azazele

Arc 6-Winter War-116

“Last day,” I mutter to Alana over breakfast. When Kierra and I brought the goliath down, my wife-to-be promised that we would only march for another week. What that actually translated to, accounting for breaks to fight monsters, dismantle said monsters, and to give the weaker members of the army a break, was three weeks. Three whole weeks.

Really, this place is just one thi...

Arc 6-Winter War-115-Interlude (Arthur)

Arthur decided he hated the north.

Truthfully, he had decided so long ago, when he first reached the fort with the hunters he had infiltrated. Any sane person would have concluded the same. While the dreary sky could be excused, it even reminded him of home, there were too many other things to find fault with.

Foremost, the cold. Oh, how he hated the cold. There was no escaping from...

ARC 6-Winter War-114

I follow behind Kierra as she leaps off the goliath, scanning the snow. Unfortunately, there are no tracks for her to follow. After all, the reapers don’t run. They skate. Incredibly fast. There is no sight of them and no leads to follow.

Kierra is ready to run in a random direction in hopes of getting lucky but I stop her, turning her toward camp. Rather than chase fleeing enemies, I w...

ARC 6-Winter War-113

I raise my arm as I sprint forward, protecting my eyes, and my vision, as the projectiles aimed at us become a constant rain. Kierra slows and moves behind me, ducking so she can use me as cover. I can’t hear her but a soft palm on the small of my back tells me she’s there and urges me forward.

The goliath is impossibly large. The closer we get, the more apparent that fact becomes. Be...

ARC 6-Winter War-112

Past the camp, the gloom is too deep to make out my surroundings, the natural light of the moon and stars covered by thick clouds. A ‘film’ turns the dark night into a scene of gray and silver. There are no signs of these reapers but on the horizon, there is a mountain of snow that I could swear wasn’t there earlier. Oh, saints. Don’t tell me that’s the goliath we’re supposed to be ...

ARC 6-Winter War-111

Our formation as we move deeper into the north is vaguely triangular, the point facing the looming mountains. The base of the triangle, the frontline, contains the bulk of our forces, comprised of the Bleak Moons, the Waning Stars, and the hunters with the capacity to hold back monsters. Another requirement is the courage to confront a titan head on. Because of that, a few eligible hunters were...

ARC 6-Winter War-110

“Oi, are they already leaving?”

“Crazy bastards.”

Our army is the last to wake, Alana deciding our troops should at least have the benefit of a good rest after sacrificing the security of the other armies. By the time our people crawl out of their bedrolls and distribute dry rations for breakfast, the other armies are already preparing to move. While they are still eating, t...

ARC 6-Winter War-109

Despite everything, the army was in a good mood.

Objectively, Robert understood that they had plenty to celebrate. Despite two battles in two days, one of which was an ambush, they hadn’t suffered any casualties. No injuries even. Not even a scratch.

The monsters of the north each had bounties attached to them. Between the many doomhawks they’d shot down and the titan killed by ...

ARC 6-Winter War-108

As we walk, the ground eventually starts to slope downward rather than up and the path narrows. Our pace slows as the army is forced to squeeze together. Not by much. Thomas, who I’m guessing is the overall commander, insists we make it out of the pass before nightfall and he must be pushing the knights harder than the poor creatures dragging along the laden down wagons, who have remained rem...

ARC 6-Winter War-107

There’s no time to gawk. The army is swarming around the titan. By the wall of conjured earth, the tired casters suffering from mana strain are put on the shoulders of knights and carried away from the area. I vaguely hear Zach yelling orders further ahead, accompanied by a parade of footsteps. The moment it’s safe, the army is moving. Something that’s required as shadows have already app...

ARC 6-Winter War-106

[It’s coming.]

The visual of the giant mass of snow hitting the hastily erected defenses is stunning despite the lack of sound sapping some of the impact. As I thought, the walls aren’t enough to stop the unusual attack, plenty of the stuff going over their tops. Enough that I have no doubt a good portion of the armies would have been drowned in it if they hadn’t acted quickly.

ARC 6-Winter War-105

I’m thrown away with no hesitation as Alana scrambles out of our stone dwelling. Lying on my back, I let out a huff of a laugh. I can’t blame her for rushing off. Those reflexes have been ingrained in her over several years. I, however, have a different set of reflexes. Summoners don’t run into danger. They send their elementals.

What’s the situation?

[Good morning, my summo...

ARC 6-Winter War-104

A measly war doesn’t stop the sun from shining. The weak light that escapes the overcast sky illuminates an orderly war camp atop pristine snow. No trace of the conflicts that transpired last night remain.

I woke many times throughout the night, my sensitive hearing and light sleeping patterns because of Kierra’s training waking me every time a creature ambushed the camp, but the thre...

ARC 6-Winter War-103

The assault persisted for hours. It felt like hundreds of birds swooped down to claim a few light snacks. I certainly chucked several dozen into empty carts. I even had to wrestle a couple after they managed to get past the barrage of spells and wrap their talons around an unlucky hunter.

Alana mitigated mana exhaustion by swapping attackers but we don’t have an army of master casters. ...

ARC 6-Winter War-102

Marching is a boring affair. Less boring than my time traveling alongside the Squiddies along the King’s Road, but only because of the tension in the air and the hilarious reactions of the ill-prepared acolytes. I can’t feel it but according to their muttered complaints, the temperature is steadily dropping as we walk along the uphill path. I personally think it’s all in their minds, an i...

