9. The Tipping Point
Is it not sublime to dine on a mind so fine?
Fort Steiger
The battered four towered fortress stood built atop a steep hill standing out against the flatter surrounding plains and occasional streams dotting the countryside. From the far western mountain croppings, rain regularly falls, creating new ponds and small lakes, attracting increasingly more wildlife than the surrounding provinces. A land that bred strength, enough so it could claim independence from all surrounding territories. Dale Steiger, head of the Steiger family rules the surrounding area at present (the others would have phrased it as a show of generosity to let them live), a vast and very militaristic familia I remember from my tutors.
Levia, I recalled him once his own campaign was settled, and to bring back with him news. From the expedition, Dalton's joy was a steep difference from the Levia more somber concern written on his face. We hadn't spoken since we parted ways back in Valm before the campaign began but I could still tell he wished to speak with me.
He earned his coronation, I hope it hasn't bothered him too much. The circlet, a perfect mix of silver and gold, frozen in the middle of the alloying process, meant as a sign of a commoner becoming royalty. He always wanted people to know the truth, so I'll let them and let them know he had become greater.. Vera always did say I had an artistic eye.
My body takes in a shuddery breath at the flood of memories.
No, I have to make their dream a reality; mourn them later. Now, it's time to take care of the family I have left, the family I've chosen.
"My liege!/Your Highness!/Wally," The group greets, generally chirpy and indulgent over a few bottles of alcohol. Caf snacking in the background on a bunch of bones and what must have been at some point a bunch of cabbages. The assembled stand at attention, waiting to begin.
"Steiger has capitulated and will become a vassal of Valm. What's happened on the other fronts, Cervantes?"
"We've been fighting Roseanne's naval forces, keeping them away from the supply lines; we're at a standstill but were losing ground for lack of a better word," Cervantes reports, finishing his drink before speaking again, directing his query towards Levia. "I hope you have better news, Ignat, and I can only hold for so long."
"Ignatius will have nothing more to worry about; a ceasefire will be in effect the coming Wyrmstym if all goes to plan," Levia informs, sliding over parchment detailing peace terms.
"How do you expect to get them to consider surrender?" Excellus asks, his demure demeanor replaced with clear interest.
"The idea is that Roseanne, leading the coalition will surrender and the rest will follow. I met with the Coalition's star general, Virion is quite the character but he understands the odds are not in his favor."
"I say we should have taken him prisoner, it would've been an apt example to the rest," Dalton adds, to Levia's clear irritation.
"We could've done that, but it would have also cost us dearly later on. We had the numbers but the addition of wyvern riders to the coalition makes things difficult," Levia corrects, giving me a goading look. "If they don't go with peace we need a force to, make them reconsider, once Wyrmstym arrives."
"Your suggestion, Levia?"
"Glad you asked, the combined forces of Daltons', Excellus' and Walhart's troops will ambush coalition forces in Izanagi territory while they make their way to Steiger," Levia devises.
"We can take the whole coalition in one fell swoop if we act now!" Excellus argues, waving his jeweled hand around. "They could even not go through Izanagi to assault Steiger."
"Enough, we'll be going with Levia's plan, we can march on Roseanne's capital if they avoid us. Cervantes, hold Steiger until Farber arrives and you can join us," I order, turning to each as I address them. "Levia, Pheros, meet with Zekiel and Nelson and handle the Mila faithful enclave, get answers."
"We won't fail you, my emperor," Cervantes comments before leaving, Caf perks up in the back sensing an opportunity, and escapes out the door first blocking the rest of us in the room for a moment. Dalton adds, "Can't wait to show those curs Valmese metal!"
"My liege," Excellus says his parting words, making himself scarce. Levia and Pheros give their parting word, pausing their small talk to make their departure. Pheros bows while Levia gives me an acknowledging head tilt, "My emperor!/Wally."
They pass, leaving me to the official reports, and logistics of the armies on hand.
"Pheros. May I have a word with Levia?" I request before they close the door, Pheros mutters something about 'fun' to Levia before he motions her off with a wave of his hand. I turn back, filing the papers into a single stack as Levia takes a stand by my side.
"You wanted to speak with me, your Grace?" Levia asks, with naught but a hint of sarcasm.
"You know why you were crowned, yes?"
"Succession of the crown I presume."
"I believe Valm views it in that light, I did it because you've taught me to view strength in a new light. You've improved farming, organization and your methods to change has added up. Your shrewd mind is as sharp as my axe, and for that, I am both proud and grateful to have you."
"Stop it, all I did was instate crop rotation and add paperwork to both of our workloads," Levia brushes me off hiding his face by looking at the wall.
