Eostia: Harem Quest

by EostianScribe

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

76. Act III-Ch IV: Arrival of Darkness

[ - Author's Note - ]

Whew... A lot is here in this chapter...

A little more set up, something that we haven't done in Act Three yet, another battle with a few other characters we've yet to see...

And I'll leave it there lest I spoil too much.

This chapter will push the story over one point two million words, which is kinda impressive... I never thought it would reach such a large amount in Act Three... Thanks Act Two!

Joking aside, I am glad people are enjoying this... So... let's get into it, shall we?

[ - Act III - Chapter IV: Arrival of Darkness - ]

Given our elders obfuscation of the events when our kind first hunted humanity so long ago we sent thousands of our number but most are unaware of the full scope of this mission. They say two thousand but ten or more seems more apt a number. The aim was to slay all of humanity as thousands of Trueborne marched to slay and purge. Those days were different based on what sources I can find; in the beginning we bred as any other race did with men and women pairing off. Then we found the Giant's Chamber, filled to the brim with his seed, still fresh and fertile after so many thousands of years and found a woman bathing in it would be impregnated. From there the first Trueborne came; those borne of our maker and birthed, from him, only daughters.

For almost a thousand years our males were pushed aside and made our lessers as our women only birthed Trueborne with some of the first of these mothers of Trueborne forming the first Pure Council. Finally, after our numbers swelled too much, did this Council dictate there were too many Trueborne and limited the numbers to one born in a millennia. Numbers are hard to come by but I am told our great, city state swelled to a hundred thousand strong. Once more it's the best numbers I can find; how accurate it is I do not know. Come the Fall of the Great Ones we found the humans survived and many of our number declared it was time to do what the Great Ones could not and end the vermin. Ten thousand marched out at least. Maybe as high as twenty thousand; again my ability to find accurate numbers is next to impossible. What I do know is less then a thousand of our number returned in failure.

These survivors and their family lines back at home were cast down from any status as Trueborne. Those seen as the weakest were called Lowborne and those who were stronger or had connections were merely cast to the Highbrone. A need to rebuild our numbers was acknowledged but the dictate of only one Trueborne a millennia stood; and thus the males we pushed aside was pressed into mating once more. As time wore on the Pure Council pressed members down from Lowborne to create the Laborborne to further the caste system.

What's difficult to learn is what life was like before the rise of the Pure Council. By all accounts there was some form of democracy and egalitarianism. I once found, half buried in the ground by a smaller farming village, an old plaque that states 'All Elves Are Equal'. Today it's clear that there is no more such equality. To learn and record our history is a task more difficult then I could have ever expected...

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

[-]

It was the day following the battle where I took out the Matron of Chaoxis as myself, the other Ur and Feoh lords gathered around my scry map in the command tent with Grand Duke Samuel Fiorire hovering over it being flanked by his daughter and Alica; the blonde holding a voxlux with Celestine's image being projected by it. I was standing across from the table from them with my father by my side and Jamaica by my other. I could see Arnold at another side of the table as he stood with his arms crossed. In spite of our clear victory an aura of worry had settled over all of us for a few reasons. For starters everyone had felt a little more jittery or nervous then usual; an effect of the Dread Field. We were on it's outer reaches so the effect wasn't too bad but it was there and I felt it as much as anyone else; more then many given I was a mage myself. The other reason came as we saw Garanian forces restructure with reserves moving up and a large army moving from Blazecrown towards Elddale. Zooming in there was additional reasons to be worried; ghouls.

Ghouls, at least in this world, came in two forms; lesser and greater. Lesser ghouls, also often just called imps, were a bit smaller and weaker then goblins but highly nimble and decently numerous. That was bad enough but they also had long tongues they could use to grapple on top of the fact their saliva was an aphrodisiac. That alone was a chilling thought with the rape-happy Legion but the fact was they would aim to lick or spit on any open would they could see to try and make a solider falter to their own lust. I've heard a tale of a woman with so much of it running through her system she would knock a goblin out and rape him on the battlefield as the combat wore on around her.

Greater ghouls, often called goliaths, were very rare by contrast, rarer then their closest counterpart, trolls. Compared to a troll they were of a similar height but built wider and thicker with heads that looked like they should be over at Easter Island. They were stronger and more durable the trolls but also slower and less agile. They could also regenerate but at a tenth of a troll's rate. I'm told they were so durable one took a lance to the head by a leaping dragoon, took the point and two feet of the weapon into the skull where it broke off and survived. For how long I don't know, but it at least survived the battle.

More over a large flight of gargoyles could be seen, a group of two hundred wolfmen and well equipped Aberrant. Finally there was a strange carriage; well carriage isn't quite right. It was a black, gold trimmed, hovering, oval shaped platform with what seemed to be a throne on it with chains at the front attached to eight harnesses as it was towed by a group of ogres. Two figures could be seen on it from above; a standing blonde woman who I felt was familiar but couldn't place and a black haired woman in a cape that sat on the throne. According to Samuel he knew who this was...

Olga Discordia. And she was heading this way. "Well... guess we kicked the hornet's nest a little hard." I muttered with a sigh.

"Olga does not always take the field herself, more so over the last two hundred years." Celestine said from the communicator as I looked to her image. "I didn't expect her to arrive personally but I imagine with her forces doing so poorly she has opted to take matters into her own hands."

"It's not just us; a smaller but still sizable force is marching on Thorn as well." Samuel added with a frown. "I think she intends to avenge her Matrons."

"I'm calling all of the Cloud Riders to Ken." Celestine said firmly as she looked to me. "I'll be coming to the Ur front myself with the Dawn Templar's Shield Division and whoever else we can bring. James; how many more can you bring online?"

"I'm told we can have another up and running tomorrow with what we have." I replied, looking to the High Queen. "I can fly out when once your troops are dropped off with a small detour."

"Do it." She let off as she sighed. "We'll need every advantage as we can get. For that reason when the battle starts I want all Cloud Riders on standby to move troops around and, if needed, evacuate people. Olga will likely attempt a heavy push and try and break our lines; failing that force us back to expose our settlements. We must do what we can to hold them off."

"In the meantime, let's discuss the order of battle and our defense..." The Grand Duke let off as the meeting continued.

By the time it ended and we were leaving I needed a moment to breathe and think before finally moving off to the Lyran camp and dropped off a letter with the orders. Sulon frowned at it as he read then re-read it. "So, the queen of the dark cunts is coming herself... shit... This could get rough..."

"Hey, James... we can take her... right?" Myrddin let off as he squirmed on the spot as I frowned in thought. It was worth noting he held Vasilisa's weapon in his hand, called the Havoc Glaive. Akanji, bless her soul, wasn't a fan of using weapons if she didn't have to and returned the weapon to me after the battle. Rather then see it go to waste I gave it to Myrddin for his use and he was more then happy for the upgrade.

"I don't think we can. I think we need someone like Celestine to fight her, head on." I replied as he flinched a bit. To put this into perspective, and without using Observe on Olga, the amount of people who could hold her off one on one was limited; Samuel Firorie, my parents, Arnold, Jamaica and a handful of others. Fight her and win? Outside of Celestine the only two I could imagine would be Alundra van Bludhorn due to her level and maybe, maybe Claudia as long as she had Klaus backing her up.

"Re-really?" Myr let off as he gulped. Sulon gave him a look as he sighed.

"You can't take on everyone, you know?" His boss let off. "Sometimes you need to know when you can't fight and fall back..."

"And if you're stuck fighting someone stronger you best get creative, fast." I added as I recalled a few fights I was in just like that. "Trust me; even if you win under those conditions you won't come out looking pretty."

"With luck we won't see her directly." Sulon added as he sighed, looking to the travel table he used as a desk. "But who knows what will happen in this crazy world... We're being ordered to move to a position to flank but this time we're acting as reserves; we'll be moving to plug up gaps or assist struggling units as things come up. We won't be able to use the caves for this once more but there's a dense forest we can use to hide our position. We'll hide there and ensure tight patrols; we might need to handle opposing patrols as well. If we're lucky things will go smoothly and we'll have a rest as everything goes down."

Given the last two battles... we might have used up our luck already...

[-]

Come the next day the first of the Dawn Templars arrived via Cloud Rider and I rode on one of them to get back to Mungale Manor before it flew back off to Ken to transport more. With enough spell fiber on hand I got a fourth one up and running and returned with it to the military camp, dropped it off with a pilot and let him head off to do his duty. Once I was back Prim would pull me aside; both for a general chat and to teach me an adaptation of my Holy Flare spell. I was a bit surprised she pulled that off in so little time but when she explained how she did it I had to admit it made sense. We found an empty area that was used for spell practice and I got to work on learning it and, thanks to her, I had a nice, new spell to my list.

(-)

Holy Flare Spread [Lvl I] (0/1000)
Magic Type: Holy/Fire Hybrid
Cool Down: Low
Mana Cost: Moderate

The user fires off a series of small, bright orange fireballs in a cone towards a target at high speed; although for only a short range. Additionally it will not damage those the caster does not wish to be harmed.

(-)

Once I was sure no one was looking I gave her a nice, big kiss on the lips and pat on the ass. By the time we were done and returned to the main camp we could see two of the Cloud Riders arrive and sitting at the front seat of the lone, painted one was Celestine herself. Prim moved over to her and I moved to flank her as the wagons landed; Celestine stepping off as did several more Dawn Templars as well as what looked like several, well armed and armored additional units; maybe regulars but I saw a few Mana Armored characters in there as well.

Once she saw us Celestine walked over towards us with the Commander of the Templar's Shield Division, Keen Dux, along with another Dawn Templar flanking her. She nodded to Prim before looking to me. "James; it is good to see you in person once more, although I wish it were under different circumstances."

"You and me both." I replied as she nodded and I looked to Keen. "Good to see you once more, Commander."

"Likewise, Lord Noxdecus." Commander Keen said with a smile and a wave. "It'll be an honor to work with you once more." Keen was a part of the escort I had in Ken. We weren't close or anything but I respected her. Celestine smiled as she began to speak to me.

"Before anything else, as the High Queen of Eostia I must thank you for your efforts in regards to the creation of the Cloud Riders." She said with a smile. "Flying upon one is quite the thrill and I'm rather disappointed I couldn't share the first flight with you. Additionally your victory over a Matron of Garan has been noted as an achievement worthy of praise." I nodded once before she smiled warmly. "With the formalities done with I am full glad to see you alive and well. I am aware of Vasilisa Chaoxis and her trend to using the Black Mist spell to blind and disorient her foes. That you faced her alone and not just survived but won is impressive."

