The Dance of Chaos [IC-Fantasy-OPEN]

[Elysian Kentarchy]

Solomon

“You two are so much alike, so much so I can only hope you can avoid the conclusion.... And I might know more than you think.” I say quietly and my mouth tilts upwards into a smile as the flames rush towards me but they suddenly disappear, no matter how strong Alexis is enough mages can overpower her magic and we just had an army show up with plenty of mages. “Too bad.” I say lightly and I push the construct away, running it though with my sword and causing it to dissipate. I smile again and, raising my sword, I shout to the reinforcements, “Sons and Daughters of Achisia rally! Advance and fight for your homeland! Our oaths remain unbroken now and forever! Loyalty unto death!” I quickly block my opponent’s lance with the shield made of magic I have as Alexis took advantage of the distraction to attack me. “Ah an excellent hit Princess. My turn now.”

We exchange blows, separate, and attack each other again, my sword clanging off the shaft of her lance and but I strike again and lock my sword against the shaft and lean in, pushing down on her lance to keep her there. “As for what I intend the answer is nothing, our Emperor is dead, our homeland is fallen, the Achisia I grew up in is dead along with everything I knew. There is nothing left and I am under no delusions otherwise but I made a promise to someone and I intend to keep it.” I glance aside to where my sister was fighting but with all the troops swarming I have lost sight of her and for that distraction I get a hit in the face with the butt of her lance and only narrowly dodge a lance blow aimed for my throat, getting a cut in the process but I ignore it. “And if you were in the same situation I think you would have made the same promise… or not but I can’t say whether that would make you a better person. So come Alexis, Princess of Duivene, the one of two Duivenes I have ever completely respected, come and fight me again like before and if we both survive again by the Gods may we meet again for another battle!” Or as friends… I can’t say that part… I can’t ever for it would interfere with my promise to Illania.

Time to stop playing, now is time to get serious, she deserves that much if she intends on making herself a martyr, I respected my sister’s wish for martyrdom by our promise and I will respect Alexis’ wish for the same by not holding back. Yet my mind can’t help but drift back to the capital and our last battle, not a word was said after I told her that tip about healing magic when we encountered each other, just a nod after that as we fought for that last time. And even now our moves follow the same steps we followed last time, almost a dance if dancing could be so deadly as it is clear we are trying to kill each other. For now I am content to let our weapons do the talking and sing the melody of war, in truth we have crossed blades often enough that I move without thinking at times to meet blows I expect to come. Some might not think I am serious with this but I am deadly serious, her blood will stain my blade or mine will stain her’s. I must be serious, for her sake and for the sake of Ezekiel who I am the successor of.

[Faal Lot Himdah]

The Mountain Crusher, Yakr Rugma
The border between the Kingdom of Duivene and the Fallen Achisia

---

As he rose from pounding the ground with his fists, he locked eyes with the evil princess, taking note of her current condition. Blood coming from the nose and bent armour. Upon seeing that, and seeing the villain before him start whispering something to herself, he grunted and prepared for the fight. If Yakr had realized that he made a mistake, he wouldn't show it. After all, this was a battle, and the only way of telling if one made a mistake was in the after math.

The speed of the corrupted princess that he was facing did surprise him, but he had the size advantage, and the advantage of his enemy possibly underestimating him. And so, before the evil princess' blade could reach his throat, Yakr swung a fist at her. While she did nick him, her blade did not go deep enough to be off incredible note to him. However, he doubt that his fist would not go unnoticed by his opponent as when it made contact, it knocked her away in the direction that she charged from.

[Imperial--japan]

Kaslana Cerebus

The mention of Lidia's abilities making her seem more demon now, did naught to improve Olbrech's mood. The messenger had put him and his wards in jeopardy, and now he would need all the help he could get in order to have a fighting chance against one of the greatest enemies of the land. What Kaslana had suggested, albeit not something he would agree to on most days, made the most sense. If they were to have an inkling of a chance they would need to put aside whatever reservations they had and attack Lidia together.

"More for the best that we came across a Paladin then. What say you of our chances at taking the traitor by surprise?" Ser Olbrech asked, his mind already moving on to tactics and procuring results from their predicament.

"Or at the very least, is there a chance we could overwhelm them if we attacked in unison?" Kaslana asked, unawares of the true abilities of one of the notorious traitors.

[Elysian Kentarchy]

Kaslana Cerebus

The mention of Lidia's abilities making her seem more demon now, did naught to improve Olbrech's mood. The messenger had put him and his wards in jeopardy, and now he would need all the help he could get in order to have a fighting chance against one of the greatest enemies of the land. What Kaslana had suggested, albeit not something he would agree to on most days, made the most sense. If they were to have an inkling of a chance they would need to put aside whatever reservations they had and attack Lidia together.

"More for the best that we came across a Paladin then. What say you of our chances at taking the traitor by surprise?" Ser Olbrech asked, his mind already moving on to tactics and procuring results from their predicament.

"Or at the very least, is there a chance we could overwhelm them if we attacked in unison?" Kaslana asked, unawares of the true abilities of one of the notorious traitors.

I think over a variety of approaches before speaking. "As far as I know she came alone so surprising her is possible if we are careful. There are plenty of hidden ways in and out of the Monastery, all of which the traitor knows about seeing as she was raised there but she can't possibly monitor them all by herself. And if she is at the monastery for some purpose besides murder she will probably be distracted by that. We would need to select the route carefully however but I can think of three routes that hold the most promise" I bring my hand up to my chin in thought. "As for an attack in unison... it could work but overwhelming her with just us will be difficult. She could be tired from fighting all the Paladins and I doubt she would have gotten any rest in case reinforcements arrive but at the very least I know she will be weaker than what she was before seeing as the Night of the Bloody Moon has passed so she can't draw upon it." I don't mention how impossible and suicidal I think the idea is in practice but it is the best idea if we are going to do this. "As far as I saw she only had a two handed sword but seeing as she now has access to the monastery's armory that is irrelevant. Nothing unique about her armor that I could see from the quick look I managed to get though." I pat Ignatius' neck and we both get ready to start walking, might as well give him a bit of a rest from carrying me besides no point in flying if this is supposed to be a surprise attack. "We can discuss more as we walk though, the monastery isn't too far. But let me say this, if we fail to surprise her I do not think we can win. The Paladins of the Monastery were some of the people who knew her best, and they all fell in battle when they tried to fight her as one when she attacked us in surprise." I know I was ordered to find Paladin Jan but I want to go back, I need to go back, Ignatius feels the same I know. We must know.

[Tracian Empire]

The border between the Kingdom of Duivene and the Fallen Achisia
Princess Alexis
She remained quiet, a look of determination on her face as their fight continued, their weapons clashing again and again, with neither of them being able to gain an upper hand. Even the undead monsters kept their distance from their dance of metal and blood, sensing their power, a duel that no ordinary man would have been able to survive. How many times had they fought? How many times had they wounded each other during that horrible war, how many times had his blood stained her lance and her blood his blade? Time and time again they had fought, and even if the amethyst eyed girl was never going to acknowledge it, Solomon was indeed one of the few Achisians that she had come to respect..the fate was so weird sometimes. Had they been both born in the same country.. she always had this weird feeling that they might have ended up as friends…but not in this world, not in this way. If they would keep on fighting.. one day.. one day one of them was going to kill the other. That’s just how war worked, no matter of how good you were with your weapon, if fate was against you, you were going to die. "I don't care.. about your promise..", she managed to say, her voice strained and weakened, "As long as it involves hurting the innocent.. I will always.. be there.. to stop you.."

And it seemed that fate was against her this night. She had been foolish.. to just fight, fight and fight again, to protect her people, without a break, ever since the war’s end. To continuously help all those who asked that of her, even the Faith, pushing herself closer and closer to exhaustion. She should have perhaps listened to the others.. but she wasn’t sorry. This… this was the only way she could repent.. this was the only way she could pay for her mistake..if she was going to die.. she deserved it, after all. It was her fault that she was the only one who could still protect her people.. and because of that, she had to defend them until her last breath. And now, because of that, her breath was becoming heavier and heaver. With each blow, with each time she parried his blade with her lance’s shaft, she became slower and slower, the weapon an unbearable weight in her hands. It was difficult.. keeping her eyes open.. keeping track of him, reacting in time.. even the simplest moves hurt, as her entire body ached, the heavy armor dragging her down, slowing her down..until she finally made a mistake, failed to react in time, and Solomon’s blade pierced her right thigh, and the song of metal stopped. As the Achisian pulled his blade back, the blonde girl fell on one knee, dropping her lance and blood started to gush out of the open wound, staining the blue cloth. For a moment she tried to pick her weapon up again, but she couldn’t. She was so pale that anyone could be excused for mistaking her for one of the undead soldiers around them, drained of all her energy and mana, as she coughed blood yet again. Maybe she should have listened..

And Alexis simply closed her eyes, waiting for the sword to swing. She deserved it.. she deserved it more than perhaps anyone else on this cursed battlefield. She had done everything that she could have done.. so now.. perhaps it was finally time to pay for her sins.. to pay for her mistakes. And maybe.. maybe if there was still life beyond death, and maybe if the gods were merciful.. maybe, maybe by dying.. she could.. she could finally be forgiven. And as she waited, a single other thought appeared in her mind… would it.. hurt?

But instead of feeling the steel of the sword on her throat, she just heard a crackling sound… and out of a sudden, streaks of blue light seemed to break the sky, like cracks in the cursed, crimson heavens above, as bolts of lightning flashed, coming down towards the earth and striking the ground and the undead horde and black legions walking over it, the warning of the booms of thunder coming far too late… as the smell of burned flesh started to spread, together with the scent of a storm. Three times more the bolts of lighting fell, breaking the charge of the Achisian forces, holding them in place and and causing chaos among their ranks, as the forces of the light cheered. Primal screams were heard, and from the edge of the horizon, in the sky, knights riding Wyverns, the Wyvern binders of Xerena, arrived, plunging towards the undead army, their beasts spitting acid or gripping monsters with their claws only to drop them from high above. The enemy forces started to break and to run away, their lines collapsing.

While in front of Alexis, Solomon never managed to strike. Before he would have been able to swing his sword again, a bolt of lightning was thrown at him.. but this one did not come from the sky. One of the Achisian mages supporting him in the fight barely managed to create defensive spell in time, but it wasn’t enough - the sheer strength of the attacking throwing him back for a few good meters, away from the wounded princess. And that’s when the Achisian would have noticed him, advancing through the battle, killing all those who would try to fight him with a nearly supernatural ease…a tall, and very handsome boy of roughly the same age as Alexis, with green emerald eyes. The boy was wearing a silver knight's armor, with a long blue cape, and a diadem was resting on his somewhat messy blonde hair. He was armed with a sword that he was wielding with a certain elegance, only making the slightest possible moves to dispose of the enemies charging at him. A sword that originally, seemed to have a blade equally divided between a half colored in black and a half colored in white, now stained with blood, with white electricity swirling and crackling around it. Despite being in the middle of a brutal battle, the boy didn’t seem to be worried at all, he simply.. seemed to exude a feeling of.. calmness around him, with a gentle smile on his face even as he cut off heads and limbs. Taking a few more steps, and cutting an undead monster into two halves with a single swing, the newcomer stopped right next to Alexis, who had finally opened her eyes, waiting for that blow that would never come. She looked at the boy standing now next to her, and for a brief moment, relief seemed to overtake her, before she started to shake. „Prince.. Ekaitz..“, she managed to whisper, but the boy, still smiling, put a finger in front of his mouth. „You can remain silent, my princess. You have done your duty well, and you have once again proven to the world that you are the bravest hero there is. But there is no shame in accepting help where help is needed.. and this battle has to come to an end.“. The prince’s gentle voice stopped, as the boy looked straight at the Achisian who had been the princess’ enemy.


„Solomon de Velira.. it is a pleasure to find out that you have survived that horrible war of ours. You always seemed to be an honorable man.. at the very least, compared to the corruption and chaos on the side you were fighting for.. but this is the last time you will take advantage of the good heart of this princess here. I will have to ask you to retreat at once..otherwise.. it would truly be a shame for you have to have survived through the greatest war this world has ever seen.. only to be killed here, tonight.“

Another princess

Of course that he underestimated him. He was just a dumb mountain of flesh and muscle, while she was a mage, a knight, and one of the Seven Traitors. He had no chance against her, and had she not been filled with so much rage and envy, with the burning desire to just get to her sister and kill her, and to punish this brute for his insolence, she would have just kept her distance and used her magic against him.. after all, the sky was stained with blood night. Her blade just barely managed to scrape his throat, when he punched her with so much force that she was sent flying back where she came from, crashing into the ground... for the second time this night.

Saying that the Traitor went mad with rage would have just severely underestimated the state she was in as she stood back up, her armor even more bent than it had been before and a trickle of blood coming from her mouth. A few Duivenian knights, trying to take advantage of her seemingly weakened state, tried to charge at her - only for the evil princess to rapidly cut them into pieces, her black blade expertly piercing through the weak points in their armor. As the four or so armored men fell to the ground, she looked at Yakr with her sickly, yellowish eyes before she rushed at him once again, but despite her rage filled appearance, she didn't just mindlessly swing her sword at him. As he tried to punch her again, she just blocked his fist with her enchanted sword, so even if the sheer force of his attacks pushed her back each and every time, she just leaped forward again, looking for an opening, but each time she failed to cut him into little monstruous pieces her frustration grew more and more.. until she noticed something behind him.. and she smirked. Her hesitation had only lasted for a heartbeat, and another furious attack of swings and thrusts stopped him from realizing what was going to happen.. before he suddenly felt a horrible pain, as something pierced his shoulder from behind, going through his flesh as if it was nothing. Blood gushed out, and the princess used this chance to hit his knee with the flat side of her blade, the strength of the enchanted blade forcing the beast to fall on one knee. She then swung her sword again, clearly trying to cut his head off, but Yakr managed to grab the blade with his other hand, and as he tried to push it away from him, the pale blonde haired girl tried to push it towards him.. a contest of power that was ended rather abruptly when lighting suddenly struck the ground right between them, throwing both of them a few good meters away.

Breathing rather heavily, the evil princess was the first to stand back up, pulling her left hand back as if she was holding something into it, and sure enough, a black chain of shadow magic that had been hidden before appeared, connected to the black metallic shaft of the lance that had pierced Yakr's back, pulling it back through the air and back to the female knight. For a moment, it looked as if the girl was going to charge at him again, but she stopped dead in her tracks, as if something was holding her back, and even if she looked as if she was trying to oppose it.. she gave up. "I'm sorry, little beast, but it seems that our fight has to end here.", she told him, back to her usual smirk, as she threw a greenish gem with magical marks right in front of him, a healing gem by the looks of it. "If you'll ever wish to get over your status as an all muscle and no brain beast, if you'll ever want to become a real warrior.. look for me. I know someone who might be able to find you a purpose.."

