Fort Reed lay in ruins. After the bulk of its garrison had been destroyed in a foolish sally-out, Pyrrha had managed to easily overwhelm the few remaining Atlesians who had decided to use their brains rather than their machismo and stayed behind the fort's mighty walls.
The fort was of little use to her, and could only serve as a useful base or springboard for attack by her enemies. She would not need it to retreat, after all the bulk of the Atlesian army remained bogged down by Duke Pentheus and Duke Acteon, the few remaining Atlesians who would dare face her would be militia and town guard, and they too would surrender when faced with the might of Mistral's finest.
"Your Imperial Majesty." Duke Midas murmured deferentially, snapping her from her victorious haze. "Are you certain you wish to tear down the Fort's walls? This could be a perfect supply hub for future advances."
"We will be advancing as soon as the threat posed by the Fort is neutralised." Pyrrha retorted, the man's question souring her mood. She brought her lords to the cusp of defeating Atlas yet still they questioned her? Even the loyal ones like Midas? The sheer audacity of it would've made her angry if not for the fact she still felt the distant high of battle mingling with the feeling of triumph she basked in.
"I do not mean to assume, Your Imperial Majesty." Midas replied hastily. "It's just that the Fort is an ideal stronghold for our future campaigns. I do not see why we should needlessly cast it aside."
"Because a few hundred men could hold this fort." Pyrrha explained the beginnings of a frown hidden by her bronze helm. "The only reason the garrison surrendered today was because they witnessed hundreds of their comrades get slaughtered in front of them and realised surrender was a much easier path than death. But if we move on to strike Bessemer and complete our plan of cutting off the Atlesian food supply then we cannot afford to keep a strong presence here. A few dozen Atlesians could sneak in, take the fort and be reinforced by a hundred more by the time I arrive to take it back, by which point they would be of sufficient numbers to warrant a siege. It would be much easier for us to just tear it down. Besides, the construction materials can go back to Mistral to help Haven rebuild."
Midas bowed lowly, and Pyrrha dismissed him, wanting to be left alone with her thoughts and not have her vassals ruin her good mood. This was her second true victory. First at Vulcan, now at Fort Reed.
She had won other battles before, but those had been against rebels, bandits and overmighty subjects. Now she had won battles against a foreign power, a rival of Mistral's at that, and had finally proved herself to be the Warrior Queen so many of her subjects claimed her to be.
The war was going well. Plundered goods flowed back to Mistral, most heading to Haven to rebuild and whilst the rest helped in financing the ongoing war effort. Her debts would eventually have to be repaid after all, even if the problem of the debt she'd forced herself in with the banks was a problem for later. Now she had to cripple Atlas, lower it to the level Mistral had been brought to after the decimation of Haven in order to preserve its more dominant position over the Kingdom and said Kingdom's vassal state.
Idly, she wondered whether Ironwood had taken her offer to defect. He would certainly be a useful asset to have, particularly if he was able to bring most of Vale alongside him. But she doubted it, having already set a plan in motion should he reject her offer. She still couldn't deny his experience and prowess as a leader would not be valuable to her, let alone the fact he was notoriously honourable and iron-willed. But a girl could dream.
No. She was a woman now. A Queen. A Warrior. A Conqueror. She had as good as won the war. Nothing stood between her and Bessemer, the strategic city that lay in a crossroads between the frosty Atlesian interior and its more prosperous, warmer western coast. The city's fall would disrupt Atlesian supply lines for everything from exports, war materials to food imports, and all she had to do was take it.
She was determined to rebuild the bulk of Haven using supplies from Bessemer. The materials that made up the city that caused Atlas' fall would be used to rebuild the capital of Mistral, reaffirmed as the world hegemon of Remnant due to its victory over Atlas-Vale. Perhaps in time she could subjugate the notoriously divided Vacuoan tribes? That was something to ponder another day. She was getting ahead of herself.
Pyrrha blushed and shook her head of any delusions that nestled there in the darkest corners of her mind. She hadn't won the war yet, and that was a crucial, critical word. Things could still go wrong, especially if she listened to her rapidly growing ego.
She couldn't help but frown though. Duke Midas' questioning irritated her. They were valid points, but Midas clearly hadn't trusted her enough to think of them and even if he had then he still believed she didn't see the true worth in them if he had brought them up.
He was a capable administrator, and he was well known for his dislike of warfare. Perhaps she would provide him with a respite from the conflict to oversee Fort Reed's dismantlement while she took the army to Bessemer?
