Author's Note: This chapter and next chapter were originally one, but I split them up? Why? Because the entire thing totaled over 12,000 words. And if you can believe it, the battle for Caelin isn't even finished there. Forgive me for the cliffhangers, I know half of the time they make people angrier, but I had no other way to keep things at a manageable size.

With all that said, enjoy!

Chapter 23: The Distant Plains

"You really need to do something about that bad habit of yours." Maria chuckled, poking Will in the forehead.

He looked from his meal, a little annoyed that she had disturbed his thought process. "Doing what?"

"Those forehead wrinkles! You know if you frown too much wrinkles happen much faster as you age? That's a terrible fate that no one should have to go through." She said, wagging her finger knowingly.

"So what, I should smile more?" Will asked.

"Maybe. Well not those empty smiles. You need to smile from the heart." She said, pointing to her bosom.

"What do you mean?" Will asked, confused. He thought he smiled enough. Sure, he couldn't claim to be the happiest of people, but no one was happy all the time.

"Your smiles need to show how happy you are. If they don't, Lyn and Florina will feel like you don't like them." Maria giggled.

"Wait… what?"

"Will!"

"Huh? Kent? What's going on?" Will jerked out of his thoughts, looking at the knight that had just called his name.

"We near our destination." He replied. Will nodded in response. He glanced down at his notebook. He had been writing while lost in thought, and was surprised that he had put something that could not only be read, but pertained to what was occurring.

General Eagler has been defeated. We buried his body on his estate. I only hope his family can forgive us for what we had to do. It is true that Lundgren has been poisoning his brother, whether by Mark's order or not doesn't matter anymore. Now Lyndis' Legion draws close to Castle Caelin. Within its walls our enemies await. A man that kills for pleasure and another who kills for power and status, even if it involves his own kin. They must be stopped, not just for our sakes, but for the rest of world's sake as well.

He snapped it closed, signaling to everyone else, and they stopped. Final preparations were underway. "Lyn, the Castle will be visible once we pass through these hills. We can also go around them instead just to be safer in case of ambush Personally, I recommend going around."

Lyn nodded while clutching a fist to her chest, as though it could still her heart's beating. "Grandfather… I'll be there soon."

Kent's horse (who Will had only now learned was Wesley) whinnied nervously. Kent patted the horse gingerly as he spoke. "It all rests on this next battle."

Sain's horse Harry, another name Will had not known until recently, was much calmer. Sain had a cocky grin on his face. "Lundgren won't be getting the reinforcements he wanted. He'll come at us with everything he's got!"

Lyn shook her head. "Let them come! We will not lose so easily! I will not be turned away! I will see my grandfather! I've come too far to let anyone stand in my way!" She looked back at Will, and he understood. Her eyes spoke her desire to save him as well by acquiring the antidote, and that was all he needed.

Will turned to the rest of the group. "My comrades… my friends… this may very well be our final test. I may not be a master tactician, but that doesn't mean we can't change the fate of this country. I ask you to lend me your ears and your strength for this battle, to give it everything you have. If we are to win, we must be willing to fight a long and to the death of our enemies! I ask you now, one last time: will you join us?"

Wes reared, and Kent's sword flashed. "I will protect the Lady Lyndis!"

Harry reared beside him as Sain brandished his trusty lance. "As a knight, it is my duty to fight! Not to mention my deeds will surely impress the village maidens…"

Wil notched an arrow into his bow. "I've grown quite fond of this group of misfits. It'd be a shame if any of us backed out now."

Huey's wings began to flap lightly, taking Florina into the air, though not yet high enough to be out of earshot. "I'll do whatever I can."

Dorcas lugged his axe onto his shoulder. "I will fight. I will not die. I gave my word to Natalie."

Serra hopped up on one foot. "Just leave the healing to me!"

Erk sighed, but his fire tome was in his hand. "The sooner I get this over with, the sooner I get Serra to Ostia, and the sooner I'm rid of her." He said, which got him whacked over the head with her staff.

