Book 1: A dragon flaps its wings
Chapter 10: The Blazing Sword
28th day of the Pegasus Moon, Imperial Year 1176
XxX
Even before the morning sun had risen, people were in a hustle and bustle all over Garreg March. Nearly a week had passed since the message of King Lambert's death had reached the Monastery and shortly thereafter Lady Rhea had announced her intention to travel towards Fhiridad to bid Farewell to the deceased. One of the quickest messenger birds available had been sent with this intention to Seteth, asking him to announce it to the acting ruler as well as asking formally for permission.
As such, the preparations of the last few days were reaching their final stage. The chosen knights that would accompany the archbishop prepared their equipment, the stable boys prepared the best horses and the kitchen staff packed the needed rations. Rhea spent her time going over things with her stand-in, Rean gathered the remaining high-ranking Knights together and gave them their respective orders while Catherine went over every member of the squad that would accompany them once more.
It had been decided to have the squad accompanying the archbishop would comprise the twenty best knights as well as Rean and Catherine. Including Rhea herself and a retainer to attend to her needs this meant that the group would contain 50 members. This would ensure that they could travel fast while also guaranteeing the safety of the leader of the church of Seiros.
In the end with the sun high in the sky the group began their journey while the citizens of Garreg March and the town at its feet cheered for them.
It had been decided that they would travel through the Oghma mountains and leave them onto Charon territory. Then they would travel northeast towards Galatea, before taking the direct path towards Fhiridad. Under the consideration of the towns and villages they could visit along this path combined with the overall travel time of roughly two to three weeks this was determined to be their best options. It would also allow Lady Rhea to visit the people of the kingdom, offering her support and words of wisdom as well of hope in these dark times.
XxX
3rd day of Lone Moon, Imperial Year 1176
XxX
The atmosphere in Lady Rhea's tent was tense. The latest letter of Seteth had arrived and the news it contained was worrying. Was Dimitri's rampage a first sign of Ishmelga's reappearance? Did it mean that the kingdom was already lost? In the end, the only one who could answer this question, was the new captain of the Knights.
"Ishmelga's curse may be powerful, but even it can't enforce such a drastic change without leaving a trace. And with Crow there I am sure that such a trace would have been noticed." the young captain said.
"But for someone to lash out like this…" Catherine began speaking out the question on Rhea's mind "Can we be sure that we can trust him in the future?"
"Ishmelga feeds off of negativity." Rean explained. "As long as those feelings exist within the young prince, there is always the chance that he may fall victim to it." There was no reason to deny the reality after all. And seeing the next question coming, he continued "But that doesn't mean that we can't help him and try to diminish the chance of this happening."
He looked into two women's eyes, asking wordlessly for permission to continue. With a nod from the archbishop, he continued. "To fight the influence, Prince Dimitiri needs to find something to fight for, something he wants to protect more than anything else." a memory flashed before his eyes, his sister lying unconscious on the stone floor with a giant suit of armour looming over her. "He needs comrades who stand beside him, friends he trusts with his life." He recalled how her voice brought him back when their father was shot right in front of their eyes. "A strong sense of honour and a strong moral compass are also helpful to keep the darkness at bay."
"The last two virtues are common in the Holy Kingdom." Catherine chimed in. "But it's the first that worries me."
"Seteth mentioned that Dimitiri had been isolated after he had attacked the other nobles. As of now the only ones that can visit him regularly are the servants that bring him food. Even his teachers have been asked to stay away from him until everything has been cleared up." Rhea recounted the report of her right-hand man, before sighing. "And how the heirs of the houses Fraldarius, Galatea and Gautier will now stand towards him is also unclear. In the worst-case scenario, he will lose the trust of all three houses."
In the end, even though they discussed different ideas on how to tackle the situation, the night ended without any clear plan in sight.
