"So is everyone clear on their roles?" Wing-Head Allyoceer asks us firmly as she keeps her hand down on her helmet. It was normally cramped in here, but now it was more so as the order to arm ourselves had gone out. The proposal I had put forward had been considered and we were in the immediate prelude. A childish part of me wanted to smirk, but I had my expression hidden behind my own helm.

"Yes, Wing-Head Allyoceer." we all replied in unison as she looked around at each of us. Her stern gaze made those who were even the slightest bit lax straighten out and those who were stiffer. For a moment, she was an unyielding leader who commanded our full respect.

"Good, those assigned on the respective wings of Wing-Tip Vapooliar and Wing-Tip Uala will go to them for instruction. Wing-Joint Lavauroas and Wing-Joint Dannatili will answer to me directly." she explained further. A quick gesture then sent everyone packing as our dismissal was made clear. But as everyone else filed out, those she had just named stayed in the chamber.

"I still protest this choice." Uala tells her the moment the door closes behind our last sister. And with some mild annoyance, I turned my gaze to her. I was only being able to see a specific side of her decision-making. I know there was more but it was, difficult.

"And I told you enough is enough. The consensus is that the positives we get out of this are better than the negatives."

"We are stretching ourselves out..."

"We are relieving an overstaffed fort and reminding the men that they are not to be dependent on us. This is an army, we all do our part." Allyoceer aggressively points out and then asserts to her. I was glad to a small extent she got the verbal push-down she deserved. But, I found myself agreeing with her quietly on the inside. I had many doubts about my proposal still.

If this was the wrong choice then our effort would be doomed... The Long Battery Fort would be swept aside as if it were nothing.

"So how are we doing this? Did an informal manage to get back to us?"

"No, I have not sent out any informals."

"Not sent any...?" Dannatili muttered in shock as if Allyoceer had gone mad.

"If so much as one had been caught out there in the mountain ranges flanking them, they'd have caught onto why we were reserving our strength. For now, all they know is that we are becoming exhausted." she explains as she clears away the clutter to show off our map. An extensively detailed one custom-made for this fortress in the event it did see combat. A foresight I am sure we were all thankful for.

"We'll be ascending to the sky and commencing reconnaissance from there?" I ask as that seemed like our best alternative. We Valkinvar were spearheading this operation after all. It was an option open to us, we could see everything as it was. And react with the kind of precision that would snap them in two.

"Yes, I expect you all to pick your targets up there, you will not delay and you will rush on out to meet them at every given opportunity." she tells us, looking directly at me and Uala as she did so.

"Then what do we do, drop in for the party but take a backseat?" Valkinvar Ammimpaurst Lavauroas scoffed in disappointment.

"No, under my protection and some guises of your own, we will go about creating a wall that will keep them out and away from us." she tells the other two as she gestures to their weapons specifically.

"It's not easy building up that kind of power in the stress of battle." Valkinvar Staguiffmani Dannatili explains as she adjusts her weight. Jutting one hip out as her hand made an example of how easy she could manipulate magic right now.

"Don't you worry a thing, Staff-Holder." Lavauroas chuckles as his large, wide hand pats her back firmly. Nearly knocking her over were it not for the table that caught her.

"You best keep your word, then." she irritably threatens as she uses the pressure of her aura to keep him away.

"Yes, Wing-Joint Lavauroas is in a good position. The circumstances of his powers and skills means he'll be able to provide you with all the cover you need while fulfilling our objective."

"Maybe I should land on the mountains themselves, then." he seemingly ponders out loud while I looked over the map.

"How deep should we be aiming to go? We know the army is vast, but we have no idea of how much we have grated them down." I ask as my gloved and armoured fingers ran along the pass they were coming out of.

"Ideally not towards any bends that puts our new position out of sight. But, if there is also a weak point in the enemy column, we will make do there. So long as it is far enough in to allow us to make use of their own efforts to make a forward base."

"That is a very arbitrary thing to hinge this plan on." Uala comments as she steps forward slightly.

"I know it is, but it is how we are doing it." Allyoceer firmly states as she picks up her helmet.

"So then our job is to slaughter those who are trapped on the wrong side?"

"If they surrender, then no. But we are all certain that there is little chance of that." our superior tells us before a grim expression takes over. Even with our experience as soldiers. More than a century for all of us here as a minimum. To see an army that might as well have had no souls was different.

