Maisse , a small, dull jewel pressed between Romelia and Veveipon. Barely seven thousand souls, if the tax rolls were honest, and not one more worth mentioning. In normal times, no general would have wasted ink or blood over it. It had no fortress, no trade road, no river to bless its fields. It was a quiet city of wheat, wine, and petty families squabbling over the mayor's seat.
But chaos had a habit of turning the unimportant into the unavoidable.
Now, that same inconsequential city found itself sitting between two great beasts: the Rebel Prince to the north, and the Imperial host to the south. And like a lamb between lions, its only sin was being in the way.
Word from the scouts was clear: the enemy vanguard had been sighted near Maisse. If the rebels wished to siege the Eternal City, they would want their rear clean and their supply line unbitten.
It was by then that the first response of the war was finally sent.
