I'll be honest, this chapter was supposed to come out a week earlier, but unforeseen events pushed the release date back.
Luckily this chapter is only about 2000 words less, so I accomplished one of my goals. (FN word count is a lie, this chapter is less than 8000 even with A/N.)
Thanks to WarriorofLight12 for the Beta.
Radiant Awakening
Chapter 4 Stumbling Forward
This is the type of weather that Grima could get behind.
The sun was still bright, but not as oppressive, as the green fields replaced the dreary dunes of the deserts. Meanwhile, the temperature was cool with a slight gust of wind.
It's been a couple of weeks since the newly formed Daein Liberation Army left the Desert of Death, and since then they've been traveling through the countryside keeping away from any major population centers and Begnion Occupation garrisons, All the while planting the seeds of hope and liberation to the general populace.
It's a simple plan. Nothing glorious, but all great things start from humble beginnings. That's at least what Izuka keeps repeating word for word.
He isn't disagreeing with the royal vizier, in fact he would've done exactly the same thing, except with a lot less pomp.
Practically everything he exhorted had to be grandiose and over embellished to the nth degree.
Such as the rumors and posters he spread throughout the country about Micaiah and Prince Pelleas. Grima only gone through a couple of drafts, but he was sure Micaiah was doing her part without those huge biceps.
That's not to say his information campaign isn't effective. Practically no one in Daein from the average peddler to the General of the Begnion forces didn't know about the 'silver-haired maiden' working with the lost prince of Daein.
Right now is a perfect illustration of its effectiveness.
Grima, along with said maiden and her bodyguard was visiting this far-removed village to procure supplies and some information. The moment they entered the interior of the village they were instantly mobbed by well-wishers who wanted to meet with the silver-haired maiden'.
Because of this, Grima was able to extricate himself from the group to conduct their needed business.
But as he went on with his business, with the villagers he noticed a clear demographic disparity. He noticed a clear majority in the favor of females, and what males he did see were old as 50, and as young as 12.
This situation wasn't unique to this remote village alone, but judging by the stream of intelligence he was receiving, it clearly painted a bleak picture that all of the combat-age males were either pressed into work camps, or interned in concentration camps.
From what little first-hand accounts that reached his eyes, the living conditions of these camps were stark at best and often worse. Overwork and general abuse by the guards and exploitive nobles running rampant is the norm, while random executions and other extreme behavior were non-existent as far as he was aware. Regardless, everything he perused is a perfect case of crimes against humanity.
That's not to say life outside the camps were any rosier. From this village alone, he could easily see they were struggling as is. With the majority of labor and skilled workers gone, the women and children struggled to replace their lost breadwinners.
But there is a reason for this madness. As much as Micaiah and Pelleas would hate him for it, he had to admit that this was a very sound strategy that fits well into their greater brutalization campaign.
This lack of skilled labor negatively affects the Liberation army, and hard. This would be the 7th village in a row where no real supplies could be procured. With all the smithies, fletchers and cobblers interned or already on their side, they could only make do with a small amount of second-hand weapons and armor, which were in poor quality to boot.
Additionally, any sort of recruitment drive to increase troop numbers is seriously hampered with the fact most of the fighting-age men is interned in camps. And with the countryside struggling to feed themselves, he would find it difficult to find a reliable supply of foodstuffs to feed a growing army.
So with one fell swoop, the Begnion Occupational Army is able to artificially cap the maximum fighting force of the Daein Liberation Army.
But that is not to say all hope is lost. Looking again at the village he is surprised to see a 'euphoria' among the residents upon meeting their little band of freedom fighters. They would, quite aggressively, express the need to defeat the Begnions and so would provide any aid they have on hand on the condition we save their husbands, sons and brothers. And this sentiment was shared with every Daein they've met so far.
Especially with this lass who is able to get Grima's attention. Judging from her dirt stained clothes and hands, she works in one of the fields outside the village.
"Please take this! Please use this to free my brother from those monsters!" She said with a tired pant as she held out in her outstretched hand a small pouch of what he assumed is coins.
From the sweat beading down her forehead, it's clear she rushed here to give her measly contribution for the war effort.
"Your brother was taken to one of the work camps?" Stating a question he knew the answer to already.
But from the eager nod from the lass, it seems to comfort her to know he understood.
"Well I don't know how far my words could go" Grima continued. "But I assure you that I'll do my utmost for you to see him again."
"Your words?" The lass said questionably. "Aren't you related to the silver-haired maiden?"
A single blink is all it took for Grima to understand what she just implied.
He gave her a soft snort before he continued. "Contrary to the similar hair colors my relationship with the maiden is not one of familial ties."
