[ - Author's Note - ]
Well here's the first battle of Act Three... While there is more set up that's what coming; the first clashes between Eostia and Garan in this season. That said...
Gonna be a big'ole battle when we get to it.
Alright let's not waste time, let's just get into it.
[ - Act III - Chapter II: The Coins of War - ]
One of the main keys to Eostia holding off Garan for so long can be boiled down to one thing; logistics. Most people uneducated in war when comparing one army to another will look to their training, their equipment, the terrain and what structures can be used. Rarely do they consider what it takes to raise and maintain armies.
A man-at-arms needs a place to sleep, food to eat, water to drink, weapons to strike with, armor to guard them, a place to dispose of their waste, a means to keep warm at night, coin to be paid with, ale and games to bolster morale, tools to build and repair and so much more. A man left starving cannot wage war, nor march long distances, nor hold a wall or a point. A man with no shelter to sleep in will be cold and sick during duty. A man with no place to relieve himself could spread illness without meaning to. A man with no morale will fight with less determination and flee quicker.
After seven centuries this lesson is well learned; caravans are kept regular and common and are guarded to prevent interception. The transport of food and water is a priority but a constant supply of arrows, spare arms and tools are often added. This can leave some units with too many shovels but in an army there's almost always a need to dig some kind of hole.
~Dominic James Pencraft, The Eostia Historia
[-]
I found myself moving into the Mungale camp once they had arrived and set up; mostly as I was supposed to be a leader to these guys but I also wanted to distance myself from House Blitzhaus. We were currently playing nice and staying professional but that's not saying we were going to go about singing Cumbia or going skipping through the flowers together. If Garan wasn't around I'm sure punches would be thrown sooner or later.
We would break camp and march north a bit before making a new camp. Thus far only Delconna and Classa' forces were yet to arrive although both were on route; most of Greenwave's infantry was still on route via wagons but the bulk of their cavalry was present. All in all the bulk of Ur's forces were now collected in Elddale with the rest on the way. The Cloud Rider was speeding things up in that regard by a lot. Aeris was currently in Ken ferrying troops from South Point to Caul at Celestine's request; she was surprised at Prim's report and she contacted me the following day to ask about it.
I said I wanted to keep somethings under my hat until we could speak face to face but I let her know about the unique spell glass recipe required and she promised to have the quartz shipped to Mungale as quickly as able; with talk about using the Cloud Rider to transport them. By all accounts most of the collected States of Eostia had gathered up in the north and was ready for battle.
Our camp was active as well; archers practicing their aim to a point of religion as our melee fighters practiced with Ferra's and Elddale's. The current set up was for Elddale and Ferra to take up the front lines with Mungale's archers behind them and our soldiers guarding the flanks. Pinewall's forces were teamed with Bemul's Cameron's and Rockquarry's in another spot while Moroa and Greenwave troops were acting as reserves. The Grand Duchy's forces, by contrast, was split between the three and rounding out the numbers were a series of mercenary orders to bring our numbers up to around eighteen thousand total in three parts with our section hosting some seven thousand of them. The scouting reports had determined where the enemy would appear and we took the chance to claim the high ground and dig in.
There were a pair of modest hills and we had chopped trees down to make a wooded palisade wall atop of the larger one. Aside from being a safer place to make camp in it gave the archers a nice place to fire from. There was a large tent set up in the center with the banners of Houses Noxdecus, Blitzhaus and Galeraven there with an Eostian flag hosting House Fiorire's emblem.
My understanding was Prim and Ur's General was in the Pinewall/Bemul/Cameron/Rockquarry camp further northeast. Inside of our tent Grand Duke Samuel Fiorire was here and taking command; he brought his guard captian, Miles Zeragon, with him but said captian was off training the troops. Alongside him was myself and my father, Arnold and Victor of the House Blitzhaus and Jamaica and Campbell for House Galeraven along with our military aides like Gregory. The rest of our gathered families were overseeing the troops. Additionally I had Cress, Makoto and Akanji on my side to help oversee the troops along with, surprisingly, Tiffany. My old man demanded she stay in Argon where it was safer but refused.
'I can't hide forever! If I don't fight now, then when?' Is what she said and he would relent. The two notable absences were Sora and Riri who would mind Mungale in our place. This made sense; as a dark elf Sora would... not be well received by some of our own forces outside of the Mungale lot. More over Eostian Dark Elves were a favorite target of Garan. Riri was left behind because of her... history in Elddale which would tempt House Blitzhaus a bit more then I cared to.
"Based on the scouting reports we're expecting a total of twelve to thirteen thousand forces entering Elddale and splitting into two groups." One of the military aides began pointing to a map. "How large each of these groups will be I can't say; it might be an even split and it might not be." The man wasn't overly tall, five eight, but was build as broad as could be; I swear his shoulder width was twice my own and was built for power. He wore well made steel, plate armor with a deep, purple cape over his back and the Blitzhaus emblem painted over his left chest and held a short sword at his hip. He bore a black mustache that curled up at the ends giving him a slightly gentlemanly appearance... that was at odds with his bald head showing off old scars that looked like claw marks along moving from his forehead back to the base of his skull, another scar over his nose and yet another over his left eye at a diagonal. Man had seen shit, you could tell.
(-)
Name: Elliot Apicem
Title: Commander of Elddale
Class: Hero
Level: 36
Alignment: Neutral
Reputation: 31
Status: Healthy, Calm, Controlled
Known Traits
[?]
[In Charge] +5% to Con, End & Str when leading men into battle
[?]
[Aberrant Slayer] You've fought Aberrant all your life and know how to handle them. +7% Damage Dealt to any Aberrant.
Born and raised in Elddale he was born to a city noble and raised to become a knight worthy of the title. His actions on the field, holding off heavy, Legion forces while outnumbered and injured, got him the attention of Arnold von Blitzhaus who made him his personal bodyguard and later Guard Commander.
(-)
"We're fighting House Choaxis, right?" Campbell asked as Elliot nodded. "What do we know of them?"
"They pride themselves on their magical abilities." Gregory said with a huff. "They leave most of their armed combat to their lower houses. That said they are potent mages."
"Aye." Jamacia, Campbell's mother, added in. "But their Legion is usually under equipped. That's not to say they're not dangerous, bloody things always are, but they're not as bad as others."
"They favor goblins as canon fodder but they have a lot of everything." Elliot added as he frowned. "And the scouts state they have a number of trolls with them; at least three."
"Tsk." I let off as I frowned a bit Worse; we'd be fighting at the edges of the Dread Field. At this position the effects would be minimal but it would still bolster Aberrant a bit. For most Aberrant it was being a little faster and stronger but for trolls it was a boost to their regeneration. Trolls healed fast; not Deadpool fast but a wound that would take days to heal on another race would heal in less then an hour on a troll. A wound that would hobble a ogre would only slow a troll down for a few minutes.
My understanding was even on the edges on the field a troll's regeneration was bolstered by a quarter which was significant. There was a reason trolls were used to break lines; they were big, strong, tough and could laugh off anything that didn't cut too deep. I'd only fought one so far; mostly by using wind magic to knock it off a mountain. That said with my new gear I was a bit more confident in handling one by myself; not that I was excited to do so.
