Youzhou, Aurelis Border

Rebel Stronghold:

Inside the stronghold, 2 Yellow Turban officers talk about the current situation as one of them looks through the window.

"The Archaneans have assembled quite an army" the younger of the two said as he continues looking through the window "… Their numbers are limitless…"

"Are you worried, Edelbert?" the older officer asked

"I'd be lying if I did" the man replied "How about you, Robert. No matter what we do, we couldn't break through the Archanean line. Aren't you worried too?"

"A bit… It saddens me that things ended up this way"

"We have no choice… We're doing this for the people"

"True… But we should think of more effective strategies that would work against the Archaneans. Instead of our own forces charge to their deaths"

Robert raises his eyebrows. "Charge to their deaths…"

Afternoon

Archanean Camp:

Roan enters a tent.

Inside, Kyle is briefing his officers for the upcoming battle.

"Ah Roan" he said "Good of you to come"

"I received your message" Roan responded, looking at the battlefield map "What do you need us do?"

"We managed to push the rebels to the coast. They're cornered and seem to be willing to die to the last man for their cause"

"Have your forces ran into any trouble?"

"Nothing my Riflemen and Cossacks couldn't handle. But upon receiving your report, I have this strange feeling of dread…"

"Dread?"

"Call it instinct. I just have a bad feeling…"

"So what do we do, General?"

"Alright. Here's the plan…"


Meanwhile, the other members of Sokols are resting around the encampment.

"Hey" Chris said approaching Carol, who is reading a book.

She stares at him for a second before returning to her book.

"Carol" he called again.

The Dark Mage ignores him again.

"Carol!" he called again and again.

"What do you want?" she asked, still reading her book.

"Come on. I'm trying to be friendly here"

"I don't need friends. Especially not a brainless oaf like you"

"What?! Carol, come on! It was an honest mistake!"

"Leave, oaf. I'm trying to read"

"What are you reading?"

Carol seems annoyed but neither her tone nor her face showed it.

"What are you reading?" Chris asked again

Carol sighs. "A Kingdom of Dreams"

"Oh" Chris replied, seemingly recognizing the book "A romance novel. Never pictured you to be a romantic"

Carol's eyes widen, seemingly surprised. "You know this book?"

"Yeah! I've done a bit of reading here and there. Novels like Duma's Key, Great Prospects are just some of the books I've read"

Carol was silent for a time.

"Surprised, aren't ya?" Chris said puffing his chest

Carol closes her eyes and returns to her book. "…Bother"

"So… wanna exchange some books?"

Carol, still with a deadpan look, stares at the War Monk.

"…fine" she answered with a sigh.

"Yes!" Chris responded "You won't regret it!"

Meanwhile:

Brine chuckles as he sees Chris and Carol's conversation.

"Hey Lorelei" he said "Remember the time we found you?"

Lorelei doesn't respond.

"Hahaha. Still the same as ever"

Annoyed, she asks "What do you want, tactician?"

"Nothing really. Just reminiscing and making conversations"

"That can't be your only motive"

"Aw. Can't I just want to have a normal conversation?"

"No" the outlaw responded as she walks away.

"Ah yes… As expected. Oh well… Can't blame me for trying"

Sometime later:

Roan is standing at the edge of the camp, staring at the open plains as night slowly comes.

"Roan?"

"Lisette?" the captain said looking behind him

"Worried about the upcoming battle?" she asked, approaching her captain

"Yeah… Not because it would be a difficult battle but because we'll be fighting peasants… Farmers, common folk"

Lisette doesn't utter a word.

"Sometimes I wonder if we truly are preserving the hero-King's legacy… The rebellions have been too frequent and in their wake, the bodies of innocent folk and these commoners litter the land…"

Roan stares at his palm and quickly closes it as a sense of frustration permeates inside of him.

"Roan…" Lisette said resting her left palm on Roan's right shoulder "… I can't say that killing commoners is a good thing but we have to believe in the Queen. Maybe all this carnage would lead to a better future for us and future citizens alike"

"Always so positive… Even during our days in the academy, you retain that positive demeanor even after the instructor punished you for insubordination"

"Hey! We were ordered to defeat those bandits!"

