To describe what occurred when Santu's army was caught between those of Telleth and Arla as a 'battle' would be an incredibly generous misnomer. In truth, the inflexible Santu phalanx crumbled as it was hit on all sides by the more mobile Naotik skirmishing forces, scattering troops and leaving them vulnerable to being moved down by Naotik's heqosuth.

With their armies dead and Unone unwilling to commit to the field lest they receive the same treatment, the new sieges of Santu and Konome inevitably ended in Naotik's favour. The proud and ancient cities proved far more resistant to occupation than Teltras had, and so would require more involved measures to keep them curtailed and perhaps more importantly, productive.

The first such measure was exchanging favours with Panaeolus, with Naotik offering generous 'donations' after which the holy city condemned the warfare taking place in Onginia, making bold proclamations about the rights of the Radeti living there being 'encroached upon' with even their 'right to give the nad their due' being taken away.

Although many saw this for the ruse that it was, it bought the Naotik some breathing room as they dealt with their sternest opposition in the traditional manner, exiling many to Noon whilst killing and suppressing others. Simultaneously the debts of those within the cities were forgiven by the Naotik, thereby prompting fighting within rather than between the cities, and lands seized from political enemies were given to those that proved friendliest to the new Naotik administration. Finally, the first year was declared a tax-free year, effectively winning over a fair proportion of the conquered, who were not particularly invested in their home city-state.

Despite these measures, resentment simmered, particularly as the Naotik attempted to slowly morph their new puppet governments into the kinds seen at home with the artiya being kashi-heavy. It was therefore deemed necessary to give the displeased a more serious enemy to fight... not to mention new territory wouldn't hurt.

And so it was that the rhetoric against the Ongin began in earnest, first building slowly but quickly reaching a crescendo in which no enclave Radeti was spared a hypothetical lash.

Resistant elements who would only weaken control of their new cities were conscripted first by the Naotik, forced mostly into the roles of peltast and axeman where they wouldn't require too much discipline or skill to be effective. Volunteers mislead by the propaganda joined up next and before the Naotik knew was what was happening, their eastward crusade of 300 core natural-born troops was supplemented by some 1800 conscripts, few among them with any weapon's experience. Given several months of drills over the winter, they set off the following spring to see just how far their liberation efforts would take them.