"If we can slay the trolls that will be a major benefit." Another military aide let off. "They're the largest threat of the opposing forces and their deaths would be crippling to their morale." This man bore dark orange hair pulled back in a ponytail and a matching beard that covered his lower face and hung down a couple inches on the sides and more so at the chin. He wore steel plate as well coupled with a silver colored circlet with a red spell stone set to it; a Mana Armor piece. He bore a large battle axe strapped to his back and a spell book at his left hip in a leather pouch.
(-)
Name: Axel Foxstep
Title: Commander of Ferra
Class: Templar
Level: 33
Alignment: Friendly
Reputation: 35
Status: Healthy, Calm, Contained Excitement
Known Traits
[?]
[Fire of the Faithful] Your faith burns within you! All fire spells you cast gain a golden color and has all of their damage converted to Holy.
[Don't Axe Me Bro] You are a master of Axes. +6 Damage to all One Handed Axes you use. +12 Damage to all Two Handed Axes you use. In addition increase your Con, Str & End by 2% when using an axe.
A distant cousin to House Galeraven, Axel had few real desires to become anything more then a womanizer and satisfy his indulgences until he was assaulted by muggers after a night at the pub. He was able to fight them off although took serious wounds doing so and found himself dedicating himself to a new ends; to guard others.
(-)
"Be nice if we had a better means of keeping tabs on them." Samuel let off... and jogged my memory as I snapped my fingers.
"Ahh, that reminds me." I said as I pulled something out of a pouch. I had attached a small, red spell stone the size of a marble to a small, brass disk with four prongs holding the stone. I set it down on the map and activated it as projected an image of the regions over the table in a flat manner. Everyone looked to me confused as I set my finger to the illusion as I used it to move the image northwards. "Let's see... ah, here we are."
"What is this!?" Arnold barked out as we watched, from a bird's eye view, the forces of Garan marching.
"Ach, lad..." Jamaica let off as she gawked. "What have you made this time!?"
"I made this in tandem with the Cloud Rider." I said as I smiled to her. "It's meant to be used to quickly locate where you are and where you want to go. I'll spare a long explanation but it piggybacks off the boosters to allow a bird's eye view of anywhere within the network. Of course you can't see inside of, say, a room but you can zoom in to see whatever is down bellow." I moved two finger to the image and spread them; the view zooming down.
In truth you could see into rooms that weren't protected against scry by simply moving the 'camera' down but there were so many potentials for privacy violations I opted to go a hard no on it and not allow it.
"Yes, I recalled that..." Samuel let off as he looked to the marching forces of Garan. "Is this their current motions."
"Yep. Real time." I replied. "For... obvious reasons both who I allow to have a Cloud Rider and one of these will be limited to those that can be trusted." I also took care to keep tracking spells on them and a means to send a hidden command that could shut down one of these maps; not that I mentioned that.
"If I'm right on the booster's range and how many have been installed now we should have all of southern and central Garan covered." My father let off as I nodded. Indeed; while I installed a number of boosters across Eostia the states bought more to utilize their abilities to rapidly address populations. More over large ones have been set up in various spots in noble's keeps, manors and such to project plays recorded via voxlux. On top of that the Guild commissioned smaller ones for their use and now those were being bought up for private use in much the same way as well as to listen in on the Guild's news reports. The smaller ones could only reach maybe a quarter way through Mungale but being in range of full sized boosters meant it didn't matter.
"It's for that reason I've had a few boosters brought with us; it'll let us see a little further north if we need to." I added as Samuel hummed as he reached to the projection.
"If I'm right they'll be here the day after tomorrow... Let's see, if I move the map... yes, you can see it. They've split in two as we assumed."
"The second group isn't as far north as we assumed... We should alert our counterparts so they can adjust." Axel let off with a hum. "Lord James, you've done it again!"
"Kindly don't praise me so much; I made it as a map first." I replied, trying not to blush under the complements. "The idea to use it to spy on Garan didn't occur to me until later."
"Regardless; what's the battle plan." Arnold barked out as he glared to the projection; clearly unhappy of what I've been able to do.
If I give him an ulcer now is that a win or a loss?
"My suggestion..." Samuel said as he adjusted the map to pull back a bit until our position could be seen. "We form a line by the stockade and initiate the attack with light cavalry. If we can get them to charge first we can waste some of their stamina before the clash begins. There's no towns nearby; they're all well behind us so we can use whatever means at our disposal without fear."
Elliot was the next to add his input. "Likely none of Garan's strongest are here; they'll have some talented Legion and up coming Mid and maybe Highborne but it's unlikely they have too many of their proven elite. I imagine they'll withhold them for later battles."
"Huh. I imagine then they're not prepared for how many are assembled up here already." I added as I cupped my chin. Indeed; if the Garan forces split into even parts we'd outnumber them. Even if it was an uneven split our reserves could make up the difference.
"Indeed." Samuel let off before looking to me. "Additionally I've ended up with an... interesting request in your regards from Grave Levantine." He let off as I blinked.
"What." I deadpanned. I tried not to show it but I went on guard instantly when he said that. I had met the man and would admit he was good at his job... and he also had a question marked title suggesting he was hiding something very bad. Beardsley proved that fully and Albert's title turned into the same before the big fight with those two. Needless to say; something was up.
"He had requested a mercenary order be set to your command as a means of seeing what you can do as a leader of men." The Grand Duke continued. Left unsaid was that offering up mercenaries as opposed to loyal Eostian forces was preferred for this. "He requested a division of the Black Dogs but they've yet to arrive and when the High Queen heard she agreed but opted for another order; the First Lyran Guard." That was... interesting.
The Black Dogs were the largest private army on the continent that was known had was growing larger. Rumors are they absorbed the bulk of the remaining Bloody Griffins after the tussle up in Caul with myself and Celestine as well as another order, the Seven Fangs. Coupled with wealth gained in the Dominious Civil War they supposedly had swelled to twenty odd thousand strong; to put this in perspective that was a fifth the size of all of Eostia's forces so they weren't anything to sneeze at. They had a reputation for having excellent tactical abilities, a semi-disciplined force that didn't break easily and even then often to just regroup and try again. They also had a reputation for brutality, viciousness and ill-if-any-discipline off the battlefield. In short you hired them because there was a job you needed done and could put up with their... less then desirable traits. As for the First Lyran Guard...
"I'm aware enough of the Black Dogs, but who's the First Lyran Guard? And why did Grave suggest I be put in charge of any such forces? Or the High Queen agree to it, if different forces?" I asked as the Grand Duke smiled.
"They're a smaller order; some half thousand or so strong. Solid group; I've employed them myself." He began. "They pride themselves on their professionalism and reputation. They punish war crimes in their own number. They were formed under the banner of a deposed noble house from the Fallen Kingdom of Alarian. A part of their aim is to gain the strength needed to reclaim their home from Balanar."
"Interesting..." I let off.
"As for the why; I'm not sure. To test you I assume." He let off. Mind commanding Mungale forces under my father would be enough of a test, so why...
...
Wait... Is that it?
If I stuck with Mungale's forces I'd have the usual suspects to back me up; my parents, Cress and his parents, Gregory and our combined House Forces. By contrast they'd all be needed to manage our forces and couldn't really be repositioned to assist me if I was saddled with (Or onto) other forces; I wouldn't be alone as I'd have at least Makoto with me. I'd be unsurprised if Aeris and Tiffany joined me and more then likely Akanji would join as well. We were all formidable, make no mistake, but not as much as my parents, Frederick, Karen or Gregory. If Grave identified me as a possible threat then isolating me from them made sense and dumping me with the rougher Black Dogs was likely a means to expose myself to as much danger as possible and maybe their less then stellar reputation.