"Yes but our orders were to stay in formation and wait for his signal. You didn't"

"Details. Details. Point is we won"

"Hahaha. You never change… Tell me. What keeps you so positive about life?"

"Me? Well… If I keep on thinking that things are bleak and hopeless, nothing will come from it. Don't get me wrong, I feel the same doubts and anxiety as you, Captain. But there's nothing we can do. These things just happen so I might as well stay positive and do whatever I can to get things done"

"Lisette…"

"I mean… Look at the Hero-King, Marth. He was exiled, betrayed, and suffered loss. I'm willing to bet that he also had to do a lot of hard decisions and he also had this same feeling of doubt and anxiety as we do now. But he didn't allow these things to discourage him. And because of that, we have the United Kingdom of Archanea today… So… um… I hope you understand what I'm saying, Captain"

"Yeah… A bit. It makes me a bit better"

"That's great. Also, you have to stop moping too much!"

The lancer then slams her left palm on Roan's back.

"You're our captain!" she said "Everyone in Sokols in depending on you!"

"Y-Yeah…" Roan responded with a cough "… Th-Thanks, Lisette"

"My pleasure, Captain" she said with a chuckle and smile.

The two stare at one another for a time before they decide to look at the horizon together.

Meters away, Marian is hiding behind some crates. She sighs before walking away from the scene.

Nighttime:

A brown-haired young man walks into the open field close to the rebel stronghold.

He puts his hood down and sighs.

"Can't sleep?" a purple-haired young girl said, holding her pegasus' leash.

"Shara?" the man responded, turning to face her "Yeah… Tomorrow's gonna be a bloody battle"

"No kidding… Another day facing against the Archanean Army"

"Do we have a chance to win? We're clearly outmatched"

"Hmm… Yeah we are outmatched but I think we have a chance"

"What?"

"I was part of the army once. But I saw how the people suffered under the thumb of the Queen. My entire unit did"

"Huh?"

"If we choose to surrender now, we will be insulting the memory of those who died for our cause. That and I'd rather die than be taken prisoner by the army"

The man does not respond.

"Hey, Oscar. Want to ride with me on my Pegasus?"

"What?"

"I'd like to show you something" she said as she gets on her Pegasus and stretches her hand out.

"Um… Ok"

The young man takes her hand and she prompts her Pegasus to fly around the camp.

"Whoah!" Oscar said holding onto the saddle "S-So what did you want to show me?"

"Tell me, Oscar. Are humans meant to fly?"

"What?"

"Are we meant to fly?"

"Um… Uh… No, I guess"

"Haha… Physically, no. We're not meant to fly but that did not stop us from trying. Eventually, we found a way. Through pegasi and wyverns"

"Ok so what does this have to do with the battle?"

"We persevered despite our limitations and this allowed us to have these views"

She taps Oscar who leans a bit to the left.

The moon was shining brightly that night with the stars surrounding the sky.

The two were flying over some clouds which Oscar attempts to touch.

The young villager was speechless.

"So don't lose hope" Shara said "Just keep fighting. Fighting to protect your family, your friends, your beliefs. Know that our acts will lead to a better Archanea. One that the Hero-King, himself, would be proud to see"

"Right… I guess you're right"

"Haha… Of course I am!"


The next day

Morning:

The Archanean Army surrounds the rebel stronghold as its defenders get into position for the battle.

There was an uneasy silence for a few minutes as both armies stare at one another.

At the back of the Archanean line stood Mathis.

Behind him are several ballistas. He views the stronghold with his telescope.

"Fire!" he commands as the ballisticians fire their cannons.

Cannon fire rained upon the stronghold.

On the rebel side, Oscar and the other rebels take cover behind the stronghold's walls.

Despite some parts of the stronghold falling apart, it held quite well against the cannon barrage.

The ballistas eventually stop firing.

It was at that moment that battle cries echoed throughout the area.