Rath, like Wil, notched his bow. "I will not abandon those of Sacae, or those I consider comrades." He said firmly, making Will smile.

Matthew's cloak swished about him, and he gave a mock bow. "I'm just a thief, but I guess even I can be of some use. I'll steal their clothes for you." He said sarcastically, making Kent raise his eyebrows rather high. Apparently, he hadn't noticed the sarcasm.

"I'm not leaving until the battle is won! My flute can invigorate everyone!" Nils cried, a magical wind spreading out from him and the flute. Will still didn't understand his power, but was grateful to have it nonetheless.

"I may not be of much use, but I do not plan to run away and leave Nils alone." Ninian said after him, and the younger boy smiled lovingly at his sister.

Lucius merely looked into the sky, his hands clasped together in silent prayer. Most likely hoping for their success in the battle to come. When he spoke, it was in the form of a prayer. "May St. Elimine protect us all."

Wallace slammed his lance into the ground. "I am the Crag of Caelin! Their weapons will break upon me! Wahahaha!" His booming laugh echoed through the field.

Lyn smiled at them all. "Thank you all." And she looked at Will. They had been through all of these insane events together. From the beginning to what would now be the end. "Are you ready?"

"Of course. Allow me to direct you one more time." Will answered.

"I'd be honored." She replied. Their march to the castle gates began.

At the castle, Lundgren's troops were preparing for battle. Both he and Mark surveyed the soldiers now lined up in front of him. He felt exceptionally confident. The girl had come straight into his arms, and the Fang. "That Sacaen mongrel won't get anywhere near here, thanks to your assistance." Lundgren said, patting his pocket.

"As long as you do not allow them to take that vial, the tactician will die by the end of the day." Mark said. "I would remain to see your glorious reign begin, but I have been summoned to other matters."

"That is fine. By the time you are asked to return Caelin shall be born anew." Lundgren responded with a laugh.

"I have no doubt of that, sir." Mark said with a low bow, his black cloak swishing behind him. He turned and left the Lord to his men. "Fool." Mark muttered. "Lord Nergal only recalled me because you stand no chance. We have many other eggs in our basket." After he had gotten a fair distance away, he called into the nearby trees. "Goyu! Slema! We're leaving!"

"Yes boss." Came the gruff voices of some over muscled thugs, one held a gigantic longbow while the other held an axe far too large in comparison to the normal battle axes men would wield. Mark took the book one of the men offered him. Having lost his previous spell tome to Will, he had unfortunately had to request a new one. Nergal had been kind enough to oblige him, but he knew this was the only favor he would ever receive.

"Gather the Taliver. I have a new mission for you all." Mark said. Slema the Bowman nodded before disappearing into the forest. Goyu followed Mark, who quickly descended the hill to get as far away from Caelin as possible.

"It's going to rain, so move carefully!" Will called to everyone as they began to move. "Keep to the clear areas so they have less chance of hitting you!" With that, he began his battle plan. The tome he had stolen off Mark was clutched to his chest, to use small fireballs to help him keep on the move. If the battle got to a certain point, he would need Florina's help to view from above. They needed to finish before nightfall.

Wallace clanked along through the rain and gathering mud. The rain had only started fifteen minutes ago but already movement was more difficult than before. Especially for the horses. He glanced behind him, and while the nomad seemed to be doing alright, his two young knights were already struggling through the mud.