A bloodier fight I have never seen in my life. The plains before us may be renamed in the future to something far grimmer than what its current name already implied. But to some extent, that would fill me with pride. As it would've been me who played a core part in such a chronicled event.

The Siege of the Long Battery Fort...

"We should have some attack from the front?"

"No, the army will be following on. Personnel we have filtered out as non-essential or... Disposable... Will be sent to the forward position. The rest you know already." Allyoceer clarifies distastefully.

"Then we should send out informals to harass their scouts and roaming riders?" Uala asks as she seems to adopt a more ready mindset.

"Perhaps some artillery support on the most forward of the enemy?" I add on as I try to consider how we will be in the depths of the enemy ranks.

But Allyoceer shakes her head, "I want them conserving their ammunition. So, when the operation begins, we will have a brief window to work with before the enemy enact any of their plans to advance."

"But without guns to keep them corralled into the pass, they'll spread out into the fields." Uala argues as she seemingly agrees with my suggestion.

"The follow-on force will handle them or you will." Allyoceer reminds us as she puts on her helmet.

"Yes, Wing-Head Allyoceer." I say with a slight bow and a firm banging of my chest while Uala stayed motionless. A tense air was about her and it was clear that her glare was trying to bore its way into our superior.

"Very well." Uala eventually answers before she leaves the room completely.

"We will depart when?" Dannatili asks once a brief quiet passed.

"Once the men in the lower fortress are ready. Our time to cross the plains will be far faster than theirs, so their push will be delayed regardless of any complications on our end."

"Should I signal for the informals to begin with their tasks, then? Keep the enemy occupied with various ideas?" I ask my superior as I slightly edge over to the thick, metal-framed but mostly wooden door.

"Yes, send word out to them. I'll inform the Orchestrator of the Artillery to cease spending our precious rounds."

"Of course." I say with a nod as I move to leave the room. Watching briefly as Allyoceer turned to the other two to say something more specific to them. But, all the same, I closed the door and left. Keeping one hand on my blade before a hand suddenly grabbed me.

"No mistakes, do you hear me?" Uala seemingly threatens as my shoulder plates grind under the pressure of her grip.

"Same to you." I tell her as I shake her grip off and carry on my way.

"Have your force dive down once mine lands ahead with Wing-Head Allyoceer and the others." she tells me as she passes by.

"Very well." I answer as there wasn't much point in contesting it. The glory of being the ones all the way up there was not in my interest. It wasn't in the interests of anyone here. Well, maybe not with her, anyway.

Thankfully, though, it did clear up one thing I would have had to have discussed with her. With that out the way now, I could focus on how I would guide my forces. We had been lucky enough to have assembled a whole wing at near-full fighting strength. Seven sisters of the Ordoar Imdvarce.

I would likely end up with three of them if Uala had her way with the pick of the litter. But if it was glory-seeking that made her insist she join up with Allyoceer's position. Then I would embarrass her by handling the greater task with one sister less. But I also had to temper my feelings towards Uala.

This was not a game or competition, it was a serious endeavour. One that was going to make or break our stand here at this fortress. It may have been built to control the plains here, this vast open junction in between all the converging mountains. But we were far from being well-fed as would've been expected.

We had to push the enemy as far as we could to give our dwindling supplies room to recover. Or, at the very least, for their consumption to stagnate into something healthier and more manageable. There was a lot at stake here. And it was mine, and Uala's and Allyoceer's and Dannatili's and Lavauroas' responsibility...

We had to do this for the sake of our country. Our homes. For so much we have lost and for all we clung on to. For the Lord of Honourable War Himself and all of his family.

"I swear this to all of you, I will be there when victory graces these lands." I mutter. And although I hoped for it to extend to my entire homeland, I knew I was reaching desperately there. So I was content to settle with just these plains for the moment.

And to do that, I went down to meet the assembling force. It gladdened my heart to see them so eager to fight. Even after all that had happened, after being cooped up in here... They still had the urge to fight for their country.

They were all good men, that much was clear.

"Huncomm, spread the word, the informals are to set out and clear the plains short of the enemy fortifications of riders and potential raiders."

