This book is a translation of the original work by Air Marshal Axcui
Ockek, who lived and served the Collective during the Early Imperial
Period. Only seven copies of the original book have survived to the
present day, none of which are completely legible. As such, the
translation herein has been constructed from the legible sections of
each of the original volumes. Three of those volumes were published in
Merian, likely for circulation throughout the Celestine Empire, and the
other four were published in archaic Lucidian, the literary language of
old Hallifax.

"Commentaries on the Third Razine Deployment" is a war commentary, a
genre which was fairly popular in the Holy Celestine Empire. It
originated amongst the generals of the imperial court, who published
sensationalized accounts of their exploits in order to improve their
political standing by gaining the support of the lower classes. A
particularly popular commentary could also provide financial security to
the author. The latter benefit brought the genre to the attention to the
officers of the Collective. They had little use for the adulation of the
lower classes, but they desired wealth to the same extent as their
imperial counterparts. In order to maximize profits, their commentaries
were sold throughout the entirety of the empire. This was encouraged by
the Board of Directors, who saw such publications as a method for
bringing foreign wealth into the Collective.

Hallifaxian commentaries were rarely as sensationalized as their
Celestine equivalents. Where both official records and Hallifaxian
commentaries have survived, they tend to be in agreement on the details
which appear in both sources. The two genres are distinguished primarily
by their focus. Official records are concerned with the logistics and
results of military campaigns, whereas commentaries focus on the details
of the campaign as experienced by individuals as much as the on matters
of military significance. As such, commentaries are invaluable resources
to the modern historian.

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ON THE RAZINE MOUNTAINS

The Razine mountains are divided into two parts, one of which is
inhabited by our colonists and the meditating loboshigaru, the other of
which is inhabited by the dwarves who live in exile. These dwarves live
according to the customs of their own people, save only that they have
rejected the rule of their king, preferring to govern themselves
according to the whims of the common throng. Malatrancha of Gaudiguch,
who saw in these dwarves an opportunity to make mischief and bring
misfortune upon the civilized people of the Basin, went among them and
filled their heads with lies. He claimed that all the people of the
world were arraying themselves against the them in secret, and that they
had no hope of safety but to wreak havoc among all those who might
oppose them in the future before the same could be done to them.

The dwarves debated this according to their custom, and for a time the
calmer minds among them prevailed, but that was not to last. Malatrancha
plied them with the foul wines of his homeland until none could think
clearly, and he filled them with fear and anger. The dwarves, their
passions being greatly inflamed by this, immediately voted for war.
Malatrancha was greatly pleased by this, and soon offered his services
as a military advisor, which was likewise accepted by the popular vote.

The dwarves then turned to banditry, which they called a military
deployment. They struck first at the wandering pilgrims and prospectors,
who they Malatrancha declared to be spies. Their early successors
increased their boldness, and their crimes spread further north. They
soon demanded an extortionate toll from all who would pass through the
mountains. The dwarves, as well as Malatrancha himself, were greatly
enriched by their villainy.

Such deeds did not satisfy Malatrancha, and he urged the dwarves to
strike even further from their homes. At Malatrancha's urging they hired
a number of scoundrels from Gaudiguch to assist in their efforts, and
with their help they began to prey upon those who journeyed to meet the
meditating loboshigaru. All civilized people were greatly offended by
this, but before any force could be mustered to suppress the dwarven
banditry they also struck at our colonies. Such an insult could not be
allowed to go without an answer, and so an expeditionary force was
raised to exterminate the threat.

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ON THE DEPLOYMENT

Hallifax prevailed upon the emperor to honor his obligations and deploy
the imeprial military in defense of the Hallifaxian colonies, but he had
little interest in such things. He sent only a token force to defend the
Collective's holdings, commanded by one Yuthine Nelune. This Yuthine was
an imperial paladin, newly knighted and entirely untested in battle. He
led a handful old men and callow youths who pretended to be proper
soldiers, without so much as a single veteran soldier or aquamancer
among them. The emperor, having sent that negligible force to the
Collective's defense, considered his obligations fulfilled.

