December 23rd, 1012 SE

The Neighkian Pact was moving north, on the Eastern Continent.
The Qinlong Twelve Banners of Zuoji were making quick progress through the edge of Konlya bordering on Zuoji. The forests of the North were covered in snow, and strangely silent. Only a few species of animals were tough enough to survive, and most were avoiding any area with too much noise. The rows and rows of blanketed, armored soldiers marched through the snow, following forgotten roads deeper and deeper into Konlyan territory. Their white blankets helped them blend in with their environment, but the caravans of supplies were not as easily camouflaged. However, they had plenty of protection. Besides the Kirin soldiers of Zuoji, there were also the Changeling soldiers marching with them, disguising themselves as common animals and casually circling around the far edges of the army, looking out for any signs of enemies. So far, nothing disturbed them, and the only noises were the crunching of snow beneath boots and armored wheels, the clanking of armor, and the swishing of lion-like tails. Occasionally there was a winter bird singing, but even the birds seemed afraid to sing at the sight of the strangers passing by. Perhaps all of nature knew something was disturbing the harmony of the world. So far, nobeast was stopping the Neighkian pact.

The first sign that the Jade Banner Army had that something was wrong, was when eagles and falcons started fighting above them. Initially, they seemed to be just average eagles and falcons, but something seemed bizarre about it. This many eagles? This many falcons? Was this natural? When the eagles and falcons swooped at each other, and got low enough, the Kirin soldiers could see their eyes were bright, strange colors. Their wings seemed to turn in odd angles and flaps, and
a vague sense of magic hummed off them, sometimes. Abruptly, the Kirin soldiers realized that half those birds were their Changeling allies, vassals of the Qianlong Emperor--and the other half of those birds were from other Changeling Hordes, serving the Konlyan Ponies. The enemy!

Their scouts thus occupied, the Jade Banner Army did not see the camouflaged Konlyan positions on each side of the narrow road that they marched through. They did not see the movement of armed ponies who waited for the order to strike. Suddenly, a deafening roar echoed. Explosions from spell-guns rocked the world. The supply wagons for the Kirin shattered into shrapnel and splinters. Kirin flew through the air, blasted, bruised and burnt. The second barrage came but a few minutes later, falling upon the rear, and destroying most of the road behind them. Tiangou the Kirin was lucky --or so he thought-- for he had not been in either end of the column. His unit, sitting in the middle, had but a few moments of rest while everybeast tried to figure out what was going on. A bugle was then heard among the trees, and the Konlyan army fell upon them.

Had things been different, the sheer numbers of the Jade Banner Army would have overwhelmed any opposition. But the Konlyans not only knew the terrain, not only did they have superior weapons, they were also defending their homeland. Enhancing the magic of their Unicorns, the advanced weapons tore through the armor of the Kirin, shattered their heavy vehicles, and blasted through the snow and permafrost, leaving steaming trails and blast holes everywhere. With all their strength and fiery magic, the Kirin of Zuoji lasered back, dodging as much as they could, but behind almost every tree was an enemy--and sometimes the trees WERE enemies. In the middle of the night, with barely any light flooding the area the battle raged on. Soon, the dark snow was lit by burning trees, scorched bodies, and singed bushes. The air stank with burning fur, flesh, scales and wood. Tiangou was one of the few survivors, and he wrote back to the commanding officers the news.

The Zuoji army was on the retreat, and their heavy-set, Konlyan Pony enemies were right on their tails. The death toll rose more and more each day, and Konlya prevailed against the Kirin, right until they reached the bordering cities of Neighkian and Rinkhai. Finally, the determined Konlyans slammed into a wall too big for them to climb and too defended for them to blast through. From here, the battlefields would become static, with bombardments from both sides, spells, boulders, and bombs being thrown back and forth, day and night.

Author's Note

This was written mostly by Imperator Aetheris. Unfortunately, he was unable to keep being my co-author. Life got too busy. He's allowed me to keep on the story.

--Turquoise Dreamer