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The Uyɣur had arrived again, and they were unrelenting.

The Basmyls had it coming. The previous summer, they had assaulted the northern Uyɣur, successfully driving them from the Tien Shan mountains and the winter retreat of the Taklamakan Desert.

That winter was unusually devastating. Many Uyɣur couldn’t survive the cold, and many of the animals certainly couldn’t either.

They were desperate.

Desperate enough to mount their steeds and cross the mountains in winter.

The night of the [Uyɣur massacre at Ömekerasyl](), there were tales of the moon turning red- many immediately took it as a sign of the Gods filling it with blood.

Whether it was their blood or the Uyɣur’s, nobody knew.

A young child, couldn’t have been more than 13, raced into Ömekalim on an exhausted horse. He claimed to have been travelling for two days straight, with no rest. He also claimed of a Uyɣur army close behind him.

Because of the blood moon, they knew he was truthful. They knew that the moon was filled with Basmyl blood, and they Uyɣur would pay.

They sent messengers across the Taklamakan and the Gurbantünggüt, warning the different camps and groups of the incoming Uyghur.

If the Basmyls were organized, they could’ve defeated them. They were healthier, had more animals, and had the advantage in numbers.

However, the different Ömeks- the different camps and their respective leaders- were unable to coordinate a proper defense.

In Ömekalim, the Uyɣur advanced under the cover of darkness. They were just a kilometer from the camp before they sounded their horn.

Once again, there were few who managed to escape. The rest, women and children included, were executed by sword. Their decapitated heads would hang on the Uyɣur horses.

In Ömekerkin, they attacked in broad daylight. Erkin had a proper force prepared, one almost the size of the Uyɣur’s. However, after one look at the heads of their people, their army turned and fled. The Uyɣur picked off the remaining horsemen one by one, before once again the rest apart.

However, the cold winter began having an affect on the Uyɣur. Horses were beginning to die, frostbite was beginning to set in. The Uyɣur made the fateful decision to stay put, to not advance further into Basmyl lands.

This was fantastic news for the Basmyl. They would lose the Taklamaklan to the Uyɣur, but they would lose no more men, no more women, no more children.

They would wait. They would regroup. No matter how long it took, they would organize another attack.

They would get their revenge.