"Yes, Valkinvar!" the lesser officer acknowledged as he went on his way spreading the word. And while the formal troops assembled in deep, tightly-packed squares that were ready to march out. Their loose-formation brethren just slipped on out of the crevices we were surrounded by. Seemingly from nowhere.

And the slight trickle amassed into quite a forceful exertion as the gates were opened up. In a strange way, it was also as if the guns had gone silent out of fear for the retribution the wrongly killed would bring upon them. It was an amusing thought for the moment. But it had no place in my mind for now.

"May Waionr's wit be with you all." I quietly mutter as I watched infantry and cavalry speed out onto the plains. The tight assembly quickly fanned out and it became easy to forget how many there actually were in the vast force I was watching spread out so thinly.

Shortly thereafter, I turned my gaze skyward as I felt an amassment of power. My fellow Valkinvar were gathering, I had to join them now, not soon. So, without further delay, I shot up into the sky and left my trust with those at the gates and the men in the lower fortress. And I dropped down before my fellow Valkinvar as they gathered.

I quickly spotted a trio of my sisters on their own, and, as I predicted, Uala held four under her command. But this was more than enough for me, these three would be against the backdrop of glory and honour. Victory would be taken into our grasp and proudly worn before the world. But first, there was something I had to do.

A lesson I had learned from my prior mistake and failure. I would know their names before we went into battle. I would have them know mine as I would theirs. If we were to trust each other to act, then we can be familiar with each other as well.

"Greetings, you three, I am Wing-Tip Vapooliar." I introduce myself rather standoffishly. Only really dealing with the embarrassment in my head.

"We know." one of them tells me as her eyes clearly head to where I had carved Annalla's name. If she took it as a foreboding sign I did not know. But I intended to make sure she did not leave for the skies with that mindset.

"But I do not know yours." I tell them, surprising them somewhat but not for long.

"Cetrape."

"Bsess."

"Osses."

"Cetrape, Bsess, Osses, I put my trust in you today as we prepare to go out there to fight for our homes. So, please, I ask that you put your faith in me as your assigned Wing-Tip." I tell them, looking at each one in turn. All as I shake slightly as the weight of responsibility forces itself onto me.

"Yes, Wing-tip Vapooliar." Cetrape answers somewhat half-heartedly as she glances over to Uala's group. Was she of a similar mindset? Did she think she got the pick of the litter they made up?

"I cannot promise it will be easy. I cannot promise you even that I can be there for you at every moment. But what I can promise you that as our power flows from us, the confidence each of you carry will disperse with it. And as that confidence grows in the air, so shall we." I try to inspire them with as I reach out for the one sitting down.

"We are in your care as you are in ours." Osses nods in agreement as she grasps my forearm and comes up with it.

"For the sake of our homes, country and our shared love of the Lord." I tell them with a nod as booms sound off behind us. The guns had no opened up again, our fellow Valkinvar were departing.

"We should go." Cetrape comments as she goes up into the sky.

"But not alone." I tell her as I quickly join her side. Somewhat awkwardly trying to keep up as it became clearer that I was the lesser amongst them. Yet, I could also see it calm and steady their minds. They trusted Allyoceer's decision...

They surely trusted me in turn? I would make sure that was the case, then!

"We have little time you lot, they have surely noticed our guns going silent and the deployment of our regular forces, make sure you are ready!" Wing-Head Allyoceer called back to us after she briefly slowed down to the middle of our formation. With her return to the front barely disrupting us even as we flew into her sonic boom.

"You three, we shall be attacking the front. Sealing them in. We go down once in turn after them." I tell my three sisters as we make adjustments to our formation. And, in conjunction with this directing, I kept a wary glance on the mass of troops below us.

It didn't seem like they had been alerted by our departure, but there was no way of telling this far up. Shimmering, detailless stalks are all that I saw. As if I was walking along the gravel but paying the small rocks little mind. Until I made a point of getting in closer.

But I did not need to do that here, they were a large enough mass that I could guess accurately. And even from all the way up here, far higher than their war-witches can come. I saw it, how our troops engaged theirs in the crater-strewn plains. With so much room to manoeuvre, it looked chaotic from up here. In time, though, which I did not have much of, I could see the signs of corralling.

We had the numbers and the talent to push the shadow-faced army back!

And although I doubted we could break their spirit. I knew that they would not be able to break ours. From our efforts came hope, the men arrived here broken and defeated. But now, they went out with renewed strength and the vigour to fight until dusk itself!