Will now knew what Lundgren and Mark had planned for them. He could see several small groups of soldiers bunching up. In fact, he counted precisely twelve groups that were like this. That meant even if he sent one individual to deal with each group, he would have to take one himself. Nils and Ninian could not fight, and Serra was only a healer. As Lyn slashed through an approaching swordsman, Will thought through his options. If he kept the group together, they would merely be surrounded by the enemy units and pushed into a corner. Not only that, but they would become unable to dictate the flow of battle and who the enemies would be targeting. He couldn't allow that, especially when Lundgren had likely saved some of the best troops to protect himself near the castle gate. "We're going to have to split up. Nils, Ninian, and Serra will come with me. We'll find some way of dealing with the group up ahead. Wallace, I need you to take down that group of heavy knights to the left. Kent, there's a group of cavaliers on the right. Lyn, there's a group ahead of the one we'll be fighting. I want you to take them down. Matthew, use your skills to take out those fighters on the far ridge. Wil, there's a few pegasus knights high above. Use that fortress for cover and take them down. Dorcas, there's a group of axe and lancemen you'll need to defeat. Erk, you'll be nearby taking on those anima mages. Lucius, there are a few dark mages hiding in the fortress I'm not sending Wil too." He paused to cough violently into his hand. He noticed a small amount of blood, but quickly closed his fist and continued. "Sain, There's going to be a group of cavaliers coming from behind us to try and flank. I need you to handle them and keep our small supply stash safe. Rath, your job is to take down those bowmen hiding in the trees. Lundgren obviously intends for them to be an assassination squad to finish some of us before we became aware of them. Luckily this rain prevented them from hiding before I noticed them. Florina, I need you to take out that wyvern commander."

"M-me?" Florina said in surprise.

"That wyvern isn't going to come down to fight us. They seem to have a couple bag full of hand axes and javelins to pelt us at range. Unlike the bowmen, none of us will survive a hit from one of those. You're the only one of us who can take to the air, so you're the only one I can trust with this task. Can you do it?" Will said, looking at the nervous girl.

She fidgeted slightly under his gaze, but didn't answer right away. After thinking about it, and having a soft whispered conversation with Huey, she met his gaze. "We'll manage it, somehow."

"If any of you get injured, pull back and regroup with Sain. I will send Serra, Nils and Ninian back as soon as we've handled our group." Will said, clenching his fist. "No matter what happens, we will survive. Now go!" He flung out his arm to indicate the start of their battle, and the group split.

Wallace clanked his axe against his armor menacingly as he approached the group of knights. "Fellows! Follow the foolishness of Lundgren no longer! If you lay down your arms and surrender, I promise your lives shall be spared!" The men seemed to hesitate, and Wallace attempted to push the point home. "Think of your family. You are all husbands or wives, sons or daughters. Do not force me to widow spouses or inform parents of their children's passing."

"Do not listen to him, men!" The commander, a tight lipped short haired woman shouted. "Wallace is no longer a knight of Caelin. He is a disgrace who when offered to help Caelin free itself of an usurper, chose to join her instead! His weapons and armor cannot hold back the force of all our weapons!"

Wallace slammed his lance into the mud, making the woman flinch. "I have not gotten so old as to be killed by a youngster like you." He growled. "I merely wished to prevent the suffering of unfortunate souls."

Several of the knights did indeed seem to be considering Wallace's words. The woman, enraged, drew her sword. Wallace noted the unique shape of an armor slayer. It seems she was not all bluster after all. "If you falter, your life is forfeit! The lives of your families are also forfeit! Those who betray the true Lord of Caelin deserve nothing but death!"

This seemed to scare the knights into action. The raised their lances, banging their own heavy armor in an attempt to prepare themselves to defeat the Crag. Wallace shook his head sadly. "So be it."

The first of the knight's charged, and Wallace took up his axe in his opposite hand. With the axe, he slashed through the shaft of the lance as the knight attacked. He then stabbed with his lance, striking the cloth area of the armor around the elbow joint. The Knight cried in pain, and Wallace knew he had been successful. He turned quickly, clacking his lance against the second knight's own. He felt a piercing pain in his back, and realized the woman had managed to get around behind him with her horse in spite of the mud. Her armor slayer had cut straight through the armor, and he felt blood begin to trickle down his lower back. Grunting in pain, he swung his axe in a large circle, pushing both the knight and the commander back. The first knight had been forced to retreat, his left arm entirely useless thanks to Wallace's strike. The third and final knight came at him with an axe, but Wallace could no longer play nice. He threw his lance with precision accuracy, hitting the face of the oncoming knight. The body fell into the mud, and Wallace quickly grabbed the axe the man had dropped. He turned, clashing his main axe with the remaining knight. Out of the corner of his eye he spotted the commander trying to once more get around his flank, but he couldn't let her accomplish that goal. With a tremendous grunt, he pushed back the knight, overpowering the younger fighter and burying the extra axe into the knight's shoulder. He felt the limb sever, but he had already decided to leave the axe and rely on his main one to fight off the woman.