Yes. That sounded like a wonderful idea.
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It had been two days since her husband had finally opened the letter sent by Mistral's Queen and made up his mind. Letters had been sent, riders and couriers carrying them and spreading the word as quickly as they could, but it would appear that when spreading the news of a war it spread like a wildfire.
Already reports were coming in of marching lords and mustering levies. Winter had poured over Vale's records, hoping to have an accurate number to give James about the strength of his army so he could better plan and prepare for it, however the last census was eight years old, the next being two years from now. It wouldn't likely make much of a difference but it irked Winter that she couldn't provide him with a definitive number.
James didn't seem to mind. For a man who had briefly considered not marching to war he was oddly calm and collected now that he had decided his course. It was ironic how James had gone from being unsure and questioning and now she had taken his role. Perhaps he'd need to calm her down the same way she had him?
Winter flushed at that, before her hands fell to her stomach ruefully. Her inability to sire an heir was bothersome. In any other circumstance, if she had just been married off to some other minor lord, she wouldn't care less about whether or not she fulfilled her purpose as broodmare. But James was different. Whether it be the time they had spent together or something about the man himself, Winter cared about him. No. That wasn't right.
Winter loved him. It was hard to admit, even to herself, but she did. She wasn't even sure why. The man was stubborn and obstinate at the best of times. But the fact remained that she did. Ironically enough she wanted a child with him not to guarantee the survival of their blood nor to fulfil her mandated role as child bearer but because she wanted to. She wanted his child, their child, yet no matter how hard they tried they just could not conceive.
Yet another irony. Ironic, considering she was married to a man whose last name was Ironwood.
Winter savagely suppressed the smile at the pun. She'd have to use it on James whenever he got back, just to see his reaction to it.
"My lady." One of her servants, a woman named Vermila, said as she entered Winter's solar, from which she did her best to help James run the Vale part of the Kingdom of Atlas-Vale. Once he was gone it would likely be just her and a few trusted advisors, something she wasn't looking forward to. "The court will be convening soon."
"Thank you Vermila." Winter replied, nodding at the woman. "I take it I'll be meeting James beforehand?"
"Lord Ironwood requested that yes, though he asked if you could meet him at the palace gardens."
"Is that so? Very well. Tell him I'll be there soon."
"As you wish my lady."
When Vermila left Winter let out a sigh and signed the sheet of paper in front of her, confirming James' latest writ.
As Governor of Vale, James exercised royal authority on behalf of the Queen or the King, depending on the time. After being granted the authority to do so by said monarch, the Governor would issue writs from authority, which were a lesser form of royal decrees and allowed the Governor to govern in the name of the monarch. This writ confirmed Vale was in a state of war and granted the Governor extraordinary powers in order to successfully guide Vale to victory alongside the mother kingdom, meaning Atlas but in Valean legal jargon.
She stamped the writ with the seal of her husband, before organising her desk and leaving her solar. She nodded at the guards, who stood straighter as she exited. Winter made note of that. Discipline couldn't afford to slip now they were at war.
The Governor's Palace had once been the royal palace for the King's and Queen's of Vale, before Winter's great-grandfather had conquered it. Despite no longer being home to royalty in the form of monarch's the palace had retained its beauty and splendour, though it cost an extortionate amount to maintain. However the Valeans valued the effort put into ensuring the home of their old royalty was well-maintained, to the point where the cost for guaranteeing it still stood was evened out with the respect it earned from the people they ruled over.
James had struggled to settle into the place, preferring his own more spartan, utilitarian fortress home that lay in the centre of Bessemer, the bustling city that was his fief. Time had made him more fond of the palace however, something that had surprised Winter at first. That had been before she had truly acknowledged the way she felt for him, and despite having witnessed his softer side more often than most for a while she had struggled to see him as anything else other than the one dimensional, stubborn type of lord who preferred running off to war than being a good leader.
Winter snorted, making two servants carrying bundles of cloth stare at her as she strode past them. After James' behaviour the other day it was almost embarrassing to think she had thought of him as a glory-seeking warmonger.
She turned right and entered the palace gardens. Birds tweeted and whistled from branches and bushes and flowers of every colour and shape arrayed the path leading in towards the centre of the garden, where there was a marble fountain trickling cool, almost crystal-like water.
James was leaning against said fountain, watching the water before turning to face her once he heard her approach him. He smiled widely, something she couldn't help but return, and when she got close enough he surprised her before pulling her into him so that she was perched off his lap.
