"So the ammunition we brought in with the scattered forces is not enough?" Allyoceer asked Rohlant as he presented a tablet to her.

"Rate and scale that they're coming, we'll be dry of even kitchen utensils." he claims. Though, I saw the point he was making. Even Lavauroas with his strictly enforced practice for the mountain cracker couldn't supply us with much.

"So are we still at least using the fort's muntions, or have we started using what we have brought in?"

"We're coming up on the last rounds from the troops you brought in the other day."

"But they were only a handful of lucky informals." Lavauroas scoffed as he crossed his arms.

"Which in turn means we have gone through every other force from before." Rohlant clarifies as he puts his hand on the table with a forceful push.

"Then we'll exploit the supplies of our opponent. We'll sort out the necessities and make pushes on their stores. Heading back with the same speed that we went in with in order to ensure the supplies make it." Allyoceer explains as I glance over at the other Imdvarce she had brought in.

"That won't be an easy task. With the dwindling support from our guns, their guns will make easy pickings of us."

"We're Valkinvar, no gun crew will make cheap work of us." the other one she had named Wing-Tip asserted aggressively as she shook my side.

"We've been desperately fighting for days now... Their numbers continue to grow whilst we grow weary and exhausted." I tell her before she scoffs at the points I just made. A confusing action that left me quiet.

"It will be done, Wing-Head Allyoceer." she tells her with a firm nod as she quietly stares at us. And, unfortunately, she seems to ignore my concerns so she can push this idea.

"Ammunition is not the only thing we are running into issues with." Dannatili points out as her magic brings out some more tablets. Though, as she did so, I looked out towards our exit. Idly staring in the direction where the boom of our guns came from.

"Yes... We're becoming increasingly claustrophobic at the moment." Allyoceer admits uncomfortably as the great table is cleared to present the next issue.

"Our charity, to put it lightly, has seen us become overburdened. We have too many mouths to feed and not enough to go around. What we have been bringing in is mostly isolated, beaten-down forces. Their own supplies were running low before we brought them in." Dannatili explained.

"How're we going to be able to loot the enemy of their munitions, food and medical supplies?" I ask as I consider the burden this would place on us. Even just one of these things drastically hurt our ability to fight. With a Valkinvar focused on working as a courier...

"You managed to hold the line with just two not that long ago. We can handle it." my fellow Wing-Tip asserted as she brushed aside my concerns.

"The heretics had barely es-"

"You faced the brunt of their army and held the line!"

"Enough!" Allyoceer snapped as she looked over to Lavauroas who seemed to have a suggestion.

"Then we turn those we can away." he bluntly states. With the regular soldiers within the room suddenly jolted at the suggestion.

"No! Our duty is to protect them!"

"And to save the majority we must send some out to die!"

"Do not make such an assertion!" I snap at him as I tightly grasp the handle of my at-side blade.

"When villages cannot help those out, they chase travellers away at the end of a spear." he explains to me as he unfolds his arms and looks down at me. Right into my eyes while I did the same.

"We will not be sending anyone out to die needlessly." Allyoceer decides. Swiftly executing such an idea before it could be pushed further.

"So it has been decided that you lot will go out and fetch me more ammunition as well as ensuring a single hot meal for all of us at the end of the day?" Rohlant asks as he started to pack away his things.

"Dismissed." Allyoceer stated firmly before everyone began to file out. Yet, I stayed and watched her with uncertainty. The stiff facade she had been trying to keep up faltered and she sighed miserably.

"Please do not tell me you are seriously considering our Brother-Ammimpaurst's suggestion...?" I asked her cautiously as she moved closer to the balcony we had locked up before the meeting. The rattle of the door and lock then briefly disrupted the otherwise uninterrupted sound of roaring batteries. And it let them in with greater ferocity than ever as we walked out into the open.

And I made a point of not looking down.

"We are stuffed, Wing-Tip Vapooliar. Crammed in like salted meat in a barrel." she tells me as she looks down at the lower fortifications.

"Saving their lives is not wrong." I remind her as she suddenly turns tense.

"But what if that is what they wanted? To round us all into one, inescapable killing grounds?"

"They've lost far too many for that to have been their plan." I point out to her with a sigh as she steadies her mind.

"The truth of the matter, though, Vapooliar, is that we cannot keep all of these men here." she reminds me as I sternly keep my gaze focused on the enemy. Not letting the sights in the corners of my eyes become the centre-focus.

"We can find a way... Lavauroas can use his magic to shift the stone! We can tunnel deeper into the mountain. Refit the dungeons for better use!"

"You know that won't work, Wing-Tip. We so much as see another spot for a man to stand out in the cold in and we'll fill it with ten like him."

"Don't talk like that..."

"If too much builds up, we will burst at the seams, Vapooliar." she points out as I sigh and give in to the sights below. Taking it all in to its fullest extent as I tried to crush my sword's pommel. Even the road up to the main fortress had become crowded with ramshackle platforms and unstable tents. An open road not meant for that in the slightest.

"There has to be a better way than just leaving them to die..."

"I sincerely hope you can find such a solution, then." she tells me before she walks back inside to look at the tablets.

"I suppose we'll be headed out soon for supplies?" I inquire as I watch her glance at our rough scouting documentation.

"Yes, you and Wing-Tip Uala will take a sister each and you'll take what you can."

"And our support?"

"You won't have any."

"We can't do this with just four Imdvarce." I tell her as I lean forward slightly.

"And what would you have me do? Our stores run low, the guns cannot be as open as they were prior. Sister Dannatili needs rest and time to recoup her magic as do many of our other sisters."