"The world as we know it is stagnating, you've shown me how reliant we are on magic and I in turn show you our reliance on faith. The religions we follow are spreading more ignorance and corruption than whatever unity they used to provide. It doesn't matter where you come from, to me you've proven yourself capable," I ponder over my words before continuing on, and offer Levia my outstretched hand. "I'd like you to join me, help me set the world straight with our combined strength; we are greater than gods. Will you help me lead the world into a new age?"
"...I'd have it no other way," Levia grips my hand with both of his before pointing at me with one of them. "You have to do all the public speaking though, I'm no good at public speaking."
"We'll have to work on that, no?"
Levia laughs and I share a chuckle before we start planning in relative comfortable silence.
--
"Zeke!" Levia shouts in greeting, Caf circling the camp before swooping down and landing next to the command tent. "Nelson!"
"He's here Zeke!" Nelson yells from outside, Levia makes a sizable thud as he dismounts. Caf chortles as Levia muffles out probably swears. He certainly is.
"I can see that," I reply, sighing at the princely heap on the ground. I grab his fallen circlet, dust it off, and place it back on his head as he gets up. "Rough landing?"
"Something like that," Levia mutters, giving Nelson and Caf both a glare while brushing some of the newly acquired dirt from his armor.
"Is everyone ready to lay siege to the tree?"
"My scouting regiment is in place, my main regiment and auxiliary archery regiment have yet to get here. Pheros has accompanied me for crowd control with her Troubadour regiment," Levia lists off, walking with me to the staging grounds of the assault. "Better to attack with the sun to our backs than waiting for nightfall, no?"
"They seem to have hired 3 mercenary companies to protect them, we intercepted the 4th before it could join the rest. Have your flyers keep them occupied and we'll pick them off," I add, idly flipping through my tome to distract myself. "Sasha is a surprisingly adept nurse... Felica named him Zekiel Jr, his middle name is Walhart. "
"Ohoho, you wound me!"
"What is everyone else up to?"
"The coalition's being handled by Wally, Dalton, Excellus; Cerventes and Farber are going to play defense."
"You still trust the rat?"
"Who, Dalton? I'm kidding I know what you mean, don't give me that look. I don't think anyone trusts him. Wally has his eyes on him so it should go well regardless."
"He unnerves me."
"I'm with you there, but I'd like to keep him around for a while longer so I can figure out why he's here."
"How do you think this will all go?"
"Some casualties, hopefully no fatalities, my auxiliary spear battalion will be covering your sorcerers. We sort the cultists from the innocent missionaries and get the answers we need. Hopefully we don't have to deal with Tiki, I'd rather not be at fault for killing a religious icon and generally having to fight a demigod," Levia takes on a far off look, almost forlorn while looking up at the mythical tree of Mila's making. It's roots, sprawling across the hill it rests on, makes the line where the ground ends and the tree starts blurring incomprehensible to the untrained eye.
"She's been asleep for a thousand years, it's doubtful she'll awaken for something like this of all things," I assure, joining him in giving the gigantic tree a good look It's trunk is seemingly as thick as a castle and has a very lively luster like brown. "Are you thinking of speaking with her?"
"It's my personal curiosity really, I'd like to know what the divine are really like. What it means to be a god if that is what Naga technically is. Things like that ya'know?"
"I'd thought you'd want her to give her official approval of Valm or something of the sort?"
"Do people really give the opinions of famed people such importance?" Levia gives me a confused look before going back to the tree. "I don't know how I'd get her to do that either way."
"You're asking the wrong person to get the answer to that question," I comment, switching my gaze to the sun rise and the camp stirring to life. "No time better than now."
"Can't back out now," Levia sighs out, soon after he whistles for Caf's presence. "I'll see you on the other side I suppose."
--
My spearhead plunges the mercenary through their neck, severing his head from his body when I pull it back and coating a fair bit of my spear in fresh blood. My lean backward barely saves my face from being marred by an arrow flying past it. With the following second passing Caf charges ahead and mauls a mercenary taking his life while almost launching me off of her at the sudden movement. Christ and bagel, Santa Maria less riding more surviving, hehe.
Caf leaps forward, toppling a fighter and crushing him underfoot. A sound akin to a bunch of aluminum cans being crinkled and wet snapping bones rings through the air. A shiver rolls down my spine at it and I regain control of the harness leaving my spear in my left offhand. HhmMmMm, Fuck my li~!
Pheros charges with her horse up to my side, slashing the previous archers neck before they can let loose an additional arrow in my direction.
"Thanks for the assist!" I shout grateful, now at my approval and prompting Caf jumps forward mauling a barbarian that had gotten too close with a clean swipe of her paws.
"I've got your back sir," Pheros replies, dueling a Myrmidon from her stead til he gives one last attempt to nick her leg before Pheros executes a timely parry and she slices his face in her counterattack. "Their putting up quite the fight no?"
"Too much of a fight in my opinion. I don't intend to fight the rest of this war being bedridden," I mutter the last portion to myself bringing Caf alongside Pheros' stead. "Not like last time."
