AN: Thank you to the four patrons who have supported me on P atreon dot com slash godrising. Your support will make it possible to turn this entire story into an audio book (to be freely distributed, I don't care about money, I just want to make awesome stuff). Thanks also to those of you who are boosting our discord server (invite is on the author page. If you're not in it, you should be. :) Please leave reviews with your thoughts. Alright, on with the show!

…Draconic Kingdom Palace…

"My Queen, you CANNOT go." Vermillion said with an almost desperate emphasis in his voice.

She held up her cup of wine as if to toast, then straightened her arm out forward and extended it out to one side, and rotated her wrist, the wine poured out of the cup like blood, and the splash echoed in the silent hall of the Queen.

"I am. I have to," she said. "After everything, I have to."

The messenger stood by, still holding the severed head of his counterpart who had been dispatched to the Slane Theocracy. In the past, such a distressing sight would have been cause to drink, but now? Her eyes were clear and focused in a way Vermillion had not seen in a long time.

"My Queen, what will you do? We don't have a large enough army to fight the Slane Theocracy on even terms, and our soldiers are dedicated, but they are not ready to face off against forces like that. If they catch you, you will die." He said, holding out his hands, pleading to her from a bended knee.

"Then so be it." She said. "I have spent years fighting a hopeless fight and failing. Jircniv went to war, the Sorcerer King has gone to war, half the Slane Theocracy's leaders seem to be made up of former scripture members, will we have it said for generations that the Queen of the Draconic Kingdom never left the safety of her hall? I must establish myself by actions." She said, and dropped the cup, letting it clatter and roll away on the floor.

"Majesty, you are not a general, you are not a warrior, please listen to reason!" He pled, but she wasn't looking at him, but at the severed head of the man who had followed her commands and died for it.

"The reason is my duty, I swore I'd be the kind of Queen that this kingdom deserves, that I'd start making things right with our people for my failures in the past with the nobles, that I'd make amends for what happened with Vanysa and all the other people who died because of my ineptitude. Making amends began with the purges, but that was only the beginning. This is the next step. I heard the Sorcerer King once declared that he wanted to be known for the peace of his rule, I respect that. However, so many have been the mistakes I have made, that I must be known for the duty of mine. So I will not send our young men and women out to danger I'm not willing to face." Queen Draudillon's voice had been fierce, even angry.

Now though, it became softer, "I will go out and set an example to follow. It's the only option left, meaning it is not an option." She said, giving Vermillion a gentle smile. "You've followed me for many years now Vermillion, now it's time I was someone worth following."

"Fine then, at least let me come with you." He said in a matching tone.

"No, not this time, I need you to rule here in my stead, I trust you like I do no other living man, keep my throne warm for me, keep my kingdom prospering, and I promise I will come back.

He let out a heavy sigh. "You'd better. I'll never forgive you if I have to bury you."

"Oh, one more thing, Vermillion." She said.

"Your Majesty?" He asked.

"When I ride out, give every servant in the palace one bottle of wine from my storehouse, as well as any remaining nobles, then any bottles that remain, have them taken out and poured for the people of this city, let them drink to our victory. I don't need the stuff anymore." She said confidently.

"A-as Your Majesty commands." He said in shock.

Servants then came and brought to her the finest armor the nation could offer. Enchanted and ornate, it was adamantite scale mail from shoulders down to toes, and heavily enchanted, colored black and purple, had such a perfect shine to it that it reflected the light, turning her into a beacon that nobody could miss It was an awe inspiring sight, one Vermillion had never imagined that he would see in his lifetime. She stood from her throne and stepped down slowly, where she allowed the servants to begin to put it on her body. She had a determined gaze on her face that he did not know she could express and every clink of armor connecting, every slipping sound of leather straps being pulled tight, echoed in the silent hall. She was always a fairly pretty woman in her adult form, even beautiful, but never had she been an inspiring sight, not until now.

"Majesty, what of the deceased?" A nobleman asked.

