Sweep of Salt Side

The Conflict

Prelude

Tall stilted huts were erected incredibly quick. Old women were selling fish, prawns and squids just beyond the demarking creek.
And it was overcrowded with buyers hooded in green and black.

— testimony of a surviving Otōntin

Deployment

Sneak Attack

The initial attack, and indeed the overall conquest, was an experiment in the very concept of salt spells.

The Engagement

Lightning Barrage Matrix

The first hostile act was the sudden shower of yellow lighting simultaneously striking forts, important manses and pochteca courts within the first five minutes of the invasion across all of salt side.

It was evident we were attacked. But I could imagine how. I couldn't tell what it was that had happed, but everyone could tell the violet sky turned yellow for a moment. Then red from the fire storm reigning the ground.

— Krix Eagle Knight

Tequiua Train Thrust

With their enemy paralyzed; covens, spearmen and wights threw off disguises and waded through the pink creek. On the other side, collaborators had already secured a beachhead for them.
From there, brine matriarch witches rushed forward as far as they could before they meet any meaningful resistance. And until they reached the core of the Krix's city, they never did. At nearly every outlining borough, the tinged witches were welcomed and surrounded with local volunteer footmen who swore to aid them. The thousands of wights, made and brought over, from the marshes to fight were much slower that the covens, so the raven matriarch decided to press ahead of her forces with what she had gathered rather than wait for them.

Garrison Massacre

Disjointed information had been making their way to the krix manse which was garrisoning the largest sang force. Other occupants included injured warriors seeking medical attention, massagers from detached captains requesting orders and krix civilian collaborators looking for protection from a sudden revolt.
The sang commander had initially sought to suppress the riot by sending his able-bodied soldiers to put it down. Then, to his horror, realized that a fast moving force was sweeping through the city and storming the barracks.

From there, it can be had to say what exactly happened. A great many of our own died; as to be expected. What was infuriating, was the deaths of those who were priorly hurt and being treated and of our krix friends who were blameless of anything.

— Tlazolteotl attaché

Outcome

This conflict was the first display of the military potential of salt spells to the Sang. They were long aware of their use by the residents in Salt Side but were disregarded as impenitent.
The tinged people, however, used salt like no other before and showcased their superiority by directly challenging the preeminent order of the region.

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For all the attention given to the witches, and in particular the wights, many people tend to forget the other enemy: Mist's kiri riders. It is them, that Sangsalgu have struggled for the tenula peninsula.
The back and forth battles for Tenula were nothing new. Tenula was the first point of contact and the last when the Tinged quickly overran its defenses and then left it to the Sang when they retreated.

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Those token troops could offer no meaning resistance and were swiftly captured.
Though there was no way for them to hold ground, they at least hoped to scatter and send runners to warn the empire, but it was not to be. It seemed that the enemy was informed on the garrisons' sorry state by collaborators and traitorous remnants of long destroyed armies.
As a result, Sang historians do not count the scuffles there as 'real' battles.

Aftermath

The Sweep was the background from which Cuatepoztli would be placed in charge roughly eighty years later.
It would not be until him; that the Krix, Kuit, Cuit, Joi and Gein would know true independence.

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The quickness of the Salt Side conquest traumatized the sang.

But decades afterwards, there was a fear that the Triple Alignment was becoming too bold.
It was with with that thought that the witcher kingdoms needed a new advantage. Thus, they put a great deal of resources into constructing the largest coven ever.

Historical Significance

Salt Advancement

It may take more than two hands, but stable and self-sustaining salt orbs are crucial. Many previous attempts have ended in disaster because the orb fell apart while the matrix was activated.
It is very similar in appearance to the starting form of salt fire, with even the same potential for collapsing prematurely. What even some witches have a difficult time grasping is the synchronised nature between the orbs that make up the eventual matrix.

Stolen Spell

Possibly through stolen tinge secrets, the Mountain Toiks made their orbs with a black-white-red blend.
It also seems that they improved upon the matrix with not needing to pre-prepare the targeted area as the tinge showed during the Sweep.

Legacy

Witcher Kingdoms

Five kingdoms arose from the sang's client states and were ruled by the coven matriarchs for 88 years.
In addition to humbling the Sang, the witches of the brine founded several witcher kingdoms where tinge matriarchs formed a new state hierarchy very separate of the wandering lifestyle afforded by driving covens.
Such covens became short-lived family dynasties determined to maintain, and later expand their territorial holdings. It is unclear where and when this shift in philosophy came from but it meant that the further the hordes expanded the less bodies there were to fight. And when their sisters lost at Sangsalgu, made no effort to rescue them.

Salt State

Roughly three generations after the war, the brine had greatly improved the living standards and military capacity of those they ruled over.
However, wavering demographics, changing expectations and yearly rains gradually reduced witcher influence to the point that they where either driven out, surrendered political powers, or faded into civilian life. Thus, bringing about the Salt States.

Five states supplanted the kingdoms in a surprisingly calmly withdrawal of tinged forces.

Technological Advancement

Wightery is the study of the dynamic motions that result between the interaction of bark salt and blood sap found in the Blood Wood.
It is most infamously used to raise the tinge undead as the labour force that tend to Place of Orbit's food growing needs. It can take years before a corpse is ready to be reanimated, and takes no damage to the tree.
It was only during the wight war where wights were deployed as common footmen.

Included under Conflict

Wight War

Conflict Type

Military Campaign

Battlefield Type

Land

Conflict Result

Sweeping Tinged Victory

Location

Salt Side

Belligerents

Brine Witches

Sang Garrisons

• Triple Alignment

Strength

360 Covens
50 Tequiua
250,000 Wights

10,000 Warriors

Casualties

10 Covens
30 Tequiua

10,000 Warriors

Objectives

Conquer as much land until they meet significant resistance

Defend and hold onto Sang occupied territory

Leaders

Unknown Tactics