"I second that sentiment!" Pheros's grin falls away and her face blanches upon glancing back at me. "Uh, Levia?"
"There's something bad behind me isn't there?" Pheros sheepishly nods at my inquiry and I turn to find the western front of the battle in a state of utter chaos and disarray. "Pardon my language but, FUCK."
Zekiel's and Nelson's battalions of mages have conjoined after both having been torn apart repeatedly by the enemy's cavalry charges. My own personal auxiliary spear battalion, though if I were to be honest they're called pudaos that my battalion is using, one of my subronitents told me the difference. Spears have a single point like an arrow while Padeos look to have a single edged blade at the end like Glaives do.
Aside from trying to ignore what's currently happening before my eyes with my anger and dread compounding that I'll very soon have to address with the absolute massacre going on before me. They were scattered across the field, most guarding the remaining mages and failing at trying to reform ranks. The source of the disruption being a group of mercenaries.
"Somethings off, lend me a hand won't you?" I request, Pheros leads her horse from the body underneath and joins me at my side. "I don't like this."
Pheros and I quickly rally for some of the troops around us to charge the enemy's cavalry with 7 Pegasus knights and one of Pheros' Troubadours join us. Our force collides with the vanguard of the enemy's cavalry as it initiates their turn to charge at what's left of my weary front lines again. Before the proper collision I hurl my spear at the panicking cavalier, as I land my hit Caf also slams headfirst into his own stead. Pheros is not but a microsecond behind me with swatting her foes lance aside and slicing their neck open in 2 simple clean motions. The others launch attacks from the sky, varying from piercing shoulders and midsections to mere clips that knock their targets off their mounts and opportunistic lunges to finish them off. Our collective efforts cause the enemy to pull back trying to get space to use their own lances effectively in a counterattack.
"Coral, I need you and the others to pincer them when they charge!" I command the purple haired pegasus knight who takes to organizing her fellow knights. I take a deep breath then focus my attention onto the cavalier directly across from me. "Pheros, circle back and regroup with Zeke and Nelson. Send backup if there are any free to help clean up here."
"Sir?"
Patience.
"Have a little faith Pheros."
From my view I spot the enemy cavalry charge as a 5 man row instead of a spearhead one, confusing me and making me narrow my eyes. My knights make swooping dives taking a cavalryman with every attack, I can only see them taking losses behind the force that I can directly see approaching me. Patience.
Having 5 lances poised to turn Caf into a pincushion and my tug on her harness signals for her to take to the sky in time to avoid harm. Most of the harm, Caf lets out a screech and by looping around I can spot blood painting the tip of a Beast Killer. What, I take a closer look at the enemies weapons. I can spot at least a dozen Beast Killers amongst the dead and living, my creeping thoughts make me shudder. The 7 cavalrymen left have turned back around ready to try again and my head count comes up 2 short of my knights, one of the 2 including Coral.. I spin around and on one side see a dead pegasus knight, looks like her mount crushed her. Coral's getting out from her dead steed's corpse. ...Good enough, I'd rather have annoyed than distraught... Patience.
"I'll line them up, you knock them down. Understood?" I shout out to those present in my flyer squad, they let out shouts of 'Aye's!' in agreement. Patience.
Caf dives ramming the center one into the ground, the center left one tries to attack her exposed flank and I parry the strike. Another from the right lunges for my face nicks my face leaving me with a searing pain, my retaliatory strike severs his jaw into two and I can feel his body go limp but a moment later. The center right one rides around lining up a jousting charge. My eyes shift back to the dead man on my spear letting the horse run off freely, I leverage the corpse into my arms and brace. I can feel the ram so much that Caf stumbles back a few steps, the lance ends up going straight through his fallen comrade leaving a dent in my breastplate and a bruise on myself.
"Gah-!" Behind me I can hear a man gasping for breath, and with a turn I see my knights finishing up. I throw the dead impaled man off me taking my spear from his broken bleeding face. His shocked squinted eyes contrasted by the pooling blood behind his black hair, mangled jaw and nose unnerves me. I shake it off and turn back to my troops.
"Regroup and support the eastern flank! I'll bring back our wounded." I order, I wave them off before heading to where Coral is checking the crash site of her fellow pegasus knight. I softly approach making my presence known. "Need a hand?"
"Ah Sir-General sir!" Coral spins around and hastily gives a salute. How the hell does hair color work here, insanity I say.
"At ease," I dismount, allowing Caf to slump forward for a short rest. I make her down a concoction after I take a vulnerary, the searing pain fades leaving me with a numb one in it's steed. "How is she?"
"Sara has a concussion and some bruising but she'll live."
"Let me give you a hand," Coral has a sheepish look on her face as she carries her friend with some effort. "Keep a good grip and don't fall off."
