Chapter 19) Clash in Macedon

Kris POV

We finally got the ships and so, sailed for Macedon. I spent most of the trip sick, of course. I'd probably never handle ships well. Still, once we landed, and recovered from the trip, we marched on, our forces bolstered by Grust's army. Macedon's army was already at the borders, though, ready to strike. Macedon intended to make us bleed and bleed while we made our way to Dolhr. We could only hope that they wouldn't weaken us too much. The fights with Gharnef and Medeus were on the horizon, looming over us all…

That got dramatic. Damn it. I've been spending too much time with Linde.

The battlefield had to be one of the simplest we'd ever fought on, and that was saying something. It was a long stretch of plains, flanked by trees, with a single village tucked off to the side, likely there to help support the fort. Of course, that fort was currently fielding as many soldiers as possible to stop us, so hopefully, that village had been evacuated.

"So, here we are," Marth murmured. Reaching the first battle of the final stretch made Marth somewhat dramatic, and so, he stood apart, looking over the battlefield. I stood with him, mostly to make sure no enemies took advantage of the dramatics to snipe him with an arrow. "Was there no reply to the second messenger?"

"I would call 'nearly made our messenger catch an arrow with their face' is a reply, silly prince," I deadpanned. He laughed, but smiled sadly. "You can't have expected it to work."

"I knew they might not switch and join us, but I really had hoped to avoid more bloodshed." Marth closed his eyes and visibly hardened his resolve. "So be it. Macedon stands between us and Dolhr, and Gotoh is somewhere within the country as well. If we must fight, I intend to fight it well."

"Of course, pretty boy." I laughed when he made a face. "Look, this is one reason you keep me around. I make sure you don't get too self-important."

"I suppose." He sighed and turned back towards camp. From here, I could see Camus and Hardin talking, likely coordinating for the battle. Our strategy, like most, depended on an initial charge of our cavalry to tear through the enemy's front lines. "They seem to get along well."

"That they do." It was rather surprising, since Camus had been so recently the enemy and… well… Camus and Nyna were courting, and Hardin had a crush. But it seemed like Hardin actively tried to befriend Camus to move past it, and Camus respected Hardin in turn. "That's good. Can you imagine how awkward things would be?"

"I'd prefer to not think of that." He grimaced and I snickered. "I would really… oh." I almost asked what had distracted him, but it was clear very, very quickly what it was. Minerva had walked up. "Princess Minerva…"

"I see you wanted to look over the battlefield as well, Prince Marth," she replied, nodding a greeting. She was as calm and stoic as always, but there was something sad to her today. "You get a different view from elevated ground than you do from the sky. Thought I'd look."

"I understand," Marth murmured. He looked down briefly before returning his attention to her. "Perhaps this is rude, but Princess Minerva, are you certain you wish to join the battle? If you've any reservations about fighting your own country-"

"If I felt that, I would not have offered you my axe, Prince Marth." Minerva's words were gentle and firm. Her expression didn't even twitch. "I would have taken Maria away, and waited things out." She looked out over the field, noting the soldiers gathering in the distance. "Do you think I wish to spare my brother and former vassals, forgive them for seeing things differently?" She actually laughed. It was a bitter laugh, but it was definitely a laugh. "I would be lying if I said I didn't wish things were that simple, but it isn't. People are never that simple."

"Still, though, if it is too much…"

"Regardless of my choices, I am still Macedon's princess." She still spoke easily, without the slightest hesitation. "History needs to remember that when Macedon went astray, it was a Macedonian who set it back onto the proper path."

"Even if your own brother dies?"

"Michalis made his choices. I've made mine. Not all siblings are lucky enough for their paths to parallel each other." She smiled kindly at him. "I hope we find out about your sister soon. There's been far too many rumors." She watched the soldiers in the distance for a while longer before leaving without a word. Camus and Hardin drew her into their conversation easily, and if you didn't know her, you'd think there was nothing wrong.