"He's coming with us, we'll march with his head at the front of our column, know that even death will not stop the Draconic Kingdom from taking its place in the battle line. He will look on Kami Miyako again, this time to see it fall." She said with steel in her voice, grim nods met her words, and around the hall, something different happened. A guard raised his halberd and slammed the butt of it down on the stone, creating an echo that rang from wall to wall. He did it again, then again. It was taken up by the rest, in ones and twos, their arms gave testament to their approval. Not a single word rang out, none were needed.

Hours later, she was on horseback at the front of her finest honor guard, behind her there were already people cheering and drinking, her words in the hall spread like wildfire among the population, and the wine flowed freely. Along the streets that had been cleared for her, the golden rays of the sun began to fade, and she thought for a moment she would be riding the rest of the way out of her city in shadow. Then, as the light gave way to darkness, as if inspired by some common thought, silence fell, a new spirit overtook the population, and those who lined the streets held up candles, torches, lamplights, whatever they could, and somewhere along the line, someone lit a flame, and that flame was passed from one to another, neighbor to neighbor, it quickly caught up to the column of the queen, and with every step forward of her horse, each neighbor in the crowd silently shared his light with a brother or sister, stranger or lover who stood next to them, casting light before her path so that she did not step one foot in darkness. She rode in silence, maintaining a regal bearing, back ramrod straight and legs tightly clenching her mount, her mailed fists shook with the force of emotion as she was, for the first real time in her reign, her people chose to honor her, casting aside the darkness for their lady.

Behind her, mounted knights and marching men at arms were equally moved, their heavy armored footfalls were the only sound to be heard, other than the occasional cry of a young child. This persisted until the great column came to the gates of the city and the Queen drew her sword and held it aloft, the standard bearer of her nation lifted their flag in turn, and on the other side, the pole to which the messenger's head had been affixed was raised as well, the portcullis went up with a terrible slow creaking, and when it did, a shout echoed from somewhere among the crowd, a shout that was taken up so thunderously that she thought she would go deaf.

"Draudillon! Draudillon! Draudillon!" They called out in answer to the salute of the column's head, and out they went, to whatever fate would have in store for them. In the palace, Vermillion stood outside and watched it all unfold and when the shout echoed, he added the force of his voice to the mass, leaning so far over the rail that he thought he might topple over for a moment.

Marching to the border was easy after that, and already there were soldiers waiting for her there, with what was nothing more than a bowshot from their former ally, their ranks aligned, and they formed up to march behind the Queen and her general staff.

She conversed with her command, then turned her horse around to face them. She took a deep breath as she felt their eyes fall on her, in a dark moment all her many failures in the past haunted her mind, but rather than bring her down, they lit the fire in her eyes and she chose to use that as fuel, she spoke to them all. "Great wrongs have been done to our nation! Today we go forward to right them! We do not go for land! We do not go for gold! We do not go even for the sake of power or for the sake of our own allies! Instead we go forth to show one thing!" She said and held one finger high above her head. "We go now to show that we cannot be abused without consequence! We cannot be used and cast aside! We go to show that we are a nation that looks after its own! We go to show that EVERY member of this country is worth fighting for! We did not 'ask' for this fight! But by torturing even one of us, killing even one of us, they show that they see us as prey, no different than the beastmen before them! But we are not prey! And we will never be beaten again! Will you follow me?! Who will teach the Slane Theocracy this harsh lesson?! Step forward!

In one body, the entire army took one step forward, and beneath the force of their common step, the ground shook.

Swords were drawn and slammed against shields, spear butts slammed into the ground, the noise of a very enthusiastic army seemed so loud that it might well have reached Kami Miyako itself. Queen Draudillon nodded in approval, and whirled around, "Forward! March!" She said, and stepped forward towards the Slane Theocracy, moving to cross a border that no army of her nation had ever crossed before.

Within hours they reached their first objective. The Forlorn Fortress. "Impressive, isn't it?" Queen Draudillon asked General Musan.

He didn't look her way; he just stroked his white beard with his armored hand and nodded. "Yes, not impregnable, but why do they call it the Forlorn Fortress?" He asked in his rough and gravel like voice.