"Lady Kaguya also dealt with the Drakepyre Matron." A new voice said as I saw someone walk over and blinked to her. "Losing two Matrons will do significant damage to Garan's morale."

"James, this is Gunda Guldblad. She's from the Prima Legio Coronae." Celestine said as an introduction. "Gunda, James Noxdecus." She added gesturing to me. For the record the Prima Legio Coronae (Often just called the Prima Legion) translated as 'First Legion of the Crown' and was the elite order deployed by the First Throne of Ken, AKA House Roisage. As for the woman herself she stood a bit short at five foot three with short, chin length black hair, cool yellow eyes and wore simple looking Mana Armor; a set of black, bikini bottoms with a gold colored, metallic belt with slightly larger sections over the sides of the hips. Black, bicep length gloves were on each arm with heavy looking, gold colored bracers over each forearm, a gold band at the top of the right glove and a plate with a pointed top of the top of the left.

Black stockings with gold colored trim was on the legs under gold colored, armored boots. Her A-Cup breasts were covered by a solid, black, strapless bikini like top trimmed with gold and a black gorget around her neck with matching trim. A tiara was on her forehead over her hair; golden color with a blue, diamond shaped spell stone in it's center on the top. On her back was a heavy looking, two handed axe with a black shaft, a golden hued head with a top spike and curved back spike and a large, blue spell stone set to the head's center, just before the shaft. What really stood out was how toned she was; her limbs showed visible muscles and bore a noticeable and pronounced six pack abs that looked rather hot on her. "Pleased to meet you, M'lord." She let off as she reached out. I took her hand and shook it.

(-)

Name: Gunda Guldblad
Title: The Blade of Bria
Class: Templar
Level: 27
Alignment: Friendly
Reputation: 36
Status: Healthy, Determined, Calm

Romance Rating: 99
Corruption Rating: 9

Known Traits
[?]

[Seductive Sappho] You have an odd charm on women. All women gain +10 Romance Rating with you and increase their Sexual Preferences by 10. In addition you have a 5% chance each day to bypass Romance Ratings to bed someone. This Trait cannot bypass other Traits that dictate sexual tastes, nor can it bypass Traits that dictate loyalty to a person(s).
[An Axe To Grind] You love your axes! +3 Damage to all Axe Weapons in your Hand
[Manaclad] You wear any Mana Armor like they were made for you. +10% bonus to all Resistances to any Mana Armor or Mana Weave you wear

Daughter of a minor noble in Bria and seventh child of her family she knew there would be little to inherent. Not wanting to be just married off she opted to learn the arms of magic and combat at a young age, becoming a reliable member of the Adventurer's Guild. She would eventually catch the eye of Keen Dux who would refer her to the Prima Legio Coronae and is known for her ability to both brawl and seduce.

(-)

"We'll be moving all we can here to brace for the impact." Celestine said as the Cloud Riders started to rise back into the air; each doing a vertical take off. Yes, they could do that too. "It's not just Olga; Garan's most elite forces are coming with them. This can be a rough battle but it presents an opportunity as well." She let off as I tilted my head to ask her to carry on. "I wish to speak to Olga face to face. While we've shared battlefields before we've never directly fought or encountered each other beyond the odd moment. I've blocked some of her spells with my magic, but that's the extent of it."

"Is she afraid of you?" I asked, sounding a bit surprised. I had this idea of Olga being a bit haughty and I don't see why she would avoid Celestine.

"I don't think so; rather I think she respects my power and what I am able to do." The High Queen told me. "And as Queen of Garan she needs to seem powerful and unassailable to her minions. Were I to defeat her it would tarnish that image and she does not wish to take the risk. As such it's just better to avoid me if we're on the same field." Ahhh, I get it. For her image is everything, or close to it. Or at least it was to those following her; in a lot of ways Eostia was the same way just... not to the same degree. "Regardless; this war has dragged on too long. The only good way to end it is to speak with her and convince her to sign a peace treaty."

"Not that I disagree with you..." I began, moving to cross my arms. "But what I know of her suggests that if she's across the table in a peace talk she was put there while kicking and screaming."

"Indeed... Regrettably we may need to place her there by means of force and given her magical strength this will not be easy." Celestine said with a sigh.

"Even if we got her there will she talk?" Prim asked as I frowned at the thought. "I mean if she's as prideful as we think making her talk peace might be difficult if not impossible."

"Perhaps, that is a likely outcome." Celestine said with a nod. "But regardless we must try. Even if she's reluctant to speak with us she's intelligent; I am sure she can be convinced if we present the correct argument in the correct manner."

"The reality is if we can't convince her to make peace there's only two ways for this war to end." I said with a sigh. "The end of Garan or the end of Eostia."

"Thankfully the latter hasn't happened yet and with your help it's more unlikely." Celestine said as I chuckled.

"Don't praise me so much, Cele." I let off as Gunda raised an eyebrow as Celestine smiled softly.

"Considering how disproportionate your contributions are before considering your battlefield accomplishments you should require more." She replied before putting on a more serious look. "We expect Olga's arrival in two days. Do what you can to relax in the meantime before she arrives."

[-]

Among other things I brought back with me from my last trip to Mungale was a series of Battle Fleet games I issued out to various forces along with letting people know where more could be bought. Given that there was a lot of downtime between battles they became very popular to play with. My new games workshop was now mostly operational and selling games to locals and various merchants; mostly affiliated with my friend Edmund but also those attached to House Kalkan. I'd already earned a platinum from it (After costs) from sheer volume sold.

As for my current doings...

Well, that was sneaking Prim into my tent and making sure a soundproofing and anti-Scry spell was up along with the equivalent of a 'Do Not Disturb' sign. Getting my armor off took a bit, getting her dress off not as long and once done I had her on her back on a bed roll, half laying over her as I had an arm around her and a hand on one of her hefty breasts, squeezing it firmly as my thumb ran over her nipple, our lips locked together in a deep, long kiss.

She wasn't idle of course; she had an arm about my waist and the other hand was gripping at my cock, stroking it firmly with her palm and the underside of her fingers. Needless to say I was already fully stiff under her attentions as she moaned into my mouth. Before I could do anything she acted next, pulling away and turning a bit and pushing me to my back to lay her side onto my abs, bringing her lips to my cock and taking it into her mouth as I groaned, her hands at my cock's base as she squirmed a moment more to get comfortable.

As she bobbed her head a little turn of my own gave me a very nice view of the swell of her plush, girlish ass and couldn't help but reach for it with a hand, cupping the soft flesh. As I felt her swallow more of my cock I adjusted my fingers, moving between her legs and stroking her sex, leaning a bit to get enough reach to set my fingers on her clit directly; getting a squeak and jerk of her hips once I found the little nub. Feeling rewarded with the reaction I kept pressing on, stroking her moistening sex for a bit before going back to rub on her nub; making her tremble over me as I watched the back of her head bob up and down as I felt warmth, wetness and pleasure from her lips.

Deciding to be a bit cheeky I set two fingers, my middle and ring, to her sex and drove them in; firmly but not too harshly. In response she gave a deep, mewling moan around my cock before pushing down a bit further making me wonder how deep she could go before one of her hands moved to cup my balls, giving them a soft, gentle squeeze. I groaned in turn, I mean who wouldn't under these attentions, as I drove my fingers up into her firmer and deeper as I resisted the urge to buck into her mouth. I started to rock into her sex with my fingers quicker to get her off but soon she popped her lips off my cock and pulled her hips away; clearing having a different idea as she mounted my hips with her back to me.

Naturally it took her little time to set my cock to her sex and drop down onto it, moaning out as she leaned forwards, hands on my knees as I moved mine to her hips as she started to rock her hips on me as I groaned. "Fuck, how does your tiny body fit all of it in there?" I let off, groaning out under her softly.

"I don't care, it feels too good to not take it all..." She mewled back, looking over her shoulder as my view moved up from her ass to her eyes as the pink-haired girl clapped her ass to my pelvis, as if to further answer me. "Ahhhhhh! So deep!" Finally I decided it was time to move myself, thrusting upwards into her as I groaned out louder and got her moaning louder; if I didn't have my spells up I think everyone in the camp would know who was getting plowed, in what way and how hard.

I was tempted to let Victor know how deep in Prim I was but it would be more trouble then it was worth.

I held her hips as I slammed up and she rocked down as the mating dance carried onto it's climax as she came atop of me, crying out as her sex squeezed onto my dick as I quivered and shot my load up into her as I followed in the peak, pushing load after load up into her. She was still shivering as I leaned up, grabbed her arms, pulled her back to my chest and laid back as she yelped before I turned us over, moving her to all fours as I started to rock into her once more, leaning over her as I set my hands by her sides. "Ahhh! James, you're so rough!" She let off as I groaned.

"You don't like it?" I let off, starting to slow down.

"No! I love it! More!" She replied and, well, what else could a man do after hearing that? So I picked my speed back up, my pelvis now slapping into her royal rump as I groaned over her, her sex hugging my dick as hard as it could. "Yes!"

I groaned over her as I panted as I slammed into her over and over. Her ass jiggled with each impact and her breasts swung under her as I rutted into her; no more words spoken as we just enjoyed the pleasure and each other. I would adjust my legs to plow into her harder and harder, groaning deeper as I slammed in deep as she rammed back into me with her limbs. It wasn't overly long before we came once more; myself first and then her sex quivering onto my cock. I gripped her and let us fall to my side so I was spooning her; moaning and groaning ending as we recovered and panting. "It's been too long..." I let off with a long sigh.

"It really has..." She said, wriggling for a moment to fully dislodge my cock before turning in my arms, pushing me to my back and laying her head to my shoulder. "Things were scary before but it's getting really scary now, huh?"

"I guess, yeah." I said, wrapping an arm around her shoulders as she cuddled to me, my other hand moving to pet her hair softly. "Nothing we can do about it; we just have to do what we can to end the war how we can... Although how we can I'm not so sure..."

"Yeah..." She let off with a long sigh. "I mean if you look at the New Dawn we can get along with elves... not all elves, maybe, but most that are willing to be open minded. I'm sure it would be the same here..."

"We just need to deal with a long history of violence and war." I replied with a long sigh. It was never easy, was it?

"Whatever happens..." She said, looking up to me before moving up a bit and pecking my lips softly. "Just... come back to me, please."

"I have no intention of dying, Prim, trust me." Mostly as I'd done that once already... I still had the odd nightmare of it...

With Beardsley holding the gun in some of them now. Damned old man...

