A.N: So over on tapas, I said that if we reach ink goals of 2000, I would post early chapters. We just hit the first ink goal, so here's an early chapter! I'll chuck the link to my tapas at the bottom for anyone who wants to contribute
After days of travelling on Ishin's shoulder, two days after finding Jonin dead on the crystal falls, Harudan caught up with General Juna. Their army, even though it had taken heavy losses in the last battle, was bigger than he had expected. Ishin had shrunk down to double the size of a man and sitting on his shoulder was difficult, but it was easier than scaring everyone they passed.
Ignis still flew with them, wanting to be around him constantly with Jonin gone. It was a small comfort to Harudan, but it was something. When he was up to it, he allowed the drake to sit on his lap and chirp loudly for pets. He wouldn't always give them, but when he did, it made him feel a little better, which in turn felt wrong.
When Ignis wasn't on his lap, he was flying above them in circles, screaming for the person he had lost. It was awful to hear and Harudan wanted nothing more than to shut Ignis up, but there was nothing he could do about it. Both of them were grieving and even though Ignis was an animal, Harudan had to let him do what he needed. It was the same as Harudan crying and wishing he could turn back time to when Jonin was still alive.
There was no changing what had happened. All he could do was keep going with Jonin's sword and their pet and eventually avenge Jonin by killing the Beast that was Promised and Princess Sharina. They were the ones who had killed him, they were the ones who deserved exactly what they gave. Over the course of the war, he was sure he would see them again and when he did, he wouldn't show them any mercy.
But first, he had to continue fighting in the war he had started. Doing so would lead back to the Beast and the Princess, for they were trying to stop him. If he continued with his plans, he would eventually be able to kill those who had wronged him.
The army before him was frozen in shock. Those who wandered between the beige tents quickly stopped when they saw others staring. Over the last few days, Harudan had gotten used to Ishin's strange appearance, a being made entirely of blue and orange flames that burned nothing. Ishin took no notice of their stares, crouching so Harudan could walk through the camp like a true King.
Most of the soldiers were staring at Ishin as they passed between the tents, but some realised who walked next to him, a chirping drake on his shoulder, and dropped onto one knee. Harudan wore no crown nor regal clothing, but his polished armour, which he had carried with him since he left and changed into when they got close to the army.
"Your men do not show you much respect," Ishin muttered, still towering above him.
Harudan kept his head forward, not paying much attention to the soldiers around him. "You are something new, I am not surprised that they stare at you in such a way," he replied nonchalantly. It didn't matter what the soldiers thought or did; he needed to speak with Juna.
A group of armour-clad people strode towards them, decorative capes fluttering in the stiff breeze. General Juna didn't wear their helmet, showing off their confused and shocked scowl. They walked towards them with other surprised Captain's at their back, occasionally stopping for a second to stare.
"Your Majesty," Juna said, but they were staring up at Ishin, who regarded the camp with an expression no one could read.
"It is good to see you, General Juna," Harudan said, giving them a polite smile even though they weren't even looking at him. "I hope I've found you in good health."
Juna wasn't paying much attention, still gawping at the God before them. "Well enough, I suppose," they said absentmindedly. "Your Majesty, who is this? What is this?"
"There is much to discuss, General. Do you have a place where we can speak in private?" he asked. Everyone may have seen Ishin, but the explanation was something he didn't want spreading around. The discovery of Ishin was his and his alone, it could remain a strange secret for the rest of the army.
Juna gestured for him to follow and turned back the way they came. It took a moment for the Captains to follow, watching Ishin with a mix of fear and wonder. It wasn't until he and Harudan walked past them that they moved, bustling after them with hushed whispers. Harudan paid them no mind, focusing only on where he was going.
The General led them into a large beige tent, glancing at them over their shoulder. Inside was a makeshift war room, filled with banners of each of the towns fighting in Juna's part of the army. In the middle sat a table with a map on it, showing where both the Ishini and Askari forces sat. It was the first thing Harudan stopped at, surveying the situation.
According to the map and the ravens he'd been sent, the northern part of the army was faring well and would reach Ziya soon. It was Juna's part that was struggling. Somehow the Askari had been able to muster enough of a force to fight back against Juna and win, resulting in the death of hundreds of people. It was the reason Harudan had come, to wipe that force off the map.
"Your Majesty," Juna said, stopping at the other side of the table. Ishin wandered through the tent, fidgeting with anything that took his fancy. He'd shrunk again, a few inches taller than Harudan, so that he wouldn't bring down the tent when he walked through it.
Harudan raised an eyebrow. "General Juna," he replied and sighed. "I would like you to meet the Old God, Ishin."
"The... What?" they said, their mouth opening and closing in shock. "That's not possible."
All Harudan did was point at the being walking around the tent and staring at everything like he had never seen it before. That was probably the case, considering he had been trapped in a crystal for hundreds of years. Everything would be new to him, but there hadn't been a chance for him to explore while they headed towards the army. Harudan hadn't allowed him to, wanting to get straight to work.