Grima had to admit he was surprised he didn't get this more often from those who aren't in the know. And at the same time he finds the idea of a sister like Micaiah to be quite humorous.
But it seems the poor lass didn't share this same sentiment as she blushed a hard red from his revelation.
"I'm sorry for the misunderstanding! But please!" Once again outstretching the little coin bag. "Take this."
There was a good minute of silence as Grima simply stared at the increasingly nervous village girl.
But soon his analyzing look was replaced with a well-practiced soft smile.
"I understand your sentiment but I'm afraid I can't do that." But before she could insist he brought up his hand to stop her as he continued. "I can tell that this is your savings that you personally worked hard to earn. Isn't that right?"
Receiving a small nod he went on.
"Then I can't in good conscious take this from you. If word got out that I took money from a clearly struggling villager . . ."He didn't finish his sentence to allow the lass to fully comprehend what he was implying. "This wouldn't only reflect poorly to me, but to the Maiden and Prince as well."
"So please, for their sakes as well, keep it."
Getting an affirmative nod, Grima watched the lass make a run to what he presumes was her home.
As he blankly stared where he last saw the lass disappear from his sight, Grima couldn't help but wonder how much was inside that little pouch. He doubted it was anything larger than a sum of 200G.
It would be rather disappointing to come out of this village empty-handed but the alternative of ruining a poor family's financial situation didn't sit well with him.
But his silent brooding was ruined when a familiar voice spoke up behind him.
"Did we get any supplies here?" Turning around to meet Sothe and Micaiah return from their impromptu meet-and-greet with the locals.
"I'm afraid this was another bust in that department." He said forlornly. "At this rate we would be in better shape if we foraged for basic supplies."
Taking a better look he noticed Sothe carrying a pouch he didn't have when they first entered the village.
Seems he wasn't the only one practically accosted to take in monetary donations.
"You didn't take that girls donation." Sothe said as if reading his mind. "She wanted to make her contribution to the cause and you didn't let her." He said matter of factly.
"She clearly needed it more." He raised an eyebrow wondering a bit where Sothe was getting at.
"Since you were complaining about a lack of resources I'm curious why you would reject it when it's shoved in your face." Sothe said with both an accused and curious tone.
"I'm pretty sure I spelled out my reasoning quite clearly in the conversation you eavesdropped in." Grima smugly said and getting a dirty look from Sothe in response.
"Now, now you two" Micaiah diplomatically intervened very used to these two constant bickering. "We're all friends here."
"But on the bright side" Grima continued as if nothing has happened. "We didn't come out of this completely empty-handed."
Answering their bewildered looks, Grima continued as he leads the group out of the village.
"We've confirmed the accuracy of our intelligence reports and the effectiveness of Izuka's
'Information' campaign."
"Didn't we confirm this from the previous villages we visited?" Sothe questioned.
"Yes we did, but now we confirmed how widespread it is on both counts." Grima answering his question.
"I can't believe you agreed to his ludicrous idea." Sothe once again letting his disapproval show. "And can't you at least have the decency to call it what it is. Propaganda."
"Sothe, I went over my reasoning the first time we discussed this." Letting out a tired breath of exasperation. "And of course I agree with you that this is propaganda but you need to realize propaganda comes in three unique flavors; falsehoods, half-truths and truths. What separates propaganda and anything else is solely intent, not that one is good or one is bad."
It seems Micaiah is paying closer attention to the conversation the two boys were having. Or at least she's forced too, as she stood in-between the two as a natural buffer.
"So let me ask you this Sothe." Wanting to bring the point home. "Do you find our 'information', inherently bad?"
That at least got the wannabe ninja to pause and think about his next words.
Even Micaiah, who didn't need to give an answer, was thinking hard, judging by her lowered eyebrows.
"No, I know what we're spreading isn't inherently bad." Finally answering his question. "But that doesn't mean we can't be honest."
Grima couldn't help but release a tired sigh. It seems this requires a more intimate explanation.
"And what would be the reason for telling them the truth? Altruism?" Grima asked but he didn't give him a chance to answer. "Given it's you, partly, but that wouldn't be entirely accurate, would it?"
"The reason you want to spread the word is because you want the population to know Micaiah and the Prince is joining forces so they would support us and not them. You want the population to know their loved ones are forced into these inhumane camps so they would support us and not them. You want the population to know that 'we' will be the ones to save said loved ones and the country as a whole so they would support us and not them."
It seems he went too far as it seems he not only cowed Sothe to silence but Micaiah as well. He won't be hearing the end of this from Sothe any time soon.
But before he could amend his statement Micaiah spoke up.
"You're right that is partly why we want to spread the word." She paused as she carefully thought her next words, as if her existence depended on it. "But that doesn't change the fact that this is the best way to help them. So no amount of semantics will change that."