"I won't speak of Brother Lavauroas, I know why he cannot help." I tell her as I bitterly leave the room. Maybe slamming the door in the process before I made my way outside. It was the only place I could move freely. But even up here it looked more like a campsite than the top gundeck of a fortress.

Our situation was dire and like Wing-Head Allyoceer's earlier analogy. We were being squeezed tightly by the armoured fist of our opponent. At the backs of our rescues was a gauntlet punching us into the hole. Crushing us with brute strength and the inescapable tightness of our new prison.

Though, I suppose, I should take pride in the fact they needed an armoured fist to do it. We were a thorny creation that would lacerate them dry of all their life. They would not pass by easily. Nor would we just throw our hands in the air.

These supply runs would just be one part of it. But, how effective they would be against them and for us was something else entirely. If I did not bring back all I could, the chances we would see men sent out to die needlessly grew. But I also knew that I could not bring back enough.

Not with four of us.

Not even if I had an army...

"Guess I best pick those who are able for this task." I remark as I head back inside. Patiently waiting when I could for men to go on by before I forced my way to the officer's tower. And when I got inside the crowded tower. I let my senses take it all in.

Mere glances were just a cover for my ability to pick and choose. Those who seemed to have energy left in them I stared at. The ones who were wrung dry of the ability to exert I didn't even glance at. Eventually, I found two sisters that could likely make the trip there and back.

"You, you, with me." I tell the separated pair as I headed upstairs where it was quieter.

"So, we meet again." Wing-Tip Uala let out with a sneer as she looked at us with crossed arms.

"Wing-Head Allyo-"

"I know." she interrupts as she snatches one of our lesser sisters up immediately.

"We'll be enacting a raid against the heretics. Our goal is to take what we can and bring it back here." I quietly explain to the sister that was left behind.

"How many chances do we have?" she asks me as she starts to practice how she could carry some of it.

"I... I don't know... For the moment, we'll go in once and head back. Give Wing-Head Allyoceer an idea as to what we can accomplish."

"Of course." she says with a nod as we reach the top level of the tower. And as we did so, Sister Dannatili put a stop to what she had been doing and looked at us all unfavourably. We seemed to have interrupted something but it wasn't worth getting involved with.

But, "How do the winds fair?"

"They're growing thinner." she answers as she starts to get involved with what she was doing prior. And without another word, I stepped off the balcony and went into the air.

"We'll make a pass through the sky. Pick up what magic you can and then we'll dive right down at them!" Wing-Tip Uala states without so much as consulting me. Neither of us had been given supreme command but she carried on trying to shove me out of it. She had been like this since she first arrived.

I was unworthy of the symbol I now wore by the grace of our superior in her eyes...

"Wing-Tip Vapooliar?" the sister that had ended up paired with me asked after I failed to follow them into the sky.

"Sorry." I told her as I went ahead of her and the other one to get in line with Wing-Tip Uala.

"Try to follow orders." the belittles me with the moment I got there. And, eventually, I drifted towards the left so I could keep my distance. Sighing against the wind before we came to a stop in a gap between the clouds. Our magic slowly recovered as it was being used.

"We need a clear plan of exit." I point out to them before I found Uala taking the pair in to explain something. Yet, for some reason, she kept it quiet enough so that I could not hear it from here. So I moved closer, but, by the time I got there, she had just about finished explaining.

"We'll be handling munitions." the sister I was with explained to me as the other two made a sharp drop.

"Can you spot anything that might look like a storeroom?"

"Over there is relatively isolated, it would be perfect for storing volatile materials."

"But can we use it is the question..." I quietly comment as I recalled how the guns of the heretics worked. Everything used magic! Our only hope might've been where ever the shotslings got their feed from.

"We'll have to figure it out later, let's go!" my sister urged me as we noticed the signs of battle take a sharp upturn. Wing-Tip Uala and her taken sister had begun to wreak havoc. And we needed to get involved to ease the pressure on them.

So, at the behest of my underling's eagerness, we shot down to the ground. Our blades had their shining tips levelled to our fronts and they quickly took on a red hue. With blurs of flesh and steel going right past us as we carved a path towards what we hoped to be a storehouse. And our halts were more akin to a violent crash.

"Check that one and come back to me as soon as you find anything!" I tell her as I start to cut down heretics with almost sickening ease. The bloody mud churned and flew about me and it only piled on to the filth I had already accumulated. But, to make sure I did not leave my sisters too isolated, I made a habit of throwing large objects about. Whatever I could get my hands on made for a fine weapon in this openly hostile place.

"WING-TIP!" my sister shouted as she came to a stop by me. And her quick, sure nod answered the question on my mind. So we dashed right back and took cover in the storehouse. Though the flaps the tent had faired poorly against arcane rifles and blades.

"The floor mat will have to do..." I muttered just before I bashed away one of the heretics accursed magic bolts.

"I'll take this end!" my sister quickly figures out as she slices her side of the tent down and snatches up the thick, flexible flooring. Taking from her example, I did the same while fighting off those I could.

"Here, you start taking it over the mountain! I'll hold them off!" I tell her as I start to precisely choose my targets. Favouring those holding small or manning larger guns over those with just blades. But the sound of a suddenly bursting spell and a scream took my focus away from the slaughter.

She had been struck by a war-witch!

"SISTER!" I screamed as I realised my mistake. Shooting up into the sky with all the force I could and I brought my blade down on the enemy. Only for them to catch it in some kind of spell as more of them gather about us. Yet, as I struggled against this particularly powerful witch. My sister found herself surrounded by many others.

And amidst her lost supplies, I was forced to watch as she was overwhelmed.

"SISTER!" I screamed again as I released my blade and dashed around my opponent. Swiftly snapping her neck with a sharp crack before I grabbed my blade and shot down. Slicing apart those I could before Uala and her assigned sister joined up with me.

