A/N: Hi, guys! It's been a while. Been spending the past few weeks getting adjusted to a new job and also doing some soul searching. The coronavirus pandemic made me do a lot of that recently, as I'm sure for the rest of you.

I will try to get back into a regular writing schedule, for all of you have waited long enough.

Kenzou II

"I don't understand why you are taking such a risk in trusting a traitor." Kenzou might have trusted that Jaenyx knew what he was doing, but that didn't dispel his own doubts.

"I know how you're feeling, Kenzou. But this war has to be resolved as quickly as possible, because we cannot afford to prolong hostilities, not at this stage," Jaenyx answered.

Trained in the art of war, Kenzou knew that the best way to win a war, if it must be fought, was to ensure that it was won before the first blade lost his sharpness. When that happened, it was a sign that the war was taking too long and it would only be a matter of time before one side cracked like an egg.

"But still, Jaenyx. Weslar Reyne?" Kenzou didn't like the idea of working with an enemy traitor. "The enemy of our enemy is not our friend. Too many men died because of they believed in the contrary."

"Believe me, Kenzou. I do not trust Weslar Reyne for one moment, but how often do you have the chance to turn one of the enemy's senior commanders to our side? And given his position in their ranks, he's the most vital to our purpose at the moment," Jaenyx then led Kenzou to them map of both the riverlands and the Kingdom of the Rock. "Now, my agents have shown enemy activity within this part of the Red Fork," he glided his hand over the parts of the river adjacent to the mountains bordering the Kingdom of the Rock. "They said that the Loren is taking the searoad, the ancient route between the Kingdom of the Rock and the Kingdom of the Reach, with most of his army to reinforce his ally in Highgarden and he will leave a portion under Weslar Reyne's command. As you are aware, our advance into the Reach has stalled because it will be difficult for us to take Cider Hall, given the heavy concentration of troops there despite the reinforcements coming from the former Storm kingdom and the Vale kingdom."

"Why can't we just use the dragons?"

"My scouts at Cider Hall have reported a good number of the weapons used to wound Meraxes. I don't consider them serious threats, but we can't take any risks. However, our situation has improved considerably with Orys smashing the Redwyne fleet at the Arbor and cutting off that island from the rest of the Reach. This puts more pressure onto the enemy since their southern shores have been exposed, and this will also make them assume that we intend to land forces to take Oldtown and possibly the Honeywine."

"Which we will not do," Kenzou said.

"Exactly. And Loren also knows that should the Oldtown and the Honeywine fall, it won't take long for the rest of the Reach to follow and that will end the war in our favor because we will have full control over the breadbasket of Westeros. So, he's going to reinforce his Gardener ally to prevent that, which gives us a good opportunity to exploit the division in the enemy ranks."

"And the agent for that will be Weslar Reyne?" Kenzou figured out.

"It's no secret that the Reynes and the Lannisters are not friendly with each other, especially since Loren imprisoned Weslar's heir Bailen Reyne. And given how bad their rivalry is, Weslar Reyne wants to supplant Loren as the next ruler of his kingdom."

Kenzou was shocked. "You don't seriously intend to give him what he wants?"

"I told him that I would consider it, but I didn't make serious promises. As you should know, traitors can rarely be trusted. At the same time, we're going to need someone who knows how to deal with the lords sworn to the Lannisters."

Kenzou clicked his tongue. "Giving a traitor any form of reward will not end well. It sets a dangerous precedent and make it more likely for him to turn on us if he finds that the benefits of loyalty have been outweighed by switching to another banner again."

"And that's where you come in," Jaenyx surprised him.

"What?" Kenzou was caught off-guard.

"There's only a few people outside of the family that I can trust, and we go back a long way, Kenzou. And you have more reason than I do to kill anyone who serves Loren Lannister, which at this point also applies to Weslar Reyne until he overtly rebels. I need you to travel to the Red Fork and meet up with Lord Reyne, who has agreed to meet my representative at a secret location so that the final plans can be implemented."