Of course, we had traveled with her for quite some time, so Marth and I knew better.

"She's hurting," Marth murmured sadly. I knew it hurt a lot, because Minerva reminded him somewhat of his sister. "She's hurting a lot."

"She is." I could see the others also keeping an eye on her. I knew they were making sure Palla, Catria, and Est were also okay. That's just how this army was. "But we can't stop her. It'll be rude."

"Of course." Still, he winced. "How's Maria?"

"Diana, Lena, and Nyna have been with her all morning." That was all I knew, sadly.

"Okay." He turned back to the field, dark and sad eyes already seeing the dead. "To Macedon's fall, I suppose."

"Yeah." It would, unfortunately, fall far. "Here we go."

The Macedonian were fierce and tactical fighters. Their priority was our archers, and they actually managed to get a lot of them to fall back with injuries. Once that was done, they prioritized the Archaneas, likely because of grudges. But, honestly, the thing I had to hate-admire the most was how… well, our plans only accounted for the soldiers, for some reason. But they shouldn't have. The wyverns and pegasi fought just as fiercely as their riders. We actually lost a lot of soldiers to those without riders, defending their fellows and their riders' corpses to the death. Literally.

I wasn't sure how we missed that. Maybe it was because we normally just let Minerva and the Whitewings do their own thing and they were distracted enough by everything that they forgot to warn us. I had no idea. The result, though, was that the battle lasted longer than anticipated, and that was particularly bad for we three mages in the army.

"Merric, how are you holding up?" I asked, stumbling back from casting another Thoron spell. Our job had been to use our 'special tomes' to help with crowd control. Linde and I blasted holes in the main lines, while Merric tore through the skies. "Merric?"

"A moment," he gasped out, struggling to stand. Sweat had plastered his head to his skull, and he was deathly pale. I thought I could actually pick out the little veins in his face. "Ugh…"

"Might need a new tactic." I jerkily threw my arm around his shoulder and let him lean against me. My knees almost buckled from the additional weight, but I held. Barely. "Linde?"

"I'm better off that you two," Linde replied, pushing her hair out of face. Considering that she looked like death warmed over, though… well, that didn't make me feel better. "I'm just single sniping, unlike you two."

"Yeah," I sighed, resting my cheek against Merric's head as he struggled to breathe. I didn't care about the sweat. I was certain we'd never get it out of these clothes anyway. "Damn, how many are there? Did they put the full army here?"

"It wouldn't surprise me. It's not like we have many options for battlefields." Linde sharply gestured, killing another enemy soldier with Aura. Her hand shook. "Merric, seriously, are you okay? You've been burning the most magic of us."

"Got a few more left, I think," Merric managed. He tried to straighten, but couldn't. My arm around his shoulder was too much of a weight. "Maybe."

"Is that 'few' accounting for you surviving?" Linde snapped. She gestured again, killing another enemy leader. I awkwardly moved my tome to my other hand to shoot off another lance of thunder magic. My arm burned from the effort. "Ah, the skies…"

"They have too many fliers." Merric gave up straightening, and instead, brought his badly shaking hand up to cast Exaclibur in a 'wide burst'. That was why this was more draining on him. "So…"

"Tag, I'm it." Xane appeared out of freaking nowhere and nearly took three powerful spells to the chest. "Easy, easy!" he yelped, bringing his hands up. "I'm just here to relieve you."

"What do you mean by that?" I asked. He gave me an incredulous look and it still took a moment to remember. "Can you use the special spells while shifted?"

"I can trick them, yes. So…" He easily took Excalibur from Merric's hand and shifted his form into Merric. "You're under orders to sit down and rest. Wendell is apparently very worried about all three of you."

"That is… so weird." I sat down hard right where I was, and accidentally dragged Merric down with me. He didn't even protest, just curled up in my lap. "So, battle plan switched up?"

