Disclaimer I do not own she-ra and the princesses of power and I am not making any money by writing this story. I hope everyone enjoys this chapter.
Thoughts will be in Italics
Mystacor
Castaspella felt tired as she read up on reports from her councillors and assistants. More reports were coming in on renegade sorcerers joining the Horde instead of making the journey to Mystacor to learn in the kingdom of magic. Most likely with Shadow Weaver gone many mages that had a dislike for the kingdoms felt the Horde isn't such a terrifying option anymore. Shadow Weaver defecting has given the rebellion a lot of new intelligence since Adora first left but it had given everyone a new set of headaches to deal with as well.
Cataspella now had to deal with most of her people simply wanting to isolate themselves from the war not wanting to pick a side at all simply waiting to see who won and if the Horde came out on top strike them down while they were exhausted. That was an option she refused to think about with her own family being part of the rebellion not that she could say much against the idea as many viewed her rulership of Mystacor as a conflict of interest with her loyalties being split between two different kingdoms.
Sides was the last thing Castaspella wanted to take but she had her niece on one side begging for help beyond simply offering a place of rest and safety from the war and on the other she had her people calling for her to cut ties with Bright Moon to avoid bringing the wrath of the Horde to their home with them unable to defend themselves. Hide and wait until our enemy has exhausted themselves or join the fight and risk either being destroyed or being stripped of my position and leave Bright Moon on its own. Castaspella took a drink from her glass as she contemplated her choices knowing she would have to choose eventually as her time ran out.
Though the time she had available to make her choice may be less than she thought she had as one of her assistants came running in with a letter from their scouts. Plumeria was suffering under a Horde assault that was much smaller than the norm from what Shadow Weaver and Adora had once explained about Horde troop movements and now she knew why. The Kingdom of Snows and Salineas had come under attack about a week after the first attack on Plumeria though Salineas had managed to repel the attack before any permanent damage had been done though from what she her scouts were telling her the Horde had started attacking the very environment of the Kingdoms weaking the magic of the rune stones and the princesses as the magic was used to try and heal the damage being done.
As things were Mermista and her people were sending support to help Frosta and her Kingdom due to her being hit with the largest force, the kingdom's military being rather weak depending more on the harsh conditions of the environment of their kingdom for defence and Plumeria having She-Ra to help fight back against the Horde.
"Selina, I need you to get into contact with the council. I fear a choice will have to be made on Mystacor's position in this war." The young assistant rushed off to gather the political body of Mystacor fear in her heart as she had gotten a glimpse at the information from the scouts and their findings as the other kingdoms fought against the Horde, the numbers being much greater than she had thought the invaders were capable of mustering for military action.
Castaspella felt worried for her people as she watched her assistant leave almost tripping on her own feet her fear rather clear in her eyes. My people I fear they will be forced to witness the horrors of war and that it will scar them. The people of Mystacor aren't warriors, they are researchers, scholars, and academics. They are here to learn and grow, to master their gift as a tool not as a weapon. What horrors will the Horde bring down on us once this decision is made?... At least I'll be able to spend more time with Glimmer, maybe even catch up on our magic lessons.
As much as Castaspella had made the choice to join the war in full she felt that some would not understand her choice and knew that Mystacor would suffer as there would be those that would simple leave not understanding why they needed to join the war. Mystacor would suffer desertion and a blow to its reputation, but Etheria would gain much from the support of the sorcerers and they would be able to push back against the Horde and hopefully wipe them off the map.
Bright Moon (1 week later)
Glimmer didn't know what had really changed the minds of her aunt and the Mystacor council, but she was happy as the Rebellion forces had gotten much needed backup. Salineas had managed to help the Kingdom of Snow push back the invading Horde forces while Mystacor mages had helped push back the forces at Plumeria. At the moment she was taking stock of the damage the Horde had caused in their attacks and feeling worried. At the moment Perfuma was in a guest room resting under the watchful eyes' of Mystacor healers while Adora was working on empowering the Plumeria rune stone to help it clear out the poison the Horde had used on the land of Plumeria and would be traveling to the other Kingdoms to help speed up the recovery of their Kingdom's environment.
"Why strike like this? They spread their forces thin in this attack and for what goal?" Glimmer felt confused as she tried to glean an answer from combat reports.
