Chapter 49 – Failed to Foresee

The following dawn was clear and bright, the air warming rapidly. Flik gathered in his men from their forward pickets and led them to the assigned position. The whole army was in motion, men forming into lines of battle. Flik wheeled his mounted archers in behind Viktor's ranks of infantry. He could see Lady Teresa's unit of archers off to the right and, more distantly, the mages that Luc commanded. Light from the rising sun glinted off of thousands of spearpoints in front of Flik. Everything was ready.

Except that nobody sent any signal to begin the advance. Initially, this didn't bother Flik at all. He'd been in many different military organizations in his life, and the concept of "hurry up and do nothing" was not new to him. Undoubtedly there was some last minute scouting going on, or perhaps Shu had found something in the plan that needed adjustment.

The sun rose higher and higher into the morning sky as the army stood in readiness. The day was becoming quite hot. Flik wiped sweat from his forehead and tried not to fret about what might be going wrong. Nightstar bent down to graze, and Flik fought valiantly to keep his horse's head up, just in case things started moving. The waiting was wearying, and he started rotating squads to stand down briefly. After a while, he rode forward to find Viktor.

Flik found him at the head of his infantry, gazing down towards the town of Radat. The Highland army was clearly visible in the distance, waiting to receive the attack.

"You know anything about why we're waiting?" Flik asked.

"Sent a messenger to find out about an hour ago." Viktor sounded perturbed. "The reply was that 'the battle will begin when Shu orders it, and not one moment before.' Damn it all, we're sitting on our asses and wasting the day!"

Flik was struck by the ferocity of his friend's anger. His concerns came back to the front of his mind. "You don't think…maybe, that Riou has lost his nerve?"

"It's not Riou, it's that strategist," Viktor answered darkly. "He's so wrapped up in making sure his brilliant strategy works that he's going to end up costing us the battle. You saw how he snapped at Ridley last night, didn't you? There'll be trouble from that, I think."

"Shu hasn't made a mistake yet," Flik answered. "He might have some scheme prepared for this battle." He could hear the lack of conviction in his own voice. For all that the strategist had done right, most of that had been on defense, or in small actions. Would Shu be able to get them a victory in a major battle?

Flik went back to his men. The waiting continued. He tried to close his eyes to rest, but that seemed to make him more tired. Finally, with the sun past noon, the horns from Riou's unit sounded the advance. A jolt of energy coursed through Flik, cutting through his lethargy in a moment. Flagging spearpoints suddenly jumped back upright and began to move forward. The battle had started.

The last rank of Viktor's men started moving. Flik ordered his men forward as well. From his mounted position, he could see the battlefield well. The Highlanders were closing ranks, preparing to repel the assault. In a few minutes, the first of Ridley's kobolds would be within range of the enemy archers.

Then the plan fell apart. At first, Flik couldn't believe what he was seeing, but he finally had to accept it. The kobolds were pulling out of line, marching towards the left, and passing right in front of Viktor's men. Viktor had no choice except to stop his advance before his men got tangled up with Ridley's. Flik swore and had his men stop too.

"Hix!" Flik shouted. "Ride forward and find out what the hell Ridley is doing." Hix nodded and sped his horse off in the direction of the kobolds. Tengaar followed him.

Meanwhile, Flik took stock of the situation. The rest of the New State Army had marched on for several moments more but was now coming to an uneven halt. The departure of the kobolds had left a gap in the first line, a critical flaw. Across the field, the Highland Army was suddenly in motion. Their cavalry was coming forward, and Flik knew instinctively that they were going to lunge for the gap.

Never hesitating, Flik yelled, "Follow me!" and brandished his sword. He heeled Nightstar to a trot and plunged towards the hole in the first line. As he did so, the infantry on his right and left started to fall back.

Apple, on a shaggy pony, was waiting for Flik when his men arrived at the center of the line. She looked frazzled, but spoke steadily. "Flik, Shu has decided that we can't hold our current positions. We're going to have to retreat. Both Highland armies are moving against us. We've sent Camus and Miklotov to deal with the Fourth army, but we need you to hold off the Third. You'll have support from Luc and Teresa, for a while, and Viktor will be stationed to guard the road behind you. Good luck."

"What happened with Ridley?" Flik asked before Apple could ride off.

"I don't know," she answered. "Maybe Shu understands, but he hasn't told me."

She left, and Flik turned to the task of arraying his men to meet the enemy. The Highland cavalry was already charging, closing the distance rapidly. He'd have very little time to prepare any kind of defense.

