Abraham and Wagdimandua Camp of the Chaldean Levy: West Bank Tigris, Sinjar ford, 27th Funfly 122
Abraham ib’n Suren, Sheikh of Qabal Hamid, Ruler of the Rising Desert, Commander of the Chaldean Levies, younger brother of Mustasha The Great and uncle of the new Chaldean ruler Suren Jr, sat in his tent and looked out over the largest Chaldean horse-levy ever raised: 30,000, of which 25,000 were gathered here. His gaze took in the quiltwork of nobles’ tents, each surrounded by a ring of dung-burning campfires round which their retainers of the common levy had began to stir. The camp reached all the way to the just-visible River Tigris where on the far bank of the Sinjar ford Macalix’ army lay and behind which the sun would soon rise.
Map of Mesopotamia 
They had fought hard for the last three months. In Funfly harassing the Galatian army coming from the west as well as the refugees from Arbil - and later Tikrit - who had sacked and fired both cities. And, having been evicted and thrown out of their homes, who could blame them? It had started in the month of Ete at Arbil, while Abraham's levy lay at Persepolis and at first Abraham had agreed a one-month truce with the Arbil Galatians under Wagwelix, fresh from the sack of their erstwhile home city and wanting to move back undisturbed with their plunder to Galatia proper. The truce was much to the displeasure of Nyforer, who now ruled the lands previously held by Macalix and sought the punishment of the evicted Galatian refugees for their looting.
But Abraham had given his word and the truce held until, moving north upriver past Tikrit Bridge, news came to him of the sacking and firing of Tikrit. He deemed the truce broken so he had begun harassing, not learning until too late that the sack of Tikrit was done not by Wagwelix but by Wagdimandua’s Tikrit refugees. At the same time, late in Dujuly, Abraham’s scouts reported that the Galatian army of Macalix, Ate and Weelix, some 45,000 strong had appeared unheralded before the small walled Mesopotamian town of Aziz.
Abraham only learned later that the Galatian army was under strict orders not to loot, as Macalix had come only to escort his people home. Both refugee groups - Wagwelix and Wagdimandua – suffered grievous losses at the hands of Abraham’s levy and Wagdimandua and her entire group surrendered to him. Her refugees were camped at the ford south of Mosul while Wagdimandua was here in Abraham's camp as a hostage but treated well. And they obviously liked each other...
Chaldean losses had also been significant - such were the numbers involved - at least 3,000 in Ete to which must be added this month of Dujuly's losses, as they harassed Macalix’ army from Aziz to the Sinjar ford, where at the crossing the Galatians suffered badly, Wegwelix' migrants losing many heavily-loaded wains.
All through the month of Dujuly Abraham had been in contact with Nyforer’s local commander at Haka-Hakkari and its two bridges and tried to broker the peaceful return of the Galatians. But Nyforer was set on revenge and it seemed he had the support of Emperor Angustus bringing large forces back from the Dardenelles to crush Macalix.
It all contrasted starkly with the two-month long looting by Chaldea’s Hunnish neighbours of the rich lands of Abraham’s brother-in-law, Prince Antigonus Gonades, a systematic rapine that, to Abraham’s disgust, Angustus and Nyforer had defended! The bile rose in Abraham’s throat at the thought of how he had to swallow his anger and calm the raging fury of the nobles of his levy at this insulting violation of Chaldean honour while he was expected to mercilessly punish the evicted Galatians for their looting.
It seemed that the Chaldeans and Galatians had much in common and no reason to fight. Both were seen as barbarians. The Galatians were contempuously called “Flatheads” by the ruling “civilised” races. By contrast, Abraham and Wagdimandua understood each other and got on surprisingly well. He had toyed with the idea of an alliance – even settling the Tikrit refugees in lands held by Chaldea, perhaps sealed by the marriage of Abraham and Wagdimandua. There might be found room for them – just – if they wanted to stay, but certainly not also for the refugees from Arbil or Sinjar – still less for all three. The formidable Galatian foot warriors would make good allies, complementing well the Chaldean horse. But all that would have to wait until after the campaign season.
He sighed, shading his eyes with his hand from the growing eastern light as he tried to pierce the pre-dawn mists hanging over the city of Sinjar beyond the river. The Galatian army of Macalix, Ate and Weelix, together with Wagwelix, were a formidable army, half as many again as his levy of skirmishers. And Sinjar, where the army lay, was the home of the third major concentration of East Bank Tigris Galatian settlers.
There had been angry exchanges of messages by courier between himself and Macalix. Macalix’ last message hinting at open conflict. Ominously, Abraham’s last three messages despatched across the ford had gone unanswered and the silence lay heavy on his mind. In his last message to Macalix he had unilaterally declared a truce, giving himelf as a hostage to fortune by letting Macalix know that he was moving south to allow Macalix to return home over the ford at Besh and to return Wagdimandua to her people and set them free - free to either go to Galatia or stay with the Chaldeans.
But now, as dawn approached, he doubted. What devilry was Macalix planning? Abraham knew what he would do in Macalix’ position, as Abraham’s levy was awkwardly placed. There were more looting refugees in Kublai’s lands – Sarmatians and Italians – last reported nearing Tikrit that Abraham had to deal with. Yet closer downstream was Mosul a sizable city on the east bank of the Tigris which Abraham would have to pass. Mosul was a convenient place from which to launch an attack across the Tigris as it had a good bridge and no fewer than 4 fords, albeit deep, two upstream and two downstream of the city, with, in addition, the two fords closest to Mosul being defended by strong east bank forts.
Mosul had been quiet so far, but if Abraham turned south and Macalix, having crossed the Sinjar ford to the west bank sent the migrants under escort west while with the main army followed Abraham's levy with hostile intent - instead of continuing to the Besh ford - and at the same time sent his fastest light cavalry to force-march to Mosul Bridge and cross it to lie across Abraham's path southwards - his levy could be trapped between Macalix and the Galatian light cavalry – with catastrophic consequences.
And what if Wagdimandua had received some secret message from across the ford and was planning to add her own personal revenge? Were Abraham’s plans for an alliance fading with the morning river mists?
Abraham didn’t believe in coincidences, nor in taking unnecessary risks. So he had strengthened his pickets and patrols, and appointed one of his most trusted retainers as his personal bodyguard. He watched and waited, and finalised his orders for the coming month of Aufield. He would go south and risk a trap, relying on the greater mobility of his horse-levy to get out of trouble. But what the morrow held he knew not.