"Wing-Head Allyoceer, over there!" Uala called out to our shared superior. So, for the moment, I went ahead to join up with the pair as Uala went over what it was that had caught her attention. It didn't take me long to figure it out on my own. But I waited for her word regardless.

"I see it, a change in the formation, they're bringing war machines forward."

"We can congest their line of advance!" I point out excitedly as we eagerly eye the vulnerability in the column. It was clear they were bringing them forward to establish capable, self-propelling gun positions against us. Airborne and ground-based forces were coming in.

"We will land at the rear of the vehicles!" Allyoceer explains as she gestures to her team.

"Then we shall drop down in between them!" Uala confirms with a nod as she rears back with her sword at the ready.

"Good luck, Wing-Head Allyoceer." I tell my commanding officer as I too begin to pull back towards my sisters.

"FOR THE LORD OF HONOURABLE WAR!" Allyoceer howls at the top of her lungs before she suddenly drops into a sudden, vicious dive. A baseless triangle from my perspective for a brief moment. Then a larger one appeared headed by Wing-Tip Uala and I turned away. My three chosen soldiers then looked to me for guidance.

And, forcing my worries down, I nodded to them and dove down first.

"SPREAD OUT! RAKE FORMATION!" I shout out to my sisters as we level out into a straight line. And although the gaps between us were wide. We were no less deadly. Then, in that brief moment the wind rushed against our helmets and into our faces, we prepared our blades.

They did not seem to react at first, but as we closed the gap at dangerous speeds. Many of them began to turn upwards. Those with faces showed shock and horror. But those without, it was almost automatic, blades were drawn and rifles were snapped into position.

They were not fast enough, though, and many were blown back in the immediate impact that followed. Our magic flared about and oppressed them in ways we could not do physically. And a single unified swipe in one direction cut many more down. A line of exploding air then marked our sudden backpedal.

Further men and animals were bashed aside while others were bisected or sliced open. And as we drove our feet into the ground to stop ourselves. We swapped the side our blades were on. And we shot forward to mirror what we had just done.

"CUT THEM DOWN!" I yelled out to my sisters once we had finished raking ourselves through them initially. The three of them then broke formation and went at it. Seemingly recklessly, but I knew better. And while one of them managed them on their own, largely isolated, I sprung into action.

Shooting towards the mountainside while cleaving scores of them effortlessly in great bounds. I then leapt up onto the stone hide of the mountain, tearing it apart with my aggressive redirection. And, from my new vantage point, I quickly took in my sister's situation. Springing into action the moment an opening appeared.

Like the ryphurgok these heretics valued so much, I smashed them aside in one forceful charge. And like the Valkinvar they feared so much, I struck them down with sudden, disciplined strikes. Confusing and disorienting them in a flurry of exploding booms and light-flashing swings. Their blood had no opportunity to fall as we kept giving it reason to run.

A trait not shared by the mass of uncaring soldiers that ran at us with whatever they had. Magic sabres shattered against our blades or ricocheted off of our armour. Magic bolts were flung away and disintegrated under the pressure of our power. It was the same no matter what they used.

Only the war-witches had a chance of being able to force their way through to our armour. But even they were made quick work of. And terror filled their eyes just before some piece of our steel met their flesh. Their largely decorative attire proved no match for our overwhelming strength.

"DO NOT LET THEM FLEE!" I encouraged my sisters to do. And I made a foremost example by opening a line all the way out to the fields beyond their encampment. Weaving up and over to smash down their walls and trap them. Yet, they did not care and they still charged at us with roars of fealty to evil.

"GO FORTH AND BE JHERMONIKRA!" their officers roared back at us as their faceless horde charged and charged. No matter how many corpses began to fill the area. No matter the blood we spilt or how invincible we might have seemed. They just kept coming.

In the slight, non-existent moments I could think about other things. I appreciated the pragmatic benefits of such behaviour. If they insisted on dying as warriors then I would gladly oblige them. But it was also in these moments that I felt terror.

When I was confronted with impossible odds, me, a Valkinvar. One of the greatest witches in all of the land when looked at by an unpedenatic eye. I was scared, I quaked and shivered with uncertainty when I saw those airships. But these soldiers, even the ones who I could see the apprehension in, they kept on going.

They all did...

