A shorter chapter this time. Hopefully you'll get a laugh out of it in the middle.
Chapter 72 – Front Line Nostalgia (Great Tree Moon)
Salia and Setiawati looked to the north as Zola and her platoon returned from their latest sortie in the afternoon. Their orders had been to search for any more of House Riegan's supply camps in the region. Over the past two weeks, the Black Eagles had been highly successful, with six camps raided and destroyed before House Riegan could respond to the threat. From the lack of blood on her axe, Salia could tell Zola hadn't fought anyone that day.
She expected the blonde to be in a bad mood, yet Zola appeared to be in good spirits.
"Find anything, Zola?" asked Salia.
"No camps, but we caught a small merchant caravan near Mirfield," Zola replied.
Now glaring at her, Salia said, "You went after merchants? The Commander said–"
"Calm down, Sally. They pissed themselves and ran at the first sight of us. It wouldn't be any fun chasing down wimps like that."
Groaning in exasperation, Salia said, "Where were they heading?"
"Probably towards Derdriu. They had mostly useless junk, except for this."
Zola took a small bag from her belt and tossed it toward Salia. A small number of gold coins spilled out of the bag as it hit the ground.
"Barely fifty pieces in there."
"And the rest of the items in the caravan?" asked Setiawati.
"A big pile of charcoal by now."
Sighing, Salia said, "Fine, as long as you let the merchants live."
"Like I said, it'd be no fun chasing them down. Not a single weapon among them."
"Sounds like you're unhappy about it, Zola," said Trauare as she joined the conversation. "Didn't get to spill any blood today?"
"You volunteering to spill some, Trauare?"
"I'll pass. How's about you go brawl with one of your prison friends?"
"Nah. Not in the mood."
Surprised, Trauare said, "Zola Axberg, not in the mood for violence? Say it isn't so."
"Is there a reason you are being so peaceful today?" asked Setiawati.
Taking a seat on a nearby stone, Zola reached into her belt and said, "Just something I found in the caravan that got me nostalgic."
Zola pulled a small wooden figurine from her belt. It was of a warrior with a thick beard and a conical winged helmet. Though weathered, the figurine had runic carvings on it.
"What's that?" asked Trauare.
"A little something that probably came from my homeland," answered Zola. "I think it's been ten years or so since I last saw one of these."
"Wait, your homeland? You mean you're not from Fódlan?"
"Nope. I'm a Skraeling."
"Skrall…ing?" asked Setiawati, the Brigid huntress having trouble pronouncing the word.
"Skraeling, Ocean Raider, Ulfsark, Norsemen, whatever you wanna call'em. I was born in a little village called Shor's Stone. Can't remember exactly where it is, but it's somewhere to the far north across the Great Sea. My parents ditched me to go on a raid and never came back. I left home behind once I could wield a blade and joined one of our raiding parties."
"So, how'd you end up here?" asked Trauare.
"It was back in… actually, can't quite remember the date. Our raiding party sailed over to Fódlan to see if we could sack and plunder some coastal towns. What a shitshow that was. I don't think anyone else in my warband survived. I got picked up by some bandits and eventually took over the group when I killed their boss one-on-one. Kept going around for a few years after that, looting and pillaging until the Empire finally caught me. The rest is history."
"Do you not miss your rumah, Axberg?" asked Setiawati.
"Not really. Probably won't ever see it again, but I don't give a damn."
"I've only read about the Skraelings in a few texts in Enbarr," said Salia. "They have a kind of warrior culture that subsists on pillaging and raiding coastal towns."
"Yep. Too damn cold up there to grow stuff, so if we wanted anything other than meat and fish to eat, we'd have to take it by force."
"Could your people not simply trade with others instead of resorting to pillaging?" asked Setiawati.
