Natsu VI
"YAWN!" Natsu all but shouted, attracting the attention of every elf in the room.
"Is it truly too much to ask for you to show some respect sometimes?" Tyrion asked, glaring at the Dragon Seer.
"What?" Natsu asked, shrugging, "You didn't let me get any real sleep last night." He was in another war room, but this one was smaller, and it was less of a room, and more of a dome with a series of columns keeping the roof up. This allowed the dragons to look in on the effort. Among these dragons was Suranos, and of course Happy, who would occasionally poke his head from behind Natsu. Finubar had called this meeting to discuss an invasion of a continent to the East, and it was apparently still considered Natsu's responsibility to sit in on with all of it.
"If we may factor out our Dragon Seer's drowsiness for the time," another elf Natsu didn't remember the name of said, "I think we should begin the invasion with Tilea, here." He pointed to a part of the map.
"We can reclaim our old colonies, and we can split our forces into Eastern and Western forces from there, as we conquer most of the coastline."
"That's ridiculous, we should invade Estalia," a prince named Eltharion said, pointing at the map, "There is nothing but ocean and mountains, save for a pass into Bretonnia. We could land there, effortlessly wipe away the petty cities there, and control the whole region within a few weeks. From there, we could advance over the continent with little issue."
"What do you think, Lord Dragneel?" Tyrion asked sarcastically.
"I dunno," Natsu answered, putting his hands behind his head, "Why are you asking me?"
"I thought as much." Natsu just stuck his tongue out.
"These pathetic, small states shouldn't be of any interest to us at all," Tyrion then said, "The only nation of men that is somewhat prominent is the so humbly entitled 'Empire of Man'. We should terminate it first."
"How would you advise we do that, brother?" Teclis asked, "Do not forget, it is a large nation, with open land we would have to march across."
"We sail our fleet to Marienburg," Tyrion said, "They are familiar with elves, so we could plant agents in their city without issue, spies that could open the gates to our armies. Within a few days at the most, we could conquer the city, and have a perfect staging point for our invasion. The men are weak, and indecisive, they will be no match for our armies, and once we've conquered the Empire, the petty states will fall to us like wheat to the scythe." Murmurs of agreement sounded across the hall. Natsu didn't really think anything of it, since he didn't understand military matters at all. The murmurs were silenced when the king held up his hand.
"That is a sound strategy, Prince Tyrion," Finubar said, "But the Empire is vast, and expanding over such a large territory may run the risk of overextending our lines. They understand the land far better then we ever could. If we are to invade the Empire, we will need more than just one city to invade."
"Then where should we land, your Majesty?"
"Here," Finubar said, pointing to another spot at the map, "We will begin in Bretonnia, Carcassone more specifically. We will conquer the castle-city, and from there, we will expand over Bretonnia like wildfire."
"The Bretonnians are a powerful people, your Majesty," Teclis said, "Their knights are said some of the finest warriors in the world."
"These Britannians are still regular guys, right?" Natsu asked suddenly.
"'Regular' may not be entirely apt term, but yes, they are men, though the term is 'Bretonnians'."
"Whatever, I hate to sound like an old guy," Natsu said, "But Igneel once told me that anything can burn. It doesn't matter where you are."
"Wise words your father had," Teclis said with a smile.
"How many men do we have?" Finubar then asked.
"In total?" Tyrion asked, "We should have 500,000 by the end of the month."
"Very good," Finubar said, pointing back to the map, "We will gather our ships, and cross the sea with 300,000 warriors, and 30 dragons. That should be more than enough to conquer Carcassone. We will then divide into three branches, as we spread over the region. True, the Bretonnian knights are mighty, but they are few in number; most of their armies consist if poor peasants pulled from their homes and told to fight their liege's war, and as our Dragon Seer put it, anything can burn, even knights. Once Bretonnia has been conquered, we will use the whole country as a staging point to invade the Empire. From there, we can supply, and maintain our forces with much greater ease than with one city."
"We may not even need to take the cities," one prince said, "We could simply loose the dragons on the land. Those who do not bow to us, we simply turn to ash." Natsu didn't bother to hide his cringe at that thought, and when he glanced at Happy, he noticed the dragon visibly shifting in his spot.
"No," Finubar said firmly, "We are not like the Druichi. We do not kill and destroy for sport. We are going to conquer the land, but we are not going burn it all. Do I make myself clear?"
"Yes, your Majesty, my apologies." Natsu let out a slight sigh of relief at that.
"And what of the dwarfs?" another elf answered. As he said it, he spat on the floor slightly, joined by several other elves, though Natsu couldn't imagine why.
"We should march into each of their strongholds, raze them to the ground with dragon fire, and take back all they stole from us," another said, "The Phoenix Crown above all."
"No, we could never conquer the whole of the dwarfen realm," Finubar said, holding up his hand, "We would lose many good elven lives besieging and occupying the karaks, so if it comes to it, the only one will march on is Karaz-a-Karak. There we can reclaim the Phoenix Crown." Some elves seemed disappointed by that, but remained silent.