In the absence of imperial support, Hallifax looked to its own honorable
forces to defend its colonies and the civilized people of the Razines.
The Sentinel Company was called upon to do its bloody duty for the good
of the city, reinforced by the mercenary Silverwing Company, supported
by twenty aeromancers. The packs of Ulalu and Kekru were likewise
mobilized for the defense of the Collective and their kin in the
mountains. Those fine soldiers, as well as their unassuming imperial
counterparts, were placed under the command of Air Marshal Axcui Ockek,
an officer of some renown. The Board of Directors charged him with a
simple mission. He was to see to the complete extermination of all
hostile forces in the Razine mountains and the utter destruction of all
of their holdings so that they could never again threaten Hallifaxian
interests.

The military set out from the city in good order, and reached the Razine
mountains admirably quickly. This speed can largely be attributed to the
efforts of the loboshigaru, who bore the burden of the military's
baggage train with great haste and uncomplaining strength. A number of
them ran ahead of the rest of the military to seek news from their
secluded kin in the mountains, who had suffered greatly under the
predations of the bandits. It was they who brought word of the enemy's
movements and allowed Air Marshal Ockek and his advising officers to
plan the campaign.

Scouting parties of loboshigaru and mercenaries were at intervals to
observe enemy movements and attack targets of opportunity. These parties
were also instructed to disturb the rest of the enemy whenever possible,
in order to cloud their minds and weigh down their limbs with weariness.
This policy, which was highly successful, was enacted for a period of
six days, until it was readily evident that the enemies were vulnerable.

The attack was soon organized. Air Marshal Ockek resolved to lead the
aeromancers into battle himself, swearing that he would compel his
soldiers to endure any risk which he would not endure himself. He
charged Talah Silverwing to lead her mercenaries in the vanguard, giving
them the honor of being the first to shed the blood of Hallifax's
enemies. She accepted the honor with evident gratitude, just as Fikik
Pavok of the Sentinel Company accepted his place in the center of the
primary line of battle, and the packs accepted their position on either
flank without complaint.

The troop dispositions having been made, the military marched on the
enemy encampment, which lay on the bank of the Estengare. The soldiers
of Hallifax were in high spirits as they approached the enemy, who was
unprepared to receive the assault. The dwarves and their Gaudiguchi
allies arrayed themselves for battle with great haste and even greater
disorder, and the battle was soon joined.

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ON THE BATTLE OF THE ESTENGARE

The Hallifaxian vanguard marched into battle with great haste, outpacing
the rest of the military. The reason for its haste was soon revealed.
Talah Silverwing had been seduced into the service of the dwarves
through promises of wealth and debauchery, a seduction which had been
arranged by the perfidious Malatrancha of Gaudiguch. She joined her
forces with those of the enemy, and turning towards the loyal soldiers
of Hallifax, bade them lay down their arms and surrender lest they be
destroyed. Naturally, this order was refused and Air Marshal Ockek in
turn ordered her to surrender that she might face justice for her
treachery. Talah made no response, but instead threw herself and her
troops into battle against the Sentinel Company, which was greatly
outnumbered, even as her dwarven confederates launched an attack on the
vassal packs.

The Sentinel Company fought with great courage even as their members
began to fall before the enemy. Commander Pavok surpassed all of his
comrades in valour as he led them into the desperate fight, and he cut
down a vast number of the treacherous mercenaries. At his urging his
troops maintained their discipline in the face of the enemy onslaught,
striving to sell their lives dearly in the defense of the Collective.
They did not falter even as Commander Pavok fell victim to an enemy
sword, but instead were filled with new vigour and fought all the more
fiercely to avenge their departed leader.

The dwarves, being greatly exhausted, did not find any great success in
the battle. The loboshigaru met their attack with great ferocity and
skill, and the dwarves were soon put to flight on both flanks. The
loboshigaru then turned their attention to the treacherous mercenaries,
preferring to save the lives of their comrades in the Sentinel Company
than to run down and exterminate the fleeing dwarves.

