I was busy from work, therefore I couldn't do much for Chapter 11. (It has nothing to do with the bankruptcy of the Daein Express Mail Service, led by Haar)
CHAPTER 11 :
TIME OF ACTION
Once the Laguz League's army left Caer Pelyn, they cross into Hamill Canyon, where the Phoenicisian army, with Tibarn at its head, won a great victory over a Grado army commanded by Aias a few days ago. Eirika and Innes planned to rescue Queen Ismaire's forces, still fighting the might of both the Begnion Senate and Grado. Ismaire herself hoped that Crimea or Daein would come to Jehanna's rescue but Crimea instead elected to defend Carcino, fearing that the bandit-based army of Renais would attack the villages of southern Carcino. And Ike, as King of Daein, didn't want to be held responsible for the awakening of both halves of the goddess creator of the world, even if the true author of such a thing would not have anything to do with Daein.
As they cross the canyon, Janaff approaches them. With his extraordinary vision, he can spot that the core of what's left of the Begnion army in Magvel is stationed in Neleras Peak and its commander is Senator Riev.
Eirika asks, "What should we do now, help the Laguz League fight the Grado army or fight Begnion on Neleras Peak? If we split in two groups, we cannot accomplish either task."
Innes answers, "If we can somehow force Riev to move out to the banks of the Narube River... How to make believe that we are a weak group to the eyes of our enemies? No, that won't work. Riev wouldn't fall for such a trap."
Muarim also pitches in. "Or that the armies led by Caellach and Valter need help… To this end, we need to go to Jehanna Hall; the enemies will spot us and we have to fight their reinforcements. Narube River stands at the crossroads for both Rausten (via Neleras Peak) and Jehanna Hall straightaway from there.", he says.
They don't know that a Bishop has been excommunicated and the Begnion army gives chase to the group of the traitor. For the traitor is an officer with a command position, though nowhere as high as that of Senator Riev. His group has been trudging through the forests between Neleras Peak and Jehanna Hall for weeks, but at the Narube River confluent, they are unsure of what to do. Perhaps their salvation will come under the form of a Laguz League army… or they march right into their doom.
Sudler begins the conversation, "I think we have nowhere else to go: if we returned to Neleras Peak, Riev will have our heads, if we go to Jehanna Hall, the Laguz League will suspect we are enemies."
Bilodeau also has something to say. "I'm most certain that the Laguz League will allow us betrayers of Begnion to fight alongside them, if we betrayed Begnion because we refused to hunt down innocent laguz. The goddess gave birth to beorc and laguz and must be treated as judicial equals. The best bet, for us, is to hold that castle nearby.", she says.
The Halberdier asks Bilodeau, "My lady, what standard would be most appropriate?"
Bilodeau answers that the thing is not to change the Jehanna flag that floats at the top of the keep. Their plan is to let the Laguz League approach the place; if they answer our Friend or Foe call as friends, then let them help us to defend this area. Sudler recalled Bilodeau that she is his wife; the couple pledged loyalty to the Apostle, not the Senate. As they saw the Apostle quarrel with the Senate on issues like laguz emancipation, they saw both sides of the thing and they sided with the Apostle because the Senate is wracked by prejudice and hatred.
After many weeks, a brown-armored messenger finally finds said Apostle in the frozen confines of Tor Garen, the first Daein-held fortress that General Ike captured when he was made a lord. The first engagement of then-Princess Elincia's group as the official army of Crimea. But he came in peace…
The Messenger asks Her Majesty, "Why did You suddenly decide to flee Begnion?" Sanaki answers that the Begnion Senate has condemned me to exile in a move to take over the control of the country. Also, Sephiran is imprisoned.
In shock and awe, he asks, "Sephiran? Why was he imprisoned?"
The messenger gives to the apostle the letter that King Ike told him to give once he found the "target", the apostle. When she is done reading the letter, she recalls the messenger to her room.
Sanaki gives her instructions. "Until I'm done, do not let anyone enter this room. Also, when I'm done, please bring this to your king. Tell Ike that the Senate is a group of corrupt people that enslaves laguz even if it's illegal to do so. And that the Senate plots to exterminate the laguz; to this end, it tricked Grado into signing a blood pact. Vigarde signed it believing it was a free trade agreement with Begnion. The ultimate plot of the Begnion Senate is to control both Magvel and Tellius."
