People: Tamerlane
- "We fight today, that others might live on tomorrow."
Tamerlane (CR 78 Alx 13 – 257 Har 24) was a half-elven tactician and would eventually become the leading general of the armies of the Hofstadt Confederacy, remembered for her strategical genius and conception of mass warfare techniques, which were put to the test during the War of the Illusionist and Analytic War. She ascended to Sainthood on Lisyllan 3rd, CR 258.
History
Tamerlane lived through a tumultuous time in Trinity's history, being a significant figure in several events that shaped the world as it is known today.
Birth and Early Life
Born in CR 78 to a half-elven mother and human father in Teros, which would eventually become one of the city-states of the Hofstadt Confederacy. Tamerlane was a petulant, stubborn child, and as such was abandoned by her parents in the steppes of the Dividing Range at the age of 10 in CR 88. Left to fend for herself, she managed to stave off starvation and death by exposure for a few years, before accidentally stumbling across a small war party in service to Teros; they decided to take her along, rather than leave her to die in the wilds, and when asked her name, she gave only her first, forsaking her family as they had forsaken her. Taking her under their wing, Tamerlane rapidly demonstrated skill with a blade, and was brought on officially as a squire in CR 91.
The Teros-Minston War of 94
While her skill with weaponry was surprising for her young age, it was her tactical mind that would soon come to light. In CR 94, skirmishes with the neighboring city of Minston led to Tamerlane's unit being deployed to protect an outlying farmstead. At the time, it was commonly understood that those with little - if any - combat experience were effectively useless in combat situations, and wars such as the one Tamerlane was now involved in were often fought with small groups of highly-trained individuals. Tamerlane, however, having little experience herself, determined that arming the local farmers to assist in the coming skirmish may be useful. While initially laughed at, she was given the go-ahead, with her mentors fully expecting the coming battle to be all the more difficult with having to also protect the farmers.
Tamerlane contacted the farmers and their workers, and set about a plan for how best to use them in the coming conflict: she would have her own party serve as bait, and once the enemy engaged them, have the farmers charge out of the woods in a pincer maneuver. While the farmers initially scoffed, Tamerlane explained that she believed that their significantly higher numbers, combined with the unusual strategy, would make them far more likely to prevail than just relying on traditional tactics - and, she pointed out, if her party failed, their lives were likely forfeit anyway. The farmers begrudgingly agreed, and Tamerlane set them to the task of fashioning pikes and spears, and for a few days managed to drill them on the basics of combat.
Finally, the enemy was spotted, and Tamerlane's party agreed to her plan: rather than rely on ambush tactics, they openly flaunted their position, and the Minston party took it as an invitation to engage. The prey in the trap, Tamerlane gave the order to charge, and so four dozen farmers armed with pikes rushed down on the Minston party, who numbered but five. While vastly more experienced than the farmers, the combination of the Terosian party and the militia resulted in an overwhelming victory for Tamerlane's side, with only two casualties among the farmers. Tamerlane's victory was celebrated: all involved attributed their success to Tamerlane, who had been shouting directions in code to the farmers throughout the fight to assist them in seizing victory.