XxX
13th day of Lone Moon, Imperial Year 1176
XxX
The journey continued at a steady pace. Even though Rean really enjoyed witnessing the scenery outside of the Monastery and the neutral territory of the church, the new information that they received every day weighed on them.
Roughly a week ago an attack had been launched from Duscur onto the kingdom. The invaders hadn't made much progress thanks to the efforts of a small noble called Kleimann, who had managed to intercept them pretty early on. But that didn't change the fact that the mood of the inhabitants of the kingdom had worsened.
At the beginning of their journey the young swordsman had learned a lot about the people and how they reminded him of the people of his own home country of Erebonia. They were prideful, but not arrogant. Knighthood and Chivalry was kept in high regard and everyone was supporting each other. The captain also saw how close the ties between the church and the kingdom actually were. Lady Rhea was welcomed everywhere with open arms, both children and elderly came to talk and listen to her. The temples where the archbishop performed services were always filled to the brim.
But at the same time he noticed something else. When the green haired woman talked to the commoners, she had a peculiar way of choosing her words. They were simple, yet effective. And the tone she used them in was both supporting and encouraging. Each time he saw her like this he couldn't shake the feeling that this talent didn't stem from practice alone.
With the news of Duscur's attack the tone shifted though. During the first few days the voices were small, but with each passing one they become louder. They asked the Knights to intervene, to travel towards the front and help the soldiers of Fearghus to repel the attack and punish the intruders. Rhea's words also changed, trying to reassure and calm the populace down.
That didn't mean that the group was blind towards the peril. Rean already had asked for permission to leave for the front, but both Catherine and Rhea had denied this. Not only would that weaken the protection of the archbishop, but if the situation turned worse, then a political nightmare would follow. Since the church was a neutral force in Fodlan they needed permission to act on foreign sovereign territory after all. In the end all they could do was try to travel quicker.
As such, they reached Galatea territory one day earlier. For one last time they would camp in the shadows of the Oghma mountains before leaving for the coast and began travelling inlands.
Rean was going around and checking on the soldiers and the horses. "Make sure you are all well fed and rested." he told them.
Nothing appeared to be out of the ordinary. But why couldn't he shake this ominous feeling. He turned towards the edge of the camp, wanting to talk to the soldier who would take on night guard duty.
"Is something the matter, sir?" the guard asked, surprised that the captain would approach him so early.
Rean shook his head. "Just want to stretch my legs," he admitted. Letting his gaze wander, the black-haired man saw nothing out of the ordinary. Why should he be posted here anyway?
"Do you know that I stem from Galatea, sir?" the guard asked.
"Really?" the swordsman turned around.
"It has been some time since I have been here. But the journey has brought back memories."
"Did we pass your village?"
The guard laughed but shook his head. "Unfortunately my village lies outside of our intended path." He admitted. "But I would have loved to show you around if we would have visited it."
"Or you would have loved to show off Lady Rhea to the people of your village?" Rean asked with a smile on his face.
"Maybe." Was the answer, the guard also smiling.
For one last moment Rean led his gaze wander, before closing his eyes and simply felt the surroundings. Thanks to his training in his sword arts Rean was able to cultivate a great level of awareness that some might call unnatural. Survey his surroundings for any dangers that might lurk in the shadows cast by the setting sun...
And then he felt it.
Something massive was charging in their direction.
"Everyone, to arms!" He commanded
For a moment every soldier looked at him confused, but soon they fell in line and took up their weapons. All the while Rean was staring at the horizon, into the lengthening shadows of the mountains.
Then the earth began to shake. Five large bodies emerged from the shadows.
"Demonic Beasts!" The guard post beside him shouted.
Running into the last light of the day, Rean recognized them as giant wolf-like creatures. They reminded him a little bit of the Cryptids that he and the rest of Class VII had fought, especially the flame beast Agnagarn.
"Defensive position!" he ordered while drawing his tachi. "Don't let anything through!"