Lightning flashed out of the cloudless sky, forking and blasting into the ranks of the onrushing cavalry. The rune in Flik's right hand stirred in response. He risked a glance to the rear, trying to determine the source of the attack, and saw the archers of Greenhill behind him with Jeane standing at their forefront. They launched a volley of arrows over his head. The wind suddenly whipped up around Flik, and he faced back towards the Highlanders. That gust became a gale, raking across the line of the cavalry and stopping the charge cold.

"Fire Spears!" Flik shouted above the roar. "Now!"

Momentarily, Flik and his men were safely separated from the enemy by a wall of flame, but more Highlanders appeared where the fire ended. Arrows rained down from the enemy side too, drawing shouts of pain from around Flik.

Using both the Fire Spears and help from Jeane and Luc, Flik was able to keep the Highland Army at bay for half an hour, but eventually they slipped around his flanks. It was time to retreat. He turned his men and started back up the road, away from Radat, following Lady Teresa's archers.

Further up the road was the sanctuary of Viktor's infantry, now standing behind hastily prepared breastworks, little more than logs thrown down onto the ground. Flik looked behind him and saw that another formation of cavalry was coming at his men. Their leader looked particularly baleful: a gigantic man in silver plate-mail and a horned helmet, who was wielding a double-bladed battleaxe.

With Lady Teresa's men passing through Viktor's fortifications, there was no way Flik could ride to safety, so he wheeled his unit around, intending to bring the Fire Spears to bear. It was too late. The Highland cavalry was crashing into his men, and all he could worry about was survival.

Several enemies spotted Flik immediately, his blue outfit making him stand out in the press. He batted a lance-head away with his shield from one side and thrust with his sword at the other. With adversaries on either side, he spurred Nightstar through the middle, rather than try to fight them both. He escaped those two, but there were plenty of other foes.

A blade flashed before him, and Flik reflexively parried it, driving his counter deep into his opponent's armpit. Only then did he see the look of shock on the Highlander's young face, close enough that Flik could see his wide blue eyes clearly. Flik pulled his sword free, looking ahead, gauging where the next threat would come from.

He made his way to a knot of his own men, slipping behind them so that he could assess the melee. It was not going well. The Highlanders had the weight of numbers and were isolating his men into small groups. As much as he hated it, Flik knew that he could not win here. It was time to call for a retreat and save what he could.

Before Flik could give the order, there was a roar from behind him. Viktor's infantry were rushing down the road towards the fighting, with Viktor himself at their head. In seconds, his men joined the fighting, adding their numbers to Flik's men.

The Highlanders continued fighting too. A wedge of them smashed through the men around Flik, and he had to battle for his life again. He smashed his shield into the face of an enemy who ventured too close, then launched a bolt of lightning at a Highland officer. Viktor came up alongside Flik, slashing and thrusting with the Star Dragon Sword, and the battle ebbed away.

"What are you doing here?" Flik shouted. "You're supposed to be holding the road."

"Some way to greet me when I've come to pull you out of the fire," Viktor yelled back cheerfully. "I'm not going to abandon you just to follow orders."

Flik looked back towards Radat. More Highlanders were flowing into the fighting. Moreover, the man with the horned helmet was fighting his way towards Flik.

"We're in a lot of trouble here," Flik mentioned to Viktor.

"So what?" Viktor answered. "Hey, do you want horned head or should I take him when he gets to us?" Flik was struck by the lightness in his friend's tone. Viktor was smiling, even in the middle of calamity. "Get your men out of here," he said. "We'll cover your retreat."

Flik swallowed a lump in his throat. "I don't like abandoning you in the middle of a fight either."

The Highlanders surged back up towards Viktor and Flik. Once again, fighting became more important than talking. Flik fell back on his training, his consciousness subsumed by the rhythm of the fighting. Swords clashed against his shield. His sword rang against armor, sometimes crunching bone, and sometimes tearing flesh.

Finally, Flik made a mistake. He was a fraction of a second too slow, and a Highland sword slipped past his guard and slashed into his ribs from the left. He gasped at the pain, nearly losing his sword grip due to the sudden weakness. Viktor quickly came to his rescue, the Star Dragon Sword driving the Highlander away.

Flik swayed in the saddle, his vision filled with motes of light. When he could see clearly again, he became aware that many of his men were looking back at him. He sat up straighter and held his bloody sword aloft. "I'm fine!" he shouted. "Keep fighting!"

"You're not," Viktor said, under the din of the fighting.

Flik grimaced as he brought his sword down and inspected the damage. The leather of his blue coat seemed to have warded the cutting blade, but it hadn't mitigated the blunt force of the attack. "It's only a bruise," Flik argued.