"What final plans?"

Jaenyx explained to Kenzou in full detail what Weslar Reyne was required to do. Once the last of Loren's rearguard was reported to have departed Crakehall and into the Reach, Weslar Reyne will move his troops into a sneak attack onto the Golden Tooth, the strongest fortress besides Casterly Rock in Loren's kingdom and the one that controlled all access to and from his realm in the west. Once the castle was secured, they would then seal off the mountain pass with a special tool that had been in development by the Rahitheons. All that Jaenyx could say that it was the closest thing that could match dragonfire in intensity and would do its intended job.

"You would give the instructions to Weslar Reyne, given how potent it is?"

"I am giving it to you, and one of the Rahitheons will accompany you. And you won't be alone, as Lord Blackwood will also provide support once the betrayal commences," Jaenyx stated.

"How many troops will he provide?"

"Given that the Vale has been secured, he will contribute twenty thousand men to assist Lord Reyne."

Kenzou knew enough about army sizes to understand that with the eight thousand men under Lord Reyne's command, this ploy had a chance of working. The fact that the riverlands under House Blackwood would outnumber the Reyne bannermen also worked in their favor, as it would do much to control Weslar Reyne and ensure that he didn't try anything that would threaten their goals.

"And should Weslar Reyne prove treacherous?" Kenzou was sure that would be the case.

"Use your common sense," Jaenyx told him straight.

Kenzou chuckled darkly at that. "That's probably the best advice you gave in a while. If I sense so much as a small sign of his untrustworthiness… he's a dead man and I will bring you his head."

"I won't protest against that," Jaenyx shrugged.

As their planning had been settled, Jaenyx went to settle some other business while Kenzou suddenly felt the urge to converse with Visenya, who was nearing her time for childbirth and yet was still finding time in the training yard with Dark Sister.

As expected, Kenzou found the dragon warrioress practicing with a dummy, although her movements were considerably slower since she had to consider how large her belly was. Still, with each blow to the straw dummy, she retained the strength that she was known for.

"Ah, Kenzou," Visenya finally noticed him after wiping the sweat from her face.

"I would have expected Jaenyx to be with you, considering how long you two were apart," Kenzou pointed out.

"Don't worry. The nights are my time, and he's doing what he has to in order to ensure our future," Visenya answered. Sitting down, she drank water. "Anything that I can help you with?"

Kenzou sat across her. "Perhaps I'm a bit surprised and maybe this is not the best time, but I would like to talk about what I noticed in Jaenyx over the time that started with him when he stepped foot on Westeros."

Visenya didn't expect that. "What exactly do you mean?"

"Maybe it's just me and I don't know what being a father and a family can do to change a man's mindset, but I doubt that the Jaenyx I grew up with would recognize the Jaenyx that I see today."

Visenya blinked. "What do you mean by that?"

"Well… I would say that this Jaenyx has grown softer and more… willing to make compromises."

Visenya put her cup down. "I have to stop you there, Kenzou, because you're saying things that are not in tune with reality."

Kenzou was taken aback. "I beg your pardon?"

"I'm a little disappointed that you would think that, especially given the history that you have shared with Jaenyx. The man that came to Westeros with his people is still the same man today, but you're right to think that he had changed. At the same time, the change that he had undergone since he came to Dragonstone has been good, since he has more responsibilities now."

Kenzou conceded that. "I understand."

"And yet, I can see some doubt in you."

Kenzou sighed, as his past reflections began to come up to the surface. "I haven't told you this in the Eyrie because I myself didn't have a good idea on what I was thinking. But seeing Jaenyx happy with you made me reflect on many things."

"Such as?" Visenya was curious.

"You have seen how my brother was different from myself and our father." Visenya bobbed her head. "Arata knew how shitty life was, but he told me before that being bitter and distrustful towards others are very tempting feelings while trying to see the good in life is much harder course to take. And given how our family had to flee our home, no one could blame my father for being the former."