He really needs to stop underestimating her. If he keeps this up he'll never fully trust her.
Grima openly let out an amused snort.
"That is exactly the attitude I was looking for. Thank you for showing me, Micaiah." He meant what he said. Seems his natural teaching instincts are kicking in once again.
Micaiah gave a small blush from his honest praise that wasn't lost to the two boy's.
Immediately seeing where this conversation could go, Grima continued by pointing at the green-haired boy.
"As for you, I expect you to follow her example."
"Example?" Giving the dark mage a dirty look. "Was this whole exercise just a teaching lesson for you?"
"For one of you at least." Grima smugly retorted.
Micaiah couldn't help let out another exasperated sigh. This is going to be a long trek back to camp. Hopefully whoever is on cooking duty could give her a larger portion.
During the early morning hours where the sun is just now fully basking the plain with its light-rays, a hooded figure is weaving through the various tents towards its destination.
Upon reaching the entrance of a much larger tent, the figure readjusted a very thick tome of papers he was carrying. Finding his grip to satisfaction he entered the tent which to his surprise was already occupied.
Both Sothe and Micaiah were busy standing in front of a table in the middle of this spacious tent. Whatever they were talking about, he simply hoped it was about today's topic.
"Well I'm surprised; I thought I was the early riser." Catching the two's surprise with his sudden appearance as he removed his hood.
"Grima? Why are you here early?" Micaiah asked with an unmasked worry on her face. Sothe simply looked rather annoyed with his presence, but that was hardly new.
"I'm just making sure everyone present in the meeting receives their summary report." He spoke, gesturing to his stack of papers slung around his left arm as he walked up to the table to the two of them.
"You really went ahead and did that, did you?" Sothe comments.
"Of course, I did say I was making these during our last meetings." Taking a look at the table, he saw a large map depicting Daein divided among its various territories and cities, which also included major geographic features. Also on the table, he noticed one of his memos he distributed in the last meeting.
"I see you were reviewing before I got here. It's good to know someone else shares my enthusiasm for preparedness." He complimented them, but he knew reviewing was the last thing the two were doing before he arrived. This was clear since the memo was out of immediate reach from the two them.
This is also reinforced by the face Micaiah was giving, as it was clear she thought she didn't deserve such praise. But if she wanted to admit Grima was wrong in this case, she couldn't as Sothe gave a quick response.
"Yes, we were discussing very important matters about the upcoming battle."
Giving Sothe a knowing smirk, Grima nodded. "Well I'm glad. Since we're in the topic of reports" He trailed off, removing two identical stacks of paper from the pile and setting it in front of the two on the table.
Grima couldn't contain his feral grin as he saw the color drain from their faces. He found it difficult to find something to rile up the green-haired youth but it seems he found it.
In front of the two were two packets of papers. Both were about 24 pages long and contained both a shorten-summary and a long-list. Nothing to intimidating and should be comprehensible to anyone who can read.
But he heard the rumors.
Oh yes.
Since their first official meeting, he has taken the liberty of instituting a paper-trail rule that wasn't particularly well received among the more free-spirited individuals.
But as the adjutant Strategos he needed to get organized as the army inevitably grows in size in the future.
But that doesn't change the fact that any sort of paperwork is seen as an unnecessary evil to those very same free-spirits.
Such as these two.
He could already imagine their faces once they get to 'pros and cons' on the long-list form.
But before he could completely lose himself, his musings were disrupted when he heard a small female voice speak.
"You worked so hard to hand write this make this many copies . . ."
It was clear when Micaiah said that she didn't intend for anyone to hear it. Judging from Sothe's still colorless face, her small voice could only be heard by half of those present.
But it wasn't just the lack of loudness that concerned him but by how distant it sounded. Like she lost a competition she was gunning to win.
The last thing he needs to do is make his benefactor feel inadequate, unintentionally or not.
"I was very lucky I finished these copies on time." Emphasizing the amount by slamming the rest onto the table. "I spent a good chunk of my time with Volug with his language courses."
"You teach Volug the local language?" Sothe asked grabbing Grima's change of topic as if it was a life preserver.
"I don't teach him anything" He admitted, looking away as if he were embarrassed. "In fact I would say he is the teacher while I was the student as he taught me more about the ancient language."
"In fact I'm hoping I can send him your way Micaiah."
"Me?" Her eyes widening with the sudden focus upon her.
"Yes you." Amused he got that reaction from her. "Volug already has a proficient structure to speak the local language but he lacks any confidence to use it."
"But if he were to learn from the same confidence you usually exude . . ." Letting her fill the blanks. "Then you've done a better job than I would have."