The giant beasts came closer and closer, but it was Rean who acted first. He crouched down before shooting forwards, his black sword leaving a deep cut on the foremost monster. With a painful scream it fell into the path of the one next to it, throwing it too from its feet and in turn reducing the numbers that his men would be facing.
But the remaining three charging monsters were powerful enough to break through the defensive line as they crashed into it with their massive weight. One unfortunate knight was unable to withstand the force of the impact and was flung away, just for another knight to take his place to prevent any penetration.
Rean focused on the one beast that had fallen over his first target. For something of that size it was surprisingly quick back on its feet, blood red eyes staring at its prey right in front of it. But the swordsman showed no sign of fear.
The massive jaws snapped forwards, but the human was quicker, dodged and landed a strike across the beast's face. A confident smile appeared on Rean's lips. These monsters were quick on their feet, but they lacked the power that the giant cryptids possessed.
"Captain!"
He didn't know who called out to him. Turning around he saw the maws of the second wolf, the one he had felled earlier, closing in on him.
XxX
Once their captain had charged ahead, Catherine had immediately taken control of the ranks. This had been agreed upon during the first few weeks of Rean taking up the mantle and it was something that each member of this group knew by heart.
"Divide and conquer!"
Catherine's orders were short and clear. Now with the initial charge stopped, it was time to put these monsters down. The battalion split into smaller groups of five, two acting as diversion to draw the aggression of a monster while the remaining three would attack the giant creature from its vulnerable flanks. The second in command didn't hold back though and soon her trusted sword was coloured red by the wolf's blood.
One of the enemies then raised its head, forcing those in front of it to make a hasty retreat while arrows rain down on it from the archers that formed the back guard aiming at the creature's throat.
But before any could reach, the Giant wolf unleashed a large cyclone around itself. It deflected the incoming arrows, pushing back its attackers and kicking up a dust cloud that cut down visibility.
Those in its range tried to protect themselves from being affected by this attack, but that left them open for the maws of the beast.
Catherine moved and smashed her body into the attacking wolf's flank, staggering it while the wizards casted gusts of wind to blow the dirt cloud away from the battlefield. Unfortunately this had thrown a wrench into the battle tactic and the formations were lost to the chaos of the fight.
"Captain!" One of the archers suddenly called out.
From the corner of her eyes Catherine saw how Rean was buried beneath a second beast. It seemed like the monster's healing factor already had healed any wound it had suffered from, a fact that by the looks of it her captain hadn't been prepared for.
But she wasn't worried. The second in command had experienced the man's strength first hand and as a result she was confident that he would overcome this foe as well. Just as he was trusting her to deal with the remaining attackers.
With a quick thrust she rammed Thunderbrand into the beast she had staggered a few seconds ago and followed this up with a quick decapacitation.
After all, she couldn't allow herself to disappoint her captain.
XxX
Making a split-second decision, Rean threw himself downwards and rolled himself beneath the monster. Then, the moment he had passed his enemy, he twisted his body around into a crouch before jumping into the air. Flames erupted around his blade and a fiery dragon buried itself into the wolves hide, drawing one agonising howl from the beast. As steel cut flesh the flames began to follow the newly opened path into the creature, burning it from the inside as well. From one second to the next, the sounds of pain subsided.
Bearing witness to the man's incredible strength, the second Wolf began to gather up the magic within itself to unleash a wide sweeping attack. But Rean was quicker. Turning around he unleashed a sword beam, cutting the wolf deeply across the face, staggering the Wolf impeding its action.
XxX
Everything was going fine. The second of the three beasts that had broken through went down shortly after the first and the captain was showing no signs of wavering against his second opponent.
For a moment Catherine allowed herself to relax until a new sound caught her attention. The beating of great wings.
"Aerial beasts incoming! Archers and Mages at the ready!" she ordered. Then she turned around to support the others who were fighting the last remaining wolf.