"But Arata wasn't like that?"

"I think Arata applied our father's nature in a different way, in that he strove to be the best at the harder path. That was why he was smiling all the time and loved to jest around with others." Visenya chuckled at that, for she too had seen how Arata was. "But as for me, I wanted to emulate our father because fathers are the strongest men that we know."

Visenya nodded that. "That was how I viewed my father when I was a little girl and even with Aegon, Jaenyx, and Orys around, I still think of him in that way."

Kenzou pursed his lips. "But with my brother gone, I admit that some of the color that Arata added to our family has… disappeared. And even though my father won't admit it, he misses the jests and smiles from Arata and I don't know if I can do that."

Visenya studied Kenzou's face. "I don't think you don't know how to do it. I think it's change that you're afraid of."

"What sort of change?" Kenzou inquired.

"I don't have to tell you that Jaenyx was quite a hardass when it came to matters of culture and anything related to his bloodline," Kenzou silently agreed at her words. "But he changed, and I believe what Orys said to him at Bronzegate struck something in him, a truth that he always had known but he refused to admit it because it was the one thing that he thought was connected to his dead family. And that made me believe that anyone and anything could change. It's all on the person to allow that change to happen and fortunately for Jaenyx, he had the courage to admit when he was wrong and that made him grow."

"You two love each other. That's probably a very powerful reason for him to grow."

"I won't deny that," Visenya grinned warmly. "But I guess for you, you have to find your own reason to change and picking up where your brother left off could be a good start for you."

"I don't think I can be like him," Kenzou admitted.

"I am not saying you have to, but you just have to allow yourself to change, just like Jaenyx did. And I will admit that the process of change will be made easier if you have someone to do it with."

Kenzou's mind went blank. "What?"

"Maybe if you have a… woman at this moment, you could change with her at her side," Visenya suggested.

Kenzou immediately frowned. "I believe that's a terrible idea."

"Why is that?" Visenya was quickly offended.

"For one, I don't find the women in Westeros appealing, no offense to you."

"None taken."

"And another, I don't believe that I can find a woman who will be of the same mind as myself."

"You're saying that without having tried to court one?" Visenya pointed out.

"With the war going on, never had the chance to find one, even though I have no reason to."

"I do have to remind you that there is a practical reason for you to find a woman," Visenya had to let him know. "Your father is a lord and you are also. I want you and your family to continue to be with us, for you have proven yourself a most useful man. And the only way for that to happen is for your name to live on, which will only be accomplished with children."

Kenzou balked at that. "How did we end up at the topic of children?"

"You are Jaenyx's close friend and I can say with confidence that you are someone above a friend, so I believe that I can offer some advice when it comes to family."

Kenzou was struck at how… kind Visenya was, which went against the image of her being the strong woman who would and had struck down those who opposed by both dragonfire and Dark Sister. "But on a deeper note, I was fortunate to experience happiness with my husband, even though we were betrothed for however short that was. And I believe that everyone should become happy with whoever they spend the rest of their lives with."

That was when Kenzou saw that as much as Jaenyx had changed, so did Visenya from when he first met her. "What would your suggestions be regarding how to approach a lady?"

Visenya's eyes widened. "Do you not know how to approach a woman in the first place?" When Kenzou shook his head, she rubbed her forehead. "Oh, gods. This is going to be more difficult than I thought. How did Konno meet your mother?"

Now that he thought about it, he had just accepted that his father was married at some point, which resulted in Arata and himself being born, and afterwards, their father spared them the details. "He never really talked about it."

"The man had a woman in his life at some point and he had two sons that resulted from his marriage, and he never told you how he met her?" Visenya was surprised.

"I don't think he was that expressive with his feelings, for he showed none of that with me and Arata."

"The gods have pity," Visenya muttered. "I, for one, would be very interested in knowing how a woman who bore you and Arata was able to win Konno's heart for at least a while, for it would take a special kind of woman to accomplish that."