"Thank you!" Coral exclaims with a hint of horror in her voice at the battle happening below us. I catch sight of divisions of Pheros' healers behind the front lines and various magics going off at the thick of it. "Oh, Naga!" That's... a lot of bodies.
"Take Sara and don't die," Caf lands just behind a burnt tree behind the fighting and lets them take off for the rear guard.
"Where.. Is. Aha!" I mumble to myself surveying the battlefield, structinizing every individual skirmish and spot Nelson fighting at the center of all of it. Caf bounds over and cries out, drawing the attention of everyone attacking Nelson.
"Yes! You're royally fucked now!" Nelson shouts, glancing at his backup and brushing back his unkempt hair. Bringing us to face multiple myrmidons- wait, those are blademasters why the hell are there so many. I charge knocking one of them out as she winds up to strike and before I can react another decides to attack me.
In the next few seconds I bore witness to the most reality breaking thing since discovering magic worked in this new world. My eyes tracked a man jump and send 5 strikes at me, I felt him bounce off after but. It happened near instantly, glowing with magic wrapping around a Killer Edge's blade, some video game bullshit.
"Damn!" I bite my tongue and Caf lets out a familiar pained screech because of these stubborn idiots. I can feel the unarmored part of my left arm be lacerated by the attack and receive a deep gash of agonizing pain throbbing with every second that passes. My left hand ties Caf's harness around my right and the pain makes me pass my spear over before my left is too weak to hold it.
"Lay waste to my enemies!" Nelson yells, firing off a Ruin spell hitting a swordmaster straight in their chest and leaving a hole in its place. My assailant and one of his partners cut in Nelson in a paired attack. Nelson, for his part, lets loose a last Waste spell before collapsing onto the floor. It turns one's head into bloody mush and breaks the other's arm.
"Annoying bugger," I huff out, piercing the survivor's chest with my spear and Caf crushes his head underfoot ensuring his death. Feeling my body start to slow I chug a concoction, slowing the blood flowing over my skin. With my instincts screaming, I pulled Caf backward from taking an axe to the face, despite her pained whines.
"He will reward us with your head," The War Monk shouts, winding up for another strike. Just. Shut. Up.
"I am sick of your shit," I mutter, unwrapping my harness and adjusting my handle over my spear. Breathing in, holding, reeling back and throwing, nailing him in the head. "And that's why I use spears."
Caf lets out a pained chirp. Yeah me too.
"Nelson!" I shout, my voice tired but with clear concern. His wounds are too deep and face too pale. "Hey hey hey, stay with me."
"Hah, I got to save 2 generals in one day," Nelson asks with a weak voice, I can tell the blood pool under him is starting to reach his waist. Despite what's left of my vulnerary's and concoctions, 2 and 1 respectively, it's too little too late. "Do you think people will remember me?"
"Yeah, people will know you were the bravest of men," I assure, as his grip on me slips away. "God damnit."
Heading over to the dead monk, grabbing my spear and after looting for a moment, I find an elixir. After lifting off again my stomach drops at a shine of silver entering my line of sight. Everything shifts, Caf screams, plummeting to the ground like a brick and I brace.
The dirt cloud around me starts to settle and I pick myself back up from the crash. I can hear Caf's suffering breaths shakely continue, and through shuffling around I face two war monks. I sprint to the one with a weapon in hand, dropping to a slide and lunging my spear up through his skull. The other charges me, I take out one of my bronze knives and stab him in the stomach. I receive a ringing ear from where his punch landed and push his struggling arms away and slit his throat leaving the bronze blade by his body.
"Hey girl," I mutter, near exhausted and moving Caf over to see her wounds. Where I'd expect a furry belly, there's red blood tainting her lighter brown fur and it makes me feel cold. "Hey don't worry, I have you."
--
No, move on.
--
I feel around grabbing a silver handle, and move my hand to the top of Caf's head and sink my silver blade into her neck. She lets out a final whimper and her body collapses. It's okay.
My body slugs along, calling orders and reshaping my forces. The son burns and my hands ache, but an elixir later it passes. My path is clear, my men duty bond and the enemy is arrogant. Wallhart would've called this perfect.
"I HATE cultists."
Note: if it's in "italics", it's another language or thoughts, if I fail at conveying that or I do something weird ya can go with the rule of cool but apply it to writing. Something something, subtlety, something something, read the room.
I don't own nada, I don't have copyright on my characters.
(2/1/21) Hmm, headaches headaches, good god I hate this. I have no even half baked excuses for why I've taken so long, I've been working on remastering past chapters so they should follow smoother transitions in the story. I'm going to try adding spaces in the story to see if that might make it nicer to read.
I'm planning on writing a Fire emblem 3 Houses fic, I want to actually try to develop my skills on interpersonal relationships so I' take any suggestions on pairings and why you think a certain pairing is 'good'. God I hope this uploads correctly.