Together the giant was killed quickly but fate seemed to be a cruel mistress. Because the final howl of the monster was answered by multiple new ones from the mountains.
"What is going on?" One of the younger knights asked. "These creatures never travel in packs this big."
"Don't question it." Cathrine called out. "It won't change our situation." She then pointed at the young knight and four others. "Help the captain. Try to keep the attention of as many of these things as possible. The rest stay here and guard out ranged fighters."
"Yes ma'am!"
They only had a few seconds before the next wave of flesh rolled over them. Showing no signs of fear, the second in command threw herself as the first fighter onto the enemy. However, over the sound of fighting there was another thing she heard.
The sound of lightning.
XxX
Taking a deep breath Rean watched over the second giant creature he had just felled. Now having witnessed their regenerative powers firsthand, he had delivered much deeper cuts and paid much closer attention once it fell.
And then he witnessed a second mass of shadows appearing from the dark shadows of the mountains. The sunlight had also dimmed further, meaning that it would disappear completely soon. A worrying thought given that they had no fires prepared.
Multiple beasts ran straight at him, maybe having learned from their fallen brethren. Against these numbers maybe he would need to let loose even more.
But before he could make a move, a group of knights appeared and formed a shield wall in front of him.
"At your service!" one of them said, before every other sound vanished below the impact of flesh on steel.
"Thanks!" Rean answered. But even with the situation becoming better, the bright flames around his tachi didn't flicker.
XxX
This fight was strange, that was something that Catherine was now sure of. Not only were the pure numbers of demonic beasts something unseen, but the longer she herself fought, the more she felt a strange sensation building up inside of her body.
In the setting darkness she noticed that her heroic relic Thunderbrand emitted a blue and white hue. And even though she had never seen it doing so before, she instinctively knew that the blade was covered in electricity. A demonstration why this weapon had earned this particular name.
At the same time the monsters around the camp seemed to lose their frightening size and power. Her body moved in a controlled manner, slashing left and right, dancing around another attack before slamming her weapon right into the attacker's face, sinking it into the monster's face up to the hilt.
A screech echoed over the battlefield as a single winged beast shot from the heavens. The arrows and spells that the defenders were shooting at it didn't stop its descent. And once it was close to the ground, the flapping of its wings created a natural barrier formed from dust and air.
While the other knights were pushed back and left the air undefended, Catherine wasn't bothered. Maybe it was the sound of the evenly flapping wings or the way the twirled earth danced around the beast, but it felt like the woman could predict the opponents moves.
She found herself counting, not knowing when she actually started.
"8… 9… 10!"
She heard how the flapping of the wings changed. A sign that the giant bird was preparing to charge at one soldier and presenting Catherine an opening that she never knew existed.
She moved.
Like the name that bestowed upon her as a moniker, she moved past the enemy, delivering a strong blow to one of the wings. The painful cry didn't reach her ears as she jumped, ascending into the sky and with the sound of rolling thunder she descended, delivering another fatal blow.
Catherine remained kneeling on the ground, her body aching from not being used to such high velocities.
XxX
The bright flames around Rean's tachi danced through the encroaching darkness, scorching everything they touched. The young man and his small group of companions were holding off the brunt of the earth-bound wolves. Under all the sound of fighting and the trembling of the earth, Rean might not have noticed a second tremor under his feet if he didn't push his senses to their limits.
The second trembling, much weaker than the paws of the giant beasts, came closer, was under him and then passed him, creeping towards the camp. And only one person came to Rean's mind who could be the target of such a sneak attack.
"Lady Rhea!"
XxX
The loud call of their captain made some of the defenders turn their heads towards the tent of the Arch-Bishop. Miraculously it hadn't been caught in the fight until now. A miracle that would soon end.
The earth began to shake, much stronger than before. In an instant a massive body of flesh and muscles burst from the earth below the tent, devouring it and the space it inherited in one move.