Then, in the brief moment I could find peace in. I stared helplessly at the fallen soldier. I had done it again... I focused too much on one thing. And the danger that actually mattered slipped right past me and...

"Proven right again. The Wing-Head's choice was stupid, idiotic! How can someone like you be called a Wing-Tip when you just allowed this to happen!" Uala hisses in my face after grabbing the front of my armour.

"I..." I struggled to get out as my mind became clogged with reasons and excuses. I lost myself in fighting the soldiers. But she had abandoned us while leaving me in the dark. I failed to account for greater dangers, but she left us open to them.

"Pathetic. You, take our sister back to the fort while this failure here does as she was ordered." Uala tells the other Imdvarce before a sharp jab from her sends me flying backwards briefly. I stopped myself, but I was left trembling as I looked back at her. Anger was rising in me but I forced it down. Whatever I then couldn't get out or suppress I then vented into the few supplies that had survived.

And I shot up into the air quickly and quietly. Not even turning my head towards the other two before I dropped the bag down carelessly in the lower fortifications. Then, after quickly ascending to the top of the fortress, I descended into it. Aggressively pursuing the Wing-Head before I closed the door firmly behind me.

"Back so soon?" she questioned worriedly before I placed my hand on the table. Digging my fingers into the wood and letting it splinter and crack as growls rumbled out of me.

"Do not ever pair me with that creature again." I tell her with a firm snap.

"What happened, Wing-Tip Vapooliar?" she asked me firmly as she straightened out.

"SHE...! I..." I shouted at first before I went quiet as confusion filled me. Did I balance it out or did I focus on how the sister I was assigned was now dead? A Valkinvar had been lost right under my nose...

"You suffered a casualty." she quickly figured out as she walked around to face me. A stern gaze met me but I could not return one.

"Yes... The sister I had ended up with was overwhelmed as she was taking supplies over the mountain..."

"I never assigned any partners."

"No, Wing-Tip Uala made it the case after I found two sisters to go out with, like you requested."

"I see."

"She doesn't respect me... She is vicious in her pointing out of it. I am not worthy to wear this..." I nearly cried as the stress got to me before my superior's hand stopped me.

"I gave you that because I trusted your ability. I continue to have faith in you, Vapooliar."

"My incompetence has sown discord amongst our ranks! Our very first raid out there and I already lost a-"

"All I have done since the lines broke is lose sisters and brothers, Vapooliar." she interrupts me with.

"But..."

"My entire wing had been wiped out before you came. I was ready to die in that valley with the few men I had managed to keep under my protective blade. And then, you came, you managed to at least blow filling air into the embers of my hope. It may not be a strong fire but there is one there."

"You figured out something was off about me from the moment you met me..." I whined quietly as I struggled against her grip. I did not deserve this accolade from her. I was just some pathetic Imdvarce who failed her men once before.

There was nothing for me beyond the most basic of ranks...

"I did, and I also made it clear I didn't care."

"You need someone better than me."

"I have seen no one as brave as you Vapooliar." she tells me as her grip stiffens. With her skin stretching so much I would probably see the white of her knuckles.

"I... I'm a coward... A coward who hi-"

"You are a Valkinvar who overcame her shame and came to fight for Her Lord and country! You took up your blade and you have focused on nothing but saving the lives of this land!"

"Yes... Wing-Head Allyoceer." I answered shakily. Deferring to my taught mannerisms to at least keep myself together. A stern-faced soldier is what I was... So I needed to act like it...

"I will speak to Wing-Tip Uala to see if I can fathom something. But, I need you to remember that lives will be lost, Vapooliar. It is a great difficulty all leaders must address... If you cannot stay strong on your own, give yourself meaning to by staying strong for those around you."

"Those who are weak must stand proud as to avert the treacherous. Those who are strong must live a lie to draw them out..." I recite even though it wasn't quite fitting.

"In a way, yes. By showing that you can take on those threats, you will pass on your courage like a cloud does rain. The soil might turn to mud at first, but it is from that which you will find the strength to drive a village, a town, a city, a country." she tells me as she lets go of my hand. Just as my grip eased on the piece of her helmet.

"I will try, Wing-Head Allyoceer."

"No, you will do." she corrects as she returns to the table.

"I guess I should explain how the raid went beyond our loss."

"Were you able to get a decent amount?"

"Me and..." I started to say before I became frustrated by the fact I did not know her name. The sister I had lost was just a face to me.

"Go on, try to ignore that for the moment." she tells me with a solemn expression. Her insight was quite good, I had to admit. Though, it was particularly obvious that I was ignorant and lying in the dark.

I gulped slightly before carrying on, "We were able to haul up an entire tent's worth of supplies. Of what, I can't really specify for the moment. But, until it went bad, we could've brought back easily enough to fill this entire room to its brim."

"And it would be gone within a day..."

"Even a day's worth of supplies is worth something, right? We are making sure that their position remains weak as well." I tell her. Hoping it would give her some confidence to at least keep up with this plan. Risky as it was.

But the alternative to our supply issue was far worse.

"But if it comes to always cost us the life of one of our own..." she remarks, though not maliciously. Yet, all the same, I felt an uncomfortable twinge in my chest. Like a fine-string instrument was being plucked right at my core.

"It won't cost us that, I promise!"

"We are being worn down, Vapooliar. As our strength wanes, error will spread. Weakness will give way to their strength. We might look down on it when we are at our best, but they have more than enough men to ensure they can stay at theirs while we forget what our best looks like."

"We can take to the highest skies! Filter the magic into our system! Like how our ancestors did in the battles of old!"

