CHAPTER 3 :
MAGVEL, HERE WE COME!
Five weeks into the trip, the Daein soldiers were tired of life at sea and desperately wanted to land anywhere. However, the flagship's watch spotted something unusual. The Watchman spotted and warned the crews that there were demons dead ahead! Pelleas then ordered all crews to battle.
The phantom ships are manned with skeleton crews; said skeleton crews were all undead, either Bonewalkers or Revenants. Mages and Archers opened fire on the closest phantom ship to come their way. Calill told the men on her ship, "I know what to do against different targets: if they are Revenants or Bonewalkers, cast Fire or Elfire, Gargoyles require Wind-based magic and, if by any bad luck, Zombie Dragon Laguz are onboard, fire Thunder bolts at them!" As for zombified Dragon Laguz, even dead, they still share the same weaknesses as they had when they still lived. Therefore, the best moment to strike at them is when they aren't transformed. On Anna's ship, Anna ordered everyone but herself to take care of the other targets, while she'll take care of the Zombie Dragon Laguz.
The Daein marines replied, "As you command." The archers still had it against Zombie Raven Laguz, whose corpses crash on ships of both sides, Grado and Daein ships alike. As for the mages, they're tightly packed behind the other armored soldiers and even more Zombie Raven Laguz corpses crash on their heads, blinding some people's vision and making them unable to fight. The Wight who led the fleet insulted the Daein fleet, "UN curs! You'll never make it to the coast!" Anna also took part in this speech joust, "You'll regret being raised from the grave!" Anna was just done against the Zombie Dragon Laguz, whose remains fell out to the sea. A Troubadour healed her to full health when the living Dragon Laguz got ready to engage with a Wight equipped with a… Laguzslayer!
The Mage Knight nearby advised his men to be quick to open fire on the Mogalls as soon as they get into position to fire at Anna. It took more shots than expected to take the Mogalls out, due to their Dark nature. Anna, being faster than the undead bones of the Wight, had enough time to spit fire at the Wight twice while the enemy skeleton could strike only once. Even if the Wight ended up charred, his ship caught fire and every Daein who got in by the other planks fell back, the undead soldiers were burnt one by one. Anna, by then, turned back into her humanoid form out of exhaustion.
Once the other enemy ship retreated, Pelleas saw the damaged enemy ship turn back and ordered to count the people still alive. True, the Daeins suffered some casualties; the enemy undead were outnumbered by a wide margin, the phantom ships caused about 100 casualties. As Pelleas saw the phantom ship sink to the bottom of the sea, he ordered the healers to tend to the wounded and to clean the mess the undead marines caused on the battle-affected ships.
It took three days to clean every trace of battle, in the end of these three days, the same watchman alerted, "Land! Land! Onrac dead ahead!"
Pelleas ordered everyone to get prepared to land. A Pegasus Knight came out of Onrac's keep, and its rider lands on Pelleas' ship. She got off the Pegasus to greet Pelleas.
"I am Syrene, commander of the Frelia Pegasus Knights. We have word that the Grado army marches on the Tower of Valni, our King doubled the guard of the tower, but we fear that, even if the guard was doubled, without you, we will never push Grado back that way." Syrene said. "Prince Innes is busy commanding the core of our army, he cannot spare any more troops to defend the Sacred Stone of Frelia."
Pelleas replied, "Then… I came all the way from Daein to fight Grado right on the landing? Daein has granted me citizenship in exchange for command of their army into Magvel."
Syrene had grave news to announce. "Alas, King Fado has been killed, his two children have disappeared, bandits abound everywhere in Renais. Once we can push back the Grado army out of this place, we go eastward rejoin the Jehanna-Phoenicis combined army."
Pelleas, surprised, "Phoenicis? Do we expect Kilvas to fight against Grado any time soon? I know that the Kilvan authorities are since aware that Ike is on the throne of Daein and they hold anger at anti-Laguz governments…"
King Hayden enters the scene, with much pomp, because Generals (only one of them has the rank, all other Generals only are so because of their Generalizations due to battle experience or Master Seals) and other soldiers of his own personal guard accompany him, along with a Paladin-herald who announces, through a trumpet signal, that the King has arrived. Pelleas and Syrene bow before him as soon as he dismounted. Syrene spoke with the king. "Your Majesty, here is the delegate of the newest member of the United Nations, Daein. King Daein himself has approved the entry of his own country to the U.N. and shall aid us in our fight against Grado."