"It's where they send the condemned." She said simply. "Criminals can serve out sentences as guards there, the place is meant to bear the brunt of a beastman assault in case our country ever fell, they used us for years as meat shields, but weren't satisfied with that, they sent their least valuable people there to serve the same purpose. The fortress is under a single death sentence, any surrender is punished by death, any retreat is punished by death, there is no option for the men and women who work there, except to stand and die. So… it is the Forlorn Fortress."

That drew a few concerned looks. "So, they'll make a fight of it then." General Musan said, the decades of experience were already having him perform calculations in his head.

"They have some fifteen thousand fighters there, that is half the size of our entire army right now." General Oma said, rapping her fingers on her leg as she thought the matter over. Her olive complexion spoke over her ancestral connection to the south of the Draconic kingdom, but the very tiny point to her ears hinted at elven ancestry generations before, creating a curiosity of a person to look at. Her eyes were hazel and sharp as an eagle, staring out over the bridge of a narrow nose, and auburn hair hung halfway down her back.

"Not for long." Queen Draudillon said.

"Majesty?" General Musan asked.

"We're going to have reinforcements in the thousands. I sent word to another commander who was marching south to come and help us." She said.

"General Enri?" General Oma asked in her silk smooth voice.

"Too far away." Queen Draudillon said with a shake of her head.

"No, a newer commander, General Zetsumei, a defector from the Slane Theocracy, she's marching south with thousands of warriors, she won't be with us for long, but this is only a day or two detour before she reaches the sea, and her reply was an affirmative, her letter said it would be a good exercise to see what her people have learned on the march. We will begin the siege, then with their reinforcement after we cut it off, we will destroy it together." Queen Draudillon said with a grin. "Now are all the necessary trees cut?" She asked General Oma.

"Yes, Majesty, we have all we need for the siege." She said confidently.

"Then let's move." She said, and the army renewed its advance.

…Zesshi's command…

Marching over the Katze Plains had been a brilliant idea, the ample weak undead that spawned there seemingly perpetually provided her soldiers with endless practice and built up their will, confidence, and courage, it did slow her down somewhat, however as they struck down monster after monster, they began to feel more and more invincible, and with the constant training of the instructors she'd been provided, it became ever more true. She did her own part for this as well, regularly taking on dozens of the best in displays of strength and speed that gave her army absolute confidence that she could defeat her father. The elves of the Elf Kingdom could be freed of the monster that had ruled them for generations.

Zesshi had never styled herself a leader, just a battle maniac, but as she took to the role and to the cause she had embraced, she found that she was more capable than she at first expected. Care for the soldiers, encourage them, drive them beyond their limits so that they find that their limits were not limits at all, and more importantly, constant practice, all built an ever more well oiled military machine. So when the request for help from Queen Draudillon had arrived, she'd been quick to take up the offer, a victory over the hated Slane Theocracy would be an ideal boost to their confidence before reaching the coast, and on a personal level for her, it was going to be a massive "Fuck you!" to Dominic and the others. Her nights had kept her burning with fury at the betrayals she'd felt inflicted on her by her country, so a chance to strike back, to really strike back, was not something she was going to miss out on.

So it came as a great surprise to her when, only a day from reinforcing Queen Draudillon's intended position of attack at the Forlorn Fortress, that a single rider in plain clothing was captured by her scouts. At first, he had been nearly executed as a spy, however he insisted he was not, and that he carried with him something for General Zetsumei alone. He was brought to her command tent, and he withdrew an envelope from his breast.

"What is that?" She asked him curiously.

"A letter." He said, "From Cardinal Raymond." He added softly, holding it out to her, she snatched it out of his hand faster than he could see her move, she tore open the seal and read the contents, she stared at the words. Her fingers tightened on the letter and she looked up at the young man.

"Get out. Don't go far, but stand outside, I need to be alone for the moment." She said firmly.

The messenger bowed and stepped backwards out of the tent. Zesshi looked at the words on the paper, but it wasn't them she was really seeing, her mind flew back to Raymond himself, she could picture everything he'd said he was up to. The risk he was undertaking in helping elves was not a small one, not for a man in his position, still she couldn't see him lying about it, the emotion in the letter was raw, and good as he was in some areas, she didn't think he could fake this.