The Messenger tells the apostle, "Then, write that information down! I'll send Sigrun to you."
At the same time, Nevassa receives important visitors: the queen of Hatari, Nailah, with her bodyguard, Volug. They are brought in a cold throne room by two Generals who didn't quite mind the cold. Gatrie stays back and thinks, "She is a beauty among laguz females, but she is so tawdry…"
Gatrie announces to Ike, "Your Majesty, Queen Hatari and her escort has arrived!"
Nailah and Volug both bow lower than Ike when he steps from his throne to meet with them, not knowing that Nailah herself has something to show to Ike. Some documents concerning an alliance project between Hatari and Daein.
Ike asks Nailah, "What brought you to Daein? Surely Hatari regards Daein better now than…"
Nailah interrupts Ike, "Is it you that my subjects claim is the one who killed Ashnard? After the death of Ashnard, we heard that both Crimea and Daein set out to achieve fully integrated societies in beorc-laguz relationships. To encourage the projects of both countries, we in Hatari believe that Daein should ally with us. But yes, we regard Daein better than when Ashnard still lived."
Ike continues, "Yes, I'm the one who killed Ashnard in single combat. For him, they were nothing more than instruments of power."
Nailah says that it's time for everyone to atone the crimes their ancestors committed; she's certain both the dark god and Ashera wanted beorc and laguz to live in harmony.
Adlas Plains. Heavy fog dampens the march of Daein in the hinterlands. They left the control of Serafew to the prisoners Grado kept before its capture. Also, a Druid seems to plan something in the depths, with Tirado (an Armor Marshall) guiding him to accomplish his plan.
Tirado asks Novala, "Have you ascertained the whereabouts of the Daeins?"
Novala answers that he has done so. "Some of our scouts report that the Daein army will be coming this way shortly.", he reports. "Our ambush is ready and waiting. There is no way they can escape."
Tirado heard its commander defeated Selena in single combat. "Tell me, Novala, are you certain you can handle this assignment?", he says, with a feeling of insecurity.
Novala says, "Don't worry. I have brought a certain something from Renais. It will negate whatever resistance they offer."
Then, Tirado leaves for the capital. As Tirado walks away, he has a second thought and stays hidden in the woods as he watches Eirika's group to be devoured by the enemy. And perhaps to fight if Novala proves to be too weak, as they are what's left of Renvall's garrison, after the last riot in the cellars caused the slaughter of many guards.
Novala admonishes Calill. "Ha ha ha! General Calill of Daein! Accept your fate. You have nowhere to flee!"
Calill, surprised, asks him, "What? Who are you?"
Novala gives his offer, along with its condition. "If you surrender, we will free all the prisoners in Renvall."
Calill refuses. "I will do no such thing!", she screams.
Novala speaks at this very moment. He curses Calill, "You came all the way to save Prince Ephraim? Daein fools. As we speak, he is wasting away in a prison cell in Renvall."
Calill, in disbelief, asks the Archruid, "Grado defeated Ephraim?"
Novala orders his men to bring him the child. The child, a laguz cub, calls for assistance, "Help! Help me!"
Novala tells the group that it's a precious sub-human baby. "Now give me your weapons!", he orders.
Moulder advises Calill, "Surrendering our weapons is tantamount to suicide. Grado demands too much of us."
Novala, in turn, curses the laguz cub, "My hostage has no use for me! Such a waste."
He brings the hostage to a position where a giant spider would easily eat the family of untransformed laguz. Unless they can shift to its animal form before the Bael (elder or not) gets into eating position… Vanessa asks everyone in the camp if anyone else want to hunt down a giant spider. Moulder, Vanessa, Joshua, Vanessa and Ross go for the laguz family along with a few other soldiers while the main group engage the guards of Renvall, mainly Murray's Brigade but since Murray died in the last riot, Tirado took over the command. Before they go engage the spider, they get into a farm for information about the spider:
Moulder begins talking to the occupant of the house, "UNICEF reporting. We have received reports that giant spiders lurk the area…"
A young beorc boy answers, "I stocked up on antidotes. This is strong stuff. Even if they eat you, they cannot poison you! Take it or face the consequences!"