"You have felt it, right, Vapooliar? Strong as we are, we are not worth a million men. The magic in the air is pulling itself towards the enemy."

"All the more reason we should try and push them off! We will bathe in their own shortsightedness!"

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

"Every second they dig their trenches deeper. The ground possibly finds itself wormed away at and danger grows at our feet. They send in fresh men while we have none to meet them with. I cannot encourage an offensive knowing we will be swallowed up by the depth of their scale!"

"But we can't just stay here either..."

"No. We need to figure something out. I need to figure something out..." she sighs as she takes off her helmet. Revealing her scarred face and the beauty that could be seen about it. An aged face that had matured within the grasp of great power.

It was comforting to see the emerald lines in her hair. The green in her eyes. She was an experienced fighter. She really was the best one for this job.

But she still needed a hand, clearly, and, I had no issue with giving it to her.

"In due time, Wing-Head Allyoceer." I tell her as I had no ideas to offer her at the moment. Then, after a brief moment of standing in silence, I finally started to leave.

"Make a point of handling the temporary entombment of her body yourself. Your sisters will respect you much more for doing so." Allyoceer points out to me before I leave.

"Yes, I will... Face my shame." I sigh out before closing the door behind me. Though, at first, I headed back outside and gazed around. I hoped I could find some kind of hint as to where the body had been taken.

But it seemed that it found me...

"And here she comes, the failure who left your sister out there to die." Wing-Tip Uala asserted as she dropped down in front of me as others gathered around the dead.

"Wing-Head Allyoceer wishes to speak with you." I tell her without meeting her gaze. And, when it came to it, I forced my way past her grip and approached our fallen sister. Quickly taking her up into my own arms before I looked around at them. It was a vortex of different emotions, each told to me mostly by the way their eyes formed behind their visors.

Anger, confusion, resentment, regret...

"Did any of you know her?" I ask as I took off her helmet to look down at her bloodied face. Her skin, tanned throughout her service like many of us, had already begun to pale. Dried blood spilt from her mouth and nose and her expression was stiff. The first thing I then did was ensure that her eyes were closed.

"Her name was Annalla." one of them answered, clearly angered by the events that had transpired.

"I am sorry." I told them directly as I looked into their eyes. I then slowly stood up and kept my fallen sister levelled. From there I bypassed the still-present Uala and went into fortress. Carefully bypassing those I could before I arrived at the great shrine within its deepest recesses. Yet, it was not dedicated to Lord Waionr, who we served directly.

It belonged to Guareroisncer. The Lord of Heroes and the Caring Shield. The Protector God.

"But, I can trust in you to keep her safe. Please, my Lord Guareroisncer, keep Sister Annalla safe." I plead to him as I set her down on one of the pews. And I slowly rise back to my feet and turn towards the crowded corridors beyond this place.

"Do you need something, Valkinvar?" one of the men asked as after he found himself squeezed out onto the path to the shrine.

"Can you send word out for a bucket of water and a clean cloth." I tell him before I returned my attention to my fallen sister. To Annalla. Whom I failed to keep safe.

I made an immediate point of trying to make her clean and presentable for her husband. But it was an arduous task at the moment. With so little available to me. Though, at the least, I could free her from her filthy armour.

I set it aside and kept her body covered while trying to recall the prayers I should be making. The calls that would ensure she would be found by Waionr... When he came across our body-strewn battlefield once the fighting ended. She would be welcomed into his arms when that time came.

Nothing these heretics could do would change that.

"And, in the way Honourable War remembers us all. I would like to imitate him." I say to Annalla as I borrow her ceremonial knife. A sharp blade intended for our flesh. But it was so finely wrought that even our finely-made, coming on flawless steel could be scratched by it.

And I put the blade against my stolen bracer. Wiping the muck off as best I could before I then stared at the poorly polished steel. Staring back at me was my helmeted self. So I revealed my face and gazed upon my weary face directly.

Then, with a determined mind, I got to work scratching her name into my armour. I would atone for my incompetence by carrying her name with me from here on out. And if I must change armour at some point, when we won. I would carve it all over again.

With careful, spark-inducing cuts, I got to work. Carefully slicing and sawing the fine edge against my armour until crude cuneiform began to form. Poorly defined at first, but, as the scratching dug deeper, they came to stand out more. A process I repeated until her name was engraved fully.

"A true blade." I commented as I inspected the undamaged edge of the ceremonial dagger. Made for cutting our flesh during our pledges to Waionr. Though, while it was undulled, it was dirtied somewhat by the fine, razor dust I had made. So I tapped it against a lit brazier before I put it in slightly.

The weak, magic-lacking fire did not hurt or burn. I barely felt its warmth at all, in fact. But, with Annalla being so close to the cold of Undwote's touch. She would be able to feel it as if it were Ihtuntar reborn!

I enclosed the blade into her hands and watched as the colour returned to normal. The fine shine remained while the slight orange glow vanished without a trace. It was almost as if it had never been placed into the fire, to begin with. The blade went cold like she was.

"Valkinvar!" a soldier said loudly as the swishing of water filled the shrine space.

"Thank you." I tell him as I take it from him. Gesturing for him to leave before I then turned to my sister. Whom I then sat down beside as if she was a close friend. I then began to process of slowly cleaning her armour.

Polishing it up as if she was preparing for an inspection herself. A pedantic, effort-demanding task that did not end until I saw a glint on the steel. Even then, I went further and cleaned it more. My magic even defined the task further so I could make it shine greater.

Water dripped down as I wrung the cloth. A gentle ambience of crackling braziers and dripping water filled my ears. Something that was rarely disturbed until I placed down a piece of polished, but damaged armour. And I would pick up the next piece shortly after.

