Author's notes: The idea for this little snippet came from a friend of mine, who wanted a sort of "cut-scene" for the opening of his Pathfinder-setting tabletop game based during the Kharlan war. It didn't turn out quite the way he anticipated. To explain a few things that may seem a little off-kilter for the time period, in his rendition of the history, Cruxis already exists as a true religious organization, and…I forget now why we needed the high-ranking officers to be angels already. It's been a while since the initial planning stages. *laugh* But it was fun to play with.
Prelude
The mine. The word raced through both armies, breathed like a charm. If they could only capture the mine, victory would be nigh assured. The Dwarves kept their secret halls sealed from human intrusion for centuries. Only a handful of their exsphere-restraining key crests trickled through the world's markets, and at an exorbitant price.
The vital stones bled the coffers of both Sylvarant and Tethe'alla. The kingdoms would stand for it no longer and intended to rout the Dwarves from their caves like vermin and force them into servitude.
The Tethe'allan army came down from the north, past the maze-like Ymir forest and its concealed Elven stronghold. When Sylvaranti scouts sent word of their enemy's objective, Dynasty ships came up from the south, across the sea. The armies met on a plain before the entrance to the Dwarven caves, preparing for what each thought would be the conflict to end the war. There they waited.
A single individual in the uniform of the Tethe'allan Royal Knights broke away from the Tethe'allan line, walking into the no-man's-land between the gathered forces. Their angel, presenting the ritual challenge before the real combat began. Many an angelic duel had dictated the outcome of a battle without a single sword-stroke.
Unlikely, this time, with so much at stake.
With so much at stake, better for Sylvarant to engage Tethe'alla with two angels than to risk losing one to a duel. The Cruxis Crystals that fueled the angelic transformation were too valuable to jeopardize when Sylvarant already had such an advantage. So the younger Sylvaranti angel argued, while his superior watched the challenger standing at his ease on the battlefield. Both knew the prowess of the Tethe'allan Knights, and this one in particular, but the Sylvaranti General had been an angel for a long time and was confident of his skills.
When a page brought the Knight a kettle of tea for him to enjoy while he waited, the General became enraged at his blatant lack of respect and stormed out to answer the challenge. Unable to stop him, the Colonel quietly planned for the worst, sending out orders to select units in preparation for dealing with an enemy angel.
The duel was mercifully brief. Rather than toying with and humiliating his inferior opponent, the Knight dispatched the Sylvaranti General with admirable efficiency, dodging the blazing light of the Judgement spell that was the crux of the General's confidence and neatly relieving him of his head. The Knight never revealed his angelic form. He briefly saluted his fallen opponent, cut off the hand bearing the General's Cruxis Crystal and key crest, and returned to the Tethe'allan line.
The battle joined on far more even footing than Sylvarant would have liked, and slightly in Tethe'alla's favor.
After setting his troops in motion, the remaining Sylvaranti angel stalked the edges of combat with his hand-picked unit, circumventing or eliminating any opposition while he sought his opponent, passing virtually unnoticed by the bulk of Tethe'alla's forces. Maybe a hundred yards right of the center of the line, the angel Knight cut through the Sylvaranti as though no one barred his way. None of the soldiers could touch him. The Colonel chose his path and directed his unit through the melee with orders to avoid any combat until they reached their target.
They slipped between other Sylvaranti soldiers, the Colonel at the head of a wedge of half-elven spellcasters hemmed in by human swordsmen. Momentum carried them through the ring surrounding the Tethe'allan angel. The Colonel yanked a soldier from the arc of a sword hissing with fire mana and brought his own weapon up to meet it, deflecting the spell it carried. Turquoise eyes met brown for a moment, then the Knight sprang back, cautious.
The Colonel held his swallow blade at the ready, balanced to attack or defend as the Knight's actions dictated. Glancing briefly to either side, the Knight found himself surrounded by half-elves, spellcasters, each guarded by one or two melee fighters. He returned his attention to the Sylvaranti officer before him.
