The trackless, ominous face of the Voltai range stretches, in all its stark magnificence, down the length of the continent, like some giant ripple in the fabric of Gor itself. In the north, one can hardly gaze upon its peaks without thinking of the greatest aerial battle in the recorded history of the planet.

The year is 10,010 CA, and thousands of tarnsmen, astride fierce, shrieking birds of prey, are about to lock themselves in a titanic struggle of man and beast, with the Home Stone of an entire city hanging in the balance. A storm had descended upon the scarlet peaks of the Voltai. The city of Ar had come for Treve, and Treve was waiting for them. A line had been drawn in the sky.

But why was the tarn cavalry of Gor’s greatest city winging its way towards the small, fortress-like city of Treve on a mission of total destruction?

The Setting: Treve had long been known as a bandit city. Indeed, she had no other way to survive except through plunder. She had no trade routes, and no exportable goods. Her geographic location made it impossible for her to even grow her own food . If she were to have anything, she would have to take it. If she were to survive, it was to be through force. Thus she worked at honing the quality of the one thing she had in abundance --her tarnsmen-- perfecting the airborne hit-and-run tactics used to execute the raids that would supply her citizens.

At first Treve’s tarnsmen probably stayed well clear of the larger cities, who would have greater resources, better defenses and better training among the ranks of their defenders. This would not last long, however, as such cities would have larger fields and greater spoils.

Eventually their airborne umbrella of operations spread to encompass the valley of the Olni, the banks of the Vosk and every city, settlement and village in those lands. Tarnsmen of Treve struck at the larger cities, enmasse, cities such as Lara, Vonda, as far north as Tharna, as far west as Ko-ro-ba.

Undoubtedly, Ar had kept a wary eye on the increasingly daring raiders of Treve for a long time. She had watched the raiding tarnsmen grow in number with each passing year. Their reputation for cunning and ferocity became more renown, as more and more cities, towns, and caravans of the region became hapless prey. To be sure, the very mention of Treve was enough to send chills up the spine of many an administrator or ubar. With each strike, with each acquisition of plunder, the city became more opulent, her warriors bolder, their thirst for glory more acute. Ar, of course, could not have failed to notice all these things.

It was only a matter of time before the bolder of their tarnsmen began to fly south of the Vosk in search of new lands to raid. Perhaps the High Council of Treve warned against such action, knowing they risked awaking the sleeping giant of Ar; who can say? But Trevan tarnsmen are not known for their adherence to caution. They seek glory, and Ar was the richest jewel in Northern Gor, ready to be plundered.

Eventually, and inevitably, the men of Treve turned their attention to the territories of Ar, striking at outlying settlements, adjoining municipalities, and harrying caravan travel along the Viktel Aria and the northernmost reaches of the Silk Road. It is a safe assumption that Venna was struck, Ar's Station, and other allied cities in the traditional demesne of Ar.

Who knows what finally compelled the High Council of Ar to take action? Perhaps the men of Treve had even dared to practice chain luck upon the high bridges of Ar herself. Whatever the case, the aerial patrols and air defenses of Ar were no longer considered adequate to stem the rising tide of attacks. So a plan was drawn up to launch the entire tarn cavalry of Ar against Treve and wipe her from the map once and for all, to crush her Home Stone and put an end to that city.

Piecing Together the Puzzle: As popular as it is in the songs and poems, there is actually little known about the details of the conflict.

The battle’s setting made it impossible for it to be witnessed by anyone other than the participants, whose few and scattered accounts are often tainted with partiality and hyperbole. Actually, it is not easy to find warriors from Ar to step forward and speak of the event. Perhaps the majority of the survivors have since perished in other actions. Perhaps it is a battle they loathe to speak of. To our knowledge, no warrior of Treve has stepped forward to give an eyewitness account of the battle to historians of other cities.

The scarcity of eyewitnesses means a scarcity of written records. Ubars are not quick to authorize detailed records of humiliating defeats. In her history Ar has not suffered many defeats, but the specifics of this one is glaringly omitted from the annals of her military histories. It is a safe assumption that the libraries of Treve contain such records. Perhaps her warriors are required to study them as part of their training to this day. If that’s the case, however, the city hoards them, keeping them a guarded secret.

Thus, the best we can do in reconstructing the battle is build a framework of conjecture and hypothesis, based on the facts that we do have. The tactics of tarn warfare have changed little over the centuries, and this gives us our only advantage in deciphering the strategy used by both cities in their deadly duel over the Red Mountains.