"J-James?!" She demanded, flustered as his hands fell to her hips. "What are you doing?"
"Enjoying time with my beautiful wife." James rumbled, leaning forwards to kiss her neck, make her blush and her face turn redder than the shade of the roses that flourished nearby. "Plus I don't know who is listening in. This conversation is one for trusted ears only."
"T-Then why meet here?" Winter asked, settling into his lap so she was comfortable. "Why not meet in your solar, or mine or anywhere else we usually meet?"
"Because we are at war now." James answered, breath hot against her neck and making it hard for her to concentrate. "I want to be cautious. Days ago we were at peace, and I can't help but think we were too lax in our security."
"Have we been compromised?" Winter questioned, deadly serious at the thought.
"I don't know." James replied with a shrug. "But I would rather be safe than sorry. The Mistrali have always been renowned for their skill with intrigue. Before their new monarchs focused on martial prowess, that was."
Winter nodded, biting her lip as she thought. James did have a point. Days ago they were worried about the Mistrali but weren't actually at war. Now however their armies were mobilising and reports were coming in of the fall of Vulcan, indicating war had indeed begun. If the Mistrali were bold enough to attack Atlas so suddenly, it indicated they had a plan in place, a plan they may have had in place since the last Great War.
"What was it you were going to speak of then?" Winter asked. "Beyond the possibility we may be less safe than we thought."
"I sent scouts to the border the day we decided our course of action." Ironwood said. To anyone listening it would have been cryptic, though Winter knew he meant he had sent men to see if the border with Vacuo was peaceful, as he would soon be marching to war but couldn't do so without ensuring Vale's less ruly neighbour was being quiet.
"Don't leave me in suspense James." Winter teased when he refused to elaborate, before her face fell at the worried expression on his face. "What is it?"
"The tribes are mustering." James answered quietly, looking away almost shamefully. "Nearly all of the tribes known to frequent the Badlands are gathering on the border in numbers not seen since the Great Horde that broke Vale."
Winter gasped. That was not good news. If such reports were accurate, it meant an army nearing 100,000 men, and that wasn't including the women, children and slaves that would be dragged along with the horde. It also meant the Valean lords wouldn't sail to aid Atlas out of fear of their own lands being razed by the Vacuoans whilst they fought with the Atlesians against the Mistrali.
"What are we going to do?" Winter asked quietly, knowing she likely wouldn't like the answer.
"We can't go to Atlas." James replied with shame, guilt and a hint of fear. "We would only be able to commit a small force, and the lords won't agree to that. We don't know much about the strength of the Mistrali, so they could argue, and may well believe, we would be sending them to their deaths."
"But Weiss needs our help!" Winter hissed, as quietly as she could. She was angry at what he was trying to suggest, even if the more rational side of her understood why.
"I know." James said calmly. "But the best way to help her is to bring an army that could turn the tide of war. To do that we need to beat the Vacuoans first and stabilise Vale."
"How?" Winter demanded. "We don't even know how big our army will be and theirs could already be reaching the hundreds of thousands strong!"
"We strike as soon as we can." Ironwood answered, still calm but voice filled with an iron-willed resolve and determination. "They are still mustering too, and haven't yet decided on a leader. If we can defeat them before they do, they will scatter to the winds as they have dozens of times before."
"Will they?" Winter asked, quiet and almost bitterly as the anger left as quickly as it came. She agreed with James' choice, even if she hated the fact she did. "It is no coincidence they are gathering now. What if the Mistrali invade from across the sea whilst we are bogged down in Vacuo?"
"That is why I will be giving Nicholas Arc command of the east coast." Ironwood explained. "He's a good man, competent commander and Ansel lies within striking distance of the majority of the Mistrali's most obvious landing sites. He has the most to lose if he fails to defeat them should they strike."
"That will limit your own forces." Winter pointed out. "All the forces the coastal lords will be keeping in the east will be forces you can't use in Vacuo. Not to mention you won't have Arc to support you in your campaign."
"I know." James sighed. "But that is a price I'm going to have to be willing to make. Nicholas can serve us best in the east. Even without the forces I'm leaving him, and to protect Emerald Vale, I should have more than enough to defeat the Vacuoans. They are valiant fighters, but their disunity is their weakness and their main drive for conquest is for resources they don't have. All I have to do is make them pay a price greater than what they could gain."
