Eostia: Harem Quest

by EostianScribe

The Gods have given mortals the power of The Gamer as a pass time. A hobby. A means to compete and relax. One goddess, however, sees it as a means of salvation; starting with one world. As such, she rolls the dice... (Harem, Citrus and Eventual Dark Content Warning)

84. Act III-Ch XI: All or Nothing

[ - Author's Note - ]

Well, seems there's a lot of dismay at the cliff hanger... but given the length of it and that this one turned out to be about as long... yeah, my word count average is growing. Hoo boy.

Anyway; I don't need to tell anyone what's coming... so...

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN!

LET'S GET READY TO RUMBLE!

JAMES NOXDECUS vs OLGA DISCORDIA!

WINNER!

TAKES!

ALL!

[ - Act III - Chapter XI: All or Nothing - ]

Flashback
Forty Years Ago
Border Between the Duchy of Elddale & Garanian Territory of Blackshard
Forest
Evening

Slave hunters followed the young dark elf, halfborne some would call her, as she stayed low and stayed behind the brush within the trees of the forest as the sun dipped down in the distance. Rather then run she crawled to keep herself lower using her superior hearing to keep track of the humans seeking her. She wore a dress she found in someone's yard on a clothing line but it was now frayed, torn and so dirty no one could tell what it's original color was; it was now just shades of brown. Even her blond hair, hanging to her shoulders, was almost pure brown because of all the mud and dirt in it.

From a tree she climbed she knew that there was something out there. She knew no humans lived out here because of the Aberrant hordes and dark elves of the north; maybe, just maybe, if she could find them... then maybe she could be more then she was, become truly free... She knew that everything she had done, discarding the other slaves to let them be caught so she could make more distance, finding poison and leaving it on meat to kill tracking dogs, shivering night after night covered in mud to hide her scent or swimming in creeks and rivers to avoid making tracks or leaving scent, starving between bits of food found, stolen or fought for, everything she had done wouldn't be worth anything if she failed now...

"There's the bitch!"

She grit her teeth and took off; getting to her feet and running with all she had. She'd later figure out they didn't know she was there; they just suspected and cried out to trigger her to run and expose herself... Either way several slave hunters moved to give chase as she used a Combat Art to go faster; John Mandeville used her mostly as a sex slave but she was also employed as a maid and rich men loved maids who could double as bodyguards when and where needed. She knew how to fight in unarmed combat, with staves and any sort of knife in arms reach but she had no such weapon on her right now; the one knife she had was thrown into someone leg sometime ago before she dove out a window in a town a week ago.

She would, when the chance arose, shift her course to wave around trees as she suspected spells might come her way; the crack of thunder striking a tree confirming her worries. An ice spell hitting the ground followed and she was lucky enough to not slip off her feet; instead sliding along the patch before running once normal ground was found.

An explosion of a fire spell next to her knocked her down but she recovered quickly and pumped her legs once more to make distance. She panted hard as she ran and ran, weaving around trees and hopping over bushes and logs to try and outrun them. She kept going and jumped over another log... before another explosion went off behind her, sending her flying and landing hard on the ground and rolling for a moment before getting up but with the wind knocked from her.

By the time she recovered and fully stood she grit her teeth as five men moved to surround her in a half circle as she backed up. "Tricky lil' runt, isn't she?" One of them let off. They were clad in leather armor, all with their biceps bared. The weapons of choice were clubs and whips; the former to disable and wound (Or cripple) while reducing the chance of killing, the latter to bind and restrict to make it easier to catch a target. There were two exceptions; one with a staff capped with a spell stone and one with a bo staff capped with bronze on both ends. One magic user, at least, and all with knives or swords as side arms. She considered stealing one of those to use but that would be tricky. She glanced around and after a moment kneeled slowly and picked up a fallen branch; it was maybe a little under three feet long, of questionable durability and with an odd curve to it but it was a better weapon then nothing.

They sneered but she saw it in their eyes, they were taking her seriously as a possible threat; she had killed two of their dogs, injured another along with two of their buddies wounded and one of them was dead. This would not be fun for either side of the fight but who was the weaker side was clear to anyone.

She waited and soon one of them charged her with his buddies followed. She knew two things; she couldn't let herself be surrounded and she needed to take the first moment she could to flee once more. To that end her back foot dug into the dirt before kicking up and into the lead man's face just before he came into range; he cried out and nearly tripped himself up as she lunged and thrust her weapon, slamming the branch's end into his throat and crushed his windpipe with enough force to leave him gasping and off balance as she grabbed his knife, drew it as she pressed her small body to his body to throw him to another foe. He was too big and heavy to do this on her own but with her previous strike staggering him he was shoved over and forced someone to prop him up.

That let her lunge to another man, stolen knife in a reverse grip as she slammed the blade into his ribs; a boosting Combat Art giving her the force needed to press steel past mana cured leather as he cried out. If she was lucky she hit an organ like the lung which would cripple him for at least the short term. Before she could react she saw pain as her head jerked to one side with stars coming to her vision, the sensation of the impact following on it's heels.

She rolled with the blow, tearing the knife out as she fought through the impact and lunged to the next man; steel aimed to his throat. Sadly he side stepped and grabbed her by the neck with his palm over her collarbone before he threw her downwards to the ground, back first. She grunted with the impact and lashed out; stabbing into the side of his ankle with the steel but digging behind it and missing flesh as she kicked at a man with one of her feet but said foot was caught and pulled to the side. Before she could react she would scream as a harsh stomp landed between her legs on her sex; protected by nothing but thin cloth. Worse, thanks to her hated 'master's' training the impact made her feel three parts pain and one part pleasure that made her spine shiver; made worse as he ground his heel to it before weight was transferred to the foot to make it closer to seven parts pain and four pleasure, taking a step before lifting the boot with it's heel aimed to her face. Her eyes widened knowing it was a knock out blow and on coming failure-

-before the man flew aside with a burst of dark, purple fire that turned his upper body to ash. The lower body hit the ground as the remaining men turned to face the new threat before, almost as one, their heads exploded from a series of black, screaming bullets of dark mana struck them. Chloe was left groaning on the ground as she turned and lifted her head to see what did that and to see if it was a threat or a savior. Once done she would see a cloaked dark elf woman, hair as black as night, walking towards her with a staff in hand. She was quickly struck by her beauty as she managed to roll over then rise to her knees. "What an odd child you are." The woman let off. Indeed, Chloe was twenty four years old now; not even an adult by the standards of elves and merely a teenager.

For her part Olga had opted to take a stroll as she examined the forces defending their border and what supplies they had on hand, inspect the troops and understand the lay of the land of another possible battle. It was a bit frustrating she couldn't visit many of the villages to see what her people's state were like but she could trust her subordinates would ensure things were well run. That being said she was over attended by lowborne aides seeking to curry favor to the point of being smothered and being in desperate need of some space, slipping away for an evening walk in the forest... only to have it disrupted by humans hunting a dark elf child; halfborne perhaps? They were meant to be more common outside of Garan; the children of slaves. "Young one. Have you a name?"

"C-Chloe... M'lady..." The girl let off as she looked up at her; something about the woman made her unable to rise to her feet as if she didn't want to risk offending the dark haired female by trying to stand.

"Given to you by whom?"

"M-my mother, M'lady..." Chloe responded curtly as Olga sighed.

"So, a slave would give you such a name?" She let off as Chloe winced.

"She wasn't a slave... she's the one who sold me..." Chole admitted quietly as she moved to hang her head. Olga stiffened before the girl in surprise; that told her that the girl's mother was raped yet escaped or was foolish enough to willingly lay with a human male, perhaps under the effects of drink.

"You are halfborne then?" Olga asked as Chloe gave her a confused look. "Half dark elf."

"Y-y-yes..."

"I see... Well, tis a shame you are not a pureborne but that's hardly your own fault..." Even so...

Even so this child fought half a dozen men; each twice her size and wounded nearly half of them with one perhaps suffering a mortal wound. There was a level of fierceness and determination there that was, sadly, missing from many around the Queen. There was something to be respected in that; a child willing to fight with all she had, teeth bared and bravely challenging her foes no matter how strong or numerous... and there was always use for such a thing. "Very well then... I will raise you, Chloe, to the status of lowborne within Garan and make use of you, if you wish." She let off as the girl's red eyes looked up to her, snapping to gaze to her own yellow ones. "I could use an aide to enforce my will and my word and, if you prove yourself worthy of such trust as you train, you could be effective in such a role. I do need a woman with heart to take the title, after all."

"I... me?" Chloe let off as Olga turned on her heel.

"If you wish to accept then follow me and we'll find a bath for you." Olga began as she started to walk. "If you wish to refuse then you may go where your will wishes." She let off as Chloe finally rose, ignoring her aches and pains.

It was no choice for her; she would follow her new queen away and to a new life...

[-]

You cannot afford to underestimate the humans. Too many of ours have fallen to them because they (The humans) do not kid themselves; their lives are on the line when they are attacked as well as the lives of their kin. Once the war with this 'Eostia' started our forces pushed into their territory time and again only to be rebuffed time and again with the force of arms. Unlike our initial attempt to eradicate them their equipment is on par with our own and their magic nearly so and unlike our magic theirs is still improving.

If this war continues it's a matter of time before Olga Discordia herself falls in battle. Yes, it is more like then not to be by a mass of foes then a single, but even a single foe may lay her low if conditions conspire against her or an opponent powerful enough appears finally to oppose her. On the chance this would happen, a chance that will grow battle by battle, I could only imagine the state of Garan in the aftermath.

~Scriabin Nightink, The Banned Tome Known As The Unsavory Insight

[-]

I was already drawing the Dragon's Claw and my parrying dagger as her off hand reached up and grabbed her cloak by her right shoulder as a new sort of boss music spun up; one that spoke of pride and power as she pulled her cloak off and threw it aside before my view flashed then shifted to her feet before zooming up to her face. "That should we cross paths once more... that I would kill you... My words were not idle... I'll leave your ally to Chloe... you... will have the honor to die by my hand." She let off, lifting her staff up as the view panned back before she slammed her weapon's butt to the ground, a sudden pull back of the view bringing her fully into view as she glared to me.

_Queen of The Jagged Crown_
Olga Discordia

My view flashed white before it returned to normal...

Well... guess I was right that this fight was going to happen...

Let's hope I'm right about her state, otherwise it'll be a short one.

Chloe wasted no time in rushing Alicia as I kept my eyes on Olga, taking a calming breath as I pointed the Dragon's Claw at Olga. I was drawing mana, of course, and could feel her doing the same as we sized one another up. I opted to leave the Physical Burst in my armor off for the time being; I was... mostly confident I could physically overpower her if the chance arose given her class and the other enchantments in my armor would be more useful, or so I thought. That said I couldn't underestimate her either; I had to assume that she was at least competent in melee combat and in order to even get to melee range I'd need to brave her spells. This would not be a fun fight.

A fight that started as she slammed the butt of her staff to the ground. I didn't understand why until I felt her mana enter the ground and used Heroic Leap in response; leaping hard to the side and slightly ahead as the ground where I was exploded upwards in an eruption of dirt and bits of rocks as I used Reflex Boost to charge at her... as another such earth spell went off behind me with enough force to make me stumble and roll over my shoulder to a knee before dashing once more; she had Dual Casted the same spell.