As she was giggling, two Achisian mages ran to her and threw weird black gems on the ground, gems that broke and started to throw a black, fog or smoke like substance into the air. Similar things were happening all around the battlefield as the mages started to cover the retreat of their allies.

The battle had been won. But at what cost?

---

Somewhere
A knight, an angel, a demon
Meeting a god?

And the little boy sighed yet again, a dejected look on his face. "You guess so? You are without doubt, the most boring demon I ever met. You should be proud of that title..", the deity replied in a monotone voice, before, out of a sudden, a white knife made out of what looked out of bone appeared in his right hand, the flames disappearing. His black eyes seemed to be as dead as always, but once again.. Az could have sworn that the god was smirking behind his mask. "Well, let's get on with it! Wouldn't want to keep the cursed night outside waiting, right?" Without any hesitation, the boy used the knife to cut his left wrist, the blade cutting through the black cloth and through his pale skin as if it was nothing, black blood gushing out of the cut. As the knife turned into smoke, the mysterious god touched the cut with two of his fingers, staining them in blood, before he knelt next to the wounded Illari. Remaining silent, the god took the knight's right hand and used his fingers to draw a weird mark on the knight's palm, which briefly seemed to glow for a moment before it disappeared, as if nothing had ever been there. Still not saying anything, he just stood up and knelt in front of Nysa, taking her right hand into his with a gentleness that was.. surprising, for a weird eldritch deity wearing a mask of bone. Once again using his blood, he drew the exact same mark on the upper side of her hand - the mysterious sign once again disappearing before anyone could have taken a good look at it. And the god's silence made them realize something that might have not been obvious from the beginning - but the boy wasn't breathing at all.

With only Az left, the boy stood up, and started to float in his weird way yet again - which allowed him to be at the same level as the clearly taller Loroi/demon, and which also allowed him to draw the same mark on Az's forehead, but this time, the deity leaned in so as to whisper something into the demon's ear. "Don't waste your time, little prince. You won't be able to kill me.. even your former masters failed." The god giggled as he landed back on the ground and took a few steps back. "I hope you'll survive the night..", he said, this time loud enough for everyone to hear him..before he snapped his fingers.

One moment, they were there, with the sphere of shadow surrounding them, blocking them, a smaller sphere of hellfire the only light they could see, the god in front of them. The next moment, in the blink of an eye.. he was gone, the sphere with him. and they were back, the cursed crimson sky above them.

Illari was the first to react, standing up so suddenly that he nearly lost his balance and fell back down, breathing rapidly and shallowly. He took grabbed Nysa's hand, careful not to hurt her, and helped her stand back up before he turned around to face Az. Stand back..please.., he told her in his usual voice, He.. he lied to us.. he might.. he might hurt you.., he tried to say, as sparks of golden electricity started to appear him, golden lighting violently swirling around his left hand. During the battle, the knight had somehow lost his white scarf - now revealing his neck, and with the bright crimson light above them, revealing what he had been trying to keep hidden. It looked.. like a scar, but it wasn't made by a blade. It almost looked like a tattoo of sorts, purple, a mark that was almost beautiful in a weird way, looking like a fern leaf, or like a tree, or maybe even.. like a lighting in the sky. But that wasn't all of it, it was obvious that the scar extended beyond what they could see, further down his neck and body. Not that it mattered.. but the way in which he was dressing suddenly made a lot more sense. The scarf, the gloves. And soon enough, the reason why he had only used his magic through his spear would have also become rather obvious. There was something weird about the way the electricity started to swirl around his body, about how it sparked, almost as if.. he had a difficult time trying to control it.

But Illari didn't seem to care about that all, as his hollow eyes remained fixed at the demon in front of them. "So much for you being.. a nice, friendly.. Loroi..", the golden eyed boy tried to say, his voice shaking lightly. "That's why.. that's why you followed us..just because of her.. just because you want to use her.. a demon.. a demon like you..don't you think.. that I haven't heard.. what demons do.. to the few angels they managed to capture throughout.. throughout the ages. I don't know.. I don't know why you didn't just.. kill me when you had the chance.. why you didn't just run away with her..but you.. you will regret.. that mistake..so just.. tell me...what does a Prince of Hell.. want to do with.. her?'

[Faal Lot Himdah]

The Forgotten Prince, Az'goxaak
Got some explaining to do

---

"Well, that was a pain..." Az said to himself as soon as the god disappeared, "What have I gotten myself into now..."

With that he turned to face Illari as the knight started to get up. As electricity started to appear, Az just raised his hands with open palms in an attempt to not appear threatening. The Prince of Hell took note of the scar on Illari's neck but remained looking directly at the knight. He didn't speak as Illari spoke, taking in the knights tone, diction and body language. This was quite a pickle for Az, if he said the wrong thing there was a definite chance Illari would attack him.

"Let's just all take a breath and calm down. I mean absolutely no harm to either of you. I'm just going to sit down alright" Az said as he slowly sat down on his knees, "Illari, I can see you feel betrayed, confused and more importantly scared, and that what I can say will likely not change that. But please, just give me a chance to explain who I am and why I am here..."

"My real name is Az'goxaak. Former Prince of Hell." Az started, "A long time ago I was an angel in service to Aurora, then I was corrupted by Achlysa. Which I thought at the time was freedom, but eventually saw that it wasn't. I was once among the most powerful Princes of Hell. While my peers sought power among other less decent things, I only ever sought a personal freedom that only mortals have. That lead me to faking my own death, possessing this body from a willing Loroi individual, retired to a lake and lived in relative peace. And the reason why humanity knows not of me, is that this all happened before your race appeared in this world. So for countless centuries I have been living in peace, though I had to find a new lake and hide that lake from humanity for said peace. But I did that through powerful illusion magics, and never through bloodshed. My hands have been clean since I started my self imposed exile in the mortal world."

"Have you heard of the Misty Forest of Duivene and the legends of a certain peace loving hermit that is said to live there?" Az continued after a brief pause, "Well, the Eternal Hermit of the Misty Forest is me. Look, Illari, you and Nysa are one of the only four beings that know what I truly am... Actually, I guess five since that god knows I'm here. I really don't like dealing with gods... especially when I don't know them. But I was forced into a corner."

With that Az sighed, "Illari. If I had any intention of killing you, why would I make a deal to save your life? Why would I fight to protect both you and Nysa? I have no intention of harming you, Nysa or any one. Look, I am not like the Princes of Hell you have heard about. I care nothing for Hell. I care nothing for Heaven. I only care for this place. This mortal realm. As for if I want to do something with Nysa... She is a curious thing, and so I am interested in learning about her. And that's it. No grand plan. No small time plan. Just curiosity."

"I'm going to stand up now." Az said before standing back up, but keeping his hands in as much of a non-threatening position as possible. "Believe what I say or not. That is a choice that only you can make. But please, don't make a decision without thinking. You feel betrayed because I am not what you thought I was. You are confused because you recognize that I am nothing like the demons and Princes of Hell you have heard of. And you feel scared because of the feeling of betrayal, confusion and recognition of what I could do. Allow me to ease that fear a little. If you decided to fight, I will not fight. I will flee. I will not bloody my hands. So, Illari, the choice is yours. Trust me or don't. Know that whatever you decide, it will not change how I see you or anyone else."

[Luxembourg-Bavaria]

Gormar Doomfang
The Karakian Steppes, near the Velikiyan border



Gormar looked around. This is a place I could call home, he thought as he surveyed the land. He turned to one of his guardsmen.

"This is a suitable location. Tell them we will set down here. For now, we have a home."

It had been a tough few months for his Horde, the Kez Karad. After the death of his father, the previous leader of the Horde, the Horde responsible for his death marched on them. Not possessing the strength to defeat them in a pitched battle, they were forced to flee in an exodus that led them to where they are now.

Gormar then walked back to where his people were setting up their camps. One of his advisers spoke up.

"A fine camp is it not, sir?"

Doomfang smiled. "Indeed it is. Which Horde's territory are we currently closest too?"

"The Burdez Khu lie to the northwest. They have been weakened by years of war with Velikiya. Our forces outnumber them significantly."

Again, he smiled. " Send a messenger to them. Tell them that they may join us in our fight or perish. And ready the troops."

"Right away, sire!"

A battalion of Karaki soldiers were passing by. As they approached him, they shouted out the Kez Karad war cry.

"Doomfang! Doomfang! Doomfang!"

Yes, Gormar thought, Today begins the glory days of the Kez Karad!

---

OOC: If any of this is bad just let me know. This is just an opening post future ones will be longer.

[Elysian Kentarchy]

Solomon de Velira

I honestly do not want to kill her, I feel bad about even harming her, but I must end this if she is so insistent on dying, I must honor her the best I can and as duty forces me, as it always did when I realized there was no true glory in war. And so raise my blade to end it, if she wants to die like she did then I will honor it. Had she been on the opposite side like the Princess here would I have made the same decision I did years ago or would I have simply ended her life? ...I do not know, but I do know I wish it was different, I wish I could do something like I did for her. But I will grant her the peace of death for it is a mercy, no matter how alike they are Alexis is not Illania, she is the woman I have fought so many times, who shed my blood or I her's. "It has been an honor to know you Alexis even in these circumstances." I say quietly, dropping the 'Princess' or 'your majesty' that I have always used when talking to her. "May Spraevia judge you mercifully and you find the peace you long for. Farewell." But before I strike I hear the cackling, the roars of the wyverns, and am struck by a lightning bolt that sends me flying but I manage to stand back up quickly enough. I'll have to remember to thank the mage who did cast the spell to protect me because I doubt even with my magic there would have been much I could do against it when taken off guard, and I will have to get this dent in my armor fixed later. When the caster approaches I don't react much. His is a face I know, a name I know, I know him if only because I have seen his face on the battlefield, always did rub me the wrong way but I never did like people who seem to be perfect, Ezekiel made sure of that when I called him perfect before his death.

Ekatiz, one of the Knights of Light, Hero of the War of the Seven Nations.

Upon hearing his words I shake my head, I know Alexis is the only one I can relatively stand a chance of defeating thanks to past experience so I know I can't beat him, especially if Alexis joins in, but could Ezekiel... no I cannot ponder such what ifs, I am his successor after all so I must someday be able to do it. I must focus on the here and now so I raise my blade and shout. "All units! Maintain order and withdraw!" I'll have to confer with Illania and grandfather later about what to do about this situation I turn my back to take off but first... "Your majesty, we will have to resume this duel of ours later. Make sure to get that leg of your's tended to. I would hate for you to ruin yourself more when you could do so much more good for all while healthy." I say over my shoulder, loud enough for her to hear as I depart to join the retreating soldiers, might not work because of her pride but still I had to. I move into the fog, still issuing orders and chanting to heal the wounded whose wounds are slowing them down as I come across them, or just to establish barriers to slow down, for a few moments, pursuit, even as a group of heavy infantry form up around me as a bodyguard of sorts. But it is clear this battle is at an end. Now maintaining order is the order of the day. And so I depart the battlefield issuing orders and encouragements in rapid succession... I will have to find Illania later because she has more experience with commanding a retreat than I do. But I hear the grandfather's voice and I know we are in good hands and will take full advantage of this fog the mages are creating. Downside is one has to make sure we don't accidentally wander into the enemy army but oh well.



Augustine de Velira

"Your princess is truly impressive Sir Eric." I remark as we duel and I observe what she does to Illania's fire and I hear Solomon's orders to rally and advance. "And I do hope she is treating my great-grandson well for he has been looking forward to crossing blades with her again." We continue to duel as only old men can duel and when Ekatiz arrives I shake my head. "Looks like we will have to resume this duel later Sir Eric. I don't fancy fighting two of your heroes on this day. Your defense was successful I dare say." I disengage and raise my sword. "All forces retreat! Keep the backs of your comrades protected! We have accomplished enough of our goals tonight." With that I chant and, using my magic to enhance my strength and speed further, I take a running leap and bound over Sir Eric and the people who were closing in on me thinking they could take me down. "I hope we have a chance to cross blades again Sir Eric and I hope you have that... 'discussion' with whoever you were talking about." I comment as I take off into the fog issuing orders and restoring order where I can while Solomon does the same on his end. Good, if he is to be the next Lord de Velira he needs to know these things. So I make ready to withdraw with the light of the Eternal Flame with us, as it always will be. There is much to be done, some order must first be brought to this retreat.

And we did so, retreating from the field in as good order as we can possibly manage given the circumstances. We can prepare for the next battle once we reassemble and get to work. Even as we retreat I see my great-grandson going from group to group, tending to the wounded with his magic. As expected of him, he was much more suited to being a healer, a protector, a supporter to the main. But fate forced him to take to the front.


Illania de Velira

"End it." I say again quietly, even now hearing my great-grandfather and little brother ordering the retreat. Finally death will come for me on the battlefield, finally I can go before my Lady Spraevia for my judgement, finally Solomon will be freed from his promise he didn't have to make... that he shouldn't have made and he can stop fighting for a cause he doesn't believe in. I am truly a selfish sister to hold him back like this. My memories drift back to the past as I wait, to the happiest time I could recall, it was a picnic of the four of us under the shade of a tree, Solomon, still a rather small child, was sitting on Ney's lap while Ezekiel served the food I and Ney made for that day, it was a happiness that was lost when he died, it was the innocence of children. "End it." I want to die while holding that memory close to mind.

[Zapatha]

Standing over Illania sword in hand, Peter again raises his arm upward to strike her down but cannot bring himself to do it.

"No....no I will not kill you on this godforsaken battlefield today my lady...." as he says this Peter takes the sword and hits Illania with the hilt on the back of the head, knocking her out. He won't kill her, but he sure as hell wasn't just going to let her roam free and rejoin her family and attack another day. She could have useful information which Duivene and the Ecclesiarchy could use.

After restraining Illania, Peter rejoined the rest of his surviving bannermen and said:

"Tonight my friends we have won a great victory, but at great cost. We shall not let our victory tonight overshadow the looming threat of death and annihilation brewing once more in evil Achisia. With the battle done, this war has only just begun."

Noticing the Princess Alexis and what looked to be the Hero Ekaitz, Peter approached them and knelt on his right knee, addressing Alexis:

"My princess, without you we would have lost this battle long ago." Looking now to Ekaitz, "And you my lord, you saved us all from certain death at the hands of the Achisians. If I or my forces can be of any further assistance then let me know."

[Kingdom of Irhk]

Standing over Illania sword in hand, Peter again raises his arm upward to strike her down but cannot bring himself to do it.