"The Archanean Army is charging!" a rebel myrmidon exclaimed

Robert does not utter a word. He calmly gets on his horse, puts his thumb & index finger inside his mouth and whistles.

Shara nods. "Riders! Let's go!"

The Pegasus knights and Wyvern riders lift off and engage the Archaneans as the other rebels return to their formations.

Shaking a bit, Oscar closes his eyes as he inhales and exhales in order to calm himself.

He soon opens his eyes and grips his iron sword tightly, ready to face the incoming Archaneans.

Meanwhile, the Sokols and Sparrows move to the plains on the western side of the stronghold while most of the army move to the northern and eastern sides.

It did not take long for them to begin engaging the rebels.

"They're just villagers…" Maya remarked as a rebel mercenary catches her off-guard

Aiken quickly dispatches the rebel before he could land a single hit.

"Are you ok, Maya?" he asked

"Aiken!" Maya said with a smile "I missed you!"

"Not now! We're in a battle!"

"R-Right…"

The two then returned to the battle as Carol casts Ruin on several cavaliers.

Chris swings his axe against a knight, who blocks it with his shield.

The war monk continues his onslaught, forcing the knight on to go on a defensive.

Brine dodges a few arrows as he casts elfire on the enemy archers.

Several rebel thieves and villagers surround Lorelei.

They attack quickly, preventing the outlaw to ready her arrows.

As one thief swing his sword at her, the outlaw blocks it with her bow and pushes it to the side.

She then grabs the thief's cape with her right hand and pulls it, forcing him to move forward.

She then kicks him in the stomach.

As the other rebels attack simultaneously, the outlaw grips her bow, prepared to face them.


Sometime later, Oscar comes face-to-face with Roan.

He shouts a battle cry as he charges towards the Sokols captain, who parries every strike.

Despite his villager background, Oscar is able to hold his own against Roan as he too manages to either parry or dodge Roan's attacks.

Lisette sees this and quickly comes to her captain's aid.

She does a combo of thrusts and swings at the rebel villager, who struggles to keep up with her speed.

After blocking a thrust from Lisette's steel lance, Oscar loses his balance.

He falls to the ground as Lisette points her lance at him.

"Oscar!" Shara shouted as she flies down to aid the villager.

She throws her short spear at the lancer, who dodges the attack.

The Pegasus knight recovers her weapon and engages the lancer, both being equally matched in combat.

As Roan attempts to aid Lisette, Oscar intercepts him.

The villager furiously attacks the captain, who either parries or dodges each strike.

"Impressive" Roan said as his and Oscar's swords meet "What is your name?"

"Why do you want to know?" Oscar replied "None of you care for our suffering anyway!"

Oscar then jumps back and resumes attacking Roan.

"Why…" he said swinging his sword "… should I tell you my name?!"

"Fine then" Roan replied parrying another strike "I'll get straight to the point. Surrender now and you'll live. Don't throw your life away like this"

"I can't. I'd rather die than surrender to you!"

The battle continues for a few more minutes, eventually the two reach a deadlock.

"Why?!" Roan asked "Why do you fight?!"

"For the Kingdom!" Oscar replied "And for the people who suffered under the Queen!"

Oscar steps back and strikes Roan several times, managing to land a few hits on the captain.

The captain checks both his arms, each had slash wounds.

"Impressive" he muttered as Oscar attacks.

He jumps back as Oscar charges again.

"Playtime is over" he said positioning himself for a strike.

As Oscar swing his sword, Roan breaths deeply and swings his as hard as he could.

The two swords impact one another, the force causes Oscar to let go of his weapon as he loses his balance.

The iron sword flies a few feet before resting on the ground.

"It's over" Roan said pointing his sword towards the downed villager

"No…" Oscar responded "Not yet"

As Roan was about to deliver the final blow, he notices a lightning blot on his left.

He jumps back, avoiding the attack.

A middle-aged paladin, a great knight, and 3 hooded women arrive to reinforce the rebels.

"Sir Robert" Roan uttered staring sorrowfully at the Paladin.

