‘So you intend to sweep down and in with your right flank, pushing the enemy on the valley floor north to that narrowing. Cannot Redmask see the same?’

‘He chose this site, Overseer.’

‘Suggesting he sees what you see-that this place invites a half-encirclement to funnel his warriors north-to their deaths. You said, did you not, that this Redmask is no fool. How then will he counter what you seek?’

She faced the valley once again. ‘Overseer, I am afraid I do not have time for this-’

‘Would not a slow placing of your forces be to our advantage, given the sun’s position?’

‘I believe he is ready, even now,’ she replied, biting back her irritation. ‘He could advance at any time-and we are not ready.’

‘Then why not withdraw?’

‘Because the plain behind us is level for leagues-he will have more mounted warriors than I, lighter-armoured than my Bluerose lancers, and on rested horses-they can harry us at will, Overseer. Worse, we have lost our wardogs, while from the sounds of that barking, Redmask has hundreds if not thousands of his drays and herders. Your suggestion invites chaos, a messy succession of skirmishes, attacks, feints, raids-’

‘Very well,’ Brohl Handar interrupted. ‘Atri-Preda, my K’risnan tells me this valley is dead.’

‘What does he mean, dead7.’

‘Bereft of the energies one uses to create magic. It has been… murdered.’

‘This is why none of the mages sensed the Awl army?’

Brohl Handar nodded.

Murdered? By Redmask? Never mind. ‘Did you ask your K’risnan about the impending battle? Will he be able to use sorcery?’

‘No. Nor can your mages. As he said, there will be no magic here. In this valley. That is why I again advise we withdraw. Even on the plain, exposed as you say we are, at least we will have sorcery.’

Bivatt was silent, considering. She had already known her mages would be ineffective in the valley below, although they could not explain why it was so. That the Edur warlocks had found the reason confirmed that spirit magic was involved. After a long moment, she swore and shook her head. ‘We still outnumber them, with better-disciplined, better-armoured troops. Iron to iron, we will crush the Awl today. An end to this war, Overseer. Did you not counsel a quick, succinct campaign?’

‘I did. But I am uneasy, Atri-Preda-’

‘A battle awaits-we are all uneasy.’

‘Not in that way.’

Bivatt grimaced. ‘Retain your warriors, Overseer, midway between our baggage camp and my reserve units-those medium infantry, by the way, are arrayed into discrete platoons of five hundred at the minimum, and each one protects one of my mages. They are not in the valley.’

‘Thus, if you are forced to retreat-’

‘We will be positioned to blunt the pursuit with sorcery, yes.’

‘Is this your plan? A feigned retreat, Atri-Preda?’

‘One of them, but I do not believe it will be necessary.’

Brohl Handar studied her for a long moment, then he gathered his reins and swung his horse round. ‘I will reposition my warriors, then.’

As he rode away, signal horns were sounding from various locations along the western side of the valley as units announced they were in place and at the ready. Bivatt rose once more on her stirrups and scanned her lines.

This section of the valley certainly invited a horned advance-the west edge curved, marking what had once been a broad bend in the course of the long-dead river. The enemy’s side was more undulating, bulging in the centre. The widest approach for the Awl was to her right. To counter that she had set three legions of the Crimson Rampant Brigade in shield-wall formation at the top of the slope, fifteen hundred medium infantry, flanked on the nearer inside by five hundred heavies of the Harridict Brigade. To the furthest right and already edging down into t he valley were a thousand skirmishing light infantry of the Crimson Rampant. Inside of the heavies another fifteen hundred skirmishers, these of the Artisan Battalion, were likewise slowly, raggedly, working their way down. The foot soldiers on this side screened three wings of Bluerose cavalry!; fifteen hundred lancers who would, when she gave the signal, sweep down between the south skirmishers and the Crimson Rampant shield-wall to begin the hard push of the enemy northward along the floor of the valley, even as that shield-wall advanced towards the riverbed.

On her immediate right, at a modest bulge in the ridge line, the Atri-Preda had positioned the Drene Garrison-fifteen hundred medium infantry-looking down on an approach narrowed by two drainage channels. Directly in front of her waited the conjoined wedges of a thousand heavy infantry of the Merchants’ Battalion-a sawtooth lormation that she would advance down then swing either right or left, depending on the state of battle. Rightward was problematic in that they would have to cross a drainage channel, but they would do that so early in the march down that she was not unduly concerned.