And then Celestine stepped in and put me with the First Lyrans... So why on that account? I could think of two main reasons.
The first was she suspected something was up with Grave's little idea but thought fully opposing it would cause an issue so arranged for another, more noble order to be set to my command. If Grave, who still had a lot of influence and power even in retirement, wanted to complain he'd need to explain why the Black Dogs specifically. The second was to separate me from my family for another reason; so I could prove myself.
While we hit it off at Prim's party it's her visit to Mungale that made me feel we had become friends and our journey through Ken reinforced that. I got the feeling she was investing in me and not just for the voxlux but for other reasons. I wasn't the only one who noticed; I've heard someone use the phrase 'Celestine's Pet Noble' to refer to me before. It would have come off like 'Teacher's Pet', but some were suggesting more. It was clear to many, however, I had her favor but she was also expecting much from me.
Well... can't disappoint, now can I?
[-]
As I expected Makoto, Tiffany and Akanji all joined me as we went to the camp of the First Lyran Guard. Aeris was still flying people and supplies about so was, for the moment, a non-factor for the time being. The camp was outside and behind the stockade by a fair bit but was well marked. Their banners were rectangular and bore a dark blue background with yellow edges. What dominated the banner was a steel blue shield with gold trim and a red arm and fist that extended over's it's top edge. The inside of the shield was yellow but with gold rays around and behind the fist by the wrist. Gothic font above and below this was gold with a red center that read 'The First Lyran Guard' on the top and on the bottom two, two word phrases that were parted a bit; 'No Guts' and 'No Glory'.
Samuel's Aide was the one to join me and introduce me to their Captain, the son of an exiled Alarian Nobleman, Sulon Lyran. The man stood some five ten and wore mythril plate armor but one that was clearly repaired several times over the years. A dark blue cape hung behind him lined with yellow and while faded the shield and fist on the left chest making me think it was his House's emblem. He bore once dark brown hair that had gone mostly gray and his face looked weathered and aged. In spite of this it was clear he was still an able warrior. "You're the new boss, eh?"
"A surprise to me as well." I replied offering a soft bow. "Lord James Noxdecus of Mungale." I said before rising from my bow. "I've little experience in larger groups, let alone leading them so I'll be more learning under you then commanding you; at least in combat. I'm hoping to do some... rear line strikes when the time comes."
"Heh... I've known a lot of snot-nosed nobles like you... Least your smart enough to know you're nothing but shit at the start." He replied as Makoto stepped forth.
"Show respect to-" She stopped as I lifted a hand up before her.
"It's fine Makoto. Respect is better earned then given, after all." I let off as the man blinked at me before chuckling.
"Okay lad... Maybe less shit then I thought."
(-)
Name: Sulon Lyran
Title: Noble's Son Turned Mercenary
Class: Crusader
Level: 34
Alignment: Neutral
Reputation: 21
Status: Healthy, Bemused, Annoyed
Known Traits
[?]
[A Father to His (Wo)Men] You Inspire others under you to greater heights. +10% to all stats to all allies you are leading who are a lower level then your own
[Steelclad] You wear any metal armor like you were born in it. +15% bonus to all Resistances for Chain Mail, Scale Mail, Splint Mail and Plate Mail. Additionally you can wear any type of metal armor.
[Sword & Board] You are a master of combat with a sword and shield. +2 Damage to all single handed swords and +2 to all Physical Resistances when using shields
A former son of a Count of Alaria his father managed to escape the conquest of his nations with his family and some retainers. He opted to turn towards mercenary work to build a new force to help free his homeland and retake his holdings with Sulon taking over after his death, fighting for a land he never knew.
(-)
"No need to be rude, sir." I said, firmly as I looked to the Captain. "We'll be fighting shoulder to shoulder soon enough. You can judge my worth then."
"Indeed..." Sulon let off, grinning wide. "Let's see how I feel after you've been battle tested..."
[-]
Primus City, Nobility District
Dominion of Geofu
Levantine Manor
Office of Grave Levantine
"The Dogs were delayed?" Grave huffed out as he crossed his arms, tapping his foot. His office was curious; marble walls and floors and a thick, red carpet on the floor and book shelves made of fine materials but there was little art in the room and little design to what was there; spartan design with rich materials.
Sitting across his desk, bottle of scotch open and two glasses filled, was Lorcan Pugio who was swirling one of the glasses by the rim who shrugged. "Two factions of the Dominious Navy went nose to nose and there was a real worry they'd start to go at each other. Cooler heads prevailed in the end but no merchant ships dared sail while that was going on."
"Humph. Annoying." He had, along with his new ally, wanted to arrange a faction of the Black Dogs to be set under his command. He wasn't fully sure of the reasons said ally wished but he thought it was a good idea; Noxdecus had a mostly clean image so pairing him with a less reputable bunch like the Black Dogs would dirty it up a bit. And then the High Queen intervened and paired him with the First Lyran Guards; in fairness a solid group. "Do we have our observer on hand, at least?"
"Indeed. We'll see how much stronger he's gotten since we last saw him in Alterun." Lorcan said with a huff. "He'll be using a voxlux to send it to our booster here. This time you'll be able to see first hand what he can do; more or less."
"Make sure to be careful with your movements from here on out." Grave told him with a frown. "The Black Watch are still keeping an eye on me, for now at least." He wasn't being actively followed as he had been before so he could act more openly now but he was sure they were keeping tabs on his affairs; and possibly those around him. It's why he made sure Lorcan came in via a hidden passage to his manor; it was cramped and you had to crawl on your hands and knees to get in and out but it worked. He wasn't sure why the Black Watch's eye wasn't as intense as before but it could have been a few things; not enough manpower for all the work demanded of them, someone finding watching him a waste of time and redirecting attention to 'more important' affairs or the coming war demanding a redistribution of personnel. That was the way of things; you wanted to do everything all at once but never could and such had to decide that could be or had to be sacrificed to ensure the rest could be done right.
As thankful as he was he didn't envy those making the calls in the Black Watch.
"I'm aware, trust me. So; how long will this fight drag on for?" The scoundrel let off as he sipped on his glass.
"Hard to say. Ultimately it depends on the Dread Queen's whims; months, years, decades... Each has happened." Grave let off with a shrug. "Varro is hoping for a longer one; at least. Year's long at least. Good chance to get it, too."
"Well, here's to a long, and in the end, fruitful war." Lorcan let off as the two men lifted their glasses and clinked them together before having a sip. Indeed, in Grave opinion it would be a good war...
A good war to lead into a new empire...
[-]
What time was available was set aside to training and preparing. Aeris had, finally, arrived with the Cloud Rider in tow. Thanks to Celestine a load of quartz was dropped off with Louis in Mungale and more spell fiber was being made. Aeris was directed to join the reserves; the plan was to have her load up a mix of heavy infantry with supporting mages to flank the enemy with Jaeger von Blitzhaus joining them as additional fire support although where they would ultimately deploy was unknown.