[Fucked List]

Banged Prim Fiorire=100xp
+20% Dark Horse of Eostia Bonus
Gain 120xp Total

[-]

Two days later I ended up in the forest with the Lyrans as we waited. Olga and her army had arrived and we waited for orders or directions from the generals and war leaders. By all accounts the enemy had patrols but they were kept tight to their army; they didn't seem to care to search the forest and were focused on the opposing Eostian lines. Using my Scry device I could see that start of the clash and it was getting rough; the lesser ghouls weren't initially present but rather they were positioned to heavily flank the rear lines which required a deployment of some reserves to handle it.

The last two battles went, mostly, the same way; a Garanian attack into the walls of infantry as Eostia moved to hold them and then flank their sides and rear. This time it was different; greater ghouls were up in front, flanked by trolls and providing cover for their smaller Legion allies with massive tower shields made from logs. A couple had fallen but they acted to fill the gaps as best as they could. A mix of goblins and ogres were acting as quick reaction forces, moving to stifle flank attacks with only the lighter cavalry being able to make any real dents. More over more of their mages were holding up shield spells making Eostian arrows and offensive spells less effective.

Worryingly Olga herself had yet to take the field; by all accounts she was holding back and observing the current battle conditions. I could only imagine what will happen when she deigns to end that. Three of the Cloud Riders were dropping off troops to hit their supplies led by Alicia and, surprisingly, Victor von Blitzhaus. Part of this was the Knights of Iris were being backed by Elddale's best this time around and I imagine someone opted to give Victor a trial by fire to get some experience under him. The fourth Cloud Rider was hanging back near the main camp, just in case.

As for us there was much pacing, nervous chatter, waiting and in general anxiety, which was not helped by the Dread Field. Waiting was the worst at times like these as we awaited for some type of orders; the fight was here and now and you were asked to sit on your hands while people were dying for reasons ranging from the noble to the stupid. It was frustrating to say the least. Everyone passed the time by doing something; I saw a couple guys carving wood with knives to make various, little carvings. Myr was practicing his thrusts and slashes with his new weapon. Akanji sat, cross legged and chanting something to herself, meditating as she tried to stay calm.

To pass the time I was trying to use my senses to, for lack of a better term, 'feel' the Dread Field. We were on the outer edges of it now and while the effects were minimal here you could feel it. I was feeling... for lack of a better term, jittery. Not fearful or the like, but rather jittery; like you were always feeling something over your shoulder looking at you. You were given a constant sense of low level, unnatural unease. Supposedly the further north you went the more and more that unease turned into fear and dread; to the point you had to get away lest your heart beat so hard it explodes in your chest, or so it would feel.

There were three main theories on how the Dread Field worked; the Wave Theory, the Psionic Theory and the Resonance Theory.

The Wave Theory is based on the idea that the Black Citadel outputted waves of unseen energy converted from mana that caused negative feelings of worry and fear as they washed over people. It was the most popular theory as most people thought these waves manipulated the mana of people to give them the feelings of unease. The issues with it was how unevenly these waves carried around Garan with no regards to terrain; they seemed unaffected by hills and forests as an example.

The Psionic Theory was similar but rather then waves it was a field of Psionic Energy that caused the same sort of negative feelings. The thing is Psionic based abilities are... understudied to say the least; Celestine's visions were a result of these and mind reading magic existed but very few could use it; not because teaching of the spells were limited but because the talent for it was rare enough that Dragonborne were more common. Because of that there were only a handful of Psionic based spells and maybe an equal amount of people in Eostia able to even use them and it was possible only one or less even knew they had the talent. In general the field of Psionic Magic existed and was so rare as to be useless so the idea that this mostly mysterious form of magic was what caused the Dread Field to have it's powerful effects. That said that still didn't explain the uneven spread of the field.

The Resonance Theory was the least popular one. The idea was that they had a human somewhere in the Black Citadel locked up and placed into something akin to eternal pain and agony. Those feelings would be then projected across the mana in the air of Garan and it would then effect all members of the same species. Unlike the other theories the uneven spread was explainable; the idea of, for lack of a better term, signal towers that would pull this essence across the air's mana to cover Garan. With only so much to spread they can't push the field too far south lest they dilute the effect too much to be useless. The issues with that theory is by that logic only humans should be affected; Halflings, Catalans and Dwarves also suffered under the field. Proponents suggests they have those races present and tortured as well and that they don't do the same to High Elves out of respect or that they're too close to their Dark Elf cousins in physiology and they'll suffer as well.

The problem is after seven hundred years of study no one knew the truth and no one was any closer to figuring out which of the theories were right, which were wrong or if all of them were wrong. In my opinion all of them were off but the Resonance Theory had to be the closest. It had to be something in regards to the mana in the air with how it was spread but exactly what was being done I didn't know.

In the end I could feel something... off in the air here but in a way I couldn't define or describe...

A pinging sound made me turn my head to Sulon as he answered his voxlux and started to speak to someone over it. It took a couple of minutes but soon he was done and calling out to us. "Listen up! The enemy supplies are more guarded then initially thought and we're being called up to support the back line strike; either taking out the enemy's supplies or at least helping the poor bastards fall back! So get your shit sorted; we march in five minutes!"

Well... guess it's showtime...

[-]

"Flying Wagons?" Olga let off as Gavrilla Dreadblade, her general nodded to her, head bowed and fist over her heart, standing before the queen's hovering platform.

"Indeed. It must be a new development as we never heard of them before now." The woman said before standing fully and moving her hands to her sides. "I think they've been using them in this new conflict. They're large enough for transport but if high enough they could be used for reconnaissance from the air. I can at least say they've sent soldiers to our rear, likely to our supplies."

"We've reports that other units, including the Dawn Templars are moving to our rear as well." Chloe let off as she frowned. "They must be using these things to spy on our movements and adapt to them as we make them."

"That would explain a lot, yes." Olga let off as she smirked softly. "Well then... if that's the case then there's a means of blinding them to a degree." She let off as she lifted her staff into the air, the stone capping it's top glowing brightly for a long moment before she slammed it's butt to the flood of her platform. Soon, a black, inky mist spilled from her staff's stone and lifted upwards, starting to creep over the field like rolling, angry clouds for several, long minutes... "Chloe, we'll be taking some of our units to the back to handle the rats at our back. General Dreadblade; I want their front lines smashed."

"Consider it done, my queen." Gavrilla let off, nodding before turning on her heel before moving towards the main body of her army as Olga moved to step off her platform.

"Now then..." The Dark Queen said as her face returned to a cold, neutral as she moved to step off her platform. "Where did these Dawn Templars go to?"

[-]

"E-everything's getting dark!" Myr let off as we marched out to assist the Knights of Iris and Elddale Forces; outside of the forest it was mostly flat fields so we made good time... at least until the sky darkened on us as a thick, black mist covered the sky.

"It's a Dark Mist spell; there's a few variants of it out there..." I let off as I narrowed my eyes. "Someone must have figured out we're spying on them from above and is trying to blind us." Most armies would keep anti-Scry fields near them; part of the reason my device worked so well was that it spied on them from well above that and just zoomed in for a closer view, unlike just using a Scry spell. With how low that mist was a normal Scry shield would block a standard cast of Scry. My device combined Scry and Telescopic vision, making it possible normally, but now you'd just see the mist. "Nothing we can do about it."

"Here, let me try..." Myr let off as he channeled mana. When I realized what he was about to do it was too late to tell him to stop as he sent a strong, tunnel of wind up into the black fog and... The fog parted as the wind reached it then closed up as the wind passed. "Huh!?" He let off as Sulon glared to him; as if sending a jet of water into a layer of oil already resting atop of water.

"These kind of spells are designed to resist wind spells in one way or another..." I pointed out as I frowned. Because it's never that easy. "And now there's a new problem..."

"Ehh?" Myr let off as Sulon clearly resisted the urge to facepalm.

"You idiot! They know where we are now!" The Lyran leader let off.

"...ohhh..." The mage let off as we heard a load roar ahead of us as, coming from far across the field we could see a large group of Aberrant rushing to us.

"Well at least these guys can't harass the people we're here to save..." I let off as I drew the Shining Gemini, but leaving it inactive. "Sulon, what should we do? Hold them here or try and get past them?"

"Hmmm... We need to help them out so we need to get someone out there." Sulon grumbled out looking to me. "James, take Myrddin, Akanji, Makoto and Aeris and sneak around them. Help out the troops and see how many you can save. We'll hold these monsters here in the meantime."

"Got it." I let off, moving to rush to the side of the field; there was taller grass we could use for at least partial cover. "Myr, ladies, let's get going!"

"Right!" I heard back as we rushed back and to the side moving to the grass and leaning as we rushed forwards. The Lyrans kept marching forwards and moving away from the grass to pull them into a more open field. I could only hope for the best there.

[-]

"Keep pushing them! We need to take the pressure off our allies!" Commander Keen Dux was the leader of the Dawn Templar's Shield Division. She was one of Celestine's main bodyguards and considered by many to be the second in command of all of the Dawn Templars; behind only Claudia Levantine herself. Holding her claymore in one hand she held a single handed axe in her off hand that she took from an orc. "They've almost broken, press on! Press on!" She let off, slashing an ogre through the neck with her blade.

Fighting besides her was another nine members of the Dawn Templars; each woman was clad in high quality Mana Armor, was well trained by Grave Levantine, Claudia Levantine or both and well armed with high quality and forged weapons. They were considered the best of the best, even among other elite orders in Eostia. Along with them in support of their efforts was a collection of other forces; twenty one members of the elite order of knights known as The Order of the First Light and ten well trained and armed knights from the Duchy of Onglave were present as well who were some of the best regulars one could hope for. The remaining forty two members of their force came from the Royal Regulars of the Grand Duchy of Ur; half being armored knights and the remainder a mix being a collection of mages, archers and healers.

They had all come on horses to attack, planning to use the mounts to maximize their mobility but lesser ghouls hidden in the grass with long, sharpened poles had done a number on their horses in an ambush as they tried to pass over them and only saw them at the last moment; slaying a third of the beasts they rode on and causing harm to their number as they hit the ground. Thankfully a new spell spread to one of her order, Holy Flare, let her clear off the ghouls before they could do much else without harming their own numbers. The healers helped them recover and they pressed on, slamming into the enemy's flank, even if much of them were on foot now.

Despite being just over eighty strong while facing worse then two to three odds they were cleaning up the foe; the result would take pressure off their allies striking at the supply lines. A roar showed a new arrival on the field; a thirteen foot tall troll. She clicked her tongue but didn't panic; instead she moved to rush closer to it. Three ogres moved to block her passage; moving into a loose half-circle to semi-surround her. Despite the large sword she was able to handle it with ease with only her right hand; she feigned a move to the right most ogre before shifting and rushing the left most with a wide slash; cutting it through it's midsection and into it's organs and dropping it straight away. As the middle one turned to rush she used a combat art as she stepped in with a wide slash, cutting it's head apart before dashing in and slamming her blade's point into the final one's heart, turning and flinging it off her blade.

