The Battle of Achankän

Military: Battle

During this post Imperial period Warfare between Arenian city states resumed and became more common as disputes were inflamed by the sudden and chaotic dissolution of the Khozra Empire. The feud between Koro and Conión at that time was especially infamous for flaring up into full scale conflicts in the Chumuk Era, as they both butted heads over territory, especially near the Rio Kän. The settlement that would be known as San Tamayo, which will be referred to as Ciudad Kän in this paper, was a hotly contested point of interest to Koro and Conión, especially as the Rana Gach'ra has made the usual routes through Inoi and Albi were inconsistently available at best due to warfare. By this point in time, an expedient route through Cutovi that can either lead to Ceroi or Toka Ma was accessible which gave Conión an advantage over their regional rival Koro which was cause for a war over Ciudad Kän as a contest to have safe and quick access to Charsta trade.   Achankän ended up being the site for the battle to decide who would gain control of Ciudad Kän, and there was much at stake for Conión especially as it directly threatened the control of territory close to home that the river would otherwise protect. Leading Conión's army, which was around 25,000 soldiers, was Ka'nal Concejal Capraka Itotia Gayoso, a rare occasion for the Ka'nal Concejal to leave their home city to direct an army in person during these times. Leading Koro's army was Ka'nal Ahau Tichukha Topax Säkarena, who marshalled around 40,000 soldiers and was reportedly offended by the opponents lack of numbers. Although Ahau Tichukha believed they had the upper hand taking terrain unsuitable for Coniono calvary at the Achankän cliffs, however they did not realize that they set themselves up for a trap as the opponent backed them into a corner after breaking the siege on Ciudad Kän. The intense battle swayed to Conion's way after mages broke Ahau Tichukha's army and a one sided bloodbath ensued, where those who weren't killed were captured for sacrifice later. This was a very formative experience for Ciudad Koro, their pride as a military power was fatally wounded and they now feared attempting to expand north again with large armies. Although a seemingly small event at the time, this battle marked the beginning of Conión political dominance as the rest of the peninsula saw the state's influence grow solidify without the usual contesting of territory.

To describe the rivalry between Koro and Conión, there were a number of factors other than just being regional powers contesting each others influence. Koro sat at a very fertile floodplain for the Xi'mal Haw, but their hinterlands directly north and south if not sandy desert was still relatively barren and rocky. On top of that, the Tepeu's of Koro traditionally took a very militaristic perspective with their religion and thusly their administration. They saw that they could garner more favor with the Arenian Gods by participating in Golden Warfare often, and used those opportunities to wear down their opponents capabilities to wage war regularly. They also heavily valued maintaining a good relationship with Koloxal due to the close cultural relationship they had with Aya, and would try to send the most soldiers to their Brume bordered fortresses as often as possible to outdo their rivals. For Koro their limited options for arable land and sources of water, they sought adventures beyond their borders which often took them north guaranteeing a historically sour relationship between the two polities.