"Don't ask me," Kenzou stated earnestly. "I don't know how to elaborate on the tender matters myself."

Visenya looked at him incredulously. Here was someone who could take life as easily as he could breath and he had no clue on how to behave himself in everyday situations and interactions. "Might have to talk with Rhaenys about this, but for now, tell me something about yourself."

Kenzou searched his mind. "My father's name is Konno Haru and he was born in—"

"No, no," Visenya shook her head. "Tell me something about you. And make it something that doesn't involve swords or fighting or anything like that."

Kenzou groaned in frustration. "Well… when I was younger, we accompanied Jaenyx and his father to the jungles in Sothoryos for a routine scavenging. I was probably eight or nine when that happened, and my father gave me an axe and told me to start swinging at a tree. I asked him why, for which he slapped my face."

"Why did he slap your face for that?"

"He said to me, 'You don't question me, especially when I am teaching you how to survive on your own when I am gone. Life is unfair and no one will care for you when you are struggling. You either pick yourself up and put in the work, or you will not survive.' Arata wasn't there, for he had to do something else in the Basilisk Isles. And all I remember besides his words were the many cuts that I got on my hands from swinging that axe. And that's not including the shoulders, both of them burning from how many times I swung and how hard I did."

Visenya expected such a story, since it fit both Konno and Kenzou. However, this was the first time that she had heard Kenzou actually talk about what had happened when he was younger and that story about the axe gave her one more clue as to who Kenzou was.

"That's a start. But I think that if you want to really have a good conversation, maybe don't tell other people your hardships until you really get to know them. And even then, only share those stories to those close to you, since it is unwise for people you don't know to become aware of what happened in your life because they can use it against you."

Kenzou sighed. "I am not… unaware of how to conduct myself. I just don't know how to have… a good conversation."

"You have much time for that. It's not a hard thing to learn, but it does take practice. Just like with the blade. The more you do it, the better you get at it."

And so, for the next hour or so, Visenya told him more ways to talk normally with others, all of which Kenzou listened with an eagerness that he didn't know that he had. It was as if he was always ready and merely had to have another person willing to take the time to instruct him.

Kenzou kept his hood wrapped over his head as he neared the town of Sherrer on the Red Fork. He had his orders from Jaenyx, who finally made him privy to everything that was planned between him and the enemy lord by the name of Weslar Reyne, currently a warden under the leadership of King Loren, the man who commanded the ones responsible for Arata's death.

As he previously expressed, Kenzou was very uneasy in working with a traitor. However, as Jaenyx saw, they needed to end this war quickly and working with Lord Reyne would accomplish that. At the same time, Jaenyx was wise enough to have backup plans should Lord Reyne prove a most treacherous man.

Kenzou had to take a roundabout way to Sherrer. After stopping by the Blackwater Bay and checking on the houses there, he moved westwards past Maidenpool and then presented himself to Lord Blackwood, who had also received his orders and was in the midst of gather the troops needed to render assistance to the Lord of Castamere when the time came.

Accompanying Kenzou were six other men connected to his family, all of them experienced killers and assassins, and Lord Blackwood was kind enough to grant him a dozen archers to support him before the main force arrived. And while at Raventree Hall, Kenzou had to reconfirm the kind of strength that Lord Reyne had under his fingertips.

"It is the same as before, eight thousand men," Colren Blackwood answered. "However, I've heard reports of a purge occurring in the lands west of Riverrun."

"A purge?" That was news to Kenzou.

"It was nothing violent from what I was told, but it seemed as if Lord Reyne was eliminating those who might oppose him or have second guesses to following his orders to betray their liege. Sensible thing to do on his part, but we might have to speed things up since if I had heard about this, it's possible that Loren Lannister had also got word."

Kenzou groaned. Lord Reyne is acting with impudence, he thought with annoyance, adding to his concerns with empowering House Reyne. "But are these reports confirmed?"

