Annotations by Merin al-Ninem, 22 EK¹ [603 BCE]

”Black. All is black over this land. The moon dares not glide over this place, not even a feeble star peeks out, and why would they? Am-Ishatu himself would turn a blind eye to the wretched horrors that have unfolded beneath these blackened skies.”

This excerpted verbatim from the writings of one Tahur al-Amheniin, a senior cavalry officer during the March upon Asru-Kastatha, as the Hashas know it.

The March, having transpired not two decades ago, has driven a massive effort on the parts of scholars and amateur historians alike to document its events--as much, I suspect, for the notoriety of the writers as for a genuine interest in preserving history. New journals and letters written by soldiers who fought in that campaign surface every month, it would seem, and copies with commentaries written in the margins proliferate apparently without end; indeed, I would not be surprised if many of these ‘new’ accounts are nothing more than opportunistic fabrications written to sate the ravenous curiosity of the masses. In many neighborhoods, individual Hashas can even find ‘work’ and profit merely for having the ability to read and project their voices for a whole room to hear; whether these self-appointed bards relate these accounts to their illiterate audiences in a matter-of-fact manner or embellish the accounts further for their own gain is up to question as well.

I may seem to ramble, but I wish only to make apparent my concern for the accuracy of historical legacy. We Hashas have always known the power of the written word, but sometimes we readily forget its power to deceive.

Following this preface is yet another account of the March upon Asru-Kastatha; I am fully aware that one might already side-eye this entry, considering the problems described above. If so many authors and storytellers seek to gain notoriety for writing compelling accounts of this war, then why indeed should one trust this account over the others?

In this commentator’s defense, the minimally-annotated account that follows is a direct copy of a journal recently discovered--yes, roll your eyes if you will--in the archives of the temple library in Elaan-Madburu. In my opinion, it is at once a travesty that this account has lain unnoticed for so long and an immense blessing that I had the fortune of rediscovering it after a lengthy and concerted effort in cooperation with the priest-scholars of Elaan-Madburu. To answer those who wonder why any detailed eye-witness account of this war would remain in obscurity for so long, one must consider both the original authorship of this piece and the nature of its archiving and discovery. Tahur al-Amheniin, though his family hails from a town that indeed I had never learned of before unearthing this journal, comes from a prestigious line of gentry that first emerged when his great-grandfather, a traveling cattle-herder, proved his skill with horseback-riding and sling and axe during a daring rescue of what happened to be a noble caravan. This caravan bore none other than the eldest daughter of the Ba’al Enaqaat, and with her gratitude did this man earn his title as Qamadatum^2. Given this line’s obscure origins--which I had to investigate for nearly a full year--and his residence in a city far distant from Elaan-Madburu, it is of little surprise that his journals were buried among stacks of many other written retellings of the March, stowed away by archivists who glanced at the cover of the bundled papyrus and did not know the extent of this man’s distinction among men. Once I did make these discoveries, however, my peers at temple and military office alike were more than happy to discuss this account with me. Any who questions my words or the authenticity of this reproduction, then, can journey to Elaan-Madburu and ask nigh half of the authority figures present.

I reproduce and annotate this account chiefly for the credentials of its original author, its credibility I have found to be far greater than those of many of the popular accounts currently in circulation. We students of history are fortunate that the Ba’al Enaqaat saw fit to loan his rider Tahur to the Enutshinu’s cause, both for Tahur’s service and for his thoroughness in recording his experiences. The value of his gentry education is apparent in his coherent writing--a quality unfortunately uncommon to the recorded tirades of numerous other veterans of this war--and his status as a career warrior lends a much-needed level-headedness to his writings. The journal entries that follow are not rife with the horrified writings from the diaries of less experienced warriors; Tahur’s style of expression, then, makes his account of the Second Valley all the more chilling.

Aside from this opening tirade of my own, I have seen fit to only minimally comment upon these entries. Tahur does an admirable job his experiences on the campaign without the aid of any outsider; I leave my comments primarily to fill in context that Tahur did not think to include for a wider audience and to weigh in on some of the most hotly-debated aspects of the March. Let us gather around Tahur’s campfire, then, as he relates to peers and progeny his account, so fully enthralling despite the distance of the recorded events from our borders.

As an aside, I would note that determining the pronunciation of the campaign's namesake was not a simple matter. Though called Asru-Kastatha among the Hashas, this seems to be an approximation of the Tao placename, provided below in Korasai characters [Asru-Kastava]. The final consonant is one not employed by the Hashas tongue, and it would be much too difficult to describe with concision here; as our script is rather phonetic, Tahur elected to record this consonant using 'thet', the Hashas letter representing the closest sound in our tongue.

[Meta]

¹ The current Hashas calendar sets dates relative to the founding of Ershutisharu, the initials standing for Ershutisharu-Kanii.
² Qamadatu: Companion-cavalry who serve as a guard force for a Hashas Ba’al [Lord]. As horse-riding in northeastern Dawn is chiefly a tradition among the Ongin rather than the Hashas, for a pure-blooded Hashas to earn such a position is an uncommon feat.