"No....no I will not kill you on this godforsaken battlefield today my lady...." as he says this Peter takes the sword and hits Illania with the hilt on the back of the head, knocking her out. He won't kill her, but he sure as hell wasn't just going to let her roam free and rejoin her family and attack another day. She could have useful information which Duivene and the Ecclesiarchy could use.

As this happened, Peter picked up the unconscious Illania and brought her to two of his vassal knights "You two, take your horses and ride hard for Jacquesville with Lady Illania. Imprison her in our cleanest cell, bind her hands and gag her so she can't cast any spells to break herself out. Tell my brothers to bring her regular warm meals and water, and I will return home shortly."

As the knights rode off, Peter faced the rest of his surviving bannermen and said:

"Tonight my friends we have won a great victory, but at great cost. We shall not let our victory tonight overshadow the looming threat of death and annihilation brewing once more in evil Achisia. With the battle done, this war has only just begun."

Noticing the Princess Alexis and what looked to be the Hero Ekaitz, Peter approached them and knelt on his right knee, addressing Alexis:

"My princess, without you we would have lost this battle long ago." Looking now to Ekaitz, "And you my lord, you saved us all from certain death at the hands of the Achisians. If I or my forces can be of any further assistance then let me know."

Eric de Villegagnon

As the Achisian general commanded his retreat after another Hero joined the battle, commanding an impressive squad of Wyverns and raining magical fire over the wretched battleground. As the battle's flames started to lose its heat, once more Eric was alive, yet tired: His muscles started to sting, the weariness of his age being added to the physical and magical exhaustion. Sheathing his sword - for the last time today, he hoped - he walked over to the other battle leaders, who seemed the gather around the Princess, who was nearly passing out by now.

"I do hate to interrupt the thanking party, but we urgently need to take the Princess back to the capital. I'm not a medic or a healer, but the lack of Mana in her body will force her to rest soon. I'm not certain of how much time we have until that happens, but she'll need constant attention by the mages of the capital to properly recover. I'll tell the rest of the soldiers to arrange a carriage or something more stable to carry her than a horse or a wyvern. No offense to your trusty companions, Prince... Ekaitz, yes, that's it, Ekaitz.

Also, Peter, if you want to know more about the Velira - or if you are a good, reasonable man - I'd strongly advise you to not turn the girl to the Faith. They'll probably keep a few hours of their friendly chat away from any formal register, and that might incur in your heavy conscience. Now, I'll start gathering the soldiers who are able to do one last escort to the capital, and in the lack of a higher ranking officer from the capital, I can command the remaining platoon that came with Alexis."

Slowly, Eric got up on his horse, flexing his back and readying himself for one last ride.

"Soldiers of the Princess, gather round! Look for a carriage or a mattress we may use! We are riding back to the capital, and we must travel guarding her until we arrive there! Luckily our allies are in bigger number and will share their disposition of guarding the Princess with us, but we can't be lazy! Rest is reserved for us once we are safe in the walls of the city again. Until there, protect your brothers-in-arms, protect yourselves, and if your body ever fails you, don't hesitate on asking for help!"

As the small group of soldiers that were alive and relatively unharmed started to move, gathering the wounded soldiers around them to do one last march, Eric turned to the group of notables near him once more.

"I'd advise you all to not delay here. The battle is won, yes, but the border isn't a safe place in normal conditions, and it isn't going to be safer just because we are all tired and in need of healing and rest. Clermont, are you coming with us personally to the capital or are you heading back to your estate? I believe Prince Ekaitz will be at least lending some of his guard to escort the Princess back to the capital, but your presence might be of importance to tell the bureaucrats what happened here. Let's just say they might be... cautious about my testimony."

[Zapatha]

Standing over Illania sword in hand, Peter again raises his arm upward to strike her down but cannot bring himself to do it.

"No....no I will not kill you on this godforsaken battlefield today my lady...." as he says this Peter takes the sword and hits Illania with the hilt on the back of the head, knocking her out. He won't kill her, but he sure as hell wasn't just going to let her roam free and rejoin her family and attack another day. She could have useful information which Duivene and the Ecclesiarchy could use.

As this happened, Peter picked up the unconscious Illania and brought her to two of his vassal knights "You two, take your horses and ride hard for Jacquesville with Lady Illania. Imprison her in our cleanest cell, bind her hands and gag her so she can't cast any spells to break herself out. Tell my brothers to bring her regular warm meals and water, and I will return home shortly."

As the knights rode off, Peter faced the rest of his surviving bannermen and said:

"Tonight my friends we have won a great victory, but at great cost. We shall not let our victory tonight overshadow the looming threat of death and annihilation brewing once more in evil Achisia. With the battle done, this war has only just begun."

Noticing the Princess Alexis and what looked to be the Hero Ekaitz, Peter approached them and knelt on his right knee, addressing Alexis:

"My princess, without you we would have lost this battle long ago." Looking now to Ekaitz, "And you my lord, you saved us all from certain death at the hands of the Achisians. If I or my forces can be of any further assistance then let me know."

Eric de Villegagnon

As the Achisian general commanded his retreat after another Hero joined the battle, commanding an impressive squad of Wyverns and raining magical fire over the wretched battleground. As the battle's flames started to lose its heat, once more Eric was alive, yet tired: His muscles started to sting, the weariness of his age being added to the physical and magical exhaustion. Sheathing his sword - for the last time today, he hoped - he walked over to the other battle leaders, who seemed the gather around the Princess, who was nearly passing out by now.

"I do hate to interrupt the thanking party, but we urgently need to take the Princess back to the capital. I'm not a medic or a healer, but the lack of Mana in her body will force her to rest soon. I'm not certain of how much time we have until that happens, but she'll need constant attention by the mages of the capital to properly recover. I'll tell the rest of the soldiers to arrange a carriage or something more stable to carry her than a horse or a wyvern. No offense to your trusty companions, Prince... Ekaitz, yes, that's it, Ekaitz.

Also, Peter, if you want to know more about the Velira - or if you are a good, reasonable man - I'd strongly advise you to not turn the girl to the Faith. They'll probably keep a few hours of their friendly chat away from any formal register, and that might incur in your heavy conscience. Now, I'll start gathering the soldiers who are able to do one last escort to the capital, and in the lack of a higher ranking officer from the capital, I can command the remaining platoon that came with Alexis."

Slowly, Eric got up on his horse, flexing his back and readying himself for one last ride.

"Soldiers of the Princess, gather round! Look for a carriage or a mattress we may use! We are riding back to the capital, and we must travel guarding her until we arrive there! Luckily our allies are in bigger number and will share their disposition of guarding the Princess with us, but we can't be lazy! Rest is reserved for us once we are safe in the walls of the city again. Until there, protect your brothers-in-arms, protect yourselves, and if your body ever fails you, don't hesitate on asking for help!"

As the small group of soldiers that were alive and relatively unharmed started to move, gathering the wounded soldiers around them to do one last march, Eric turned to the group of notables near him once more.

"I'd advise you all to not delay here. The battle is won, yes, but the border isn't a safe place in normal conditions, and it isn't going to be safer just because we are all tired and in need of healing and rest. Clermont, are you coming with us personally to the capital or are you heading back to your estate? I believe Prince Ekaitz will be at least lending some of his guard to escort the Princess back to the capital, but your presence might be of importance to tell the bureaucrats what happened here. Let's just say they might be... cautious about my testimony."

Eric was right, turning Illania over to the Ecclesiarchy would be a bad idea. Peter knew that the Inquisitors were feared for a reason, and handing over a noblewoman of an opposing Achisian house was basically a death sentence. "I will admit I know next to nothing about the de Veliras so I trust your word on this Eric."

Handing the unconscious Illania over, Peter quickly made his way over to his remaining troops who were visibly exhausted and many wounded. He turned to his second in command Sir Thomas de la Tour, "Sir Thomas, you and a handful of men-at-arms will remain with me to guard our return to the capital. The rest of the men will return to Jacquesville and inform my brothers as to what has transpired."

Making his way back to the group of nobles with his guard, Peter once again turned to Eric: "Yes, me and my personal guard will accompany you to the capital. As the Roi's steward I have some sway within the court though the Seneschal is ultimately the final authority."

[Tracian Empire]

A village

He couldn't understand it. He couldn't understand any of it. Why? Why was it so difficult for her to understand, to realize that it hadn't been his fault? That he had no control over it? That he hadn't done anything wrong? She knew that he had no choice, that he had never had a choice. And yet, instead of understanding, instead of realizing the truth, she just started to call him a liar and to punch him, all while crying. And while he could barely feel the punches.. every word that she was saying, and every tear that was rolling down her cheeks was like a wooden stake piercing his heart. He hated to see her hurt like this, to see her in pain like this..but he still didn't understand.

He had never lied to her, he had always told her the truth, but the feeling, the feeling that had warmed his heart and that had made him believe in her, trust her, that had made him care for her, that had changed everything for him, that had made him kiss her, that had made him hug her and hold her hand.. he couldn't understand it. He had no idea what it was, and he had never felt it before.. so how could he ever hope to explain it?

But he was afraid.. the idea that she wouldn't believe him, the idea that she would just believe that he was bad and wicked, the idea that she would abandon him and he would lose her.. he hated, hated, hated it. It paralyzed him. The idea that one wrong word could push her away, that if he couldn't say something she would just leave and never return and just let him in the darkness in which she had found him.. it was horrible, horrible, horrible..

But he couldn't say anything. He tried to, he opened his mouth to try to say something but no words could come out as fear painfully grasped his heart. And she just continued to hit him, broken and crying, throwing one accusation after another. She believed that he didn't care about her, that she had only been a toy for him, that it was all meaningless..

And a part of him believed her.

It had never been his choice. All of his life, all what he could remember of it, it had never been his choice to make. He had always been what the others thought that he was. When he had awoken without any memories and hurt, those villagers had just assumed that he was an evil Achisian necromancer and had nearly killed him. When the Cult of Sins had found him, they had just assumed that he was one of them and they took him in. And if he ever had a choice about Invidia, he couldn't remember it, but those cold and heavy chains had been there from as long as he could remember. So he just did what he was told. Everyone told him that he was evil, wicked, and corrupted, so he was. Everyone hated him, so he hated himself and envied everyone. Everyone wanted him dead, so he wanted them dead too. Everyone wanted him to suffer, so he wanted them to suffer too, eternally caught in the limbo, bound in his chains.

Except for her. She had been the only one to ever show him any kindness. The only one to ever think that there was some good left inside of him, to believe in him. She was the only one who had been nice to him, the only one who had risked her life for him. The only one who had warmed his heart and made him forget the weight of the chains.

So hearing her saying all of those things, accusing him, refusing to understand, believing that he had done those things with Invidia out of his own free will, believing that he had been messing around with her, that he had been lying, that everything had been fake..

He started to believe it too. How couldn't he? It made sense. He never had any choices. How foolish was he to believe that this had been a choice for him to make? That his chains didn't matter? That maybe, maybe, maybe there was a little chance that she was right?

Now, she was just like everyone else.

But when she stood up, saying that she had just wanted him to love her, as she turned around and ran away.. he felt a thousand shards of glass piercing his heart. He tried to stand up, he tried to run after her, but as always, his chains held him back and he fell back on his knees, as she disappeared in the distance.

He vaguely felt tears rolling down his cheeks, but what was happening along him no longer mattered. He hated it.. he hated them all. All of them, always judging him, always making his choices for him, never giving him a chance, never believing him, always hating him. He had never done anything wrong.. it was always their fault, looking down at him. The villagers who had attacked him that night, the first that he could remember, when he was just looking for help. The Cult who had just felt his sins and never given him a chance to atone for them. The knights and mages who had always hunted him, who had always made him suffer. The villagers here, who had mocked him by calling him a hero, who had tried to make him happy for once in his lifetime only to now stand around him, judging him, as he could feel their eyes, all on him, wondering what he had done to hurt the girl who had just ran away. And the heroes.. those heroes.. why could he never be one? Why did everyone hate him but love them? Why did no one question them, judge them, why were they able to make their own choices, why were they able to happy? Why were they able to hurt others only to receive cheers for it? And that bastard.. the one from the night before, the one with the blonde hair and the green eyes, the prince..he hated him the most. He could remember him, the one from his nightmares, the one with the bloodstained sword, the one who was laughing, laughing, and laughing as the others fell one by one, the one he was powerless against, the one who had caused him so much, the one who had looked down upon him, laughing as he swung his sword...the worst pain he had ever felt, and then, him looking from down below at his own headless body, and darkness.

Every single night, the same dream tormented him, and it was always him, him, him. Why was he the one that everyone praised? The one that everyone loved? The one that she liked? She was lying, she had to, because he had seen her the night before.. he had seen how disgusted she was by his appearance, by his powers, by his blood, by his necromancy. He had seen how hurt she had been when he had no way of controlling himself anymore and he had to attack her.. only for that bastard to arrive and to save her. He had seen how she had looked at him, her hero prince, when he arrived. He was much better than him at everything, it was obvious that she liked him more than she liked him.. and it was clear that even now, even now, she was probably running towards him.. and that hurt nearly as much as when that sword had cut his head off.

And even now, he could see him, again and again, that prince, in front of him, over him, laughing, laughing, laughing, laughing, mocking him, hating him, being better than him, laughing, laughing, always, always, every night, always, always

He swung his scythe, and he felt the weapon’s blade as it pierced deeply into the cursed hero’s flesh, breaking through the armor as if it was nothing..and hot blood gushed out, staining his clothes and his face..but something was wrong.. something was very wrong. He closed his eyes, and then he opened them again..and instead of the hero that he hated so much.. in front of him, with the blade of his scythe in her chest.. was a girl.. a girl around his age, a peasant girl, with blonde hair… looking back at him, with despair and pain in her green eyes. She tried to open her mouth, to say something, to scream.. but instead.. she just coughed blood, tears rolling down her cheeks.

And she fell. He stepped back, scared and disgusted, as his scythe turned into smoke and shadow…and the girl fell on the stone ground, in a pool of her own blood. For a moment, for a brief moment.. he tried to help her, he tried to save her, a ray of sanity in a storm of chaos and envy but it was too late.. far too late… he felt her soul slipping, leaving. And then he felt it.. and as he turned around.. he saw the other villagers.. looking at him, judging him, hating him..and the old lady from before..it was their fault.. their fault for having trusted him.. for having trusted someone as corrupted as him… but it wasn’t his fault.. none of it was.. it was all their fault..theirs, theirs, theirs..

And he stood up, the scythe dissipating into smoke and he started to run, to run away, the opposite way, away from them, away from her, away from everyone..

But they would pay.. they would pay and he prove it to them, he would, he would..