"That, you might have to verify. It was just rumors."

Kenzou tapped with his fingers, thinking of what he would do. "All right. I'm planning to move into the Red Fork past Riverrun tonight. Can the men you spared be ready by then?"

"They should be."

Like the last time, they had to move at night, since the enemy was ever vigilant in the lands around and west of Riverrun. Even though the fighting had shifted to the Reach, combat could easily restart in the riverlands again and skirmishes between opposing groups of cavalrymen had become common occurrences. What's more, they can no longer rely on the past disguises of traders, since the enemy had received indication that all merchants could also be spies and thus any would be detained.

Consequently, Kenzou and his group avoided the main pathways to Sherrer and also had to not use boats, since the enemy patrolled the shores. Even though they were in Lord Reyne's area of control, they couldn't take any chances since at least one of the patrols might still believe that they are fighting for King Loren.

Eventually, the group arrived at Sherrer, which was an ordinary town with no major fortifications. And yet, it was located at a very important spot between the riverlands and the mountains of the west, making Kenzou confused as to why no one thought to build a castle at the town. Either everyone ruled here overlooked Sherrer's location, or they just didn't have the resources to build a fortification there. Either option was equally likely, as a castle dramatically increased the importance of a certain spot and thus causing more conflict than before while the Red Forks and the waters feeding into the Blackwater Rush were deemed more important.

In the town, they found many men, all of the wearing the sigil of House Reyne, the red lion against a silver field. And all of them were just standing or sitting about. Kenzou could only guess that because their sworn lord had got on the bad side of their king, they were forced to remain behind the lines and doing tasks unbecoming of warriors. And all of them were drunk, bored out of their minds, or just staring at nothing.

He had seen too often what happens when fighting men had become idle, which occurs because they believe that they are not fulfilling their purpose and thus their attention usually goes down unproductive or even destructive directions. Such was the case of his father, who ended up becoming a sellsword because he had no lord to fight for after he was falsely accused.

Kenzou was told that Lord Reyne would be meeting them at a certain tavern in the middle of Sherrer. Considering that there was only one tavern in that tiny town, it wasn't hard for Kenzou to figure out where to go. Telling the Blackwood bowmen to remain alert, he and the Haru men entered the tavern and found more men just sitting idly while stale music played in the stench-filled room.

The only reason why Kenzou was able to discern who was Lord Reyne was because there was only one man with red hair and he was the cleanest of the bunch, trousers and shirt straightened and drinking in sparing amounts. He approached the Lord of Castamere, ignoring the guards about to draw their swords at the newcomer.

"Who are you, stranger?" one of them demanded.

"Prince Jaenyx sends his regards," Kenzou answered, which caught Lord Reyne's attention.

"And who might you be?" Lord Reyne inquired.

"Kenzou Haru, brother of Arata Haru," he replied.

The Lord of Castamere blinked in surprise. "The very man who helped take the Eyrie and the brother of the man who slayed thirty men at Casterly Rock?" Kenzou nodded, prompting Lord Reyne to offer him a seat across from himself. "Would you like a drink, Lord Kenzou?"

"I am not here to waste time, as many of your men have already done," Kenzou gestured to the idle men who were half passed out.

"How they deal with the lack of combat is on them, but I won't attempt to make them fight when they have no battles to participate in," Lord Reyne stated.

"Before we begin, can I trust that there will be no repercussions against myself and my men here regarding our discussion? I was told by Lord Blackwood that you have eliminated those who might oppose you."

"I did," Lord Reyne admitted. "Although I'm surprised that Lord Blackwood was even aware of my actions."

"Like him, I agree that you have made a sensible decision, although I am concerned about your indiscretion. If you wish to see yourself and your family in power, you have to be more careful with how you do things."

Lord Reyne was struck at how eloquent Kenzou was. "For a foreigner, you speak our language well."

"I've had help," Kenzou was annoyed that Lord Reyne chose this moment to go off topic. "And now, you have to do your part in this war."

