Chapter 13: Predators and Prey
His robes were stained red as he pulled his body forward, panting and wincing in the darkness of the night. His red eyes scanned his surroundings as sweat poured down his face. He heard them... He saw their silhouettes moving in the shadows. The enemy got him, but now they'd finish the job.
His black robes would do little to hide him from their eyes. Thankfully, the night kept him safe from the ravens who were circling overhead hours ago, but the beasts could still spot him if they were focused enough... Soren was doomed, and he knew it.
What did he do wrong? How could it have ended like this? Soren's mind thought frantically. Even though he might die at any moment, it was good to learn from one's mistakes. After all, if Ashera was merciful enough to grant him life the next morning, he would have to have learned from this horrible error in order to stay alive. But that took luck, and luck was not on his side today.
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The arrival of the Phoenicis hawks gave the Gallian army hope. Crimea wasn't the only nation backing them in this seemingly impossible war. Now, to combat those dastardly crows, they had their own feathered friends.
More precious reinforcements from the north arrived. Led by Astrid of the Crimean knights, the Greil Mercenaries and their laguz allies knew that with the paladins, mages, archers, soldiers, fighters, armored troops, and swordsmen in their ranks would be more than a match for their Begnion counterparts. Those mages, like Masters Soren and Bastian, would be very effective against their laguz foes as well, but now speed was of the essence. If they were slow, these beorc allies would be slaughtered.
Soren was confident that he'd win. So far, the Gallian rebel tactic had been: "Mob them and hunt each enemy unit down." Their mentality was similar to the Gallian Prince, Skimir, who would rally their Gallian troops with: "Kill the enemy, kill them all." Skimir would often repeat to their soldiers no matter how many times Ranulf or Lethe tried to convince him otherwise.
With the hawk reinforcements, the Gallian rebel advantage of numbers was dwindling. Now, since both armies were much more evenly matched, victory would be determined through strategy, not brute force, and Soren knew that his strategy won the last war, so it would probably win this one too.
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"Senator Valtome, I regret to inform you that a large portion of the Crimean army, as well as the army of Phoenicis, has decided to assist the Gallian Royal forces."
"So, Tonerk, you mean to tell me that the aerial advantage we had with the Kilvas ravens has been compromised?"
"Unfortunately, yes..."
"So you ask for assistance?"
"Yes..."
"Give him that assistance."
"Lekain?"
"Senator Lekain! It's surprising to see you!"
"Indeed, Tonerk. Valtome, the Begnion Empire must have this victory, otherwise our conquest of Crimea will fail. Even with Daein's strength, the only way we can convince Goldoa to join us is if we destroy the Gallian royals in this very war. Lord Izuka simply isn't enough, as Goldoa hates him for the Feral project, which, no offense to you, Tonerk, I personally think was a shrewd idea. Cruel, perhaps, but shrewd. Now, Tonerk, we will give you as many troops as we can spare. After all, we could always tell Sephiran that by helping one faction of the civil war we ended it quicker... Sephiran's loyalty is to the Apostle, not to any of her allies, and Crimea is still subservient in their eyes. There won't be much trouble, you can quote me on that. So, Tonerk, you will be given reinforcements shortly. We will win this war, no matter the cost!"
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The united army, under Ike and Soren's leadership, approached the rebel provinces. Shortly after entering that "sovereign" nation, Tonerk's men made their counterattack...
The forests of Gallia were thick and tall, making it tough for Ike's Crimean allies to see. If there was any consolation, the same went for the enemy's Begnion troops, and the first strike was made by Kilvas ravens against their Phoenician hawk counterparts, rather than the 'official' armies themselves.
With their allies chaotically striking each other in the air, the ground troops on both sides were very confused. "Where was the enemy?" Their minds were frantic in trying to answer this question. The forest was not an ideal place to battle, and many Gallians on both sides stumbled across each other and had no idea who was friend and who was foe.
Soren saw that his lines were chaotic, the ranks of friends and foes were mixed, making it difficult to tell which side either were on. With night settling in, the bird laguz on both sides fled back to their respective camps, and both the white armor of the Crimeans and the red armor of the Begnion warriors were blotted out into one cloak of darkness. Now it was impossible to tell which side was which.
But the enemy laguz began to roar "human," and those laguz on Soren's side would instantly attack them, for beorc friends would never call beorc by that insulting name. The Begnion warriors, understanding their ally's tactic, would yell: "sub-human," causing the Crimeans to rally against them. It was ironic how two factions, who despised each other's very existence, would ally together, but by using the knowledge of their mutual hatred, they could easily tell who was friend and who was foe.
Soren quickly gathered the fire mages near him, which he knew were Crimean, as no Begnion mage would recognize him, and called a squad of armored warriors to accompany him. As allied troops began to flee, realizing that they were being mobbed by their enemy counterparts, Soren and this group of mages and armored troops surged forward into the tide.