She read the letter again and again. Especially the part about him 'buying' her little brother. Fury swirled within, so many people to kill, so very many… starting with her father, but he wouldn't be the last, no, not by a long shot.

She called the messenger back in, and when he presented himself, she was blunt in her speech. "First off… Thank you for bringing this, I'm sure it was not without its risks."

"The Sorcerer King's agents assisted me in this." The messenger replied.

"You turned yourself over? No, you were captured, were you not?" Zesshi asked.

He looked at her with some chagrin. "Well, yes I was. I had to evade my way through the Slane Theocracy, only to be caught south of Ikari, I pleaded with General Enri that I was not a spy, the letter was confiscated, read, handed over to the Sorcerer King, I was interrogated, and when it was concluded that I was only delivering that letter and it lacked any code or intelligence, that it was just… how did he say it… One old friend reaching out to another across the world, he instructed I be put on the path to you for swift delivery." The messenger shuddered at parts of his short recitation, and Zesshi privately wondered if there was not much more to this story than he let on, though she chose not to pursue the matter.

"Still, you've done a service, both for Raymond and for me. Come find me when this is all over, and I will work out some way to reward you." She said.

He bowed. "As you wish, General Zetsumei, but for now, if you have no objections, I'd much prefer to be out of here as soon as possible."

Zesshi nodded, "Very well, go if you wish." She said.

He made a swift exit, leaving Zesshi alone with the letter. She made a mental note to approach the Sorcerer King about the fate of the elves he was rescuing, but for now she had another task to tend to.

They were less than one day away from the fortress and she was eager to make it there early, so while camp was being broken, she called a meeting of her command team. "I want to get to the fortress sooner, can we conduct a forced march or not?" She asked, skipping any semblance of formality as she rested her hands on the table.

"Depends, do you want to fight the battle when you get there, or the next day?" Commander Thirg Dahn asked gruffly.

Zesshi looked over at him, his cropped elf ears, the mark of a former slave, were juxtaposed by the blood red eyes of a vampire, he wore a very large set of Black Justice armor and was perhaps the largest elf she'd ever seen in terms of sheer mass. On his back he didn't carry the standard bow, instead he preferred a very large maul which he used with a single hand. She'd seen him in practice, the oversized head didn't throw him off, it helped him 'dance' and fling himself around his opponents with a unique set of enchantments that let him randomly anchor it to the ground, allowing for a free form, three dimensional movement. He served as both a commander and as an instructor, and he did very well at both. Over the course of the march, Zesshi had come to rely on him a great deal. "That depends as well," she answered. "I want to fight on arrival, but if you're telling me that the army can't handle that, then I will accept your word on it."

"It's fine. You tell them to fight, they'll fight. But if you want them to fight at their best, we can do a forced march part of the way, rest for a few hours, then arrive while the humans are still fighting. Probably best to catch that Theocracy trash off guard." He said.

Commander Tefl Dahn spoke up, drawing Zesshi's attention, her ears bore identical mutilation to her brother, and she had identical vampire eyes, but her build was just the opposite, she was no taller than Neia Baraja and no more muscled than average. Unique to her however was that her armor bore countless pouches containing her throwing weapons. Zesshi still didn't know how many she carried on her person, only that in training recruits, she never seemed to run out. Her voice was soft as a gentle wind, but it was chill as one blown in winter. "I agree with my brother for the most part, but that doesn't mean nobody can handle it, why don't we create a flying column, we can send our strongest out ahead, and the rest can follow behind. With our very best there, we can bring down the outer wall with ease and minimize everybody's casualties."

Zesshi looked back over to Commander Thirg. "Can it be done?" She asked.

"If mounted on undead horses, absolutely, but we will have no siege equipment with us." He said, adding the caveat.

"Yes, we will. I'll be there." Zesshi replied wolfishly, "I'm humanity's trump card, or was, you don't get that title if stone is a barrier."

The siblings shared a look, then smiled back.

