In 1627-1628, Argrath relied strongly on the Sartarite Orlanth Adventurous, Humakt, and Storm Bull cults, and had the full support of the Old Wind Thunderous cult leaders (the Stormwalkers). He also had the full support of the Colymar and Malani tribes. In mid-winter 1628, Argrath led a some 2500 Praxians, 2000 Sartarites, and 1500 Wolf Pirates (note: those numbers are just ballpark approximations) over Dragon Pass into Tarsh.
These were not rural militia – Argrath brought the elite of Sartar, Prax, and Pavis with him to fight the Lunar Empire. Most of the army was mounted, and it included much of Sartar and Prax’s best magicians and would-be heroes. This included much of the Humakt and Storm Bull cults in Sartar, and much of the leadership of the Orlanth Adventurous and Thunderous cults (including most of the Wind Lords in Sartar and many of the Storm Voices) as well as the entire tribal leadership of the Colymar and Malani tribes. It also included such figures as Argrath, the Dragontooth Runners, Harrek the Berserk, Gunda the Guilty, and Jaldon Goldentooth. These warriors were recruited from the nobility and the free wealthy in Sartar, and likely constituted about somewhere between a fifth and quarter of all the militarily eligible adults in those classes. They had horses, good weapons and armor, and magic. Many had protective spirits and magical items.
These are also the people that were rewarded with plunder and gifts after the Battle of Heroes, fall of Bagnot, and the plundering of Muse Roost. It meant that something more than a fifth of the martial and magical leadership of Sartar (and largely regardless of tribe) had fought and served with Argrath (and marched and ate with him), sharing sacrifices and suffering as well as rewards. And they witnessed Harrek the Berserk, Gunda the Guilty, and Jaldon Goldentooth. They saw the reverence the 2500 Praxians who also fought alongside them had for Argrath – and also saw how useful they were on the battlefield.
Not only that, but the elites of Sartar saw Harrek the Berserk kill Jar-eel (the same warrior goddess that defeated Kallyr and killed most of her companions and household), and followed Argrath to defeat and rout the Lunar center. They avenged the Battle of Grizzly Peak and the Fall of Boldhome – they had defeated the Red Goddess on the battlefield. And even more glorious, they watched the Red Emperor flee the field with his bodyguard and magicians. They received plunder and gifts from Argrath, and oaths and promises were exchanged.
When many of them returned to Sartar later that year, they came back largely convinced that backing Argrath was the right choice. More importantly, they came back with a sense of group identity larger than tribe or clan. They were Sartarites. And they had personally defeated the Red Goddess and the Red Emperor.
What nobody realised is that this was just the beginning of nearly 30 years of war, that would bring many of them far beyond the world they had known. They would fight not only in Dragon Pass, but in Saird, Peloria, and even in Glamour itself. They would experience terrible defeats as well as more victories. Many, probably most of them, would fall at some point on the battlefield. But despite grumbling, fear, and suffering, they still followed Argrath to the end.
But by the end of 1628, nobody thought that Sartar was fated to be conquered by the Lunar Empire. It was clear that the Sartarites were now a force to be reckoned with. This included in Glamour itself. From Glamour’s perspective Sartar shot up from being an annoying bunch of tribes on a key strategic trade route, to being a threat like Janissor. Some even whispered that this defeat was far worse than anything Janissor inflicted and worried that this might herald the return of Sheng Seleris.
And some of the more powerful egi concluded that a pleasure-loving Mask like Argenteus was not what the Lunar Empire needed in this time of crisis.
Note that Gunda does not have a friends with benefits relationship with Harrek. They are best friends, not sexual partners, in every version that Greg and I have made.
Prior to the Battle of the Heroes, Sartar was seen by Glamour as little more than a rebellious province, once that inevitably would be reconquered. Defeats in Dragon Pass in 1624-1625 were ascribed to overreach and mistakes made by Tatius the Bright (including the decision to build the Lunar Temple atop a sleeping True Dragon), and not to the Sartarites themselves who could barely withstand local Provincial attempts to reconquer it. With the Red Emperor and Jar-eel present, pretty much every Lunar (and likely many Sartarites) figured that Sartar would soon be returned to the Lunar fold.
The Battle of Heroes change that. Sartar became a grave – potentially existential – threat to the Lunar Empire. And for many of the egi and other important Lunar leaders, it was also clear that the pleasure-loving Mask that was Argenteus was not up to the task of confronting that threat.
By 1631, this mobilisation has reached down to the Free Commoners of Sartar. By the time Furthest falls in 1632, some half of all initiates of the Orlanth cult in Sartar havpoe fought for Argrath outside of Sartar. Plus the Humakt and Storm Bull cults, Eurmal clown societies, and more.
If we imagine that Sartar has a manpower reserve of about 30,000 people. In the wars 1628-1632, Sartar doesn’t really need to dig deep into this reserve. In 1635-1638 they need to dig pretty deep, and in 1644-1655, they need to dig far deeper than those reserves – he needs to turn to dragons and dragonewts, magical weapons, and spirits, and relentless heroquesting, just to be able to keep up.