Moulder takes the antidote straightaway. The five rush for the Bael, Vanessa overflying the area in search for the Bael. At the same time, the main group faces the cavalry charge of Grado. Knights and cavalry on the first line, with also a few Halberdiers, and magic-using units are behind them. Such as Artur and Lute. They are almost shoulder-to-shoulder because Lute has some habit of "monk-watching" (or "bishop-watching" as it should now be called). Light magic blinds the vision of cavalry units; Cavaliers with weak Resistance fall on the back of their horses or even from their mounts. Neimi fires an arrow whose direct hit kills a Cavalier.
Novala orders his men to go for the Bishop. What's left of the enemy cavalry unsuccessfully try to surround the Bishop, as anyone could kill cavalry units, such as Lute with her Elfire spells or the Bishop himself, with his magic. And one amongst the enemy tries to wield a simple Fire spell, even if he was trained as a Paladin in the first place. The end result is his armor is badly scorched. Ross thrust his axe at the Paladin and he gets to choose between a Pirate and a Fighter. He chooses to become a Fighter, because he claims it is a family attribute. (It means there are four possible tiers for Journeymen, Pupils or raw Recruits).
Lute: This idiotic Paladin got himself to the brink of death because he played with fire. Apparently he thought he could use anima tomes. Son of a Grado bitch! It takes a superior intellect to master the secrets of magic!
By four tiers he meant that Journeymen could eventually become one of the standard first-tier units, such as Fighter or Pirate, then promote to a second-tier unit, like a Berserker (for pirates/bandits, they undergo the Berserkergang), a Warrior or a Hero. Very few Heroes have ever lived to see themselves go to third-tier Vanguards, though Warriors or Berserkers could both become third-tier Reavers.
The Halberdier sees the horror of his life: Murray himself reappears. He was thought dead in the last riot within Renvall's cellars. As the Halberdier sees his rotten body, he alerts Neimi.
Murray: I died defending Renvall from the prisoners, though I now walk the earth again to see these Daein-supported prisoners fall!
Grado scout: Daein never had anything to do with those imprisoned in Renvall in the first place! They may have captured Serafew but we must stop their advance here!
Murray: We're under attack! Rouse yourselves! The marquis of Renvall, Lord Tirado, has charged us with defending the castle! Show them the might of Murray's Brigade! Don't let anyone near the castle!
Neimi has a shot at the scout reporting the moves of the Daein troops, a lowly Troubadour. So fragile those Troubadours are that its body has been pierced and it bleeds. However, the search for the Bael leads to a dead track; Vanessa herself throws a Javelin to an undead monster, killing it. As for the laguz family, the "alpha male" of the family transforms into a wolf, applying its fang at one of the Bael's eight legs, crushing it and making it lose balance. With this vulnerability, Vanessa hits another leg of the monster, bleeding its poisonous blood everywhere. However, Joshua goes out to target the fangs of the monster, making it harder to eat people, either beorc or laguz because he successfully cut the fangs. As for the undead Murray, Lute casts Elfire on it; Neimi targets his badly scorched corpse and its body lay inanimate on the ground after a well-placed arrow made its work. And Colm leads the way to Novala; Neimi shoots an arrow in the fog just to make sure there is no ambush before them. The arrow hit an enemy Archer, who leaps forward before a Daein Sword Knight cuts him to shreds. At that moment, the Sword Knight undertakes his Paladinization. His calling, as his second weapon choice, is the axe.
An enemy Halberdier advances towards Eirika, whose attack speed is greater than that of her foe. The Halberdier could just land a single blow at her that his body has many cuts. But Eirika must retreat to Moulder, who uses his Heal staff to heal the injuries and also the Restore, because she has been poisoned. Using these two staves repeatedly on several people make him undertake his Sacerdoce. He feels like he is blessed by the Holy Light.
The laguz cub then cries, "I was scared! So very scared! You saved us!"
Novala, though, lies just ahead of them. As an Archdruid, people should take precaution about his ability to use dark magic.
Calill calls certain people. "Artur, Lute, Neimi, Colm, you're with me to fight the enemy commander.", she says.