The commander herself was shuddering as she stared down at the Crag from her mount. Whether it was because of the rain or out of fear, Wallace couldn't be sure. However, he could tell by her gaze that she could not and would not surrender. She raised her armor slayer as she reared her horse. Wallace recognized this as the Knight's way of showing not only respect for their opponent, but the knowledge that some battles meant the high possibility of death. She struck, and Wallace swung his axe, parrying the sword successfully. She swung again, and Wallace backed up, receiving only a gash to his armor but avoiding damage to his flesh. Her swings were much faster than his own. "Forgive me." Wallace said, gripping his axe tightly as she came at him a third time. With a massive swing, Wallace slash through the front legs of her horse, sending the knight toppling to the ground. He hear the sickening crunch of broken bones, and hear the dying whinny of the horse. He moved as quickly as he could over to the fallen woman. Both of her legs had broken, and tears streamed down her face in pain as the rain continued to fall.

"You are truly formidable, Lord Wallace." She said, her breathing shallow. "Please…"

"Tell me your name, child, and the name of the one I killed." Wallace said.

"His name was Ian. Mine is… Albera." She said, closing her eyes.

"As your opponent, and a true knight of Caelin, I salute you, young Albera." Wallace said, as he raised his axe. "Farewell."

The woman's suffering came to an end. Wallace winced in pain as he went to retrieve his lance from Ian. "I'll have to… head back to base. Sorry about that… Will."

Lucius threw himself into a nearby brush as he surveyed the dark mages that were taking aim from their perch. Next to them was a unit Will had unfortunately failed to spot, and would make this a much more difficult effort for Lucius. The cavalier did not look like an especially powerful foe, but if Lucius failed to take him out first he would be easily overwhelmed. Light magic had a strong advantage against dark magic, but he had no armor to speak of. Elimine's protection helped him heavily against magic, but swords and lances would pierce him easily.

"St. Elimine, I ask that you forgive me for the lives I will take, and protect those I wish to protect." Lucius said, placing his hands together softly in prayer. "I do it only because there is no other way, and I wish to prevent the further shedding of blood."

He understood his prayer was selfish, but he had come to understand the righteousness of Lyndis' cause. He felt it was only right to do as he was asked. He also wanted to help retrieve the antidote to cure Will. It was so rare to see a soul attempt to redeem the wrongdoings it had done, rather than continue to do wrong. He took a deep breath, before letting his light magic fly.

The first burst accomplished what it needed to do. The cavalier's armor exploded in a burst of light, and the man fell from his horse to the ground. The dark mages immediately turned their attention to him, and began to channel their dark forces in his direction. The influence of Elimine was upon him, and he stepped lightly and carefully out of the pools of dark energy, letting the light guide his attacks just as Elimine guided his steps. Once more a blast of let was unleashed, and one of the dark mages fell. The second quickly followed suit.

The third and final dark mage panicked, hurrying inside his fort. With a small sigh Lucius quickly made his way up the path to the fort. If he let the mage get away it would only cause them trouble later. As he peeked over the ridge he quickly withdrew his head, a blast of dark energy soaring just over him. He threw a blast of light in the direction of the fort, and heard a panicked shout. He hadn't hit his target, but he was able to clamber onto even ground and take up position behind a rock before the dark mage could fire another blast. Their magical duel continued for a small time longer, but Lucius finally managed to take down the mage by utilizing one small flash of light to bling the mage before closing the distance and blasting him with lightning at close range.

As the final mage fell, Lucius wiped the sweat from his brow. Looking around, he noted that there were no more enemies for him to deal with. He placed his hands together, offering a small prayer for the fallen. "I'd better make my way back…" He said, with one final bow to the deceased. "May Elimine take your souls from this plain."