With the troll closer and coming towards her she grinned, flipped the axe in her hand once and used another Combat Art as it paused to roar at her in an effort to intimidate her. There was a rumor some Aberrant could use the Dread Field to enhance the fear in human's hearts. She felt none of it and she threw the axe at the troll; the Combat Art she used letting her slam it into the monster's skull with a hard, spinning throw with enough force to bury it into it's brain. Upon impact the troll staggered back three steps, a confused look on it's face before it finally fell to it's knees then it's face.

Panting softly she checked the field quickly. They had injured but only two dead; better then she could have hoped for. One of the female mages was sadly trapped; she was tackled by an orc and she was able to kill it with a dagger to the neck but it was laid out on top of her, pinning her down as she squirmed to get out from under it. She started to cross over to help before she paused as the remaining line of Aberrant pulled back then parted. She moved to take her blade in both hands and took a combat stance; sensing something was wrong and coming towards them from the enemy line as her comrades and allies moved to flank her in a wide line with their arms at the ready. She was braced for whatever would come...

Then she saw who was coming... "Oh no..." Keen let off as she saw the figure of Olga Discordia, the Queen of Garan, walking past the Legion and to the fore as she lifted her staff up and slammed it to the ground as she looked across the field with a passive glance over her and her forces. A wave of nervousness washed over her and the whole forces under her command; their mounted number feeling their horses shiver as they backed their beasts up at the Dark Queen's mere apperance. Commander Keen was well aware of the power of the Queen of the Jagged Crown and knew there was only one thing she could really do to face her down. "Mages! Unleash!" She cried out as she waited for their mages to cast their spells.

As they were trained to do so in a situation like this the mages behind her cast their spells as quickly as they could; some more on instinct then anything else. Olga would soon see a mix of fire, wind, lightning and arcane spells soaring towards her; Eostian mages were drilled to use a spell in these classifications when ordered to attack in such a manner as none would interfere or cancel one another out save that wind spells would bolster fire spells. As the spells were cast and sailed to the Dark Queen through the air Commander Keen held her weapon high and charged, following the spells to their target, giving off a war cry as she attempted to close ranks with the sorceress while using the spells as a means of softening her up; even then she was unsure of how this would go. Many behind her were inspired to do the same; each of the Dawn Templars and members from the Order of the First Light following her with no hesitation to her pride.

Olga's response as the spells neared was to lift her left hand up and cast a wide shield, guarding herself and the Legion behind her. The spells would impact the barrier and, with the explosions of the fire spells, would be obscured for a long moment as Keen kept up her head long charge; her fellow Dawn Templars and members of the Order of the First Light charging with her each giving off a war cry. Finally the smoke cleared enough as she saw Olga once more and felt a cold claw grip her heart as the Dark Elf Queen was fully unharmed and pointing the end of her staff towards them, the pink stone capping it's top now covered with a swirling, almost boiling flame that was dark purple in color; so dark one could almost mistake it for black. Keen pushed herself into charging faster, closing ranks as she used a Combat Art to move that bit faster before it was too late as Olga spoke one, single word in a icy, chilled tone. "Begone." Keen was about start the swing of her weapon when Olga's spell was finally unleashed; knowing what it was even as the flames condensed around the stone before spilling forwards in a blazing, unrestricted torrent point blank at her...

Annihilation Stream...

A wave that would spread to nine feet tall, over a hundred feet in length and would spread out from her staff at an angle of a hundred and twenty degrees in a tsunami of dark, indigo fire and darkness mana fused into one, devastating spell. Commander Keen Dux herself was the first to be impacted by the spell as close as she was when it went off; her Mana Armor's barrier holding up for two seconds while the force of the spell pushed her backwards before the protective mana of her armor was eaten by the properties of Olga's mighty spell. Her body would be reduced to ash in the following second under the sheer power of the hybrid spell's dark flames. In the ten seconds following that her weapon and armor would be reduced to a twisted slag of barely recognizable, blackened material.

The Dawn Templars behind her suffered the same fate, as did those in the Order of the First Light; those in steel armor were cooked and then rendered to ash inside of their shells before the metal was turned to slag, trapping much of the remains inside of them. The few in mythril would have their bodies remain intact, the armor only warping slightly under the heat and power but they still cooked to death inside of their protective metals and were burned with furious energy. Members of the Onglave Knights and Ur's Royal Regulars were further back as the spell washed over them but the effect was unchanged; reducing the men to ashes and the steel they wore and carried to a slag. Any horse within the stream were not spared either; nothing but ash remaining of the loyal beasts and scattered to the winds.

By the time the spell ended only five Eostians from the force were left alive; four Onglave Knights on horseback could be seen by Olga and her Aberrant forces fleeing and the female mage under the dead orc was left shivering, no longer trying to push the orc off her as she stayed stock still, attempting to go unnoticed; the back of the orc lightly scorched and protecting her from the flames as she was just outside the arc of the spell's blast zone. The Dark Queen seemed to huff as she turned and started to walk back the way she came. "I needs deal with other things. Carry on." A cheer came from the Aberrant as the surviving mage, trapped under the orc shivered and tried to control her panting. For a long moment she thought she went unnoticed...

Until an ogre rolled the burnt orc off her. Before she could react three goblins piled onto her and started to grab at her clothes. "No! Stop! Let me go!" She let off, about to try and cast a spell before a fist was panted to her face, dazing her. By the time she over came the dazing effect of the impact and could understand what was happening once more all but some tatters of her clothes were gone and a goblin was mounting her sex and pressing into her sex with it's penis...

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

There would be no help coming as dozens of Aberrant surrounded her.

There would be no help coming as they had their fun, one by one.

And there would still be no help coming as she was used, abused, exhausted and then carried back with them...

[-]

"So... this is the strength of an elite force..." Victor von Blitzhaus had been active in the past few months of his life; between the events of Prim's birthday party and the Council of Lords he was forced to accept that, yes, he needed to curb himself somewhat and better mimic and understand both the strength and wisdom of his father. He trained hard and long with the knights of Elddale and even his father to become the ideal of a warrior noble of Eostia and he came to the war clad in good, mythril armor and boasting a mythril executioner's styled sword in his right hand; a three and a half foot long blade with a five inch wide blade and a rounded end. Near the end of the sword was a cut out filled with a baseball sized, flattened, red spell stone enchanted by his brother to adjust the end of the blade's weight upon an impact, tripling it. In his left hand was another mythril blade; a single bladed short sword but with an extended front guard that angled upwards; designed to trap opposing blades to make an opening for his heavier weapon.

He was placed under the command of the Knight Princess of Feoh and the leader of the Knights of Iris, Alicia Arcturus, as she had more experience and could show him what it meant to lead under fire as they attacked the opposing supply wagons and stockpiles but found the enemy had left strong forces in the rear to guard them. There were still Aberrant there but also present were the Knights of Garan; several dark elves equipped with arms and armor equal to their Eostian counterparts and trained in martial and usually magical combat. And their numbers were not insignificant and drove a wedge into their lines, separating them and making it difficult to know the full situation he was currently in.

He was, in fact, locked in combat with two such knights; blocking a heavy swipe of a saber with his off hand blade's guard from a dark elf clad in heavy, steel, black painted armor before slamming his heavier sword down to the man's left shoulder; crushing the pauldron and making him scream in pain before swinging that same blade at the other knight who tried to blindside him from his right. He tilted his barbute style helm to allow the spear thrust to deflect off the side of it; Channer had set a red spell stone to it's center front with a modified shield spell over the facial gap to offer better protection without blocking his view. He still felt the stiff impact as he charged the elf to get in too close for him to use the spear with any ease; thrusting his short sword to the man's face, waiting for him to step back before swinging down hard with his heavier blade. He aimed to catch his arm but struck the spear's shaft instead; forcing the tip to hit the ground and cracking the shaft into two pieces held by splinters of wood. He swung wide to try and catch the knight only for him to abandon the shattered weapon and draw an arming sword at his side.

His instincts blared at him to move and it was that which made him leap to the side before the first knight's saber slashed down where he was; even so a back swing follow up caught him on the chest and knocked him back a step as the mythril of his breastplate held strong under the rough strike. He took note, however, that the elf's left arm hung limply by his side; Victor's first strike did real damage then and crippled the limb He backed up as the two knights moved to spread to his sides; seeking to attack the Blitzhaus heir from two, seperate angles. Victor knew better then to simply let them and decided to play a little dirty, digging a toe to the dirt before kicking at the wounded knight; a clump of earth hitting the man's visor and making him stagger back and shake out his head to rid himself of the soil that clung to his helm.

A heavy, wide side swing with the executioner's blade in his right hand slammed to the dark elf's helm and he felt the neck break under the force of the impact. He quickly turned to face the second knight and found himself blocking with his larger blade as the dark elf thrust at him as he pulled back his shorter one and thrust it to the visor of his foe. He had to turn his wrist a little more then usual but he managed to get it through the slots and into the knight's face, getting a cry from him and dropping him to the ground, unmoving save a brief tremble of a leg. He panted for a long moment, looking about the field. More fighting was going on around him and he was well aware the chances they'd be overrun were rising. If they should retreat now or tough it out and try to push through he wasn't sure but what he knew was this was the most tense and dangerous battle thus far.

Retreat, he was thinking, was becoming the better option as much as he hated to admit it and he was about to turn and find Alicia to begin the process before pausing a moment then leaping forwards, rolling over his shoulder and rising back up to turn and face whatever he felt behind him...

"You couldn't just die easily, could you?"

A blonde, female dark elf with her blade thrust out where he just stood a moment ago.

Something about her seemed familiar but he couldn't place it. She bore a half cape over her right side and a long, long ponytail down her left. Her right hand held a blade that looked like a cross between a katana and a scimitar with a d-guard with a blunted edge and a spike jutting out and upwards made of either well polished steel or mythril (He assumed the second) with a red spell stone set to it's pommel and a spike sticking out from behind it. In her left hand was a kukri styled knife with a finger ring and a guard that curved up slightly. As rose colored eyes glared to him as she spun the knife once on the finger ring he knew that this woman would be a step above the knights he just killed in terms of skill and ability. She seemed unarmored but he was well aware she could be wearing something akin to Armor Weave meaning she could be just short of as heavily armored as he was.