"And if you lose?" Winter asked quietly, folding her arms across her chest at the thought of losing him.
"I won't remember?" James replied softly, before leaning forwards to kiss her cheek again. She relaxed slightly, and her arms fell down so her hands were clasped on her lap. "What do you think of the plan?"
"I would rather you send something to help Weiss." Winter sighed, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath. "But it is understandable if you don't."
James was silent for a moment before he hummed as an idea came to mind.
"I'll ask for volunteers, and any who do go to Atlas will be subsidised for the expenses of their campaign. They will likely embezzle some, but that is a price I'd be willing to pay." James offered, and Winter beamed at him.
"Thank you." She admitted softly, before she leaned forwards and kissed him briefly on the lips. They separated after a few moments, knowing they couldn't afford to be too passionate with their address to the court of convening Valean lords being a few minutes away. "With that modification the plan sounds perfect."
"I'm glad to hear it." James smiled, before gently nudging her forward. Winter got the hint and slid off his lap, and he stood after her and held his arm out towards her. "Shall we?"
"Of course." Winter replied, looping her arm in his and walking alongside him as they headed towards the great hall that had once been the court of the King's and Queen's of Vale.
.
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"This is a delicate process." Bragrim explained, sitting Weiss down at a cluttered desk he hastily tried to neaten up by pushing things to one side, before he gave up and pulled up another chair next to her. "You will need to be silent, still and patient unless you are to disrupt my concentration."
"I will be as quiet as a mouse." Weiss replied, settling into her seat. She watched as he gathered a few pieces of equipment, one of them a long, sharp knife that glinted in the low light.
"Your Majesty." Bragrim spoke quietly, almost nervously. "I am afraid I need a little drop of your blood. It is necessary for the scrolling process."
"Very well." Weiss said, letting him take a gentle hold of her left hand, pulling it so it laid flat against the table. He rolled up the sleeve of her dress up until her elbow and gently sank the knife into her forearm. She winced but did not make a sound as she felt the cold metal tip penetrate her skin and rest there for a few moments.
Bragrim then carefully slid the knife out from the small cut and dipped it into a beaker filled with a clear liquid. He hastily wrapped a bandage around the small but bleeding wound and then turned back to the beaker. She slid her sleeve back down her arm as she waited and watched as the beaker turned into an amber colour as her blood mixed with whatever was within.
"Hmm." Bragrim murmured. "Peculiar. The colour of the liquid indicates there are in fact latent magical abilities in your blood, however it is too weak to be utilised."
"Or someone has affected my blood or that of my ancestors." Weiss suggested and Bragrim nodded after a moment's thought. The Mistrali had been masters at spying and intrigue before the Nikos family usurped the former royals, turning Mistral into a more martial, combat focused people.
"That is another possibility. I will now attempt a memory probe." Bragrim replied, grabbing a few leaves from a nearby pouch and rolling them into thin, green mush which he smeared on his hands.
"A memory probe?" Weiss asked, slightly worried at the prospect. Bragrim was quick to notice her worry and assuage her concerns.
"Nothing serious, I promise. It will entail me probing your mind's subconscious. If your ancestors truly were magic users then it is a possibility their memories, or parts of their memories, are imprinted in the magic within your blood. It is how we magic users know how to cast spells and the like without the need for books or academies to learn. The knowledge of the previous generation is passed onto the next." Bragrim explained, dipping his herb covered hands into a bowl of red liquid that hissed when his hands entered it.
"But shouldn't that mean I would know how to cast spells?" Weiss asked and Bragrim sighed, dipping his hands into the bowl a few more times before wiping his hands clean.
"That's the problem. If your ancestors were magic users then yes, you should know how to cast spells. The only way to not stop magic is to kill off the magic users and any of their children or descendants, otherwise they will have the knowledge the deceased magic user had. You are the first case of something else, suggesting a way to lose magic we didn't know of before or an outside force actively trying to suppress or wipe out magic."
"The Mistrali."
"Don't be so quick to assume Your Majesty. Magic users have always been viewed with some suspicion, long before the Inquisition came around and accused us of heresy. Before silver-eyed warriors emerged and proved once and for all magic was a force for humanity's benefit, many magic users were harassed, hated and prejudiced against. There are many recorded instances of witch hunts that lead to the deaths of innocents and sometimes the slaughter of entire communities."
"Could it be possible my ancestors just…stopped being magic to avoid such treatment then?"
