Wrath of Fate
Chapter the Nineteenth
Coup de Grace
Gariland, Magic City
Zephiel swung his bastard sword down on his enemy before wrenching his spear out of the corpse. He looked around. The city was nearly empty of life now. The enemy mages, few as they were had surely unleashed nature's worst on his troops.
The mages of this country were frightening indeed. He had seen them summon gigantic creatures into the midst of battle and it seemed on many occasions that the earth itself roused from slumber to shield them. Lightning fell from the sky upon their word, striking down soldiers by the dozens. They were powerful far beyond the capacity of the magic wielders he had seen on Elibe.
He groaned. His soldiers still flew about the sky darting between glistening blades of light and shining axeheads of ice that occasionally struck from seemingly nowhere. His newfound allies, the brigands, darted around slaying the soldiers still running around hoping to regroup.
Zephiel raised his now recovered lance. "To me! Rally to me!"
The wyverns in the sky flipped about in the sky, angling toward Zephiel's gigantic winged mount. Soldiers on the ground as well as bandits ran to the young lord's cry.
When they were gathered around him, Zephiel kicked his wyvern behind the ribs and readied his spear. He charged and as he did, counted the wyverns behind him. Two hundred, give or take a few. He had come with four hundred. The foot soldiers and renegades still swarmed around the ground, a teeming mass, seemingly immutable despite the forces of war.
The soldiers rolled against the enemies, and, like a wave washing a beach clean of shells and coral, swept away the resistance on its recess.
Zephiel lowered his mount to the ground and dismounted.
"Officers, report in! Troops, cleanse this city. I want all human life save the blood of Biran and its friends removed from this walled inferno. Now!"
Troops scattered and Zephiel's officers approached, helms gripped in the crooks of their arms and swords held by the pommel, sheathed.
"How fared the battle? State your losses." Zephiel said in a commanding tone, quick and sharp.
Murdock stepped forward first. "The Second Wing of the Aerial Forces suffered six and seventy deaths and at least twice the number in injuries." He stepped back as Vaida moved forward.
"The First Wing suffered one hundred and thirty one deaths and estimated eighteen injures of notable gravity."
She stepped back as another man took her place. He had long white hair with streaks of black running through it. He had an eye patch covering his right eye and some stubble dotted his chin. He wore a sword in a plain sheathe on his right hip strapped with a thick leather belt. His clothes were those of a commoner but considerably neat considering they had just finished a battle. A red and silver band around his arm with a print of two interlocked sickles indicated him as the leader of the renegades who joined Zephiel. He went by the name of Maverick.
"Sire, my bandits seem to have taken few, if any deaths. The injuries run high, though." He bowed low and stepped back.
The last officer stepped forward. He was broad and well-muscled and his head was bare save for a beard. He had a broadsword sheathed in his shield which was red in color with four silver stars emblazoned on it. He wore a red cape and a sash with four silver stars embroidered on it. He was the leader of Zephiel's ground forces, Gen. Schwartzberg.
He bowed stiffly. "Few injuries have been sustained, my lord. I was not able inspect my ranks fully and my subordinates did not give a full report. I can estimate that around fifty have been slain, however." He straightened and drew back.
"I see..." Zephiel wheeled around. "Maverick, follow me. We have business to discuss. Vaida, scout the area with your troops. Murdock, gather the reserve party from the border, have them bring as many stonemasons and carpenters and artisans as they can. Gen. Schwartzberg, continue gathering what you can in this city, kill the resistance and fortify our position. Oh, and try to get a full report on your casualties while you're at it."
He walked of with Maverick following in silent shuffles.
Middle Eastern Ivalice
Raven looked back at the approaching column of soldiers. Their glistening mail coats melded into one another making them appear as a gigantic fish slowly gliding above the sand-flecked soil which was growing dominant as they approached a desert.
Raven turned to where Fiora was resting and filling their water skins. They had decided to stop for a while in a copse of trees with a small pond in the center.
"They're not going to directly pass us but I think it's best if we stay hidden here till they pass. Try to keep your Falcon Pegasus quiet for now." Raven said as he walked towards her.
"Right..." She said.
Raven placed his hand on her shoulder. "You're a mercenary, right?"
Fiora nodded.
Raven stared at her for a while than got up and posted himself next to a tree, hand on his sword's hilt.
Middle Eastern Ivalice
Kent stepped into a large pavilion, the structure designated as the conference hall. Inside were twenty five or so of Ositia's high ranking officers and influential vassals and nobles sitting around a table, their faces sculpted with anxiety and stress. Among them as well were Hector himself, Lyn, Karel and Wallace. Kent briskly seated himself next to Sain.
"What's happened so far?" he whispered.
"Why, nothing. They wouldn't start without the ruler of Caelin present." Sain whispered back.
