The twilight sky danced with clouds of soft reds and deep yellows, as dark gray clouds stood out amongst them like bruises on a pale face. Those were the signs of winter, those darker clouds. The snow would soon begin to fall at the Emerald Castle, most likely within the next day or two, which could both help and hurt the defenses. Standing on the main keep's northern tower, Herrod surveyed the lands beyond his castle, with the wind whipping and gnashing at him. The Emerald Flag, solid green with golden swords crossed over a white eye, lashed and slapped at the wind behind the King. He pulled tighter his white fur coat and slid his hood over his head. Keeping his gray and thinning hair from thrashing around his face. In the distance, he could make out small flickers of firelight, and he knew that was the Thanish army. Part of it, at least, he expected the other part to come from the east, while if rumors were true. The Flame Sect would attack from the south, but Herrod knew Lucan. He knew him as a strategist and a deceptor. He wouldn't attack from only one direction, he would attack from multiple at once and only after the Emerald army had been engaged with the Thanish.
He turned to the South, where the wind was calmer and the tall trees of pine and fur faded into low-hanging weeping trees of the saltland deserts. He could see the tip of the golden tower of the Flame Sect castle, just barely over the horizon, catching the dying remnants of the sun like a man gasping for his last breath as his throat is slit. Lucan had once been beloved by Herrod and the kingdom, but men change with power. Sometimes they become monsters, bloodthirsty and crazed, or they get driven mad by the need to accumulate as much wealth as possible or to have as much land as possible. Some succumbed to wanting to have everything be there's, Lucan had become driven by power to gain more power and had attacked innocent farm villages. His legion had raped and pillaged well after the war was won, and Herrod had to punish him. He felt for him though, as if he had helped create the monster he became, by making him the youngest Captain in his army and having him lead the charges through enemy territory. His hand was forced though, and he had to act as a King would. So he exiled his nephew and sent his men south to the salt deserts, but unbeknownst to most, he had sent Lucan with plenty of money for him and his men.
Herrod hadn't expected Lucan to create an army and then become the murderer he had transformed into. Children, thousands of them, were slaughtered in the Feral Wilds and Herrod was powerless to do anything. His army had grown old and grown stale. No new magics had produced in the offspring of any soldier, and what the Emerald Army had, was exactly what they had. Only Guardians remained, and that magic was limited to only protecting. The scouts and Nail had talked of fire magics, conjuring magics, and magics that turned the dirt into weapons. These things had never existed before in the history of Bree, at least not for men and women. The Gods that roamed the continents before had always had magic, they had created the storms and the lightning, the oceans and the tidal waves, the earthquakes and tornadoes. The wildfires that ravaged the salt lands and the mountains that made the great frozen north. What had caused the children of the Feral Wilds to begin producing these magics now, and why was it only happening in the Wilds?
Boots scraped the steps that led to the tower top and broke the King from his thoughts, Tuskar appeared at the top of the steps and smiled as his hair tangled around his face and beard from the heavy wind.
"My King, I apologize for interrupting your private time." Tuskar said as he gave a bow.
"Nonsense my friend, you are always a welcoming presence. Especially in times such as these."
Tuskar crossed the tower and grasped Herrod by the forearm. Herrod turned to the north and pointed towards the fires on the treeline.
"Thanish soldiers, setting up camp."
Tuskar squinted and nodded, "Aye, we knew they'd be out there. Have you seen any signs of the rest or Flame Sect?"
Herrod slowly shook his head, "Not as of yet. Though my old eyes don't see nearly as good as yours."
Tuskar bellowed a laugh, "You've long since been known for your keen senses, my King. I cannot even see the faintest flicker of light."
"Tuskar, I fear we may be at the end of our reign. I'm old, the army is not what it once was and we cannot fight against magic with only Servant Guardians." King Herrod said as he walked to a merlon and placed both hands on top.
"We are all a bit older, my King, but I think we have as good of a chance to win as any. Our tarantula bows will certainly help defend the walls. The Guardians can keep us safe behind their barriers, and our foot soldiers are as formidable as ever." Tuskar said as he placed a hand on Herrod's shoulder.
The weight of Tuskar's hand felt heavy, and the King knew that what he was saying was just optimistic thinking. Their supplies had been cut off and they had rationed out what resources they could, but the men were undernourished and weak. This was the kind of war the Thanish wanted, attrition. A slow siege of the great Emerald Castle because even with new armor and weapons, it still came down to skill. Even weakened foot soldiers of the Emerald Army were better skilled than the Thanish.
"I appreciate your uplifting thinking Tuskar. Your God has done you well in that aspect. Do you think He will be with us when the battle starts?" Herrod said as he turned to face Tuskar.
"She, my King. Cor was always believed to be a woman. The creator of life. Yes, I do think she will bless those who worship in her name and bring enlightenment to her ways. As a Battle Priest, I must take the sins of the enemy and wash them clean by the purity of my warhammer that is coated in the blessed water."