Myself, Makoto, Akanji and Tiffany were with the Lyrans as we laid down on the ground; using the cut stumps of the trees that made up the stockade and bushes to hide our position. We had trained with them, briefly, but relations were still cool; likely they saw me as another spoon fed noble and expected me to either prove them wrong or show my worth. That's fine. Our light cavalry had already left to go and provoke the enemy into a full attack and to lure them towards the stockade. Mungale archers were joined by other ranged units of other states plus a handful of mages.
Blitzhaus and Ferra regulars stood before the stockade in tight lines; heavier infantry in the front and lighter in the back and sides; ready to flank or guard the flanks with much of Mungale's infantry positioned there as well. Ur's regulars were placed like the Lyran Guards; hidden and ready to flank. As we waited Sulon was giving orders and appropriate words as I tried to steady myself. Honestly; the waiting was almost worse then anything else. At least if we were fighting we were doing something as opposed to wondering what will happen.
"And remember, don't any of you die out here! You don't get paid if you do!" Sulon let off at the end as one man scoffed.
"Aren't we hired to die?" He let off in a surly tone. Before his captain could respond I injected my own comment.
"The point of war isn't to die for your lord or your employer." I began. "It's to make the other bastard die for his." There was a short bark of laughter around me at that as I moved back to pay attention; using scry to keep an eye on the forces pushing towards us.
"Smart mouth there." Someone behind me let off as I smiled in response.
"I can see the cavalry with scry... They just hit the enemy's flank with some mounted archers nailing a few." All chatter around me ended when I said that. After a moment I made the next report. "They're disengaging and the Aberrant are charging ahead; their dark elf boss seems to be mad and pushing them on."
"Right, you heard the lordling!" Sulon let off with a loud bark. "The fight is almost here! For all of you rookies eager to see Aberrant up close; it's about to be your lucky day!"
Nervous silence followed and, after a few minutes, the cavalry rushed across the field and towards the stockade. My understanding is they would dismount, water their horses as best as they could and prepare for the real fight. I took deep breaths to keep myself calm as, several minutes later, the sounds of howling started up. Marching feet, none in lockstep, sounded as they finally appeared and rushed ahead to the opposing force. With the terrain as it was they were rising up a soft slope; our position was hidden as they saw the stockade and the thousands gathered before it. I found my left fingers drumming the ground as I took in the sight and stayed calm, or at least as calm as I could; I had fought Garan three times before but in much smaller battles.
Nothing I'd done, in either life, prepared me for this...
"Hold..." Sulon hissed out as we watched. Now the Aberrant were closer I could see their lines easier. Goblins made the front of their lines and bore clubs and spears bearing wooden, stone and metal heads. Directly behind them were a mix of orcs and ogres holding clubs, swords, axes and hammers. "Hold..." No gargoyles were in this group so we weren't about to be seen from the sky. I know the trolls were in this group but couldn't be seen. A dark elf on the back of a black horse could be seen behind the lot of them with a small escort of dark elven knights. "Hold..." I noted the line of goblins was thinner in the front and a lack of other Aberrant. This was, after all, a reconnaissance attack; they weren't sending their best. Not yet anyway. Once in range arrows were loosed at the Aberrant. Those holding something resembling a shield rose it up to guard themselves. Some of the orcs and ogres took an arrow or two and seemed to ignore them while goblins who were struck tumbled into the ground; those behind them either tripping somewhat or just stepping on them to move forwards. "Hold..."
Soon the lines impacted one another. Much of the front lines of the Eostian side bore spears for reach but a few bore shorter spears or swords to stab at goblins who tried to use their smaller size to grapple or slip around their opponents. Soon the orcs and ogres hit the line as well The two lines then moved to press to one another; arrows and spells raining down into the fold; both sides pushing and neither giving.
"NOW!" Sulon let off as he stood up, as did myself, my allies and the First Lyran Guard as we all charged into the foe's side. Some of their number noticed and turned as I drew the Dragon's Claw and prepared a Dual Cast. This was my first proper fight with the new equipment so it was time to see what I could do now. I opted for a mix of Flare Spread and Gale Burst knowing the effect would be, more or less, a fireball shot gun and as soon I was close enough and I was sure no one was in the way I inverted my grip in the claw, thrust it's stone and my other palm forwards and fired.
The result could be called hellfire blazing through their ranks and searing through a few of their numbers and knocking over others. Observe told me they ranked between levels seven to eighteen; some I had to be mindful of but I was well over the bulk of them as the Lyrans ran around me and I started to launch Holy Flares into the melee; I'd taken the time to show off the spell to Sulon and spent part of a day chucking them at his men to show, yes, the golden orange flames were nice and friendly... to them. The Aberrant found it highly unfriendly and were not enjoying it. I focused on a mixture of the toughest looking foes and our weakest looking allies as a means to offer the most support and save the most people on our side.
Seeing a younger merc fall with half a collapsed skull reminded me I wouldn't save everyone.
Makoto stood before me; Kouzenken drawn without it's steel blade but not active yet, ready to bodyguard for me if the need arose. When an orc pushed past the lines to charge me she was on the move; all of my party had upgraded to their advanced classes (Save Ur'Akara) and Makoto was about to showcase her own improvements, activating the overcharged blade of the Kouzenken as it neared and, with a loud howl, slashed downwards with a Combat Art. The orc, to it's credit, tried to block with it's wooden weapon but was cleaved in two with it's club bisected... along with it's body falling in two different directions.
A roar was the only warning when a shock wave of some form came from the Garan lines; knocking Aberrant and human alike back as an ogre charged out. Unlike most this one wore armor; ratty looking chain mail and haphazard plates made from broken armor bits. More notable was his hand held a crude looking axe with a spell stone tied to it's shaft at the back of the axe head; it was the size of a coke bottle but shaped into a twisted curve. It must have known some magic as it charged out and chopped a man in half before he could recover; even as I fired a magic missile at it.
He noticed, ducked and charged me now. Another Aberrant, an ogre, charged in that Makoto was dealing with so I moved the Dragon's Claw to a proper grip and braced. The ogre roared and swung his axe as I moved to block with my orichalcum weapon. He seemed to sneer; after all I was a six foot human about to block an attack from a seven foot plus, burly monster with my off hand set to the flat of my blade. But of course I had a few things up my sleeve; starting with my armor's Physical Burst which I activated.
When weapon met weapon I felt my body rattle and had to bend my knees and arms a bit to fully absorb the impact but that's what I did; the flat of my saber made of the strongest material known to man held with ease. To someone on the outside I blocked his weapon and stopped it cold. His smirk turned to a look of shock as I shoved his axe aside and aimed my left palm to his right elbow before unleashing a point blank Holy Arrow; the effect was a bolt of magic slamming into and through the bone and rendering his right arm useless. Before he could respond I leapt at him and slashed to his head. For a moment I thought I had missed my mark; at least until his head came off his neck.
Damn! Lulu had sharpened this thing so much I didn't really feel the resistance of his neck as I cut through it!
A sound that could only be called a 'gulrik' sounded as an orc saw his buddy fall to a lil'ole human like it was nothing. I had been so surprised by how easy it was to cleave off a head with my new sword I had paused in a giant fucking battle and this level ten orc kindly reminded me with his own shock. How nice of him!
So I gave him a Magic Missile through the head as a thank you.