Matthew then entered. He cleared his throat. "Well, milords and milady, my network of scouts and spies have been able to confirm this much." He laid out a map on the table. It was a map of Ivalice, dotted here and there and partially covered in notes. A few sigils were marked on the map, including Ositia's sigil marked on many portions of a dotted line that extended from a northeastern gulf. "This is our position," he said, pointing to one of the sigils. "and our enemies have been spotted here," he pointed at a location south of their own, "here," he pointed at a point on the map in the far north, "and here, where they are suspected to have fortified a gigantic rock formation which is equipped with ballistae." He pointed somewhere along the mid-eastern area of the map.
The generals and nobles all leaned in to examine the map further.
Matthew cleared his throat again. "Our strategists have proposed this plan: we have spotted scouting parties from the south belonging to Biran-" At this point the nobles and generals burst into a cacophonic bustle of discussion.
"Silence!" Matthew shouted. "We have indeed confirmed that they are from Biran, we have made contact once and they have acknowledged our presence in peace, or so it seems. The strategists have decided to attempt an alliance with them. With the powers of Ositia, Caelin and Biran, their massive fortress could easily be overwhelmed."
One of the generals spoke up. "Surely, there is no need to contact Biran, Caelin and Ositia are well equipped and proficient in battle."
"Our might has only been tested on a few occasions and, might I remind you, we have barely prevailed on each of them. Caelin's forces have been tested against the enemies, I presume, but they seem to have fared little better than we ourselves have. The soldiers on this continent are well trained and this fortress is something that would make Bern jealous even with her mountain strongholds. We cannot do this ourselves."
"But they would strike us down in our weakness after the battle!"
"And we will strike back just as hard, Bern's forces have been hard pressed from what I've heard on my spy networks. They've been fighting their own war in the south. They've recently achieved a great victory, though, and their numbers swell with gathered followers, a ragtag bunch of bandits, but they are nonetheless weakened. Their morale will soon fall, I believe, if they are put to a siege. They'll last longer than we will but we have yet hope indeed."
Another general spoke up. "There must be a better plan. What of Pherae? Where have they, our friends, gone?"
This caused quite a deal of murmuring among the others.
"Well, we have yet to encounter any Pheraen soldiers in this foreign land. We have, however received word that their Lord Eliwood has left for another country, presumably this one. We assume they missed the northern coast and landed somewhere to the west, though."
"Well," Kent finally said. "There is no chance of wearing Biran down; it seems all they have to go is up. It would be best to gain their trust first and establish a territory for ourselves before trying to strike them down. Lycia must stand together on this. We must."
"Agreed." Said Oswin.
The other generals muttered, most of them disdainfully, others in reluctant agreement and still others in simple frustration.
Middle Eastern Ivalice
Karel slowly drifted from form to form as the sun slowly settled in the western sky and a student slowly approached him.
"...master..." Guy said slowly and softly.
"I am your master no more. I told you, call me that again and I shall usher in your death." Karel responded in soft coldness.
"I care not. I have yet much to learn from you master...You are wise as the swordsmen go, ruthless in battle and secretive of your intentions. I have much to profit in your presence."
"Go. Your presence distracts me." Karel said in dragging deliberateness.
Western Ivalice
Eliwood stood silently on the rampart of his newly erected quarters. For nearly ten days now, the villagers, charmed as they were by Eliwood's morals, had been voluntarily raising a wood and stone stronghold for Pherae's forces.
Its core was a cluster of stone buildings, Spartan and unwelcoming as they were, they were the new quarters of the officers of the Pheraen forces. These were surrounded by a twenty foot tall wooden wall with a gate into an outer cloister. Here were huddled some squat stone buildings that resembled granite toads. They were surrounded by a thirty foot tall perimeter wall of stone that was also fifteen feet thick.
Clerics and healers moved about in hushed haste and archers walked the ramparts in silence. Infantrymen walked about doing their duties and the workers continued looking for any flaws in their work.
Eliwood turned as he heard footsteps on the stairs. The Famed Genius was standing on the landing of the stairs, his breathing slightly deeper.
"Yes?" Eliwood asked.
"Well, based on...certain...recent events...I would advise that...you...meet with me...and your other officers...later tonight." He said quite quickly with gaps for him to breathe.
"Recent events?" Eliwood asked.
"Certain...odd behavior the enemy has been showing." He replied, his breathing steadier now.
"Fine, I trust you to give a full report later." Eliwood said turning back to overseeing the work being done.
"Yes, well, I'd suggest you ready your cavalry anyway, we may need to meet the enemy tonight. But, tell me...have you...lost faith in me?"
"What!" Eliwood flinched.
"You...you never questioned me before..."
"No, it's not that...it's...I've been perturbed and stressed lately. Think naught of it." Eliwood waved a hand to dismiss him.
"...Of course." The strategist smiled weakly and retreated.
Notes!
It took a long time to update, sorry about that but I've been busy with school. Well, enough with excuses. I hope you can give me advice in any way. I'm thinking of moving this to the Fire Emblem section cause more people read there. Any suggestions on that?