Jude POV:
(A/N: Trodius didn't betray cause Jude is a commander.)
Ellie and my mother were both weeping on their knees. My sadness had already evaporated from all the crying I did beforehand, leaving just emptiness in my heart. I had heard that Arthur and the other lances were also attacked by the retainers.
The Alacaryans most likely came up with this plan to kill the strongest mages in order to quickly put an end to the war.
I couldn't bare to see my sister and mother crying like this so I bid farewell the next day. Ellie decided to stay with mother.
I let out a groan, barely able to hear my own voice over the wind blasting around us. I could see the flying castle nearing in the distance, filling me with a mixture of emotions.
The castle guards, noticing me, split apart to form a path while the landing dock opened soundlessly.
I had to hand it to the artificers of the olden days—the wise and powerful mages that were responsible for not only lifting an entire castle up in the sky but an entire city as well and connecting each major city with a teleportation portal. The constructs left an awe-inspiring feeling every time I saw them.
Surprisingly, the landing dock, which was usually filled with activity and noise, was completely empty aside from the lone figure by the door. It was Virion.
It took me a moment to realise who it was because of how different he looked.
The powerful confidence that the old elf usually radiated alongside his lighthearted smirk was gone, replaced by a grim expression complimented by the layers of bags weighing down his eyes.
His silver hair was unbound and the robes he wore looked a tad too big on him. Still, seeing me, his face softened into what I assumed was a smile of relief.
Walking up to me in a graceful gait that couldn't be diminished with just age, he immediately wrapped his arms around me.
I was stunned. My body flinched from the unexpected physical contact, and for a while my mind went blank.
"Welcome back. You did everything you could, Jude... you did great," he said softly, in a voice that seemed unfamiliar yet so familiar at the same time.
The frigid shell of apathy that I had kept myself encased in—away from the anger, grief, loss and other emotions that were trying to claw their way inside—had melted.
It could've been the warmth of his embrace, or the warmth of his words, but I found myself crying once more. Tears streamed down my cheeks, unabated and warm.
My shoulders trembled as I tried all I could to keep myself from breaking down once again, but Virion's words continued to echo in my mind.
I did all I could. I did great.
The two of us stood there alone in the large empty room, forgetting just for a moment who we were.
_____________________________
I was in the council room again, sitting with the other council members. Virion woke me from my stupor, "Commander Jude, please get on with your account."
I raised my voice and told them about what happened. The Scythes, the betrayal, even the death of my father.
Virion said, "To think that Commander Galahad would betray us like this. However, I must say that Commander Jude deserves as award not only for saving the Wall but also for killing a powerful spy and a Scythe."
Virion then said grimly, "Lance Aya, Mica, Arthur, Tessia and Kathyln were all attacked by retainers simultaneously. Arthur, Tessia and Kathyln successfully killed their enemies but Aya and Mica both took severe injuries and are need time to heal."
This was both good and bad news. Aya and Mica were very important lances who have been lost, but at least Kathyln and Tessia killed retainers and can now publicly become lances.
"A total of seven retainers and one scythe have been killed in this war so far. That means there are three retainers and five scythes remaining, this is of course excluding the fact that the retainers have already been replaced."
"The main war will occur in Etistin, where we will focus all our forces," Virion announced.
His announcement led to another round of arguments among the council members, mostly Alduin and Merial who wanted to protect Elenoir.
After the argument was over, Alduin reluctantly agreed with Virion, I was to be the one in charge of handling the main battle. The Council then disbanded.
I went to my room and saw Kathyln sleeping inside. She must have just arrived back with the other lances. My presence woke her up as she turned to look towards me while rubbing her eyes, "Jude?"
I closed the distance between us and sat on the bed. She turned to me with a sad face and hugged me, "There is no need to be strong Jude, I heard what happened to your father."
This caused the dam to collapse once again as I cried like a baby in front of the one I loved.
