Michael Giantfriend had this to say about our favorite sightless savant (what? you know another one?):
...not that MGF has an opinion, mind you. There are a lot of good points archived out on this board so be sure to review it. (If you are curious about what a "berk" is, you'll find the answer there.)So Hile Troy has this wonderful plan to save The Land. He'll rely upon a half-dozen or so Ramen Manethralls in the Lower Land (not very far from Foul's Creche) to give him warning, and then send the ENTIRE WARWARD marching the length and breadth of The Land to fight Foul's army.
Nice one Hile! Way to murder the Warward! IMHO, Troy should have been able to do much, much better. After all, he had five years in which to form a fighting force he could be proud of. He could have brought about a revolution in the way both the Warward and the Loreward were taught. I mean, think about it. If you lived in Mithil Stonedown and wanted to train in the Warward, you had to go all the way to Revelstone, 300 leagues away! And if you wanted to train in the Loreward, you had to go to Revelwood, still about 250 leagues away. No problem if you have a nice big car or if there is a direct rail-link, but walking all the way? That's bound to be a big turn-off.
Maybe I'm being overly simplistic, but there is an old saying: "He who waits for the sword to strike loses his head". Hile Troy waited far too long before moving the Warward. He ignored the prime rules of any long-range planning. Always plan for the worst possible outcome. Always have fall-back contingency plans. Have contingency plans for the contingency plans. And at the end of it, don't EVER think you have everything covered, because you won't.
Why didn't Troy ask Quaan and Amorine to choose, say, ten Eoman of warriors who were good teachers, add two or three Lorewardens to each Eoman, and send them throughout the land to train the people both in combat AND in Lore, IN THE VILLAGES WHERE THEY LIVED??? That way, they would at the very least have gained a vast reservoir of irregulars - sort of a National Guard or Territorial Army. Both the Warward and the Loreward would have been increased in strength, and you never know, they may have found a couple of extra Lords out there! Certainly, having the Loreward teaching in every Stonedown and Woodhelven would bring benefits - possibly the Loreward would have developed the Lillianrill communication rods long before Fleshharrower's army marched - this way, Troy would be able to deploy his troops in the field long before war arrived.
And Why oh Why keep the entire Warward at Revelstone?
Have the mounted Warward split in two - one group on the banks of the Soulsease just north of Andelain, the other on the banks of the Mithil to the south of Andelain. That way, the Ramen scouts only have to make it as far as Andelain before they run into the Warward, and the Mounted warward only has a few days ride to get into position.
The Footsoldiers could be in a more-or-less permanent camp just south of the confluence of the White and Gray rivers, about 50 leagues south of Revelstone. Whenever word reaches Revelstone, the High Lord's party could then ride out and reach the Footsoldiers after two days. They would then have 26 days to march 240 leagues, instead of 28 days to march 290.
Troy worked for the U.S. Department of Defense? Then why didn't he recognise the primary need of any army. Supply and Transport? In the entire 1st Chronicles, there was no mention of anyone using a cart or a wagon. Even a few hundred of these would have made the army's job a lot easier - carrying much larger supplies of food, water, hurtloam and rillinure, and towards the end carrying tired warriors. Maybe the people of the Land would consider a wagon to be demeaning to horses? Tough - walking 300 leagues in four weeks is demeaning to the Warward!
Ooh, I'm getting riled!!! Anyone else out there think Troy's plan was just a little flawed? How would you change the way the Warward was prepared? Where would you have fought Foul? And - WHERE DID THE GIANTS FIGURE IN TROY'S PLANNING ??? ??? ???
P.S. Would you like an HT poll? And if so, what should it be about? (Does that make this a poll about a poll??)