The determination to drown us in bodies terrified me and I saw it in my sister's as well. We were not butchers, but they forced us into being them for the sake of more than just our lives. What was left of the grass was becoming harder and harder to see with each swing and blow. A field of flickering crimson filth was beginning to dominate our view.

We could even spy how they were beginning to run out of men to send at us. The strain we had certainly put on them was showing. Troops either ran at us to die or they ran towards Uala's group for the exact same fate. Though while ours was merely blood, fires raged on the far side of the battlefield.

Their machines were being torn apart and thrown aside to those further down the pass. But a sudden gust of emerald wind marked the end of such behaviour. Valkinvar-Staguiffmani Dannatili was building up her power. Every bit of it was being scraped away from the edges of her spirit.

It was a tremendous sight that heralded the doom of flesh and stone. A grand testament to the talent and power of not just the Valkinvar in general. But of those of the Ordoar Staguiffmani. It was as terrible a sight as it was fulfilling.

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To see so much power in one spot, no doubt, the aelenvari would all swoon if they saw it. But below her was something far cruder but just as destructive. Brother Lavauroas of the Valkinvar-Ammimpaurst. A mighty warrior without equal.

Where our blades cut down one man or the line he was formed up in. His blows sent groups flying each time. Those who were not impaled upon his manipulated stone were brought down to their lowest state. Mixing into the ground as nothing more than beaten flesh and bone and crushed steel.

"WING-TIP!" Cetrape screamed out to me as she suddenly barreled into me.

"Th-Thank you..." I breathed quietly as she released me from her saviour's grip.

"Focus." she reminds me as she goes up to deal with the war-witch who had tried to blast me. For a moment, I then watched as she skillfully weaved about them before she finished it with a single slash. I watched as Osses and Bsess took down greatswords with quick, sudden swings as if they weren't a challenge at all.

It mattered not to them, but I saw, in that flash of fighting just how much better they were. I really still was that disappointing student who donned the armour and swore the oath last. But I set my worries aside, and I got back up. Joining up with my sisters once again at the centre of the battlefield.

"Break out and circle them." I tell them as I watch the remaining enemy move to encircle us. A final, last-ditch effort to deal with us. But now more than ever they lacked the numbers to do so and we broke out of their encirclement. Segmenting them up into small, curving formations which we then sliced down from behind.

"We are done here." Bsess comments as she plants her sword into a dying man at an angle. Ensuring he was no longer even the most unsuspecting of threats before she began to to move. But, a single soldier stood before us. His armour broken and cracked while his body shook uncontrollably.

"Surrender." I tell that lone soldier as the pressure and fear of being on his own got to him. Yet, he kept his grip firmly on his weapon. He kept it levelled at us no matter how shaky his grip was. He did not answer.

"Put your weapon down!" Cetrepe encouraged him to do as she stepped forward as he hyperventilated.

"Brave... I'm a Brave... BRAVE! I AM A BRAVE!" he began to hysterically roar before he pulled the trigger. And in one clean motion, Osses set aside his shot and put him down.

"Foolish." I then heard her comment disapprovingly before she turned towards the others as they carried on fighting.

"Should we?" Bsess asks as she readies herself for further fighting.

"I've..." I started to say as I looked around at how we had taken not one prisoner. But I shook my head clear of those thoughts and prepared my sword.

"We may not have to." Osses points out as we watch the Valkinvar-Staguiffmani unleash her supreme judgement onto the mountain and the army caught below it. A tremendous blast that forced us to drive our blades into the ground as well as duck down. Debris and bodies came flying out at us but we held our ground in the bloodied mud.

So much slammed into and away from us but it was all the same. And while we could not see it, we heard it as clear as anything could be. An avalanche of solid rock was coming down into the pass from both sides. And when the light finally died down, we were beholden to a new mountain.

One seemingly made of dust and small boulders. The pass had been completely blocked off! We had won! We had done it... It was over for just a moment...

"Go, make sure your sisters are alright, I will make sure the informals are faring well." I tell the other three before I turned towards the enemy's fortifications. Not a soul was to be found amongst the wood and dirt. It was the same on the outside as well. Yet, knowing there were none I had to save in the direction of the pass, I blew a hole in the wreckage I had made before.

Ascending into the sky so I could greet the triumphant informals as they closed in on us. And far further behind, an army of ironcoats marched towards us. We were ready to take and fortify the pass against the enemy. They would not be finding us as they once did.