Lute knows that she is in for big trouble, because her Anima magic puts her at a disadvantage. Her enemy casts a Verrine spell, who gives trouble for everyone to dodge, less so for Colm and Neimi than the other three. Even shooting an arrow at him doesn't make the enemy Archdruid unable to fight. Ross goes after his guards, such as the Soldier who is responsible for camp watch among the enemies. All three magic users cast their spells; Elfire for Lute, Arcthunder for Calill and Ellight for Artur (his intial spell, Light, was not powerful enough to pierce his magical resistance), but the enemy Archsage still lives. Because the damage inflicted on him by the Daein-commanded magic users is not enough to kill him.
As for the one who describes Neimi as a "klutz", Colm, he rushed at his back, a Steel Dagger at hand, and the enemy archdruid is nothing more than a corpse. Calill undertakes a process known as an Ascension. The very process under which Vika and Pelleas became Archdruids.
Garcia exclaims, "It's hammer time!"
A Hammer at hand, he goes out to strike at Tirado. As a third-tier Lance Marshal, he is at a double disadvantage because of Garcia's skill with a Hammer. Neimi distracts him by shooting an arrow, but to no avail, because her arrow lacks the penetration necessary to hurt him. The hammer swing throws his helmet off, leaving a narrow opening for Neimi to shoot a second arrow. This successful hit makes him feel dizzy and, at the same time, Neimi begins her Sniping. Ross put all his strength into one blow and it makes the enemy head drop from the body.
Near the banks of the Narube river, Sudler's men see the Laguz League's army approach the stronghold his men defend. The fears of people in this area are assuaged by the lack of Begnion troops in the sector.
Sudler speaks to his wife. "Your assumptions were correct. The Laguz League is our ally." He orders his men to open the gate.
In Jehanna Hall, the chief beorc general of Jehanna leads the palace watch but his men report nothing. He uses the infected, poisoned heads of dead laguz to feed in his catapult, in order to make the enemy sick and poisoned. His shot misses Caellach by a couple of inches.
Carlyle speaks to Her Majesty, "There is no trace of the Crimean army. How long do you think we can hold off Grado?"
Ismaire tells Carlyle, "Crimea has abandoned us! Unless Crimea sends enough reinforcements to allow us to crush both Caellach and Valter (perhaps Riev as well) we cannot hold off the enemy more than a few days."
Laguz begin to charge at the enemy positions, held out by Grado beorc. One cut the string of the bow belonging to an enemy archer in his leaps. The archer couldn't fire anti-laguz arrows and retreats to his base camp in search for a new bowstring. Basic Soldiers withstood with difficulty the relentless assault led by the laguz. Two mages, one laguz and the other one being a beorc, cast their spells to make a devastating effect on the beorc enemy, not knowing that undead laguz lurk in the horizon. The laguz mage casts an Elwind spell and the beorc mage casts Elfire in the middle of the wind cylinder, carrying burning sand directed at the enemy forces.
The Archer feels the pain as his skin burns, "Ouch! That burns!"
The very archer retreating for a spare bowstring is charred by the anima magic of its enemies, along with other beorc and one-headed Gwyllgis. Also, there are two mages that stand guard near the room where Audhulma, one of the Sacred Twins of Jehanna, is kept. The first of these beorc mages begin by casting Fimbulvetr on a massed formation of enemy soldiers. Icicles fall on the Grado formations and, to make the sand below the enemy feet look like quicksands, the other mage cast an Arcfire spell. As a result, flightless Grado soldiers sink into the terrain.
As for the laguz, they drop a bucket full of boiling oil, not realizing that the shimmering desert heat makes the oil go on fire. The oil-powered fire makes its way through Caellach's ranks, even hurting Caellach himself as the Grado general kills two raven laguz with a few beak scratches. The other laguz, in which Kyza is to be found, come back to report something ominous to Ismaire herself.
Kyza tells his suzerain, "I'm afraid I'm no match for Caellach! Even ten of us laguz could only dent Caellach!"
Ismaire speaks to Kyza, "There is only a handful of people I know that can stand a chance against either Caellach or Valter. Perhaps with the aid of a few laguz and if I wielded Excalibur (the Ice Sword)… I can engage him in combat myself. Perhaps King Daein would tackle him alone, but I can't. Even Elincia would be defeated in single combat vs. Valter… maybe Tibarn can kill him."