I spun my parrying dagger to a reverse grip and used it's stone to cast a Scatter Bolt; I sent the bolts out to spread with two heading straight at Olga plus half a dozen moving to her left, right and curving to attack from above. As the bolts screamed towards her I activated Earthen Weapon on the Dragon's Claw as it glowed with a dark, orange hue with what seemed to be bits of dirt and pebbles rose from the ground to orbit the blade; I hadn't used Earthen Weapon much in combat and it wouldn't increase my damage all that much but it bore a significant defense utility that I could need in a battle like this.

Indeed Olga would Dual Cast once more; stamping her staff down to cast a close range arcane spell that made a quick, short shock wave that swatted the Scatter Bolt's missiles from the air before pointing it to me and blasting off with what seemed like lavender purple lightning that I blocked with my bolstered Dragon's Claw; sparks of the same purple color came off from the impact but what I assumed was a darkness spell did no damage save some tingling in my arm.

(I'd later learn it was a Darkness/Lightning Hybrid spell; a combination that came coupled with armor and shield piercing properties and it was possible my dragon scale armor wouldn't be able to handle it, or at least not without significant damage to it and me. It was only due to the orichalcum my blade was made of that it didn't break while Earthen Weapon diffused the lightning part enough to ensure it didn't run through me anyway; I was a bit lucky I choose the right spell and had the right sort of weapon. Thinking about what could have been there was a bit scary, really...)

She would follow up with another cast; this one a pure, directed shock wave of arcane force that I used my coated weapon to slash at as I coupled it with the Combat Art Sonic Wave to cut it apart (Or rather smash given how it looked) before using another Heroic Leap to close the gap as I attempted a slash. I wasn't overly surprised when she blocked with her staff, both hands on it. I was taken off guard when she moved with the block, hopped off the ground and delivered a dropkick to my chest coupled with a Dual Cast from her feet of a wind and fire spell that send me back very forcibly some forty feet before my back hit the ground and I skidded another ten before I manage to roll to my feet (Half because my head and shoulder were digging into the ground and that helped my legs lift up with the momentum to help right myself) as I regained my composure quickly and using my blade to block another lavender lightning bolt; Olga having landed on her feet after the attack with an impressive back flip.

Frankly if it wasn't for the resistances of my armor I'd be down and out after just that; even now the scales over my chest was scorched black and it felt like a troll just punched me. I Dual Casted Regenerate Wounds and Blessed Recover before following up with a Tailwind spell, the Tailwind spell in my armor, and then another Reflex Boost coupled with the one in my armor; the result of all this stacking allowed me to charge fast to her as she started to cast once more. Once more I used Heroic Leap but rather then charge at her I used it to jump forwards and to her right as I coupled it with bringing up the shield in my glove; anticipating she would attempt another close range counter attack.

I wasn't disappointed as she lashed out with a black coated heel in a spinning back kick as I used Earthern Weapon on my shield; the impact of her spell bolstered kick rocked me and forced me back a half foot but I was able to resist the impact and then pop Adrenaline Rush (My own and my armor's) to push back into her foot as hard as I could. She was taken off guard and pushed off balance and off her foot but she flipped to her hands then back to her feet...

And she was able to raise a shield fast enough to block my D-Guard centered Dragon's Fist/Piercing Strike Combination, even through it cracked under the force. A Focus Punch with my shield and off-hand followed and smashed past her barrier but she blocked with her staff, swinging it to my head as I quickly blocked with my shield. Despite that she got a front kick to my gut to push me back a step, aiming her hand at me, mana gathered to cast; a backhand swing with my shield knocked it to the side but she didn't cast, holding onto the mana as I used a Reflex Boost to help with a shield tackle into her. I nailed her head on but she grit her teeth and managed to spin to get around my bull rush; I responded by dropping to roll over my shoulder... just before a burst of black lightning shot out over me as I turned to face her once more.

Needless to say despite her condition she was still very dangerous... not that I knew what her condition was!

Yeah, I knew this fight was gonna suck... I was moving before the ground under me exploded again with leap to the side before stamping my foot down and send a Seismic Serpent towards her from said foot, snaking it around for a moment before setting it off quickly; aiming to send debris into her face, debris she knocked away with a wind spell as I used another Heroic Leap to close in. This time, however, I inverted my blade to bring the spell stone to bear before unleashing a point blank Hammer of Smite that she blocked then deflected with her staff before lifting her off hand up with a small shield spell over it to block a shield bash from myself.

Then my shield was blasted back from a spell; darkness given the black hue of the mana but I didn't know what else beyond that as my arm was flung back, straining it as my body was turned by the force. She was planning a new cast before I used another Dragon's Fist with my shield; recovering before she was expecting it and forcing her to block with her staff full before I shut my eyes and used a point blank Illusion Spell from my circlet's stone to blind her for a moment before using Heroic Leap. She responded with another spell; a wide shock wave that slammed everything before her and besides her with heavy force with a reach of some ten feet.

I had, however leaped upwards and blasted down with an Arctic Orb downwards but not directly at her; as I hoped she tried to block it with a shield (Likely hearing me or sensing my mana) and instead it impacted the ground and coated it in ice. This was because I opted to Dual Cast and send down a Blast Zone spell; I wasn't fully used to it yet but as threw down the lance of burning mana it exploded like a missile with a directed shock wave. Her shield held (I assumed it would) but the sheer, concussive force of it forced her back a step... and onto the ice where she slipped her foot coming up as I used a Vortex Tunnel to rocket down, inverting for a hard stomp while trusting my Soft Landing passive to prevent too much damage to myself.

The result was I Goomba stomped down on her shield and the force coupled with her lost traction was enough to slam her down hard to the ground and crack the shield as I bounced off and up as I readied another spell... only to use Gale Burst to rocket to the side and avoid what was a lance of burning purple mana shooting from her hand; giving her the time to use Levitate to right herself up and float back and away from the ice patch before landing.

I landed myself, weapon moved to a standard grip as I used a Minor Heal on myself to help with the exertion I was putting out as Olga gave me a firm look as we both reassessed the situation. A glance told me how the Alicia/Chloe fight was going; it seemed Alicia had the upper hand by a hair and while I was confident in my friend I wasn't fully sure she'd win. Of course I could say the same for myself.

I had thought I wasn't underestimating what Olga could do in close quarters but I had, although not horribly so. She clearly knew some sort of martial art and while I could overpower her in terms of sheer physical power she wasn't going to allow that to happen; at least not unless it was on her own terms. I was having this much trouble when she was hobbled; damn lucky thing I didn't pick this fight when she was at her best or it'd be over already!

That said I now had a better idea of what she was capable of and while 'scary' was one way to put it I was sure I could win... so long as I was smart, Olga's condition strained her more as the fight wore on and I had a good, large helping of luck; I've punched above my weight before and I could do it again as long as I didn't get stupid.

I could only imagine how Olga's assessments of me were; I had to assume that she was considering my own fighting style and considering counters or ways to box me in. As for my current assessment of the situation; my ability to win a pure magical duel was very... limited. The best I could hope to was win a war of attrition if whatever she was afflicted with was effecting her mana systems... because fuck me if I knew the details! For all I know whatever she had made that time of the month every day of the month.

...

Would explain a lot, really.

I held an edge in pure melee combat but we both used magic in melee and my edge in melee was smaller then her edge in magic. In terms of armor and weapons mine was much better; her outfit was Arcane Robe given that I landed a hit and I didn't see the signs of Armor Weave (Not to mention if she was going to go for defensive wear then Mana Armor would be more suitable, and she would have access to some as Queen of Garan) so if I could get a good hit in I could end it. Of course it was clear that getting a good hit in wasn't going to be easy, not to mention she's proven to be tough in her own right.

And all of that could be complicated depending on who won between Alicia and Chloe or if someone else opted to join the fight; we were off to the side of a large battle so that was a risk. It was possible someone like Celestine or Gavrilla could walk in and shift the course of this fight hard.

I knew it.

Olga also knew it.

Which meant that unlike with, say, Halbert, trying to hold out and stall could work or backfire. That was incentive to win quickly for both of us and Olga was the first to move; casting a lance of darkness/fire mana at me as I Dual Casted; first being an Ice Wall that I left unanchored to the ground then followed with Vortex Tunnel. The result was I launched the wall towards her; impacting her attack and absorbing it while cracking it apart... while the broken chunks now flew at her. Something to note was that while a darkness/fire hybrid spell chews through a magical shield like a hungry dog through a steak experimentation showed spells like Ice Wall could block them as it was mana given physical form as ice... which could be melted or broken by said darkness/fire attack if it was intense enough.

Olga brought up a shield to block the chunks of ice as I used Heroic Leap to charge after it as I used a Dragon's Fist to slam my D-guard into her barrier before stepping back to slam a Dark Flare into her shield, destroying it as her eyes widened slightly; she clearly didn't expect to have her signature hybrid element used against her before I used Reflex Boost and Piercing Strike to rush in with another hard punch.

She used her staff to deflect the blow to the side but took a punch with my shield to the chest; it was aimed for her chin but she backpedaled so both my attack's placement and power were greatly mitigated. Her response was a staff strike to the side of my head but, to my luck, it wasn't boosted with a spell or Combat Art so it was less of a club to the head with a stick and more an empty roll of cardboard thanks to my circlet's protections.

The point blank blast of dark, cloudy wind from her off hand struck me in the chest and knocked me well off my feet some twenty feet back.. and my vision went dark; like I was wearing sunglasses... at night... Needless to say I was confused and disoriented. (Turns out it was another darkness hybrid spell, this time with wind that left the target with darkened vision for awhile with a rolling dark mist over their eyes. Not fun...) That wasn't to say I was fully blind as I got to my feet and leaped to the side as an explosion sounded next to me; my armor boasted a Ring of Alarm spell that I was now relying on to sense and dodge attacks as I ducked another spell, the crack of lightning over my head.

I opted to Dual Cast two Ice Walls before me as they were the best direct defense as something impacted the barrier. I took a moment to use Blessed Recover and then Ease Toxin to try and restore my vision as my Ice Walls were bombarded; neither worked but after another long moment my sight began to clear up so I was able to see the cracks on my inner Ice Wall. I opted to redo my previous tactic and used another Vortex Tunnel to blast the inside of my walls and send the chunks at Olga...

And then used Heroic Leap to jump to the side as a powerful ball of blazing purple fire knocked the chunks aside before impacted where I was and detonating; despite my dodge the blast still buffered me as I landed on my feet and ran towards her.

This fight wasn't over yet...

[-]

Outside of Rexterra
Eastern Balanar
Mandeville Manor, Sitting Room

As expected of such a room owned by such a rich merchant the preferred sitting room of Sir John Mandeville was richly furnished; oak furniture stained a dark color, rich, royal red carpets, soft blue walls with light, golden designs going up and down them and window set to the roof to let light in. Drinks and snacks were being served as the master of the manor sat at a table and watched the screen hovering over a small orb. Using that bastard's magical devices was a sore spot for him but dealing with that sore spot was worth the price of keeping up with the news in Eostia; one of these viewers sent to him by his friend Arnold.

As for the current news on Channel Six he was watching a live feed from a drone owned by the Adventurer's Guild who funded the news channel, although how they came up with the idea of a remote controlled device was beyond him but he did consider it genius... unaware that they were based off rumors of similar devices used by Esotia and designed by one James Noxdecus. To one side sat his son, Cyrus Mandeville as he grinned at what they were watching with a glass of brandy in his right hand.