"Roan" the middle-aged man said with a serious expression.

"So it is true… You're a part of this rebellion"

Robert closes his eyes and clutches his Levin sword.

He opens his eyes and conjures another lightning bolt.

Roan dodges the attack.

"Captain!" Lisette said running to Roan's side but is intercepted by the great knight.

"Shara" Robert said as the Pegasus knight flies behind him "Retreat to the stronghold. It is time"

Shara nods as she grabs Oscar's hand and retreats back into the stronghold with the other rebels, save for Robert, the great knight, and the 3 hooded women.

"Why, Sir Robert?!" Roan shouted "Why?!"

"Roan…" The paladin muttered switching his Levin sword with a silver lance

"Sir!"

"Enough talk, boy. Show me what you can do!"

Roan charges forward. Robert spins his lance and skillfully parries every strike.

Lisette and the other Sokols attempt to help but are stopped by the great knight.

He throws a hand axe at Marian, who dodges it, while quickly switching to a steel axe and engaging Lisette.

The 3 hooded women, meanwhile, each bring out a peculiar stone.

"Oh gods…" Brine uttered "Those are dragonstones!"

"Dragonstones?!" Chris responded "Then that means-!"

The stones glow and the women are enveloped by a bright ligh, emerging as full-fledged dragons.

The 3 dragons roar as more dragons emerge from the stronghold and began decimating the Archanean forces.

At the back of the line, Mathis sees the carnage brought by the enemy dragons.

"Ballistas!" he shouted "Take aim!"

But before he could give the order to fire, several dragons unleash their fury upon the ballistas, destroying all of them.

Meanwhile, Roan struggles to get close to Robert as the Paladin keeps the Sokols Captain at bay.

"Commander!" Shara shouted flying to the Paladin's side.

Robert nods. "Retreat!"

"Wait!" Roan said, attempting to chase the rebels but is stopped by the dragons.

The rebels quickly board their ships and sail into the ocean.

The manaketes followed suit but not before decimating a few more Archanean squads.

Despite this, the stronghold had fallen but the rebels managed to escape.


Kyle, on horseback, looks down upon the aftermath of the battle.

"Nice work" Mathis said approaching the general

"Yeah…" Kyle replied "But at what cost?"

Mathis does not respond as he stares at the smoldering remains of the battlefield.

"Regrettable" he said "But they're acceptable losses"

"Still… What could cause such a large uprising that even manaketes would ally themselves with the rebels… Against the kingdom created by the very man they all revere…"

"Who knows but we must do everything we can to preserve the kingdom and that involves killing them all"

"Killing them all… Hey, Mathis. Aren't you wondering? Wondering why so much unrest is happening?"

"No. The less questions we ask the better. We're soldiers, Kyle. Let the politicians and monarchs handle the thinking"

Despite Mathis' encouragement, Kyle could not help but feel sad by the turn of events.

As Mathis leaves, Kyle clutches his rifle tightly.

In the plains north of the stronghold, Roan is wandering the smoldering remains of the area with nothing but the sight of carnage for his eyes to see.

He eventually spots a dead Archanean rifleman slumped down, covering his stomach. The rifleman seemed to be sitting down against a tree but his upper body is covering the stomach area.

As Roan places the body upright, he notices the rifleman's left hand on his stomach.

"Stab wound…" he remarked as he notices the rifleman holding something "… What's this?"

Roan opens the man's hand and sees a wedding ring. This saddens the captain…

"Was he engaged…?" he wondered sorrowfully

He then looks behind him and sees a dead villager. It was a Yellow Turban Rebel.

She was lying on the ground, face up. Her eyes and mouth were wide open, showing a sad expression in her face. Checking on her body, Roan sees a gunshot wound on upper left portion of her torso and her hand was holding a child's doll.

Roan notices tears running down to the side of the villager's face. She was crying in her final moments…

The site of these two bodies… These two Archaneans who killed one another, robbing their families the chance to see them again…

This weighed heavily upon the young captain…

"Why…?" he muttered closing the dead woman's eyes "Why Sir Robert…?!"