The sounds of roaring had me look off to see Garanian reinforcements arriving and charging in as Ur's Regulars moved to flank them. Even so a segment made their way towards us.
Great.
[-]
Elddale, North Central
Eostian Army Under the Command of Shield Princess Prim
Mid-Battle
"Keep up the pressure! Follow me towards victory!" The bellow came out as Prim launched spell after spell at her Garanian foes with Holy Flare Spread; once they were in Elddale and had a free moment James had taken the time to teach her his Holy Flare spell and she learned it quickly... and opted to adapt it. The story of how a Fireball spell was once turned into Flare Spread was one she recalled from her schooling and she wondered if the same could be done to turn Holy Flare into a Flare Spread like spell.
The answer was yes, yes you could.
Carmen stayed close to her as Troya led the Blossoming Knights from the front but the woman leading the collected forces was Ur's own General Lyeecia Leafweaver. She stood five nine and bore curves to rival Celestine's, down to the J-Cup Breasts. Supposedly her Mana Armor was made in the High Elven Kingdoms and was worn by her mother when she immigrated to Eostia. The armor was made of a sleeveless, chest bearing leotard made of a golden toned metal that seemed to be able to flex like leather; just cupping her breasts with a pink, heart shaped spell stone under and between her massive breasts. A gorget was around her neck with a another stone held over her chest and small, fitted pauldrons. Bracers with extensions over the back of the hands covered her forearms in the same gold, as was her armored boots. A wreath like, gold circlet was around her head with a large, diamond shaped spell stone set to the center of it. Her purple eyes shone as waist long pink fell behind her. She bore a heavy looking, orichalcum forged, mace with a baseball sized, pink spell stone in it's center with a hint sticking out as she used it to cast spells or bash foes, a matching long sword with it's own stone in the pommel in the other hand. "Let them fall! Show them the might of Eostia!"
Strangely she always looked calm and bashful when off-duty; she wasn't aware she was so... boisterous when fighting!
Seeing a gargoyle dive down towards her she moved to start with a Dual Cast; the first being a Vortex Tunnel which hit it head on and forced it back; making it hover over the Garan ranks before using Inferno Ball. She knew what James would call the spell.
'It's Fireball when you need more Fireball.'
When she launched a beach ball sized ball of flame and watched it go off with enough force to ram into the Aberrant under it with it's shock wave. It was possible many of them were dead from that alone.
"Well done Princess! Another!" Lyeecia let off as Prim tried to not sigh.
That elf was having too much fun...
[-]
Northeastern Arafe
Feoh Front
Impact between forces had occurred an hour ago and the fighting was on going. Tight, shoulder to shoulder lines had broken apart and it was now a mess of one on one, one on more or more on more fights. Alicia pulled her blade free of an orc as a ogre charging her was struck in the face with an arrow that slammed half way out the other side and slew it; Christopher's humming sounding around her as he did his best to use his unique sort of musical magic to bolster himself, his family and their troops.
An explosion of holy magic came from her side as another ogre flew back as Benton swung his new, mythril mace into a goblin that jumped him; a lead core giving it weight for needed striking power and a blue spell stone at it's cap acting as a focus for his magic. His armor had been replaced with proper, mythril chain mail, plated pauldrons, gauntlets and boots and a much more solid, round shield made of mythril. Her father had commissioned them for his wayward son; convinced he'd be home someday and while he tried to refuse them at first what their father said finally convinced him.
'How are you going to protect your family if you're not equipped to protect yourself?'
"Well... I didn't expect all of this when I got home?" Benton panted as Christopher moved closer to them.
"Tiring out, lost boy?" Alicia teased as took the brief moment to pull a flash of water out and have a sip.
"Heh... A walk in the park, butchy girl." He let off banging his mace to his shield as a bellow sounded the three siblings seeing what was coming...
A single, fourteen foot troll.
"Oh... That's big..." Christopher let off as Alicia snorted.
"I've fought bigger." She said, smacking her sword to her shield as she smirked. "I can handle it."
"Now, now, let me show you what I've learned on my travels." Benton said moving to take his own combat stance.
"I'll kill it first." The sister of the family let off.
"Not if I beat you to it." The youngest replied.
"Ummm, guys..."
"Butt out!" Alicia and Benton let off at their eldest brother before dashing to the troll as Christopher gulped... and loosed an arrow at the troll...
It was really something, fighting alongside your family...
[-]
The lines broke down at some point and became less lines of men versus lines of monster and more small fights with single digits on each side; sometimes down to one on one. I pulled my blade free of a smaller ogre as I pulled a flask from my bag of holding pouch; a drink of water later I took stock as I set the flask away.
It was hard to tell what side was winning from where I was standing; bodies littered the ground as archer support waned; with the lines so mixed now no one wanted to risk hitting a friendly with an arrow. That made sense. I had the Ring of Alarm in my glove active so when a bunch of things moved my way I was able to turn to face them. A baker's dozen of goblins. They were surprised as I faced them; I guess they were hoping to sneak up as they moved to a half circle around me. Interesting. Levels nine to fourteen.
Time to battle test my other weapon them.
They seemed confused as I sheathed the Dragon's Claw before reaching over my left shoulder and drew the Shining Gemini off my back. I swung it in a lazy circle as I moved to take a spear based combat stance; front up high with both hands on the shaft, parted a foot and a half from one another. I kept Ring of Alarm up so I could sense them all; waiting for one of them to make the first move. I wasn't left waiting long; the one on my far left charged first. As he did I turned and popped Adrenaline Rush for a little extra impact as I swung downwards; caving it's skull in before it could swing... of course some of his buddies charged as I turned but I was ready as I turned with a low swing, catching one on the chin and knocking him away and turning into a block of a club of another, sidestepping that one as another charged; smirking as he slowed to fall short of my vertical swing...
Before his head was cleaved in two as the spell stone on that end came to life and extended a foot and a half long blade of pure, overcharged mana as I turned and jammed the other end into another goblin... and did the same with the stone on that end with a second blade coming out. Squawks of surprise came as I turned to face them; dead goblins falling down as the hum of my weapon sounded as I spun my weapon and held it before me with one hand.
Yes, I took the idea for Makoto's Kouzenken and applied it to the Shining Gemini! I could go Darth Maul on a sucker now! I will admit the blades weren't as powerful as Makoto's weapon but they were still pretty damned potent as it stood.
But as they saying goes but wait! There's more!
The next goblin screamed and charged as I stepped in; a sweeping swipe cutting him through the chest before the next was stabbed in the face. I stabbed at another who was nimble enough to side step as he stabbed my side with his steel, tipped spear. I felt the impact but it felt like someone elbowed me a little hard to get my attention thanks to the toughness of my new armor. Honestly; I no longer felt like I needed to avoid every little thing now, thanks to the dragon scales I now wore.
Anyway, that goblin's head came off with a swing.
A bellowing roar came as the other goblins scrambled back as...
Well, well, well...
My second Hobgoblin.
He stood some six foot five with six inch horns out of his chin making him larger then Blood Caller. Unlike most of the other Aberrant he wore proper armor; steel plate that was painted black. He held a pair of single hand axes as he moved to stand some twelve feet from me banging his weapons together. Other Aberrant started to back away and began to make a loose half circle around us; ignoring other fights going on nearby as the hobgoblin sized me up with a wide grin on his face as he cracked his neck side to side.