After making sure Kathyln was sleeping, I got out of the bed quietly and left the room. I wandered the floating castle by myself, taking the view in.
I found a great stargazing spot and just stood there, looking up at the shining stars.
"Jude," I heard a voice from behind me. I turned around to see Arthur with his eyes red. He must have heard about dad and was also distressed about what happened.
Arthur came and stood next to me, looking at the stars as well. I broke the silence by saying, "Agrona contacted me."
Arthur looked at me in bewilderment as I explained what happened, leaving out nothing except for the last bit. I ended with, "You know, I didn't take him seriously when he said he could kill the ones I love whenever he wanted. But after father's death, I can't help but take him seriously."
I didn't say the question out aloud but Arthur understood me as he said, "He spoke to me as well through Sylvie. I won't accept his offer of course."
We both looked at each other before looking back at the sky without saying another word.
___________________________________
Arthur POV:
A firm squeeze on my arms pulled me out of my thoughts. In front of me was Tess with the same smile she had last night, long after I had broken down in the kitchen. It was a smile that carried both loss and hope and it was just enough to give me the strength to step through the teleportation gate.
After the unsettling sensation of teleportation wore off, the three of us stepped down the raised podium that held the gate. Heavily armoured soldiers stood on either side of us, heads inclined in a bow.
"General Arthur, and Lady Sylvie. General Bairon and Commander Jude are waiting for you in the castle," the soldier to my left announced.
"Will you be guiding us?" I asked.
"Actually, that'll be me," a familiar deep voice resounded from below.
It was Curtis Glayder. Despite all of the events that had transpired, the years had treated him well. His clean shaven face and sharp military crew cut made Curtis the dashing white knight he always aspired to be, with polished armour and swords strapped on both sides of his hips.
Behind him was Grawder, his world lion bond.
"Curtis," I greeted.
"I thought you'd prefer a familiar face since you've never really been around these parts," he said with a picturesque smile. "And even if you have been here, so much has changed that I doubt you'd even recognise it."
"I've never actually been here, but you're right in that this place doesn't really seem like a city," I noted, taking in the strange sights.
Aside from the shops that had been converted into workstations for professional blacksmiths and atillators, the city plaza before us was also filled with tents. Inside were women, the elderly and even children helping out by either washing and folding cloth, tying arrowheads to wooden shafts, or packaging rations. No one was idle, with everyone either making something or transporting it.
Soldiers practiced marching in their platoons with their respective officers barking commands. Off to the side were two archery ranges that spanned over thirty yards each. There, archers stood positioned almost shoulder to shoulder, launching volleys of arrows at the wall fashioned out of haystacks.
"A lot to take in, right?" Curtis asked as he guided us towards the large brick tower that stood in the distance. "The entire city has been sort of rearranged to be the stronghold and production center for the battle that's going to happen on the coast.
We followed behind the prince, not staying in one place for too long since we'd just draw attention.
I appreciated the brief tour though, and Curtis' lively commentary helped both Sylvie and I relax. Aside from the soldiers doing physical training and combat drills, the mood was light and overall happy.
"I was expecting a very serious and intense atmosphere," my bond chimed, her head always turning and taking in the new sights.
"Well, we're still a few miles away from the coast where the actual battle will be happening," Curtis answered, pointing to the thick walls that seemed newly made. "We're mainly fortifying the western edge of the city with the help of carpenters and earth mages and digging up some tunnels for the civilians that are left here to escape."
As we got closer to the edge of the city, the more soldiers we would see. Carriages would be pulled towards the gated entrance facing the coast, carrying weapons and other supplies.
"Come on, up this way." Curtis pointed at the imposing castle that had been stripped down and refortified into its own fortress. Some parts were still being constructed as slabs of earth were being floated up by mages. The castle was situated on a small hill that overlooked the rest of the city, with only one tower that peaked above the large walls that easily towered over fifty feet.