"She then, she will be with us you think?" The King replied as he turned back to the north.
"I believe that she will be with those that worship her and follow her. The Battle Priests fight in her name, for your honor. I believe she will be with each of us. We grant new lives upon each death of the sinful current one."
"I'm glad you believe, Tuskar. I'm not sure what I believe anymore."
Tuskar positioned himself beside the King and looked out with him, "I do believe, sir. What makes you question?"
Still staring into the distance, Herrod spoke low, "I don't know where these new magics came from, but they feel unclean. I don't know why our magic has disappeared, and why we are besieged by two armies. I thought we were the chosen before, now I question what we are in the grand scheme of anything."
"Does Liaka not suit your prayers anymore for wisdom?"
"I find that now, no one responds anymore. Be it, Liaka and her wisdom. Protessa and her guidance. I feel alone like my choices have led me down this path of exile from the Gods that once showed me the paths."
Tuskar tugged at his beard in thought, "You said unclean, I've had that feeling too."
"Tainted, in a way, might be the best word."
"I think you're right. Vale feels sick, I'm not sure how to describe it but I've told Uno this same thing. It's just a knowing inside of me, that something is wrong with the land and I feel like it has to do with Lucan and how he's taken magic from innocents. My religion, the religion of your Battle Priests teaches us that magic is life, and all things coming to life are gifts from Cor. Things to be cherished and held in reverence, not murdered and given to undeserving peoples."
"You think Cor is punishing the world? That I'm just a byproduct of her teaching obedience, that our kingdom is just a speck of dust to her in the overall lesson? What about Lucan or the Thanish?" Herrod questioned as he looked up at the thickly built priest's eyes.
"I don't know, sir. Religion can be hard to understand when it comes to the will of the Gods above. We are all, at times, pawns in our own right. Pawns for the Gods to set as they please, and use as they please as they play their power struggle out beyond our realm."
Herrod nodded, "Perhaps you're right. I feel powerless though. We have the tarantula bows, the Guardian Servants, your Battle Priests, and then better-trained foot soldiers along with the advantage of the castle and its walls. However, deep down, I feel we are at a disadvantage, somehow losing our power and we never realized it. Should I forfeit to the Thanish? Would that stop the Flame Sect's advance? Should I concede to my nephew and hope the slaughter of innocent children stops?"
"Concede to a madman, my King? Forfeit to a lesser army in hopes of avoiding something that will most likely not stop? You know those answers already. You shouldn't hope to hear wise words from a God's prayer to figure out that those are not the options." Tuskar said as he faced Herrod.
"Come, walk with me, and let us leave this wind and open sky." Herrod said as he took Tuskar's arm for balance. The old man leaned into the broad priest's mass as they descended the steps down the tower.
As they continued their downward walk, Tuskar finally spoke up, "I hope you're not giving up. Your people are ready to fight for you and to defend what you have brought to the lands. Your Battle Priests are ready to deliver men from their sins. As a whole, the Emerald Army is prepared to fight to the death."
Herrod chuckled softly, "That was never in question, Tusk. Your fierceness still impresses me, especially to seem like such a gentle man. We will fight. We will do all that we can for the perseverance of the kingdom that we have built. If something shall happen to me, though, Tuskar. I choose you to take my place."
Tuskar stopped in the dimly lit stairwell, "Sir, I am a Priest."
Nodding, Herrod agreed, "You are. You are also the most deserving man I know. Had Draxx still been around, it would have been him. Though I think he would have fought against the distinction with all of his heart. You, Tuskar, are a man of Cor. A man capable of commanding and leading and being fair. If I don't make it through this mess we are in. It will be you that leads the Emerald Kingdom."
Tuskar stood frozen, "Sir, it is an honor to even have you mention this. Have-"
Herrod held a hand up, "Don't bother fighting it, I've already put it in writing and given it to the Closed Government. They know my wishes."
"I'm not sure if I should thank you, or be angry. We have a war at our doorstep and now this lays heavy upon my heart. Upon my soul and my mind."
Herrod nodded and tugged at Tuskar to keep moving, "Heavy or not, it is what it is. We have battle plans to discuss. I fear the morning will bring us snow and battle."
Tuskar took a heavy sighing breathe and began down again, "Snow and battle. After so many years of peace, here we are again. May Cor be praised and bless our hands and give us forgiveness as we protect our land."
"May Liaka give us the wisdom to rise above and defend our lands."
The two walked slowly down the stairs without a saying another word, the air of tension hanging low and thick enough to cut with a knife. War was inevitable and standing just outside of the castle's walls. This time war felt different, it felt dark and unstoppable. There was a foreboding to all of it, and Herrod was scared. Hiding that fear from his subjects and army was his best act, but deep down, he felt this was the end of everything as they had known it. After today, the world would be different, yet he didn't know how or why.