Act 3, Scene 8
23rd of the 4th Cycle
"How did you convince her, anyway?"
I gave her the truth.
"Well isn't that ominous, want to elaborate on that?"
Paimon didn't elaborate.
"...Do you know of the Unknown God?"
Yes.
Aether flinched. He had feared that would be the answer.
All Void Gods are quite familiar with one another. We are all siblings, after all.
Paimon left his consciousness after that, leaving Aether to stew alone with an unsatisfying answer and even more questions than he started with.
They were well on their way to Kannazuka, the Deicide cut through azure waves with a steady tailwind. On the main deck, the girl they picked up from Hanamizaka, Yoimiya, was practising her archery. On the forecastle deck, Mona was doing whatever she did in her free time, likely comparing Inazuman star charts.
They had tried to convince Yoimiya to stay in Inazuma City, but she insisted on following them. She had found out that she was the last Naganohara left after the razing of Hanamizaka, and with their fireworks business completely ruined, she had no means of income for the foreseeable future.
How does this lead to insisting on following two shady foreigners on their very clearly sea monster ship to fight in a civil war as a mercenary? Aether didn't know, he didn't really understand the thought process. Must be a teenager thing.
In any case, the political climate in Narukami Island must be shifted drastically. After all, for the first time in its history, enemy forces set foot on Narukami Island, and reached Inazuma City no less. Furthermore, the Raiden Shogun could no longer be seen as invincible, many had witnessed them fighting over Tenshukaku.
Beelzebub must personally take the reins now, and crack down on anyone who dares imply weakness in her reign. The puppet she had acting as the Raiden Shogun is of now use now, as the Storm God no longer needed to remain in the Plane of Euthymia. Beelzebub will likely say that the puppet was a body double.
Still, there was much work to be done. A third of the City was burned to the ground, and many minor clans like the Naganohara were virtually wiped out, the death toll was in the thousands. Furthermore, the military took a hit as well, 6,000 professional soldiers, reserves or no, were completely massacred.
Aether breathed in the cool ocean air. It was good to know, he thought, that none of it was his problem.
24th of the 4th Cycle
The Deicide drifted into port. They docked at a port town on the south side of the island, currently used by the Shogunate Navy as their headquarters. Dozens of ships were anchored in the bay, in all shapes and sizes. Troop transports, longships, and floating castles.
They disembarked, and travelled up the hill leading to Karasu Castle, the headquarters of the Shogunate Army. The path up the hill was flanked on both sides by standards bearing the kamon of hundreds of clans.
The twin sparrows of the Hiiragi, the prancing foxes of the Hakushin, the katanas of the Iwakura, the lotus of the Kamisato, the paulownia of the Takatsukasa, the oak leaves of the Saimon, the trillium of the Konda, the wisterias of the Kujou, hundreds of banners fluttered in the wind, the oni of the Mikoshi. And above them all, the Electro Mitsudomoe of the Raiden Shogun.
All the clans of Inazuma, united by the will of the Shogun, fighting for her cause against the Sangonomiya, no matter how just or unjust it was in their eyes. At the gates, Aether handed the guards a letter, sealed with the wax stamp of the Electro Mitsudomoe. Their eyes widened incrementally, and let him through. Mona and Yoimiya were to stay outside.
A guard led him to the war council. The winter was receding, and the spring campaigning season was about to begin. As such, the council was in heated discussion when he entered the chamber.
The council chamber was dominated by a long oak trestle table, its surface covered with a massive map of the Yashiori-Tatarasuna-Kannazuka Island chain. Miniature figures dotted the map, representing troop locations.
At the head of the table were the two leading generals of the Shogunate Army, both of them Samurai Daishou. They were none other than Kujou Sara and Kujou Masahito.
The guard that led him to the room bowed, but before he spoke Aether already moved forward without a hint of care for decorum.
He slapped the sealed letter on the table, and crossed his arms. A Kujou retainer cautiously took the letter and passed it to Masahito.
The general spoke, "The Shogun's seal, unbroken."
Murmurs and whispers broke out, it must've been a long time since the Shogun sent an imperial missive. She likely ordered the Army to act with their own judgement.
The general's eyes ran back and forth as he scanned the parchment. When he was done, he crumpled the paper and threw it into a brazier. He nodded at Aether, "You will be an auxiliary admiral from now on, pay attention."
The whispers intensified, Masahito raised his voice, "This man is Aether, he will serve as a mercenary captain until the end of the war. This is the will of the Shogun!"
The whispers died. Masahito nodded in appreciation, "We will continue discussing our plans for this year's campaign."
Discourse continued into the afternoon, then prolonged even further. Every officer had their own ideas, many were shut down, others were contemplated, before being discarded as well. It seemed that the biggest issue was the Sangonomiya's naval superiority, which surprised Aether.
"Shouldn't the Shogunate have the larger Navy?" He asked them. A few officers scrunched their faces in displeasure, they must be admirals.
One admiral responded without glaring at him, "The Sangonomiya had hired mercenaries from Liyue. Pirate fleets who have much more experience than our own fleets."
Another tacked on, "Our informants have told us that the largest of the Liyuean fleets is called the Crux Fleet."
Liyuean pirates, hm? Didn't that shady man back in Ritou talk about friends from Liyue? Dots began to connect in his head.
"The Crux Fleet is headed by the legendary pirate, Beidou. It's the largest and most powerful pirate fleet in Liyue. They essentially serve as privateers for the Qixing, and much of their arms are bankrolled by them."
"Is the Qixing interfering in our war…?" One officer muttered.
"Likely not," Aether replied, "Liyue is still recovering from a national disaster, the Qixing is in no place to third-party the Civil War."
"Still, they pose a great issue. Much of our own fleets were decimated by the Crux Fleet, and we have reports that the Liyueans are training Sangonomiya sailors to fight in their style." It was Kujou Sara who spoke up.
"The Alcor is the Crux Fleet's flagship, it is essentially a floating fortress. It is not arrogance to say only the Deicide is a match for it. Give me some ships to support my flanks, and I can sink the Crux."
Discussion continued to ebb and flow after that. But as the Sun began to set, they had finally come up with a plan.
Kujou Sara and Masahito will lead the First and Second Division through the Nazuchi Isthmus, where they will meet heavy Sangonomiya resistance. Their purpose is to occupy Sangonomiya troops in brutal warfare.
Meanwhile, Aether will lead a contingent of 50 ships to sail the north side of the Isthmus. The purpose of this will be to clear out any Sangonomiya or Liyuan fleets in the area. Following this, Kuroda Nagamasa will lead the Third Division around the Isthmus using transport ships and land them on the north side of Yashiori Island, where they will then hit the Watatsumi Army from the rear.
On the southern side, Hiiragi Sadatake will command a fleet of 100 ships to clear out Nazuchi Bay, before blockading it. This will allow them to supply the Shogunate Army from the sea, as well as enable shore bombardment to support the Army.
25th of the 4th Cycle
The next morning, the Sky was painted in orange hues as the Sun crested the horizon. It was by all accounts a peaceful and halcyon dawn.
A horn was blown, it's haunting howl reverberated throughout Kannazuka, startling birds and men.
Sea life were awakened from their slumber, as thousands of oars swept across the waves in trained synchronisation, each splash of the oars like a drum. 300 warships sailed the ocean blue, colourful sails bearing every manner of sigil billowed in the wind.
The ground trembled as 200,000 boots rose and fell, officers rode up and down the column, shouting themselves hoarse, egging the soldiers on. A forest of banners fluttered in the morning breeze, and Inazuma went to war.