"Brave Annalla, fallen sister-"

.

.

.

"How long now do you think, Ainael?" I ask my friend as I move my piece across the board. Looking out of the window after I had done so, so I could look at the world around us. It seemed to just be bobbing along. But within the castle on a mobile fortress, each little bump was further than even your greatest throws.

"The request you put in was to have this big thing head near an airship, no?"

"Yes, it was, you were even there." I remind her as I exploit the mistake she made in moving her game piece. Knowing her, it couldn't have been because of some later tactic.

"Was I?" she remarks before pushing another piece forward.

"Yes, now answer." I tell her as I snatch up a piece preemptively. Moving in my victorious piece right after.

"Couldn't tell you, nor do I want to waste time thinking about it."

"Just give me your best guess, then." I huff in amusement as my friend starts to move her head about.

"Now?" she answers as the landscape around us stops moving.

"Could be any reason." I say even though I knew that she was right.

"Oh, of course, we're waiting for the old lady to cross the road." she laughs with a shake of her head as she stops playing the game.

"Don't like losing?"

"I don't like being near you when you get chastised." she corrects as she gestures and pulls me to my feet.

"Right, right. I'm the one in charge of all of this." I resent while making no point of taking her hands and arm off of my torso.

"I must admit, however, I have no objections to coming with you aboard this airship." she chirps as she keeps her place by my side.

"It's only an airship." I point out. Though, I was not able to literally do so as it must've been around the other side of the castle. It was not an issue for long, though, as it was a pretty clean path to the landing platform.

"You look at that feat of engineering and say that again!" Ainael exclaims as we fly away from the castle. Her arms flying outwards in a grand arc as she motions my gaze towards the flying wall.

"It's just an airship, though, one with a name!" I say sarcastically at first before I become impressed by the glowing words etched into the steel.

"Thunderous Brawler..." my friend reads out loud as we cross the distance to it.

"The magic they use to name these things is so fascinating." I remark just before we land on the top deck of it. However, due to the fact we weren't technically apart of the Grand Army of the Seven-Peaks Union. The guards raised their weapons against us.

"Shoot her first." Ainael teases as she slinks behind me.

"Rifles down." a Brave orders as he steps forward. His sabre in its sheath, curling up around his shoulder. The colour of his armour even spoke of how he wasn't from the capital. This airship was from the more southern territories.

"Are you knowledgeable as to why we are here?" I ask to which he shakes his head.

"War-witch, no, I am not."

I sigh knowing what this meant, "Then may you take us to your Captain-Engineer so we may explain?"

"Of course." he answers without further need or proof. And we quickly join him on a lengthy stroll to the nearest door. Which, at the very least, he was kind enough to leave open for us.

"A ryphurgok?" Ainael asks under her breath as we watch one get ridden by.

"I have heard of strange tactics involving them. Having them leap right off the airship!" I try to answer. Somewhat bemused by the absurdity of it. But, clearly, it worked as I have seen many battlefields with signs of a stampede.

Just not on the grass of the valley floors or the plains that break them apart... Mountain faces chipped and shattered by the charge of great lancers. If solid stone did not fare well. I shuddered to think how thin steel, flesh and bone would handled it.

"I don't think such tactics are really needed..." Ainael breathes out in wonder as we find ourselves suddenly in an open area. Though, rather than halolight, we found ourselves beholden to a great drop. One broken apart by thousands of metal tubes covered in advanced pneumatics.

"Though not exclusive, I can see how she got her name..." I comment with the same kind of wonder my friend had.

"You would be right in that regard. Our airship, the Thunderous Brawler earned her name carving a path through the Seventh Line. Our guns matched theirs and their roars proved to be a sign of dull teeth." the Brave explains before he stops by a door to hold it open for us.

"I sense a lot of magic down here." I say just about as I got used to the fuzzy feeling of being inside such a vast, magic-devouring machine. A true bottomless gullet for the arcane.

"The bridge is that way, you'll find the Captain-Engineer that way." he explains with a nod before he calls over some guards to watch our backs. Though, it seemed more like they were there to press bayonets into ours.

"Warm reception."

"If only." I tell my friend as we stepped out into the vast brain of the machine. A busy, flowing space filled with busy men speaking in whispering winds and loud calls. All kinds of knowledge was being passed about and I grasped none of it. It all just slipped on by me, meaningless to me for the moment.

"War-witches of the Order of the Outreaching Wind?" what I presumed to be the Captain-Engineer asked as he showed his partially mechanical left hand.

"Yes, we are here to speak to you about the use of your airship."

"I have heard nothing from His Royal Highness, the Prince Jhrartur." he comments with a voice full of respect as he ended his sentence.

"That's because it is an Order-exclusive operation."

"So I retain the right to decline?" he asks as he seems to start considering it.

"Y-Yes, bu-"

"Then find another airship to take part in your galavanting."

"A mobile fortress on the move is hardly galavanting." I remark with a snort as I turn my head to my friend. I wasn't exactly sure what to do right now. I hadn't come prepared to handle such an unexpected outcome. I guess it must've meant he revered the elder prince too much.

"And why should we turn ourselves to the arms of another captain-engineer and his likely nameless vessel?" Ainael questions as she steps forward after letting down her hair. Her fingers then ran themselves quickly across a plaque on the grand table at the centre of the room. Though, if I could call it a table I did not know.

"Because we have our orders."

"Which are?"

"To ensure the land we have freed stays untainted." he answers as he straightens out and puts his hands behind his back. A sentence which evoked some cheering from the few men with faces up here. They must've won a victory recently and were clearly proud of it.

"And what better way to do that then to come with us towards the very infestation you protect these towns and villages from?"