Hailey shuffled her feet nervously. She had done this ever since she was a foal, but a soft pat from Rath as he tied her to a tree branch clamed her. "I'll be back soon." He said, before taking one of the quivers he had put into her side saddle and slinging it over his back. Testing his bow string momentarily, he was glad to find it strong as ever. "Time to hunt."

Slipping into the trees, Rath quickly found the archers Will had been taking about. A small part of this reminded him of his days as a Kutolah warrior. It had been a long time since he had thought about those days during a battle. He knocked an arrow, as he perched in the trees.

"You are not worthy of the Kutolah name!" His father growled, clenching his fist in anger. His father never struck out, though Rath often wondered why. Every time he had tried to accomplish something to please him, it was like he failed to live up to expectation. No matter how much good he had done, or how many hunts he completed, it didn't matter.

"One." He muttered, as he let the arrow fly. The archer he was targeted was apart from the others, so he managed to take him down with a well-placed shot to the back of his neck. He doubted the others would notice for a minute or two more, so he quickly grabbed another arrow from his quiver and knocked the second arrow. The other three were bunched together, so they were bound to notice once he shot one of them. He'd have to be quick.

"Not good enough!" His mother barked angrily. "You keep messing up the most basic maneuvers when on top of your horse!" She sighed and shook her head. "Maybe you just aren't made for battle. You do so well taking care of the animals I thought we may have been on to something at last…"

"Two." The arrow hit its mark, taking down the archer who was holding a steel bow. There were two more, but they had seen their comrade fall, and turned to fire upon his position. He quickly dropped down from the trees, escaping their sight just in time. Four arrows flew overhead as they tried to hit the position where he had been, before they stopped entirely. It seems these two were very intelligent. Most archers wasted their arrows without thought to their remaining supply, which lead to their deaths.

"A mercenary? You've got to be joking." His father's voice said, the same tone of disappointment. "I thought I told you to give up on being a warrior. There are other jobs for those unable to fight." Rath, for the first time in his life, interrupted his father's lecture.

"I can fight. I created something for myself." He said.

"Hah! There are only so many ways one can hunt. The Kutolah have explored them all and focused on those that mattered." His father said. The two looked at each other, but for the first time Rath felt like his Father was listening.

"Let me show you." Rath said. He led his father to the stables, where he retrieved Hailey. Then he led them to the weapons tent, where he retrieved a bow. He could tell now that his father was intrigued.

"You're going to shoot while riding? You could do neither well on their own." His father said. "Very well, if you prove it, you can do whatever you want."

"Three." Rath said, his third arrow reaching the mark. He only crippled the third archer through the leg, but he knew it was enough to get him to stop fighting. The final archer quickly turned and fired another shot, and Rath ducked back behind the trees. Their own strategy of using the trees to attack the Legion from safety had now completely backfired against them. Will certainly knew his strategies.

"Goodbye then." His father said, as Rath stood outside the village. Hailey was saddled and ready to go. In her carrying pouch was his shortbow and the arrows they were able to spare him.

"Take care of yourself." His mother said. "I know we were harsh on you, but it was only because the world is a dangerous place. Those who are not strong cannot afford to be kind."

"I see." Rath said. He bowed his head respectfully to his parents, before mounting Hailey and taking the reigns. "I will return."

"You'd better." He heard his father mutter as he rode away.

Rath rolled to another tree to avoid the oncoming arrows. The last archer had retrieved the quivers from his dead comrades and the injured one, making his supply much more ample than Rath's own. He only had three arrows left that he had brought with him, and if he retreated back to Hailey the archer would surely get away to retrieve additional men. He couldn't allow that to happen. The archer seemed fairly confident in his skills.