His son, in a desire to please his father, attempted to retake his slave, Riri, who was freed by the bastard James Noxdecus then taken in as a maid. He failed, lost all of his bodyguard's equipment in the attempt and, worst of all, his right arm from just below the elbow. On top of that Celestine then called King Xerander to wag her finger at him and he told John, in no uncertain terms, he was to relinquish his claim over her and that if he wanted to go to Elddale Cyrus would need to travel as far out of the way as Anvil or South Point first. John barely managed to avert a ban on himself from Eostia's border and even then House Highreign wouldn't let him into their borders.

The other man by him bore a more critical and calm look; his Guard Captain, one Harold Axiom. Honestly, he was glad Harold got that slave for himself and ensured she was good and knocked up now as he needed the tender touch of a tamed, collared woman. Between John's failed attempt to regain Riri and Cyrus' disastrous attempt at the same there was a lot of problems within the guard staff in the form of resignations and a difficulty and getting new hires to replace them; he still needed another fifteen men to reach the old numbers. Sure, he could purchase combat slaves but aside from the additional cost of ensuring good discipline the slave collars they would wear, by their function, limited one's actions and he wanted his men to be able to seize the initiative when the chance arose. As his guard captain the duty of hiring and training fell to him and he had to lower standards for entry and work those they did get hard to get them up to speed. Still; in a few months after their failures the rumors spread would pass fully and things would go back to normal.

All three (And the slave maids attending them) watched the on going struggle as a woman's voice came from the device. "As you can see we have a pair of fights with Princess Alicia Arcturus facing off what seems to be a commander of the Garanian forces and Olga Discordia herself facing off against James Noxdecus. We know an attempt at parley was attempted by the Mungale heir but it was clearly refused and he is now fighting for his life. Of course had he not done so the Princess of Feoh would be facing both of them alone! Even so the fight does not seem to be going well for him."

Indeed, it seemed to be a struggle for the Unicorn Lord to match the Queen of the Jagged Crown as the latter would try and keep him at a distance while the former tried to weave past her magical offense to close into melee range. When he managed to do so he would attempt to overwhelm her in close combat only to be forced back in short order and, thus, he would need to start over once more at her preferred range. Indeed, as they watched they would see as James once more got into sword range once more, had his attacks blocked by his foe's staff as the foes engaged in close quarters for a few moments before before Olga back flipped away and threw a ball of fire to the ground as James dodged... but rather then it explode it rolled on the ground, turning towards his direction before going off with a wave of her hand with an explosion that impacted her foe's mana formed shield with enough force to lift him off the ground and make him land roughly fifteen feet back, rolling over his shoulder to his feet and launching a Fireball to intercept hers.

"I'm pulling for Uncle Arnold and all, but I hope no one helps him in this... not until he's dead." Cyrus hissed out as he grinned wider. Indeed; the best thing that could happen, in John's opinion, is for James to exhaust or wound Olga before dying to her hand and allowing someone from the House of Blitzhaus to 'avenge' him. Still...

Still he had kept tabs on the bastard and heard of his battles against Halbert Oxford, a Hobgoblin that was Blighted, the Mercenaries he sent against him, two Garanian matrons, three trolls at once and the massive Belyy Klyk; all of which should have been his last battle and all of them he had won. All of them. "I'm not taking bets; he's won too many fights he should have lost." John said as his son turned his head to blink at him. "Harold?"

"Agreed." The guard captain said, sipping his own drink, a rum, for a moment as he sighed. "At the moment Queen Discordia holds the upper hand but she's not in a truly dominant position; James only needs one, good hit or strike to end the fight in his favor. He's gotten in some blows, yes, but nothing telling yet. My concern is more of Olga's state; I've seen her annihilate foes on his level before with sheer, overwhelming force when I assisted House Blitzhaus in other incursions. I wonder why...?"

"Maybe she's just getting old." Cyrus said with a snort as John frowned.

"No; elves maintain their magical potency until death." The elderly man let off. "Perhaps she is ill... and is fighting regardless of her condition... if so... dammit..."

"Father?" Cyrus let off as he looked to John as James, on the screen, dodged a piercing blast of dark, purple flames before responding with a lance of normal flames before trying to close distance once more.

"...What if he wins..?" John Mandeville let off before picking up his own glass of wine and having a sip. His son gave him a dumbfounded look as Harold hummed and frowned.

"Wins!?"

"Think about it, Cyrus." He said, turning his eyes to look at his son. "If we assume that Olga is ill or otherwise under the weather then that gives that bastard a chance to defeat her. Perhaps not a large chance, but a chance... If he's able to make the most of that small chance and win... gods help us, he would be hailed a hero like none have since the age of Hogan... hells, maybe even held above him."

"We also have to assume that the masses watching this in guilds and even much of the lords do not see what I see... or even choose not to see it; after all few have seen Olga in combat and survived, fewer have fought her and survived." Harold let off with a hum. "Thus to anyone of that bent where he to win they wouldn't see an Olga at her worst but one still at her best... he would be hailed as the greatest hero of the war; even if he hadn't made his other contributions." Finally Cyrus started to worry as John let off a 'harrumph' as he watched the screen as James stuck his blade to the ground and let go as it caught a lightning spell, grabbing it before rushing towards Olga once more.

"We need to hope Olga finishes him off." John let off as the drone's movements brought the Alicia/Chloe clash into view; Chloe flipping over Alicia to land behind her to attack only to lean away to avoid a shield bash as the princess turned around. "Or that Chloe is able to join that damned queen of hers and end him, once and for all."

[-]

Chloe leaned back until the top of her skull pressed to the ground before flipping her legs over her and returned to her feet as Alicia charged her, shield first. Chloe grit her teeth and used a Combat Art to lash out with a sidekick that impacted the shield with enough force to knock the princess back and off balance for a moment... although she herself was pushed off balance for that same moment. Her Armor Weave had regenerated in the lull between Olga's arrival and new fight beginning and she felt as if she gained a second wind.

She was fighting alongside her queen in their most desperate time; she could not, would not fail. Not here, not now.

Her knife was no longer in her hand, set away so she could put both hands on her blade for as much force as she could generate; it was not the time to hold back or play defensibly, she needed to end this fight quickly. In fairness she had wanted to start the fight at a slower pace... until her queen took a blow from James... which told her that something was wrong.

Mere weeks ago Chloe had fought James on even terms and she made him struggle. Now he was fighting her queen in a battle that seemed to be between near peers in power and skill but Chloe knew what Olga was capable of; she'd seen it in previous attacks on Eostia. It was a fight that should have taken two minutes at most; three if James was lucky. Instead he held his ground against the Queen of Garan, Olga Discordia!

That.

Should.

Be.

Impossible.

There was only two explanations; James' level of strength had at least doubled in a span of weeks (Which she assumed was impossible)... or her queen was weakened by perhaps half her strength. What could cause her queen to falter she didn't know... if it was illness or something else then it chose the worst time to strike... and surely Olga was aware of it... and was willing to fight regardless; for Chloe, for her people and for her nation an unwell Olga was willing to fight and perhaps die.

How could she not do her best knowing that?

However she couldn't help her queen until she bested the Princess Knight Alicia Arcturus in their current struggle and that would be a tall order; Chloe was well aware that their first round was her loss and had Olga not shown up when she had then there wouldn't be a round two. Alicia's combat style was highly orthodox and was what one expected of an Eostian Knight with elite training and, to some degree, predictable. That said orthodox styles became orthodox for a single reason; they worked. The combination of sword and shield might have been boring to someone wishing to learn an exotic weapon or style of fighting or to those who's solutions for problems on the battlefield was 'Fireball' and 'Bigger Fireball' but in truth it was highly effective.

The long sword was, by nature, a well balanced weapon that lacked the reach of spears and other polearms but bore higher reach then knives and many one handed axes. It was quick, could be used with a lone hand or both, could cut nearly as well as a weapon like a katana, could pierce nearly as well as a rapier, could knock a foe silly with it's flat, with proper hand protection or tied to it's sheathe it could be used as a club for blunt force, could deflect and block to defend and when not in combat could be used to cut wood, meat from an animal or rope.

A shield was a simple barrier of wood, metal or both strapped to an arm. It was ideal for blocking weapons but more so for those with weaker or cheaper armor and could provide cover against arrows and some spells. Even for armor as expensive and high grade as Mana Armor it was still useful; providing protection if the armor was defeated or disabled for some reason and allow a defense until said armor could recover. In addition it still bore weight and could be used to bludgeon foes be it head-on or with it's edge while still making it hard to strike around it. Depending on the handle or strap for the hand and the shield's shape one could even hold something like another weapon or torch, grapple and hold items like potions.

A sword for offense and limited defense and a shield for defense and limited offense; a match made in heaven... or hell depending on which end of it you were on.

Chloe let off a wordless warcry as she slammed her blade down to the top edge of Alicia's shield, forcing it down a hint before lashing out with her left fist only for the knight to shift to the side and slash down at her arm; impacting but with a flash of her Armor Weave showing that it was guarded against... only for Alicia's own Mana Armor to block the spinning, Combat Art enhanced back kick that followed; Chloe expecting the attack to her arm and allowing it to open a gap in the knight's defenses to strike through.

On Alicia's end of the fight it was frustrating for both similar and yet different reasons. Seeing Olga take the field reminded her of tales from her father about the Queen of the Jagged Crown... there was always a look to his face as he spoke about that fight, neither loud nor quiet and with a distant look to his eye. She didn't understand it at first but understood it later; he nearly died that battle several times and despite his efforts being hailed as heroic he left the battle fearing the woman he drove off. It was thing of pride to be his daughter to know what her father did in spite of his fear... and made her more determined to become a knight, even if she didn't relish the idea of facing down the Queen of Garan...

Yet she found it more preferable then her current situation.

On the one hand she was glad for James' arrival; Olga's presence meant she couldn't end her fight against Chloe and was at risk of a two on one fight with her as the one... that wasn't even going into how fearsome Olga was alone as an opponent. She would have preferred to tackle the Dark Queen if only to spare James her wrath but Olga was the one to pick her foe and the queen's aide was tasked with a rematch with the princess knight and Chloe had the time to recover... and as the fight between James and Olga dragged on Chloe became much more aggressive; the half elf clearly didn't expect James to be able to hold the Dark Queen off and the fact he was caused her some obvious panic.

In truth while she wanted to spare James the need of fighting Olga Discordia he was, quite possibly, more suited to fighting her; Alicia in close range was stronger then both James or Olga, she was sure, but getting to that range was easier for him with his arsenal of skills and spells. At the same time she was more suited to handle someone like Chloe due to her superior armor and defensive capacity. More over Chloe, as she started to become more aggressive also risked making more mistakes that she could punish; she just needed to wait for enough of an opening to land a fight ending blow.

The biggest issue there was she had to force herself to be something she usually wasn't; patient. She wanted to rush to James' side, ambush Olga and force her attention to be divided before he could come to harm... but she couldn't until Chloe was dealt with and her opponent was slippery enough that striking her with a telling blow was difficult; hence her best bet was to wait for an opening... so after taking the kick she moved her off-hand to grip her foe's heel with her hand (Made a bit difficult with the handle of her shield in that same hand) before Chloe could fully withdraw it before chopping at her leg with her blade. She only got one hit in (Mitigated by the Armor Weave) before Chloe hopped up and mule kicked her with her other leg and rolling to her feet before shaking her leg out; the damage dealt was limited thanks to her protections but some was done.