"You said Jude and General Bairon were waiting for me, right? Any idea where General Varay and Kathyln might be?" I asked, looking up at the tower.
"They are still helping out with the construction off the coast," Curtis explained briefly, greeting the soldiers guarding the tower entrance.
Sylvie and I looked at each other, confused. "Construction?"
Curtis shot me a grin. "You'll see when you get up there. Come on."
Thankfully, there was a mana-powered crate and pulley system that was able to hoist us up to the top in just a few minutes.
"Courtesy of Artificer Gideon, who should be somewhere in this city, working the other artificers and carpenters to their bones," Curtis explained. "The main room is just up those stairs but there's a window on this floor as well. You should take a look."
Curious, Sylvie and I walked towards the far end of the circular room that only had a lounge-like area with another soldier guarding the base of the stairs.
The two of us peered out, and at first we didn't know exactly what we were supposed to be looking at. My eyes scanned the small mountains that made up most of the area north of Etistin and went further south until my gaze landed on the Etistin bay shore.
Without a doubt, that was what Curtis wanted us to see.
Sylvie let out a small gasp as my jaw dropped.
Filling up the entire Etistin bay that stretched out longer than a mile was nothing but a field of white.
An expanse of ice and snow had been created to meet the approaching ships.
"Amazing, isn't it? This is what General Varay and Kathy have been working on." Curtis leaned forward next to us. "The largest battle of Dicathen will be held on this glacial field."
Sylvie and I remained entranced by the snowy white field that extended from the shore out into the ocean. It was amazing to see the conjuration of such a vast phenomenon made from two people.
Aside from the aesthetics provided, I was curious as to the sort of strategy Virion, Jude and the rest of the Council had to utilise this ice field. I was given minimal information on the specific formations, deployment and manoeuvring of troops and the actual line formation that we'd be using to face the approaching Alacryan army.
"Ready to go up, General?" Curtis's voice rang from behind.
I pried my eyes away, turning to the single set of stairs leading to the floor above. Sylvie was right behind me and despite appearing even younger than my sister in her human form, I could sense the excitement of battle leaking from her.
Climbing up the stairs and entering what I assumed was the strategic hub for the battle here, I was surprised at how... efficient everything was.
'Efficient' might not have been the best word, but the activities going on inside the room reminded me of the strategy rooms during my time as Grey back on Earth.
There were rows of desks with people sitting in front of large piles of transmission scrolls instead of computers. They were all faced towards the center of the circular room with a view of Jude, standing on an elevated podium that was looking over a large earthen table with an uneven surface and a large glass orb perched on top of an intricate artifact. Surrounding this artifact were over twelve mages on standby.
While I was curious about the purpose of the clear orb, it only took me a second to realise that the earthen table, with a dwarven mage hovering his hands over it, was a rough depiction of the soon-to-be battlefield.
General Bairon Wykes, older brother of Lucas Wykes, was currently discussing something about the march before he finally turned to look at me.
His expression was controlled but the slight twitch in his eyebrows told me that he hadn't exactly forgotten what I had done to his brother. Still, compared to how he acted when we had me for the first time, his impulse control had gotten a lot better. Jude also turned to look at us and smiled.
"General Bairon," I greeted curtly, walking up to the earthen war table.
"General Leywin," he replied.
I studied the layout of the war table, noticing the small earthen figures that most likely represented the troops.
"I'm assuming this information isn't real-time, right?" I asked.
"No it isn't, General Arthur," the dwarf answered respectfully. "I'm only able to roughly gauge and track the progress from the reports through the transmission scrolls sent in by the captains."
"And what is this giant orb?" I asked, looking at Bairon this time.
"It's an artifact that can be better used as a medium for the diviners present," he answered.
"How are the diviners getting information from the battlefield?"
"Those other mages you see beside the projection artifact are elite deviants capable of scrying by sharing senses with their bonded beasts. The diviners will be able to link the images from the scryers' minds and project them into the orb for the strategic general of this battle to see," Bairon replied.