Pelleas waited until Syrene was done. "My Lord, I have received reports that the Grado army is en route for Onrac as we speak. Even if you are rumoured to have doubled the guard around the Tower of Valni, unless Crimea, Phoenicis or Kilvas enter the battle, we have no hope of victory."
Then King Hayden told Pelleas that Phoenicis' positions are two days away from here by the air. And that Kilvas has yet to accept entry in the United Nations, because Naesala seems quite reluctant to fight zombie laguz. Pelleas asked what is Crimea's status regarding the conflict.
Hayden replied, "The Crimean army is en route to Carcino as we speak. Queen Elincia has promised to send numbers in the thousands, probably even greater than that of Daein. This will hopefully turn the tide of the war. I heard that my daughter, Tana, has disappeared at the border. If you Daein soldiers can find her before Grado troops do, Daein will have Frelia's eternal gratitude."
We can see the Daein army pitch camp outside Onrac, while the Daein delegate to the United Nations, Pelleas, is guided through the city by Frelian soldiers up to a keep whose roof is domed. A city whose streets are entirely paved, though only with cobblestone. Night comes and Pelleas lights a torch to find his way within the city walls while the rest of the Daein army pitches camp outside. Meanwhile, Hayden left the city and returned to Castle Frelia. When Pelleas finally arrived at the U.N. headquarters, with heavy footsteps, sleeping delegates have awakened and they began to shout at him. The only representative, hailing from Phoenicis, who wasn't asleep didn't do anything to protect or to insult the Dark Sage and was instead targeted just as Pelleas was.
The delegate of Rausten directed his profanity to Pelleas, "You Daein scum! How dare you awaken beorc?". The delegate of Renais also took part in this profanity ambush by shouting, "Betrayer of the Light! You are past redemption!" An exception to this was the delegate of Carcino because he directed his bad words at the Delegate of Phoenicis. "Hawke, your experience as a laguz brought us only trouble!" The Speaker of the U.N., Saleh, had to intervene in order to cease the whole quarrel between delegates. He has decided to quit Caer Pelyn, leaving his post as an hermit sage to fulfill a greater destiny. "Order! Order! Just that the delegate of a new nation has arrived doesn't mean that his/her country is not important! Please welcome the delegate of our newest member nation, Daein!", he shouted.
Pelleas, placed in the center of a circle, told them that Daein has come to fight back the laguz rapists and that King Ike has promised to supply weapons and training against the laguz and demonic enemies of the United Nations.
When they could comment, different delegates did not hesitate to do so. The delegate of Rausten said, "Finally! Someone covers our backs! It was about time, since the Knights of Rausten cannot hold it much longer as it is now!" There was the rant od the delegate of Phoenicis, "We cannot watch idly as Grado phantom ships are massing on our very doorstep!" The delegate of Jehanna agreed that Grado is on the move, but he also asked why Grado would invade Phoenicis. This was followed by the rant of the delegate of Frelia, "Now is not the time to discuss what we should do about Phoenicis! The Tower of Valni is a more pressing matter. It houses our country's Sacred Stone. From the Sacred Stone of Grado the researchers there made something more powerful deemed the Dark Stone. Renais' Sacred Stone has been destroyed when the Royal Temple was raided."
Pelleas also said, "Maybe our numbers would help us wipe the enemy army out. I do not know how large is the Tower of Valni's guard but it is nowhere near 5,000." The diplomat from Frelia had a plan to introduce: since the army under Selena's command is nowhere near 5,000, if they needed the Daein army to fight back the Grado forces, they will send a messenger out for Pelleas.
Who was Selena? Grado placed its armies under the command of several beorc generals. It is often rumored, among the laguz who fight alongside the United Nations (Jehanna, in particular) that the previous Black Dragon King was made a general under his zombie form, and thus being the only laguz general, undead or living, at Grado's service. But the bulk of the undead laguz under enemy command prefers to stay hidden from the main action. For whatever reasons there are, said reasons are kept hidden along with the laguz who hold these secrets.