It was clear what they wanted; a champion versus champion fight to showcase their strength. I huffed and moved to grab the shaft with both hands and twisted it; splitting it apart before holding a part in each hand in standard grips; the blades extending to three feet each. This reduced the overall power a hint but not much. I used my armor's stone to give myself Physical Burst as I took a combat stance; pointing my right weapon forwards and the left held to the side, ready to defend. As I did I noticed more of my own side gathering behind me in a loose, curved line; some unsure what to do and others joining the silent agreement to allow the one on one fight.
He roared first and charged; trying to rush me as he swung his weapon at me. My response was to swing back with mine at his; our weapons rocking back from the impact with one another before he swung with his left and I responded in kind. He would growl and we would do this three more times before he hopped back and looked to his weapons and scowled. "Bastard..." He growled out; his axes took several chips from the impacts of weapon on weapon; most deep. Mine, by contrast, were made of mana and rebuilt a little after each impact. He would toss his weapons aside and bark at an ogre and a moment later something was tossed to him; a four and a half foot long sword that was more or less a steel slab with sharp edges and a crude point. He caught it with ease and took hold of it in a double handed grip. I resumed my stance as he charged me; feinting a swing before thrusting the pommel at me. I side stepped and swung for his head as he turned into a roll over his shoulder, coming back up to face me.
I stayed relaxed as I looked him over; at level nineteen I couldn't take him lightly but he was weaker then Blood Caller was when I fought him and I doubted he'd go Demonborne on me. Even if he did I could handle it; I was much weaker then as well. This time he swung hard with an overhead swing as I cross my blades; popping Adrenaline Rush to further brace myself. Coupled with my armor's Physical Burst I blocked it fully and pushed with my left arm to shove his weapon aside and swung with my right; catching his left bicep with a deep gash.
He screamed and hopped aside, looking to the damage; wisps of smoke showing his wound was partially cauterized. He snarled once more as he backed away, flexing his arm and wincing in pain and dropped the heavy blade, calling something out. Soon a new weapon was thrown to him and caught in his usable right hand; a curved saber. He chuckled and moved to stand opposite me and started to swing it, twirling it in one hand to showcase his dexterity.
I smiled and moved my left hand, as if to mimic him... but then threw that one half of the Shining Gemini at his face. Rather then spin or tumble it instead took off in a straight line like a damned rocket and impacted him in the eye; blade running through his skull as the Aberrant gathered gawked as he dropped his weapon. Yes; I had put Levitation into it so it could fly at a target (Using the momentum of a throw; there was not enough room in the stone for a wind spell for extra kick, sadly. If I found a better pair of stones I could do that, though). A small command to the one in my hand and the blade of it's twin turned off before it flew away from the hobgoblin and back to my free hand; letting me catch it with ease as said hobgoblin's body fell to the ground.
So yeah... I made a polearm version of a double bladed lightsaber that could turn into twin lightsabers and even added a way to throw one and call it back.
I felt awesome in that moment.
[-]
"Grrrrrahhh! What is going on!?" Yulia Choaxis let off as she gripped the reigns of her horse; glaring to the human who just slew her prized hobgoblin. "There's so many humans up here! Why!? There's not supposed to be even half this much usually! How did they know we're coming!?" The lines that once formed an ad hoc arena broke down as the two sides charged once more; although the Aberrant seemed demoralized now.
Yulia was of the Lowborne branch of House Chaoxis and she had always felt lesser to her Highborne family. She was a mere four foot elven in height and bore small, A-Cup breasts, leaving her body unimpressive in appearance. Sure her long, knee length purple hair and bright, red eyes were worth bragging about. Her robes were golden on the torso with intricate patterns and wide shoulders, a wide set of black sleeves that ended at the elbows, a back that fell to her knees and a loincloth in the front with golden designs on it. Simple sandals on her feet protected the soles while golden bands were set to her wrists and upper, right thigh.
"I've been doing this for two hundred years; we always press through the first line... Grrrrr..."
"Should we retreat, Commander?" One of the knights by her side asked as she shot him a glare.
"No! We'll be a laughing stock if we lose here! Guess I have no choice then..." She let off, snarling as she reached up and snapped her fingers. A flash of purple light came from them as she grinned in a wicked manner. "Let the Grimm Brothers handle it..."
[-]
So killing the Hobgoblin pissed the Aberrant off. Guess I shoulda seen that coming...
In short we went back into various independent fights in loose lines. If you could call anything here a line; it resembled more one of those curly straws that took inspirations from pretzels.
I reconnected the Shining Gemini and used one blade to thrust one handed at foes as a spear with a shorter blade as I used the stone in my glove to call up a kite shield made from Arcane Weapon and reinforced with Arcane Shield. Coupled with my armor's Physical Burst I was able to shrug off any blow to my shield and strike back hard. I eventually had to find a new place to fight; Aberrant bodies were starting to stack and aside from making it harder to maneuver some foes were trying to use their dead buddies as the high ground.
"Gaahhhh!" I heard someone let off as a human solider went down; who I didn't know. His armor was dented in as an ogre with a massive club moved to stand over him. Before he could strike I dropped my shield, twisted the Shining Gemini and threw the one half at it's chest with the blade active; impacting it and killing it. I was already moving as I recalled it; using the other end, no blade yet summoned, to cast an Arcane Shield around myself and the man, using the other end after I caught it and dispelled the blade as a focus to cast Blessed Recovery. As a side note; when the blades weren't deployed each half still counted as a stave. Interesting, huh?
Bad time to think of that.
The man was lifting back to his feet and I was about to drop the shield when a scream came out as I turned to see Sulon crashing back first into the shield and falling to the ground, wheezing. He was still alive as I dropped it and Dual Casted Blessed Recovery on him. "Captain?" I let off as the solider I just healed moved before me, shield up.
"Blod..dy trolls..." I noticed his breastplate was all but caved in; enough so I used one half of the Gemini to create a blade to cut the straps off of it to let it come off; his wheezing lessening as the pressure on his torso was removed.
"Oh bloody hell!"
"Back! Back!"
"Trolls!" I managed to help Sulon to his feet as he cradled his ribs with a hand as three, massive figures moved forwards; the Gananian lines separating to let them through as they threw or swatted at any Eostian in the way. It was easy to understand why; there were three freaking trolls! One standing at ten feet with a massive trunk carved into a club, a second at thirteen feet tall and holding some ten feet of heavy, steel chain in it's hand and a fifteen foot one with a long, eight foot slab of metal that was sharpened on one end.
It was little wonder everyone was backing up, even Sulon, as I used Observe on each of them.
Levels fifteen, eighteen and twenty three. The small one was weak enough I was comfortable enough taking it on by myself. The middle one was the same, if requiring more caution. The big one demanded more respect...
The Garan forces moved to form a half circle around the trolls as all the Eostians back up. I looked around; Akanji I could see healing someone and Tiffany was stuck further out. I couldn't see Makoto at all which was worrying.
"Bloody noble fool! Get back!" Sulon let off as I turned to face the trolls. I would have preferred to have at least Makoto with me but the fact stood; if left unchecked the trolls would cause a lot of damage before going down. Someone had to bring them down. Could I do it?