The old Eostian saying was 'the more beautiful the girl, the more skin she shows the more dangerous she was' and this woman was a clear example of that.

She would pull her main blade back, holding it before her with the blade pointing the tip to her left and upwards as a strange mist gathered around it before she slashed down at him; the mist scattering towards him and quickly surrounding him. He took in a calming breath as his vision was blurred by the darkness as he focused on his other senses. He wasn't just a nobleman knight; his father trained him to fight even in these conditions. He honed his instinct and...

There!

He turned and swung hard to his left with a vertical, heavy strike with his main weapon and... hit nothing. He recovered quickly as he tried to adjust, the mist around him starting to thin but felt a heavy stab into the back of his left side. In spite of the padding under the mythril he felt the dent put into his armor as he turned, able to see her silhouette as the mist thinned further as he thrust his off hand weapon to her, pulling back his heavier one for a vertical strike. The dark elf deflected his off hand weapon with her own before side stepping his heavy swing before he swung it to the side; the woman leaning back under it, setting the top of her head to the ground as her back arched , her legs swinging up and over until she flipped back onto them and lunged with a heavy thrust of her own main weapon; the mist now fully gone.

He used the guard of his off hand weapon to force the weapon straight up, stepping in to deliver a headbutt only to have her twist to the side, dodge and stomp on the outside of his knee with her foot; the impact didn't hurt but it still forced him down slightly and off-balanced him leaving him vulnerable to a heavy swing to the head from her weapon. The sound of the clang rang inside his helm as pain flared in his neck from the strike as he turned and swung hard with his heavy blade, almost in desperation. He felt it make contact with her weapon; the woman blocking the strike but the cry he got from her told him she couldn't match his strength as she fell backwards, even landing on her back and rolling over her shoulder and back up to her feet. He kicked his leg out twice; there was no pain there but there was still some in his neck and head.

Even the best armor forged by man, halfling or anyone could only do so much...

Before he knew it she charged once more; thrusting with her main weapon... or so he thought. As he used his off hand weapon to shove it aside and attack with his main weapon she moved closer then he thought she would and swung with the pommel of her off hand knife into his face, the shield his brother set to his helm flashing for a moment before she slammed it down onto the top of his skull. He threw a heavy punch with his right fist as she was now too close to swing at her, only for her to duck and swing up into his armpit with her knife; plate armor needed gaps to allow the wearer to move and such a gap was in the armpit, although with chain mail positioned to guard it. There was some pain on impact but the mail held and deflected the blow as he dropped his elbow to her skull; he connected but she was already rolling over her shoulder to his side as he did so, mitigating the blow. More over a flash of purple mana at the site of impact showed that, yes, she wore some form of Armor Weave.

He turned to face her but found she was faster; her main weapon already swung before it connected with the side of his forehead, causing a loud clang as stumbled to the side under the impact, wincing before forcing himself upright fully to face her with a loud 'tsk'. The pain in his neck and his headache were both worsened by the heavy blow but he was still standing and able to fight. He wanted to snarl at her in frustration but held back the urge; it wouldn't help and if anything it would just tip his condition to her. Instead he moved to hold his off hand weapon before him and lifted his main weapon over his shoulder, creeping to the dark elf until he was just out of his range; only then did he lunge forth, thrusting with his smaller weapon to force a reaction from her.

She used her kukri to force it aside as she moved to slash for his head once more with her main weapon; her attack interrupted as he delivered a hard front kick to her abs, knocking the breath from her and making her stumble back. Finally seeing his chance to land a decisive blow he used a Combat Art as he swung his main weapon to her head with a heavy, vertical blow, driving it downwards with as much force as he could muster...

Only for her to twist to the side, dodging the blade by an inch as it slammed into the ground with a heavy impact as she launched her foot upwards in a spinning back kick that caught him on the chin; his helm's shield wasn't able to block it as her heel caught the bottom of his helm and lifted it before colliding with his jaw and stumbling back with a few stars in his vision. He attempted to shake the impact off but his foe would step in with a heavy, powerful side kick (That had James saw it would have been compared to Sweet Chin Music); the stars in his vision turning to constellations as he staggered back further, trying to collect himself through the pain before he saw her leap to the air above him, making him look upwards to the gorgeous elf.

A part of him would admit she moved with a grace and poise that few could match as she twisted in mid air, body straight for a moment before coiling in and lashing out with once more; a heavy, flying, single legged kick to the center of his helm as the bottom of her foot glowed with a Combat Art as it impacted on his forehead through the mythril plate over his head. Despite his helm's protection the force hit him like a warhammer, slamming his head backwards as he was knocked over, as if struck by a wild, spooked and kicking horse as he hit the ground, flat on his back. He managed to hold onto his weapons as he tried to rise up with a pained groan...

Only to have a hard stomp from her force his head back into the ground painfully before one more, swift, swinging kick to the chin disconnected him with the conscious world. "He was more work then it was worth." The woman let off as she huffed, moving her boot heel to the bottom of Victor's helm before kicking it forwards, removing it before lifting her main blade up as she inverted in to strike the death blow. Sure; she saw two humans were rushing over to them but both would be two late to save him. This man would die...

Until her ear twitched and she leapt back, avoiding a Magic Missile, then leaping even further back with a series of three jumps as a cluster of them sent via a Scatter Bolt. The two human knights managed to get into position; one (The older of the two) standing before the downed man with a raised shield and the other (A younger man) moving to check on the downed lord. That said she stopped paying either man any of her attention, her head turned to her left as she watched the mage who fired at her walk closer. She imagined what she had to look like; jaw a hint slack and eyes a bit wide. She had seen this human once before, although he had gotten taller and older in the five years since she last had laid eyes upon him.

The youth who freed her and hers from a cage in Elddale half a decade ago...

[-]

I'd gotten separated from my allies and friends once more in the desperate melee as I moved both to relieve those I could, heal those wounded and in more then one case avenge those I couldn't. It was just after nailing two orcs with a Magic Missile each via Dual Cast that I saw Victor get nailed with a huge flying kick and moved over to keep him from dying then and there.

I admit I was tempted, and I do mean well and truly tempted to be just a little too late (On purpose) to save Victor. I was sure saving him would be a pain in my ass down the line as well, and that I would come to regret it. On the other hand I liked to think I was a man of good and honest morals and at the moment we were 'allies', painful as it was to admit, so I had to. If nothing else I knew I'd sleep easier after this. That said once the dark elf was off of him and I got a good look at her I had a hint of recognition. Something about her was a bit familiar to me and it took a moment to place it; her name was Chloe and she was one of the dark elves in the slave pen back in Elddale when I freed Lolek and Riri and escaped with them.

Given the look on her face I figured she remembered me as well... talk about an awkward reunion. I glanced to the two men hovering by Victor as they watched over him; they were levels twelve and twenty one when compared to Victor's thirty (Someone's been hitting the gym...) so that told me a little. Okay then... what about Chloe?

(-)

Name: Chloe the Unbroken
Title: Child of Shadow
Class: Assassin
Level: 39
Alignment: Unsure
Reputation: 51
Status: Healthy, Surprised, Tense

Romance Rating: 101
Corruption Rating: 51

Known Traits
[Sexual Conditioning] You have been conditioned as a sex slave and physical pleasure triggers your lustful instincts. Increase all sexual partner's Ple by 15 or 15%, whichever is more. Also reduce your Wil for each climax by 4.

[?]
[Shadowborne] You are one with the shadows. +2 Stealth when your cast in a shadow

[Dual Strike] You are exceptional at using two weapons at the same time. +5% Dex and Agi while using two weapons at once.
[Wildhood] You can survive in the wild with ease; building fires, setting traps for food, foraging for berries and more. -15% hunger and thirst in the wild

Born to an unknown dark elf mother and human father she is unsure if she is the child of rape or an odd, strange passion. What is known is that her mother took her to the Eostian territory of Elddale and sold her as a slave for one copper, leading her to be bought by Sir John Mandeville who trained her sexually since she was nine. In spite of her situation she remained defiant and escaped northwards to Garan. Elddale slave hunters would nearly catch her before she was discovered and saved by Olga Discordia who took the lost child into her care.

(-)

There were two bits in there that had me curious; the first was the Alignment as I had always got either Friendly, Neutral or Hostile before... Unsure was a new one. Then there was that first trait; I'm sure that I do not want to know what that fucking old man did to her... Damn...

Either way I walked as calmly as I could with the Dragon's Claw in my hand as she watched me, moving between her, the two men and Victor. I only looked away long enough to address the men in question. "Take him and leave. I'll handle this." I said as calmly and coolly as I could.

"H-hey!" The younger one let off. "You ain't our lord!"

"Shut it." The older solider let off as he sheathed his weapons, moving to grab Victor's arm and pulled him up. I could only imagine the weight he bore as he hefted Victor, fully armored, up to his shoulders in a fireman's carry and grabbing his helm in his left hand. "His funeral."

Chloe made no move to interrupt as the two men started to leave (The younger man sheathing his weapon and grabbing Victor's) as a brisk jog; moving off towards Alicia or the Cloud Rider and possibly both. Once they were far enough away I started to calmly and slowly walk to Chloe, inverting my grip on my weapon to hopefully showcase that I didn't intend to be aggressive and once I was twenty feet away I stopped, set the point of my weapon to the ground and stood there to look at her before speaking. "It's been a long time Chloe." I said as she narrowed her eyes.

"I never gave you my name." She let off; her tone was calm but an undertone of anger was there.

"Riri told me." I replied as she blinked to me. "She opted to say as a maid with my family."

"And the other halfling? Lolek?" She asked; the undertone was still there but lesser then before.

"He left and ended up forming a small group to fight slavers." She snorted; what it meant I wasn't sure.

"Good for him." She let off as there was a brief silence... save the sound of combat going on around us; at the current moment we were, maybe, a hundred feet from anyone else so it was as private as private would get on a battlefield. "You shouldn't have come here. Leave now... I won't strike you down if you do." She let off, a hint of sadness to her voice.

"I've a duty to do, like it or not." I replied as I shook my head. "I imagine you're much the same in that regard." She narrowed her eyes to me as I moved to grind the tip of my blade to the ground. "Listen to me Chloe... Celestine wants to speak to Olga face to face and finally find a peaceful end to this war." She narrowed her eyes at me as I looked back to her, staying as calm as I could in the situation. "I think you can agree with me that there's been enough done."

"... Foolish..." She let off as she closed her eyes for a moment before looking back to me. "Do you think she doesn't have her own reasons to do this? Her own duty?"