[Elysian Kentarchy]

Solomon de Velira, the Achisian withdrawal

It is truly impressive, how my great-grandfather managed to organize us so quickly into columns for our retreat so that we march orderly back to safe positions, but I can't spend my time grasping the complexities of it, I have my work to do. "Don't put too much weight on it and you should be fine." I say to the soldier I was treating, withdrawing my glowing hand. I really want to look for Illania, she has to be somewhere in this withdrawal but I haven't seen her yet. But, instead of rushing off to look for her, I help the soldier onto his feet. "Join up with the treated column and march forward. We need everyone we can get."

"Yes Captain, thank you." The soldier tells me with a bow as he hurries to join up with the rest of the marching column of people who were wounded, Captain... it still feels odd to be referred to by my old rank. But that is not important now, what is important is that I see to the wounded and so I turn to the next one only to see another healing mage pull a sheet over the man.

I look at him inquisitively and he shakes his head at me. I approach and place my head on top of his covered head, drawing a circle on the forehead with my thumb. "May Spraevia judge you mercifully and you rest easy in the afterlife as the Emperor does alongside His father Solaris." I did not and do not believe so much in the supposed divinity of the Emperor but so many did so I can't help but offer that prayer to their souls. I turn to the other medic. "Prepare to burn the corpse as dictated by tradition."

"With all due respect sir it would be better to dump them and just keep moving, stopping to burn them one at a time would give the enemy time to catch up with us." I don't like the implication that a lot more will not be saved by us.

"Then we will burn groups of them at intervals, I do not want to deny these people their funeral as children of the Eternal Flame if we can avoid it. Without at least that we are not Achisians and we fight for nothing."

"Understood... Captain de Velira." He goes back to attending to the wounded.

I know his logic, I do, but I cannot just leave corpses like that, I never could. But for now I must attend to the living so I approach the next wounded soldier, most of the wounded we are conveying by cart unless they can still walk, if so they walk alongside it until someone can attend to him. I raise my hands to the wounded man's chest, as that is where his wound is, and mutter my chant. "My Lady Cassia, protector of the righteous, allow my hands to save another life and restore their flesh to what it once was. Allow them to continue to live and not be another victim of war." And with those words my hands take on a blue glow and his wound begins to heal.

If I can save their lives I will save them. I am a noble after all.


Augustine de Velira

I listed to the report calmly, it isn't a good one, and when the soldier finishes all I say is. "I see." I close my eyes and sigh, yet more of my family is lost. "Do not inform Solomon yet. I do not need him stirring up a fuss trying to get back to the battlefield to rescue her."

"Yes General."

"My Lady Cassia, though she has many crimes I ask that you do not allow her to be tortured by her enemies, for she is still righteous at heart." I mutter in brief prayer, it is all I can do for her. And so we continue our march, with the standard bearer carrying the Eternal Flame as it was in the past and as it will be in the future. We have no life without its protection, without its guiding light.

[Zapatha]

Castle Von Schmidt, Velikiya

Arthur had summoned all of the princes who had declared their support to him to the castle, and now he stood before them, still walking with a slight limp from the injuries he had sustained during the battle in Achisia. As Arthur looked over the crowd, he noticed that a few princes hadn't made the trip but a majority had arrived. I will need every one of them to defeat Alexander in battle Arthur thought to himself, and as he knew Alexander had the backing of the Knights of the Black Sun and almost half the princes of Velikiya.

Looking out to the group of gathered nobles, Arthur addressed them:

"Thank you all for coming so hastily my lords, even under such terrible conditions. In any event, I have summoned you all here to call you all to muster your armies as the time to strike out at Prinz Alexander is now. As many of you know, I have just recently returned from Achisia where I fought alongside fellow Velikiyans and various southerners against the Cult of Sins and....." Arthur pictured how the trained Achisians marched on Fort Peremoha and the witch he had killed "....and far worse. Time is of the essence, and if Velikiya is to help the human realms once more turn back the forces of Achisia we must bring peace to the fatherland once and for all!" Arthur slams down his fist on the podium he is leaning on, leading to cheers from the assembled princes in the crowd.

"That is why we must strike down Alexander and install myself as temporary regent until one of Krai Michael's children are chosen to be the next krai my friends, for Velikiya without a krai is not Velikiya. Ride forth my lords, assemble your forces and bring them here. We will march for Ohridia shortly after, for Velikiya!"
-----------------------------------

A short time later as Arthur is studying maps around Ohridia in his office, a messenger knocks on the door:

"Yes, make it quick I'm rather busy." Arthur said, still looking at the maps.

"My lord pardon the interruption, but we've received word that a large Karaki horde has crossed into Velikiya from the Karakian Steppes."

Arthur put down the maps, and ran his fingers through his hair looking clearly troubled. A Karaki horde was the last thing Velikiya needed, on top of the civil war and the Cult of Sins' return to the fold. However Arthur knew he couldn't spare any men to combat the invaders, and told the messenger:

"Send word for any towns or villages in their vicinity to evacuate immediately or face the horde on their own. We have enough problems to deal with Alexander and the Cult running around...."

"At once, my lord."

[Elysian Kentarchy]

Solomon de Velira

I withdraw my hand from the woman I just finished healing but as I move to walk away I nearly fall down only to be caught by a couple other healers, how many have I healed of terrible wounds? I lost count after several dozen... "I'm fine. This much is nothing." I shrug them off stagger over to the next one. "If I can save a life I will save it... that is my duty."

"You are not looking good Solomon de Velira." A grating voice chimes in and grind my teeth Not him. I turn and look that annoying noble in the eyes, I thought I had seen the last of him after me and Silvia assaulted him. He has come by our estate too many times but I never bothered to learn his name.

"So, now that I have your attention, you know where that sister of your's is?" He asks, skipping over formalities.

"I... Do not know. And even if I did I wouldn't tell someone like you."

"And why is that?"

"You have tried courting her in the past and she never listened to you and thinks you to be a pest. And that will never change for you do not understand how my family views marriage and love. And, since you do not understand, you will never be tolerated by me or by anyone else of the de Velira line. You are alien to us." I say without emotion, listing out the charges that has been laid against him by all of my family.

"Oh? And what do you think I am?"

"You are someone who doesn't understand the value of life. Its importance. The duty that comes with being a noble."

"We are nobles of an empire of ashes, it must be reforged by the strong. Your sister is strong and she understands what must be done."

"I will never hand her over to you or to anyone who would not understand the duties and obligations of being a noble. Of leading and protecting the lower orders to the future. Even if we are nobles of an empire of ashes that duty will never change, that role will never change."

"And here I was hoping you would finally see reason about how futile your point of view is. The role of a noble is to dominate, to make sure the lower orders obey and follow us because we know better than the commoners ever will. What you preach is mere delusion wrapped in morality. And all such things burned to ashes with the fall of Achisia."

"Even if I preside over a land of ashes and tears I will never sacrifice my honor to change it. I will not forsake my duty nor the light of the Eternal Flame. Now if there is nothing else I have wounded to attend to."

"The de Veliras spend their time preaching honor and duty when they do not realize they make a mockery of both by not accepting the reality of who they are and the side they fight for. This is a new war to lead to Achisia reborn and if you do not embrace what that means you will be left behind."

"If you seek to provoke me you are failing. I dare say these 'commoners' are more valuable than you will ever be." And with those words I hold my hand over the next wounded man, an ugly gash in his chest but nothing I can't fix. "My Lady Cassia raise my hands to war and to heal. Allow me to continue to save lives so they may fight further and that their sins can be amended." I mutter and my hand starts glowing to heal. "Do not raise my burdens from me my Lady for they are irrelevant in the face of those who suffer. Instead if they will save more lives I ask that you intensify my burdens." It is so much harder to project my healing magic outside of me but I am a de Velira so this is nothing to me, it must be nothing to me.


Nerine de Marlon

I observe the events of the marchers, specifically Solomon's actions and how he runs himself ragged healing people. As noble as ever and as expected of Ezekiel's successor. Ah I wish I could just jump out and give him a big hug. I watch as some noble confronts him and seems to have some problems with him or causes some problems. And after he departs from Solomon my 'friend' in the marching line returns to me and relays the conversation he heard and I frown, causing him to back away slowly. But instead of killing him I tell him to lure the whelp here on some pretense, such as Illania is nearby and would like to speak with him, in private. And sure enough he falls for it and is lead away from the line, where I await. And when he has his back turned to me I speak.

"So, would you care to talk about what you and Solomon were discussing?" I ask politely with a smile on my face and my axe in my hands and, when he whirls around and sees me standing there, all the color instantly leaves his face.

"I... I..." He looks like a goldfish right now, always amusing when they do that.

"Oh dear, does cat have your tongue? I'm sure you can tell me what you were saying to my dear friend Solomon? About how he is fooling himself about being a noble? About how he mentioned you trying to court his sister and how wrong you are doing it?" My tone is as sweet as ever and the smile on my face hasn't changed but I can tell he has picked up my disapproval even as he backs himself into a tree as I walk closer. Smart kid to pick up on that.

"I... How? How are you here? How are you alive?"

"Why am I here? Because it is time for the next war, it is time for victory and slaughter without end. And why am I alive? Well poor boy if I was dead I would have to stop killing wouldn't I?" My smile only gets bigger. "You know who I am but it is only proper for a lady to introduce herself. I am Nerine de Marlon, and you, you poor noble boy, are dead." Before he could blink, before he could react to those words, my axe buries itself in his chest. "If an afterlife does exist do not mess with the de Veliras over there otherwise I will have to chase your soul down." I tell him before I pull out the axe and let his corpse hit the ground. "Oh I have the feeling the good times are only just beginning."

[Tracian Empire]

The border between the Kingdom of Duivene and the Fallen Achisia

Unfortunately, poor Alexis never managed to respond to what Peter had said. As soon as the Achisians started to withdraw, and as Solomon left, she tried to use her lance to stand back up, and she remained like that, tightly gripping her weapon and using it to support herself for a few moments. She was horribly pale, blood was still gushing out of the would in her thigh, but that wasn't it. Parts of her skin had already went past normal pallor, and had started to turn gray, a textbook mark of severe mana deficiency. And just as Peter approached them, Alexis lost her balance and fell on the ground in front of her, passing out.

Ekaitz was the first to react, sheathing his blade, ignoring poor Peter and kneeling down next to the princess. He quickly took out a golden knife and a small glass bottle, and made a small cut on his left wrist without a second's hesitation, letting a few drops of blood fall into the bottle, and then mixing it with a greenish looking magical potion, making the unconscious girl drink it. Use too much of your mana and you die. Mana potions were expensive and slow to set in, but a mage's blood, even if the concept was rather despised by the Faith, was the best way to transfer mana.

"There is nothing you have to thank me for, I was merely doing my duty", the Xerenian prince responded with a kind smile on his face as he slowly stood up, giving the knife and the now empty bottle to one of his men. "My men and I will make sure that the Achisian forces have truly withdrawn, you can never be sure of it. Sadly, I can not come myself or send too many of my men with you, as someone has to make sure that the undead armies are destroyed before they do even more damage. I will send of my best men with you however, and I trust you both to make sure that your princess is brought back to safety. " And then the prince hesitated for a few moments, looking at Alexis before he looked back at Eric. "Make sure that is safe. Her heart is too good for this world."



Chovers, the White Citadel

Despite their victory, their return was anything but triumphal. The ragged and broken remains of the troops that had fought under the princess' flag marched back, from village to village, carrying with them the unconscious body of their hero, with a few Wyvern binders following them from the skies. And wherever they set foot in, sorrow followed. It was impossible to keep the terrible news hidden. Every last peasant in that part of the realm had known that the princess had ridden out the night before in order to protect them, like she had always done. But now, as her men returned, her flag was no longer waving over them, and their downhearted appearances couldn't hide anything. In every village or town they entered, or around them if they tried to avoid it, they were surrounded by groups of crying or scared people, terrified that their mightiest hero was dead. And even after the knights had calmed them down and explained that she was just wounded and unconscious, that she would survive, the regret of her people knew no limits. There would be no way to properly describe just how beloved the amethyst eyed girl was. Just how many people she had saved, time and time again, protected and helped. The people were broken by the idea that their princess had been wounded, some of them were even angry that something like this could happen - but the ragged looks of her knights and their wounds proved that they had done their best to fight, so no fury was directed at them. And still, most of the people they met probably felt horribly guilty that their princess had been wounded for them, in order to defend them. So the very least they could do was to make sure that the princess and her retinue would reach the royal citadel. And such, from village to village, groups of people armed with whatever they could find followed them, escorted them. Most of them were trying to hide their tears, and yet, some of them talked.. about how much the princess had helped them. And it wasn't just about distant fighting that she had done for them. But poor people that she healed, missing children that she had found, women that she had saved, small monsters that she had killed to protect helpless villagers. When the knights and the hosts of the boy-king were only able to watch the borders, she had always roamed through the realm, defending those no one else would have, even the much hated Loroi and demihumans, some of which were present in the group escorting them, different races united by their love for a single person.. and by sadness.

Eventually, they saw it in the distance. Two huge, white towers, so tall that it disappeared into the clouds above, so purely white that it almost seemed to shine. Chovers. The White Citadel, the Unicorn's Tower.

The tower itself was standing on top of something in between a hill and a mountain, and the citadel itself was more than just the tower - it was the entire place. The tower itself looked like a blade that had deeply pierced what once been a mountain, or even more fitting, like a unicorn's horn, tall and spiraling. The former mountain itself had mostly been covered with the same white rock, and by a weird, single, spiraling white defensive wall. The citadel was surrounded by what looked to be a small town, dwarfed into nonexistence by what it was built around, but there was a pretty considerable distance between the buildings closest to the citadel proper and its walls, a circular field devoid of any trees or life, paved with white.

But nothing that had happened in other towns of villages would have prepared Eric and Peter for what would happen here. Ever since of the beginning of the war, and the Achisian sacking of the royal capital, Chovers had become the unofficial capital, the seat of power, and the home of the royal family. So most of the city's inhabitants had seen Alexis again and again ever since she had been little, so the townspeople had pretty much adopted her. She had helped them more times than anyone could ever count, and a lot of the knights from her retinue had been born here. So as the knights entered the city, with Alexis being carried by her men, people started to gather, men, women, children, crying, praying, kneeling. Alexis was their hope, the ray of light in this darkness that grew ever closer, their princess, their hero. None of them could conceive a world without her, and many of them knew that Alexis had pushed herself again and again to the brink of death, for them. And the guilt, the guilt of knowing her suffering, of knowing what she had lost during the war, of knowing that she had fought without rest ever since, for them, was overwhelming. Why did she have to be wounded, to suffer through pain and again and again?