The flames of the Crimean mage's spells burned the forest, but at the same time fried their rebel laguz foes, and that was more than enough to force the enemy lines to buckle, but, realizing that this tactic allowed the majority of the Gallian royal forces and their allies to flee, the bloodthirsty enemy laguz braved the flames and rushed forward, and Soren watched as his fellow mages were ripped apart by their claws. An armored warrior by Soren's side suddenly fell, an arrow having pierced his helmet. Begnion snipers were in the trees that remained, raining arrows down on Soren's men right after their laguz allies killed the mages. Soren's gambit had failed to destroy the enemy, but his allies had successfully fled. Soren saw Titania and a few other paladins, who had trouble in the forest, flee far into the distance. The mage smiled, at least his friends would live through this.
The snipers and laguz charged at Soren, who quickly used his Tornado tome to knock those beasts in mid leap. The swirl of wind threw the snipers out of the trees and far away. But more were on the way, and Thoron would have little use in such wooded terrain, so Soren withdrew a smaller tome from deep in his robes.
The book was much thinner than Tornado, and was lighter as well. The title was engraved in gold on the cover: Smack. A sweatdrop trickled down Soren's spine. Soren had asked Daniel to make him a wind tome. It didn't necessarily have to be as strong as Rexcaliber, for Soren knew the might of that tome and its extensive value, but he wanted a spell that could beat Tornado's might but was light enough to hide it from foes easily.
Thus, Smack was born. Soren had used this tome only once: to clear a stairwell full of enemy paladins during the final battle of Melior in the Mad King's War, and with a single release of the spell Smack succeeded in killing all five Paladins and even in taking down a small group of enemy swordsmen hundreds of yards away who were threatening Kieran and Muarim's attempts to cover Ike as he closed in on Ashnard. Thanks to Smack, the path to Ashnard's throne was clear for Ike as he ascended those steps, and with Tibarn closing in on Daein's King from the other end, the two warriors used their combined strength to bring the tyrant down.
Now, Soren needed Smack once again, and, with trembling hands, like those of Ike's when Ragnell was the only thing that stood between the hero and the tyrant, Soren was worried that either his weapon would fail in its duty or he'd be engulfed by its power.
Soren mumbled the incantation, and a furious wave of concussive air leaped from the pages of the book. It glowed a brilliant green and dived towards the pouncing and shooting enemy laguz and snipers. Soren heard them scream as Smack ripped them apart... The arrows that flew towards the mage simply disappeared, they were wiped out of existence by the spell. For about half a mile straight ahead of him, all Soren could see was a multitude of chopped and flattened trees. Smack had done its duty indeed.
But unlike Rexcaliber, Smack could only strike all opponents in one direction when cast. Rexcaliber, on the other hand, could easily manipulate the surrounding air around its user, thus allowing it to attack all directions simultaneously. Thus, Soren did not see the enemy laguz leaping from his left and right. By the time he heard them, he could only turn to the left and blast all of the laguz in front of him, but he felt the claws of his foes rake down his back, and Soren screamed at the pain.
The mage decided to run. He focused Smack directly above him, and it allowed him to create a small wind barrier around his body that would be able to repel a direct attack from any direction. Like a panicked rabbit, Soren ran deeper into the woods. His foes, knowing exactly how Smack worked now that they'd lost so many comrades to its wrath, split up and prepared to strike the mage from all directions. If Soren used Smack in any particular direction, he'd kill one of them, but before he'd be able to utter the incantation a second time, the remaining laguz would tear him apart.
Soren finally reached a clearing, a clearing ironically created by Smack itself, and holding the tome to his chest, the mage panted. He fell on his knees, exhausted from the ordeal. Soren knew that he was doomed, and he gripped tighter on Smack, muttering the incantation once more. If they were going to come at him, he'd give them all the might he could muster. He would die fighting.
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Ike regrouped the surviving soldiers, which, to his joy and surprise, were the vast majority. At least seventy percent of the allied forces were still alive, still able to fight the rebels and not fail. They had underestimated the terrain of the area, and because of that they were defeated this time. Their next approach would have to be made with caution. They would have to attack during the day when plains were involved, and at night when their troops reached the forest. The hawks would have to make it over the forest first, probably from a different direction, otherwise they'd be unable to be of assistance since they couldn't see at night. Titania, Bastian, Lucia, Ranulf, and Ike scrutinized their map carefully. Without Soren's help, planning was tough.
Lucia turned to her commanding officer. "General Ike, will Master Soren be safe?" She stared at him, eyes full of worry.