And then there was the point of view of the Queen of Garan herself, Olga Discordia.

For her she had hoped she could make her opponent crumble quickly and deal with him once and for all... only to find out just why he had become such a thorn in their side. He was quick thinking in both offense and defense, bore a deep enough pool of spells to keep her off balance and was willing to try strange and odd attacks on her; she had never had someone use a wind spell to send a damaged Ice Wall at her or another such spell to try and break her shield with a heavy stomp.

Had she her full power she could have just brushed him aside and be done with it, bringing him down with her raw, unhindered power... but she was ill with the Black Sickness and, as such, couldn't just do so without significant consequences; she could fight at full power for a brief time but she would need a mana potion soon after and would need to retreat to recover. More over if she were to draw upon too much mana at once she could trigger a brief contraction of her mana systems which, while not lethal, would put her out of commission for hours at best and days at worst... but that wasn't the end of it as she could trigger a collapse instead of a contraction which would be lethal, even if the chances of such were small.

Even so she had over a millennia more experience behind her and even if her full power was hindered a trueborne dark elf like herself was very much something that was not to be trifled with... making it all the more frustrating that not only did James Noxdecus trifle with her he was doing well at it. In some ways it reminded her of facing Aston Arcturus but more so it reminded her of her battle with Cassius Roisage who had a surprisingly deep spell list to pull from and a keen desire to close in and 'cast fist' into her face.

She had never met a near seven foot tall spell caster before and never wanted to again.

She had intended to rely on the gap in their skill levels to make up for the difference of the power she couldn't bring to bare but it was clear it wasn't enough; he was able to survive what hits she dealt, stiff and hard as they were, and while not as damaging he had gotten his own strikes in and she lacked the armor to absorb them in the same manner he could and she was well aware of what his sword was made of and that even if she were plated in steel the effect would be like a knife through butter; short of a matching material, Scale Weave or Mana Armor she couldn't take a sword blow from him. She needed to land more then a telling blow; she needed a lethal one. More over in the situation was another consideration...

Sending Chloe to face Alicia was a risk but one she expected to be minor; she expected James would have fallen by now and they could subdue and capture Alicia together as leverage against Celestine... however her fight with James was taking much longer then expected and now that it was clear the fight could carry on for a time longer then that meant more time for other forces to blindside one side or the other. Garanian cavalry had, by now, routed their Eostian counterparts and left the field after them. The rest of the battle line was too preoccupied, currently, to interdict on either side and neither side seemed to fully know what was going on in the chaos of battle... for now.

The Eostian ability to watch the field was overwhelming now and while the flying wagons were occupied and some felled she suspected that Eostian leadership was watching the field through other means and making adjustments. If they escaped unnoticed until now she knew that would end sooner or later and when it did (Not if, when) more of Eostia's best would be sent to face her. If she was struggling with James Noxdecus could she handle someone like Claudia Leventine joining the fray beside him?

No, she could not.

More over she noted Chloe's increased, desperate aggression and knew that Alicia could counter that hard and end that fight... and possibly Chloe as well; something that was beyond unacceptable for her. She had allowed Chloe to risk her life on the assumption she could assist her in a few minutes; she didn't expect to be so tied up in one fight with a single, lowly human male for so long...

It was time to take a risk of her own then... She could not allow Chloe to fall in battle here...

[-]

This fight was... going... well... it wasn't going good and wasn't going horrible.

Whatever was going on with Olga meant I was able to hold my own against her but aside from a bare few hits I wasn't hurting her; nothing that would end the fight or even close. By contrast I was taking hard blows and was getting plenty of miles via Air Discordia (Complete with crash landings) and if it wasn't for my Dragon Scale/Arcane Robe hybrid armor I'd be a pile of ash by now. While her face was mostly calm for most of it you could see frustration tinting it now; and I was wondering if it was a case of her thinking 'he should be dead by now' or a case of 'my current conditions are catching up to me'... or maybe both.

Regardless I had closed into range once more and had my blade slapped aside before I stepped in with a shield charge as her off hand pressed to it as she braced into me-

-before I was sent flying back once more with a powerful wind spell that had me skidding back on my feet some twenty five feet away; what was the unusual thing about this particular spell was it kept blowing for several moments more as I looked to Olga as the stone on her staff started to swirl with what could be called purple, boiling flames as she pointed it at me and kept drawing more and more mana for what was bound to be a big attaaaaaaaaaaack...

...oh shit...

I started drawing mana for a Dual Cast as I planted my feet as best I could, leaning into the gale; her wind spell still ongoing for a bit more as I resisted it by popping Adrenaline Rush to keep from being blown off my feet and did my best to walk against it. I had, as best as I could, prepared for this; I had even practiced this spell combination several times to ready for the possibility of what she could do with her most infamous spell... There was fear and unease in my emotions of course; my counter would work in theory, but I had no way to test it... and even then there was the possibility my counter would be overwhelmed by sheer, magical force...

"You have been permitted to remain for too long now." Olga said darkly as the wind spell finally ended and let me stumble forwards a step, as I inverted the Dragon's Claw and ended the mana made shield on my arm as I used the stones on my parrying dagger and saber to further bolster my spells. "So I bid you now... begone." She let off as she unleashed her ultimate attack spell; a wall of raging, purple, hellish flames rushing towards me in an all consuming wave of magical force...

Annihilation Stream...

The wall of raging hell rushed to me as I knelt down as low as I could, casted my first spell then my second right after; waiting to the last moment I could afford to so I could gather all of the mana I could dredge up before employing my plan and gritting my teeth...

This was it... Everything came down to this moment...

And then all around me became hellfire...

[-]

"NOOOOOOOOO!" Alicia's scream of horror was enough to make even Chloe look at what happened; both seeing James Noxdecus attempt to cast a spell before intense and powerful streams of purple flames wash over him; the attack was massive, reaching two hundred and thirty feet in length and striking a forest as her flames spread out in a forty five degree angle; concentrated onto one, single target. That James had put up enough of a fight that forced Olga's hand to use her most powerful spell to be done with him was testament to his capabilities... Alicia's emotions were clear by her scream of horror but Chloe's were more... complicated.

One the one hand he was the enemy, the foe of her queen, a man who's efforts had undone nearly every advantage Garan had in the span of weeks. He was a clear danger to them and leaving him remain alive and active would be a mistake.

On the other hand he was the one who freed her, kept her from being reclaimed by her former master and was willing to speak with her queen rather then just lash out. She was willing to say she respected him and she would be sad for his passing...

Finally, after twelve seconds Olga ended her attack, letting the blaze of hell dissipate and leaving steam and smoke in it's wake to cover the field... before planting her staff to the ground and leaning on it with both hands clutching it. For Olga the strain on her body was not inconsiderable; the Annihilation Stream was going to put her sickened body through more stress and strain then she wanted to subject it to but her foe was dangerous enough to warrant it. She could have lessened the power she used in her cast but it was the only way to be sure he was dead and gone... and she paid for it with the ache she was dealing with, needing a moment to recover before reaching her right hand to her hip as she panted; even if she was caught doing it she needed a mana potion now, tucked into her robe's pocket of holding woven into it's magic. As she watch the smoke before her start to clear she struggled to use her mana to call the potion out as her mana system, for lack of a better term, 'fluttered', as if it was panting in it's own right. Still it didn't matter; she had the time to recover now that her foe was dead and gon-

"OLGA!"

The three women present were shocked, with two being horrified and one relieved, at the bellow as a section of wall of drifting smoke parted as a figure shot out at a high speed; some of the smoke seeming to cling and trail along behind him as Olga's eyes widened; leaping at her in a straight line was one James Noxdecus, who should have been nothing more then ash and bone in that moment and yet alive and seeming unharmed by her signature attack as he held his saber back for a thrust. He all but flew towards her; eyes of the dragon locked to her own trueborne orbs.

Despite the shock she recovered from her stupor quickly as she attempted to cast a shield only to find the flutter of her mana preventing it. She tried to bring her staff to bear to deflect and defend herself but her body's ache and illness didn't allow her to move swiftly. Unable to defend herself she'd find that his saber's point slammed to her right shoulder, targeted deliberately, as a chilled blade sank into her flesh causing her to scream out as the pain shook her body back into action, finally able to collect her mana for a proper cast-

"I'd think twice about that if I were you."

-only to find his three pronged dagger with it's blade to her neck as he held her gaze.

A drone from the Adventurer's Guild, painted red and yellow, hovered over the fight as Olga was set to a hard disadvantage... just before a crashing Cloud Rider slammed into it and ending the feed it provided.

[-]

As a summery of my thoughts in this moment...

Holyshititworked!Holyshititworked!Holyshititworked!Holyshititworked!Holyshititworked!Holyshititworked!Holyshititworked!Holyshititworked!Holyshititworked!Holyshititworked!Holyshititworked!

I think that sums it up.

Outwardly I was staring her down as I panted deeply and took a moment to let my mana refill. I will say that I survived but it was much too close... but my plan worked and that's what's important. As of that moment I had my saber stuck in her and my parrying dagger to her neck; I pierced her shoulder as I wanted to ensure I didn't kill her but I wanted to be sure that I had her locked in place, more or less. Her left hand held onto her staff and her right gripped my saber, fingers gripping the back, blunted end and not pressing her palm to the sharpened edge. She was glaring harshly but her eyes were wide open in shock as she looked to me.

"Im... impossible... This is impossible!" She hissed out as something crashed down into the field as I didn't let my eyes leave her. "You should be dead!"

"Woman, you're not the first to underestimate me, just the strongest to do so." I shot back trying to sound like I hadn't let something drop into my pants. Thankfully I hadn't but dear lord was I close to doing so...

"How... How did you survive!?" Olga shivered a bit as she grit her teeth, hissing out in disbelief.

"Surrender peacefully and I'll tell you once we're off the battlefield." I shot back as her glare intensified. I was worried she'd actually try to carry the fight on even given her current disadvantage which... would be a problem as I was trying to bring her in alive and as... unmaimed as possible. If she kept going I might really end up killing her even without meaning to.

A thud, pair of grunts then cry followed as Olga looked to the side and stiffened. I turned my head enough to look without letting my eyes leave Olga; Alicia had tackled Chloe to the ground from behind and was grappling her now with her sword sheathed and shield tossed aside. She had one hand on the back of Chloe's neck to pin her down and the other pulling one arm behind her and up in a hard arm lock in a manner that was threatening to break it. (I would later learn what happened was once I had stabbed Olga through the shoulder Chloe attempted to abandon her fight with Alicia to rush to Olga's aid. Fun fact; turning your back on an opponent is a bad idea, doubly so when they're as strong as Alicia is.) Olga looked to me as I looked back to her before Chloe gave off a harsh scream as her arm was positioned to a near breaking point; I could only guess that Chloe's Armor Weave had regenerated to near full and Alicia decided that grappling and breaking a limb or two would be better at disabling Chloe for capture then trying to keep smacking her with a blade.

Olga seemed indecisive until that scream when she grit her teeth. "Enough!" She barked out as she looked to me. "You need not harm her!" Chloe and Alicia both looked to her in surprise as Olga released her weapon, letting it clatter to the ground. "Release her and I will do as you wish. You will have my surrender."

Finally!

"Y-you can't!"

Dammit Chloe, not now!

