Muddy roads and oft patched tents made up the brunt of the camp.  The remnants of four Legions held prepared defenses against the approaching Rebel armies and their demons, while the walking wounded worked with refugees and camp followers to evacuate any that would simply be in the way in the coming battle.  It was days away yet, but too often before the Rebels had proven faster then scouts and intelligence could have predicted.<br/><br/>Lance Commander Kalliem had just finished an inspection of his men and their section of the line.  Some eight hundred soldiers holding the forwards most pickets and trenches.  His Legion was the most intact of the four, down to just over a third their usual numbers, and they were veterans of near every major battle in the war so far.  Many of their combat drills had been adopted by other Legion commanders, especially for dealing with the Demons and monsters the Rebels employed.  Lessons hard learned.<br/><br/>Rumours ran rampant through the camp; that the supply caravans had been destroyed, or were running late for the weather, or simply didn't exist at all.  The winter had been a harsh one, bitter cold snaps leading to sudden thaws that left the camp, and many a battle field, a muddy pit that continued to sap the Legions' strength and morale.  Supplies were running short, medicine was all but exhausted, and disease plagued the troops.  But they still held their ground, which was all he could ask of them.<br/><br/>Knowing a war council had been called for that day, Kalliem had busied himself through the morning with his inspections and drilling his men, not one to rest as some other officers were so prone to do.  He continued to wear his heavy armour, unlike others that favored simple warm clothes or at the most light chainmail for day-to-day camp duties.<br/><br/>He refrained from using the simple wooden walkways constructed around the core of the camp for officers or message runners, trudging through the thick ankle-deep mud of the main roads instead, and finally made his way towards the command tents, ringed by the elite guards of the General himself, and the various hangers-on and sycophants that followed the higher brass and politicians that made up the main command element of the army.