"Your pride is going to get both of us killed," Viktor argued back. "Since you have the smaller force, you should retreat first. I promise I'll follow right behind you."

A sharp pain from his ribs almost made Flik gasp, but he gritted his teeth and let it out as a hiss. "Okay. I'm going, but you'd better be right behind me." Flik raised his voice and shouted as loudly as he was able, "Back! Back! Mounted archers to me!"

His men extracted themselves as best they could, following Flik away from the fighting. He didn't look back, but kept his eyes firmly fixed on the road ahead. The redness of the setting sun seemed a mockery of the day's fighting.

It wasn't long before he overtook the remainder of the New State Army. They were astride the road, in lines of battle, waiting for him. Shu rode out from the ranks to greet Flik. The strategist was anything but sanguine about the situation.

"Where is Viktor?" Shu demanded sharply. "He abandoned his position covering the withdrawal and forced me to deploy the whole army back into battle formation."

Flik glowered at Shu, to little visible effect. "Viktor led his men to rescue mine. It's by his efforts that I'm here now." Neither man spoke after that, engaging in a staring contest. Finally, Flik's injured ribs began to hurt again, robbing him of his strength. He looked away. "What happened with Ridley?"

Shu's response was not immediate. Finally, he conceded, "I failed to foresee his actions, that's all. Even a strategist such as myself can make a mistake. Now then, prepare your men to move. We'll continue falling back. I intend to put as much distance as I can between us and the enemy."

"Are you abandoning Viktor?" Flik could feel his anger surging again. Even if he had to go alone, he would fight alongside his friend.

"You needn't worry," Shu answered. "As you can see, Viktor has escaped the field of battle."

Flik swung around in the saddle. Shu's words were correct. Viktor and his men were raggedly marching towards the remainder of the army. Looking haggard, but full of spirit, he walked up to Shu to give his report.

"They broke off the fighting. I think they've decided it's getting too dark to continue. I tell you, it's a good thing the battle started as late as it did, otherwise they'd still be chasing us."

"I am well aware of that," Shu declared. "Now then, organize your unit for the march. We've still got a ways to go."

The army slowly continued its westerly move through the late evening. They were aided by the fact that it was summer, and the days were long. Flik's injury continued to bother him, but he managed to stay astride Nightstar until the army finally stopped to make camp. Flik was immediately summoned to another strategy meeting. As before, they gathered in Riou's large tent, around an oak table with a map of the province on it. The mood of this gathering was markedly different than the one that had preceded the battle. Apple glumly gave an assessment of the situation.

"We have successfully broken contact with the two Highland armies. Though casualties for some units were high, as a whole the New State Army remains intact. However, the actions of Lord Ridley have significantly weakened our strength."

"What about Lord Ridley?" Miklotov asked. "Did he give any reason for his cowardly actions?"

Camus shook his head. "Undoubtedly he decided that the interests of his kobolds outweighed the needs of the army. I fear that the Jowston Alliance's greatest weakness has shown itself."

"But he was always shouting about the need to act together," Chaco argued. "Was all of that just bluster? Arrogant bastard!"

Flik was busy looking at Shu and Riou. The two of them had calmly listened to the tirade, but neither offered any answers. He ignored the pain in his side to voice his own concerns. "Without the kobolds, we'll have difficulty matching Kiba in a set battle."

Shu shook his head. "Ridley's reasons are his own. We cannot waste any more time speculating on them or in useless anger about what he's done. We must lay out a strategy for the next couple of days. Tomorrow we will continue our redeployment, passing north and west of South Window."

"Pardon me, but may I take my men to the defense of South Window?" Freed asked.

"I'm afraid that I must refuse," Shu replied. "In fact, I've ordered General Arnhem to declare South Window an open city."

"But why?" Freed stammered. "Is the New State Army going to surrender the people of South Window without fighting?"

Shu's gaze was icy. "I cannot afford to weaken the army any further by sending detachments to hold the cities. Listen carefully: the ownership of South Window will not decide this war. I will not waste resources trying to hold things that have only emotional value and no strategic value. Do I make myself understood?"

Freed turned to Riou, trying to see if there was any difference of opinion. Riou remained silent, deferring to Shu. Nanami, who was sitting at Riou's side, looked extremely concerned. Flik watched the exchange, trying not to wince from his own pain.

When no one else spoke, Shu nodded to himself. "You should all get some rest and tend to your units. Do not worry yourselves about the future. That is my job. Good night."

As the meeting broke up, Flik remained a few moments after, attempting to gather his strength. Viktor came up beside him, a worried look on his face. "Hey, buddy, you all right?"