It didn't take long to make the announcement and call for recommendations. The clear chain of command from the high command all the way to the lower echelon leadership meant it took less than an hour for each company to provide a handful of their very best, and since it was a flying column, they needed no more than one or two days' worth of food for themselves. In less than two hours, they were riding out at breakneck speed on undead horses. Behind them the main body of soldiers was absorbed in various tasks and preparing themselves to catch up to their general and their elites. A thousand might not seem like much, but a thousand elites that included people equipped in runic armor and weapons, led by humanity's trump card… that was another matter altogether.

They rode through the night, pausing only to relieve themselves twice, but eating and drinking on horseback. When they arrived, they saw that the Draconic Kingdom was already heavily engaged. They'd established siege lines, their catapults and other equipment rained rocks down on the walls of the Forlorn Fortress, while scorpion equipment fired enormous arrows back in return. The sound of shouting and dying, of bows being loosed and the clink of armor, it all filled the field. Also present was the smell of death and the stench of ammonia and sweat. Companies of men and women in armor were moving about in formation well beyond the reach of the fortress, and clearly progress in the first battle was very slow.

Zesshi's flying column aligned behind her, while Thirgh and Tefl drew up to flank her. They scanned the field. "I'm not surprised." Zesshi said softly.

"No?" Thirg said with surprise. "Why is that?" He asked. Tefl looked no less surprised than her brother at her statement, so Zesshi chose to explain.

"The Forlorn Fortress is heavily defended, the Slane Theocracy had always figured it was possible that the beastman kingdom might overrun the Draconic Kingdom at some point, and this fortress was specifically built to stop any incursions into our…" She paused, hating that last word, then corrected herself and continued, "their, lands. The soldiers staffed there are the best of the best when it comes to siege warfare, they have countless arrows stored, not to mention over sized arrows for siege equipment. Between that and their perpetual unwillingness to yield or retreat, they're a formidable force to most groups.

"Will they be a problem?" Tefl asked in her melodic voice.

Zesshi privately wondered if that voice had ever lured anyone to their doom in the past, but she set aside the question and answered. "For the Draconic Kingdom? Absolutely, they're veterans, but they're up against a fortified position prepared for no other purpose but this exact situation, but from a more dangerous enemy. A problem for me? Absolutely not." She answered confidently and let a smirk slip out. "Send a rider, tell Queen Draudillon that General Zesshi Zetsumei has arrived with a thousand of her best."

After a short while a man broke ranks, Zesshi watched him race over the field and disappear into the lines of the Draconic Kingdom ranks. It wasn't long before she saw him rushing back, leading behind him a handful of mounts following one white clad armored woman upon a snow colored mount of incalculable worth. It was a very brief thing to bring them to where Zesshi sat, and as they neared, she and her two commanders turned their mounts and rode to a space not far away to meet their allies.

"General Zetsumei." Queen Draudillon said formally, giving a nod of her head.

"Queen Draudillon." Zesshi said, inclining her head the same way. "You seem to be in a spot here."

She nodded. "They're very strong, but they won't last."

"Agreed, but would you like to cut your casualties down?" Zesshi asked.

"I would, but what did you have in mind?" She asked, the two women eyed one another, their looks were mutually frosty, allies or not, each felt the other to be… off, in some way, and their mutual discomfort changed their tones of voice.

"I will bring down the wall. Then we kill everybody inside." Zesshi said.

"That's your plan?" Queen Draudillon arched an eyebrow.

Zesshi shrugged. "I'm a simple woman. I can't kill them very well from outside the walls, so I'll break the walls and go inside to do it."

"Ahhh, how will you bring the walls down exactly?" Queen Draudillon asked.

"Personally." Zesshi said flatly, with a blank expression on her face.

"I see." Queen Draudillon said a little coldly, disbelief evident in her voice.

"You doubt me." Zesshi said.

"Do you blame me?" The Queen asked.

"Not really, but this will be the only time you do." Zesshi replied.

"I hope so." Queen Draudillon said sincerely.

"I know so." Zesshi said with absolute confidence.

"What do you know of the fortress interior?" Queen Draudillon asked.