ARC 6-Winter War-101

Thousands of people readying to march is an incredible sight. A noisy one as well. Despite Alana’s inevitable rise to greatness, she is still a mere acolyte, an average caster, and a novice commander on her first campaign. That means she doesn’t have the prestige to be in the front and lacks the experience for the others to trust her with protecting the rear. Therefore, we’re stuck in the...

ARC 6-Winter War-100

“Why didn’t you stop me?” a very hungover Alana says while perched on the end of her bed, head in her hands. The sun has barely risen but the rest of the house is bustling with activity. Today is the day, after all.

We’ll have to get moving ourselves very soon, but for now, I’m enjoying the rare sight of a miserable saint in disarray. Soon enough, the smirking elf sprawled on th...

ARC 6-Winter War-99

A woman strolls into the room and my first thought is that she doesn’t belong amongst these warriors. She’s wearing a dress, for saints’ sake. A pretty blue one with long sleeves, a modest neckline, and several skirts. A dark brown fur hangs over shoulders and her long blond hair is tied in braid that falls down her back. The way she glides across the floor, hands crossed at the wrists in...

ARC 6-Winter War-98

The banquet gets rowdier as the knights get a few cups of wine in them. In payment for browbeating Alana into saying she wants to marry me, I told Bell to mix two barrels of watered down Herbanacle, the same as provided to the hunters during Geneva’s selection process. Giving Howie’s drinks straight to the unsuspecting seems irresponsible. They should all have strong physiques and a stronge...

ARC 6-Winter War-97

This really isn’t my idea of a party.

When people started throwing around the word banquet, I got my hopes up. I should have known better than to expect anything from this dour place. Honestly, I feel stupid. As if they’re going to have music and dancing. I doubt they’d waste the wood to make a lyre let alone allow someone to practice it. There are no fanciful decorations, which is ...

ARC 6-Winter War-96

Tomorrow is the fated day. In the morning, when the permanently cloudy sky brightens from black to the light gray, thousands of Victory’s knights and hundreds of hunters will march through the north gate. Their purpose, to conquer everything their eyes can see. Failing that, slaying a lot of monsters and claiming a little slice of land as their own. Something no one has managed in close to fi...

ARC 6-Winter War-95-Interlude-Robert

“You! You’re Lourianne Tome’s pet, aren’t you?”

The creature put a hand over her chest and bowed, her tail wrapping around her waist. “I am Geo, her contracted thrall.” She straightened up, smile turning bashful. “A shame you didn’t remember. I had hoped I left a better impression.”

Robert resisted the urge to scoff. She had definitely left an impression.

�...

ARC 6-Winter War-94-Interlude-Robert

His first impression of the giant walls of Victory was a deep, stomach-twisting dread.

The scale of it was beyond anything he had ever seen, which was especially impactful as Robert Quintana liked to think he had seen more than most. As the son of a simple guard, he had seen life from the perspective of a commoner and developed a strong desire for more. As the apprentice and heir of a ren...

ARC 6-Winter War-93

I take a deep breath, reminding myself that I am about to turn a significant part of her world upside down and prepare myself for the inevitable backlash.

“The journal I read was written by an ancestor who was called upon to negotiate with the Lords of Winter. I don’t know what they teach you about the original war with the north but from what I read, it was a mess. Forget Victory, th...

ARC 6-Winter War-92

Alana enters the room before I can wheedle the rest of the story from my wife. She looks stressed, brows heavily furrowed and thin lips pressed tight. Ah. Suppose I did leave her to fend off her family alone. Doubtful that Kierra would be very helpful lest the tension finally escalated to blows but the James are all too controlled to throw forks across the table. I offer a hesitant smile as her...

ARC 6-Winter War-91

The room is empty when I arrive. A good thing. Gives me time to plan what I want to say as opposed to verbally vomiting out my discoveries. Lounging on the bed, I play with my adorable imp’s feet as I ponder the best way to explain to my wife-to-be that her family’s single-minded crusade will doom us all if they somehow succeed.

I stiffen as the door opens only to relax when I spot su...

ARC 6-Winter War-90

Several hours later, I close the journal, thoughts racing.

I have to wonder if anyone in Victory has taken the time to read this work. I doubt it. This is not a bed of scholars. There is also the problem that the work is not in Common, the language used in the kingdom, but is written in one of the ancient languages. Thankfully, one known to the imp in my lap who has served as my translato...

ARC 6-Winter War-89

Once I return to the James estate, it is time for a treat. What I have been looking forward to most about our journey to the north, though I never considered it to be an option when we discussed our plans.

A long time ago, a Tome marched with the knights of Victory to face the Lords of Winter. Accustomed to negotiating with beings of supreme power, they hoped a summoner’s expertise woul...

ARC 6-Winter War-88

It’s been three days since the March. A busy three days, though not physically.

In the wake of our talk, my contrite lovers proved clingy. Their arms held me prisoner in Alana’s room, mostly atop her bed, but their need for physical intimacy couldn’t stop the flow of time. With the campaign drawing ever closer and the consequences of the March to sort out, there is much to do.

Side Story-The Duke's Wives

Eleanor was in a bad mood and it showed in every step. While the women of status in Victory were expected to hold themselves a certain way, they didn’t indulge in the etiquette of the capital. The north cared for appearances but it came far behind things such as strength and honor. Her stride was measured and her back was straight but she stomped forward like the soldiers that raised her, her...