"That maybe so..." I let off as I looked to her as we looked to one another. "But she's also the only one who can end this war in a manner that doesn't have everyone on one side or both sides dying. And I don't have to tell you that it hasn't worked out so far for either side of the conflict."

"Do you have any idea of why she's doing this..?" She all but hissed out at me. I could see her hands clench on her weapons as she looked to me with a firmer glare "Or anything about the Pure Council's orders!?" That was new to me; I imagined that was the leadership of the dark elves homeland? Maybe Celestine knew.

"Please, just listen to me..." I let off as calmly as I could. "People are dying out here. Humans yes but also dark elves..." I said looking to my side. You could see a dark elf there on the ground laid out and dead; armored but missing his helm. I couldn't tell his age at a glance but he was surely young and I noted Chloe's gaze followed my own. "What can Olga hope to gain by doing this? Or this Pure Council? It has only caused pain to everyone. If we can bring our two leaders together, if we can get them talking... we can end this peacefully..." For a moment she shut her eyes as if thinking... but the first hint to her answer came as I heard the boss music spin up in a remix; one I would call sad yet proud as my view flashed then shifted to her face as she looked back, a sad smile on her face.

"...This war is bigger then even them... All I can do is my own duty..." She said as my view panned back as she held her longer blade up before her as she looked to me. "I owe you enough that I'll let you flee... but if you will not do so I must strike you down..."

_Child of Shadow_
Chloe the Unbroken

As my view returned to normal I moved the Dragon's Claw to a normal grip and held it before me while I reached behind my back and twisted a Gemini half to draw it in my off hand but I made no move to activate it, attack or even draw mana. She slowly moved; holding her off hand knife before her, out and horizontal to the ground and held her main sword over her shoulder and behind her but she also made no move to attack me. It was... the most awkward fight I've ever been in and a blow hasn't even been thrown yet.

"Chloe... You don't need to do this." I said as calm as I could to avoid triggering her. "We can work on getting Celestine and Olga together to-"

"Yes I do!" She replied and cutting off my appeal, charging at me now as I let off a 'tsk' as she swung hard with her main blade. I blocked with the still inactive Gemini half as I set a tracking spell to her blade as I shoved it aside before jabbing at her face with my main weapon's D-guard with a stiff punch; I set the tracking spell as the last time I had to fight someone with stealth based traits I ended up getting knocked around and wanted to nip that in the bud early. She blocked my punch with her off hand weapon before shoving it aside and slashing at me with the kukri. I didn't even bother to block, the scales of my chest armor handling it well as I threw a close range elbow that she leaned away from as she hopped up, bunched her legs up and drop kicked me in the chest; I stumbled back two steps and she, somehow, flipped back in mid-air to land on her feet as her main blade collected a dark mist around it before slashing outside of her weapon's range.

For a moment I was covered in a thick mist although not as blinding as Vasilisa's spell. More over when she moved to slash at me from behind I could sense it thanks to the tracking spell and I turned to block with the Dragon's Claw before swinging with the Gemini half, clubbing her temple and knocking her to the side a step; a flash of mana told me she wore something akin to Armor Weave. I followed up with a front kick that knocked her back as the mist thinned out as she stumbled back then stepped back until she was ten feet away as the mist vanished in full. Her eyes narrowed at me as she started to circle to my left. I moved to ensure I kept her in my view but once more I made no effort to attack. I kept relaxed as I finally activated the Gemini half; I had modified both ends of the Shining Gemini slightly to allow it to make a one foot long blade with curved, six inch prongs on either side; mimicking parrying daggers. I imagined in spear form it would mimic a trident as well, but that was a more a side effect then an intended one. "Do you honestly think this war will end well? For anyone?" I asked her as calmly as I could, trying to appeal to her better nature.

"I have my duty!" She let off, rushing me once more and thrusting with her main blade at my chest; I used the Gemini half to catch and push it to the inside as I chopped my saber at her shoulder; although with a pulled strike. She caught it with her knife before lashing out with a knee to my ribs; I winced but it caused no real harm as I smashed my forehead to her face; rocking her back before trying another front kick. Her response was to lean to the side, clamp her left arm onto my shin as she pulled back her main blade as she leaned back to try and straighten my leg out. Realizing what she was doing I jumped with my other leg and swung it about in a roundhouse; performing an enziguri kick to her head and connecting as she leaned with the impact to lessen it. I managed to land in a way to roll over my shoulder and up to my feet as I turned to face her; I was sure her Weave guarded her from the strike.

Her glowing foot greeted me as she kicked me in the chin with a Combat Art with a stepping sidekick that would make Shawn Michaels proud and with enough force to knock me clean off my feet; possibly even knock me out if I didn't have the barrier provided by my circlet. I landed hard on my shoulders with my legs moving over my head but the position let me kip up to my feet with a hard grunt. I only had a moment to react as she had a glowing blade; her Kukri gone and allowing her hold her strange blade with both hands as she slashed down; I brought my glove's shield up and blocked it with a kite version before pushing back and slashing at her with my saber. A flash in her left palm made her knife return to it in an inverted grip to block it. That was unexpected... Even so I deactivated the Gemini half before using a Power Punch with my left hand, slamming it to her chest and knocking her off her feet and back by several feet. She landed on her back but like I had she kipped up to her feet. She glared at me as started to circle to my left once more. "You're holding back on me." She let off sternly, as if offended.

"So are you." I replied as she winced. Sure; I was used to fighting people over my level way too often for my own good but this fight didn't even approach those fights in difficulty, so that meant either she was weaker then her level indicated or she was holding back on me. Given her response it was the second and-

My thoughts about how we were holding back quickly stopped there to a dead halt as I saw someone else approach; a staff in one hand and a segmented cloak over her shoulders and half her face hidden by black hair. My head turned to her and Chloe must have took notice of my distraction as she turned to look just as the new comer spoke with a smooth yet cool tone as the boss theme playing faded until it finally vanished. "A dark elf and a human fighting without intent to kill? How curious..."

"My queen!" Chloe let off as she jumped slightly. I felt a small chill over my spine but kept composed. I was sure I knew who this was before but Chloe confirmed it as she ignored me and moved to kneel down and face said queen, lowering her gaze. "I... I apologize... I was merely-"

"I assume, then, this is the man you mentioned so long ago? He who saw fit to free you from that cage?" The woman said, cutting off the blonde, as she walked around the kneeling Chloe... and, as I noted, stopped slightly ahead of and moved slightly before her, almost protectively I could say. "Stand, Chloe. This is no place to being kneeling." She let off Chloe moved to stand, now half turning to face me, now behind and beside the dark queen. After a moment of thought I lowered my weapons and deactivated the Gemini half as I stood up fully as she gave me a cool, neutral look.

"Queen Olga Discordia of the Kingdom of Garan, I presume." I said as calmly as I could. She gave the barest hints of a nod as she looked to me.

"I am she." She let off as I used Observe on her.

[-]

"Fall back! Fall back!" Alicia let off, gritting her teeth. On the one hand one of their mages managed to sneak around and unleashed a heavy fire spell into the enemy's supplies; wagons of food lighting up and burning down. As it stood now, however it was clear things were turning for the worse; they made a fighting retreat to the Cloud Riders as another unit pressed in; giving them the breathing room they needed as opposing units gave up the chase to handle the fires in their back lines. That wasn't to say they weren't unmolested, a series of goblins were making hit and run attacks on them with throwing spears and just normal spear rushes but were now keeping their distance. She was not just directing her forces but also moving to guard them as her wounded men were loaded up... just as she saw another man carrying someone on his shoulders with another body-guarding for him rushing to them. It took her a moment to notice the man being carried was Victor von Blitzhaus. "What happened to him?" She barked out as the men were close enough as they paused to speak back to her.

"Some tough drow whore nearly killed him! I think she's a high ranking knight or something!" The older man let off with a huff. "That Noxdecus brat gave us cover to pull out." He added as Alicia felt a cold hand at her heart.

"What!? Where is he now?" She let off as the man shrugged.

"Still there, maybe." He said before moving to the Cloud Rider. "We need to get out of here."

"Not without him." She said, looking back to the Cloud Rider. "Driver! Once everyone is loaded get to the air and wait for me! If I'm not back in half an hour leave without me!"

"Eh!? You gotta be joking me!?" The younger of the two Elddale soldiers let off as she ran off the way they came as the elder of the two huffed.

"Leave her... She'll likely find a corpse anyway..."

[-]

(-)

Name: Olga Discordia
Title: Queen of the Jagged Crown
Class: Sorceress
Level: 55 (-?)
Alignment: Neutral
Reputation: 21
Status: ?, Calm, Composed

Romance Rating: 78
Corruption Rating: 19

Known Traits
[Dread Field Connection] You are connected to the Dread Field and power it with your own mana. Reduce your Mag by 30% when you are connected to the Dread Field and have it activated; the higher the total Mag reduced determines the power of the Dread Field.
[Dark Queen Standards] The Romance Rating for both sexual activity and claiming as a bride/concubine is increased by 40 each.
[Most Beautiful Woman] You are considered sexually attractive to everyone to some degree. Opponents distracted by your beauty lose 5% to all stats

[Trueborne Caster] You are a product of intense magical training and upbringing. +10% to your Mag and Mnc.

[?]
[Deep Reserves] You have an exceptionally large and deep Mana Pool. +15% to Mnc

[Graced By The Arcane] You wear any Mage Robe or Arcane Robe better then most. +10% to All Resistances and Effects of any Mage or Arcane Robe you wear. In addition you can increase the non-physical damage and effects of any weapon you hold

Hailed as one of the greatest of her generation and a Trueborne of the dark elven culture she was a member of the Pure Council who was assigned the task of leading a forces down to strike at the humans once more. The only Trueborne leading said forces all of Garan worships her as their queen and divinely ordained leader, held above all others. She is known for her cool and controlled demeanor; rarely showcasing her emotions.

(-)

So much to consider... On the one hand her level was just one less then Celestine's so she was powerful as fuck... but her level also had a minus symbol with question marks... That told me she was operating at under that level... by a little or by a lot I don't know. On top of that where I'd normally see 'Healthy' was question marks as well. Something was wrong with her but what it was I had no idea... My saving grace here was she was listed as neutral and not hostile.

She looked to my now lowered weapons before looking back to my face once more before speaking. "Hmmm. You have no intent to strike me down?"

"Regardless of who would win such a conflict I'd prefer to take the opportunity to appeal to her highness directly." One of her eyebrows raised slightly; the first real hint of emotion she gave me. "High Queen Celestine Lucross wishes for you to know her intent to speak to you and put a peaceful end to this conflict by meeting face to face."

