Noah Markus couldn't help the small quirk of approval that flashed across his lips. He sighed in self-admonishment. It was bad news for the Ketaran army — but he couldn't help thinking privately that it had been a good plan.

He sighed again. Yes, a good plan, unlike the one to ambush the retreating party on the mountain trail. Who ambushed a whole army? Markus shook his head in disgust. Not one of the Ketaran soldiers had survived, and what had Lord Amar expected?

"Here you go, Cap." A steaming cup was placed next to his elbow.

Markus glanced up in surprise. "Oh… thank you, Dominique." She was an archer in the Onyx Guard with a peculiar habit of mothering her teammates. "Wait," he called as she made to leave his tent. "How's Porter?" he asked anxiously. He hadn't yet been able to visit his second-in-command in the infirmary tent.

Dominique shook her head sadly. "I'm afraid I don't know, Cap. All I can say is he's still alive."

Markus nodded, dismissing the archer. He stared at the mess of papers and reports spread across the coarse camp rug he sat on, warming his cold fingers on the mug of tea. After a moment he closed his eyes, not wanting to see the figures of casualties any longer.

The military was nearly his whole life, and he had agreed to that. He had no problem with risking his life for Ketar. Despite everything, Markus held a fierce patriotism in his heart, and as a Captain of an elite Guard he was well enough mired in the political landscape of his country to understand that war was necessary.

Ketar was uneasy. It had happened before, and would likely happen again. Civil unrest had recently stirred against the last Overlord. That man had been weak, vague, and selfish — the country had essentially been run by the Generals, but without the proper support of the Overlord, the House of the People had made life increasingly difficult. The Army had simply not been able to do its job, and the people of Ketar had chosen protest over honest work. Then, three years ago, a challenger had overthrown the Overlord. It was not a bloodline position — but not just anyone could take it. Many of Markus' comrades in the army had tried over the five miserable years — all of them had failed, and Markus had never seen them again. But finally, finally, a new Overlord had come to power. Power under the Overlord was traditionally split between the Army and the House; but by that time the Overlord had had enough with the antics of the House, and disbanded them.

The Overlord of Ketar meant business.

After years of neglect and rebellion, the land was in a sad state. It would be many long years before Ketar was able to support its people again — too many years to wait in the meantime. There was not enough left to be taken from their homeland without destroying it. Ketar had a history of this kind of war: taking over a land and expanding the empire for goods and resources. Markus himself had very few qualms about it. The people of Tellius would have been allowed to continue living there. Their kings would have been granted lordship under the Overlord, and continued to govern their lands. They would have paid a simple tithe. But now, another land would be torn by war before these proud people gave up. There would be less to tithe and less to live on while Tellius rebuilt.

Captain Markus opened his eyes and sighed. Reluctantly, he stood up and collected a few of the thrice-damned papers. He needed to talk to Lord Amar before pride and foolishness cost more soldiers their lives.

…

"This fort at Serpent Pass is our best option," Micaiah murmured, pointing it out on the map.

Soren scanned the inky mountains. "Are there other places where the army could get through the mountain range?"

"Just a few." The silver-haired priestess tapped them with one finger. "There was a main road, here, which we build after the Judgment War to get to Hatari… but since the invasion, we've brought down half a mountain on it. It was the most accessible pass. Now there are just those four small ones. The other three are well guarded, and Serpent is the closest one."

"Very well. Then we fall back there for now." Soren tapped his fingers absently on the tabletop. "If we could hold the invasion in these mountains until winter, the snows would choke the passes." He glanced at Micaiah. "Would your foresight give us enough warning to get out before we, too, became trapped?"

"It always has in the past," Micaiah replied.

Soren seemed to consider it, then shook his head. "No, never mind. We'll have to be very careful as it gets closer to winter."

"The snows actually start around mid-autumn at this height," Jill spoke up.

"Alright, autumn then," Soren corrected, doing little to hide his growing tetchiness. "If the Queen's foresight does kick in, wonderful. In the eight weeks between now and then, we will have to hold this fort much, much more effectively than the last."

"The pass is narrow and steep," Sothe murmured. "Thick woodland and the occasional sheer cliff on either side. Flooding it like the last one isn't likely to work as well, but there should be plenty of opportunities to set traps and ambushes."

"That's right," Ike spoke for the first time in a while. For the last half hour or so, he'd paced the tent while the others rattled off battle reports. Now he rejoined the table, glancing at the Queen's shadow. "I'd forgotten you guys were the Dawn Brigade. Guerilla warfare was what you did, back in the day…"

Sothe rolled his eyes. "Yes, back in those good old days of occupation after the Mad King's War. My point is, we have a huge variety of troops available, even before the dragons get here. We should use them."

"I sense that the Shipless Pirates might get to see some action," Tibarn chuckled.

"Indeed," Soren murmured, gazing at the map with slightly narrowed eyes. Ike glanced at his old friend with concealed worry. He could almost smell the smoke coming off the wheels in Soren's little tactician brain. He noticed that the sage was leaning on the table with his right hand, but not his left.

"I think meeting adjourned for tonight," Ike announced. "We're all tired, and we've got a long way still to go the next few days." He caught Soren's arm as people began to leave the command tent. "And you," he said under his breath, "are going to see a healer, whether you like it or not."