The group barely made it through the town, and the bells of all the temples started to ring. Eventually, they reached the main gate, which was quickly opened by a group of extremely worried soldiers, in normal armors and with the usual white-azure tunics, who helped them enter into the courtyard of the bastion that guarded the entrance. The soldiers nearly overwhelmed the small group of knights, asking what had happened, with some of them even starting to cry.. until someone interrupted them.


"My, my", a voice was vaguely heard in the courtyard, almost sickeningly sweet in tone. The other soldiers, despite the worry that was still clearly visible on their faces, despite how concerned they still clearly were about the fate of their princess, returned whatever they were doing before their arrival, much quieter than before. And as this was happening, they could notice a group of royal guards approaching, wearing their shiny, ceremonial armors, and sure enough, the voice had come from among their ranks. Stopping right in front of them, the guards broke into two lines, revealing the person at their center. But no King was there to welcome them today, instead, the person many believed was the real power behind an all but empty throne.

An older man, with long, dark grayish hair, with a few white strands that accentuated his age. Despite that, the man still seemed to powerful enough, strong, and graceful in the way he moved, wearing a simple silver armor, with his emblem on the chest, representing two ravens. While some could describe him as slightly handsome, at least for his age, the most striking part of his appearance were certainly his eyes - of a dirty orange color. As he approached them, the man continued to smile, his friendly expression really clashing badly with the situation they were in, and the tension that could still almost be felt in the air.

"A tragedy, this truly is a tragedy! For our brave princess, for our brave hero, to be wounded like this, while defending her people from unspeakable horrors! She has always put the well-being of her realm and of her people in front of herself, but that is why we must take care of her too. It truly is a sad thing that you, her knights, have failed to defend her in the heat of battle. If what the other soldiers have told me is right, it seems that the enemies had prepared a special trap for her, in an attempt to finally kill her once and from all. But that is exactly why you, the men fighting alongside her, should have risen to the occasional and you should have given your lives for her if needed. And yet you have failed, and we nearly lost her, if not for that brave prince of Xerena. She wasn't saved by us, the men of Duivene, but by foreigners, who could have been too late.. I've told her Highness so many times that not all of us are heroes, and that she should do better than trust everyone around her.. but she was too kind to believe. I hope by the Sixteen Gods that she will never have to pay for that good heart of hers." And the man sighed, before he looked back at them. "You are not my knights to chastise, but I hope that you are all ashamed of your failures. You can learn from that shame. And you can hopefully realize what your mistakes were and what they nearly cost us, because once you understand what you have done wrong, you can rise again as a better soldier. Even if you didn't manage to protect her, you've followed her in battle, and that I can only admire. But now is time to rest." Despite the somewhat aggressive nature of his reproaches, his tone never changed, and his smile never disappeared, so he was acting more like a disappointed parent scolding some children who had made a mistake, rather than a high ranking noble admonishing his men. "Our princess will be the one who will decide whether you are still worthy to serve alongside her once she wakes up, but until them, I will have to ask you all to surrender your swords. I will arrange for you all to receive the proper accommodations, in the citadel's barracks, and of course, the temple will always be there for those of you who want to seek forgiveness from the Gods. Making mistakes is what makes us human, and I am sure that the Gods will be as merciful as I hope princess Alexis will be. ", for the first time, a slight hint of disappointment seemed to appear in his tone,but the way in which he was speaking.. for some of the soldiers and knights who were with them, it almost seemed to be a magic spell. It truly and honestly made them feel ashamed - they loved their princess, and the realization that they had allowed her to be hurt during that battle slowly sunk in. A few of them even started to follow the man's firm words, unsheathing their swords to surrender them.

The man turned around to leave, but one of his soldiers stopped him, whispering a few words in his ear, and he turned around, this time looking directly at the bound and gagged black haired woman, that Achisian mage. "My apologies,domaisèla, but the pain that I have been ever since I heard of how wounded our princess was seems to have clouded my judgement. You are one of our enemies, and one of the black mages of Achisia, so you probably expect us to deal with you the same way your black mages have been dealing with our prisoners during the war, but we are no monsters. You will be treated like someone worthy of your rank by us.. but sadly, you will not be able to remain with us for long. The Faith's Judgement has already been alerted of your capture, and in matters of Faith and crimes against the Divines I'm afraid that no mercy can be shown. May your suffering bring you on the path of salvation, may you lose the darkness clouding your mind, and find the light of the Mother Goddess."

And with a truly sorrowful expression on his face, the man turned around, to look at his soldiers again. "Please, take the princess to the healing quarters and post your guards at all the doors. Take the mage to the dungeon and led the Faith Keepers there when they will arrive." And the guard hit the ground with the shaft of his spear. "Yes, sénher Seneschal!"

And the man started to walk away from them, the knights were about to lose their weapons, their honor, their princess, and their prisoner. And some of them were submitting willingly, to the man loved by half of the realm, hated by the other, but known by everyone. Raymond de Visent, the Seneschal of Duivene, mocked by his enemies as the Orange Crow.

[Zapatha]

Chovers, Capital of Duivene

Peter had always loved coming to Chovers as a kid, as his father always took him there on family affairs. In Chovers, Peter learned court etiquette and how bureaucracy worked and met many of his friends today. In more recent times Chovers has served as Peter’s second home, after his appointment as Steward of the Treasury for the new Roi’s council. Being in the city so much now soured his earlier memories of it, as council meetings were always a chore what with the Orange Crow being Seneschal. Although Peter was always a loyal councillor, he didn’t care for Lord de Visent. The Orange Crow always seemed to have an ulterior motive to all of his actions, and in Peter’s opinion seemed to abuse his power as Seneschal over a boy king. As the escort arrived in the courtyard, Peter already knew who it was the royal guardsmen were escorting to meet them. Turning to Eric quickly, Peter whispered

“That’s Raymond de Visent, the Orange Crow. He serves as Seneschal to the Roi.”

As the Seneschal addressed them, Peter’s blood began to boil as de Visent rambled on about how they had all failed to protect Alexis and “given their lives to protect her.” He knew de Visent was as pompous as they come, but how could someone with the courage of a kitchen mouse say that they had all failed Alexis? When the Seneschal ordered for them to surrender their weapons, Peter purposefully didn’t unsheathe his though for some reason he felt a strong urge to. As he addressed Illania, Peter was relieved that the Faith wouldn’t be taking her immediately which allowed time for them to question her. As the Seneschal turned to leave however, Peter stepped forward:

“Seneschal de Visent, I believe that we should first interrogate the witch to find out as much as we can about what exactly we’re up against. We both know that once the Faith gets hold of her, no one will ever see or hear from her again.” Peter then walked closer to de Visent, Peter’s scar from the battle now clearly visible:

“And it is wrong for you to question our courage and determination to protect our princess my lord. Hundreds of men died defending her as she laid wounded while we were surrounded by the undead and Achisian mages. Without us, I am quite sure the Achisians would have been half way to Chovers by now, destroying everything in their path.”

[Elysian Kentarchy]

Illania de Velira

...but we are no monsters. You will be treated like someone worthy of your rank by us.

I have not forgotten the words that Solomon carried home upon Ezekiel's death. I never will so I know he is a liar. War turns everyone into monsters besides the few who cling to nobility and honor like my brother. But this man probably is different than someone who simply gets warped into a monster.

The Faith's Judgement has already been alerted of your capture, and in matters of Faith and crimes against the Divines I'm afraid that no mercy can be shown.

If I expected mercy I wouldn't have asked my opponent to kill me in that last fight. But the Faith is coming for me eh? Well I guess I'll be tortured for information and then executed, that is what I figured would happen to me since I woke up. So perhaps being killed then would have been a mercy.

May your suffering bring you on the path of salvation

Suffering? What does he know of suffering? He knows nothing. I know that after listening to him for five minutes. What does he know of the suffering of the damned?

May you lose the darkness clouding your mind, and find the light of the Mother Goddess."

Light of the mother goddess? There is no light for my people besides that of the Eternal Flame bestowed upon us by Solaris, the father of the Emperor and husband of Aurora. A light they had no qualms about destroying. His light is a false one to me and all of my people.

But none of that matters. I know what my judgement before Spraevia will be so I have nothing to fear. If I must suffer for Achisia all the better. Not even being tortured by the Faith will sway me from that. So I simply just tune it all out and wait until I am dragged off to some dungeon.

But then another voice speaks up and I listen in.

“Seneschal de Visent, I believe that we should first interrogate the witch to find out as much as we can about what exactly we’re up against. We both know that once the Faith gets hold of her, no one will ever see or hear from her again.”

We'll he's right on that one, never thought someone would actually voice that aloud though. I'll have to remember to ask him who bandaged me up after I was knocked out if I get the chance, I may prefer death but still should express my gratitude. Similarly I am grateful to whoever provided me with the simple set of robes I am now wearing, even if changing under supervision was embarrassing.

“And it is wrong for you to question our courage and determination to protect our princess my lord. Hundreds of men died defending her as she laid wounded while we were surrounded by the undead and Achisian mages. Without us, I am quite sure the Achisians would have been half way to Chovers by now, destroying everything in their path.”

Knowing my grandfather halfway would be a conservative estimate. He may not be a master of the offensive like he is when it comes to the defense but he was still remarkable in that area too. If we had managed to kill the Princess and break her men our advance would not easily be halted.

[Kingdom of Irhk]

The border between the Kingdom of Duivene and the Fallen Achisia

Unfortunately, poor Alexis never managed to respond to what Peter had said. As soon as the Achisians started to withdraw, and as Solomon left, she tried to use her lance to stand back up, and she remained like that, tightly gripping her weapon and using it to support herself for a few moments. She was horribly pale, blood was still gushing out of the would in her thigh, but that wasn't it. Parts of her skin had already went past normal pallor, and had started to turn gray, a textbook mark of severe mana deficiency. And just as Peter approached them, Alexis lost her balance and fell on the ground in front of her, passing out.

Ekaitz was the first to react, sheathing his blade, ignoring poor Peter and kneeling down next to the princess. He quickly took out a golden knife and a small glass bottle, and made a small cut on his left wrist without a second's hesitation, letting a few drops of blood fall into the bottle, and then mixing it with a greenish looking magical potion, making the unconscious girl drink it. Use too much of your mana and you die. Mana potions were expensive and slow to set in, but a mage's blood, even if the concept was rather despised by the Faith, was the best way to transfer mana.

"There is nothing you have to thank me for, I was merely doing my duty", the Xerenian prince responded with a kind smile on his face as he slowly stood up, giving the knife and the now empty bottle to one of his men. "My men and I will make sure that the Achisian forces have truly withdrawn, you can never be sure of it. Sadly, I can not come myself or send too many of my men with you, as someone has to make sure that the undead armies are destroyed before they do even more damage. I will send of my best men with you however, and I trust you both to make sure that your princess is brought back to safety. " And then the prince hesitated for a few moments, looking at Alexis before he looked back at Eric. "Make sure that is safe. Her heart is too good for this world."



Chovers, the White Citadel

Despite their victory, their return was anything but triumphal. The ragged and broken remains of the troops that had fought under the princess' flag marched back, from village to village, carrying with them the unconscious body of their hero, with a few Wyvern binders following them from the skies. And wherever they set foot in, sorrow followed. It was impossible to keep the terrible news hidden. Every last peasant in that part of the realm had known that the princess had ridden out the night before in order to protect them, like she had always done. But now, as her men returned, her flag was no longer waving over them, and their downhearted appearances couldn't hide anything. In every village or town they entered, or around them if they tried to avoid it, they were surrounded by groups of crying or scared people, terrified that their mightiest hero was dead. And even after the knights had calmed them down and explained that she was just wounded and unconscious, that she would survive, the regret of her people knew no limits. There would be no way to properly describe just how beloved the amethyst eyed girl was. Just how many people she had saved, time and time again, protected and helped. The people were broken by the idea that their princess had been wounded, some of them were even angry that something like this could happen - but the ragged looks of her knights and their wounds proved that they had done their best to fight, so no fury was directed at them. And still, most of the people they met probably felt horribly guilty that their princess had been wounded for them, in order to defend them. So the very least they could do was to make sure that the princess and her retinue would reach the royal citadel. And such, from village to village, groups of people armed with whatever they could find followed them, escorted them. Most of them were trying to hide their tears, and yet, some of them talked.. about how much the princess had helped them. And it wasn't just about distant fighting that she had done for them. But poor people that she healed, missing children that she had found, women that she had saved, small monsters that she had killed to protect helpless villagers. When the knights and the hosts of the boy-king were only able to watch the borders, she had always roamed through the realm, defending those no one else would have, even the much hated Loroi and demihumans, some of which were present in the group escorting them, different races united by their love for a single person.. and by sadness.

Eventually, they saw it in the distance. Two huge, white towers, so tall that it disappeared into the clouds above, so purely white that it almost seemed to shine. Chovers. The White Citadel, the Unicorn's Tower.

The tower itself was standing on top of something in between a hill and a mountain, and the citadel itself was more than just the tower - it was the entire place. The tower itself looked like a blade that had deeply pierced what once been a mountain, or even more fitting, like a unicorn's horn, tall and spiraling. The former mountain itself had mostly been covered with the same white rock, and by a weird, single, spiraling white defensive wall. The citadel was surrounded by what looked to be a small town, dwarfed into nonexistence by what it was built around, but there was a pretty considerable distance between the buildings closest to the citadel proper and its walls, a circular field devoid of any trees or life, paved with white.

But nothing that had happened in other towns of villages would have prepared Eric and Peter for what would happen here. Ever since of the beginning of the war, and the Achisian sacking of the royal capital, Chovers had become the unofficial capital, the seat of power, and the home of the royal family. So most of the city's inhabitants had seen Alexis again and again ever since she had been little, so the townspeople had pretty much adopted her. She had helped them more times than anyone could ever count, and a lot of the knights from her retinue had been born here. So as the knights entered the city, with Alexis being carried by her men, people started to gather, men, women, children, crying, praying, kneeling. Alexis was their hope, the ray of light in this darkness that grew ever closer, their princess, their hero. None of them could conceive a world without her, and many of them knew that Alexis had pushed herself again and again to the brink of death, for them. And the guilt, the guilt of knowing her suffering, of knowing what she had lost during the war, of knowing that she had fought without rest ever since, for them, was overwhelming. Why did she have to be wounded, to suffer through pain and again and again?

The group barely made it through the town, and the bells of all the temples started to ring. Eventually, they reached the main gate, which was quickly opened by a group of extremely worried soldiers, in normal armors and with the usual white-azure tunics, who helped them enter into the courtyard of the bastion that guarded the entrance. The soldiers nearly overwhelmed the small group of knights, asking what had happened, with some of them even starting to cry.. until someone interrupted them.