"If you can escape... that would be enough..." Chloe gritted out; Alicia was no longer trying to break her arm but was still pulling it back in a painful manner. For her part Olga let off a bitter chuckle.

"Chloe... even if I wished to flee... I could not..." She said as she shook her head... and through the blade in her I could feel her body tremble softly... and I was sure she was trying to hide it. "I cannot escape. That does not mean both of us must be imprisoned..."

"But..." I had a feeling Chloe would refuse the situation and might try and fight Alicia, arm be damned, which could cause Olga to react... which would be bad.

"If I may propose a compromise then?" I let off as I looked to Olga's eyes. "We'll bring you in as a prisoner of war and bring her as your attendant. She can then vouch for your treatment and condition to your people. And I am worried about your condition... I have an idea of what Celestine can do and you are, supposedly, of a similar level to her. You didn't fight at your best and it wasn't your choice to hold back."

Of course I knew that from the start but now I can act like I knew by other means.

"...You are correct..." She said softly, Chloe gasping. "I am in a weakened state. Currently I am... unable to run or fight back... Were you to throw me to the ground and claim my body I could do naught to stop you."

"I like my women willing, thank you." I replied. I opted to take her at her word and looked to Chloe. "Chloe. Please."

"I..." Chloe let off, eyes wide. Maybe she didn't know of Olga condition, maybe she knew but didn't think it was this bad but it was clear she knew what the current situation was.

"Stand down, Lady Chloe..." Olga let off, her tone more formal as Chloe finally lowered her head but nodded. Alicia would end her arm lock but pull Chloe's other arm back before pulling something from her armor's built in Bag of Holding to cuff her with. "I formerly surrender."

"Accepted. Now if you'd be so kind as to hold still; I'll try and be gentle with this." I said as I set my parrying dagger away before moving my free hand to her shoulder as I started to cast Blessed Recover before slowly and steadily pulling my blade back. Once free I sheathed my weapon but kept up my healing.

"You would take such care of your enemy?" She let off bitterly as Alicia pulled Chloe to her feet and led her closer.

"I don't know what you've heard but in most of Eostia you being my prisoner means I am, currently, responsible for your well being." I replied as Alicia pulled a set of mage cuffs from her bag of holding before tossing them to me, which I caught, and I moved to pull Olga's arms behind her to secure her. She didn't resist a hint.

"How nob... ... not now..." She let off as her body started to shake.

"Olga?" I let off... before she collapsed; I was quick enough to catch her before she did. "Fetch her cloak!" I barked out as I moved to lower her softly and cradled her to me. She looked like she was having a seizure!

"...m-ma... man... na..." Olga let off weakly, teeth grit as she quivered in my arms. Chloe, even bound, pulled from Alicia to her side with worry, screeching 'my queen!' as I furrowed my brow. I think she was saying 'mana' so it was likely that whatever was happening was to her mana systems... meaning...

I reached to a pouch and pulled a mana potion out. As soon as Olga saw it you could see her eyes light up with recognition and I was sure it's what she was asking for as I ripped the cork out with my teeth before moving it to her lips. She eagerly drank it down and swallowed, a drop escaping to crawl down her lips and, a few seconds later, her shakes subsided. A soft snort to my side and there was White Peach... with Olga's pulled off cloak in her mouth. "Good girl." I said, taking it and slowly wrapping the Queen of Garan in it and lifting her, bridal style. "Alicia, I'll let you take Chloe in. I need to take Olga to a doctor; now." A soft groan from the woman and she went limp as I moved her body to cradle her head to my shoulder before using Levitate to move myself up and to Peach's saddle. I held the woman with both arms but I managed to get the arm under her legs to grip the reins. "I'll see you at the palace!" I let off before clicking my tongue. I couldn't really direct Peach as I was but I didn't need to as she turned and ran towards Mooncast City.

Note to self; bring peaches to Peach.

Once away from the battlefield, behind the back lines and on my way to the city proper I could finally relax a little... this could bring the war to an end...

And me more trouble, but what's done is done and once inside the wall I used my voxlux to contact Celestine...

[Defeated List]

Garanian Forces=20000XP
Tinker Gear & the Assault Wagon Mk I=2000XP
Olga Discordia=12000XP x 1.5 Mercy Bonus=18000
+20% Rising Star of Eostia Bonus
Gain 48000XP Total

Level Up!

You are now Level 35!

+1 to Str, Dex, Acc & Mnc!
+1 to End!
+1 to Rap!
+2 RSP & SSP!
+5 to UTP!

Level Up!

You are now Level 36!

+1 to Con, Str, End, Dex, Agi, Acc, Mag & Mnc!
+1 to End!
+1 to Rap!
+2 RSP & SSP!
+5 to UTP!

Achievement Unlocked: Tank Smasher
Destroy or Disable Combat Tank

Achievement Unlocked: Get A Mint!
Kill at least 10 Foes at once with Dragon's Breath

Achievement Unlocked: Death Breath
Kill at least 20 Foes at once with Dragon's Breath

Achievement Unlocked: Queen Slayer
Defeated or Kill Olga Discordia in combat

[-]

To those watching via Channel Six news the view was clear; Olga Discordia using her greatest and most powerful attack to try and slay one James Noxdecus, a rising star and hero of the realm. After a long, powerful attack followed by a brief lull of the Queen of Garan standing proud (At least that was what many thought from the angle) Noxdecus burst from the smoke and dust left behind by the attack to counter; running his golden hued blade into his foe...

It was the last thing before their drone was destroyed.

The events of Olga's surrender and collapse was, to the wider world, unknown. By the time another drone was dispatched it only caught James Noxdecus returning to the city walls... with the body of Olga Discordia in tow, limp in his arms, dead or knocked out.

In Mandeville Manor Cyrus' glass would be crushed in his metal hand as he gave a long and feral growl of frustration while his father sneered and considered the implications, as did Harold Axiom.

In Mungale Manor there was both relief that the scion of their house was alive coupled with a cheer at his victory.

In the Adventurer Guilds across Eostia a cheer went up with some form of 'we won' echoing out; many adventurers even calling him 'one of their own' as his star rose starting from one of their Guilds.

Across Eostia word would go out, slowly at first but quicker. Everyone in every city and town would hear the word of Olga's fall. Days later many smaller towns and villages would hear of it. By week's end only the most isolated of communities would not hear of the event. For better or worse many claimed victory.

To them Eostia, after seven hundred years, had finally won.

[-]

"Raaaahhhhh!" Gavrilla Dreadblade let off as she spun her blade above her head twice before bring it down in a hard chop; the wide, two foot blade capping her short spear and all of the force she could put behind it came crashing down. Her foe, Claudia Levantine, brought up her left arm; strapped to it was a mythril, rectangular buckler with it's strap in her left hand and allowing her to use her own heavy blade in both hands as needed. She would block the strike fully before crying out and using a Combat Art to give a heavy, powerful swing downwards that the dark elf general blocked with her left bracer as she winced at the force of the impact, gritting her teeth.

They had been fighting for over half an hour straight in a deadly duel that everyone stayed away from; an ad hoc arena of some fifty feet formed around them as no one wanted to risk being struck by either one. She had heard of Claudia, the latest of House Levantine, a cursed House that spat out trouble makers she had fought through the years; Alexandria Levantine, Victor Levantine, Victor Levantine the Second, Charles Levantine, Xavier Levantine, Peter Levantine, Victoria Levantine, Miles Levantine, Grave Levantine...

If her foe bore the name of Levantine then the safe bet was they would be trouble and Claudia was no different. They were evenly matched; too evenly as it felt like they were at a stalemate more then anything else. She had cracked through the Mana Armor Claudia wore once in the melee but she wasn't able to capitalize on the moment and the armor likely regenerated at least in part. Her own armor, even if made of orichalcum, was well damaged now with dents and cracks across the breast plate, her left pauldron almost folded by an impact of the opposing sword, her left bracer bore scars from that same sword and armor at her hip was cracked and almost about to fall off. That wasn't even accounting for the dent on her helm's left side that made it not fit as well as it should or how her face plate was bent to cover her mouth. Enchantments on orichalcum weapons and armor was standard that would allow them to self repair over time... 'time' being measured in days at best and weeks at worst. On top of all of that both of their weapons bore chips, scars and rolled edges from their combat and her own shield was discarded having been nearly folded in two with a heavy strike..

Physically they were both sore, worn and injured; Claudia was clearly panting and was having trouble holding her weapon as high as she had at the start and was clearly favoring her right leg and trying to guard it better as blood leaking from her forehead spilled over her left eye with some dripping into it. Gavrilla, for her part, wasn't doing that much better; she was panting as hard and nearly rolled her right ankle leaving it noticeably sore although not to the point of her left arm. Using that arm was two degrees away from agony and she knew she couldn't put the same power into her strikes or blocks as before. More over while it wasn't visible she could feel the blood dripping over her ribs and she was running low on mana...

It was a war of attrition and as they stood across from one another, panting and desperate for a way to end the war Gavrilla was, to her frustration, unsure of what to do. She couldn't use brute force to win. She could try and exhaust her foe but risked doing the same to herself. She could try and withdraw but was unsure if Claudia would allow that. She could try and drag the fight out longer in the hopes something tipped the scales around them but she was well aware it could tip against her. She resisted the urge to chuckle as she heard the voice of her old mentor in her head at that moment; 'It's easy to lead a war when the good options are obvious. It's harder when you have no good options at all.'

Never before had she agreed with the statement to this degree before...

Claudia's weapon lowered a hint as Gavrilla noticed and calculated; was it exhaustion or deception that made the weapon lower? If the former then she needed to strike now in her foe's moment of weakness before she could recover. If the latter then she had to avoid too much aggression and ending up in a trap that saw her dead. Honestly, if the stakes weren't so high she would be enjoying this...

The duel ended, however as Claudia stiffened and back flipped away from a fireball as someone rushed through the crowd on a black horse... "Olesia?" Gavrilla let off as she guided the beast to her and lashed out with her whip... at her! Exhaustion and surprise let the matron grab her by the right arm with the weapon as she pulled; magic going down the leather to make it possible to lift the armored general.

"We need to fall back! Now!" The matron let off... and finally she noticed the horns sounding a retreat!

"Are you mad!?" Gavrilla let off, grabbing the whip with her free hand, painful as it was. "Queen Olga shall have you-"

"Olga's been defeated." Olesia barked back as the General stiffened before behind yanked behind the matron on the horse. "She is now a prisoner and our flank has begun to rout. We need to fall back; once all know all shall flee."

"Tsk..." Gavrilla knew well what the matron meant... Once the word of Olga's fall spread morale would be shot... Their only option, then, was to retreat with what they had, reconstitute a force and then reassess the situation and what they could do...

If they could do anything at all...

"Damn it all..." She let off as their horse carried them away from the city. "DAMN IT ALLLLLLLL!"

[-]

Forest Outside of the Battle of Mooncast City

"Put me down! Put me down you brute!" Tinker Gear shrieked out as he kicked his legs out; a massive ogre holding him by the back of his black, cotton gambeson as he led him to a small clearing. He knew the ogre wasn't an ally and had heard of Aberrant mercenaries working with the humans before... he assumed it was one of them.

"So, this is that contraption's pilot then, eh?" He heard as they reached the clearing... and he gulped. Within the clearing was several, rough looking, armed humans... and one cloaked in shadows with a massive sword held in one hand and resting on his shoulder. "So... tell me, little goblin... are you for hire?"