After we were done discussing, Bairon handed me the folder. In it were dozens of pages highlighting relevant information along with several transmission scrolls.
I crossed the high city walls that marked the edge of Etistin perched on Sylvie's back as I read through the notes outlining the various phases of this battle. The drumming of footsteps resounded below from the soldiers marching through the hills that led down to the Etistin Bay.
To make things even better for those struggling on their march, the grey clouds hung low, and the air was moist. It looked like the battle would be done under the rain.
It seemed that the Alacryans just wanted to wrap this up. I knew that Agrona wanted to avoid an unnecessarily high death count on either sides for his goals against the asuras in Epheotus, so maybe he thought that obtaining victory in a formal battle like this would end the war cleanly?
"Focus, Arthur. We have a war to finish," I said aloud, slapping my cheeks.
With Jude under the helm of leadership, I was now but a soldier assigned a mission. In a way, this was easier. My hands would get bloody instead of my soul.
Fly a bit lower, Sylv, I sent to my bond, closing the folder Bairon had given me.
Sylvie folded her wings and dived down so the endless line of soldiers no longer looked like faceless ants.
With a wave of my arms, I released a blast of fire, intertwining tendrils of lightning and blades of wind in a spectacular show of elements up into the sky.
Catching onto what I was doing, Sylvie raised her head and opened her large jaws to let out a deafening roar.
Hearing the whoops and shouts immediately from the troops below, I couldn't help but smile.
'That was a bit childish of us, no?' my bond asked, chuckling a bit as well.
Not at all. Morale is one of the most overlooked but important aspects of large-scale battles, I replied as the two of us slowly approached the nearing ocean.
We made our way to Etistin Bay.
The first thing we noticed was the temperature. As we got closer to the conjured field of snow and ice, I felt a biting chill permeating through my skin.
Varay and Kathyln were truly on another level compared to the rest of the other lances. I could confidently beat the two of them but I would need to use Realmheart against them.
The two of us landed just on the threshold where the coastal beaches became ice—an odd sight to see. Here, it wasn't only the temperature that had changed; the atmosphere from the infantry was tense and dark.
Even with the captains shouting and trying to boost morale, I could almost see the weight of death that they carried on their shoulders. With eyes drawn towards me, I remained impassive, but my stomach churned, seeing the soldiers lined up front. With the weight of their own armour making them slouch forward and their gazes that held no hardness trained soldiers would have, it was easy to tell that many of them were civilians that had been called to arms.
How many of these people staring at me would die, being the first to face the enemy lines? I tried not to dwell on it. I tried to bring back that detached, emotionless state I had relied so heavily on during my life as King Grey.
I ignored the teens, some even younger than me, staring at me as I stood beside the large black dragon that towered over them.
Sylvie and my presence did give many of the soldiers hope. I could hear whispers amongst each other of the good news that there were now two lances to fight by their side.
"General Arthur, welcome." The frigid smooth voice cut through the steam, and the silhouette of an armour-clad woman could be seen with billowing hair just past her shoulders.
"General Varay," I greeted with a genuine smile. The very presence of this lance seemed to shift the atmosphere. She carried herself lightly and elegantly like a gazelle but her gaze and poise spilled confidence.
She stretched out her hand, making it a point to show our composure and leisure in front of the quadrants of infantry troops. I accepted her gesture and Sylvie, who remained in her draconic form, lowered her head to let Varay gently touch her snout.
I saw Kathyln also greeting me, "Arthur!"
I greeted her back, "Kathyln."
Kathyln and I had gotten even closer even since she got officially engaged to Jude. My parents didn't get the chance to properly meet her after the war started but I was sure they were happy. Thinking about father caused my mood to slightly fall but I steeled my mind to focus on the battle.
We walked together towards the back while the two general explained the basic formations and manoeuvring they had planned. Most of it I had already read about but it was another thing seeing the sheer size of the force that would be fighting on our side.