"My, my", a voice was vaguely heard in the courtyard, almost sickeningly sweet in tone. The other soldiers, despite the worry that was still clearly visible on their faces, despite how concerned they still clearly were about the fate of their princess, returned whatever they were doing before their arrival, much quieter than before. And as this was happening, they could notice a group of royal guards approaching, wearing their shiny, ceremonial armors, and sure enough, the voice had come from among their ranks. Stopping right in front of them, the guards broke into two lines, revealing the person at their center. But no King was there to welcome them today, instead, the person many believed was the real power behind an all but empty throne.

An older man, with long, dark grayish hair, with a few white strands that accentuated his age. Despite that, the man still seemed to powerful enough, strong, and graceful in the way he moved, wearing a simple silver armor, with his emblem on the chest, representing two ravens. While some could describe him as slightly handsome, at least for his age, the most striking part of his appearance were certainly his eyes - of a dirty orange color. As he approached them, the man continued to smile, his friendly expression really clashing badly with the situation they were in, and the tension that could still almost be felt in the air.

"A tragedy, this truly is a tragedy! For our brave princess, for our brave hero, to be wounded like this, while defending her people from unspeakable horrors! She has always put the well-being of her realm and of her people in front of herself, but that is why we must take care of her too. It truly is a sad thing that you, her knights, have failed to defend her in the heat of battle. If what the other soldiers have told me is right, it seems that the enemies had prepared a special trap for her, in an attempt to finally kill her once and from all. But that is exactly why you, the men fighting alongside her, should have risen to the occasional and you should have given your lives for her if needed. And yet you have failed, and we nearly lost her, if not for that brave prince of Xerena. She wasn't saved by us, the men of Duivene, but by foreigners, who could have been too late.. I've told her Highness so many times that not all of us are heroes, and that she should do better than trust everyone around her.. but she was too kind to believe. I hope by the Sixteen Gods that she will never have to pay for that good heart of hers." And the man sighed, before he looked back at them. "You are not my knights to chastise, but I hope that you are all ashamed of your failures. You can learn from that shame. And you can hopefully realize what your mistakes were and what they nearly cost us, because once you understand what you have done wrong, you can rise again as a better soldier. Even if you didn't manage to protect her, you've followed her in battle, and that I can only admire. But now is time to rest." Despite the somewhat aggressive nature of his reproaches, his tone never changed, and his smile never disappeared, so he was acting more like a disappointed parent scolding some children who had made a mistake, rather than a high ranking noble admonishing his men. "Our princess will be the one who will decide whether you are still worthy to serve alongside her once she wakes up, but until them, I will have to ask you all to surrender your swords. I will arrange for you all to receive the proper accommodations, in the citadel's barracks, and of course, the temple will always be there for those of you who want to seek forgiveness from the Gods. Making mistakes is what makes us human, and I am sure that the Gods will be as merciful as I hope princess Alexis will be. ", for the first time, a slight hint of disappointment seemed to appear in his tone,but the way in which he was speaking.. for some of the soldiers and knights who were with them, it almost seemed to be a magic spell. It truly and honestly made them feel ashamed - they loved their princess, and the realization that they had allowed her to be hurt during that battle slowly sunk in. A few of them even started to follow the man's firm words, unsheathing their swords to surrender them.

The man turned around to leave, but one of his soldiers stopped him, whispering a few words in his ear, and he turned around, this time looking directly at the bound and gagged black haired woman, that Achisian mage. "My apologies,domaisèla, but the pain that I have been ever since I heard of how wounded our princess was seems to have clouded my judgement. You are one of our enemies, and one of the black mages of Achisia, so you probably expect us to deal with you the same way your black mages have been dealing with our prisoners during the war, but we are no monsters. You will be treated like someone worthy of your rank by us.. but sadly, you will not be able to remain with us for long. The Faith's Judgement has already been alerted of your capture, and in matters of Faith and crimes against the Divines I'm afraid that no mercy can be shown. May your suffering bring you on the path of salvation, may you lose the darkness clouding your mind, and find the light of the Mother Goddess."

And with a truly sorrowful expression on his face, the man turned around, to look at his soldiers again. "Please, take the princess to the healing quarters and post your guards at all the doors. Take the mage to the dungeon and led the Faith Keepers there when they will arrive." And the guard hit the ground with the shaft of his spear. "Yes, sénher Seneschal!"

And the man started to walk away from them, the knights were about to lose their weapons, their honor, their princess, and their prisoner. And some of them were submitting willingly, to the man loved by half of the realm, hated by the other, but known by everyone. Raymond de Visent, the Seneschal of Duivene, mocked by his enemies as the Orange Crow.

Eric de Villegagnon

He never openly stated it before, but since the first time Alexis mentioned the existence of a regent - a Seneschal, to be more precise in the matters of the Duivenian State - Eric got a bad feeling about it. There was a clear difference between them both: if Alexis, without openly asking anyone, could move an army with her charisma and courage, the Seneschal seemed like a rat that was far more used to the finest silk in the continent than to any form of battle at all. Or at least, his battle was against Alexis herself: after all, a charismatic leader is quite dangerous for a man that carried the pretensions of becoming a new power.

If the ideas that bothered Eric could be plucked out of the air and used as reagents for the crafting process of a homunculus, the Seneschal Raymond de Visent would probably be the result. A man who openly walked with his well-equipped guard, but allowed the Princess to go with just some tired voluntaries. Sneaky like a cat, who walked behind the curtains of the royal kitchens, waiting for the perfect opportunity to steal a prized piece of food from the main table, the Seneschal openly made his game using the foundations of the Duivene society. Openly, he placed the guilt on the soldiers who nearly died for Alexis, based in the premise that they should be better. That some men are naturally incapable, and that his own talents can't be wasted in a simple sword clash. Openly, he placed his own personal guard too close to Alexis, while pushing away the knights who did a giant sacrifice in the defense of the border.

However, every man craft personas for himself. Masks in the eternal masked ball of the society, to be changed as the song played by the orchestra of History changes as the ball goes on. If openly the Seneschal defended the best outcome possible for Duivene, when no one was looking, he defended his interests with equal fierceness. The substitution of the Princess's imagery wasn't simply a coincidence: it was a project devised by a man with a considerably efficient man, that seemed to mix the State and himself into his mind. If the Royaume wasn't he, it had to be, sooner or later. Be it a savior complex or plain narcissism, Eric lived to stand against those standards.

As a soldier came to pull Eric's sword away from the sheath, the blade refused to follow the movement. Once, twice, thrice, the blade stood with its owner like it had a will bound to itself, and one stare directed to the soldier was enough to make the soldier give up on the idea of taking his weapon away.

"I agree with the young Clermont. The only person worthy to judge me in battle is the one that stood by my side in the heat of battle, when blood flew around us and struck the soil. If the pretentious judge preferred to stay in a warm throne, with a warm bed, in warm clothes with warm milk to drink, and failed to face the conflict alongside me, I don't hear words, de Visent.

I hear nothing more than a garri making small noises. Might be dressed in a nice silver armor that he's deadly scared of staining with mud and blood, elements that when washed, show how many hits a person took before emerging victorious. Any of the knights you scolded are far worthier of the right of judging me than you, de Visent. And before you even dare of making that request, I won't surrender my sword. I won't even surrender my dagger. You don't know the sound of it clashing against an Achisian general, you can't have it under your jurisdiction.

And I will be returning to check on Alexis."

[Elysian Kentarchy]

Solomon de Velira, Achisian camp
“I demand the authority to take as many men as I can and launch an immediate counterattack!” After we got back to the camp set up for our army I went to look for Illania and was informed of her capture and I immediately went to find my great-grandfather, causing this conversation.

“Denied.” My great-grandfather tells me sternly. “We must shore up our positions and make ready for the next battle.”

“They have Illania!”

“I am aware. Your request to take troops and attack the enemy is denied still.” His tone is cold, uncaring, dismissive and that causes my anger to boil over.

“Then allow me to go by myself and free her!” I shout at the old man.

“And lose you too?” He asks quietly and I pause, I know this face of Augustine de Velira, it was the face he always made when he is going against what he desperately wants. I have only seen it three other times, the first time when Illania wanted to join the war, the second time when he was starting to use Silvia as an assassin, and the third time after me and Illania escaped to him from the capital of surrendering his army instead of fighting on to the bitter end at that time. It is the face of an old man who has made too many compromises and knew it and knew he couldn’t turn back. “Besides Silvia, I do not want to lose the last of my family. We will try to free Illania if we get the chance and if she still lives but I don’t want to lose you in the process. House de Velira has lost enough.”

I want to object, I want to say that it is better to die in a charge to save our own than the slow death our house is dying under, but I can’t, he has his duty to Achisia and I have my promise, both override such desires. He pats my shoulder. “I’m sorry Solomon, if you need some time you can...”

“That is unneeded, I still have my promise to Illania and I will fulfill it and if they have dared to harm her I will end them.” With those words I take my leave, I have work to do.


Augustine de Velira
I shake my head as I watch Solomon leave, the boy doesn’t remember his parents, he saw what happened to Ezekiel, and he has survived so many things only by pure will… if only he was raised during a time of peace things could have been so different but let it never be said that House de Velira withheld anything from Achisia. “General?” A familiar voice asks and I turn my head and behold a young man, scarcely older than Solomon himself, alongside several other young men.

“Ah Constanius,” I greet my last field aide. “I was wondering if you were going to be joining us for the next war or not.”

He kneels in front of me and the others follow suit. “‘The war shall never be finished. Not while we still draw breath’; those were your words General. That was your decree before your surrender so to me and many others, this isn’t the next war, for the last one never ended.”

I nod quietly, I do not remember saying such words but I do not doubt I said them for some reason that I do not recall. “Stand young men, I may be a general and a noble but I am not someone who should be knelt to.”

“To me you are, the fact you are here shows that Achisia will never die.”

“I am but an old man doing what he must, the Eternal Flame burns in my soul as it does all others of our homeland but that doesn’t mean much. If one old man is the proof that Achisia will never die then Achisia is weaker than we can possibly imagine.” I raise a gauntleted hand to my mouth and cough into it. “So who are these people with you Constanius?” He introduces them to me as his friends he met after the war and that they wanted to meet me since they didn’t truly believe that he knew me and I nod and say to them. “Keep an eye on young Constanius, he is a bit hotheaded at times.” I say with a brief smile and they chuckle at their friend’s expense.

[Elysian Kentarchy]

Augustine talks more with the young men before they depart allowing for others to approach him but the crowd slowly parts as someone approaches him, a woman he remembers well, a woman they all know. And that knowing cases some to back off in fear, others kneel in respect and awe for what is coming, what she bears. Some however go for their weapons in fear of what this person could do to the old general. She was once revered, respected as a hero and protector, now they just see the beast that she has become, the woman she once was dead. Perhaps that view is right or perhaps it is wrong. But what matters now is that the Maiden of Steel is here.

---

Nerine de Marlon
I walk through them and they part, not willing to stand in my way for fear, all of them so afraid as I approach the sitting man, muttering and whispering about me but I do not care. A few step in front of him with their weapons at the ready, these are the strong ones, they want to protect him, but he gestures them away and gazes at me as I approach, that same gaze Augustine de Velira, my grandfather’s godfather, has always had when expectant. And I kneel before the old man in front of me causing muttering to reach fevered pitch but I pay it no mind, for I know they do not understand, no one does besides the few, and I speak while looking at the ground. “Nerine de Marlon, reporting for duty, General Augustine de Velira.”

He stands and places a hand on my head, almost like a priest giving a benediction. “Nerine de Marlon, Bearer of the Eternal Flame, a flame I see you still carry despite the fall of our homeland, do you still serve Achisia and our cause? Do you still fight against her enemies?”

“I do General, and in Achisia’s name I have spilled oceans of blood waiting for this day, direct me at the enemies of our home and I will destroy them.” That was only one small part of why I do what I do but he seems to understand something based off of his tone.

“Then, I welcome you among us Nerine. It has been far too long. Stand.” He tells me, taking his hand off my head, and I stand before him, his face breaks a small smile as he places a hand on my shoulder. “I expect much from you lass, dismissed.”

I bow and depart, the people parting as I walk through them, but as I do I see a familiar silver haired boy issuing orders to a few soldiers. “E… Solomon?” Dammit. At least he doesn’t seem to pick up my near mistake as he turns to me, his eyes lighting up in recognition. “It is you.” I mutter and quickly approach him and give him a hug, holding firmly onto him. “It has been too long Solomon.” I tell him happily.



Solomon de Velira
She is almost exactly like how she was years ago but I know she is different, the smell of iron filling my nostrils from all the blood she has shed tells me that. Even the glee she shows at seeing me I know is the same when she kills. I don’t know why I know that but I do. But even different she is still the girl I remember from my childhood so I return her hug and finally smile for the first time since I heard Illania was captured.

“It is good to see you Ney, I have missed you.” I say, using the nickname that both me and Illania have called her since we were children.

She separates from me, beaming at me “Same to you Solomon, I have missed you and Illania so so much. Speaking of which where is she? I need to give her a hug too.” At those words the smile leaves my face and she looks at me in concern. “What?”

“Illania was captured by a Duivenian noble in the last battle.”

Her eyes go empty, her face blank, not a good sign. “What?”

“The three of us had our duels to fight and Illania was captured after losing her’s she… where are you going?”

“TO KILL THOSE BASTARDS! I will kill them all for taking her! Their camp will run with blood without end! Their bodies will be reduced to pieces under my axe!” Her screaming gets almost everybody in the camp to look at us in shock.

“Ney stop.” I say calmly while waving the onlookers away but even I deeply agree with her on wanting to go.

“They are bastards from the nation that killed Ezekiel! I must go before they kill her too! You know they think of our people as nothing more than animals!”

I dismiss the image of Alexis her words stirred up from my mind, I heard the truth myself years ago so I know Alexis is an anomaly no matter how much I wish otherwise. “I know Ney, I know. But Grandfather’s orders were absolute on this. For now we wait until we can save her.”

I can tell she wants to run off, that she wants to find the Duivenian camp and charge in there waving her weapon around and screaming, murdering all who dares to stand in her way until Illania is returned to us… and I want to do the same but I must wait until the chance comes, even with Alexis wounded we would be too badly outnumbered if just the two of us went, especially with Ekatiz in the area, and that is even if they are still at their camp... where is their camp anyway? She hisses through her teeth. “Very well Solomon but if they have dared to harm her I will ensure that not a single thing in Duivene lives again.”

“We are of like mind Ney. They will all die if they took her from us as they did Ezekiel.” My respect for Alexis aside I will not allow another sibling being taken from me by Duivene to go unpunished.