"I'm afraid it's not Your Majesty!" Bragrim replied with a hearty chuckle, stirring the red liquid that no longer hissed but looked particularly unpleasant, what with floating green splodges floating at the top and the occasional bubble that popped, releasing an unpleasant smell akin to that of the guardsman's barracks. "If people could just stop being magic I dare say there wouldn't be any magic users! Why would anyone willingly choose to be harassed and potentially killed for something they couldn't control? Now then, I suggest you prepare yourself. The process will not hurt you, but if it works you may see things that could disturb you. Who knows what happened hundreds of years ago afterall?"
With that Bragrim took the spoon he'd been using to the stir the liquid out of the bowl and left it on the table as he took the bowl in both hands and raised it to his mouth, tilting his head backwards and guzzling down the liquid like an alcoholic underneath a cask of mead.
Weiss watched the display with a mortified curiosity. She knew magic users increased their strength by consuming rare herbs or creating potions with magical properties but she'd never seen it before. She hadn't expected the end product to be so…grotesque both in smell, look and judging from Bragrims grimace taste as well.
When he was done he slid the bowl back onto the table and wiped the remaining liquid off in one hand before swiping it on his robes. He turned to face her, eyes burning with a determination, an energy that just hadn't been there before he consumed whatever he had drunk.
"I hope you are ready, Your Majesty." Bragrim intoned, somewhat ominously, hands rising and glowing as four orbs sparked into existence from the crackling lines of orange, green, purple and yellow energy that ran up from his fingers and shot into the orbs emerging from his palms.
Then the orbs surged forward, and she flinched backwards as they smashed against her face. For a moment she had the terrifying thought that Bragrim meant to kill her, but she did not have long to dwell on it because she was no longer in the old mage's study.
She was in an abyss.
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Winter could hear the noise of the courtroom before she saw the doorway leading to it. She and James always entered from a side entrance once all the lords attending had been accounted for and seated on the long wooden benches within the great hall. They would go straight towards the former throne of Vale and take their seats, Winter's being to the right and slightly lower than James.
Her seat had once been the seat of the princes and princess of Vale, where the heirs to the Kingdom had sat, watched and learnt as their parents taught them how to rule by showing them how they ruled. It was symbolic, but it clearly showed her as someone superior in rank to the lords themselves, as she would rule the Kingdom should James be unable to. Unless he explicitly stated someone else would of course, but that was unlikely. James trusted her and for good reason. Before Whitley's birth she had been groomed to be heir after all. It was only after her little brother had been born that she was sold off by her father as a reward to James, cast aside once she was no longer needed by him.
James squeezed her hand, bringing her from her thoughts. He gave her a worried look and she shook her head and smiled reassuringly at him. He'd noticed her thoughts trailing off to darker places, and how he knew her so well alluded her. No words were exchanged between them however, as they had neared the doorway to their entrance to the great hall.
The guards there saluted, armed with a spear, shield and a sword at their hips. They were James' elite warriors, his own personal guard who had followed him into battle time and time again. There were only a few dozen or so of them, but they were enough to guard them and their home.
James nodded to them and Winter flashed them a brief smile. They stepped aside, pulling open the door and letting them through. The great hall fell silent as another of their guards beat the butt of his spear against the ground, having noticed the door opening. It signalled their arrival and the official start of the court convening.
She and James strode into view, hip to hip and arm in arm. They separated a few steps in, with Winter going down three steps to her throne whilst James ascended another towards his, which sat atop a golden dais.
"Gentlemen. Ladies." James said as he sat down. "Please sit. We have a lot to get through."
The Lords and Ladies of Vale did so, filling the great hall with the sound of shuffling feet and scraping wood for a few seconds. Then there was silence.
"As you know, I have called for the mobilisation of Vale. I have authorised a Writ of War and by the time this session is over, the Kingdom of Vale will formally be at war with Mistral." James paused, waiting for any objections. There weren't any. They knew the consequences should they do so, with Winter glaring down on them.
There were a few lords who advocated revolution, rebellion against Atlas and the restoration of Valean sovereignty. The only thing stopping them from being a true threat was their lack of a true candidate for King, something that seemed to divide them as each noble suggested either themselves or someone close to them. Either way they were few in number and not a threat. The reality, which many of the Valean lords knew to be true, was that they would just end up swapping one overlord for another, as either Mistral or Vacuo or even both would swoop in to take advantage of the chaos. Better the enemy, or rather overlord in this case, you knew than the overlord you don't.