Tinker gear stopped resisting as he blinked at the large, odd human. "Eh?"

[-]

Twenty Four Years Ago
Black Citadel, Blazecrown
Throne Room

Chloe stood before Olga and her court in the nude, head tilted back and eyes shut. Olga, for her part, stood over her with her hands nearly cupped over her head, her hands overflowing with mana generated water as it spilled down over Chloe's face and head before it spilled down over her breasts, body and legs as the Queen chanted a few, soft words.

While some admired the halfborne's beauty most glared to her as she was the first in over two hundred years to be knighted by their queen. "There." Olga said as the steam of water is over. "You are now birthed anew, cleansed of all failures before now. Don your armor now, Lady Chloe."

Said armor was a Scale Weave outfit held by a male servant on a tray. Bit by bit Chloe would dress before the court as the glares aimed at her intensified; to many of those watching the panel style wear on her sides and breasts seemed too close to what their queen wore for many of their comforts. Finally a half cape would end the look as Olga looked down to the girl she had found sixteen years ago; no longer a child and now a young woman. Chloe wasn't the only one to see a rare show of emotion from the Queen of the Jagged Crown directed to the newly knighted woman, one that stung the onlookers more then anything else.

Pride.

"With the ceremony concluded let us begin the day of court as scheduled." Olga let off, giving Chloe another look before turning and walking up to her throne... with the halfborne following her. As Olga took a seat her new knight would stand to her right for all to see.

Olga was not unaware of the disdain for Chloe, nor fully unaware of why; being a halfborne dark elf of hated human decent and former chainborne of the the same were detriments in the eyes of many in a race that prized pure, elven blood and dark elven blood above all else. That said she quickly realized that the young woman bore a deep, deep respect for her and worked hard to improve herself and rise to her expectations. It was clear Chloe would lay down life and limb for her which was expected of any dark elf to do for the trueborne, doubly one of her status. But it wasn't a trueblood or a queen Chloe would lay down her life for.

It was her, Olga the woman.

And in that she had a loyal aide, one she could trust above all others. And thus Olga needed her to be seen; regardless of their (Lack of) respect for Chloe her court held respect for their queen coupled with a healthy dose of fear. Presenting Chloe in such a manner and knighting her personally before the court would showcase the value Olga placed in her, that she was her agent. That would allow her a level of protection in the realms of the political and personal that she would otherwise lack.

Finally the first of the issues of the day was brought to her as Chloe stood by her queen, taller and prouder then ever.

Befitting of a dark elf.

[-]

A healer looked over Olga once we'd returned and we found a set of quarters for her to rest in for the time being. Once Olga was squared away said healer gave me a once over, just to be sure. I didn't blame her; my physical state was very sore but alive, and able to take it easy. I replaced the mage cuffs on Olga; choosing ones with without a chain as I didn't think she planned to escape. She had surrendered and elven pride would keep her from storming off without cause. I hoped.

I also had another practical reason for leaving her without chains; trust. Our aim at the end of the day was diplomacy and to end the war in as peaceful a manner as we could and showcasing a degree of trust to her would, with luck, be rewarded with trust from her. Sure; we could put a knife to her throat and force her but that would, likely, not help the situation.

Once word got out what happened a pair of Dawn Templars arrived to guard her as she laid on a bed. I directed one to remove her boots and set them aside to, hopefully, make her more comfortable as she recovered. So... what was going on now?

The healer admitted she wasn't sure about Olga's condition beyond that there was something very odd with her mana systems and said we'd need to have a proper doctor look at her; with luck one of the doctors on site was Fortress Ur's head doctor, Raphael Richardson who, slightly grouchy attitude aside, was as good a doctor as you'd find. He said once she was awake he could make a proper inspection to figure out what was wrong.

Celestine, for her part, looked like she was horrified once I stated I had engaged Olga in combat (Not without good reason, mind) but became relived and concerned once she found out I had won, captured her and brought her back after she collapsed. She said she would be over as soon as she was able to; the enemy had routed and she wasn't sure why until she realized Olga was captured. The enemy was in full retreat and cavalry was harassing them for a while still but would break off to avoid too many more deaths of our people.

The current state of the Eostian and Garanian armies were unknown but we were overflowing with wounded; the bulk were walking wounded thankfully but wounded nonetheless. Despite the fog of war there were some estimates although accuracy of these numbers was dubious. Eostian and allied forces lost at least a third of their numbers to wounds or worse. Rough estimates for Garan suggested that two thirds to half of the army they arrived with was leaving. Two opposing matrons were confirmed dead, one more assumed and a forth was possibly dead. On top of that the bulk of opposing casualties was believed to be Aberrant with numbers being reduced to a quarter or a tenth of what they had.

What we did have an accurate assessment of was... how many Cloud Riders we lost... this was painful to me...

At the start of the battle we had nine Cloud Riders. There was eighteen to twenty four people of each one; a mix of archers, riflemen and mages with a couple lighter cannons and siege weapons and all but two were lost. The one painted one my father commanded from survived, but lost both rear wheels and the other was missing it's left edge and wheels. That was... I put a lot of time and effort into those... Knowing that the bulk of them went down hurt; we knew they weren't really fit for direct combat but the situation called for it. Preliminary reports suggested that they were an equalizer in the battle, however, and forced Garan to respond. The loss was harsh but they could be rebuilt.

The thirty one confirmed dead from the fallen wagons were less replaceable. Confirmed; the number could be higher...

Shit...

There was another notable thing; about an hour after Olga fell the effects of the Dread Field on the realm ended. I imagine she was holding it up to empower her Aberrant forces as she must have known it wasn't harming us anymore well before the battle. Once the people of Garan took note I could only imagine what would follow; they would know something happened to Olga and might even worry she was dead.

Once everyone had a chance to take stock, count heads and mind the wounded things would become clearer. For now I waited for Olga to awaken as my armor self repaired; the front was well scorched from the battle with Garan's Queen and you could see the color start to return slowly. Sure, it was only a quarter of the damage repaired, but it was something. As I waited Alicia and Chloe arrived. Chloe had also been unbound then rebound with her arms before her and two feet of chain between them. At my advice she was unchained but given a mage cuff to each arm to keep her from using her armor's built in bag of holding; Alicia didn't like the idea but went with it once I reminded her that she was unarmed and if she fought back Olga would likely get hurt in the scuffle. Chloe frowned at the thought but behaved herself.

It took almost two hours before Celestine arrived with Doctor Richardson in tow and a leather handbag in his grip with the former directing the latter to me for a brief check up. Once assured I was alright Celestine gave me a wide smile and seemed about to address me before a groan came from the bed. Olga started to stir and Chloe shot from the seat she pulled over to her side, hovering over her face to look to her as her eyes finally fluttered open. "My Queen..." Chloe let off as the Queen of Garan groaned once more, concern clear on her face as she looked down.

"...I... apologize if I have worried you..." Olga let off as she sighed, shutting her eyes before turning her head and opening her eyes to look at me as I moved to the other side of the bed of Chloe (Who relaxed once Olga addressed her), Celestine following me.

"Welcome back to the waking world." I let off, moving to one knee to be closer to her eye level. "How do you feel?"

"...We just had a duel to the death in which I tried to obliterate you... You stabbed me in the shoulder... You should not be concerned about my condition..." She let off in a calm, even tone, although one with some wear to it.

"Well I am worried. So; how are you?" I asked as she sighed and moved to sit up on the bed, turning to face me and swing her legs off of it as I stood up to my full height.

"You might ask out of politeness but you are well aware." She said before looking to Celestine finally before standing up. In her heels Olga would be eye level with Celestine, but out of them she was shorter by three inches compared to the five-ten Goddess Reborn. "So... we do meet in person."

"So we do." Celestine said softly as she sighed, hands folded in her lap. "Understand I do not lie when I say I wished it was under better circumstances. We will have much to talk of but first we must see -"

"Please." Olga said as she shut her eyes. "I am sure I am aware of what you wish to ask but I must know something first." She said before looking me in the eye, a glare to it. "I used my Annihilation Stream on you."

"I am well aware. Scariest thing I've face in my life."

"And yet-" Olga ignored my semi-flippant tone and Celestine giving her a firm look to keep speaking. "-you survived. In spite of my condition I did not hold back. If anything I strained myself beyond what I should have, enough I could not defend myself afterwards. How in the name of the giant did you survive?"

Everyone looked to me; bodily turning to me save Celestine who just turned her head. The Dawn Templars in the room shared a very dark look with one another; Olga had killed several of theirs with that spell including Commander Keen. Needless to say they were... unhappy.

"The power of thermodynamics!" I let off proudly as I gave her a grin.

Olga blinked.

Chloe blinked.

Doctor Richardson blinked.

The Templars blinked.

Celestine tilted her head. "Mayhaps a more... through explanation can be given." She suggested as I sighed.

"Okay then... I should note that what I did wasn't spur of the moment." I began as I started to explain as I went into lecture mode. "Once I knew Olga was marching I was remembering her warning and presuming my luck would have me face her down so I opted to try and devise a counter to the Annihilation Stream. As we should understand it's a darkness and fire hybrid spell but it takes the form of purple flames. As it is a form of fire then that dictates it's physics and reactions would be much the same as fire; just far more damaging and able to tear through a casted shield like a starving man through bread. As such I opted to take advantage of that by using a combination of Ice Wall and Frost Thrower to protect myself."

I kept speaking but as I did I could see realization hit Celestine as it started to come to Olga; although the rest didn't catch on. "I used slanted Ice Wall to form a barrier between us that would block the force of the attack as it hit; and as it's a wall of ice reinforced by mana instead of a barrier made of pure mana it wouldn't collapse instantly. Of course the sheer heat from the attack surging around it would likely be enough to cook me so I fired a Frost Thrower into the wall to create a pocket of cold air around me to survive in. Of course a side effect was that the attack's cold would help keep the Ice Wall from melting."

"Th-that worked!?" Alicia let off as I gave her a flat look.

"Well, I'm still here, aren't I?" I replied simply. There were some mechanics there that most non-mages wouldn't know about; for starters that Annihilation Stream's physics were still just normal fire but it's darkness component made it a lot more damaging (Not hotter, just more damaging) so while Ice Wall wouldn't fold instantly under it and it was resistant against magical attacks it was going to melt under the heat and take damage from the darkness component. That was one of the reasons I needed Frost Thrower as well; just to keep the Ice Wall frozen so it didn't melt and come apart. Even then with Frost Thrower bolstering it Olga's spell chipped away at it damn fast for the duration of the spell.

Speaking of Frost Thrower I needed it to create that pocket of cold air to protect myself from the heat and flames as well. The idea came from an old episode of Mythbusters I had seen as I wondered how someone like Adam Savage would take on the problem of the Annihilation Stream. There was an episode where they were able to, without harming themselves, stick their hands into molten lead (Testing with a hot dog wiener first, of course) and were able to do so; they could do this by soaking their hand first then dipping in because the water on their hands would turn to steam instantly as it went into the molten lead and create a barrier between the hand, the lead and the lead's heat. I realized I could use a pocket of cold air to the same effect to protect myself as the Ice Wall also allowed that pocket to not get blown back and away.