“I will have much to teach you if so Solomon.” She informs me darkly and with those words, born of the madness that possesses one of my oldest friends, she goes off to brood and I sigh, returning my attention to the Eternal Flame still lit before us, now they have roped my great-grandfather into doing various rites around it judging by the censer he is holding in one of his hands alongside one of the few surviving Maidens of the Flame, that teenage girl might actually be the last one, but... I wish Alexis didn’t manage to nearly kill me that last time. The woman I and Illania adored as an older sister is lost to us because of that moment, that failure of mine on the battlefield… much like… no I cannot be dragged into it like Illania and Ney are, Ezekiel wouldn’t want us all to go mad like that, I am his successor so I must provide stability.

“Once there was four of us and now there is three.” I mutter to myself. “I hope they will not reduce us to two.”

"You were actually able to talk like that to the Maiden of Steel?" The officer I was talking to asks in wonder, as if he can't believe this.

I shrug, “Ney is Ney, that is who she will always be to me. No matter what she does that remains.” I smile slightly, she truly was and is our older sister.

“You’re insane captain to be able to get along with her like that.”

“I understand the concerns but Ney is Ney to me. Not Nerine de Marlon, not the Maiden of Steel, just Ney.” My logic is simplistic, childlike, but that is because we are childhood friends, I cannot see Ney any different than what I do now. I know Ney like others do not, much like Illania would if she was here and Ezekiel before his death. “We were inseparable as children but the war, and Praelio when he interfered with the protection of my Lady Cassia, separated us one by one.”

“Do you love her Captain?” Ah that question.

I chuckle and give a small smile, that isn’t the first time I was asked that question, I got it so many times due to the familiarity we spoke with one another during the war, especially by those familiar with de Velira courtship and the meaning of love we are raised with, it got especially hilarious when those same people saw me talk to Illania with the same familiarity and did not know we were siblings. “Yes, yes I do, but not as you are thinking, when it comes to romance Ney’s heart is not my domain nor will it ever be the domain of anyone. I love her as one would an elder sister, and she certainly acted like that when we were children. She is as much my sister as Illania is and I have never seen her in any other way.” I shake my head. “Love is also something I am not allowed at this moment or have been since the day the war ended, I have my duty to fulfill. Yes I am a noble and the current heir to my family so I must continue the bloodline as required by my duty some day but I am not allowed it for I have my oath to fulfill and love would get in the way… that and...”

I chuckle again and look to the sky, both because when I think of it I haven't dedicated much time or thought to such things, I wonder what it would be like to truly fall in love, but also because something else amuses me, the battlefield is the only place I can find some small amount of peace these days, because of the promise I am denied most peace by other means. But I lack the feeling my parents had of someone you loved being at your side as you stood against the world, knowing they would always be at your side in battle and if something killed you likely you would not be separated from your lover for long. It is a feeling I have never felt before and until the promise is fulfilled I cannot feel it, it would interfere as love itself would… but I still pity great-grandfather for having lived so long without great-grandmother.

“We all pay heavy prices to preserve what seems to matter to us at the end of the day and to carry out our duty, but she has it worse than I do so I can’t complain.” I mutter to myself and to the inquisitive look from the soldier I shake my head. “Ignore that.”

[Elysian Kentarchy]

Augustine de Velira

I walk around the Flame that was carried into battle early, a censer slowly swaying in my hands, letting incense flow out, and I mutter prayers that I know by heart, prayers I have heard since I was a small child and around us are people on their knees in devout prayer, tears coming down their faces as if they cannot believe what they are seeing before them. "By the triumph of the Flame, by its guiding light, let us fear no evil." I say this even as I focus my eyes on the girl with long blonde hair walking in front of me, she herself holding a censer and wearing ornate vestments that just about every Achisian knows immediately even from the back but a look at her face would be able to confirm what she is easily thanks to the gold and black blindfold tied around her head.

This teenage girl is possibly the last of the Maidens of the Flame, the girls who were selected by the providence of the Emperor and blindfolded at birth so they did not witness the evils of the world, their blindfolds specifically enchanted so that the only thing they could see is the Eternal Flame, only ever see its purity. Most of them lived in the Chamber of Eternity, the room where the heart of the Eternal Flame was kept, a place few outsiders were ever allowed to trespass, and all who entered had to undergo ritual cleansing. It was a sacred place, a beautiful place, a peaceful place, all that I felt when I entered it a few times with the Emperor's blessing, the only noise being footsteps, the prayers of the Maidens and the crackling of the Eternal Flame. There was no place like it in the world... and now it doesn't exist anymore, it was yet another thing we lost but the Maidens seemed to us to be a thing that would never leave much like the Emperor and Flame. Of course individual Maidens could elect to retire from the duties and enter into the world but few ever did, the decision would have taken them away from the certainty of life they had always known. "Through all of time the Flame will radiate outwards. Ensuring the world knows we defy its darkness."

She is probably the last of her order, while Maidens did accompany the various armies to war all were recalled to the capital and almost all of them died in the palace or were killed en route, but she still walks around the flame praying, chanting the hymns to it that were directed to it for so many centuries as if things had never changed. And it takes me back to happier times. "Do not doubt for the shadows will never take us as long as Solaris protects us with His gift."

I remember the grand ceremonies in our capital culminating with the week long Festival of the Holy Sun. Oh the joys of that time I still remember how it was. I, a young man, leading troops in parade formation in front of the Emperor as His throne was carried through the streets and between us and the Emperor was half of the Maidens chanting hymns to the glory of the Eternal Flame walked while the other half followed behind him and in that formation a giant brazer lit with the Eternal Flame was carried. The cheering, the exaltation, was profound, words could never describe the sight of it. Mothers would hold their children high above them so they could see the Emperor, so they could see the Flame and be blessed by it. Lovers would renew their vows to one another under its light. Friends would renew their bonds at the sight of it. Revelry and almost insane merriment was the order of the day as we celebrated the glory of Achisia and that of our protector. It was the height of greatness and happiness for most of us as we came together as one to celebrate, even foreigners who observed the celebrations were taken aback by the sheer zeal we had on those weeks. Nothing could stop us, the Flame was Eternal as was the Emperor, and thus our Empire would have no end and be eternally blessed by the light... I actually met my wife at one of those festivals before I led troops on parade. "Under its light we will prosper and that prosperity will never fade."

Even as the Emperor became more withdrawn the ceremonies and festivities still happened. Even as the war turned against us they were still performed with the same jubilation expected of our people even as more and more the people looked to the Emperor for salvation. I was told by Solomon that a great procession of the Eternal Flame was held when the capital was besieged, our hope being placed in the Eternal Flame... but now that is all gone. Now it is all lost, possibly to never be recovered. "Even when night comes upon the world the light of the Eternal Flame will keep us safe from its evil."

We were a proud people once, we had safety, we had protection, we had our dignity... now they have left us with nothing. We have been reduced to people huddling around a fire and extracting what little meaning we have from it and remembering the glories of yesterday. And now it is our duty to take it back, Achisia must rise from the ashes. Achisia must be reborn and that is my duty. We must reclaim what we lost from the chaos of the world around us. And I will not stop until that has been accomplished. Achisia will return. "And when day comes we will rejoice as the light triumphs over the dark."

"And so we, the Children of the Eternal Flame, will ever strive to greatness and no evil will stand in our way." The girl says, concluding my prayer, before turning to where she believes the others around us are and she be right in where she is facing. "So go forth and fight for the glory of Achisia. Fight without end until victory is ours as decreed by Solaris and our Most Holy Emperor. For evil shall never take us as long as we are blessed by this Flame. The Flame that will never die." And with that she dismisses them with a wave of her hand. After they leave she frowns a little as if trying to figure something out, the censer dangling by her side. "General de Velira? Are you still here?"

"Why yes I am lass." She turns her head to face me. "Shall I take that censer from you?"

"Please do, General." She lifts her hand and I gently take it from her and go to put it up. "You said Solomon was here General?"

"My great-grandson is somewhere around this camp yes."

"And the woman who was with him? Is she here too?" She asks, eagerness entering her voice.

"If you mean Illania then no, she was captured by Duivene recently."

The hope immediately leaves her voice. "I... I... see. I hope she is okay, I still need to thank her for what she did."

"Illania is a tough girl, you will be able to thank her later. I know it."

"I hope so General. I owe her my life after all. I would have died if not for her and Solomon risking what they did for me." She reaches up and draws a circle on my forehead with her thumb. "May the Eternal Flame ever protect you Augustine de Velira, General of Achisia. May you bring back our fallen nation from what it has turned into." With that one who is wearing the armor of the Guardians of the Flame, the militarized order of warriors dedicated to protecting the Maidens and the Eternal Flame itself, guides her away. He wasn't an original Guardian I know that but he is someone who took up the role.

"I will bring back Achisia. The circle that was broken will be fixed. I will fight for that as long as this body will work." I mutter to myself.



Nerine de Marlon, a few minutes before that

I am sitting on a cot, sharpening a dagger in the tent that Augustine ordered set up for me after I departed for Solomon, it is decent enough, better than most of the places I have slept these past few years, before a tentative soldier, poor sod must have drawn the short straw, pokes his head in and I look up at him. "Um... Lady de Marlon?"

"That'd be my name." I reply, returning my attention to the dagger.

"Well... when you get the time General de Velira wanted to see you."

I look up again and nod. "I'll be along shortly, get out."

"Yes, maim... I mean ma'am...." I chuckle at his mistake as he runs off and I go to find Augustine and see him speaking with one of the Maidens, actually had a cousin who was labeled one of them but she died shortly after Ezekiel did in the war when her army was overrun. I wait until they are done speaking and the Maiden departs before approaching.

"General de Velira, you wanted to see me?"

"Yes, I, and half the camp, heard what you were shouting at Solomon. What exactly are you planning for if Illania is killed?" He asks bluntly and I decide to explain just what I had in mind.


Augustine de Velira

“Death shall come to them by our hands, by the hands of Solomon and I. There will be no mercy, no considerations for pleas of compromise, no ear lent to their prayers for salvation. Pain, terror, and suffering shall be their lot, and death the only release, but only after their screams of fear and terror echo endlessly through their empty cities followed by our laughter, then and only then will Illania be avenged.”

I hear Nerine de Marlon speak of burning villages with their people trapped inside their homes, of piles of Duivenian skulls heaped in desolate squares, of children having their rib cages pulled open and used to nail them against walls before the sight of their bound parents, of demons being summoned which fed on helpless men and women hanging by their own entrails, entire cities burning in fires that destroy the soul itself, of the blight being unleashed upon their land; a tidal wave of pure evil that drowned the entire land, killing all light and sending the screams of an entire civilization echoing across the world as they were consumed by the shadows.

“Cicero would not have wanted you to turn into this.” I say, referencing her grandfather, my godson. He was a good lad, so much so I can understand why he did what he did.

“And he is dead by my hand.” She replies shortly. “If they take those I love from me they will all die. Death is the the only penalty and they will suffer in the name of our justice.”

That justice is a false one, it is a delusion in her mind that is banished when she sheds blood. She knows this but it is the last remnants of the old Nerine de Marlon… Or so I would say but I know she just says that to amuse herself at how those words once held meaning. “It is not just, nor is it righteous. But I know you say these things out of love of Illania, and love is perhaps the only thing so many of us have left so I want you to hold onto it.”

She pauses, “Do you love general?” She asks in deep contemplation.

“I loved my wife. I loved my children. I loved Achisia. I loved peace. I love Silvia, Solomon, and Illania. I love our people. I love the past. I even love you because you are Cicero's granddaughter and a close friend to my great grandchildren.”

“So we should save…”

I hold up my hand to stop her. “But I am a general, a son of Achisia and the Lord of House de Velira, so I am not allowed to act upon my love or withhold anything out of love because… for me there is only duty.” I say the words again as if to convince myself. “There is only duty.”

“So you will sacrifice those you love? All for duty?”

“Nothing must be withheld if I am to do my duty to our people.” I reply while shaking my head as I remember the smile of my wife, life has been so empty since she perished on the battlefield, her life taken from me by an assassin’s blade, the assassin, who posed as a defector, died slowly by my hands afterwards. It has only grown emptier since that day. “I have my duty both as a noble and a general, I have my code that I must set aside even familial love for that duty no matter what I want to do, I desire more than anything to bring back Achisia, to return us to what things were once and will do what I have to for that… but Nerine, if you and Solomon decide to reduce Duivene to a wasteland for Illania I will not stop you… that is the most I am allowed to do. Just remember your soul exists for a reason and I would prefer you meet him when it is time for your death.”

“You are oddly caring at times grandfather.”

“I get told that a lot. See to it that our enemies die so finally it can all end.” I order her.

She smiles that gleeful, almost childlike, smile of hers. “Of course, killing is what I live for now.”

She leaves me and I mutter to myself. “I am sorry Cicero, I am sorry Ezekiel. She was another one I could not protect from the madness of this world, you both can judge me after Spraevia does. But for now I must perform my duty.”

[Zapatha]

Outside the walls of the ruins of Ohridia

Arthur and his host had marched for several days now to finally arrive at the ruins of what was once Velikiya’s capital and the seat of the Krai’s power. Now, just a smoldering ruin devastated by most likely the Cult of Sins. With the Krai’s death, Velikiya was now split into different factions vying for control of the Velikiyan throne with the two main combatants being Prinz Arthur and Prinz Alexander.

After returning from the Fort of Victory in Achisia, Arthur had slowly been building up his strength physically and strategically. About a dozen princes had joined his cause as well as around two dozen lesser nobles, leaving the number of his standing army being around 40,000 troops. Of these, around 30,000 were peasant infantry, archers, and light cavalry which Arthur tried to train as best he could in what little time he had. Of the other 10,000 troops, there were about 6,000 trained men-at-arms, crossbowmen, and armored cavalry. The rest were all knights and noblemen, heavily armored infantrymen and cavalry, including around 700 Scripture knights of Arthur’s order.

Reports of from Arthur’s scouts and outriders were grim, as Prinz Alexander was said to have amassed a host much larger than Arthur’s at around 60,000 troops. Almost 10,000 were said to be mounted, and among the mounted knights were the Knights of the Black Sun which was Velikiya’s premier knightly order.

Once they made camp beneath the shattered walls of the city, Arthur ordered for stakes and pits of spikes to be dug in around the perimeter of the encampment to act as a buffer against the mounted forces Alexander had. Arthur knew that to claim the Velikiyan throne, one needed to control Velikiya’s capital city and his scouts reported Prinz Alexander and his host was only a few days ride from the city.

“If he means to claim the sacred city, then he must go through me first.” Arthur thought, as he sat down in his tent to plan for the upcoming battle.