"Just a little." Xane-Merric began casting multiple big-Excaliburs to take out enemy fliers, and waved Linde down when she tried to assist. "Nope, nope, you're to rest. Orders. Healers' orders at that." Linde nodded and sat down next to me. I rested my head against her shoulder, and she rested her head against mine. "But yes, slight change which should show up… now."

Right on cue, twin roars shattered the air. Bantu and Tiki entered the field in their full draconic glory. The Macedonians, perhaps because of their proximity to the land of dragons, didn't even flinch, though. They just switched their priority targets from 'archers and Archaneans' to 'archers and dragons'.

"I'm not sure if I admire their bravery or curse their stubbornness," Linde murmured, watching the battle. Xane-Merric focused on a few more Excaliburs. "This is…"

"You'll be surprised how much that summarizes humans," Xane-Merric commented. He cast Excalibur one more time, clearing the skies except for our soldiers, and then shifted back. "That should be enough." He tried to pass Excalibur back to Merric, but I took it instead. Merric belatedly flailed a bit before shrugging and curled up more in my lap. "Let's see if the wyvern princess can pull this off like she says."

"The… are you talking about Minerva?"

"Yes." He pointed to the lone wyvern in the skies now, arcing around the battlefield. Red armor sparkled in the sunshine. "There."

In silence, or as much silence as you could have on a battlefield with two dragons, we watched Minerva suddenly dive into the chaos. One breathless heartbeat later, she emerged, dragging several bodies with us. Her wyvern screeched and she dropped the bodies, flying high above everything while splattered with the blood of her enemies, her own countrymen.

Somehow, despite having seen it so many times, I couldn't help but feel saddened at the sight, especially when the Macedonians began surrendering. Whoever she had killed… no, perhaps it didn't matter who she killed. It had been her, and that made them give up.

After the battle, Merric, Linde, and I were confined to the infirmary for a good few marks, under observation due to magical fatigue or something. I spent most of it napping in an effort to escape the smell of blood and whatever else was around, and to escape the screams and sobs of the wounded and dying. I only woke up when Lena shook me awake and told me I was free to leave. Linde was also 'cleared', but she stayed to help out. Merric was to stay overnight.

When I left, I checked for Maria. I learned from someone, a person I didn't know the name of, that Maria had been forced to rest and Diana was looking after her. After all, no matter how resolved someone was, she was still a child and she was a healer at that. She had to heal people who killed her countrymen, and who were wounded by the same.

War sucked. There was no ifs, ands, or buts about that.

"Thank you for helping me do laundry," Caeda murmured, skipping along the hall. Though it had been quite a few marks since the battle's end, the healers were still working, so their normal chores were divided amongst everyone else. Technically, I was 'exempt', but since I was clear, I decided to help Caeda. "It would have taken a long time without your help!"

"Why does everyone have so many clothes?" I complained, trying not to drag my feet too much. My hands felt raw from all the soap and scrubbing. "Why?"

"We are a very large army, Kris."

"Don't use logic when I'm this tired!" I groaned and rolled my shoulder a few times. I was stiff beyond belief. Who knew laundry could be so labor intensive? Though, it wasn't helped with the battle earlier. "Ugh…!" A quick look out the window showed the sun was setting. "We did laundry for how long now?"

"It's best not to think on it."

"Who does it normally?"

"Lena and Diana." But Lena was still working, and Diana was helping in the infirmary, if she wasn't watching Maria or Tiki. I assumed the former, though, since she could've probably have done laundry while watching the two token children in the group. "I should bake something."

"Will you bake for the army or just us?"

"It depends on how much can be spared, if anything." Caeda frowned a bit and skipped ahead to turn and face me. "We have to be careful about food supplies. We might be able to restock once Macedon falls, but once we're in Dolhr…"

"We can kiss any luxuries goodbye." Well, there would be alcohol. I could easily imagine people having a drink before the final battle.