"The armies advance unimpeded, we are not needed."

"But you are..." Ainael starts as she glances back at me with a knowing smile. One which she hides from the airship officer as she turns to him.

"How so?" he asks as he glances out to the largely peaceful landscape.

"The Valkinvar interrupt these armies. Holding them at the Batterywatch Plains."

"That path is clear."

"No, your absence has ensured it isn't. The Valkinvar have rallied to the fortress there and have filled it with their army. Scum of the earth."

"Then it will fall."

"Captain-Engineer..." Ainael tuts, "Did the Seventh Line fall from us? Or did it fall when men of the Royal Seven-Peaks Union Air-Navy faced them, broadside for battery?"

"The crucible for which you were named." I added on, grasping a little better what she was trying to do. And, clearly, it worked, because many of the men turned to face her.

"Your incompetence matters little."

"The Seven-Peaks Union is a joint nation of all Jhermonikra. Strength through the unity of all the great peaks. If you cast aside one of them, are you really Jhermonikra?" she accuses as she moves closer to him.

"Every man and woman aboard my airship is Jhermonikra." he spits angrily. His wounded pride increasingly drove him.

"Yet rather than live up to the expectation of it, you leave your fellow man alone out there to face the mightiest of the foul?"

"Is the Thunderous Brawler backing down from a challenge from a greater fighter?" I ask them all. Referring to the great scale of which the Long Battery Fort found itself the benefitter of.

"Our broadsides will match them once and surpass them every time after." the Captain-Engineer hisses as he suddenly moves towards the steering of his airship.

"Well done." I tell my friend, impressed by what she had done as she dressed herself up again.

"What are friends for?" she asks me before we turn to the airship's head.

"We will sail to the Long Battery Fort. We will take on her guns and we shall save our nation!" the Captain-Engineer cheers. His men following suit right after.

"Good boy." Ainael mocks before we start to leave.

"You keep your mobile fortress away, the power that broke the Theocracy will be what leads the way to victory." he tells us to which I shrugged once I was out of his eyesight.

"All the easier for us."

"Noella, backing down from a challenge?" she teases, but, having just seen her ability to pluck at pride. I ignored her.

"We will save many of our sister's lives with this."

"It's not like many would be lost anyway, we are the owners of a great mobile fortress! Only the grandest Orders have the honour of even being able to confront one. Those who are greater ride them. The mightiest steed in the world."

"The Chapter-Mistress was the one insisting we let the Valkinvar assemble so we could wipe them out in a great battle. Our tapestry would lengthen but the halls of our castle will be all the quieter for it."

"Don't scare me now, you know I don't like being scared." she jokes sincerely as she gently knocks one of my bracers with her bracelet.

"There is a great battle ahead for us." I tell her anyway.

"You lack faith in the Thunderous Brawler?"

"Valkinvar have defeated airships, Ainael."

"Rarely."

"You assail a soldier with the unknown and you will likely kill him. Keep him alive, and he'll overcome it."

"We're hardly keeping them alive."

"Their insistence on fighting for every blade of bloodied grass means we will not see an end to this war any time soon."

"I disagree, with how long the war has gone on for, a few years will be but an afternoon in the grand scale of it all."

"How I wish I could feel the same as you do."

"Stick around and maybe it'll blow off onto you." she tells me with a smile before she suddenly drops over the railing.

"You'll get in trouble." I tell her as I watch her go on to explore the vast gap the guns covered. Between the outer hull and the core of the airship.

"I'd like to see them try when our friend knocks in the hull!" she laughs as she weaves around the man gun barrels.

"What will I ever do with you?" I ask her as I stop by the railing. Smiling at her before she tried to bring me out there with her. Squealing a little as she did so.

.

.

.

"Alert the crew and compliment, we make way for war." I tell my staff as I tighten my grip on the wheel. Letting the magic link in my left-hand throb as I felt the airship's excitement. She was eager to prove herself once again against the ancient fortresses of this land.

"Yes, Captain-Engineer!" the Bridge-Officer replied as he saluted before he became a flurry of effort. Running up and down the lanes, informing the men. Ensuring they all understood what we were about to do.

"Let our name grow." I breathe quietly as I felt the power of my airship's engines throb. To beat a gathering of Valkinvar and their fortress home. We would become legendary!

"Captain-Engineer, we're breaking through to the forces on the ground!" one of the communication officers informed me as I stepped down from the wheel. Content to let the Thunderous Brawler travel on ahead at her leisure.

"Speak to me." I ordered the man on the other side.

"Who is this?" they asked first.

"This is the Royal Seven-Peaks Union Airship Thunderous Brawler, we are on our way to assist in your fight."

"Praise Jhrarda indeed." he let out excitedly as I watched him look over his shoulder wearily.

"What is the issue ahead of us?"

"A wing of Valkinvar have held themselves up in the Long Battery Fort. We do not know why they have done so, they should've been swept aside before we even got here!"

"Then allow us to correct this oversight." I tell him with a nod.

"Together." he says with a nod.

"Together." I repeat as I look around at my crew.

"You cannot come fast enough, our war-witches cannot match them and our men suffer grave issues establishing forward defences to even commence with a siege!"

"Keep them occupied for now, we'll bring in all the firepower you need." I explain to him.

"Will your compliment by any chance be able to join us?"

"Of course, we will bring them in as close as we can to support your efforts."

"Thank you, and with mighty haste may you arrive. Let our spilt blood be redeemed by victory."

"I wouldn't have it any other way." I tell him as the line of communication goes quiet.

"Maps of the landscape are up, Captain-Engineer."

"Get me the Head of the Charge, I want his ryphurgok ready to drop." I tell them firmly as I start to inspect the landscape. Adjusting my view in various manners before I established where the army was likely held up at. Seeing the scale of that fortress made it clear that they had one line of advance.