"I see." She said as she looked to me before narrowing her eyes a hint. She then started to take steps forwards towards me; Chloe balking at her queen's approach to a foe with a calm, even stride. I held still; holding her gaze as she stopped two feet away from me. She was now close enough I could have punched her in the face.

"M-my queen, he's still our enemy!" Chloe let off as she moved to flank me; only stopping as Olga raised a hand to silence her. For my part I made a show of setting away the Gemini half and then slowly moving to sheathe the Dragon's Claw. "W-what..?"

"... Dragonborne or no, you are strange for a human." Olga said coolly as she looked to my face. "Your kind reacts in two ways to my presence; in fear they try to overcome and sometimes do... or anger and indignation as they declare an intent to 'slay the evil queen in the Goddess' name', or some such. And yet if I didn't know better I'd say you are as calm as I."

"I won't lie to being nervous, but I am not afraid." I replied, matching her calm as best as I can. "If nothing else you came within range of my blade. You are close enough I could slit your throat. I think you've made your intent to speak and listen clear."

"That does explains a lack of fear, perhaps, but not a lack of anger." She replied as I shrugged.

"This war and it's death angers me, yes. I'm sure on some level you're angered from your losses too." I said as her expression didn't change. "But spitting insults or dismissing you as merely evil isn't going to fix things. Honestly if I thought you were evil I'd have told Celestine her idea to petition you to talk would fail and I wouldn't bother to trade words with you. I would rather have things resolved before more people die."

"To come and ask me this... you must be a very silly human." She said; I felt she meant to be condescending but the tone quite didn't reach her voice.

"If it would put an end to this then I'll be the court jester." I replied with a soft snort. "But I think the outfit would be too tight for my liking." Chloe flinched as Olga kept her masked gaze on me.

"Do you honestly think such an appeal would work on me?" Olga asked, a hint of a smirk showing as I shrugged.

"Is there a type of appeal you prefer? If you want it done with music then I can play a good flute but I sing like shit." I said bluntly as Chloe's face turned red.

"You dare use such foul lang-" Anything else she had to say was cut off as Olga lifted a hand up for a moment.

"You seem far less formal in speech then when we started." She observed as I smiled a bit.

"Well I may be a lord but I'm from a smaller, more rural sort of territory." I told her. "We're a little more relaxed then most. Formality has it's place but it's far too stifling if you're too worked up about which fork to stir your coffee with or which one to use to prod someone awake." It was only for a brief, very brief moment but I think I got a tiny smile from her.

"My, my... Once you are comfortable you have such an entertaining bark, human..." She let off as she gave a brief, soft chuckle. "If it were not for the Dread Field I would make a pet of you for my own entertainment. Alas..." She let off... slightly wistful as she returned her look to a full neutral one. "Regardless... You once rescued my aide from slavery. Why you had done this I am unsure of but what matters is you had done this once so I imagine I can trust you somewhat with a simple task. Thus I will not harm you this one time and I'll allow you to remove yourself from this war and skitter away like an insect so you can also tell Celestine I have no need to parley with her. I have my needs in this conflict and, as such, I have no reason to end them. But I also give you a fair warning; if we cross paths once more I shall kill you." She let off as I narrowed my eyes slightly.

"No matter how many of you and yours die in this war?" I asked; clear sadness in my voice as she...

For a moment I think I saw some sadness in her eyes as well. "Wood for the flames to light the torch of need and politics." She said simply as she turned on her heel, positioning her back to me. "... Before I leave, human, I would have your name." She let off as I looked to the back of her head for a long moment, still annoyed at how easily she dismissed Celestine's offer.

"James Noxdecus of the Barony of Mungale." I replied simply.

"Ahhh, yes... You slew Vasilisa..." She let off with a nod.

"You don't sound too upset." I pointed out as she started to walk away.

"She threw herself to the flames, like your own number has done. I shall leave it at that." She said as she kept up her stride as she left. I could have struck at her of course... but between her level, the situation and that it wouldn't be honorable conduct I didn't. I looked to Chloe who lingered for a moment and narrowed her eyes to me once more before setting her hands to her hips as her weapons vanished in a flash of mana, likely into a bag of holding built into her armor.

"You have been spared by her highness. Take her advice and do not return to this war..." She said firmly before turning herself, but looking over her shoulder to me. "Otherwise I might be the one to strike you down."

"This war has to end before things get worse, you know that right?" I said as she looked ahead of her now.

"This war will not end until my queen says it is over." She replied curtly before starting to walk away. I huffed and turned, walking back the way I came, pulling both halves of the Gemini out and combining them back together; I had to fight my way here and there was a chance I'd have to fight my way out.

In truth I didn't; fighting was thinning out and grinding down. If I had to guess it was likely a combination of both sides losing numbers but also both sides exhausting themselves physically. I sighed a bit as I heard someone call out my name, looking to the side and seeing Alicia. I smiled and jogged over to her. "Alicia; good to see you still alive. I guess those two dragged the idiot over-hey!" I let off; the 'hey' being because she punched me in the shoulder!

"You idiot! What are you thinking!?" She let off as I sighed, rubbing where she hit me even if she did no damage to me.

"It's a long story and a bit complicated... I need to get back to Celestine; I just saw Olga Discordia." I let off as Alicia stiffened hard and went white. "We didn't fight but I gave her Celestine's offer to talk... and it was rejected."

"Tsk." She let off with a frown. "At least she didn't hurt you... Come on, we're getting out of here..." She said, turning as she grabbed me by the wrist and jogging back in a direction as I was pulled along to follow her by hr grip.

We would end up boarding a Cloud Rider and took off back towards our lines only to see clouds spill up from several points on the front as men started to fall back. I knew what had happened; multiple Rain Callers had been used on the front; maybe up to two dozen or more to bring huge amounts of rain to the area. It was a common Eostian tactic; that much rain summoned to one area would flood it and turn it into a quagmire of a swamp that would make it hard to traverse and, thusly, allow everyone a chance to retreat. It was pretty clear what happened; we lost the battle and were now on the run...

[Defeated List]

Garanian Forces=4000XP
+20% Dark Horse of Eostia Bonus
Gain 4800XP Total

[-]

The Cloud Riders were pressed to moving the wounded above all else. We had enough time to grab some things from our camp but much like the tents were abandoned or set to the torch before the rain expanded out to it to deny them to the enemy. I was riding in a carriage loaned by a minor noble as I sat with Celestine, Alicia and Prim as I filled them in on what happened; who Chloe was and how I knew her before explaining to them Olga's arrival and our conversation. Celestine nodded and frowned softly as she took a moment to think. As it turns out Olga had been active in the back lines before I ran into her; she slew a company of light infantry, and two mounted companies... one of which led by Commander Keen Dux who, according to the reports of survivors, died to Olga directly via her most powerful spell, the Annihilation Stream. I felt bad at that but I wasn't close to Keen... Celestine, by contrast, did feel it; she was one of her usual bodyguards and likely a confidant of some level.

"I know very little of the Pure Council, let alone their motives." She finally said softly as she looked to me. "I can only assume what they want but if there's politics involved I cannot help but think that Olga is less the one executing it and more the one victimized by it. That said she's also the only one that can both give us a full view of the situation from her side but also end this war once and for all... As such, and I do regret to say this, but we must force her to the negotiating table; even at sword point if we must."

"That... will... not be easy..." Alicia said, huffing as she sat next to me with her arms crossed. Indeed; since we got to the Cloud Rider she refused to leave my side and even here wasn't an exception. Maybe I spooked her with what happened? Celestine hummed for a moment before looking to me.

"You are one of the few I know that has actually spoken to Olga Discordia and the only such person who did not come to blows before or after." She said as she looked to me. "What is your opinion of her personality and demeanor?" She asked as I hummed and thought over it.

"... I think she feels trapped by whatever reasons she's here for but it feels like there's more then that." I let off as I looked to Celestine directly to her eyes. "I get the opinion that she's lonely." The High Queen blinked back at my summation while she looked to me and nodded her head to urge me to continue. "When I acted a bit flippant with her she was more amused then offended. And when Chloe took offense for her she lifted a hand to silence her. We didn't talk all that long but the impression I got was Chloe was important to her; at least she used my helping of her as an excuse to let me leave without harm. But Chloe... she acts very... servile. It's clear she thinks highly of Olga but she seems to, for lack of a better term, idolize her as opposed to anything else." Celestine sighed as I said that; she was someone who likely suffered from that too often. "I could have the wrong impression of course; we spoke very briefly so I only have so much to go off of."

"I acknowledge that you might be off but I feel I can trust your judgment." She replied with a nod. "As I have said others have spoken with her, if few. Based on what they have said I do agree with the assessment you have made. I imagine she is highly isolated from the common folk of her nation and at most deals with her Matrons, generals, bureaucrats and other high ranking officials only. There are many times I fear I don't have a good idea of the common man's issues and problems; even if I know I can never know the problems of all, just the majority. But at times I do have officials and bureaucrats attempting to direct my attentions to the bigger picture and while that is very important I must bypass them to have an idea of the smaller picture too; after all a thousand smaller pictures can be as important as a single, large one."

"Yeah... One of the benefits of ruling a barony like Mungale is that it's relaxed enough that no one makes a huge deal when I visit." I replied. Indeed; any member of House Noxdecus could walk into Argon City with a warm greeting and the outlying villages, while often surprised to see us, didn't start lining up to lick our boots or tremble in theirs. Which means... "If I had to make a guess she's isolated from... everyone. Without knowing more it's possible Chloe might be the closest thing she has to a friend, but..." I left it hanging as Celestine winced.

A servile girl who wouldn't talk back in the least or question anything said or done isn't a friend, just a follower... even if the one she's following goes off a cliff.

"We need to capture Olga alive and with minimal harm." Celestine asserted as she sighed. "Although even that is a tall order..."

"I wouldn't even know how to start planning such a thing..." Prim admitted with a frown. "What do we do?"

"We press forwards." Alicia summarized as she looked to me. "As best as we can."

Amen...

[-]

"I am still surprised you let him walk away; even if only to deliver a message..." Chloe let off. The battle had ended some time ago and the Aberrant were celebrating with what ale they had, what ale the Eostians had left and what females they caught; the howling of raped women thick in the air. Olga agreed that with the summoned rain they would make ill time until it relented at the very least and didn't seem to care about the Legion's fun. Chloe looked ahead to avoid seeing it and tried to pay it no mind... even when memories of her own voice sounded among the raped from her own history...

Far, far too clearly in her mind did it sound...

"At ease, Chloe." Olga said simply. "He serves a purpose. Besides, I've fought and stepped on the insects plenty before. He was merely more amusing then most."

