Primogen Trajan on the Battle of Zalba

"It was a battle like all the others I have endured. Our kine troops were outnumbered, but not woefully so. We lined up on the field and sent our kine officers out to negotiate surrender. When they came trotting back we knew that we were going to be sounding the horn."

"Prince Edrigu's plan was a simple one, a large contingent of our shield wall was to work its way forward and hold ground against their main force. Edrigu and his keeper (an Assimite named Ja'far Wasim al Haroun bint Hajjaj) were to stay with the main force. Our late Sheriff, Benat the Ugly - a Nosferatu elder of some repute - was to command a small group to flank the right side of the line. He brought with him his childe and chamberlain Zigor. My group consisted of about fifty light cavalry, Edrigu's late childe and scourge at the time - Kemen, and I. Our task was to push past their left side and rush their archers. If we survived the barrage we were to turn and charge Pamplona 's rear." Trajan pauses to test the sharpness of the blade and unsatisfied he continues his work.

"As for the other side, the Pamplonian force was headed by their Scourge, a Brujah named Guillen Alcon, and reinforced by a Malkavian Elder known only as Ysaque. Of course, neither Isidore nor Euric took the field."

"When the battle started I knew that Benat would fail. Their right side spread out and intercepted his small force. This did leave the left side vulnerable however and we charged through them on our way to the archers. We worked our way through the archers in quick order and we were getting ready to rush back into the rear of Pamplona 's main force. That's when a small strike team meant to counteract us arrived from their reserves. Pamplona 's scourge and Ysaque were leading them. Kemen did not realize this as he mounted his horse and was overtaken by them both. He wounded the Malkavian but was dispatched quickly. While the kine engaged each other I charged across the battlefield to meet them. When I reached them my horse was taken from underneath me by a pike and I was thrown to the ground. The two were unable to take advantage of the situation, however. They were also unable to work together effectively and I bested them both. The Malkavian was lit on fire by a torch he tried to attack me with. The Brujah was supposedly a veteran warrior, but proved to be what most Brujah turn out to be, far more feared than necessary. His shoulders relieved the burden of his head and his ashes blew across the field within the span of a moment."

At this point a slight smile creeps across Trajan's face as if he is fondly remembering this part of his story. "When I finished murdering them I turned and saw that our dread prince was in trouble. His keeper was slain and his lines were dwindling." Trajan laughs the next line out. "That did not stop him from slaughtering scores of the kine foolish enough to face him. The lifeless bodies were stacked around him like a stone wall."

"I worked my way to him, carving my way through the backside of their troops. It was then that I noticed that Edrigu's troops were running too low to suppress the next surge. I raced up to engage the line that was about to flank him. It was only due to my clan's gift of endurance and my force of will that I sit here today." He pauses to blow the metal shavings off the sword edge. "I engaged the line alone. There were so many all I could do was to resist the attack and then lash out during their pauses. I slowly whittled down their line to just a dozen or so when it was bolstered by reinforcements. I thought I would meet final death soon, but I had given Edrigu enough time to break away and aid me. The two of us worked together and when we had slain this group we noticed that their troops were retreating. Our forces were so decimated though we had no chance to take advantage of it. We called the retreat was well."

Lord Terciero, Magister Elder, on those who died at Zalba

"Most of those who perished were young. A dozen or so on both sides who have no name and will not be remembered by history.

"It is hard to say what was lost on the side of those from Roncesvalles. Edrigu has always kept outsiders from having much of a view of his Court. I was in Jaca when word of the battle reached outside Navarre, and I immediately left for Roncesvalles. Whereas I was politely told by one of Edrigu's progeny that the Prince was fine, Zaldi Zuri and Trajan were fine, and I could continue on to Pamplona at my earliest convenience. Later, I discovered they lost their Keeper, an Assimite named Ja'far Wasim, and Benat the Ugly, a Nosferatu Elder of some repute. My guess would be that Edrigu also lost a score of his own progeny that he tossed into the fray from his mountain keep, but that is simply my guess. I believe, in fact, that the Scourge of the time in Roncesvalles was one of Edrigu's, and he perished in the fighting. It is hard for me to say. Benat was a great loss though, a temperate Leaper to counter Edrigu.

"Pamplona was a much different picture, however. I was greeted on the steps of the Palacio de Cirauqui by Lilly, with tears streaming from her eyes. It was at that moment when I realized the magnitude of what had transpired, that this was not your usual clash of Princes.

"Isidore's own forces had been headed by his Scourge, a Brujah named Guillen Alcon who first became involved in Navarre Society as an aide to Lord Buesa. Alcon's troops were reinforced by a Malkavian Elder named Ysaque. A strange fellow who claimed no domain or land, but was a source of council, I believe, for Isidore. And also upon the field was the Sheriff, Juan Gonzalez, a Ventrue who had been part of the politic in Pamplona since the times of Sancho the Great. There was also a Knight, one of Lord Buesa's brood who had been sent by him to try to calm the situation, Ismael. What happened to him has always been somewhat uncertain. I do not think he intended to get involved, but did so as the battle progressed.

"The curse of her blood was particularly cruel to Lilly over the last few decades, and she was prone to hysterics. However, there is something about that image of her, weeping openly for the dead, that still remains with me. Of course, Isidore and Euric, having weathered storms before, dealt with the after effects with efficiency. I was not there for two nights before Isidore himself informed me that he had enlisted Vestar as Scourge. This was something of a coup. The Madman could not replace what he lost in Alcon or Gonzalez, but by binding the eldest progeny of Steinolf into his service, he did much to shore up his position. And then, of course, came the announcement that Lilly would serve as Sheriff."