Directly before the grand line of artillery... Fire and smoke would dominate their vision on the advance. And it was our sworn duty to put an end to such a sight. The whole mountain that fortress lay upon would crumble into nothing and the light would break through!

And under the light of our orbiting Lord and his family, we would consecrate our victory!

.

.

.

"How's the progress coming?" I asked my brother Valkinvar as I walked in on his practice. I was currently given a period of rest so I was left anxious and directionless. So I thought I would check in on the others. Wing-Head Allyoceer insisted I did no fighting so I could recover my strength...

But my duty was to the war we currently fought, I had to be involved with it somehow!

"Difficult." he laconically answers.

"How so, the smaller ones seem to match your example rounds."

"The round shot isn't the issue. It's the fact the mountain cracker uses a different kind of barrel. These balls aren't holding up!" he vents out before he lunges it towards the enemy position. Though, while it fell short, it hit the ground as if it indeed came from a cannon.

"Keep your focus on it. Your regime is not so strict that you cannot just take a moment. If you need to loosen your body in the field, Wing-Head Allyoceer gave you her blessing."

"If I waste time meandering about corpses then our greatest weapon stays invalid!" he answers after he turns away from his war maul.

"Our greatest weapon are the soldiers manning this fortress." I correct as sighs out some more frustration.

"And I have been cooped up in it too long. Come."

"I am not to involve myself in a battle." I remind him before he grabs my arm.

"Then stand aside and watch me." he tells me with a grin before I am suddenly flying. The sheer speed he suddenly moved me with brought me off the ground long before we leapt down. And as I flailed behind him in a state of confusion. Not sure how to feel about falling in this manner.

He roared with laughter as his mighty weapon glowed with power. We then reached the earth far sooner than expected. For he had lanced his maul's tip ahead of us and brought the earth closer! And we crashed through it as if it were frail glass.

"Let's go kill some heretics!" he cackled as he tested the great weight at the end of his weapon.

"No, this is too risky. We shouldn't be here." I tell him as he continues to walk towards the still very distant enemy.

"I'm going to be leaving this field once I have spilt blood." he comments as his maul goes over his shoulder.

"And how do you intend to do that?" I ask as I watch him silently stare out towards the enemy. Our efforts to stop them scarred the land but even now. They marched out with their army to establish lines to hold. Monsterous determination and sickening disregard for life.

"By practising my munition-making skills!" he laughs before he suddenly twirls about and brings the earth up in a fine, but grooved slope. Shortly after, as I lowered my hand from my face in order to stop small chips and pebbles. I stared blankly at him.

"You just complained about this."

"I know, but now... Now! I can enjoy myself in doing so."

"We might be warriors. Soldiers. But we are not raised to enjoy suffering."

"You're an Imdvarce. You wouldn't get the satisfaction of having a mighty war hammer. The pleasure of when you hit your swing just right!" he prattles on as he floats slightly into the sky. His weapon head fell to the ground as he called forth an orb of solid rock. It seemed fragile with all those cracks filled with wind magic. But the moment he smirked and reared back for a swing.

It was clear the orb could take it.

And with a loud bang that likely rang all the way back to the fortress top. He sent the orb of stone out towards the enemy. With curiosity then guiding me, I climbed up onto his construct and watched as the rock flew ahead. A great explosion then went off in the distance as a brown cloud of dirt and grass soared into the sky.

"Tsk, just giving them cover with that." he moaned as he walked down the slope he had stepped down onto just now.

"Imagine it more like an arrowhead." I tell him after having seen the way it fell down.

"Don't need it to impale one of them. I need it to disrupt all."

"It will fly further and better if you do, and you won't need as wide an angle." I point out as I notice how the Long Battery guns had gone silent. Were the gun crews watching us?

"Further, ey?" he picks up on as he taps his chin with his pommel thoughtfully. And I quickly get down as he brings his construct down. A single, overhead slam reduced it to rubble before he remade it.

"This is the sort of shape the mountain cracker needs, no?" I ask after briefly looking back at the tremendous barrel of it.

"Yes, yes..." he muttered before incoherently rambling about what must've been measurements.

"Go on." I encourage him with as I grow eager to see what this attempt would bring.

"Okay... AND SWING!" he quietly let out before he roared in furry. And with his feet firmly planted on the ground. He brought his weapon back and let it fill with magic. Seemingly leaping forward before he quickly released and caught his hammer.

Driving all the more physical and arcane force into the shot in that one swing. But, maybe it was too much force. Because the construct collapsed and the land ahead of us shattered and was torn apart. Though, I think because of it, we missed where the shot had landed.

"Dammit." he hissed as he dropped his hammer in annoyance.

"What happened?"

"Swing was off, it tumbled and shattered in the air." he spat before he turned to a magic presence behind us.

"Wing-Head Allyoceer calls for you to both return to the fortress." Dannatili tells us with an almost scolding tone. It was clear she was annoyed that she had to come out here for us.

"Why're you so frustrated?" the Ammimpaurst asked her with no hesitation once he saw her expression.

"Because I have important things to do and it was just interrupted by a pair of children in suits of armour!" she snaps as she floats down to us.

"I am following my orders." he chuffs as he puts his chest out as she approaches.

"How is breaking rocks and disrupting the firing lines of the guns... Following orders?" she goes over, completely baffled.

"I am to create ammunition for the mountain cracker. A single, well-made shot needs to be done in time to face down against our greater threats."

"Exposing yourself to the enemy guns is not a smart way to handle that." she points out as one of her shields catches and incoming shot from the enemy. And although I did not emote to it, the sudden emptiness frightened me. Those guns would tear us apart if they were given room to set up.