It seems his obvious attempts of improving her self-esteem didn't go unnoticed by her. But neither did it fail in its intention as a small smile began to replace her gloom.
Now it's time to hit her with the big guns.
"Well since we still have time on our hands" he said, reaching into the pile and removing a single copy for himself. "We should use it to go over my reports. The long-list first.
Once again the color on their faces disappeared as the two of them reluctantly picked up their copies to follow along.
*Ahem* "To begin, I would like to quickly go over the methodology in which I filtered the raw intelligence data we've been receiving. So please turn to page 7-"
As Grima went on, the two of them stood as they went over the opening of the long-list.
But it was only Micaiah who had a face of determination and concentration to not only understand the information, but absorb it as well.
After running through several pages of the 'long-list' proposal, it seems salvation finally arrived for the two mentally battered individuals in the room.
That salvation took the form of General Tauroneo and his aide Jill.
"Ah, Lady Micaiah, young Sothe and Sir Grima what brought you to come in early?" The sterling white general asked.
"Please General, just Grima, I'm no blue-blood" Easily transitioning from reviewing papers to greeting the general. "And to answer your question we were just going over today's reports."
Handing out their copies for the meeting today the generals kept his face stoic and professional as he long ago got use to the idea of paperwork.
Jill on the other hand had a face similar to what Micaiah and Sothe earlier had worn.
"Well then, you should all make yourself presentable as his highness and his entourage is coming in soon." The general warned as he and Jill moved to their pre-determined spot.
Like clockwork, the three of them moved into their spots with Micaiah in the middle, Grima to her left and Sothe to her right.
After a brief time of fiddling with his report and books, the Prince and his entourage arrived to the war council.
Prince Pelleas wearing his usual royal garb was flanked by his mother to his left and Izuka to his right.
As the royal entourage settled at the head of the table, it wasn't the Prince who addressed the council but Izuka.
"Well, well! The rumors that my… operatives started have spread like wildfire through all of Daein! Late King Ashnard's orphan surfaces! Silver-Haired-"
As Izuka began to run his mouth as he normally does, Grima's ever analytical mind began to scrutinize Izuka's behavior.
He was the one opening such an important meeting and not the Prince. In fact, all previous meetings started the same and ended the same; with the Prince barely speaking a word. This display shows who was truly in charge of the situation; and he was doing it so flagrantly.
Micaiah may not understand or care to understand these kinds of subtleties. But Grima isn't so blind to the implications such assertion of soft-power could hold, and judging by the hard look Tauroneo was giving Izuka, he wasn't either.
Sadly for the two of them, this would be reality because it was the Prince who is consenting to it. So for the ever loyal Tauroneo, this disrespect of sovereign rights had to be tolerated.
Luckily for everyone here, Grima doesn't hold such loyalty.
"-Now that we have the people's attention…we snag their hearts! We'll just extol the savior, fan the rebellion, go to battle…and conquer the enemy in a blaze of glory!" Izuka finally finishing his long winded opening.
"Indeed, already we have the people's hopes and dreams on our side" Grima taking Izuka's momentary break to get in the conversation. "But sentiments alone do not win battles, men and metal do and we are hopelessly lacking in both areas."
"Such insolence!" Izuka practically screamed. "Do you not believe our soldiers would carry the day over these invaders?"
"Of course they would." Everyone raising their eyebrows at what Grima said. "It was fighting with them during the thick and thin that led me to such a conclusion."
The victorious smirk on Izuka was clearly evident but dropped when Grima continued.
"But it was this same experience that showed me the simple disparity between us and the Occupational Army that needs to be addressed."
It was then Izuka's smirk returned with a vengeance as he began to center the map on the table.
"Worry not! It was through my painstaking investigation, I have determined the perfect target that would satisfy your concerns and more."
He then pointed at a single point on the map with his bony finger.
"Talrega! Talrega will be our first conquest. Talrega lay on the fringes of the country, couple that with its rough natural terrain the Begnions hold is tenuous at best."
Just by looking at his smug look you could easily tell he was patting himself in the back for this 'amazing' choice.
Taking a peak to the rest of the occupants, however, it was clear that Micaiah disagreed with that choice as he noticed a slight shaking of her head.
Interestingly Tauroneo seemed to also disagree, as he noticed the old general had his copy of Grima's report opened to the summary which clearly spells out his views in detail.
"Talrega huh?" Grima said aloud as he brought his right hand to his chin. "Talrega is remote relative to the rest of the country and anti-Begnion sentiment runs high here."
"There is even a supply road and depot that runs through the territory from Begnion to supply the Occupational Army."
Bringing his hands to his sides, he prepared to drop the cold water.