"Perhaps there was no real purpose behind the attack." Glimmer barely gave the owner of the voice a glance not at all surprised by their arrival with the recent increase in Horde activity. "That doesn't make any sense Shadow Weaver. These attacks would've taken up a great deal of resources not to mention all it did was help bring Mystacor officially into the war against them so if anything, these attacks did nothing but galvanise their enemies against them."
Shadow Weaver chuckled a bit at Bright Moons queen though they young queen didn't look pleased at how the sorcerous seemed to be making a joke of her frustration frowning as Shadow Weaver continued to explain. "The Horde has always been the one on the offensive in this war and with your attack on the heart of their territory, destroying Hordak's personal project and much of the military infrastructure in that area in the process you have struck a nerve. You gave them pause and now they feel the need to reassert their dominance in this war. It may look like they gained nothing from these attacks, but they have gained something, they gained time. The Bright Moon at the moment has to deal with an influx of refugees from its allies, Adora will be spending a great deal of time helping the other kingdoms recover from these attacks meaning less time She-ra will be spending in combat and the Horde keeps up their morale of being the dominant force on Etheria while we are stuck recovering and recouping our losses even with Mystacor's support they have time to rally and build up their forces much faster than we can while repairing the damage they have caused."
Glimmer felt a weight on her shoulders as she looked through the combat reports again and realising Shadow Weaver was right. A heavy sigh escaped from the young queen as shewent back to the war reports as she tried to come up with a plan to fight back. "Glimmer these reports can wait; at the moment you should go meet the refugees. Your presence would greatly improve the image of the princesses in their eyes and even get some to support from the other kingdoms that have hoped to stay neutral in this war as word of your compassion and the brutality of the Horde spreads."
Glimmer nodded agreeing as she left to meet with those hoping to escape the wrath of the Horde. She spent a few hours helping the servants on the ground hand out supplies, healing the sick and even playing with children to help them get their minds off the destruction of their homes.
Taking a small break to rest Glimmer smiled as she watched the happy smiles on some of the refugee children as they ate snacks being handed out. "I gotta say I'm surprised to see the queen of Bright Moon being so hands on with us." Glimmer jumped up in surprise as she looked around for the source of the voice. "Up here your majesty"
Looking up Glimmer saw a young elf girl flying above her. "Hi, I'm Flutterina and its nice to meet you. Thanks for looking after the kids, usually I'm the one entertaining them but I kinda got lost trying to find some food for the little ones." Glimmer felt a bit overjoyed as she listened to the young girl praise her for doing as little as she had. "It really isn't much and I feel like I should've been able to prevent this from happening at all." Looking back at the kids eating or playing Glimmer just waved and smiled while they waved back. "These kids have lost their home and the people of Etheria suffer under the threat of the Horde as they desecrate the land and brutalise the people. It helps a bit though to see that I can still help the people of Etheria even in these small ways."
"I am grateful that I was able to help you queen Glimmer and I was hoping you could help me. I was an entertainer in my village but with it destroyed I am kinda out of work, so I was wondering if you knew any place that was hiring. I want to help as much as I can and since its obvious, I'm not much of a fighter I was thinking I can help around the kingdom in some way to help the rebellion or even just the people that this war has displaced and frightened."
On the side out of view Shadow Weave watched with as Glimmer interacted with those displaced by the war. Small jobs being given out to those that weren't able to fight but could still help in other ways. Blacksmiths would be able to help repair and produce much needed weapons, tailers that could help produce clothing for soldiers and other workers, farmers that could help keep supplies from running out, and even mechanics and engineers from Dryl that had abandoned the kingdom to escape the Horde that were now being put in positions that could help the rebellion overcome their technological disadvantage against the Horde.
The young queen is doing so well. The horde had made many enemies and terrifies others to the point that simple kindness like this will win them over to Glimmer and the Rebellion's side. This child has such potential and under my tutelage will become a true queen that even the Horde will not be able to stand against. I should increase the level of magic I am teaching young Glimmer as I'm sure she would appreciate being treated like a person and being given the responsibility of such high-level magic will also help me look better in her book and prevent the others like Castaspella and Adora from being able to convince Glimmer to imprison me again.
Shadow Weaver smiled and waved to Glimmer as the queen ran off back to her chambers to finish going through the papers, she had abandoned all the while Shadow Weaver planned to cement her position in Glimmer's life.
Horde main base
Catra smiled as her data pad lit up as a message arrived and she left to inform Hordak that her plan had worked. "Sir my spy has managed to infiltrate Bright Moon. Everything is moving according to the plan and soon Etheria will be yours."
