the Council building, Second Order Council
The Council of Order had reconvened, this time to plan for the coming battle ahead.
Here, most everyone had little idea of what they were doing. Order had been staying on the defensive for a while now, and none in the council really knew how to effectively launch an invasion. Worse, there were hardly any logistical systems or even an organized, standing army to work with.
"We have nothing."
This was Order's situation summed up by a pessimistic councilor, named Praelia.
"That's a lie! We have eager manpower and the resources to arm it with. That's all we really need," replied Seira.
"Is it really? We hardly have the combat ability or tradition to work off of. Our 'soldiers' are little more than commoners! They have no training, and there's no way to GIVE them training because hardly anyone knows how to fight!" Praelia shouted back.
"Even IF they had training, it wouldn't help because the Archidonis are going to kill them all anyway!" replied a third councilor.
"Not necessarily! I have a plan," replied another councilor, who had been silent for most of the meeting.
Praelia turned around, looked at the councilor, and laughed. "Then give it to us, O great master of strategy!" he sneered.
Seira glared at Praelia and then turned to the rest of the council.
"One of our fellow Councilors has a plan! Hear him out," he stated, and no one dared challenge him.
The councilor stopped timidly, and then straightened out and stated his plan.
"Well then, I was thinking this whole time, and I realized... What if we struck under the cover of darkness? They likely won't notice us marching in until it's too late, and we'll be able to take them mostly by surprise. That way, they won't be able to shoot us, and we can beat them back until their reinforcements arrive."
The council listened to this, and then Praelia said, "That plan isn't too likely to work at all. We cannot possibly move enough troops there without them noticing us marching towards them, and then where will be our element of surprise?"
Seira replied, "Well, I have an idea. We should march our army into their land and force them to prepare for battle, but strike at an unexpected time ."
The other councilors thought for a moment.
Another councilor spoke. "We can't manage a supply line for an army that big staying in one place for such a long time, especially without any semblance of a logistical system."
The councilor who came up with the plan replied, "Can't we just make them bring some food with them until we can actually figure out how to establish a logistical system? It's not like it's going to take THAT long for the Archidonis to prepare to attack, right?"
"... It's so risky that it just might work," Praelia replied.
"Let's vote on it. Yay is yes, Nay is no. Each councilor will get one vote," said Seira.
Each councilor voted on it, one by one.
Since it was the only plan they had, it was unanimous.
Eslkadi, capital of the Archidonis, 0 OE
The Archidonis were in a horrible situation.
Their king, Thurdan, knew this all too well. The treaty border was being raided by small Swordwrath parties, but worse than that, Order, the pesky little nation that had always been supposed to be crushed but managed to stay under the radar of Archidonis armies for some time now, was now marching a large army into Archidonis territory. Thurdan had always disapproved of Order. They threw at him word after insulting word, trying to get him to stop trying to conquer them even though they were better off under his rule, believing they were 'above war'. Pah! He'd thought he'd relish the day they'd actually fight, so he could watch their army get ahnilated by his Archidons, but right now that was not the case. The numbers their army supposedly had worried him.
The numbers of their supposed army had worried him, but worse, he knew nothing of their strategy, and he knew it. They may go for a horrible plan of attack, or a legendarily effective one. He had no idea what generals Order would throw at him. Neither did any of his lords - Order had never counterattacked before.
He heaved a great sigh, his mop of blond hair falling over one of his eyes. If he failed, it would be the end of the Kingdom of Archidonis. He would have to crush Order once and for all, then his armies would turn to those pesky Swordwrath.
The Shadowed Fields, 20 miles from Eslkadi, 0 OE
Seira had been made the commander of this new army, and it probably was best that he was. received word that morning that the Archidonis were encamped nearby, and noticed that a mist was descending. He still wanted to wait for dark though, so he prepared his troops for the battle.
He received word that morning that the Archidonis were encamped nearby, and noticed that a mist was descending. He still wanted to wait for dark though, so he prepared his troops for the battle.
He had them stand in a loose formation in front of him, and he inspected them. Some only had sticks and clubs, while wealthier ones had metal maces. They had little in the way of armor (not that Seira expected them to), but they were bursting with enthusiasm to defend their homes, their faith, and their very people. Among them were workers (who would rather do menial labor than serve on the front) and preachers of the Church of Order (to inspire the men and discourage looting). They numbered at about four thousand.
Just as he was about to order them to attack, however, the fog lifted, and the Order forces saw their opponents.
And the Archidonis saw Order too.
Hello, and welcome to the author's note! I see that I have one follower now, so Hi! Nice to see you. I'm sorry for taking so long to get this chapter out, and I'll try to get a chapter out at least every other week, if not every week or every few days. Thank you for reading this little story, and please review what you liked and what you didn't! I will accept criticism to the best of my ability.
-Danwar