[Zapatha]

Outside Ohridia’s Walls, Velikiya

https://images.beastsofwar.com/2015/10/Medieval-Russians.jpg

Arthur sat atop his warhorse, overlooking the soon to be battlefield outside of Ohridia’s walls. Ohridia was once the pride of Velikiya, it’s impregnable walls and stalwart gates always seemed to be unbreakable in Arthur’s youth on visits to the Krai’s court. Now, he and his army took position in front of Ohridia’s now burnt out and shattered main gate and the palace of the Krais laid in ruins.

“All because of that accursed Cult of Sins….” Arthur thought, tightening his grip on the reins. Across the field, about half a mile away he glimpsed Prinz Alexander’s host marching to give battle, the armor of the knights glistening in the morning sun and hundreds of banners flying over them. Arthur had his forces take position behind the trenches of spikes, spearmen and pikes taking the front position in square formations to blunt the inevitable charge of Alexander’s cavalry. Arthur stood behind them, surrounded by his bodyguard of Scripture knights of Aurora as he was the First Servant of the Dawn. Seeing their defensive positioning, Arthur had placed his cavalry forces inside the city along with around 1,000 professional men-at-arms as his reserve forces while a scant few mounted knights remained with the bulk of his forces to command the infantry.

His second in command, Prinz Artem Dubronsky rode up next to Arthur resplendent in his full plate armor and greathelm adorned by two eagle’s wings on the sides.

“Prinz Arthur, the men are all in position and the archers have their ammunition ready for the battle.”

“Good Artem, remember now, when you hear me blast three times on my horn you and the reserve forces ride out from the eastern gate and sweep around the battle lines to envelop Alexander’s host. Now ride my lord, and may Aurora give strength to your sword.”

As Artem rode back into the city, Arthur sighed and rode to the front of his army, turning to face them. Armored in his ornate gold plated armor and greathelm, Arthur looked like some king from a fable told to children but truth be told Arthur was terrified. Not of the battle or even death, but of what would become of Velikiya were he to lose. No, he couldn’t think of that now….

“Men of Velikiya, today will be remembered as day where light triumphed over dark, where the servants of the Sixteen defeated the servants of darkness and despair. We must have courage to triumph however, and most of all faith in each other and the gods.” Arthur looked over his shoulder, and saw a great tide of steel galloping full speed towards his host. At the vanguard of the knight’s charge were the fearsome Knights of the Black Sun, clad in their black armor and an image of the Black Sun painted on their shields mimicking Velikiya’s flag.

Unsheathing his sword, Arthur ignited the holy blade’s divine blue flame and yelled “For Velikiya!” and was answered back with the same battlecry of 40,000 true Velikiyans….

[Tracian Empire]

The Kingdom of Duivene
Chovers, the White Citadel

Silence. That is what followed when Eric stopped talking, as somehow, despite the sounds of soldiers talking, protesting, taking off their weapons - what he had said was heard by everyone there. While no one seemed to have noticed the failure of that soldier to Eric's sword, everyone was listening by the time this unknown knight had dared to insult the Seneschal of the Reiaume, the Regent. Every word was like a stone thrown at the older man, every insult like an arrow. You could almost hear the spite dripping from the mysterious knight's voice. Who was he? How dared he speak like that? Unlike those around him, the Princess's emblem was nowhere to be found on his armor, neither was any other sort of heraldry. Was he even a knight? For of course, in this proud land of chivalry, blood was the highest indication of honor.

And as he finished his last words, no one reacted. The idea that someone, a simple nobody, would dare threaten the most powerful man in the country like that - it was simply inconceivable. The older man was no hero. He wasn't like Alexis, someone that you could follow into battle, someone that you would proudly die for, someone whose waving flag could make you forget the most dreadful wounds. Alexis was a hero - Alexis was for many a saint. But the Seneschal, the Seneschal was power. He simply seemed to exude authority, bringing a sense of fear with him wherever he went. The gentlest admonishment from him would have been worse than divine wrath for just so many, the simplest advice from him was like a tenet from the Scriptures. It was said that he could hear everything and see everything, that he could read someone's very soul and mind and that he could tell truth from lies. More than once had traitors confessed to their crimes without even being accused, begging for his mercy. More than once had those who had failed to follow one of his orders killed themselves rather than to betray his trust.

Five years ago, led by two princesses, the nation had rallied against an uncrowned king to protect the heir of a lost king. Five years ago, the knights of Duivene had put a child on the throne because of the blood running through his veins, because he was their King.

Today, many people had no idea what a King even was.

So as soon as the initial shock started to dissipate, the guards around the Seneschal started to unsheathe their swords, the unmistakable sound of these tools of death being taken out filling the air.. until the old man gestured for them to stop.

"No Duivenian blood shall be spilled today.", the Seneschal answered in a calm and gentle voice. As Peter had made a step forward towards him, some of the guards had stepped in between the old man and the younger knight - but now, as their leader started to speak, they moved away. "That would be the last thing our princess would want. For us to jump at each other's throats. It's truly heartbreaking to see that people are so quick to forget, that just mere years after brothers and sisters had to fight against each other in rebellion and struggle, so many are still ready to disobey, to fight against back against just authority." The man sighed. "Although I do not know your name, you are right. I was not there with you in battle, and I did not kill any enemies with my own hand that night. But do not mistake me for someone that I am not, for my armor was stained with blood long before you even born young man. If turning into a rat is what my kingdom would need of me, it is something that I would do without thinking. I was not there in body, to fight and stain my blade in the blood of the enemies, but I was there, watching over all those who had fought. For battles might be won with swords and magic, but wars can only be won with the mind. For victory in a single battle is useless, if you lose the entire war. Yes, I was not on the frontlines, but I was not hiding in a warm bed, with warm clothes and with warm milk to drink. I did sleep, eat, or drink for the entire night, as all the mages of the court can confirm - for I was sending orders to all the borders, watching every battle. Who do you think called the Xerenians to your aid, knights of the princess? Who do you think sent orders in the night, for the peasant soldiers to run to the rescue of their princess? I wasn't there to shield you, I wasn't there to help you rise again from where you had fallen in the mud - but I was there nonetheless."

And a moment of silence followed.

"If leading an entire nation through its darkest moments is easier or more difficult than fighting on the lines of battle is for the Gods above to decide, and for the Gods below to judge. But someone has to be there, someone has to make the difficult decisions no matter what doubts he or she might have. I allowed Alexis to defend that part of the border since we had no one else to send there. Our forces were stretched thin. It would have been a disaster, had the Achisians defeated you, but it would have been even worse if another undead army would have been ravaging everything, moving towards the royal capital, or if the Kartarans would have crushed our Calarian allies in Vigerra. War makes men make decisions that they are not proud of, but decisions that must be made no matter what. My heart was in pain the entire night, at the simple thought that something might happen to our beloved princess - but she knows the dangers of war all too well. And she, of all people, would surely know that someone's life is less important than the survival of our realm. That is something that you seem to have forgotten. I did not scold you because I enjoyed doing it, but because someone had to. I live to serve the realm, and to serve the king. I am one of the Pillars of the Crown not because of my own desires, nor because of pride - but because the realm would not survive without someone to help guide it in its times of need."

At once, the Seneshal's guards sheathed their swords again.

"If you wish to continue to walk on your way of spite, if you wish to stay true to your mutinous ways, if you wish to act like mere members of a jacquerie - that is your choice. There is nothing that can be done now, not after such a bloody and tear-filled night, not here, not now. But remember. This garri who humbly speaks to you know is but a humble vessel for the King's voice. My request for you all to surrender your swords was not a plea - it was an order, and as the Regent, it was an order in the King's name. I will not resort to violence, but remember - those of you who dare to break a royal order shall, sooner or later, face the King's Justice. For the Gods watch, and the King commands."

"For the Gods watch, and the King commands!", his soldiers repeated as one. Those knights of Alexis who had given up their swords at the Seneschal's command fell down on one knee, while those who had refused stood up, together with Eric.

The Seneschal's guards then turned around, following those who gently carried Alexis towards the giant fortress, and the old man turned around to follow them - but he stopped, turning to face Peter again. "Sénher de Clermont, I will not allow you to talk badly about the Faith in my presence. You shall very well remember that our King rules by the mercy of the Gods, and the Faith represents the will of the Gods. The witch did perform horrible crimes against our realm, but her crimes against the Gods and their laws are much, much worse. Her fate rests with the Faith's Judgement now."

The old man turned around yet again - but as he started to walk, a new group seemed to be moving to towards the retinue of the princess, the guards of the Senechal moving aside to make way for them.

No faithful man or woman would need more than a moment to recognize who they were, without even looking at their faces. Crimson robes, crimson armors, and on their shields and their medallions, a pure, white Faith's Flower - with the scales and an open, ever seeing eye.

The Faith Keepers.

It was a small group, just four people.. but the sight of their armors caused some of the knights who were trying to stand back up to freeze.

The first of them was a young man, a boy maybe, although his features were also just slightly feminine. He looked as if he had never seen the light of the sun in his life - with pale, milk-like skin that almost seemed sickly in a way, with long white hair that went to his shoulders, and pale red, almost pink eyes. He was however, honestly beautiful - with the one thing ruining that being a red mark on the right side of his face, from his throat all the way up to his right cheek, which was either a birthmark.. or the mark left by cursed fire, never to be completely healed. He didn't seem to be particularly muscular, and he seemed to be only armed with what looked to be an estoc, lying in its crimson leather sheathe.

Next to him was most certainly a woman.. but she was taller and looked to be stronger than pretty much anyone else around her. Her threatening size and strength greatly contrasted with her long green hair, and with her gentle gray eyes. However, probably just to further emphasize that no one should mess with her - she was holding in her hands an absolutely gigantic halberd, longer than even her, with a crimson blade, that seemed to be weirdly marked with some magical chants of an unknown origin, written in white.

In a very ironic way, the third Faith Keeper that the soldiers would notice was... a girl or a boy, who actually looked like a child. She seemed to be the complete opposite of the other woman, short, wearing a simple chainmail armor that was also dyed in crimson, medium-length but scruffy white hair, and light pink eyes. She was armed with a peculiar polearm - what might be known in Duivene as a ranseur, almost as long as the woman's halberd, a spear of sorts, with a crescent-shaped blade acting a a hilt, at the base of the spear's tip.

And behind them was a priestess, or at least so it seemed. Partially hidden as she was behind the others, it would have been difficult for the knights of the princess's retinue to look carefully at her. They couldn't say what order she belonged to, or what God she served, as the robes of Faith Keeper priests were of the same dark crimson as that of their brothers and sisters in faith. What they could see however was that in her hands, she was holding a silver, metallic staff, with complicated symbols carved into it, and with a small flame burning at its top.

The four Faith Keepers stopped right in front of the group, casting a glance at the chained woman that two knights were holding. And then, their leader spoke. "May the Gods be with you, knights of Duivene. We have been informed that you have captured an Achisian witch in your last battle. Her crimes are enough to make the Eight Hells shiver and shake. We, as humble servants of the Faith, are here to judge her in this life, just as Spraevia will judge her once she moves on into death. But before she will face her judgements, we must find out the extent of her crimes against the Gods. The Faith will not allow one of its children, as lost as she is, to face divine judgement unprepared. She will repent for her crimes before her life will end.", the young man told them in a soft voice. "We thank you for your service, and Spraevia, She Who Sees All, will most certainly remember. Please, give us the witch so that she may start walking on the path of repentance."

---

Somewhere
A knight, an angel, a demon

Don't you.. don't you dare tell me.. how I feel.., the golden eyed boy tried to say, his voice shaking. "You don't know.. you don't know. I've seen your kind, I've seen what you demons do.. so many times.. during the war. You don't know how many people I've seen die, how many were driven insane. You don't know how it's like when the person next to you is possessed and it turns against you, and the exorcists are too far away, and you have to.. to pierce the chest or to cut off the head of the.. of the person you talked with just a few moments before...just because..some godless mage with a white mask summoned one of your kind..you.. you and the others.. you're the reason why I lost her.. you're the reason I was never good enough..you're the reason she's gone.."

Illari seemed to be overtaken by a storm of emotions, as the sky above them was still shining crimson, the wicked moons still for all to see. It was.. it was as if the knight that they had met just a few hours before had turned into an entirely different person, his hollowness filled with grief, and anger, and bitterness and fear... and yet.. his eyes were still dead, staring blankly into the distance, not even fixated on the demon who had so disgustingly knelt in front of him. The crackling sound of electricity filled the air, as the lighting magic swirling around his left hand extended, slowly encompassing the rest of his body. " You're lying, you're lying, you're lying, you're lying! How could.. how could anyone ever believe you? Demons.. they thrive on deception, they only live to lie. They whisper poison into the ears of mortals..a good demon, a clean demon.. that can not.. that can not exist. Why would you even think about killing us? Why? Why do you think that I can not see through your lies? She's.. somehow, somehow she's an angel, if you can.. if you can make her fall, if you can make her fall while she's still here in our world.. that's your pain, isn't it?! And me.. you know, you must know that my dragon's seal is broken, and that I wasn't worthy.. worthy.. enough.."

As soon as he said that, the knight seemed to have realized something, remaining quiet for a few good moments, not reacting at all as Az stood back up..before he suddenly started quivering. "You're just.. you're just like him.. always acting as if you know everything, always acting as if.. as if you understand everything. You don't know how I feel, you've known, and you'll never know! If you won't fight, then just go back! You and your filthy heroes should just go back to the hell you've come from!"

Illari moved his hand as if he was trying to throw something, and a golden lighting bolt that appeared from somewhere high above crashed right.. somewhere behind Az, hitting a tree and lighting it on fire. As the prince of hell moved away, the blonde haired boy continued with a series of aggressive, fast movements, but this time, the lightning was launched directly from his body, more and more with each move, but again, and again, and again, he missed. A lightning bolt was launched into the sky, a golden scar on crimson, another hit the ground right in front of him, another pierced through three different tree trunks. And the electricity swirling around his body became more and more chaotic, throwing small sparks everywhere, whirling faster and faster, causing small burns in his clothes that, had anyone looked carefully, seemed to reveal more such purplish scars on his pale skin. With each failure, Illari seemed to get progressively more frustrated, showing more emotion than many would have thought him capable of.. but he also seemed to be.. in pain.

And then, one by one, he seemed to completely lose control of it. Another lightning bolt fell down from the sky, hitting the ground somewhere in the distance. Without him moving, or making any other gestures, the electricity around his body seemed to have gained a mind of its own, sparks discharging in the ground all around him, and then, lightning flashed again - and a golden arc hit the white haired girl right in the chest, and Illari could only look as Nysa was slammed directly into a nearby tree, falling on the ground..