"Everything. It has been a long time since I've been there, but as you may have noticed, the Slane Theocracy is not much of a fan of change, so I'd bet my last coin that they haven't changed a damn thing about the place since I was last there. It's a city unto itself, and everybody inside is a combatant, even the ones in 'noncombatant roles' don light armor for fighting when it comes down to it. To bring it down we'll have to clear it block by block and building by building. It won't go down overnight; this may take two or three days at least." She said and started to list off some of the interior defenses, the outer wall, the inner wall, the secondary inner wall, and finally the last stand position.

"Will the rest of your army arrive to help with this?" Queen Draudillon asked hopefully.

"They will." She said, "We're the advance party. I'll break down the outermost wall in a few places, then you can start clearing the exterior, by the time most of that is done, the main body will be here and after a few hours rest, they'll take over, we'll leapfrog areas and start securing every position there is."

"Thank you for the help." Queen Draudillon said sincerely.

"Don't worry about it, I owe the Slane Theocracy a lot of pain, and I intend to give it to them, with interest." She said with ferocity in her voice.

They spoke for a while longer, hammering out fine details, until at last the time came for them to part ways, when they did, Zesshi and her commanders went back to the front of their lines.

Zesshi was not a great speaker, but she knew that this was the time to get their spirits up, so she chose to do her best. "Brothers and sisters! Today we make the first strike! Today we draw first blood! Those who have destroyed your lives cannot escape you! There is little time for glorious words, but to the brave, few words are as good as many! So, carry with you only these, "On the lands before you, your children, wives, husbands, and parents toil in bondage, in your hands you have swords with which to strike their chains! Will you strike?! Have you the courage to strike?! Or will you run for safety that you'll never have as long as you can be owned like livestock?!" Her voice carried powerfully over the crowd, and as one, swords came out, Thirg drew his maul from behind his back and Tefl took out two very sharp knives. Weapons were held aloft, and their cries of rage split the air. Above them Zesshi saw a cloud break apart into two halves, she wondered if their voices had carried far enough to have done that, then she dismissed the notion, even if true, it didn't matter.

"First, I go forward, I will make the hole, and you will pour into it, these soldiers will not run away, they will fight to the death, they will accept no quarter, so spare them none in turn!" Zesshi shouted out her instructions, then she looked to her commanders, "Thirg, Tefl, wait for the stone to fall, then sound the charge."

They saluted silently and watched as Zesshi whirled her undead mount around and charged towards the wall.

The soldiers on the walls took no notice of one unknown lone soldier charging to the stone, after all what could one single person do? The question was soon answered, Zesshi drew closer, she pulled out her scythe, fury burned in her eyes as she remembered Climb telling her about Aorli licking food off the stone floor. Hatred welled up as she remembered Dominic tearing up the accords they'd signed, bitterness whorled around in the pit of her stomach as half of what she was, was declared to be worthless.

Her heterochromatic hair and half elven ears drew attention from the wall as she closed the distance faster and faster, and some cautious soldier directed a dozen archers to bring her down. She sneered, behind her she could feel eyes following her every step. The arrows could not touch her. "So slow." She said with a laugh and she knocked them out of the air as if they were stuck there, swinging her scythe and reaping a harvest of feathers and wood, the undead horse was struck several times with blows that would have brought down an ordinary living mount with ease, but that was insignificant to her.

She reached the wall and leaped from her horse, she screamed a furious war cry, as if her voice carried with it the rage of countless slaves, her scythe came back, and then slammed forward as she activated several martial arts to enhance her strength and power. It struck home, and stone shattered like glass struck by a flying rock. She struck again, widening the hole, then twice more to the left and to the right, ensuring more men could make it through with ease.

She stepped back but did not stop to admire her handiwork. She rushed twenty yards away, and did it again, and again, and again, creating gaps through which both armies could pass, realizing the danger, Slane Theocracy archers and warriors tried to stop her, but the men on foot died immediately, and the archers could not shoot fast enough to threaten her.

This focus on stopping her rampage paused only when the sound of thousands of feet moving in almost perfect sync with one another, both forces were moving, and moving fast. They redirected their fire from the walls, but it was immediately obvious, both armies were going to get inside. The Forlorn Fortress was about to be breached.