For a moment, time seems to stop. Even if only for a moment, all soldiers of Rhea's camp were distracted, giving the monsters an opportunity to attack. With ferocious roars they threw themselves onto the humans, using the short opening to press them back.
And then two things happened at the same time.
Bright blue flames erupted from the captain's sword casting light to the surrounding area. Then, in an instant, he killed two wolves with one strike. Both the knights and the monsters took a few steps back from the man.
"Get out of my way!"
With these words the massacre of the demonic beasts began.
XxX
A beam of light shot into the sky. It originated from the other side of the battlefield, from behind the giant worm that had devoured the tent of the Arch-Bishop. But the creature, that had been burned to a crisp by the potent faith spell, hadn't devoured anyone. Thanks to Rean's warning shouts, Rhea and her retainer had jumped out of the tent before the attack, leaving them both unharmed.
"Do not falter!" Rhea's voice rang over the battlefield, reaching even those that stood the furthest away. "For those who are counting on us and with the goddess on our side, show these monsters that we won't falter!"
To emphasise her points, she unleashed another spell, this time aimed at the sky. The beam of light began to split up, forming multiple lances of light, impaling any bird that was unlucky enough to be in their path.
The counterattack began.
XxX
"That accursed woman." a man dressed in black mumbled while watching the battle below from the mountain range. He turned around. "We need more monsters!" One of the three men beside him nodded and left.
For a few seconds he waited, but nothing changed. With the Archbishop now assisting with powerful magic, the new Knight's captain let loose and began killing the beasts left and right.
"Such power…" he mused for a second, before turning around. "What's taking so long?"
The man would have preferred to continue to watch the battle, but since he got no answers, he was forced to turn around. For a second his eyes saw two more men dressed like himself still focused on the spectacle.
But with no response he needed to check it out. With an angry grunt he returned to the camp, a small campfire was burning in front of a small steel cage. In front of the cage stood not only the man he had first sent, but also the guard. "What's going on. Is she not complying?"
Lightning crackled between his fingers, ready to punish the person in the cage if she didn't obey.
"No, sir." The guard stammered. "She never stopped."
"What?" Confused, he looked at the girl in the cage. She was young, maybe 15-16 years old. And even though she was dirty and bruised, her eyes looked at him in a defiant way through her bright red hair.
The girl sighed.
For a moment the man was confused.
The girl sighed again.
Then he understood.
The girl sighed again.
He stretched his arm out, the electricity beginning to crack louder and shine brighter. "Stop it, you…" The man couldn't touch the cage or even finish his sentence, as giant beast jumped out of the shadows, devouring him in one move.
The remaining men screamed in terror, sending spells at the monsters that had appeared in their camp.
Just like the Knights below, they were now fighting for their lives.
XxX
Sunrise was upon the knights and the night of terror ended. All members of the group were exhausted, but Rean still had to send a small unit into the nearby mountains.
During the fight some warriors had noticed magic spells being used in the mountains nearby, thinking that perhaps a passing group of travellers were ambushed amidst the ongoing chaos that was last night.
All they stumbled upon however was the destroyed remains of a camp. And one lone survivor.
xXx
This chapter was beta'd by Infinite Zangetsu. Thanks for all your work.
And welcome back once again to the first fight scene in this fic that doesn't focus on a battle between single characters. I really hope that all of you readers enjoyed it and if there are parts you didn't like, please leave a comment so that I can better my writing.
As you can read, a lot of changes are beginning to show themselves around Fodlan ever since Rean and Crow have arrived. And how this attack on the Arch-Bishop and her Knights will shape the future of the Tragedy of Duscur will yet have to be seen.
As a last information: while writing this chapter I noticed a small mistake I made in chapter 9, which I already have corrected at the point of writing this. If you like, you can reread the chapter and try to find it. Just know that the mistake isn't important to the plot, so you there is no need to do so if you don't want to.
With that I wish all of you a very happy Christmas time and stay healthy
ZMusok