The Ice Wall, when I formed it, was as short as I could make it as I knelt as low as I could, as thick as I could make it and shaped at as much of an angle as practical to create a sort of ramp to direct the flames up and to the sides to reduce the force impacting it further. The pocket on the inside of the Ice Wall also helped anchor the cold generated by the Frost Thrower in place and while the spell's cold didn't effect me, being my own spell and all, it still chilled the air around me and I felt that although muted thanks to my armor's protections.

Even then with all of that, all of those considerations and optimizations I should note that her Annihilation Stream nearly defeated my defense despite how well prepared it was and that I had did everything I could think of to make my two spells to withstand the Annihilation Stream; it was nearly to the point that I had considered unleashing an ice aspected Dragon's Breath near the end of the attack to reinforce my position and save myself but the attack ended before I had to. I merely had to pull on the wall with one hand to bring it down and as my vision was clouded with smoke and likely steam I then used my Ring of Alarm and magical senses to pin down where Olga was standing and launched my attack from there.

At Celestine's instance I explained the details (Save the near use of Dragon's Breath) a bit better and by the end of it Olga sighed and lowered her head, eyes shut. "So... the moment I casted my spell... I had lost... Ironic..."

"You have the answer you sought." Celesine said as she gave Olga a stern look and tone. "I know well enough your ability. You should not have struggled so harshly with James, nor collapsed after that spell. Something is clearly wrong with you and it needs be addressed." Olga kept her eyes shut and head down for a moment as she was spoken to like an unruly child. "You are now our prisoner and, as such, in our care. Please... speak."

"...You should know... You of all here should know." Olga said before moving to look back at her, eyes coming open. "...It is Black Sickness..."

"...no..." Chloe's face went near white (And given her normal skin tone that was impressive) as she moved to cover her mouth with both hands. That was... an understandable reaction; I was taken aback and I could see Celestine sadly shut her eyes. It was, for the lack of a better term, the elven version of cancer; just less 'there is a tumor growing in you that will kill you' and more like 'your internal organs are malfunctioning and creating a toxin that is going to build up until you die'.

"Doctor?" Celestine said as she looked to him. "Do you have treatments ready?"

"Depends on the stage; we can cure it if it's early enough." Raphael let off as Olga and Chloe snapped their heads to look at him. "Don't give me that look; we have a sizable elven population and a good number of half elves, quarter elves and so on. We need to study this crap." He said, moving to set his bag on the bed and pull out what was a stethoscope like device (With a small spell stone at the end of it) as he set it to his ears. "Now then; if it's alright with you I'd like to do a brief examination."

"I am your prisoner, am I not?" Olga replied as the man sighed.

"I'm also a doctor and I require consent from my patients. And right now you are my patient." He said as he gave her a firm look, getting a single, bemused chuckle from her.

"Do as you need then." He took it as consent and moved to do his work. He would set the scope to her chest and after a moment ask her to take in a deep breath, hold it then release it. He frowned after the first and had her do two more and I could see thoughts running in his head; although I didn't know what those thoughts were. Next would be a small spell stone that generated a blue light that he used to look inside of her mouth then each eye. Chloe seemed to fume at this but Olga was cooperative; or at least not resisting. Normally such an examination wouldn't have so many spectators... but given the situation that could be forgiven a bit.

Spells to check her body was used to take vitals and he hummed a bit. Finally he would pull out a wider and deeper then average vial from his bag as he looked to Chloe. "Here. I need a urine sample from her and I don't think that's something most of us need to see." Celestine raised an eyebrow at that and I wondered if she knew something I didn't. He answered the question before anyone could ask. "I need to see it to determine if it really is Black Sickness."

"I assure you, doctor, I am well aware of the symptoms of Black Sickness." Olga replied curtly.

"And a sore back in the morning could be from a fall you took the other evening or a sign that you need a new mattress." Raphael shot back straight away. "Humor me. Because I've examined elves with Black Sickness before and when you listen to their breathing with a stethoscope there's a soft, whistling hiss that you can't normally hear otherwise. You're not making that sound." Celestine was the one who reacted first; eyes going wide before giving a frown of thought.

"Cele?" I let off as I looked to her.

"Olga..." She began looking to her. "I understand why you might find this... invasive, but if what he says is true... then there is more at work here then you know." Olga gave a soft, short snort as she sighed, sat back on the bed and moved to swing her legs to the other side to face Chloe.

"Chloe... assist me in this." Said half elf balked, but only for a moment before she did as told as... most of the room save Celestine and the Templars turned about. It took a bit (Nerves I think, not that Olga would admit it) but soon you could hear some splashing for a little while. Once done I turned with everyone else and the doctor was holding a vial, half full of an inky, black liquid; it was worrying that something like that came from Olga. He was frowning at it and holding it up to the light as he grumbled.

"It's not right... It's not thick enough..." He let off before moving to me... and thrusting the black urine filled vial to me. "You; I want you to use fire magic to boil this."

"What?" I let off as I took the vial; the contents now closer looking like black water that was, maybe half transparent. I held it up to the light and you could see a tinge of purple in it.

Oh... and it smelled like piss... but stronger...

"If what's left is an oily residue then it's Black Sickness. If the result is something else... then I'll have a better idea on what to do..." I sighed and gave a look to Celestine.

"Mind giving me a light wind spell; might as well make sure this doesn't linger in the room." I let off as I moved to the window.

"Of course." She let off and following me before I held the vial by the upper rim and moved my hand under it, flames coming to it. Celestine would aim a light wind spell to the top of the rim to blow any... smells out. It took a short while but the liquid started to bubble and then boil. Bit by bit the steam came out of the vial and was blown from the room as more and more water in the urine left, steaming out... and soon there was only a collected puddle in the bottom; nothing oily. In fact once the last of it boiled out there was what could be called a quarter inch of gray ash. I passed it back to the doctor who frowned deeper as he held it up to an eye for a closer look.

"I figured as much... Ashbloom."

"So, it is as we feared then..." Celestine let off. "That is... distressing." She said as she bit her lip, moving a hand to her chin. Looking around everyone else seemed confused with Chloe and Olga sharing a look of such as well. I sighed and looked to the doctor.

"Okay; want to share what this means with the rest of the class?" I asked as, to my surprise, it was Celestine who began to explain.

"Ashbloom is a flower that grows around the United Elven Kingdoms, although I've heard that western Justical has a smattering of them." She began. "It's normally a dark blue but instead of folding up at night it's petals change color to a dark gray. Most people are unaware of what it can be made into, sadly. You see the United Kingdoms have their own... disagreements in politics and sometimes someone of influence wants someone disagreeing... removed."

"You mean assassinated." I said bluntly as Celestine nodded... and Olga sighed.

"Indeed... not that they'd use the word." The High Queen carried on. "The problem was that obvious poisons and violent means would cause questions to be raised and so... another means was found."

"Ashbloom, when processed correctly, creates a thick sap." Doctor Richardson injected next. "Once condensed it can be made into a clear syrup or a powder. Too much would cause a harsh reaction but a pinch given to someone each day would build up in them... The symptoms of this poison are general physical exhaustion when using larger amounts of mana, black colored urination and, in late stages, highly sensitive nipples and clitoris. The first two are the same as Black Sickness and the last can be mistaken for signs of another sign of it..."

"And elves of the Kingdoms are loathe to let anyone know of these symptoms as they dislikes showing weakness." Celestine said with a sigh. "Once a population established themselves in Eostia and they were encouraged to have the condition looked into people were finally able to find treatments; early stages can be cured now but once you lactate bloody milk it's too late."

Wait; Black Sickness can make you leak...

...

I didn't want to think about it.

"You suggest I've been poisoned!?" Olga let off, as if offended. "I do not know about your little realm but dark elves know where their place is." She let off, crossing her arms.

"Uh-huh." I let off dryly. "And all of those dark elves that took up arms against you were placed there because of your customs then, huh?" If looks could kill I'd have been blown half way to Balanar by the look she gave me. "I think you overestimate how well you are thought of by the people you rule at large and underestimate what someone's willing to do to express it." She grit her teeth as she stood up and took a half step forwards. The Templars moved their hands to weapons as it legitimately looked like she was going to pick a fight over this.

"Listen you ins-"

"No, you listen." I barked back as I stepped in; inch away from being nose to nose with her. She flinched slightly but kept up her glare. "Do you have any fucking idea what the hell has been going on out here? Like the fact that your nobility set fire to the commoner's district to slow us down!" That shocked her; her eyes widening for a moment before glaring back at me once more.

"You lie."

"I do not." I replied not backing down in the slightest. "And if you wish, your Highass, we can arrange for tour of the district and you can ask them yourself."

"Stand down, both of you." Celestine spoke out; the volume was soft but the tone was firm and solid. Even so I didn't back down and neither did Olga as we glared to one another.

"You should not speak do your betters in such a tone." Olga hissed out.

"I'm more then willing to use that tone with equals." Her eyes narrowed at that; I'm sure an 'insect' saying he was equal to her was galling. "And frankly someone has to press your nose into the mess you made because she sure as fuck hasn't." I let off pointing straight at Chloe; even without my eyes leaving Olga (Although I could feel her glare as well) as I saw a bit of anger come to the queen's eyes.

"You can leave her well out of this; I have not been poisoned." She declared firmly.

"You have been." Doctor Raphael injected before setting a hand on both of our shoulders and prying us apart with something in the hand he used on me. "Now enough of that children." I took no offense as he looked to her and held up a new vial; this one corked and full of what seemed to be pills; a soft blue in color and looking like they were made by ingredients being compressed together. "And these will be the proof."

"...What are these?" She let off as he undid the cork, took one out and threw it into his mouth, resealing it. He swallowed and passed the vial to her.

"Medicine. A type of my own design to combat various poisons and toxins." The doctor let off. "Side effects can range from a slight feeling of constipation or a minor headache although both are rare. Take one with each meal for the next three weeks; in under five days you'll find that your urine will clear up and normalize it's color to yellow or clear." He let off as she took it, nose wrinkled. "If it doesn't clear up you can sneer at me and bask in your superior medical knowledge over a mere human doctor." He said before crossing his arms over his chest. "But when it clears up you'll have irrefutable proof of your poisoning."

"...Very well." Olga said with a sigh as she moved to set it on the nightstand.

"Thankfully there will be a lot of time to talk later." Celestine let off, giving me a particularly pointed look. "For now we've answered the most pressing concerns. Let us leave Olga to her rest and the rest of us can... mmm?" She let off as I looked to her, wondering as a hint of confusion came to her face. "What is that?

I was a bit confused about what she meant... until I felt it; a soft rumble of the building... rapid, quick thuds that were quick enough and hard enough to vibrate the entire structure and even make the furniture rattle softy as if a soft earthquake was starting but I couldn't imagine why... ... ...oh...

...oh no...

I started to turn to the door as a whimper and look of horror came from me to the confusion of all save Celestine who had realization come to her. The Templars at the door shared a look and moved to the door to investigate, prepared to open it as the rumble changed to being louder and coming up from the hall... before the door exploded off the hinges, into them and knocking them into the wall as my mother ran into the room. Before I could react I was now in the air, grabbed by my armor as she started to shake me like a rag doll!

I might have given off a girlish scream. I wasn't sure.

"MY BABY! WHAT WERE YOU THINKING!? ARE YOU CRAZY!? DO YOU KNOW HOW AFRAID I WAS ONCE I HEARD YOU PICKED A FIGHT WITH OLGA DISCORDIA!? WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING TO ME!?!?"

That was the sort of direction of her ramble as she kept shaking me.