"...You called him Dragonborne..." Chloe let off softly as Olga walked through the outer ring of the Garanian camp where the Aberrant made their rest towards the inner ring and finally the center most tent; her own already prepared and set up. Had James saw it he would have remarked how much it was like a camper trailer; it started as a carriage but a tap on the spell stone saw the walls fold down to the sides as the roof raised, thick cloth folding outwards. The inside was simple; a bed, a table and seating for four, a book shelf, a bathtub that used Aqua Create spells and an enchanted chamber pot.

"He bears eyes where it has a scaled pattern. Only the Dragonborne have eyes as such and you'll know then if you see that." Olga said as she moved to the back of her camper tent and set a foot onto the steps. "If you please, Chloe, I wish for privacy. Tell General Dreadblade I will return to the palace in the morning and she is to wage the war as she sees fit."

"Of course my queen. I shall do so straight away." Chloe said, bowing before turning to leave as Olga entered her tent, shutting the door behind her...

And stumbled to the table, finally allowing her weakened state to peer through her will and control; she could feel her foot trembling as she stood on the step and keeping it unnoticeable tested her focus. "Dammit..." She let off, panting as she opened a small chest on her table, withdrawing a vial with a thick, blue liquid in it; a mana potion that was isolated from the Dread Field as it was made. "I used too much of my mana..." She hissed before opening the cork and drinking the liquid inside of it, quickly swallowing it; feeling the effects wash over her a moment later as she sighed and half collapsed into a seat, feeling her strength return as she considered her ailment based on her own self diagnosis.

It was called Moore Quame in an old language of theirs. Other names of it included the Bile Gut or the Tar Gut but it was best known as the Black Sickness; a strange affliction that only effected elves in rare cases... and she was unfortunate to be one of those cases. There were three main symptoms of it; black urine, physical exhaustion when using large amounts of mana well before even expending just half of one's reserves and the lactation of blood tainted milk regardless of the state of pregnancy, motherhood or even gender. The last one appeared in the late stages and as the lactation of tainted milk ended and lactation of pure blood began there would be a collapse of one's mana systems and a painful death months later...

At least the third stage had yet to arrive...

She couldn't afford to show weakness, however... No one, not even Chloe could know how weak she had become; weakness was not permitted in their world... She was the Trueborne Queen, the one to lead all others... She had to showcase her strength, maintain the Dread Field and protect everyone for as long as possible and find someone able to maintain the field like she had... otherwise...

...

...

...

"So... this is what it means to fear death, is it..?" She said as she leaned back in her seat. "...I do not care for it..."

[-]

Come a few days later we were back at the scene of our first battle. The stockade that was left was reinforced as we prepared for the next battle; the Rain Caller's storm would delay the enemy, of course, but only for so long. Thankfully most of the Lyrans made it out alive; both Alicia and Arnold had thanked them for their service in helping relieve their force's positions and letting them escape (Or his son escape, in Arnold's case). Arnold even dragged Victor over to me and the little bastard thanked me for saving his life without prompt... and the pain was clear on his face.

I enjoyed it but I played it casual at the time.

The situation we were in was simple; the enemy was coming once more but their camp and their march was covered by a black mist overhead of them. While it looked fairly ominous the real issue was it concealed their exact positions and composition from us with my Scry device. That would mean we'd need to dedicate a Cloud Rider to recon under that mist layer where they might be seen; at least a cloaking Illusion would help with that.

Speaking of Cloud Riders we ended up with some additional reinforcements flying in on them. They were a mix of mages and knights from Ken led by a lovely looking, long haired brunette in mythril armor who looked like she was trying to be a Joan of Archetype; Celestine's top military advisor, General Mallory DuLouvenoir.

(-)

Name: Mallory DuLouvenoir
Title: General of a Hundred Blades
Class: Crusader
Level: 43
Alignment: Neutral
Reputation: 45
Status: Healthy, Professional, Calm

Romance Rating: 88
Corruption Rating: 41

Known Traits
[?]

[Multi-Melee Master - Upgraded - Flails] Your training includes melee weapons of all kinds! All one and two handed melee weapons become secondary weapon options for you. Additionally add flails to your list of primary weapons.
[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.

[?]
[Monkey's Grip] You can wield a single, two handed weapon in one hand with no penalty. You may not wield a second two handed weapon along side it, but may wield a single handed weapon, shield or item in your off hand.

Born to a House of Minor Nobility she was raised as a knight and, upon learning she had magical talent, was raised to bring both weapon and spell to the field of battle. Even so she much prefers melee combat and is known as an aficionado of weapons of all types. She had much time and expense spent on enchanting her armor to allow it to have a built in bag of holding large enough to house over a hundred different weapons.

(-)

I was with Celestine as she arrived and she moved to the High Queen and began a general report to her; we were pushed back on all fronts save the Thorn front. They had all pulled out the black mist to limit our ability to grab intel on them as Celestine frowned. "Sadly we will suffer more losses before this conflict ends."

"It does seem set to be a long one, my queen." Mallory said as she smiled a bit. "But we do have reinforcements on route."

"Indeed?" Celestine said as I looked to the general myself. "From where?"

[-]

That Evening
Central Elddale

The cliff wasn't that high up but it gave the massive man a good look over to the horizon. They could finally see the Eostian camp; if only just. "So they lost a battle but was only pushed back to here? The creations they've been given has really changed things for them, hasn't it?" The six foot six man was the image of what many would call a brute; a tanned face covered with a light level of dark stubble matching his short, cropped black hair. Brown eyes looked out as he grinned, his strong jaw tightening with it. A scar was on his face, behind and above his left eye in a diagonal line. He bore armored boots made in ribbed layers and he bore a heavy gauntlet on his left arm, both made of a dark steel. A bangle of the same was around his right wrist attached to a gray glove. A matching pauldron was on his left shoulder with a red segment on it with a black emblem painted on it, the emblem of his organization. To his back was a massive, two handed blade with a hint of a leaf shape to it and a wide, half circle pommel.

Wide, brown pants was around his legs and stuffed into the boots, a black belt with a brown/purple loincloth above it and a black, sleeveless shirt over a chain mail layer tucked into them covering a thick, powerful torso with a powerful build. A cloth wrap around his neck mostly covered an armored panel over the left side of his chest and connected to a cape that fell behind him that bore a deep, brown inner layer with a tattered bottom edge. It would seem he was too unarmored for heavy combat but in truth he kept the bulk of his armor stowed until combat truly came; not only was it less exhausting to walk with less armor he felt that he cut a more commanding figure when others could see both his face and his well toned, thick and muscular arms. "It's amazing what a little communications can do, eh? Ahh well... Just makes things more fun don't it?"

Of course his two most trusted aides were elsewhere to help manage the massive force. Behind him, mixed in both limited and even no armor were several men with weapons. Behind them were several Aberrant of all sorts with their own weapons. He drew his heavy blade with ease and held it up as he bellowed out, looking over his shoulder to his army; human and Aberrant alike. "Listen up! All of you! We're here! And so is the war! You know what that means for us!? Glory, sport, fun and cold, hard coin! We'll be drowning in blood, gold and pussy when it's all said and done! This part of the Garan War... I want you to all remember it! Because it'll go down in history... because of us!"

"Yeah! Let's go!"

"We're right behind you, boss!"

"There's no one alive who can beat Vult! No one!"

The man in question, Vult, turned to look off to the horizon and to the Eostian camp as he grinned wide as his men cheered on behind him. "That's right! No one can beat us! And we're going to carve our names into this land and it's history!" He bellowed out as the chants behind him grew louder and louder, with his name starting to be chanted...

"Vult! Vult! Vult! Vult! Vult! Vult! Vult! Vult! Vult! Vult! Vult! Vult! Vult! Vult! Vult! Vult! Vult!"

Across his force copies of a flag was held up, flapping in the breeze. The main color was a blood red, the edges having a wide, darker red stripe outlined in thick, black lines. The emblem in the center of the flag, the same emblem on the man's pauldron. The image was a simple, yet striking one. Facing the left was the black silhouette of a wolf's head with the ears pointed forwards slightly, the mouth held open as if in a snarl or a howl. Behind it was a black, Imperium era, xiphos styled blade with a rounded guard set behind the ears of the wolf and the blade pointed down and to the left, jutting down a little lower then the wolf's open jaw. Simple yet distinct and identifiable at any distance it wasn't based on the emblem of a family or house and it didn't stand for any sort of ideal. It was a statement...

The Black Dog Mercenaries were here.

[ - Author's Note - ]

Whew...

I was worried I'd write Olga poorly for the most part. My intent was to write her as being calm, thoughtful but also prideful and duty driven. As for Olga's status and her illness...

Well, I won't spoil it, but there's more going on here then she even knows.

Speaking of I chose the chapter title 'Arrival of Darkness' as a bit of a double meaning; one referring to Olga of course... but also this mercenary group who I am sure is going to be very helpful and won't have any strange and cruel plans.

(Look, we all know the truth here; please let me play coy like no one in fact knows, okay?)

We also got to see Victor fight for the first time, kick some ass... and then get his ass kicked in right after. I wanted to showcase him as an able, strong fighter... and then use him to showcase just how tough Chloe is.

In addition we get to see Olga Discordia's fabled Annihilation Stream in action and I hope it lives up to expectations. I knew I was going to have her roast a bunch of Eostian knights to showcase how powerful she can be but having Commander Keen (I'm surprised no one ever commented on the name...) be the one to suffer the fate wasn't planned out from the start; I would have had her play a bigger role in the Ken segment otherwise to make the impact bigger.

I'll also state I am dropped some little hints to what I have planned down the line in the act. Wonder who, if anyone, picked up on it.

Lastly; while I've always said people can use what I've made in their own fics if they want as long as due credit is given I feel the need to repeat that with the Black Dog's flag I made. I initially looked online for one but found nothing I could use so I grabbed some clipart, did some editing of them and made my own. I wanted to add something else to it, made the outer edges and was tempted to add more but then I realized the simpler design was a statement itself and so left it there. I think it was for the best in the end.

I'd also like to call a hint to the Brazen Empire's Ninth Wolf Pack Emblem and the chapter it was mentioned in for... no reason. No reason at all.

What I have planned for chapters thus far is one with James, his sister, the a few others and... a bit of a clusterfuck... A day in the life on the Garan side of the line... And what the Freebirds are up to...

Don't worry, things aren't going to drag on like Act Two had... I imagine there will be twenty-ish chapters here at most. Hopefully...

As always leave a comment, tell me what you liked, disliked, thought was done well or poorly and such! Until next time then!

~~Eostian Scribe