We had already put in a great amount of effort to keep those guns quiet...

"Blegh, if they wanna fire back at me then I'll be all the happier to shoot back." he tells her as he bangs his chest plate on top of a slight rise.

"You have your orders." Dannatili hisses as she lowers her staff against him. Briefly surrounding him in magic before he rolled his eyes and headed back. But I stayed and looked back at the destruction he caused. Could we maybe use him to cut the army in half?

Someone could swipe down with him and they could fill the valley! Maybe Dannatili herself if she was up for replicating her prior feat she used to delay the enemy. It must've worked as well as the enemy wasn't advancing from our sides. Only ahead.

Which might've been worrisome if I was given time to think about it.

"Wing-Tip." she nearly shouted once she noticed my lingering.

"Do you think we could break the enemy army in two?" I asked her quickly before she headed off.

"How so?"

"You likely just saw it, but, I believe Valkinvar-Ammimpaurst Lavauroas and you have the strength and the training to bring down the mountains on them."

"It would be a risky move, we would be planting ourselves right at their centre." she points out as she stops and turns to face me.

"They're rushing head-on at us with little regard for their own lives. But, if we trapped some of the army against us and ran them down, we would be able to possible send the others off."

"The fortress is at the plains to hold them, we would beyond our guns if we made a point of sealing that pass."

"It's the only pass which they are coming from."

"The maps would have to be checked before we could certify such an idea."

"And we can find all of that within the office of our chief artillery officer."

"You best find Wing-Head Allyoceer as well, then." she tells me as she floats on up towards the fortress.

"I guess it is fine for me to expend some magic." I mutter as I gently fly up to the fortress. Essentially sneaking in through one of the openings before I sped off towards my superior.

"I thought I told you to-"

"Lavauroas dragged me out there." I tell her quickly.

"I doubt you came to find me to explain yourself, so let's hear it." she tells me as she goes back to drinking the tea she had at her side.

"Being out there with him, it gave me some insight into how strong he is."

"So?"

"I believe that if we made a point of sending him and Valkinvar-Staguiffmani Dannatili out with him to the midsection of the enemy, we could bring the mountains down on them and divide their army."

"An offensive that would give us command of the plains." she realises quickly as she puts her cup down.

"However, Dannatili also believes that it is a bad idea as the fortress is not designed to cover a defensive line that far out."

"No, the general idea was to have we Valkinvar amass a grand assault to wipe out the bottlenecked army."

"Which, we could do to some extent if we drastically made their force shallower."

"We would need to relax on our sorties, make the guns take on the burden some more while knowing they are running low on ammunition."

"A sudden advance would let us bring a supply convoy right behind us. The formals could ensure their safety while we set back the heretics. Not even their war-witches would risk fighting us without the army to aid them."

"But we also know that they can overwhelm us and kill us if they need be." she reminds me, a twinge of guilt then went off as a result.

"But not enough to assault our position." I point out shortly after once I calmed myself down a little.

"Yes, our guns are not built for upwards arcs... This place was built with us providing support in mind."

"It's a harsh way to put it, but, by letting the ironcoats fight would let us Valkinvar rest."

"It would let us depressurise this fortress." she adds on as she walks around to me.

"I understand it might be risky, but I think it may be our best course of action. With no support on the way and all that..."

"It's a tricky situation I know. Relief forces are not coming and we are going to be bled white if we don't have something feeding our efforts."

"A starved animal is often a reckless one."

"But with recklessness comes success." Allyoceer reminds me. Even if it was a double-edged claim.

"The formals and informals have all been resting enough, I believe." I say, trying to bring a little humour out of the fact our exhaustion was clear.

"Yes, we have the men to take ground and hold it. And our supplies to construct a forward position would be kindly lent to us by the enemy."

"So we will try to push them out?"

"I will consider it and talk it out with Wing-Tip Uala, my other second-in-command."

"Of course..." I answer with some scepticism, knowing how we clashed.

"Do not try to think on it too much, Wing-Tip Vapooliar. Getting a stark contrast of opinions is good for figuring these things out. She may spot concerns you have not."

"I'm aware of the risks." I tell her, somewhat annoyed by the implication of short-sightedness.

"As I said, don't think on it, don't ruminate. Just leave it to me and I will give you some idea of my decision during the next general meet-up."

"Very well, I'll be in the officer's tower, then." I tell her with a nod, knowing her words basically meant 'wait until tomorrow.'

"That was an impressive swing on his part, is Lavauroas progressing well?"

"He is having issues matching the measurements of the mountain cracker for whatever reason. But, I think he might just need a change in environment." I explain to her to which she nods.

"I will try and look into it, I know we have placed a great burden on him. Turning him into a munitions smith like that."

"It's better than him just sitting around drinking." I tell her as I close the door behind me. Heading off to the officer's tower as I said. I tried to ignore the awkwardness that settled in once others saw that I was here. But it didn't really go until I got to my room.

A small place which I had taken up so the others could have some more comfort. Though, I also understood that as Valkinvar, we had an obligation to seek harsher conditions. At least to some extent. So we could keep up with the right mindset.

But, even after all my years as a Valkinvar, a premature one still training and an anointed one. I still realised one thing. A warm, soft bed was still well desired. And I reminded myself of that standard quickly.

Because even with all my rest, I still couldn't help but just collapse onto it. I might have not fallen asleep. But I appreciated having something other than solid stone or aged oak to rest myself on. The fact I was still in my armour, though, was somewhat lost on me.

"I hope I wasn't being too eager with my suggestion to the Wing-Head..." I then groaned anxiously as I placed a hand against my forehead.