I cracked my neck side to side as the trolls paused to glare at me; the one human who dared stand his ground. The largest, and likely eldest, chuckled before growling something out-
Only for my vision to shift, as the usual boss music was replaced with something a bit more bombastic, to the first troll who roared out and swung his club twice then the second who grabbed his chain in both hands and pulled his hands from one another, making it go tight before his face and then moving back to the last troll who pointed to me with his weapon and sneered. Finally it panned back to showcase all three... and myself, alone standing before them...
_The Brothers Grimm_
Bol'shoy, Bol'she
& Samyy Bol'shoy
A flash of white and my view returned to normal as I watched all three of the beasts as they spread out and chuckled. I was fairly sure one would attack first but each might make the opening strike and my response would vary depending on which one opted to be the aggressor. In the meantime I deactivated both of the Geminis before I moved the one in my right hand and reached behind my waist, letting it attach there before reaching around to draw the Dragon's Claw out and readied. I was told to look out as the smallest made his approach, chuckling as he lifted his club up. I called on my glove to raise up a knight's shield made of hardened mana, made sure my armor still had Physical Burst up before casting Physical Burst myself as he swung to me.
"You idiot!" Sulon let off as I brought the shield up to block the attack... and I felt the impact as I was nearly pushed down into a squat just to absorb the hit... but by using one Physical Burst to bolster my might and a second to bolster it again I could absorb the hit with my shield, if not as well as I had hoped; a slight crack even showed on it. Still I had my blade pulled back behind me as I used Breaking Blow on the trunk club; cutting it near the mid-point as the smallest troll gawked and backed up in shock... which was all the opening I needed to use Heroic Leap; jumping right at it; gripping his shoulder with my left hand (As best as I could with half of the Gemini in it), feet to his chest and blade raised before hacking down. I could feel the resistance this time but even so with one blow it's head and shoulders were severed as I leaped back, the troll's head hitting the ground, then his body.
I ended the Physical Burst I cast on myself so I could use magic, using a Minor Heal on myself to help heal from the strain of that heavy strike. The other two trolls looked at me in shock before their faces twisted to anger as they moved to charge me. I used my foot to cast Seismic Serpent but had it explode upwards right before me as I pointed out with the Gemini half in my hand, using it as a focus to cast Gale Burst and sending the sand and debris kicked up to the middle sized troll's face, making it stumble back, swinging it's chain wildly. I used another Heroic Leap as the biggest brother charged head long at me with it's blade raised, letting me dart between it's legs, turn, cast a quick spell and invert my grip on the Dragon's Claw as he turned to me. I used a Gale Burst to knock him back as I ran to his side so the biggest brother was between me and the middle brother.
He regained his stability swiftly and moved to take a swing at me... before he was clocked in the back of the head hard by a heavy chain; the middle brother wondering why I vanished since I had used an Illusion spell to place a doppelganger of myself there on the largest one's back. While one troll tried to figure out what hit him and the other tried to figure out where I went I darted about once more with Heroic Leap so I could see both of them from the side; with the Eostians to my back and Garanian to theirs. I aimed with my sword's pommel, the stone glowing brightly before unleashing the strongest spell in my arsenal; Cluster Flare. What was Cluster Flare?
Take Fireball. Make it a little stronger. Then fire off a half dozen of them all at once.
Needless to say that upon impact the six balls of burning mana I sent off (Slower then Fireball by a hair) made a very loud boom that made me cast Minor Heal on myself again to stop the ringing in my ears. Both of the trolls were thrown back into the lines of Aberrant. I was drawing mana and turning the Claw to a standard grip as I moved; both trolls rose but slowly. The middle brother was missing an arm and both were charred across their torsos and faces with chunks of skin missing and even their wounds being scorched. Big brother got to his feet first, unsteadily as I used Heroic Leap to quickly jump onto his back, aiming half of the Shining Gemini to his brother's head and sending out a Hammer of Smite; the mana formed hammer impacted and caved in it's head as I pulled my other blade back.
He had enough time to widen his eyes and start to reach up as I swung, decapitating him. I shifted my armor from Physical Burst to Levitation to hover backwards as the troll fell to the ground; head rolling away from it. I landed as I took a ready stance the Aberrant gawking to me and took stock of my condition after the extended battle.
Wounds; bruised, nothing serious although sore.
Physical condition; half exhausted and panting.
Mana pool; getting low, big spells are a bad idea.
Mental condition; COME GET SOME!
I inverted the Dragon's Claw and channeled mana into it to make it glow as I raised it over my head. It was a bluff; I didn't have the reserves for too much more but I was hoping seeing one guy challenge three of their strongest all at once and win would be demoralizing enough to break their morale.
The goblins were the first to turn tail, screeching loudly. The ogres followed, snorting and seemingly admitting there was nothing but death left for them. The orcs hesitated but soon they too turned to flee as I ended my draw and reached to my pouch; the forces behind me giving a cheer as I downed a mana potion.
"Well would you look at that!"
"We've a real life troll slayer here boys!"
"Huurah!"
"Well I'll be damned..." I heard as Sulon set a hand to my shoulder. "You're more then an average lordling, eh?"
I chuckled a bit, sheathing my weapon before moving to summon the half of the Gemini at my back to my now free hand to reattach them together before setting them to my back fully.
Tired as I was I opted to bask in adoration for once, smiling to everyone as I pumped a fist over my head in victory, ready to give a memorable quip and-
"MY BABY!"
Oh no...
Before I could react my mother rushed through the crowd like a winding bullet before shoving Sulon back, grabbing me by the front of my armor with both hands and bodily lifting me up off my feet before shaking me about like a rag doll and my head rocking back and forth like I was some bobble head. "M-M-Mom!"
"What were you thinking!? Picking a fight with THREE trolls!? ALONE!? You know better then this young man! Are you trying to scare your mother into an early grave!?" As she ranted everyone backed up and away from us.
"That's his mother!?"
"She can just manhandle him like that!?"
"She's scarier then the trolls!"
Well so much for looking badass...
[Defeated List]
Garanian Forces=8000XP
Hobgoblin Champion=2000XP
The Brothers Grimm=6500XP x 1.25 Kill Bonus=8125XP
+20% Dark Horse of Eostia Bonus
Gain 18125XP Total
Level Up!
You are now Level 31!
+1 Str, Dex, Acc & Mnc
+1 to End
+1 to Rap
+2 RSP & SSP
Achievement Unlocked: Didn't Feed the Trolls
Kill Three or More Trolls in One Battle
Achievement Unlocked: Defender of the Alliance
Fought in a Battle During a Garanian Incursion
Title Unlocked: Troll Slayer
You've killed at least three trolls!
+4 Damage to All Trolls
I can't read it! Please stop shaking me!
[-]
"NOOOOOOOOO! WHY IS THIS HAPPENING!?" Yuila screamed out. All across her front the Aberrant were breaking and running away; the flanks first thanks to the efforts of two, separate mages and the center was falling back as well. Worse the few, elite troops she was allowed to bring to act as champions for the legions were all dead! Her trolls, her hobgoblin... even her hellpig! "Graghhhh! We're losing! Rally those idiots!"
"That's impossible... They're not retreating with any organization; it's a rout." One of her knights let off; a Lowborne once Laborborne. "We need to fall back as well! We'll do our Trueborne Queen no good if we die here!" He let off as Yuila snarled before turning her horse about.