"But I must disagree. Talrega shouldn't be our first target."
Izuka's change of face was instant but luckily for everyone he wouldn't be able to retort as someone else intervened.
"I agree Talrega is no good." Micaiah said with authority in her voice that demanded to be heard.
"An attack on Talrega now would be poorly timed as the notorious rains in the region that create landslides would hamper our advance, let alone the battlefield."
Grima could only give a small smirk at the information Micaiah gave. It seems she also gave more than 5 minutes of thought for their target. She revealed critical information only a local were aware of from what Jill indicated. Something that even Grima failed to get.
But that's not to say she was using her own knowledge. During her argument against Talrega, she very frequently cited his own report to back her up.
This gave the reason for everyone except for Micaiah and Tauroneo to pick up their own copies to follow-along.
"So even though there is a supply route that runs through Talrega, it isn't a primary or even a secondary supply route but a tertiary one. So the only supplies we would make off would be ink bottles and pillows."
With Micaiah done with her oral argument, the meeting became quiet as they began to digest the information they were given.
It wasn't completely silent as Izuka was desperately finding a flaw in Grima's long-list as he quietly whimpered how perfect his plan is.
"Micaiah." It was the prince who finally broke the silence. "What would you recommend for our target?"
"Terin." She answered with no hesitation at all. "Terin would be the best target for not only our first victory but also an important base of supplies."
"An important base for supplies?" The general repeated skeptically. "Excuse me for saying this but isn't Terin too mountainous and arid for any meaningful amount of supplies?"
It was at that question that Micaiah gave a non-verbal queue to Grima to take over explanations.
"Not at all, General" Getting everyone's attention as he picked up the report to begin. "If you take a look at the summary report just after the opening, it's noted that Terin is much more than what you described, general."
"There is a river valley that cuts right through the mountains where the majority of the inhabitants live. This valley has very rich soil; couple that with the running river; makes the Terin river valley a large agricultural producer, mostly in grain and cereals. With Terin's capture we wouldn't need to worry about feeding our expanding army."
This seems to satisfy the generals' question as he nodded in acknowledgement.
"Micaiah and Grima, you two are amazing!" The Prince happily praised. "I'm very glad I have you two for council."
"Is there any objection with Terin as our target?" After receiving no nays the Prince nodded. "Then Terin it is."
Micaiah was visibly relieved with the Princes agreement. But that relief was interrupted when Jill caught her attention.
"I'm surprised you knew about the landslides Micaiah, have you been to Talrega?"
"Only once before." She admitted.
"Only once?" Jill was about to ask another question but luckily Sothe intervened on Micaiah's behalf.
"Micaiah is a powerful Seer." He spoke as if it not a big deal. "Many of us in the Dawn brigade owe Micaiah our survival to her skills.
Everyone in the room except for the Dawn members looked at Micaiah with both awe and surprise which only further embarrassed the Seer.
But the surprise didn't extend to Grima. Sometime after leaving the desert, the three of them got together and explained to each other a quick summary of themselves. Micaiah seer abilities were mentioned along with Sothe's time with the Greil Mercenaries.
Grima as well went a more in-depth with himself, touching on his experience as an instructor in dark magic and his experience with curses and hexes which did garner more of response from the two than his dark magic abilities.
But of course they kept their opinions to themselves.
Grima always saw himself as a more rational and logical person. So when it comes to abilities pertaining to looking into the future, he always been skeptical.
He only ever met self-proclaimed seers who were more at times loud than correct.
So when it was revealed that Micaiah is a Seer he couldn't help but show his surprise but the long-time members of the brigade would all proclaim her abilities to be true.
But his logical self couldn't accept something like this. Seeing into the future would require enormous amounts of energy no human could hold themselves.
Something else was involved. He didn't like going into this line of thought as he generally regarded her as simply too truthful to a fault, but it's entirely within the realm of possibilities that she too have her own secrets she didn't wish to share.
Maybe it involves that nagging feeling he always felt about her.
But before he could go further in-depth his ponderings were shattered by a loud screech.
"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhggghhhk!"
It was Izuka.
Is the hunched-backed man having a heart attack?
But alas they weren't so lucky as the greying recovered quickly.
"She can foresee battle outcomes!? Magnificent! Why didn't anybody tell me of this?" It was clear from Izuka's eyes that this revelation truly made his day. "This only makes the maiden that much more appealing. And let us just be honest here, my foresight in decreeing her vice- general was wondrous–nay, genius!"
Grima immediately gave Sothe a look of both bewilderment and concern from his irregular behavior.
It seems Sothe got what he was implying as he stood straighter in readiness.
*Ahem* Coughing loudly to get everyone's attention to himself Grima spoke up.