"If it were just about food, probably. But fighting is our way of bringing glory to the gods in Ásgarðr. Alfaðör One-Eye, ruler of Ásgarðr, honors those who die in battle drenched in blood and surrounded by the bodies of their enemies. Whenever a Skrael warrior meets such a glorious end, Alfaðör sends the Valkyrur, his warrior maidens, to shepherd their souls to Valhöll, a great feasting hall where warriors from across time are gathered and made Einherjar. They feast, drink, boast, sing, and brawl to their heart's content, waiting for the twilight of the gods and the final battle at the end of the world." Zola paused for a moment, then smiled and said, "Sounds like a pretty good afterlife, don't you think?"
"For someone like you, maybe," said Salia.
"Is that why you always go into battle like you have a death wish?" Trauare asked almost jokingly.
"If your tujuan is to die in battle, why fight to survive?" said Setiawati.
"All warriors die at some point," said Zola. "But I'm not in any rush. I figure I'll stack my kill count as high as I can before I finally meet my maker." Zola chuckled darkly at this.
"And how many have you stacked up by now?" asked Trauare.
"So far, 327 kills, give or take. And that's over 20 years of fighting." Laughing, Zola then said, "I'll bet they've got a real good song waiting for me."
"Only someone like you would be proud of such an accomplishment," said Salia. Setiawati nodded in agreement as Zola chuckled again.
The conversation was broken up as the four aces heard a small buzzing sound. They turned to see a bumblebee was flying close to where Zola sat.
The sight of the insect left Zola wide-eyed in sudden terror.
"WHA – OH, SHIT!" Zola yelped as she stumbled away from the bee. "GET IT AWAY FROM ME!"
The bee, seemingly angered by Zola's shouting, began buzzing toward her. Trauare and Setiawati could scarcely believe the sight as a terrified Zola backed slowly away from the insect as it approached her.
Just before it looked like the bee was about to charge at Zola, Salia's halberd slammed into it, cutting the insect in half.
After watching the bumblebee's body fall to the ground, Zola leaned back against a tree.
With a sigh of relief, she said, "I owe you one, Salia."
There was a short pause between the four aces.
Then, unable to contain herself, Trauare began to laugh at Zola so hard that she had to hold her sides, earning a glare from both Salia and Setiawati.
In between laughs, Trauare said, "Oh my – who would've thought it?! Kill'Em-All Zola, terrified of a tiny little bumblebee!"
Now finally regaining her nerve, Zola shouted angrily, "SHUT THE HELL UP, TRAUARE! It's not funny! I'm deathly allergic to those little fuckers!"
Unable to stop her laughs, Trauare said, "You – You're making that up, Zola!"
"Actually, it's true," said Salia.
Upon hearing Salia say this, Trauare abruptly stopped laughing and said, "W-Wait, really?"
"There are many documented cases of people who have severe allergic reactions to beestings. Last time I saw Zola get stung by one, her leg got all swollen and turned red for a whole day before the infection cleared."
Trauare, shocked at hearing this, looked to Zola, who said in embarrassment, "Did you have to tell them that, Salia?"
"Oh… oh, oh…" Trauare stammered, clearly understanding how horrible Zola's predicament must have been. "Wow, that sounds terrible. Sorry, Zola."
"Siapa yang tahu makhluk kecil seperti itu bisa begitu mematikan?" Setiawati said in a hushed tone.
"I dunno what the hell you said, Seti," said Zola. "But thanks for not laughing. Those little fuckers give me nightmares."
Zola looked around to see if anyone else had witnessed her moment of panic. To her relief, no one was laughing, and many were still attending to their own matters.
But soon afterward, one of the other Eagles came running to the area and said, "Major Tereshkova! The Commander wants all officers for a briefing immediately!"
Knowing it could only be bad news, Salia and the others went to find Ladislava.
…
As soon as she had gathered her officers, Ladislava said, "Everyone's here? Good. We've got bad news and worse news."
"What's going on, Ladi?" asked Trauare.
"The Church of Seiros has taken the bridge at Myrddin. Reports are sketchy, but we believe they have around 3,000 men at the bridge. House Riegan has also launched a full-scale assault against the 5th and 11th armies."
