The Girl with No Name Ch. 26

3) Given the Royal Army's experience in 1754, it is certainly possible the capture of Sumy Ris could have been repeated in 1758, but occupying the city and the surrounding region over a prolonged period of time would not have been possible, given the Royal Army's resources at the time. That reality is even more evident today than it was in 1758, because the devastation and depopulation from the civil war in the northern part of the Kingdom of the Moon was much more severe than in the southern part. The Danubians, both the Royal Army and the Defenders, had an inaccurate idea concerning the remaining strength of the two factions, which caused Commander Sáupeckt to badly underestimate the size and strength of the armies shadowing his unit as they moved towards Aksheriri Ris.

4) Commander Sáupeckt's defeat is undoubtedly the favorite classic tale of hubris, tragedy, and partial redemption that seems so well-suited for Danubian story-telling. The fact that he died with a crossbow in his hands while recklessly confronting an entire squad of Red Moon musketeers so the last of his men could scramble over some walls to join the Grand Duke's army assured his place as a hero instead of a villain in Danubian lore. Whatever else he may have been, he was no coward, although I suspect he used the enemy squad to commit suicide. But tragedy aside, was Commander Sáupeckt a good military leader? He was, but for company-sized tactical operations, not long-term strategic operations. His rise to power within the militia was the direct result of a single battle, which in turn was the result of the secret sling-bombs supplied to him by Defender Danka. In other words, had Danka not provided the bomb design to her commander, he would not have had the prestige to take control of the Defenders, and the ill-fated campaign against Sumy Ris would not have happened.

5) The Grand Duke viewed Commander Sáupeckt no differently than he viewed any other subject with charisma and talent, by asking: how can this person be useful to me? If the militia leader had a realistic chance of taking Sumy Ris, the Grand Duke would have been happy to let him claim most of the glory of victory, knowing that he would eventually consolidate control over the new territory through patience, co-opting of supporters, and cunning.

- Maritza Ortskt-Dukovna -

Note02: The Army of the Blue Moon defeated the rival faction, seized control of Aksheriri Ris, and held it from June 1758 through October of the same year. During those months Blue Moon troops launched raids against Sumy Ris and other previously safe towns within the Lord of the Red Moon's traditional area of control. The Lord of the Red Moon's men eventually retook the city, but lost control of it again at the beginning of 1759. The location changed hands a total of six times during the final phase of the Kingdom of the Moon's civil war and by 1764 not a single structure remained standing. The Ottoman Sultan ordered a mosque built on the hilltop in 1770, but that building was destroyed exactly a century later when the former Kingdom of the Moon's territory became an Austrian protectorate. After World War II a French casino developer purchased the entire hill, demolished all remaining ruins and archeological sites, and built the Emerald City resort, which continues to occupy the site today.

- Maritza Ortskt-Dukovna -