"With the target finalized I would like to transition the topic to the planning stage of our assault, if that is alright with you, your grace."
Prince Pelleas looked taken aback as he seems too worried with Izuka's behavior.
But it seems even Izuka was able to recompose himself.
"Indeed it's time we move on."
Grima openly narrowed his eyes with Izuka's open disrespect to the Prince. He could tell his ego will be a hurdle to the war effort.
But for now he could only lower his head in deferment.
"Well I would like to recommend sending a scouting team ahead of the army to Terin to get a more in-depth view of the area and the garrison."
Several hours of deliberations later, Grima is walking outside in the company of Micaiah.
The meeting was long and mentally draining for the Maiden as clearly shown by her short, slow walking strides.
Grima on the other hand was in a particularly good mood. He didn't realize how much he missed being a Strategos and doing it again for Micaiah was actually rejuvenating.
But he wasn't so dense to see her struggling to keep up during the meeting, so he took it upon himself to end the meeting early and let himself and Tauroneo do the fine tuning at a later date.
Several individuals in the meeting left early to carry on their business such as Almedha, Jill and much to his own displeasure, Sothe.
He did try to subtly have her take a break; or at the very least, leave early as well, but she was either aware enough to his schemes or too stubborn to give in.
Still the meeting was very productive and he was very confident on the capabilities of his compatriots in the decision making aspects of war.
One such aspect is sending an advance scouting party to Terin for more in-depth information of the situation. It was decided that the scouting party would be made up Sothe and Jill.
So the two of them left early to assemble their team, which is the reason why the grass head is currently absent from Micaiah's company. Much to his vocal displeasure.
Grima did admit to himself that he does have a ulterior motive to separating the two; but his motives were done with good intentions as Micaiah needs to develop without the suffocation Sothe gives her.
And Micaiah isn't the only one who needs this type of treatment.
But for now this will do.
"You didn't need to come with me" His silver-haired companion said. "I'm just notifying a few people of our destination."
"Your right, I didn't need too. But were both going towards the merchant convoy, so it only makes sense we go together." He states matter of factly.
"Unless . . . you don't want my company?" He playfully teases, as he knew exactly what her answer would be.
Predictably, she recoiled at the suggestion as she assertively answers back.
"No of course not! I treasure your company."
He chuckled as the realization dawns on her as she fell for one of his games, once again.
"How'd you feel about our meeting?" Deciding she deserved enough. For now.
"Eye-opening." She said after a couple of seconds of thought.
"Eye-opening? How so?" Honestly curious of her perspective.
"Everything." She simply said. She took a single look at Grima's curious face as she extrapolated. "When it was just the Dawn Brigade, and before we met you, we never had anything so 'formal' and 'detailed' before."
"At times it honestly made me feel out of place; like I had no business being at that discussion table."
"And then I look at you." She said.
"At me?" He questioned but he had an idea where she was coming from.
"Yes, you look so assured with yourself as you go into detail about your plans, it's honestly terrifying."
"Terrifying." Letting the familiar descriptor roll of his tongue. "Is that how you view me?"
It seems Micaiah is able to learn from her past mistakes as she only looked at him unamused with his antics.
"You know that's not remotely true."
"The same can easily be said about you belonging in the meeting." He said with no break in his amused tone.
But that amusement instantly fell as he turned to Micaiah with a 'terrifying' look.
"And I mean that, wholeheartedly. Keep in mind that everything here is accomplished because of your hard work." Micaiah began to look abashed with the sudden praise but she also didn't shy away from his stare.
"It was you who convinced the others to create the Dawn Brigade. It was you who gave hope to the denizens of Daein. It was you who led the Dawn Brigade to Prince Pelleas. It was you who agreed to work with said Prince and form the Daein Liberation Army; now it was you who ultimately chose Terin."
"But it was your report that convinced them." She noted.
"You were set on Terin as our target before you even looked at the report." From her reaction he hit the nail on that. "Keep in mind that that Terin was first on the long-list. It could've been any of the other four on the list; like Riven or Mare Tirrenum. But it was your passion and knowledge that ultimately led to Terin."
"It was merely happenstance that we independently came to the same answer."
It seems that some of her shyness bled away as an amused smirk is seen appearing on her face.
Honestly speaking Grima didn't feel qualified to be the one helping her.
Where was Robin where he needed him? He's the one with experience with these leader archetypes, unlike Grima who only had experience dealing with more ruthless and calculating leaders. Not that it's entirely a bad thing.
"And Micaiah if you honestly don't feel confident in these types of situations, you can always rely on my guidance." Deciding he did a good enough job for today. "That is my job as your adjutant."
"My adjutant" She laughed at the word as she started to walk again. "I thought you were a Strategos."