"Very well. I have two pieces of information to share with you." James continued, voice loud but not obnoxiously so, his words clear and tone calm. "Firstly, reports indicate the Mistrali have attacked and seized Vulcan."
That caused a burst of murmuring that took a while to die down. Vulcan was well known as a major trade hub, and it would not have been taken without a fight, indicating the war was not going well for them so far.
"However we do not know the strength of the force that took it or how many losses they took in doing so." James continued after the murmurs died down, the lords falling quiet to let him speak, wanting more information. "Despite this I think it would be prudent not to send a large expeditionary force to Atlas. Our forces are still mobilising and we will need to secure Vale before we think of aiding Atlas in any major capacity."
That brought a burst of approval and surprise from the lords. It was a good thing. It reaffirmed that James was putting his duty as Governor of Vale first and foremost, rather than any feelings he had about wanting to defend his homeland. It warmed him up more to the lords, made it easier to agree with his words.
"Unfortunately Vale does have a legal obligation to defend the mother kingdom in times of crisis and war." James said, cutting through the murmuring that fell silent quickly. "As such I will ask for any volunteers to put themselves forward now. In return for organising and participating in an expedition to support Atlas in the war against the Mistrali. In return for this, I will personally subsidise the cost of the expedition and will grant a favourable trade deal to those who wish greater access to Bessemer and its trade routes."
That brought gasps of surprise, from herself as well as the lords present. Bessemer was well known as the major supply hub for Atlas, with roads leading to nearly every other major settlement within the Kingdom. As such, the lords of the city had grown rich by the hefty tariffs they put in place for the goods going through there. James was offering to give easier access to Atlas' market to any lords who travelled to defend it.
"Before any volunteers put themselves forward however." James continued, cutting through excited chatter as easily as he had done before. He had an aura of authority that made people listen to him out of instinct. "There is a second piece of news I need to urgently share with you. An army is gathering on the border with Vacuo. Current estimates suggest it is of similar size as to the one that invaded Vale and led to King Oswald's fall."
There was a burst of fearful muttering and murmuring. Winter watched impassively, taking note of the fact that the small group of lords that had come from the Marches who seemed completely unsurprised, though they did seem to be taking the panic of their peers with a large amount of humour.
Winter did not blame them. The Marcher Lords were often neglected by their fellow lords, those who ruled over more peaceful and prosperous lands. The same lords who called the Marches a backwater always seemed to forget it was the Marches that kept their own lands safe unless they were the ones who were threatened.
"Calm my lords! Calm!" James bellowed, glaring the crowd into submission. Quiet quickly followed, and Winter felt a warm spark and shivered a little at how easily he'd cowed them all into listening to him, at obeying him. "I have already developed a plan to deal with our enemies, and make no mistake Vacuo and Mistral are our enemies. It is no coincidence a great horde musters at our borders whilst Mistral invades Atlas."
Winter watched the crowd carefully. There would be lords who would protest the war with Mistral due to their trade interests there. They could not do so if it was seen as Mistral allying with Vacuo, Vale's most hated enemy.
"Nicholas Arc." James called, and there was a silence before the sound of someone standing from the benches. Winter saw the said lord stand, a calm mask of neutrality on his face. He looked like a blonder version of James, though he had less noticeable greys in his hair, as they blended in with the dull blonde colour of his hair well. Or maybe it just seemed that way due to how far away he was from her. "You fought well in the Faunus War and many times since then. All the lords from the Fieldfallow mountains to the Sea of Sails will be under your command. You are to protect Vale from any attempt by the Mistrali to invade."
"It will be done Governor." Lord Arc bowed, before taking his seat, unaffected by the stares, some awed and some jealous and some calculating, that he received.
"Good. I will take the rest of Vale's forces and we will bring the fight to the Vacuoans. They are disorganised and have yet to choose a leader. If we strike before that happens, we have a greater chance of beating them in one hard, fast blow." James explained, and there was silence as the lords pondered his words. "Any questions?"
Someone stood. They were wearing a long dark cloak that concealed most of their features. Winter frowned, not recognising the person due to the lack of family sigils or noble regalia.
In a sudden burst of movement, the person threw off their cloak, revealing a staff that Winter instantly recognised as magical in nature. It was longing and curved, made of a dark metal and with a red, glowing crystal at the top which had been sharpened into a fine, sharp point.