"Right," Lord Reyne nodded. "As you might already know, I have eight thousand men under my command. And all of them will follow my orders, especially after I had removed the problematic ones from leadership. All they need to do now is to fight and you have an army that will do their best in supporting your dragon lieges."

"You won't be alone, however," Kenzou corrected him. "Lord Blackwood will provide twenty thousand men to support you as you fight against your brethren in the west."

That, Lord Reyne was not aware of. "I welcome the support, but does Prince Jaenyx not trust me to get the job done?"

"It's a matter of trust regarding yourself, because how can we believe the words of a traitor?"

Lord Reyne scoffed. "I can say with full confidence that you don't fully represent Prince Jaenyx, as he's not this discourteous from our messages."

"Really?" Kenzou was unconvinced. "But that's not important. You want to betray your king and your peers just for land and power, and that doesn't really translate to trustworthy subordinates."

"You do remember that my son is a captive," Lord Reyne tried to defend himself.

"And had that been your only motivation, we would have had less reason to mistrust you, but alas, you had to demand overlordship of your king's domains, which puts into question your reliability. So, what's to stop you from stabbing us in the back if you saw more benefits in betraying us to King Loren?" Kenzou was clear in his criticism of Lord Reyne.

Lord Reyne could merely sigh. "Your dragon liege also said the same thing. He told me that if I tried to betray him, I would be sacrificed to Loren and suffer a traitor's fate, so the possibility of me losing is high both ways. And at this point, I don't have much to lose."

"I disagree," Kenzou said. "Not only will your son die if you fail, your family will suffer and your name will fall into obscurity, both because of you. And just so you know, I will take great pleasure in killing you myself."

Lord Reyne grinned in amusement. "Fair enough. Now, I believe the next order of business is how you'll contribute to the fight ahead."

"And what exactly do you have in mind, Lord Reyne?" Kenzou asked.

He swung his sword, bringing it down in a wide arc to split the head open of an opponent who'd lost his helm, the man made no sound as he was thrown from his horse. Kenzou sensed danger and ducked as a mace slashed the space where his head had been a moment before. He stabbed upwards blindly at where he estimated his foe was. He was rewarded with a cry of pain. He pulled back and continued to push through the morass of men and horses.

It was stifling inside his helm and armor. He could feel sweat pouring down his face, stinging his eyes. His left arm was straining, and his breath came in ragged gasps. He fought to control both himself and his horse as he pushed through the ranks of the foe, slashing and cutting wherever he could.

His horse began to slip on the muddy grass, the beast fought for purchase on the uneven ground. Kenzou clenched his thighs to maintain control as he urged his mount on.

Must get through, then we can circle around and destroy these Westerosi shits, Kenzou cursed silently.

He had no idea if any of his men were behind him. For all he knew he was alone, surrounded by waves of enemy. He would have loved to check but it didn't make any difference to his current situation. He had to press on and hope he could get through the chaos.

A sudden blow to his shield almost unhorsed him, but years of training allowed him to keep his seat as he slashed back with his own weapon, severing the attackers arm at the elbow.

He was dimly aware that loud horns were sounding behind him but, again, he was unable to determine the source much less ascertain who was commanding who.

Suddenly, the ranks of men opposing him thinned slightly and he could see the rise the northerners had come from. There seemed to be pitifully few compared to when the battle had started.

All we need now is for Lord Blackwood to arrive and we can drive them from the field. Speaking of which, Kenzou attempted to scan the land to the north east for signs of their riverlander allies' arrival, where the hell are those bastards?

What Kenzou later found out was that the Leffords' armed host, which had been largely unsuspecting of the new battle, was struck by the front ranks of Lord Blackwood's host with the strength of a hammer blow. Lord Lefford was at the forefront of his men swinging his massive broadsword, cleaving a bloody swath through the riverlanders. As he cleared a path, his men fell in beside him.

