The Caelid Plains stretched lush and green across a thousand miles of fertile land. By the standards of the Lands Between, the terrain and ecology were excellent. In terms of warfare, they were particularly well suited to cavalry.
This suited the needs of the Starscourge, Redmane Radahn, perfectly. He could deploy his Redmane Army as quickly as possible and sweep over the enemy like a tide, enjoying every advantage of the terrain. Caelid was rich in resources and could sustain him without outside supplies. As long as he held his main stronghold, Redmane Castle, and a few key passes and roads, his position would be unassailable.
He could advance to campaign in other regions of the Lands Between or retreat to defend his fortifications against invaders. Moreover, Caelid was surrounded by sea on three sides, so he need not worry about surprise attacks. Even anyone arriving by ship would have to scale the sheer cliffs along Caelid's coast and cross Dragonbarrow to the north.
Radahn's strength extended to every aspect, not merely his personal prowess.
The Combat Festival was to be held in Caelid at Radahn's request, chiefly because he prized martial skill. Like Malenia, he wanted to see whether any new masters had emerged in the Lands Between. If there were any, he could befriend them, or better still, recruit them into his army to strengthen the Redmane Army. Jerren, for instance, who was currently helping Radahn manage Redmane Castle, was a friend of his. Although he had yet to join the army, he had already been staying at Redmane Castle as a guest for some time.
Jerren had originally been a Witch Hunter, whose main occupation was hunting down sorcerers who murdered innocents. Lately, however, those sorcerers had been behaving themselves, leaving him with little to do. He