The dark sage was brought back to his camp, quite large but without palisades, as they planned to be on the move as soon as the Grado thrust was turned aside. The grassy battlefield was made muddy because of the rainstorm that happened last night, slowing the movements of the enemy army. Meanwhile, near the Tower of Valni, a Grado artillery officer ordered his battery to open fire.
The ballistae battery, comprising eight weapons, fired big bolts but none of them landed within the tower. They all felt somewhere near the tower's gate, firmly planted into the ground. As dismounted knights surrounded the battering ram, who made its advance through the muddy ground to get near the gate. And so did the guards inside the tower: they got in position to hit everyone inside. Soldiers (just generic characters who are of that class) came into position; mages and monks got behind to support their own brethren with magic should enemy, heavily armoured units come near. However, archers and mages in the superior floors took the knights out, leaving the battering ram wide open to attack.
With four bolts left to each of their ballistae, Grado artillery needed to make each and every bolt count, before the Tower's defenders or Daein soldiers could kill their operators. At the same time, Pelleas ordered his men to hold their position.
But the Tower of Valni's gate fell after the second ballista volley and the first line soldiers were quickly killed by enemy archers, knights and fighters. The Frelian magic-users could kill some more people before they fell back to the second level. This is where Mercenaries, Archers and Myrmidons came into play for the Frelian defenders, but their own Knights, stationed on the third level, heard the floor shake below them as their own troops fought back.
Pelleas began to shout his warcry out, "FOR LAGUZ RIGHTS!" The rest of the Daein army also did the same, "FOR LAGUZ RIGHTS! FOR DAEIN! FOR THE KING!"
And the Daein cavalry led the way, charging through the rear of the Grado army, though the charge was not as effective as it would be on a dry terrain. The enemy soldiers could kill a number of Daeins as well, but Anna transformed right in front of a surprised Selena.
Selena asked a rhetorical question, "Filthy sub-humans! How could they break through our lines?"
The Grado Shaman nearby prepared his spell but arrows fired by Daein archers got through his body, making him bleed and his blood got on Anna's dragonhide. Myrmidons advanced through the axe-wielding enemy soldiers, but the first two levels of the Tower of Valni were full of red-clad soldiers who definitely weren't Daeins or Begnion regulars. This meant that the Grado forces have broken through two levels of Frelian soldiers and have plenty of men to defend the lower two levels.
Meanwhile, on the open field, Anna shouted back to Selena that laguz loathe to be called sub-humans. At that very declaration, Selena fled in the fog who just fell, not only to avoid being killed by a Dragon Laguz, but also to be able to fight another day. The fog itself was so thick that no one could see through; even lit Torches couldn't allow one to see very far away from the torch bearer. Once the fog subsided, the fight continued and the dismounted Knights that guard the third level were all killed, not without killing enemy soldiers. It was up to the U.N. guards on the fourth level to keep the defenses up, even if they were outnumbered by Grado forces.
The Paladin who was promoted before he boarded the ship to Onrac ordered his men to charge. That particular Paladin took his Steel Blade out, wounding enemy Soldiers despite his weapon disadvantage and piercing through the armors of mounted knights when he sees a Daein Soldier being surrounded by a column of light that goes inwards. "A Class Change", he thought. This person just Halberdierized (Halberdiering is the process under which a Soldier, given sufficient veterancy, change classes) under his own eyes and began killing a Mercenary, despite his speed disadvantage. He just remembered that Anna just retreated due to her power needing recharge. For his full frontal assault to work, Pelleas needed to reinforce the southern positions.
Pelleas ordered that the southern positions be reinforced. But the Grado army, by the time Anna retreated, got up to the fifth level of the Tower of Valni; they saw their own men outside being killed one by one and closing in on the gate. The Frelian garrison knew that if the enemy could get to the fifth level, there must not be many men left outside. Motivated by the Daein forces being capable of routing the adversary forces, the Frelian soldiers went into a battle frenzy, especially the melee units, pushing the enemy back into the fourth floor.
Anna sent her men in the Tower, for their enemy must NOT be allowed to escape. The enemy was too busy to defend what's left of their positions inside the tower that the Daein army lost about 150 men in total, even if the Frelian losses would be about 8 times that number. Their acting commander, a dead man raised from the grave, left with about 500 men, decided it was best to surrender.
The Frelian commander accepted your surrender. In the mean time, he gave the undead commander until tomorrow at nightfall to get out of this place and rejoin his Grado positions.