"A half-elven angel and competent tactician. You must be Yuan Ka-Fai."
The Colonel nodded, the barest acknowledgement. "Your reputation precedes you, as well, Kratos Aurion. I'm sorry, but I can't have you decimating my troops. Again." Yuan did not wait for a response. He leapt at Kratos, his heavy blade a blur.
Kratos blocked and knocked him back with an aerial technique, forcing Yuan to dodge the fire flying from the edge of his blade.
As the Knight landed, Yuan signaled his men.
More fire flew, this time at Kratos. A razor-edged wind enveloped him, and lightning struck the earth at his feet. Barely allowing the spells to clear, Yuan pressed the attack again. Kratos, half-blinded by spell mana, dodged the strike, and Yuan's blade pierced the earth between them. A glyph flashed upon the ground, surrounding them, and Kratos gathered his mana into a shield, deflecting the worst of the lightning it summoned. Then he went on the offensive, driving Yuan back almost before he could free his swallow from the earth.
The ferocity of his attack pushed the Colonel to the edge of the ring of spellcasters, and two quick slashes dispatched two of them and injured one of their guards.
"Damn it!" Yuan knocked Kratos's sword away from its next target and tried to maneuver him into the center of the circle again. Though the Knight's face showed nothing, Yuan got the impression that he let himself be driven. "Pin him down!"
Another barrage of spells forced Kratos on his guard, but he dodged and deflected the mana and took little damage. He saw an opening and dashed to the right, killing another of the half-elves.
Frustrated, Yuan slammed the length of his blade flat against the ground, and a line of lightning fell in its path. This time the mana struck Kratos squarely. He staggered and dropped to one knee.
Three soldiers took advantage of his vulnerability, two slashing his back and arms, while the third tried to stab him in the side. Kratos forced himself to his feet. He cut the nearest man's throat caught another across the chest, leaving a deep gash. But he was tiring and failed to guard against the spells that followed.
Rings and sweeping arcs of light appeared on the ground, extending well beyond the edges of their conflict. The Sylvaranti hesitated, uncertain of the spell's origin.
Until Kratos rose into the air on translucent blue wings. "Struggle against these holy chains-Shining Bind!"
Yuan ordered his men back, but the press of battle hemmed them within the spell's boundary. Shining cords of mana surged up from the glyph, immobilizing the Sylvaranti soldiers and anyone else unfortunate enough to be within range and lifting them high above the earth, toward the angel Knight.
As the spell discharged, Yuan dug the blade of his swallow into the ground and held on as the mana tore at him, attempting to drag him toward Kratos. He braced himself, unfurling his own wings for balance, and waited.
Moments crawled by like hours before the light dissipated, and the bodies of those caught by the spell fell back to the earth. Kratos landed lightly in their midst.
Ignoring his injuries, Yuan tore his blade free, ripping up a clod of earth and hurling it at Kratos's face. It crumbled when he tried to block it, showering him with dirt. He stumbled blindly backward, guarding his head and body.
Yuan came in low and slashed his leg. But for his wings, Kratos would have fallen. They faced each other over the bodies of Yuan's men, panting, Yuan leaning heavily on his weapon, Kratos hovering just above the ground, barely able to hold onto his sword.
Yuan collected himself first. With a deep, steadying breath, he raised his swallow blade again. "Stand down." If Kratos chose to continue the fight, in their condition, they might both die, but Yuan lacked the strength to pursue him if he chose to flee. Better, he decided, to pretend mercy and preserve his energy in order to return to his troops in one piece.
Without a word, betraying neither anger or frustration at his loss nor hatred or grudging respect for his opponent, Kratos retired from the field.
Lacking the support of their angel, Tethe'alla ultimately lost the battle, leaving the Dwarven peninsula under Sylvaranti control. But Kratos had taken the General's Cruxis Crystal, a steep loss for the Sylvarant army, who now lacked the power to attack the Dwarves. As it had many times before, the tide of battle shifted indecisively.