"Speaking of kissing…" She smirked and I was filled with a sudden sense of dread. "So, Cain?"

"That's…" I sighed and ran a hand through my hair. I winced at the tangles I found; I needed to brush it. "There's too much going on. Everything is a mess." If I tried to add one more thing, I swore I was going to just collapse. I had no idea how people balanced all of this. Maybe it would make sense when I was a little older.

"I understand." Caeda smiled sympathetically and returned to my side to nudge me. "It's why I haven't told Marth, you know. He has so much to think about that I cannot bear to add one more thing to his load."

"And here I thought you were just shy." I grinned and rested my head on her shoulder briefly. "I'm so tired. But we're almost done."

"Then the real work begins. Reconstruction."

"Ugh…" I pouted and she smiled and poked my cheeks. "Why did I ever get involved in this? I could've just been robbing people blind."

"You regret it?"

"Never. But I can complain anyway." At the sound of footsteps, I frowned and tensed up, reaching for the sword I didn't wear. But it was okay, because it was just… a surprisingly excited… Marth.

"There you are!" Marth exclaimed. He wore the brightest smile I'd seen in a long while. "Gotoh contacted me!" He slung both arms around Caeda and me, tugging us into a mildly awkward group hug. "He knows where Elice is!"

"He does?" Caeda gasped. I just stared for a moment, stunned, before smiling. It seemed rather convenient, but hey, why should I care if it was? "Oh, that's wonderful! Is she safe? Is she with him?"

"Sadly, she's not with him, though he does theorize that she is safe." Marth pulled away, still beaming. "Apparently, Medeus needs her for a ritual, so Gharnef has her as a bargaining chip. So, as soon as we're done here and get Starlight…"

"We can rescue her and deal with Gharnef in one stroke!" Caeda bounced on her toes and I stepped back a bit, just… watching. It was fun, watching them. "Perfect!"

"So, where are they both?" I asked, deciding to somewhat keep things serious. "Is it on the way?"

"No, but Gotoh reassured us that he will arrange things," Marth explained. His cheer did fade slightly, but not a lot. Something told me he'd be cheerful for the rest of the day, at least. "He's preparing things now. They're in Thabes, the city of illusion."

"Thabes?" I knew that name. Xane had mentioned it once. …Wasn't that north of Khadein? That was… oh, shit, we last saw him in Khadein. It made perfect sense. "Well, why don't you spread the news? I'm sure Linde would love learning of the extra motivation to kill Gharnef."

"We have even more." Marth's smile grew, but this one was weightier. "Gotoh confirmed that Gharnef has the Falchion. With one battle, if we're lucky enough…"

"We're going to steal three baubles with one pick." I grinned as they tried to figure out just what I said. "Go spread the motivating news. Minerva will be glad to hear it as well."

"True." Marth shyly offered his hand to Caeda. "Shall we?"

Caeda, of course, took it and they darted off. I watched them leave before going down a different hallway and heading straight for Xane's room. It took a couple of tries to find it, but when I did, I saw he and Bantu were discussing something. Both fell silent, however, when I came in, Xane curious and Bantu reassuring.

"Apparently, Gharnef is in Thabes," I explained. I found another chair in the room and sat down in it. "What can you tell me?"

"Of course he would, the dramatic," Xane groaned. He and Bantu shared an exasperated look. "Okay. Here's what we know."

This was going to be a hard few weeks. I could already tell.

Notes on… uh… wait, no one joined us for once. I don't know what to write here. Well, this is awkward.

Author's notes: The conversation with Minerva only triggers if she's fielded on the map; otherwise, it's just Malledus and Marth mentioning that they sent a messenger and received no reply. Technically, there's one more thing Minerva says here, but I felt it was better suited for the next chapter, both because of what is said and because of who the POV char is. Thabes was previously mentioned in 18x, as a reference to Echoes.

Next Chapter – A Knight-Filled Sky