There was no denying that Ishin was some kind of magical being. He was made of flames, could change his size to fit any room and had burnt the town of Maeve to the ground without hesitating. Juna and their Captains watched the God in silence, but he didn't pay any attention to them.
"That's not possible," Juna whispered, briefly glancing at Harudan. "How is that possible? The New Gods..."
"Both are real," Harudan answered, even though he wasn't sure if it was the truth. After leaving for battle and finding Jonin, there hadn't been time for him to question the religion he had followed all his life.
General Juna ran a hand through their hair. "Explain everything, if you would, Your Majesty," they said, their hands clenched over the edge of the map table.
It was a long story, explaining where the crystal had come from. Juna already knew of what he had done at the Sanctum of Ishin and agreed with his reasoning, but Harudan hadn't told him about the crystal. It had been his secret to figure out and until Ishin had escaped, he'd wanted it to stay that way. He told Juna of the research and the basics of what Nerin had discovered when he'd still wanted to work with him. Those in the tent listened intently, but he could tell that they were confused.
"Ishin had agreed to work with us until we win the war. We have the same views regarding Minisia," Harudan finished, looking around the room with a raised brow.
General Juna shook their head. "If what you say is true, can we really trust a God to work with us?" they asked.
"I am a man of my word, General," Ishin said, his first words since they entered the tent. "Unless I see something that could change my mind, I will help you win your war. That was what I promised your King."
The General didn't say anything to that, allowing Harudan to continue. "I've left Brenmar under Fentir and Prince Nerin's command. We came to help. With Ishin, we will win this war," he said and explained what had happened in Maeve.
"And Sir Jonin? He allowed you to come here without accompanying you?" Juna asked and Harudan's heart plummeted into his stomach. There had to be a look on his face because the General faltered. "Your Majesty, where is Sir Jonin?"
It took a lot of effort to get his voice past the lump in his throat. "Dead," he said in a monotone voice. He didn't want to see the reactions on other people's faces and instead stared down at the map. There was a massive clump of little Askari statues not far from where he was, the people he would need to get rid of if he wanted to win.
"How?" Juna asked, the one question Harudan wasn't sure if he could answer. Doing so meant explaining the Beast that was Promised, but he couldn't exactly hide it anymore, not when the Beast had become such a threat to the war. If only it could have been like it was a few weeks ago, when the only threat the Beast and the Princess held was towards Nerin.
So he explained everything as best he could, defending his actions and explaining who the Beast originally was and why he hadn't gone after him properly. He hadn't known, none of them had. It was understandable that he hadn't said much, especially considering he didn't find out that the monk was the Beast until halfway through the war. He had to explain where Jonin had gone and what he was doing, as well as finding him by the crystal falls. It was hard and at every moment, he wanted to stop, but he couldn't. The General deserved to know.
When he stopped, his eyes were watering and his hands were clenched tightly around the end of the table, his knuckles white. He couldn't cry in front of his General and Captains, lest he appeared weak. For a long time, no one said anything, a moment of respect for the fallen Captain.
"He went down fighting," General Juna eventually said. "He will be sorely missed."
"He was a good man," Harudan replied, the only words he could think of.
There was an awkward pause before Juna spoke again. "I don't know what any of this means, but the most we can do is concentrate on getting past the block the Askari have put up. We were planning on attacking again at dawn, so you've arrived just in time, Your Majesty. With Ishin, we might just win."
"We will win," Ishin said in his rumbling voice.
Despite his raging thoughts, Harudan smirked. "What comes after this battle?" he asked.
Juna pointed down at a town on the coast. "We need to flank Ziya from the south. The best way to do that is from the port town of Liman," they explained. A small force sat near the town, an even bigger one surrounding Ziya. "It will cut off more of their trading. It will be a good point to capture. We head there next."
The next few hours were spent with Juna going over the plans for war, including the movements of the northern part of the army. For the most part, all Harudan could think of was the coming battle in the morning. He had expected more time to prepare himself, but it was war, there wasn't always time to be ready to fight. He had to do what was necessary, even if he spent all of his time in the battle on Ishin's shoulder.
By the time the sun was setting and it was time for people to pray, Harudan and Ishin had been shown to a tent, told that someone would come by to wake them before dawn. Over the last few days, Harudan had learned that Ishin didn't need sleep and would stay awake for the entire night.
Harudan didn't pray with the others but sat alone in his tent. He lay wide awake in the dead of night, staring at the ceiling of his tent and wishing for Jonin to be by his side again. His sleep had been restless since he'd found Jonin, but Ignis slept like the dead on his chest, his soft breathing the only noise in the tent. Ishin was elsewhere, wandering the camp and scaring the soldiers, most likely, but Harudan couldn't find it in him to care. Eventually, he drifted off, only to wake moments later with the vague memory of blood in his dreams.