Grima only narrowed his eyes as he quickly caught up to her.
"You'll only ever hear me refer myself as just adjutant so long as 'he' isn't here to hear it." Taking a quick look at his surrounding for any eavesdroppers.
"Honestly, you two" Sighing as she completely understood that the 'he' referred to Sothe.
"Don't take it the wrong way." Grima quickly amended. "I don't hate Sothe. In fact I like him a lot. It's just that he needs to understand how wrong he is."
She could only sigh as Grima openly admits to his shenanigans.
"So why are you heading to the Merchant convoy?" She asked hoping to change the topic.
"I wanted to thank Aimee for the quality of the Atlas I bought from her."
"You bought an Atlas?"
"Yes, a very detailed one I might add. It was instrumental in my report; so I wished to thank her and to show my appreciation I wanted to special order a few more things from her."
"But here we are and she is nowhere to found." He lamented as he turned his head in every direction for the Merchant.
"Yes, she's normally at her stall at this time." Helping Grima in finding the merchant. "Hmm, oh we should ask Kurth."
Turning where Micaiah pointed he noticed the figure who he is barely acquainted to.
He only ever had glimpses of the back of the cloaked man so this would be the first time he stood in front of him.
"Kurth!" Micaiah yelled getting his attention.
"Micaiah, how nice to see you." Greeting the maiden.
He then turned his look to Grima.
This was also the first time he seen his face. Even with his hood up he was able to discern his striking red eyes and his brown skin.
But what really struck him was his aura. Something about him just emanated power and grace which made him oddly nostalgic.
"Oh you've never met before. Grima, Kurth. Kurth, Grima." Micaiah quickly introduced.
"A pleasure to meet you, Grima." His fellow red eye said.
"A pleasure indeed, Kurth." Grima replied honestly as he suppressed any suspicion or questions stemming from the aura he felt from Kurth.
As feeling these odd feelings isn't justifiable to warrant any questions as he met many people with these 'odd' feelings. Heck, he's walking with one right now.
"Kurth." Micaiah said to get his attention. "Have you seen Aimee anywhere? We're looking for her."
"I think I saw her enter the twins stall."
"Thank you, Kurth." She took her first step to leave until she remembered her business.
"Kurth, I need to tell you that we'll be leaving for Terin soon. I know it's sudden."
"I see, you're off to fulfill your role as Vice-Commander of the 'Liberation Army'." His sudden lament took Micaiah by surprise and won him a curious look from Grima.
"I am." Micaiah flatly replied, wondering where he was going with this.
"I abhor war" He categorically said. "I would rather you not fight."
"Indeed, war is a cruel mistress." Grima instantly replied, preempting any reply from Micaiah. "But one would be a fool to turn away from reality."
Grimas stiff words got him the attention from the both of them.
Kurth looked at Grima from head to toe as if he was a puzzle in need of solving.
But he then turned his look back to Micaiah.
"I understand you wished for another way. I also understand you do this for the good of your country, so I offer you this."
He then planted several papers onto Micaiahs hand.
"I hope this will serve you in the future. I must leave now for my country."
Kurths sudden announcement was once again met by looks of surprise from the two.
"So soon?" Micaiah asked, barely able to form words from her sputtering mouth.
"Being so close to battle frightens me." Kurth spoke, admitting this secret to the two. "Thank you again for rescuing me, the short time we spent together was enjoyable. I will treasure those memories immensely."
"Will we ever see you again?" Micaiah asked, still coping with his sudden announcement.
"I do not know." Kurth honestly said. "It will be up to the goddess."
"Yes, the goddess" She absently repeated.
"Until Next time Micaiah." Then returning his attention to Grima. "I would've liked to know more about you, Grima."
"Hopefully under better circumstances." Returning the gesture as the two of them saw Kurth off.
The past few days were a busy one for Grima.
After additional meetings, Grima along with Micaiah and Tauroneo were able to forge an agreeable strategy for the Terin operation.
Of course any overall tactical decision hasn't been made yet, as he was still waiting on Sothe and Jill's final scouting report.
From the advance reports he did receive, it seems the enemy is already fortifying their positions with emplaced artillery pieces and reinforcements.
But it seems the enemy commander made these matters a very public affair as an intimidation tactic to cow the local populace to not cooperate with the DLA.
A decision that Grima has every intention of exploiting.
"Well you won't be exploiting anything if you're sitting around drinking that tea."
Ah, how could he forget about his ever-present companion. In fact it's been too long since the last time they spoke.
"It's been 10 days since we last spoke, Robin." Grima mentally stated. "Where have you been?"
"Sleeping." His ghost said matter-of-factly.