The Battle Unfolds: It is not known if the Ubar of Ar was aware of the precise location of Treve or not. More likely he had come to know its approximate position in the mountains, and considered that sufficient to order a large scale strike against the city. Based on what we know of Ar’s size, there had to be at least 5,000, and perhaps as many as 10,000 sent on the grisly mission. At any rate, the men of Treve would be outnumbered by a factor of several to one. They would, however have two very important elements in their favor.

• Surprise: There is no way that Ar’s force could have slipped into the territory of Treve unnoticed. On the other hand, their knowledge of the mountains would afford Trevan the element of surprise. Not one Arian knew when, or from where, the forces of Treve would come upon them. Treve probably had numerous secret base camps up the length of the Voltai, from which it launched strikes against other cities, and knowing the best passes and air routes, her tarnsmen could move swiftly, stealthily, setting pickets and ambushes at strategic points. Much to the chagrin of Ar, flights of enemy birds might appear as if from nowhere, diving and striking, causing them to break formation to deal with the threat, which would then seem to disappear behind some heretofore unseen precipice.

• Terrain: We have noted how familiarity with their mountain home gave Treve the element of surprise. But it is worth elaborating on how the terrain enhanced their advantage overall, and how it may have severely handicapped the invaders. The tarn cavalry of Ar was a highly trained and disciplined unit. They were also very experienced. No doubt, on an individual basis, many of them had ventured into the mountains more than once, perhaps even as part of their training. However, its a safe to say that nothing in their experience could have completely prepared them to what they were about to face - large scale warfare among the severe and unforgiving crags of the Voltai. Total concentration would be needed just to navigate the treacherous terrain, must less fight and keep track of mission objectives. Carefully practiced tactics and formations would, for the most part, be rendered useless in the unfamiliar landscape. The situation would require nerves of steel, lightening quick reflexes and plenty of instinctive "seat of the pants" flying. While flyers on both sides possessed these skills in abundance, those of Treve, who trained and thrived in such an environment, would have a decided advantage.

The decision of the Trevan military could have consisted of only one possible course of action: dispatch harriers to slow the flight of the advancing enemy cavalry and regroup the main body of their forces at Treve to repel. A decisive counter strike against the relatively undefended city of Ar, enmasse, might have forced the tarnsmen of Ar to divide her forces and wing home to protect the city, but Treve could not do both; their military strategy was based upon raiding, true, but such an attempt would have divided Treve's forces as well, and Treve was already outnumbered. They could not spare a single man for the attempt. To do so would be to risk the Home Stone. They would have to face Ar's forces on their own ground, where a uniform line of defense might be maintained. Only over Treve would her tarnsmen refuse to retreat, and fight unto the death if need be.

We can reasonably assume that this is what they did. The raiding parties nearest to the air cavalry of Ar's line of approach would be reinforced with the best airborne raiders closest enough to lend a hand, and a series of punitive strikes would be launched to slow the encroaching enemy tarnsmen.

Whatever the tactics used, the engagement constituted something never before seen on the face of the planet. The forces of Trev battle, did gain one important objective. Sa sleen and the ferocity of a cornered larl. They had to. Their Home Stone was at stake. In the end, the tarn cavalry of Ar, beleaguered and disorientated, was turned back from the Voltai, unable to locate, much less assault their would be target. Treve had drawn a line in the sky, and had held the line.

Winners and Losers Obviously, the greatest winner in the engagement was Treve. Most importantly she has saved her own existence. Also, she had turned back the most feared of all cities, glorious Ar. This fact in itself could only embellish her reputation, making her name even more feared by those that she preyed upon- not an unimportant thing for a city of raiders. Too, the victory would enhance the valor of her tarnsmen for generations to come. The victory secured her place as the master of the northern Voltai.

Ar, for her part, though she lost the battle, did gain one important objective. She managed to check, at least to a degree, the campaigns of Treve. It would be more than a century before the tarnsmen of Treve would attempt to despoil the fields of Ar. In fact, they would at least pause before directly attacking the assets of another high city. Ar had taught her enemy a powerful lesson, one that would not soon be forgotten.

The Thentis Mystique Only one city has been known to be left completely alone by the tarnsmen of Treve. That city is Thentis. Several reasons for this have been speculated: first, Thentis, being a mountain city little more in the way of agricultural resources than does Treve. She has considerable silver deposits, but these might be too well guarded and too cumbersome to acquire and escape with on a raid; second, the tarnsmen of Thentis are, man for man, the most respected on Gor. One could not blame even those of Treve for thinking of declining to invade her airspace, whether it be out of fear or mutual respect. Thirdly, many believe that a sort of kindred spirit exists between the men of Treve and the men of Thentis, which springs from both of them being mountain cities. One can only wonder how great and how fierce a battle between their tarn cavalries would be, if one ever took place.