An armoured woman woke him in the middle of the night with quiet whispers, helping him into his armour and handing him Jonin's heavy sword. She disappeared after that and with a deep breath, Harudan strode from the tent and straight into Ishin, who was still only a few inches taller than him.
"Are you ready, young King?" he asked.
"As I'll ever be," Harudan replied and allowed Ishin to pull him up onto his shoulder again as he grew. Most of the soldiers were too busy getting ready for battle to pay attention to the tower of flame that walked among them.
General Juna waited for them at the war tent, dressed completely in their armour. The Captains were gone, off to make sure their men were ready to fight. "It won't be a long march, over the hills to the east," they said, pointing at the snowy peaks in the distance. "The Askari are still there, not ready for battle, but we can't let our guard down."
According to the information Juna had given him the day before, even though the Ishini had lost, the Askari were still dealt a massive blow. They needed time to recover before they could attack it, which had given Harudan enough time to reach his army. Juna had wanted to attack again, which could have easily resulted in another heavy loss.
With Harudan and Ishin there, it would never happen. He sat on the God's shoulder again, watching the army line up in formation, but didn't pay much attention to it. At Juna's command, they strode through the lines of people, eyes on the hills before them and the faint plumes of smoke rising towards the night sky. Dawn was coming, a faint tinge of sunlight on the horizon. It would put them at a disadvantage, being blinded by the sun, but they could work around it.
The second he and Ishin were at the front of the army, General Juna at their side, the men charged. Harudan hadn't even heard the war cry or the order to move and grabbed ahold of Ishin's hair as the god ran towards the hill. Everything was happening in a rush and he wasn't ready for any of it.
It was too late to go back and make sure he was prepared. The first battle by Huton had been easy, he'd been ready, he'd had fun, but in the light of everything that had happened since, he wasn't prepared at all. He had no other choice though, Ishin was nearing the hill.
The Askari must have gotten word that they were preparing an attack, because they had created a barricade of people around the little town Juna had been trying to capture. The moment that Ishin came over the hill, the bows that once sat taut, loosed in shock and went flying with no real aim. Despite the emotions swirling and raging within him, Harudan smirked and gripped Jonin's sword tighter.
His soldiers were far behind him, but they were inconsequential compared to what Ishin could do. The God stopped on the crest of the hill and without a word, clicked his fingers, the noise echoing loudly in Harudan's ears. It didn't take long for the flames to burst from the ground, barely a second.
The screams took a moment to reach him, but when they did, they were louder than anything Harudan had ever heard. The flames spread, blocking any view of the enemy and making his soldier freeze as they came over the hill. With a wave of his hand, Ishin sent them rolling towards the town. The people were nothing but ants to him, something to be trodden on and flicked away.
Like a tidal wave, the flames crashed upon the town and the screams only got louder. There was no sign of the enemy soldiers or the siege weaponry that had been sitting in the snow. All that was left was blackened ground and ash that was carried away by the wind. There was no time to register any of it as the flames pulled apart buildings and people, leaving nothing in its wake.
Stumped, Juna stumbled through an order to find and kill any survivors as the flames continued to rage. They were unstoppable, eating anything in their path as if there was nothing to control them, but Ishin was. Everything that happened was because of him and Harudan couldn't help but feel proud at the fact that he'd been the one to break the God out of his crystal prison. He had single-handedly won the war for himself.
As quickly as it began, it was over and silence washed over the hill. He'd never made it down to the town, still watching it from high up on Ishin's shoulder. Most of the army was behind him, a select few down in the field, looking for survivors. With a second click of his fingers, the waves of flames when out like blowing out a candle, leaving behind only the blackened husks of buildings.
"Was that to your liking?" Ishin boomed, asking both Harudan and Juna.
It was, but Harudan couldn't get the words out. Most of him was filled with joy at seeing the true power of the God he'd freed, but the part of him that stopped him from talking was still trying to catch up. If Jonin hadn't died, he would have been fine. He would have been able to enjoy his victory the way he wanted to, but he was stuck trying to wrap his mind around it.
Juna gasped below him. "You truly are a God," they said and dropped to one knee.
"Do not," Ishin said. "Do not bow to me. Bow to your King, who freed me and allowed this to happen."
As Harudan watched, General Juna turned towards the waiting army, who had gotten ready for nothing. "All hail King Harudan, saviour of the war! Saviour of Vishera!" they cried, raising their sword into the air.
The cries that followed went unheard by Harudan, who was still staring at the town. He was their saviour, him and Ishin and Nerin, who had translated the book for him. He couldn't do the same damage on Ziya if he wanted to take it, but their armies would be destroyed in an instant. It would be so easy, not even the Beast could stop him from taking what he needed to.
"What comes next?" Ishin asked him, sounding almost bored.
"The port town of Liman, then Ziya," Harudan answered and finally, he felt relief. The war would be over soon and Ziya would be his. As Ishin took the first few steps east, treading over the remains of the fallen town, all Harudan felt was calm.