"Confidence… huh." Rath muttered as he notched his arrow. He didn't have much confidence. People from the Plains always held strong beliefs. Rath couldn't claim he felt the same. If anything, he believed strongly in his roots and the path he had chosen. He would continue moving forward no matter what anyone said. His relationship with his father proved that. He ducked out from his hiding spot and ran straight at the last archer, letting loose his first arrow. Quick as a flash he drew another arrow and fired that as well. The Archer fired off his own arrow, knocking away Rath's. He then dodged out of the way of the second as he attempted to draw his next arrow from his quiver. The distance between them was small enough now. Rath let loose his final arrow, which he had prepared immediately after the second. It flew straight into the man's arm as he began to pull his bowstring. He cried out in agony, the arrow and bow falling silently into the grass below. Rath finished closing the distance, and delivered a swift punch to the man's jaw, knocking him unconscious.

"Four." Rath gathered up the leftover arrows, using them to refill his quiver. It was time to head back to base camp.

"What the hell just happened?" The swordsmen cried, running over to the ledge of the cliff, closely followed by the mage and axeman. Their lance wielder had been overlooking the ridge when all of a sudden she had given out a surprised shriek and fallen to her inevitable death. Looking down, they could see her body far below, strewn across the rocks.

"Whoops!" Came a soft voice in his ear, before he felt a sharp push in his back. Waving his arms wildly as he screamed, the swordsmen also fell to his death on the jagged rocks below. The two remaining members turned to face the man who had appeared before them, wearing a rather cocky grin and twirling to daggers.

"Matthew of House Ostia. You guys really should be more careful using the cliffs like this. Accidents tend to happen." The axeman roared and charged, swiping his axe in a wide arc as the thief back flipped away. The mage followed up with a nicely placed fireball, which struck the thief hard in the back as he tried to get out of the axeman's range. Matthew stumbled, but managed to stay on his feet.

"This is why I didn't want to go alone." The thief grumbled angrily. "Better be getting paid extra for this Will." Matthew used a nearby rock face to quickly climb, getting above the axeman's head. Then he jumped, propelling himself from the rock face towards the mage. The mage fired another fireball which just missed Matthew's head, singing his ear. He tumbled as he hit the ground, rising instantly as he swung his dagger mercilessly. The mage's throat slit open, and only the axeman remained.

The axeman swung his axe wildly, but Matthew realized he was doing it with purpose. The diagonal and sweeping cuts prevented Matthew from getting in close, and the axeman seemed to have plenty of stamina. Much more than the nimble thief, who was cringing in pain as his back and ear continued to burn. Without luring the axeman into performing a vertical swing, he would be unable to finish the man with a single well placed strike. Perhaps he should have targeted the axeman instead of the lance girl with his initial attack.

The climb up the rock face had been anything but easy, but it had kept him hidden from sight. From there, he had peered over the ledge to see who he was facing. Calculating his chances, he figured the lance girl was best to take out with a surprise attack. Luckily, she was coming right towards his position, so he took advantage and pulled her leg out from underneath her, dropping her to the ground below. Then he had taken out the swordsman, who seemed to be their leader and coordinator of the small team. He was pretty deeply regretting not pushing the mage instead, but he knew fighting one short and one long ranged fighter was much easier than two short ranged fighters.

Matthew tripped, falling to the ground with a painful crunching sound. He might have just done something bad. The axeman grinned as he quickly closed the distance, raising his axe high for the final strike. "Well that's on way." Matthew muttered. He rolled to the side, springing up as he jabbed his dagger straight into his final opponent throat. The slash missed him by centimeters, but it was enough. The axeman tumbled to the ground, and Matthew fell on top of the body with an annoyed groan.

"That… was horrible." Matthew tried to stand again, by his own pained voice and his crumbling to the ground made him realize what that crunching sound had been. "Haha…. broke an ankle. Great. How am I supposed to get back now?"

He heard the approaching sounds of footsteps, but his waning consciousness could no longer fit the pieces together. As he barely spotted the flash of a lance, his eyes fluttered closed.

The rain continued to fall, as Lundgren waited. Eventually, a man came up bearing a report and behind him came line with a prisoner being held up by two men. "One by one, your allies will fall." He said, chuckling. "When you are left all alone, little usurper, you will finally feel the regret of crossing me. Then I will kill you."