"Fine! But I'll be baaaaaaaaaack!" She let off as she did her best to flee (While barking out they were 'advancing to the rear'), riding to the north and safety of the Dread Field.
[-]
Once my mother tired of shaking me about and scolding me I found the Garanian force in full retreat. There were high spirits all about our side as I recovered (Part in thanks to Akanji's healing) and I walked with my head held high for a while, past the various bodies on the field...
Until I stopped at one.
He wasn't unique. Another body on the ground in gambeson with a layer of chain mail over his torso. Another dead man, offered up to defend the lives of men and women living to the south. His family would be told he was a hero, a proud solider, died in his duty... and on his arm was a wooden shield that bore a painted emblem. It was crude; likely done by the man or someone he knew but I knew it right away.
The Emblem of House Noxdecus. He was one of ours.
I slowly moved to him and knelt down. I knew we'd take losses. I knew it was impossible to avoid. That's not to say I liked seeing it; know this man was called up by my family and died in a war well away from his home. I don't know how long I was there before a hand settled to my shoulder; I could see my father's robes from the side of my eye as he stood by me.
"It's never easy, my son." He said simply as I mourned for someone I never met, more then likely. "Soldiers are the coin of war; placed on the table by leaders to be bartered, bet and lost for the rewards of safety and security. We must make every effort to not spent frivolously or recklessly and make each one spent count and save as much as able. If only there was a better way..."
[-]
Channer let off a bit of a holler as he and the Ur Regulars returned back to the camp. The cavalry would harass the fleeing enemy for awhile longer but his battle was done; having been congratulated for handling a half dozen orcs with one of them being a rare variant called a hellpig. Hellpigs were somewhat taller and muscular then their counterparts and bore deep red skin and glowing red eyes. The biggest difference was their burning bile; acid they could spew from their mouth like a projectile vomit that burned and could eat through any metal short of mythril. More over the substance was flammable and hellpigs often brought a burning weapon with them to turn their acid to a flamethrower.
One wind spell mixed with one fire spell and it's burning bile was turned against it and it's allies. Lucky for him the lines started to break not long after that; he was getting low on mana.
His Arcane Robes were well made; a deep purple layer over the torso with red shoulder pads and golden trim and two lightning bolts on each pad outlined with deeper yellow. A black panel went down the front which matched his pants, both with a red, gold trimmed stripe going up the outside. Red boots and gloves were on the feet and hands while a deep purple wizards hat, which sat on his head with gold trim on it and a red band around the base, the edges curved up slightly, would finish the look. For armaments he bore a short short at his left hip and held a stave in his right hand; black with a baseball size, red stone on the top of it, held in place with what looked like a gripping, gold trimmed hand. The bottom bore a rounded cap; currently bloody after bashing into a goblin's skull.
His head was held high until he tripped over something, stumbling but catching himself before looking back to see a man there. There was nothing special about him; he was one of many... except the shield was crudely painted to match the emblem of House Blitzhaus. Of course the helm and leaves of the emblem were not attached, nor the plate at the bottom and he didn't add the rook, the sword or the flog but it bore the red and purple with the lightning bolts of his house. He was forced to acknowledge a sad fact of reality; he died because his family conscripted him to defend their north, Eostia's north...
"Soldiers are the coins of war, my son." He heard, flinching as his father looked over to him as he walked closer. "And they must be spent, bartered and bet. If you do not there is no conquest, no glory and no gain. Thankfully such coin is common but you still can never overspend. Indeed; overspend too many times and you'll have no coin left to pay with when death comes to collect. Now come."
Channer gave one last look to the dead man before moving to follow his father as the man, now clad in his golden mythril armor, with his house's emblem painted over his left side and a deep purple cape trailing behind him. "So; a hellpig, eh? A good start."
"Ahh, you heard that?" Channer let off, chuckling a bit.
"I saw it. I was able to oversee this flank of the battle." Arnold said, looking back with one of his rare, open smiles. "You can do an old man proud, it seems." He let off as Channer felt his chest puff up. Honestly... he did feel accomplished today; he fought alongside with Ur's best, bested a hellpig and earned his father's pride! He idly wondered what James accomplished, fighting alongside a bunch of basic mercenaries.
The camp was upbeat upon his arrival; victory was being celebrated by most of the men and he could see people breaking out flasks of... something out and drinking. Wounded men were being tended to and even they seemed upbeat although more then a few men seemed more downcast. Likely having lost someone...
Coins spent...
And of course came those bragging about what they did or telling others what they saw. Given the he heard 'hellpig' more then once he knew one tale being told. It was unlikely it would be topped today, at least.
"Wait... Three trolls!?"
"Bloody single handed too!"
Channer nearly stumbled turning his head to a small band of men; mercs and light infantry from Ferra, it seemed like.
"Ha! Not often you have a real troll slayer on hand... Hells, never saw anything like it; just out smarted, out maneuvered them and just... boom! Blasted'em with the biggest fire spell I ever saw!"
"I was too far to see, but I damn well heard that blast! Ba-boooom!" The men laughed. Arnold frowned as he moved closer to the men and standing over them quickly.
"I beg pardon." Her said, the group turning to him and flinching to see a golden armored noble before them. "You say one man slew three trolls? Alone?"
"Aye." One of them said, pointing to him with an open flask. "The bloody things showed up and tossed men about like sacks of grain and we were all backing up. I mean it's a bloody troll, no normal man would fight that! But this one guy... He didn't back up; he held his ground and brought'em all down, in quick order. Some kinda young, bloody magic knight, but I didn't recognize the crest he had."
"What emblem?" Channer asked as he walked closer.
"Well it was a blue shield with some kinda horse on it; unicorn I think."
"A... white unicorn?" Channer let off as he blinked.
"Yeah, white as white gets." The man replied, another nodding along. Channer could hear his father's jaw clench before giving a long hum as he himself gulped.
Shown up by his friend... once again...
[-]
Across Eostia reports were sent, received, read and digested and when it was all said and done they had an idea of the current situation.
For the first time in recorded history the first attack of Garan in an incursion was repulsed fully. For Eostia it was a reason to celebrate as information across the voxlux network was complied quickly and shared just as fast.
Things went slower in Garan as reports were written and handed off to Gargoyles, trained birds and bats and sent off to be collected in a central command structure. Although slower the reports would be received, read and digested by their leaders as they were faced with something new for their first attacks in their memory.
Complete failure.
Things had changed and new plans would need to be made...
[ - Author's Note - ]
Whew... I do hope I played the tactical aspects of war at least partially correct. We got a little insight to your average, Dark Elf Commander, a brief look at the front Prim was on as well as seeing Alicia and her brothers in action...
As well as Grave scheming a bit behind the scenes and keeping some interest in James and learning more of his shifting position.
Also planting small, future seeds I hope to sprout down the line...
As for the overall battle I had two main objectives with it; one was to showcase the new weapons and equipment James had as well as how effective they are but two is that I wanted him to showcase his own growth. At the beginning, hell, the middle of Act Two James wouldn't even be able yo think of challenging three trolls at once nor have such an easy time with the hobgoblin. Even then most of victory comes from outsmarting and out maneuvering them as opposed to just overpowering; honestly he only chose to black the smallest trolls strike because he was sure he could do so with a double Physical Burst up. And could have been easily wrong.
Anyway; next time? Likely another battle but also people comparing notes.
Until then!
~~Eostian Scribe