The nearby lords stumbled back in surprise and fear. James' men were already rushing forward, weapons and shields raised, but it was too late. The man pointed the staff at her, and with widening eyes she recognised the sigil on his long, dark robes. A purple eye surrounded by a spoken wheel. The mark of the Inquisition.
The man barked something in a harsh, guttural Mistrali tongue, and she stood, hoping to move out of the way of whatever he was doing. She cursed as her dress caught against a part of her throne, and as she turned to unhook it she noticed the pulsating, purple energy crackling from the staff towards the red crystal at its top.
The world slowed and a lance of energy shot towards her. Something slammed into her, knocking her down. She didn't know what happened, but the world turned dark and the screams of panic and fear and chaos became dim until she couldn't hear them anymore.
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Weiss was floating.
Where was she? How had she got there?
The abyss lurched, and Weiss shivered away from it. Dark tendrils formed from the nothingness, slithering around her like snakes. They could not touch her however. Something was protecting her.
The abyss shuddered, growing angry and a thing of rage as it failed to touch her. To take her. A light glow surrounded her, and the brightness grew gradually until she was forced to close her eyes from its intensity. When it died down, she opened them, finding that the dark tendrils of the abyss had faded away.
Weiss swallowed as the abyss parted. She could feel something, feel the abyss, watching her, waiting for her protection to falter. She tried to ignore the feeling.
Weiss was not floating anymore. She was gliding. She could feel her hair whip wildly and her skin was touched by the cool rush of wind. Something glimmered in the dark, and she made her way towards it as quickly as she could.
The abyss surged forward suddenly. Weiss lurched and reached forward, trying to grab the glimmer before it could take her. Her hands slid forward, grasping onto something, and Weiss gasped as she was filled with a sudden rush of something.
"Is it done?"
"The Relic has been destroyed, yes. Did you really expect me not to?"
"No you dunce. But the God of Light did warn us not to trust it. He wouldn't have done that unless he thought it would try something."
"It did try convincing me not to destroy it. I'm not an idiot, I knew it was lying."
"Okay! Okay! Calm down already. We should head back, the others will be wanting to know what happened."
"Don't try and pretend you don't want to be first back so you can rub it in everyone else's faces."
"That is absolutely, unequivocally untrue. I am merely concerned about their wellbeing."
"Whatever you say, Ice Queen."
Power. She held power, grasping onto it. It was wild, uncontrollable. It was magical.
The abyss screamed with rage. The darkness parted. Weiss saw.
She saw Pyrrha Nikos, standing with a look of triumph as smoke rose from her latest conquest.
She saw Mistrali towns, coastal cities with bustling ports. Ships laden with stolen goods flowed in, proof of Nikos' victories and the reason behind her invasion.
She saw the armies being mustered and trained in the frigid cold of northern Mistral, the shadow of Atlas' lost city, Argus, clear in the distance. They were being trained for a war in wintry conditions. Being trained for a war in Atlas.
She would show them what a war in Atlas would look like.
Three targets. Three locations. She visualised the snow. The ice. The winds. The cold. The power, wild and uncontrollable, became focused and sharpened like the edge of a blade as she concentrated it on her three targets. Three locations. One the head of the snake, one the snake's belly and the other the snake's family. The power welled and swelled, and with a desperate cry Weiss unleashed it.
Then she closed her eyes, body withered and drained. The power faded. Her eyes closed.
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"Weiss! Calm down! You have to calm down Weiss!" Bragrim yelled, but nothing he said reached the ears of his queen. He could barely hear them himself, what with the chaos engulfing them.
Wind whirled around his study, causing papers, odd bits and bobs and anything not bolted down swirling around in a chaotic, miniature tornado. Bragrim himself hadn't been swept away on account of the spell he had cast, which had made him as heavier as lead, making it impossible to be swept off of his feet.
He still struggled however, that was on account of the tremendous power being unleashed.
It frightened him. He'd never seen anything like this. No-one should be this strong.
His queen, Weiss, the mage so powerful she would put the greatest legend to shame, turned. Her face was flat, and her expression flat, as if she wasn't entirely there. But it was her eyes that drew his attention.
They were burning. Both literally and metaphorically. There was a power, a fire there he had never seen before, her ice blue eyes blazing with an impossible energy. Blue flames spilled from the corner of her eyes, burning brighter and brighter but casting no heat.