"Who is that?" I heard Olga ask over the shaking as my head rocked back and forth.

"His mother." Celestine sighed out.

I would later learn that upon hearing that Olga Discordia, Queen of the Jagged Crown, Ruler of Garan, Lady of the Hellfire and one of the most fearsome foes Eostia had ever faced... took a very large step back.

I didn't blame her.

[-]

Once freed from my shaking hell I was led into a meeting with the Seven Shields and Klaus who asked me to explain everything that happened in my fight with Olga; sat around a long, rectangular table. I gave the run down of what happened once I arrived to see Alicia facing down the two dark elves, how the fight started, how it went and how it ended. I had to repeat the tale of how I survived the Annihilation Stream which impressed Klaus and scared the girls (Prim and Kaguya above the others) save Alicia, who seemed more disturbed (Likely from having a front row seat to it) and Maia who was more relaxed ("Hey, he's alive! Stop looking so grim!") before talking about Olga's post-fight collapse. Once my tale was done Claudia was the first to speak up.

"Honestly; what you did was reckless, idiotic and all too thoughtless... but something needed to be done to save Alicia and you did it bravely. Good job." She said as I gave a soft chuckle and a rueful smile. I understood the message: 'you did what you had to do, but we still don't like it'. "We have Olga Discordia as a prisoner of war as well as the person who seems to be her main aide. Garan is in full retreat and while we're still compiling reports we should have that done in a couple of days and have a better idea of our positions. Based on preliminary reports, however... we've won. Or at the very least if Garan can put together enough to launch another attack it could utterly break them regardless of the outcome. On top of that additional Eostian reinforcements would arrive in Mooncast soon and if Garan could regenerate forces it would be in the form of fresh conscripts."

"I wouldn't get too cozy but, yeah..." Maia let off with a sigh, feet on the table we were sat around and hands behind her back. "We can afford to have some fun for the next couple of days but we need to keep an eye on them; they're a prideful enough lot to try a battlefield death."

"Some, but not all I think." Kaguya countered as she looked back to her red haired comrade. "Some may opt to retreat beyond the Reaches. Others may consider surrender. Some may opt to fight and others maybe paralyzed in indecision. In the end the question is this; without Olga who will rise to lead them?"

"One of their matrons would be my first assumption." Prim replied with. "Or one of their more notable generals. I know Claudia was fighting an able one."

"Indeed; we were too evenly matched for my tastes..." The Shield Princess of Geofu said with a sigh with a hand moving over her left eye to rub for a moment. "I could see her attempting to steer Garan; it depends on the state of the Matrons. We may have killed most or all of them this time around."

"We've decapitated their leadership; I don't think we need to worry about them anymore." Alicia said with a sigh. "And even if they could rebuild it'll be a shadow of what they were before. I think our larger issue is Olga herself; if we can gain her cooperation we can finally hammer out a peace deal. If we can't we'll be forced north to finish them off and they will not go down easily once they understand the stakes. Weakened or not they would fight like demons if we had to crush them militarily."

"Agreed; it's best for all involved that we gain Olga's trust. With luck as her condition improves she'll be more amicable, I believe." Celestine added with a nod. "At the moment however we need to address our now lack of air power." She looked to me as she folded her hands on the table. "Do you have a report?" And yes, I had checked up on all of this.

"The two intact Cloud Riders have already been repaired; we cannibalized the wheels off one for the other and found four more local ones for the other." I began. "One of them (The unpainted one, I should add) looks a bit ugly from the repairs but it'll hold. According to the folks back home we've enough spell fiber to get another one ready and a second soon; likely by the time I have a chance to get there."

"Excellent." Celestine said with a sigh. "I had not expected to lose so many of them. You put much effort and time into making all that went into them; this feels like a failure on my part."

"It's fine; we both knew they weren't suited to combat but we did what was best at the time." I replied with a sigh. Still hurt through. "With luck we'll not need to do this a second time." She would nod and smile to me.

"That being said I want you to get them running as quickly as possible; the logistical advantage they provide has been key thus far and regardless of what happens from here we will need them." With that said she turned to look to Kaguya. "What about the injured?"

"We don't have all that we need in the realm of healers, but we are making due." She began, sighing as she looked at a sheet that she lifted up. "We are, naturally, prioritizing the most critical of the wounded and leaving those with the lesser wounds mend with non-magical means. This does mean our current forces will be at greatly reduced strength in the intern but as we've gone over we're not expecting another attack soon and we do have both James' Sky Eyes and his scrying device to give us ample warning if they do attempt a second attack."

"And what of the state of the city?" Celestine would ask, turning to Lulu next.

"None of the fighting reached it but some of the enemy attacks hit the walls and outer buildings. The walls held and most of the damage is light." The halfling let off as she looked up in thought. "None of it is really important so we're going to leave it be for the time being; the commoner's district needs repairs still so we'll be putting our focus there." Naturally all Eostian volunteers were redeployed to reinforce the walls once we knew Olga was coming; although leaving materials for the locals to use... some of whom volunteered to help with the wall's reconstruction. "Our siege weaponry is mostly good; we recovered what we could off the wagons that were brought down. Honestly, we're fine on that end."

"So our major concerns are either covered or acceptable if in need of improvement." Celestine summarized with a nod.

"Indeed. Most of our remaining concerns are smaller issues for the time being." Klaus summarized as he looked over his own stacks of paper. "There is one other concern to bring to note; I think with such a massive victory we are well aware that everyone will be enjoying celebrations this evening." Indeed; once word that a massive battle was about to come to Mooncast City dozens if not more merchants streamed to the city. Some sold arms and tools of war, some armor but most brought food and drink; namely the alcoholic kind. The reason was simple; they were banking on an Eostian victory and that if the battle was as huge as promised then the celebrations would be equally huge and partying soldiers would want to get their drink on. Not just them, of course.

"Indeed; Houses Erotique and Flotte are taking the lead in putting together this evening's festivities." Claudia let off with a not. I assumed that the sole reason House Flotte joined on the party planning was to make sure that House Erotique didn't do anything to make the result a massive, night long orgy. I'm not saying that Baron Bello and Baroness Orabella would sneak aphrodisiacs into every bit of food and drink... but I worry their not above it either... "And of course you're expected to attend." She let off, giving me a pointed look as I blinked back.

"I... think I'd rather have a nice, quiet-"

"I understand." Claudia let off as she cut me off. "You're still going to attend because someone decided it was going to be a good idea to pick a fight with Olga Discordia and then that same person then thought it would be a better idea to win." I blinked then paled as her words sank in. "You are the man of the hour, the day, the week, the month and the year. You have done what no one else had in seven hundred years. Again." And there's a reference to beating the Dread Field... "To put it simply you will be expected to put in a showing and play nice with the other lords. Rubbing your victory in the faces of your rivals is optional, however."

Fuck.

I sort of knew beating Olga would cause a stir but even so... "Maybe, but she's sick. I didn't beat her in a fair fight, I fought a crippled opponent. Saying 'I did what no one else had' doesn't apply when King Aston could have done the same thing when he fought her if she was sick then."

"I am glad you're remaining humble, Dear, but... you're forgetting the issue here." Prim said as she gave me a firm look. "The politics of the situation."

"I think I need not tell you of elven pride." Celestine said as she looked to me. "Doubly so from both the United Elven Kingdoms and Garan at their worst. Olga refused to tell anyone, even her closest aide she was ill because she didn't want to appear to be weak. If word reaches her people of her illness then her political position and reputation would be damaged no matter how well she recovered; in fact losing to you, someone who has slain two matrons in combat and the Blood Bear on top of it would be less damaging to her reputation. If anything you'll be the most feared human in Garan for pulling off such a feat. As such we cannot allow anyone to know you defeated a weakened Olga; the idea she was at full strength when she was bested must be the truth presented to the public at large; even if it is anything but truth."

Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck...

"Needless to say you'll be given a seat of honor. If you've no formal wear your armor shall do." Celestine said with a smile before turning back to Klaus. "So; what is our next subject to tackle then?"

Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck!

All this because I beat a poisoned Olga.

...

...Wait...

"Hey... I just had a thought." Klaus shut his mouth before he spoke as everyone looked to me. "Olga wasn't aware of Ashbloom... and I assume it's not something that the Elven Kingdoms shared with them." Celestine frowned as she saw where I was going. "How did anyone in Garan learn of it? Let alone get their hands on it; I imagine Ashblooms aren't common over here."

"Indeed; I can say they bloom no where near Eostia." Celestine said as she thought.

"Given what we've uncovered we know that there is a few profitable, active smuggling operations in Garan." Klaus began as he thought it over, hand on his chin. "How it can get in is answerable; but this poison is not something I was aware of until this meeting. I imagine the knowledge of it would be very uncommon here. More over it would require someone with access to her food and drink; a chef or servant I would think. ... I... Oh dear..."

"My love?" Claudia let off, looking to Klaus with worry.

"I would think this poison isn't something acquired by their nobility but provided by an outside source seeking to undermine Garan, likely finding those within wishing to harm the current government." He concluded... and I could hazard a guess...

"The Black Storm..." Alicia let off with disgust.

"It makes sense; we know they wish to conquer Garan." Prim said as she tapped her chin. "And Olga has been unbeatable until now... if her condition remained concealed then whomever came to conquer the land, if he could bring her down without word getting out of her weakness..." She didn't add anything else to that.

She didn't need to.

"We knew the Storm had designs on Garan... but I should have guessed their reach had touched here as well." Celestine said as she frowned. "It seems we've much to look into, once we secure Olga's cooperation."

[-]

Napreryvnyy City, Magical Laboratory
Southeast Blazecrown
Near the Borders of Blackshard and Onyxcloak
Kingdom of Garan

A pile of clothing lay in one corner of the room. By that corner a mattress was dragged into it and set to the floor, bare of any sheets. Upon it, under a blanket with a rolled up coat as a pillow snored one Stasia Highcraft as she rested after a long... something's work.

Was it morning? Noon? Afternoon? Evening? Night? Midnight? She didn't know; she sequestered herself into the laboratory with as much food, water and materials she would need. Books, reference material, tools and more. She worked until she was too tired to work or needed to eat. She would only leave the room to use the chamber pot and nothing else; not even to bathe. She only had one drive; to see her creation to fruition.

And as she slept her creation loomed over the room; the light coming into the chamber's windows, invisible to those outside thanks to an Illusion, shifted bit by bit until her creation's own shadow was cast over her.

She slept none the wiser.

[ - Author's Note - ]

Whew. That was quite a chapter...

So Olga has lost and is brought in as a POW along with Chloe. James is alive and survived with a clever trick I am sure is 99% plausible... and is about to get more attention that he didn't want.

yay.

The questions then are these...

How well will Olga respond to her new situation?

What will the remaining Garanian leadership do with her?

What will happen at that party?

What role will Stasia's creation have?

Who's trying to hire Tinker Gear?

What else may happen?

And will the next chapter be under twenty thousand words?

Well... you'll need to wait and see.

On another note FFDotNet is still not sending any notifications; at least as far as I can tell. Once more this is cross posted at AO3 (You might even be reading this on AO3!) and I make a post on the kuroinu_fanfiction subreddit when I post a new chapter; so feel free to check both to keep updated.

As always be sure to let me know what you thought; what you liked, what you didn't like and what you'd like to see. I will say that Act Three...

It's maybe half done now.

Until next time...

~~Eostian Scribe