"I'm fine," Flik answered through labored breaths. He wasn't, though, and slumped down on the table, vision blurring. He heard Viktor shout but couldn't make out the words. His vision faded to black. The last thing he heard was a girl's startled yell. In his mind, he tried to form the image of Odessa, to hold on to. Then he slipped away.

Flik spasmed awake as an icy jolt ran through his injured side. He was aware that he was lying on a bed. His cape, coat, and yellow shirt had all been removed and his torso wrapped in white gauze. Viktor's face loomed into view and, though he looked happy, there was a certain tightness in his smile that suggested a deep concern.

"Back in the land of the living, are you? Whew! You had me worried for a moment."

"Didn't you think to have your injury looked at?" asked the same girl who'd yelled earlier.

Flik flopped his head over to see Nanami sitting on a stool by the side of the bed. She looked tired and pale. He played through the sequence of events that had happened just before he'd blacked out. He realized that Nanami must've found him when he passed out, and that she and Viktor had taken him to get treated. He examined the tent more closely. It was not the medical ward. That meant it was probably Nanami's tent, and that he was resting on her bed. He immediately got up to a sitting position.

"Don't do that!" Nanami exclaimed. "I just spent ten minutes with my water rune patching you up. Even with the healing, it'll take time to fully recover from a wound that serious."

Carefully, Flik felt along his left side. He winced at the bruises underneath the gauze. However, he was breathing without difficulty. "What was it?" he asked.

"You're lucky I worked with injured soldiers back in Kyaro," Nanami said. "I think you had a couple of fractured ribs. My rune healed them, but the bones won't be as strong as if they'd knitted naturally."

Flik looked down at the bed covers, briefly wondering how she had managed to get the bed transported. "Thank you, Nanami."

Viktor nodded. "Yeah, it was a lot easier lugging Flik here than all the way to the field hospital."

Nanami didn't reply, looking away from the two men. After an uncomfortable moment, Flik asked, "What's wrong?"

Not making eye contact with him, she answered softly, "We lost today, didn't we?"

Flik glanced nervously at Viktor. Viktor didn't look as though he wanted to respond. Neither did Flik, but he took a deep breath and said, "It wasn't too bad. The army's still able to do battle, and that's what's important."

Nanami swung back around to face Flik. He could see tears beginning to form in her eyes. "Is it?" she asked. "Riou went and gathered all those people for what? So that we could all yell at each other and lose in battle and come back injured or dead? I don't want the war to continue. I want it to end. I want the fighting to stop. I want the killing to stop. What good does it do for us to fight if we can't accomplish anything?" The tears were now running down her cheeks; she couldn't continue speaking.

"I understand why you feel that way," Flik said. "A defeat in battle can be pretty disheartening. I should know; I've had my share. But we've got to learn from what happened and come back even stronger. That's the only way to achieve the peace we want."

Nanami shook her head. "I know what went wrong. Everybody knows, but nobody will say it. Ridley left us because Shu yelled at him. It's all Shu's fault. Now he's yelling at Freed. What happens when Freed leaves too? Maybe Shu can't figure out how to win, so all he can do is yell at people."

Those words were perilously close to Flik's own thoughts about Shu. Viktor also appeared to be pondering Nanami's statement. Cautiously, he replied, "I don't think we can ask Riou to replace him. That would really mess things up, right when we need to stick together."

Nanami looked away again, speaking more to herself. "I didn't want my brother caught up in any of this. I don't know how to get my brother to stop, either. I wish Jowy were here. He'd figure out some way to end this."

Hearing her fondness for Jowy annoyed Flik a little. Whatever Jowy's intentions were, he'd betrayed all of them and murdered Anabelle. Now he seemed quite willing to work with Luca Blight to further his own goals.

"Remember what Highland did to begin this war," Viktor said solemnly. "Personally, I'm glad that Riou is leading our army. As strange as it sounds, I think his actions are crucial for all of us. So, if he continues to have faith in Shu, then I'll continue to follow Shu's orders. Even if things go badly, I'll continue to fight. I can't let my homeland fall to a monster like Luca Blight."

Nanami met Viktor's gaze. "Even if you have to keep sending men to their deaths with no hope of victory? Even if you have to become like Luca in order to keep fighting?"

Viktor's stare was unflinching. "We haven't reached that point yet. This conflict is far from decided. We will emerge victorious, I'm sure of it."

"I wish I could see things that clearly," Nanami whispered. "It seems to me that this war has clouded everyone's vision." She looked away from Viktor, and did not speak on that subject again.