"I sincerely doubt that he fell in battle... Soren may have lost battles, but he's always made it back to camp in one piece, even if he was wounded... But it's unsettling not to have heard from him..."
"Then we should search for him... I have a bad feeling about this..." Lucia stammered. Bastian and Kieran were rather surprised. Lucia would never show such uncertainty. She would always show confidence and decisiveness wherever she was. "Lady Lucia." Kieran raised his axe. "As an honorable Knight of Crimea, know that you have my axe whenever you need it."
Lucia smiled. "Colonel Kieran, thank you for your support, but I do not think your assistance will be required today. The forests are dangerous for a paladin like yourself. You should stay here, at base camp. Foot soldiers and beast laguz would be ideal for this mission, not calvary."
Kieran nodded. "Your wish is my command, milady."
Bastian spoke. "Lucia, of the fine blue hair, I shalt assist thee in the search for Master Soren. My love, thou shalt never fear the claws of thy foes, for I, Bastian, shall protect thee!"
"Yeah, right. Thanks, Bastian, but your knife and tome can do so little in a forest of trees. I do not think that our Gallian friends would appreciate any more desecration of their forest. General Ike, we're wasting time. We should try to help him... Something might have happened..." Lucia turned to Ike, her eyes showing a rare sign of pleading.
Ike was startled, but inwardly he smiled. He knew that Soren finally found a person who'd care for him like the blood family the mage never had. "Very well, Lucia. Ranulf, watch over the camp for me while I go find Soren, will you?"
"Of course, Ike, but would two of you be enough?" Ranulf turned to his friend, his eyes showing worry, too.
"I will go with him. All of these people are critical members of our army and are family nonetheless. I am a laguz with good eyes and a nose in the dark. They could use my assistance." Muarim turned to Ike, who nodded. "It's an honor."
"Muarim, you're not a native of Gallia. Lethe should help Ranulf since she can train the troops in Ike's absence. I'll go with you. You shouldn't head out there with only two friends." Lyre turned to the burly tiger. Muarim smiled at her and nodded, as did Ike and Lucia.
"Ok, then, the rest of you stay here. The five of us will make it back safe and sound, I promise." Ike nodded and left with his comrades. Titania and Ranulf exchanged glances. Ike had always kept his promises, but would Soren truly make it 'safe and sound?'"
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It was the end for him.
They were closing in on his position, their silhouettes growing ever larger by the minute. Soren was worried that blasting the ones in front of him with Smack would give the others time to strike him, so he kept the spell at bay, using whatever willpower he had left to resist the urge to fling it at them.
Sweat poured down his face with an even greater intensity. He was the rabbit, staring right at the wolf's gaping mouth and fangs. He was a dead man, but he would save his last strike for the end.
Lucia saw the wisps of smoke. The flames had died down but the fact that the embers were cooling meant that Soren wasn't far off. Ike and his comrades cringed at the sight before them. Beorc bodies sprouted among the burned husks of the trees. These Crimean friends were slaughtered by the Gallian rebels. They had fought bravely, and the fact that several laguz corpses were among them showed that they were strong, but their bravery and strength was not enough.
Then, they saw them, those beasts, those vicious animals who shared the appearance and blood of the laguz but who could never match their conscience. The beasts were closing in on an unseen target, but Muarim's eyes spotted their prey, and the widening of his eyes told the others all they needed to know: Soren was about to be attacked, and they would have to strike now or they'd lose their master strategist.
Lyre and Muarim pounced upon the beasts, shocking them out of their hungry stares. Lucia and Ike ran towards them, their blades shining in the moonlight, and as his foes howled Soren knew exactly what was happening. Lyre was in front of Soren, biting at an enemy laguz, when Soren yelled. "Lyre, get off of him!"
Lyre was shocked, but she trusted the mage, so she did what she was told, and Soren rewarded the cat by blasting that foe far away with Smack. His comrades all watched Soren's spell in awe. Truly, he was a great mage as well.
The enemy beasts perished, slain at their hands, and Lucia ran forward and shifted Soren onto her shoulder. The mage was shocked at her strength, yet she was also shocked at his. Lucia had been a tactician for the Crimean army, but the earlier news at the loss of Elincia and the defeat of the Crimean Royal Guards had been devastating for her. Had she been here instead of Soren, she might have lost that cold sense of rationality and would probably have fallen to their claws, but Soren had held out for so long, and now he was by her side once again. Wounded, perhaps, but alive. He'd be able to fight again...
Lucia smiled, shocked at the joy she was feeling upon having him alive. For too long had she seen friends fall in battle... She lost many a close friend and comrade during the Mad King's War, and she had no intention of losing him...
Marching towards their camp, Ike, Muarim, Lyre, and Lucia shared hearty grins. Their mission was a success, and the prey was able to evade the claws of its predator. Soren was alive!