The loboshigaru fell upon the enemy, and the tides of the battle soon
turned. Talah Silverwing was slain by Kekru, the leader of his pack, who
broke her neck with his bare hands. Talah's soldiers were treated
similarly by the rest of the loboshigaru, many of whose weapons had been
broken in the fighting and were thus engaging the foe unarmed according
to the old customs of their race. The traitors were soon exterminated,
and the Hallifaxian forces turned their attention to the fleeing
dwarves. Seeing this, the dwarves formed into some semblance of a battle
line once more, having realized that they could not hope to flee from
the field with their lives.

At the order of Air Marshal Ockek, the Sentinel Company withdrew from
the field to tend to their wounded, with the majority of the aeromancers
going with them to serve as guardians. The loboshigaru then marched on
the enemy once more, lead by the great warrior Kekru. Amona Kekru
marched at the side of Kekru himself, shouting her verses in a clear
voice. These steadied the pack, which had until that point been so eager
to enter the fray that their discipline was threatened. This continued
even when the battle was joined and the pack was free to partake of the
slaughter. She was silenced only by death, a dwarf having rushed her
skull with his hammer. Then all of the pack was enraged save for Kekru
and his sages, who could not contain their comrades' fury. The dwarves
were put to flight by their ferocity, and pack was calmed only when
there was no sight of the enemy.

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ON THE AFTERMATH

Few dwarves escaped the slaughter, but Malatrancha and his fellows had
escaped, having fled from the battle as soon as they realized that it
was unlikely to be decided in their favor. Their escape was deemed to be
unacceptable, and scouting parties were immediately dispatched to locate
and either kill or capture them as circumstances dictated. Air Marshal
Ockek then turned his attention to the dead, all of whom were duly
collected for the training of medical students after being honored
according to the customs of their race or catalogued in the case of the
enemies.

Malatrancha was soon captured, as were two of his associates, the
remainder of whom were killed while resisting their capture. The enemy
forces having thereby been entirely eliminated, the army marched on the
dwarven settlement, which was entirely obliterated. The spoils of war
were duly catalogued and distributed among the soldiers as per their
contracts.

The captives were brought to Celest to face the emperor's judgment, both
to satisfy the requirements of imperial law and in the hope that
Gaudiguch might be held accountable for the deeds of its people. The
Freedom Council was indeed called to the imperial court to face justice
for the crimes of those who answered to it, but the councilors claimed
that Malatrancha was nothing more than a brigand and that they could not
be held responisble for the deeds of a common criminal. The emperor, who
was greatly inclined towards vices which Gaudiguch could help him to
satisfy, accepted their argument and declared that they would be held
blameless in the matter.

The captives were then brought to trial, a matter which was quickly
resolved. Each of them was put to the question in turn, and each of them
readily confessed to their crimes when faced by the talents of
Hallifaxian interrogators. None were willing to speak in their defense,
for not even the debauched Freedom Council of Gaudiguch was prepared
argue in the defense of admitted bandits. A verdict was quickly reached,
and the captives were given to the government of Hallifax to be disposed
of in whatever way was deemed proper according to the Collective's laws.

Servitude was too good for such criminals. Their crimes demanded death,
and no other punishment could ever suffice to bring them to justice for
their supreme wickedness. The matter was settled quickly and without
ceremony. Each member of the Sentinel Company drew lots to choose an
executioner from their number. The chosen man, Selso Spirespear, tended
to the beheading of each of the captives, which he managed with
admirable skill.

Their execution brought the entire affair to its close. Justice was
done, and the danger to the Collective which the bandits had represented
was entirely eliminated. Air Marshal Ockek was honored with a triumphal
procession into the city, and received the honors and promotion which
were due to him for his triumph. The leaders of the vassal packs, who
had already attained the pinnacle command within their packs and thus
could not be given any sort of promotion were likewise honored by the
Board of Directors.

A number of days later a delegation from the mountain loboshigaru
arrived in the city. They bore gifts and offers of friendship for those
who had been their salvation from the dwarven brigands. The Board of
Directors accepted their friendship gladly, as it accepts the friendship
of all those who live in virtue, and distributed their gifts among those
who had fought in the Razine deployment. In the days since then they
have already proven themselves to be friends of Hallifax, and have been
of great help to the most passionate members of the packs who can find
no peace in their souls.