. Every tribe swears allegiance to Tlahtoāni Mēili.
2. Every chief who betrayed the Āltepētl submit themselves to judgement.
3. Every chiefdom must provide a youth to serve the Tlahtoāni.
   

If all the demands were met then the people would be spared the horrors of war, however if the chiefs insisted on war, then war it would be. The messengers would declare to the tribes that the decision between peace and war was left to their leaders, and that it was their duty to ensure that their leaders made the correct decision.

Meanwhile back in Xōchimīlco Mēili was preparing for the inevitable. He knew that his demands would be rejected. He in fact counted on it. It was time to bring the population to readiness. The tlamacazqui helped him dress in the ceremonial dress before he walked out to the altar. The citizens of the Āltepētl looked up at him as he stood in front of them. The people stared in awe. To them he was a living god. They watched as a beautifully dressed female Tēcuani was led up the steps in front of him. Everyone recognized her, the last remaining descendant of the last Tlahtoāni. It had been assumed she was going to be made a concubine, however now it was clear why she had been left alive.

She knelt at the feet of Mēili as he watched with cold eyes. "To the living god himself I offer my heart, my mind, and my soul to fuel yours." She bowed her head, in complete submission. The ceremony commenced. All the citizens watched as it continued and ended when Mēili had absorbed the offerings. He stood before the ground and let out a loud growl, and the crowd joined him. They were ready to follow their god to war.

[alxeu]

Given the democratic nature of the tribal assembly, and the unanimous vote needed to accept the demands of the Yaiji Empire, it would, perhaps, be of no surprise that the long and argumentative process needed to determine Utrax's response would result in a rejection of Yaiji's terms.

With a final vote being 14 in favor and 4 against, the militarized tribes revealed their determination to defend their homeland, even when all others wished to yield to the revenge of the empire.

Formulating a reply, the elder of the Ulundi tribe, Prince Lindiwe kaLamalandela, would send the official response on behalf of the entire council of the Republic of Utrax:

To the Godling who wants for not in his decadent capital:

If it is treason to love one's homeland more than that of a foreign upstart and his blood cult, let it be known that all true-born Utrax warriors have committed treason against your vain empire today.

We would sooner die on our feet than live on our knees serving a spoiled monarch who would defile our traditions and take our people from us.

Despite their earlier vote for surrender, the peace-seeking tribes would mobilize their militia as promised, and would prepare to link up their forces with the militarized tribes.

While most of the elders were supportive of Prince Lindiwe's candidacy to lead the combined army, the people of the eSwatini tribe refused to submit their forces to his command, arguing that their men, bearing rifles and being the most skilled fighters of all the tribes, should lead the combined army, instead. Failure to rectify this disagreement saw the eSwatini lead their forces as a separate unit to the rest of the Utrax Army, which slowly assembled near where the Tribal Council normally met.



The gold dot represents where the main army would be congregating. Most of the experienced forces would be there soon, though the militia could, in some cases, take many weeks, perhaps even a few months, to arrive. The grey circle represents the general location of the eSwatini Tribe, though given their independent command, their forces mobilize much quicker and are therefore harder to pin-point.

Total Forces:

Main Army:
60,000 Militia
5,000 Tribal Warriors
2,800 Tribal Rangers

eSwatini Army:
2,000 Tribal Warriors
600 Tribal Rangers
15,000 Light Infantry

[Moshel-Generał]

Mēili grinned when he received the reply. It was the result he wanted, it gave him the scene to show his dominance. The tlamacazqui dressed him for war, though it was only sparingly. An outsider looking in might think that he was getting goaded into action by the attacks listed in the reply. For it was true, most Tlahtoāni were weak and lazy, spoiled by their status. However such could not be further from the truth for Mēili. Born and raised on blood and the violence that comes from being a threat to the throne, he had risen to the top on a pile of bodies, even if he wasn't as physically imposing as most warriors. He strapped his dual daggers to his sides and walked out to lead his army to war.

He knew that the tribes were not fully united, and it would be best to eliminate them while they were separated. so his army marched to the north to face the eSwatini. The bulk of the army was militia raised for combat. They were not skilled at fighting, but plenty in number. However the core of the army was the warriors, easily distinguishable by their dress. Finally, the surprise forces of army trailed behind. These were troops trained with the firearms that had been stolen from the invaders when the Āltepētl was first driven into the corner. Mēili lead from the middle, mounted and surrounded by his special guard, 250 of his most skilled warriors. In a short time they would be arriving to face their first enemy.



The red line is the front line of the Yaiji army as it marches on the eSwatini Tribe.

Total Forces:

75,000 Militia
4,500 Tribal Warriors
2,600 Tribal Rangers
21,000 Special Infantry
250 Special Guards

[alxeu]

The eSwatini were a little surprised to learn that the Yaiji army was approaching their lands first, having previously anticipated the Imperial forces would go and attempt to crush the main army to the south, allowing them to raid the Yaiji homeland.

Quickly changing plans, their rallying point soon became the point where they'd defend themselves, and hastily-crafted fieldworks soon went up:




Arraying their firearm-wielding infantry in the front, and establishing some earthworks right in front (a half-hearted attempt to potentially reduce the amount of Yaiji soldiers streaming into their lines, if they launched a melee assault), the eSwatini forces committed to holding a crossroads that led from Yaiji and split towards eSwatini territory, along with another direction that would eventually wind up near where Prince Lindiwe's army was assembling. The infantry split into three 5,000 man units, each commanded by a lesser chief of the eSwatini, while 1,500 tribal warriors and 600 rangers formed up in the rear, on a small mound, in reserve. Behind them laid a frozen river, though it was unclear just how thick the ice was (the eSwatini warriors, being poor swimmers, did not wish to find out).


The dark and light gray lines indicate the effective ranges of the rangers and infantry, respectively.

The battle plan was simple: hold until the Yaiji hordes broke. If that failed, the forces would attempt to withdraw in good order through the narrow route to their homeland, in the highlands, where they would carry out a harrying campaign intended to exhaust the Yaiji army and make it vulnerable to a counter-offensive from the main Utrax force. Meanwhile, the remaining 500 warriors of the eSwatini took up position a little further back towards the eSwatini homeland, intending to act as either a rear-guard, or fresh reserve depending on the evolving situation.

Their plans made, the eSwatini waited for their enemy, determined to prove their valor in the coming battle.

[Moshel-Generał]

Mēili called his forces to a halt, stopping facing the eSwatini. He once again grinned, baring his fangs at the enemy. He growled an order, causing the militia to part and allow the rifled infantry to march forward to face the eSwatini. They stood facing their opponents, and readied their own rifles. They were out of effective range of each other and silence fell over the battlefield. The carrion birds settled on the trees and the ridges to watch. Mēili growled again and the front rank fired, peppering the eSwatini. Then as the front group reloaded the next ran into range, firing themselves. They followed this method as the warriors followed behind, and as they reached the range of the rangers the warriors charged forward, aiming to catch the eSwatini cowering from the constant attacks. Mēili himself sat back and watched the battle play out, his soldiers had their orders, no quarter to those who had dared defy him.