"I thought we had them beat by now?" said one of the officers.
"Seems Claude von Riegan was keeping the bulk of his army hidden, waiting for just this moment. We've got reports all along the front of units being overwhelmed."
The Black Eagles, struggling to digest what their commander had just told them, murmured amongst themselves for several seconds.
Zola then said, "I'm guessing that's not the worse news, is it?"
"No, it's not. The worse news is that House Gloucester has betrayed us. Their army, along with House Riegan's, has surrounded the 11th in a pocket to the northeast."
"I've said it before, I'll say it again: Never trust a Gloucester. Am I right?" Trauare said crossly. Several of the officers agreed with her.
"What are our orders, Commander?" asked Setiawati.
"Orders haven't come in from Her Majesty," said Ladislava. "And we can't afford to wait that long. The 5th is retreating toward the bridge, and we need to help them break through the Knights of Seiros. Get everyone to pack up and ready to move out in half an hour. We need to reach the bridge as soon as possible."
"Wait, what about the 11th?" asked one of the officers.
Ladislava paused, then sighed and said, "There's nothing we can do for them." Giving the others a moment to voice their objections, Ladislava continued, "I don't like it any more than the rest of you, but we simply don't have the numbers to break them out of the encirclement. We have to do what we can and help the 5th escape over the Airmid River. Get your squads ready. We move out in half an hour. Understood?"
"Yes, ma'am!" the officers replied in unison.
As the officers left to command their squadrons, Zola said, "Reminds me of when I first came to Fódlan."
"How so, Zola?" asked Ladislava.
"My raiding party got ambushed because we thought no one was defending the town we landed at. Heh, ain't this a bitch?"
"If you've got time to reminisce, you've got time to get your squad ready to leave."
"Got it. We'll be ready."
"I always knew we couldn't trust the Gloucesters," Trauare said derisively.
"You're just saying that because that prissy boy Lorenz kept hittin' on you, Trau."
"It's more than that, Zola! Besides, he never took a hint!"
The two left the command tent before Zola continued to make fun of Trauare, with Setiawati following them out.
Sighing, Salia then said, "I guess our special orders are on hold?"
"For now," said Ladislava. "We'll have time to worry about it once we've gotten the 5th back across the Airmid River. Right now, those soldiers are going to need all the help they can get."
As Ladislava and the rest of the Black Eagles readied themselves for departure, none of the Imperial elites noticed as a black-garbed figure observed them from the shadows of the forest.
Myson smirked, having overheard the meeting from a distance. He had been watching the Black Eagles for almost a week now, after spotting two of them scouting around in House Goneril's territory. But even now, they had no idea where Shambala was. They weren't the first ones to try to locate the Agarthan sanctuary. Hundreds had tried and failed over the centuries, and he knew the Eagles would fare no better.
The Agarthan mage watched until the Black Eagles had finished packing up camp and began their ride toward the Great Bridge of Myrddin. He then slinked back into the shadows with no one the wiser.
Bumblebees. Zola's not the only one who hates them. I HATE BEES. And wasps. And hornets. I'm not allergic to them, but I hate them all the same. Getting stung by them hurts like hell.
I drew a few names from FE Heroes for Zola's background, though the Skraeling thing isn't something that FEH uses, as far as I know (I don't play it). This isn't to say that the events of FEH are canon to my story; it's just using some terms and names from the game.
You know, when I first added the Black Eagle aces into the story, I hadn't known I would be fleshing them out so much (besides Ladislava). But they've grown on me. They're also a good way of showing the war from the Empire's perspective (outside of Crimson Flower). Zola, in particular, has been an interesting one to flesh out. She might initially come across as a bloodthirsty brute, but she wouldn't be where she is now if that was all there was to her. Having her hail from a Viking-like background helps to put her love of bloodshed in perspective.
But as for their survival? You'll have to wait and see. A confrontation between the Black Eagles and the Knights of Seiros is all but inevitable at this point.