Kyza states that Ashnard could take both of these men on at once and emerge victorious but Ike? "He could defeat Caellach but would Ragnell hit Valter when he is airborne?", he says.
Ismaire soon realizes that is beside the point. Also, Grado men retreat to their camps at night, for night combat is more impracticable in desert terrain than on the loamy soils of Grado. It also apply to laguz, for bird tribes are visually impaired by night combat.
The next day, here is what happens when a person who is perpetually hungry is recruited into Jehanna's palace guard. That person is described as wearing a light purple, almost white, cape along with similarly colored robes. She approaches the southern gate by the top, as though she has been assigned to defend the cakewalk above it. Having eaten nothing but dried bread and rotting fish for days… Ilyana complains that she's hungry! That doesn't prevent her from casting spells, like that Arcthunder, and bring down a Wyvern Master, whose corpse crashes like thunder on a formation of Grado soldiers about to be in quicksands.
Ilyana asks Kyza, "How can I serve on an empty stomach people that eat something?"
Kyza tells her, "Back at camp, if we both survive, and the wyvern corpses aren't too decomposed, we can eat wyvern meat!"
She realizes that casting Arcthunder on a wyvern affects many things inside a wyvern's body but the parts most affected are inedible for either beorc or laguz. It boils the blood out if it hits directly on the wet parts. Kyza hears a strange noise and smell something foul, for something treacherous has happened.
Kyza warns her, "This is wyvern fart!"
Ilyana exposes her plan. "Here's the plan: if only someone capable of casting fire spells could fire right at the cloud of wyvern fart, the wyvern fart should create a conflagration strong enough to burn and kill Grado soldiers in one fell swoop."
Kyza says, "It must be hard to remember all those spells. I understand you may not be capable of using fire."
Ilyana responds, "I know it's hard; therefore I decided to specialize in thunder magic."
The Fire Sage casts his spell, directed at the cloud of wyvern fart – not the person who ride the wyvern or the animal itself. Hitting the wyvern is the task indentured to Ilyana; the reptilian flier has its rider hit by lightning and he falls in the fart cloud, whose explosion is large enough to wipe out all Grado men and monsters in a certain radius. And Kyza goes out to hunt down the beorc "vermin", among the sand cloud the spell created.
Kyza, like all beast laguz, can smell beorc out of undead laguz, and tell undead or living laguz by smell. It comes with no surprise that beorc cannot strike at laguz in that cloud of sand and dust; Kyza's men cut down monsters inhibited by the smoke, like Revenants, Bonewalkers and Tarvos. What they have a harder time with are their undead counterparts, who retain their extended smell and hearing, though at a lesser degree.
Lyre, the younger sister of Lethe, wishes to speak to her superior, "Captain Kyza! How many of these things Grado has?"
Kyza replies, "When the attack on Jehanna began, our own scouts reported that they fought with two hundred thousand "men", of which there is only about two-thirds of that number that actually are beorc. Even if Crimea or Daein did arrive to rescue us, do not expect them to come with more than 15,000."
Lyre curses the Grado army, as she fights the Grado axe-wielders, thinking "Curses! No matter how many we defeat, they just keep coming!" And she doesn't expect any aid to come from Daein, as she thought that Daein would be "trigger-happy" to kill laguz, undead or alive, even if King Ike embraces the ideals of fully integrated societies set forth by Crimea. She thinks Ike is no different from the other thirteen kings before him.
Leonardo tells Ilyana, "Twenty-two!"
Ilyana talks back, "And I'm at 39!"
It was obvious they kept track of kills. He fires steel arrows taken away from enemy corpses because the fletchers couldn't produce arrows fast enough not to make him take arrows away from the dead. Ilyana's magic is somewhat slower than Leonardo's arrows; the Dawn Brigade is a mercenary company from Daein hired by Jehanna Hall whose tasks were very much like Robin Hood because they stole from rich people who commit atrocities (rich people who didn't commit atrocities were not targeted by the Dawn Brigade). Nolan, Edward, Sothe and Micaiah are somewhere else in Jehanna Hall.
Ilyana sees Sothe steal a Rudol Gem from an enemy commander whose atrocities were known well beyond the borders of Grado; therefore she does not target anything near him. However, after stealing the Rudol Gem, Micaiah uses her light magic to blind her enemies and, ultimately, kill them.