"Sleeping?" Grima incredulously repeated. "You need sleeping?"
"Yes, it seems I do." He said as if he was stretching his muscles. "In fact I'm somewhat surprised you don't feel exhausted as I am after everything we've gone through. In fact it looks like your full of energy."
"Blame it on my Draconic side." To be truthful, he was surprised how energetic he was as well. Maybe being lucid to your own actions again can do that.
"Well can you be a doll and explain why your sipping tea in this finely decorated tent instead of working now?" He asked his fellow workaholic.
"Because the Queen-mother requested my presence." After answering Robin's question he took another long sip in a prose that would make any blue-blood jealous.
"You don't know why you're here?" Robin asked as he tried to picture of what happened during his slumber.
"I'm quite ignorant to this meeting she called for and who is also late too." Grima revealed with slightly heavy tone. If that tone was for the snub or his empty tea cup, Robin couldn't tell.
"I didn't think the Queen would act like this to you." Robin wondered aloud. "Well, at least not yet." He amended after a pause.
"Well the Queen has already shown she has a lack of empathy towards others, other than her-"
But before Grima could finish, the entrance of the tent suddenly opened as the late arrival made her self-known.
Grima did the only sensible thing to do when you met someone who was late to their own meeting.
He stood from his comfortable seat and bowed his head in deference.
"Your Grace." He said as if he wasn't internally bad mouthing said royal.
Almedha only looked at him for a second before she sat down opposite of him.
"There's no need to be so formal with me, Grima." She said as a signal to take a seat himself; which he took. "You must understand, Grima, I have a very busy schedule."
"Of course" He replied in understanding. "The war is bound to escalate so we all must do our parts, which unfortunately fills up our schedules."
"Then I'll make this quick for the both of us." She stated with no change in her tone. "I request that you tutor my son in Dark Magic."
"Your son?" He said with a raised eyebrow. "I did hear he is an aspiring dark mage."
"Indeed he is. Very recently he was gifted several dark tomes from Izuka to train his unique skillset. But dark mages are very rare to find." She paused for dramatic effect. "Let alone an experienced one like yourself."
Grima smiled at the Queens attempt of flattery. "It does make sense to ask me. But do you think it's alright to teach him this subject matter?"
"As you said Grima, 'the war is bound to escalate'" Repeating his earlier words. "I'm only doing this for his protection."
Grima once again nodded in agreement. "Unfortunately my schedule is quite full in the near future because of said war."
Of course this is a golden opportunity for Grima, but he's not going to make it easy for her.
"Then make room for it." She said with a growing hint of annoyance.
It seems this is as far as he could to poke the bear.
Grima openly sighed in defeat.
"I would agree to your proposal. In one condition."
Almedha straightened at the words.
"What is it?"
"I would like to expand the subject matter beyond that of mage craft."
"Meaning?" Narrowing her eyes in suspicion.
"To rule." He said flatly.
The Queen-mothers suspicious look turned to one of outright disgust from his implied insult.
But Grima pressed on.
"Your Grace, you and I both know that Prince Pelleas has the will to rule. But does he have the knowledge to rule? It's clear from our war meetings that he is completely out of his depth in regards to war and leadership."
"That's why he has loyal advisors for." The queen countered.
"Indeed, he is very lucky to have such loyal and competent advisors."
"But let me ask you this, your grace. Who would teach him to discern such advisors? The yes-man General Tauroneo? The transparently ambitious Izuka?" Grima would hate himself for bring this up. "Or Micaiah?"
It seems that last part got to her as she looked away from him in critical thought with a look of displeasure.
'And you think you're the most qualified?" She asked.
"Yes." He said with no hesitation.
Grima very much has experience with tutoring and advising Kings and future Kings.
He only ever had two examples and the results from the two are mixed as they both died in the end. But the rule of Hegemon Philip and his son and future Hegemon Alex was prosperous and stable. Especially in the wider context of the turmoil during the Great Schism.
So he isn't lying.
And the Queen-Mother noticed this resolution within him. She'd seen Grima operate with confidence and conviction during their war meetings. Something her son desperately needs.
She also has seen how he would always defer to a higher authority, either be it Micaiah or her son. So he at least has some sense of loyalty.
But she'll be trusting her only son, her only family to a complete stranger.
With great reluctance she came to her decision.
"Very well, Grima."
To the guest reviewers. I'm glad you like my story and I hope to continue to meet your expectations.
Hopefully 5-7 thousand words would be the average chapter length or I'll burn myself out before I finish this.
I have a question to all the readers. I'm currently undecided if Grima should have any love interest. So if you think he should/or not, tell me and if you think he should, let me know who you think it should be.
Anything is appreciated.
Until next time.