The wedge of mounted men acted like a spear with Lord Lefford taking point. Rushing his way through the fight, Kenzou watched as the first line of foot soldiers buckled and broke under the assault, the men skewered on lances or hacked apart by swords. Lord Blackwood tried to order his mounted men to encircle the attackers, but their ranks were still disordered from their abortive charge on the Lefford line. In any case, the Lefford host has sent his own flanks out to counteract Blackwood's move.

For a grim moment it looked as if Lefford's host would rally. Buoyed on by their lord the infantry tried to push back against Lefford's men. A valiant soldier ran forward and thrust his spear at the heart of the Lord of the Golden Tooth. Easily, Lefford hacked the man's spear in two, and then cut the mans head from his shoulders in the same swing.

However, his efforts were not enough, as his line faltered under the combined might of the Reyne turncoats and Blackwood men and began to give in. As for Lord Reyne, he watched as men started to flee. A trickle became a flood and then men were retreating in waves.

Kenzou could make out Lord Lefford as he swung to another messenger, a boy who had just returned from relaying other commands. He was breathing heavily, his face red from his urgent ride. "Ride behind the line. Get to the captains, that they iare to swing his force to the east to assist the others. We have to push the enemy back."

The boy didn't speak, for he saved his breath as he turned his horse and sped towards the rear of Lord Lefford's lines.

Kenzou watched as the combined army headed towards him at the same inexorable pace. Turncoat wants to keep them pinned here unable to aid the other flanks.

A horn sounded drawing Kenzou's attention to the side. Despite there not being enough time for the Lefford lord's message to arrive, his force had already begun to move. His host, entirely comprised of infantry marched forwards past the Blackwood force before wheeling to the east and moving to assist their brethren. Seeing help at hand Blackwood's men rallied and fought back against the Lefford.

Well done. Whoever thought we'd see the day when a turncoat would move to help us thus far?

Then a horn blast sounded from the Reyne line, almost in answer to the horn a few minutes earlier.

Kenzou saw that the western host, the one coming from the north of the Blackwood host suddenly start forward and begin marching at speed. They were headed directly towards Lord Lefford's column, quickly passing Lord Reyne's host which had now covered half the distance towards the enemy.

Well, Lord Reyne, it would appear you have maintained the element of surprise.

He was at the foot of the gentle rise. A line of pikemen looking down on him. In a sudden lull, Kenzou risked a quick glance over his shoulder to see that his men were driving through the remaining northern host. The enemy's cavalry had been stymied and then utterly defeated as the infantry had arrived, the pikemen had slowly and efficiently picked apart the mounted foe, a task made easier when they were unable to use their mounts effectively.

Lefford's foot had been defeated in quick succession, though Kenzou could see that they had exacted a heavy price in exchange for their lives. Reyne and Blackwood horsemen were strewn over the ground.

In the west he could see Lefford's army, what remained of it, marching slowly towards back to the Golden Tooth. Further still, he could make out the mass ranks of horsemen on their side trying to give chase, prevent any of their foes from getting away.

Kenzou steeled himself and then charged back the way he'd come. He needed to gather as many of his own men as he could before launching an assault on the remaining enemy. Something told him he would need to cause as much damage as he could.

And only after this battle would I reveal what Jaenyx wants me to make, the special item to be used against the Golden Tooth.

A/N: Hope you enjoyed it! As I said, it's been a few weeks, so I'm trying to get back into it.

I wanted to focus on another character and explore the conquest through his eyes a little more, so I hope this was good.

Kenzou being valuable, his friendship with Visenya greatly expanding, his operating with Lord Reyne, and thus the first spark of the Reyne rebellion. But this time, I didn't put a conclusion because the rebellion is far from over. And also, it's a periphery operation just like the Allied campaigns in the Middle East during the First World War, in which it will have an effect on the conquest but not as much as where the main battle area is taking place.

One step closer to the climactic battle. Next time, hopefully the dragons can provide eggs soon, for they will need to be bonded.