> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.ashenmarch.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# War

> How sieges work step by step, defending your ground, hiring sellswords, reading the map, and planning marches with the War Council.

Territory in Ashenmarch is never final — every holding on the map can be contested, and every contest is settled the same way it was won: by real kilometres. This page covers both sides of a siege, the hired steel that can tilt one, and the tools for planning your campaigns.

## Anatomy of a siege

<Steps>
  <Step title="Overlap their land">
    Run a loop that crosses into a rival's territory (at least \~50 m of your route inside it). The overlapping ground becomes **contested** — it highlights on the map and "breathes," and both houses get a Herald dispatch.
  </Step>

  <Step title="The tug-of-war">
    Every run you make through the contested ground **lowers** the defender's defence by *your effort × the distance you covered inside it*. Every run **they** make through it rebuilds defence by the same formula. Crossing one of their border **Walls** costs you extra (20% resistance, 50% for a Reinforced Wall).
  </Step>

  <Step title="The transfer">
    When defence reaches **zero**, the land transfers to you automatically — no separate claiming run. The Herald announces it to both houses.
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Note>
  **Worked example:** you invade a rival Village with a hard 4 km run, 2 km of it inside their ground at 1.5× effort — that's 3 defence removed. The defender answers the next morning with an easy 3 km recovery jog through the same ground at 1.0× — 3 defence rebuilt. Stalemate. Sieges are won by whoever shows up more, harder.
</Note>

## Defending

You defend the same way you attack: **run your contested ground**. A few things tip the scales:

<Tip>
  Build **Walls** on your borders before trouble arrives — an invader crossing a Reinforced Wall loses half the bite of that run. Keep your tiers high: a Citadel takes 30 fortification to grind down; an Outpost falls in an afternoon.
</Tip>

* A **Reinforcement Order** (earned item) instantly repairs some defence on a route under attack — save them for emergencies.
* A holding under siege **pays no tribute** until the siege is broken — an economic reason to respond quickly.
* You can never lose your *account* or rank — only current territory. Land lost can always be retaken.

## Sellswords (hired steel)

Gold can hire mercenaries — bounded help, never a substitute for effort (see the [full costs](/en/reference#sellswords-mercenaries)):

* A **defensive garrison** (◉ 500) reinforces one holding for 7 days — and *can* be hired for a holding already under siege.
* An **offensive company** (◉ 750) strengthens one invasion march you actually run.
* Both carry **upkeep** (◉ 50/day), and their strength is always **capped below your weakest earned defence** — steel bought with gold never outfights steel earned on the road.

<Warning>
  Hiring any sellsword raises the **Sellsword's Mark**: a visible pennant flies over your holdings, the Herald announces that your house took foreign steel, and rivals who strike you loot a bounty of up to **+15%** while the Mark stands. It clears 24 hours after your last contract ends. Hired help is real — and it paints a target.
</Warning>

## Reading the map

* Your own land carries a reserved **outline colour** so it's always unmistakably yours.
* A territory's **tier** shows as its strength and degrades visually as defence drops — a faded holding is a vulnerable one.
* **Contested** land is highlighted and "breathes"; the crimson treatment marks live combat.
* **Walls** render as lines along the routes that built them.
* **Ghost territories** are unclaimed AI-held land in your city — free to take, no siege required.
* A **tarnished pennant** over a rival's holding is the Sellsword's Mark: they've hired steel, and they're worth more to raid.

## The War Council (planning your marches)

Open the **War Council** to chart a route toward a goal before you lace up, and save it as a named **March**:

* **Fortify** — plots a loop through your own land that needs reinforcing (it favours your decaying ground).
* **Invade** — heads toward a rival's territory so your route contests it.
* **March** — a straight distance goal, no particular target.

Saved marches live in the War Council: rename them, remove them, or pick **March this route** to bring one up on the map. You can also **export a route** to your phone or watch and complete it in the app you already use — when that activity syncs, it's matched back to the march you planned.

<Tip>
  Re-running a saved route is also how you maintain the Walls it built — the same route within \~50 m counts as maintenance.
</Tip>