1st Battle Of Opam

The 1st Battle Of Opam, (December 19, B1E-1), began on the morning of December 19, B1E-1. The only major war of the Osmax-Arain Succession War, it quickly ensured the victory of the Osmax (tribe) over the Arain. The several-hour-long battle was an ensnared trap by the Osmax in an attempt to encircle Arain forces. Successful, the Osmax slaughtered the Arain forces and the head of the Arain Tribe, Chief Hilthrope. Later that month Chief of the Osmax, Maximin paraded the slain chief's head through the capital, Hildago. Around 10,000 warriors died that day, the deadliest battle that predates the First Era, and even one of the deadliest in the First Era.

Events Prior
General Timburs Derangous, the highest-ranking General of the Osmax had retreated months prior to regroup and train new forces at the capital of the Osmax, Opam. Only numbering a force of a few thousand, Maximin decided that this force would be sufficient for any attacks staged by the Arain. Little did Maximin know, Hilthrope had pulled completely out of his capital city after gaining intelligence that most Osmax forces were centered around Apar. He mustered nearly a force numbering over six thousand hard rough warriors. The long tireless war had dragged on for nearly seven years, both sides were eager for it to end. Not taking the chance at possibly losing the war in the long run, (as the Osmax had more food, water access, etc), Hilthrope assembled all the forces he could muster and marched miles and miles towards Opam. This swift and sudden attack, if successful, would most undoubtedly crush the Osmax and leave Maximin to fend for himself in the wild fifty miles away at Apar. But before the Arain forces could arrive, only three days travel from the city, a young Halti by the name of Penani Selvxius escaped the Arain encampment. Stealing one of the only horses available, he rode many miles within the next three days, traveling to Opam and Apar. Notifying the General and the Chief himself, the sneak attack by the Arain had been discovered. Maximin gathered his forces near Apar, and started the next morning, going as fast as possible to reach Opam in time.

Course Of The Battle
It was a chilly morning, with dew freshly crisped on the edge of stones. Timburs Derangous, commander of Osmax Forces, stood lone outside the capital of the Osmax. Up on a hill, stood an outstanding army of thousands of Arain warriors ready for battle. They had marched fast and moved across many miles over the days. Although their hardship and fatigue weighed heavily upon them, their spirit to kill the Osmax reigned high. Down the hill, Chief Hilthrope saw a masked figure. Little did the Chief know, it wasn't Maximin, but it was his top General with only a mere two thousand troops compared to the thousands more he had at his disposal. Wasting no time, he swiftly charged down the hill on horseback.

Only a few of his top officers were on horseback, and they charged right through the Osmax lines. Tearing men up into the air as warriors flooded behind. Slashing, sliting. cutting, and tearing, blood spurted out of throats and limbs and any part that could bleed. The battle for what many of the soldiers there remarked as hours when in reality was less than thirty-five minutes. The dew had not upheaved itself, tearing mud and guck into the battle. Soon the screaming warriors, covered in hide, cloth, and even a few in metal, became all but distinguashable. Five minutes into the battle, Hilthrope charged the Osmax leader, meeting his sword up to his arm. His arm tore off flying up into the air, disappearing into the battle below. But when a soldier yelled nearby for help, he didn't scream to help the Chief. He screamed that the General was injured. This startled the Arain Chief, for he knew Maximin was not far off. As the half-hour enclosed, the Arain forces and Osmax forces stopped fighting as the sun broke over the hill. But the sun wasn't why they stopped an on-looker noted, it was the shadows of warriors flying off the top of the slope. Max and his forces had arrived from a fifty-mile trek, of grueling running and dragging, bringing nothing but weapons. Max was at the head of the army, covered a fine silky metal. Sounding the war horn himself, Maximin charged down the hill covering the flank of the confused Arain. Instantly, the battle-worn Osmax fanned out mingling into the ranks of the fresh new army. Encircling the Arain army within two minutes, rivers of blood ran. They fought fiercely the entire day, bodies falling every second as the attacking army got smaller and smaller. As the sun set, marking the end of the day, Hilthrope stood in a circle of only probably a hundred men. Max demanded surrender from him, or all his soldiers would die. Laughing out at the boy king he called him, Hilthrope shouted in a proud voice: "I would rather die to the hands of a murderer, than surrender!" Striking him in the knee with an arrow, Hilthropes warriors ran around in chaos trying to escape the madness. It wasn't a minute later they bleed on the ground, crying for their mothers and fathers, begging to go home. As he lay in the mud, holding his knee and other wounds sustained in the heavy fighting, Maximin walked up to him. He quickly disarmed the once-proud Chief, sticking his finger to his wound, and ripping the arrow out. He only spoke a word, before stabbing the arrow all the way through his throat jiggling it like a fishing bobber. The battle was over.

Aftermath/Impact
The 1st Battle Of Opam marked the end of the Osmax-Arain Succesion War, allowing the beginning of the First Era to initiate. The Kingdom Of Osmax formed, and would go on to reign for hundreds of years. The warrior is most often looked at for Max I's strong confidence and unwavering strategic ability. The battle also would employ a widely known and useful tactic, of encircling the enemy. The battle also marked an approximate death toll of ~11,000, one of the deadliest battles near or in the First Era. Spy networks were noticed at this time too as a very efficient way of information and tactics, noticing the influential way it affected the entire path of the war. All in all, the battle certainly can live up to its name as the great 1st Battle Of Opam.