With a pained cry, Weiss arched her back and three bursts of energy shot from her. Two from her outstretched hands and one from her open, screaming mouth. They shot straight through the castle, crashing through it as if it was nothing. Through the holes they left behind, Bragrim saw them twirl together as they ascended upwards, before they crashed together in the grey sky. A burst of blue shot outwards, and Bragrim shuddered at the boom it emitted and the terrified screams it caused.
He turned back to Weiss, who had collapsed to the floor, face slick with sweat and eyes closed.
If he had known. If he had known the truth he would never have dared risk the spell, but how was he supposed to have known? Even Weiss hadn't known.
It didn't matter. The legends were true. His eyes widened at the realisation.
They were true. The legends, the stories. The tall tales and the fairy tales. They were true.
Maidens existed. Weiss Schnee, Queen of Atlas-Vale, was a Maiden, a being of immense power.
Bragrim stared back into the sky. It was calm once more, but it was clear something had been done.
He turned back to his unconscious liege, face furrowing into a sympathetic frown.
'Oh Weiss.' He thought sadly, knowing all too well the chaos that could be inflicted by a magic user casting their first spell. 'What have you done?'
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Pyrrha frowned. The sky had been clear moments ago.
Dark clouds rumbled ominously. Where before the air had been still, a harsh wind blew suddenly, nearly knocking her off her feet. She heard cries of panic and pain and she curled up against the ramparts, seeking some form of protection from the sudden, brutal weather.
A small snowflake drifted down towards her, landing on her curled up fist.
Her eyes widened at realisation. It was the reason why Atlas had always been hard to invade. It was the reason why the Schnee had made the snowflake their sigil and had often named their daughters after it. It was what made Atlas a cold, inhospitable hellhole.
It was winter. Winter had finally come.
She tried barking orders and gathering a semblance of discipline in her scattering army, but nothing she said or did helped. All she could was watch. Watch as her men ran and disappeared in the strange, dark clouds and whistling gales of snow.
For the second time in her life, Pyrrha Nikos felt helpless.
A/N: Next update will still be 25/08/22 and I can guarantee another for 05/09/22. However there are some things I would like to go over in the name of honesty and transparency. There is a high likelihood this fic may go on an extended hiatus. In May, I had an X-Ray done and a few weeks later received a text message informing me they found curvature in my spine (scoliosis). Ever since I've heard very little until recently where I received a letter giving me an appointment for September 5th. The research I've done in the meantime has given me four (rough and uneducated-take it lightly) ideas about what may happen going forward:
1) Do nothing- This is something I won't be doing hands down. Scoliosis can apparently affect your ribcage/lungs and I don't need that on top of Asthma. Plus I do have back pain-I just ignored it because I just thought I'd slept funny or had been working too hard that day.
2) Physiotherapy/exercises- This is best case scenario from what I've read. It means the scoliosis isn't too severe and doing some exercises can help. If this occurs, the fic probably won't go on an extended hiatus, though I will likely slow down updates for the first month or so just so I can get used to having these exercises as part of my daily routine.
3) Back brace- This is apparently if the scoliosis is medium in terms of Not Good, Very Not Good, Jesus Christ! scale of badness. It doesn't look very comfortable and I'm unsure as to how it will affect my life. If I can't work as much and have to work from home more (I have a long commute that's bad enough as it is), I will likely update the fic less but there won't be a long scale month-long hiatus. This is the middle option-not optimal but not bad either. Again, it all depends on how it will affect me (if it actually happens) so the fic may not even experience a slower update schedule.
4) Surgery- This is the worst case scenario for me. It will likely mean the scoliosis is bad enough it will have to be fixed 'manually'. I don't know how risky the surgery will actually be, but if they're working on my spine and something goes wrong I could end up paralysed. Even if things went well, I would have to take time off work to recover and I'll have to make up for any lost hours later, which will mean an extended hiatus or a more severe lack of updates (for example one update a month rather than a usual three or possible two). Again, this all depends on A) If this option happens and B) how affected I will be by it.
I'm likely blowing things out of proportion and everything will turn out fine, however I don't want to blindside you guys by suddenly saying there won't be anymore updates because I'm gonna have surgery or something. Again I would also like to point out I am absolutely not a professional in this area and things will likely be a-ok and my research (Googling stuff on the internet) was scaremongering crap or something. I'm just giving advanced warning in case I do have to tone down updates or have a temporary (likely one month at best) hiatus.
Thanks for your patience, sorry for boring you with such a long Author's Note and I will give you all an update after my appointment on 05/09. Hope you all have a good week! :)