"And where does this leave Naggaroth and the Druichi?" Tyrion asked.
"I have thought about that," Finubar said, "That is why I am leaving another 200,000 warriors here to guard the land, with all the remaining dragons. And training shall continue, so we have more." He then looked to another prince
"Prince Alith Anar, you have long served and protected the Ten Kingdoms valiantly, and without fail," Finubar said, "As I will be across the sea commanding the invasion, in my absence, you shall be named regent of Ulthuan. I shall grant you command over the whole of the remaining forces."
"You do me great honor, my king," Alith Anar said, falling to one knee, "I swear upon the Cadai that I will protect Ulthuan with every fiber of my being, and more. When you return triumphant, with our empire restored, the homeland shall remain standing."
"I shall personally see to it that every dragon in the realm remains alert," Suranos said.
"Thank you both," Finubar said, nodding, "And Lord Dragneel."
"Yeah?" Natsu asked.
"You will be joining us on the expedition," Finubar said, which surprised the Dragon Slayer.
"Why?" Natsu asked, cocking his head, "Don't you have enough guys?"
"This is under my recommendation," Suranos said, "Remember when you woke me, you promised you would play your role in the campaign to come. This is your role." Natsu opened his mouth protest, but closed it, knowing that Suranos was right, and Fairy Tail members never broke promises.
"Well, with all that said…"
"Your Majesty," a new elf prince said, stepping forward, "There is one last matter we must consider: the matter of the Asrai." Uncomfortable looks spread around the room.
"Who're the 'Asrai'?" Happy asked.
"They are also called the Wood Elves," Teclis said, "They are the remnants of those who did not leave the continent as we evacuated so long ago. They dwell in the great forest of Athel Loren."
"They have refused almost every attempt we have made to reconcile with them," Tyrion said, "Our arrival to the shores of Bretonnia will elicit some sort of reaction fro them."
"I will admit, I still do not have a true strategy regarding the Asrai yet," Finubar admitted, rubbing his chin slightly "I will require further council on that, but if past experiences and knowledge is indicative of anything, they will not attempt to interfere in the coming conflict, so long as we do not make it theres. But we should still approach them. In the event that we can persuade them to join us, our army could potentially double in size."
"That is not particularly likely," Tyrion said.
"Regardless, I will continue contemplating and considering our strategies," Finubar said, "If there are any suggestions at any time, please deliver them to me. In the mean time, I will all leave you to your preparations. Long live Ulthuan."
"Long live Ulthuan!" With that, the group dispersed, as Natsu went over to Happy, who tried to move back. As he did, he banged into a column, shaking the entire structure, and getting a few raised eyebrows sent in his direction.
"Sorry," Happy said sheepishly, "I'm still not used to being this big." Natsu then climbed onto the exceed turned dragon's back, as the latter opened his wings and flew away.
Natsu and his partner flew into the mountains, to a waterfall that was a top a massive ridge overlooking the ridge. It was a place that, since getting to Ulthuan, Natsu and Happy would clear their heads in.
"Its weird having this tail this long," Happy said, looking back, swishing his tail, "I'm always knocking things over."
"Don't worry about it," Natsu answered, patting Happy's flank, "You're still awesome. Have you breathed fire yet?"
"I've been trying," Happy answered, "But I still can't." To demonstrate, he inhaled, but all he exhaled was smoke.
"I don't even know how I'd do it," he said.
"Don't worry," Natsu said, "You'll get the hang of it soon." His face then turned more serious, as he looked out over the ridge, the city in the distance.
"From the looks of things, you may have to." Happy nodded, as his tail swished behind him, knocking over a couple of trees, though neither the Dragon Slayer or the dragon noticed it.
"What do you think we should do?" Happy asked.
"Dunno," Natsu answered, looking up at the sheer blue sky, "But we have to do this. We made a promise."
"But we'll be going to war," Happy said, "What if.."
"We can't think of that right now," Natsu said, "We have to think about what's happening now." The two then looked back out over the land.
"They said there are other kinds of elves," Natsu said, "I wonder what they're like."
"Maybe we'll get to meet them," Happy said.
"I hope they don't have the huge sticks up their asses that these guys do," Natsu said.
Note: Oh Natsu, you have no idea. Otherwise, Happy seems to be having a little bit of trouble getting used to his status as a dragon. But Finubar seems to have his plan.
I don't think what Natsu said is out of character. From his perspective, it was just throwing his two cents into it. He may not fully grasp what Finubar is planning yet.
As for the size of the High Elf army, from what I've read, the bulk of their army is made up of citizen militia. Considering how long elves live and how much time they could spend training, its not preposterous to think that they could have a full sized army ready if they need it.
Please review. Next chapter, we'll see Mirajane.
Here's to Fairy Tail coming to its conclusion. I'm going to miss this series.