On the banks of the Narube River, Elincia's army finally catches to the army led by Eirika, who absorbs a band of Begnion outcasts. Under gray skies, but hopefully no rain, their reunion seems quite happy.
Muarim tells everyone in the fort, "I smell beorc. Lots of beorc, and they are catching up to us!"
Hawke reports that they fly the Crimean flag. "I also see laguz in their humanoid forms! Finally we have the strength to break the siege of Jehanna Hall!", he says.
Elincia asks, "Is everyone ready?"
Eirika then spouts, amid a lot of people, "Let's do this thing!"
And so they march towards Jehanna Hall, in order to break a siege that lasted for months and under horrible heat conditions. Both sides suffered appaling casualties, beorc and laguz alike, as Jehanna defends its rights to beorc-laguz equality and its fully integrated society (perhaps the only one in the world).
Nevassa. The trial of General Jarod, who lasted only a trickle of days, is about to end. All the evidence have been exposed, and both sides could provide their testimony in complete freedom. He stood trial on the guilts of high treason and espionage. The pleas of both sides were heard without interference. The defendant pleaded guilty for "hatred incitation" and just to be imprisoned; the plaintiff pleaded his beheading by sword. As the evidence simply contradicts itself, here's the judgment Devdan delivers:
Devdan takes his solemn tone and solemnly stands in front of the people in the court. "Devdan delivers his judgment: he orders a duel to the death between General Jarod and another general to be named later", he states.
If these crimes were committed under Ashnard's reign, or in a Begnion territory under direct Senate control, there would be no trial, only instant death. However, Ike himself assigned Devdan, a judge with no knowledge whatsoever of Kingdom Council proceedings, to this trial. A heavily armored General (both rank and class) stands up and slowly walks to a semicircular bar where witnesses and convicts stand up to deliver their testimony. That person begins a speech in front of a belated tribunal.
Maiel makes her speech. "For far too long I had to hide my real convictions and identity in order to play my music in public. I, General Maiel, the personal pianist of the King, had to become a soldier to make my dream come true. When Ike was crowned King, I believed he was crowned in the best interests of Daein. Laguz rights activists no longer have to conceal their opinions to live and act. Ike gave the laguz that fled Begnion to come here a chance to escape a life of slavery and he recognized all their rights as being identical to that of beorc citizens. To atone for all I did when I served Mad King Ashnard as a general, I propose that I fight General Jarod to death!"
Devdan says, "General Maiel, that offer is touching, but what's your real identity? Devdan understands you have no love of injustice…"
Maiel reveals her real identity as being Michelle. The court convenes that the duel be held in the Jousting Grounds of Nevassa at noon. They could use any weapon of their choice, provided that neither weapon gives its wielder an unfair advantage. And both weapons will be inspected before the fight begins, to search for cracks and other such things. Things that one could use to rig a duel in his/her favour; due to the life of the combatants being at stake, one can easily imagine what one could be willing to do in order to win.
And there is, at stake, three things: Jarod's position in the Kingdom Council, the guard of his assets (including children) and the life of either combatant. Ike himself is positioned in the royal cabin, awaiting the arrival of both fighters.
The Herald starts his speech before the crowd, "On the left side, we have the member of our distinguished Kingdom Council, son of Lord Lombroso, duke of Mugill, and Secretary of Public Security, General Jarod. On the right side, we have the very talented Royal Pianist, grand-niece of General Septimus…"
Michelle corrects the Herald, "I am not related to General Septimus! I may have trained under General Septimus when Ashnard sent me to Begnion in order to receive proper musical training, but I have no family alive in Begnion!"
The Herald continues, "On the right side, we have the very talented Royal Pianist, also Roadworks Commander, and daughter of General Kotaff, General Michelle!"
The two fighters ready their weapons, both using Silver Greatlances, as they are both from the highest level of weapon skill possible for second-tier units. They stand near the middle of the area, marked by a circle, of which both combatants stand outside. Their weapons ready, they start the battle. Of course, Jarod is more agile, because his armor is nowhere near as heavy as that of his opponent, even if the protection it affords is nowhere near that of a General's heavy armor. Jarod leaps, but Michelle takes a few, er… a lot of backward steps and the Greatlance thrust is successfully parried.