The combined Threian force moved on the Meren valley from the north on the ninth day after finding the depression empty, and it moved differently from every previous approach because Aldrath had spent the nine days building rather than rushing, which was the lesson that every previous rushed operation of the campaign had taught.
He divided the twenty-three thousand eight hundred soldiers into four columns, each one assigned a different approach route to the valley's four possible entrance points, each one timed to arrive simultaneously and deny the Horde the ability to concentrate against any single axis before the other three had closed the valley's exits.
The mage replacements were distributed among the columns rather than held in a central reserve, giving each column magical capability rather than concentrating it where a single action could eliminate it.