Then, as the first man arrived with an eager but bloodied face, I raised my sword, "WE HAVE VICTORY!"

"VICTORY!" I heard ripple throughout the plains with awesome force. The enemy no doubt heard our pride at that moment. And were it not for the debris we had blocked them off with. I had no qualms with believing that the strength of our cheer would have halted them as well!

Though, when the first of our troops began to walk into the pass, through the gaps I had created. Their cheers started to die down as they were introduced to the horrible reality of our victory. We had lost so little in comparison to them in this offensive. But, one could not ignore how willing they were to throw away their lives.

Even as we find victory, we found ourselves unnerved by their tenacity. This was the kind of army we faced. Gone was the prideless horde of fearful slaves I once watched over. Now all there were, were shadow-faced men of unrelenting aggression.

And when that one soldier died just now... He did not speak of himself as brave. He spoke as if he was bravery itself. A Brave...

"What now, Valkinvar?" one of the informal officers asked me as he came up on the ruined fortifications. I offered to help him up higher, but he seemed content to just be on that pile of splintering wood.

"Search the field, recover what supplies you can. Salvage what you can..." I told him uncomfortably. And he knew why, going through so much gore was not going to be a favourable task. It was an unsettling affair. Looting of the dead was frowned upon by Waionr, but our situation meant we had to spite this rule.

A sin we would pay for in due time I believe. But, hopefully, he understood why we had to do this. Maybe, he would and in turn forgive us... But I couldn't help but worry about what we had to do now.

When I last saw the Laws of Waionr broken by the men I was with, we faced our greatest defeat... The road to this situation was laid wide open. I lost my right to sit by Waionr's side after death and I was forced... No, I chose to cower.

I went into the arms of...

"No, I have a job to do." I state to myself firmly, shaking my head disapprovingly before I fly off towards the others. The last of the fighting was reaching its conclusion. And like with those we faced off against. They granted us the courtesy of complete annihilation.

"We have done it..." Allyoceer breathed in relief as she dropped down next to me. Her armour was dusty and covered in filth. And she was quick to take off her helmet to allow some fresh air to her sweating brow.

"Nice glasses." I comment bemusedly as I look at how the dust had packed onto her face. It had gone through her helmet's slit and had made a fine line stretching along a curve on her face.

"So it was the same for you as well?" Allyoceer wasted no time in asking as she looked towards our troops as they marched into the pass.

"No." I sigh as I cautiously watch the mountain of rubble they just made. There was a lot of noise coming from the other side of it. And seeing how the army had reacted, fighting to the death even for a battle like this. I was not going to be surprised if there was more to this battle than what had just happened.

"This will be a difficult war to win." she mutters before she brings me along to the others as they finish up.

"Wing-Head Allyoceer." Uala greets with pride as she holds her head up high.

"Good work, all of you. We have dealt a tremendous blow to the enemy while suffering little ourselves in exchange. Make use of what rest you can, you have all earned it." she tells them before she begins to slowly ascend the mountain. And I follow her up there. Struggling slightly as I realise just how much magic I spent in that fight.

One rifle, sabre-rattler or greatswordsman was not exhausting on its own. But to face down a small army like that. All the way to its absolute demise was... Tiring.

We would all definitely need the time to recover our strength. Thankfully, we could hand over the reins to the troops we had rallied to safety. And with the safety our actions gave them, we could grant them the space to accomplish what the Seven-Peaks Union could not. Fortifications would block off this pass.

The steel of the fallen would armour us and their own weapons would be turned on them. Whatever we could recover, anyhow. It was a wild slaughter that I took part in. Not just troops were set aside as we went about it.

"Those animals will at least make for good baggage handlers and later food." Allyoceer comments as I carefully set myself down on the unstable pile of dust and debris.

"Why are you up here, Wing-Head?" I ask her as I follow her as she walks along the surprisingly flat top of the debris.

"To see what they are now up to." she answers as we stop short of a ridge on the other side of the pile. The magic even still throbbed in the piece of stone we hid behind. Brother Lavauroas had left quite the mark in this pile, even if Sister Dannatili handled most of it.

"I don't believe it, they're... Retreating." I say the moment we catch sight of the army. They were actually turning back. It wasn't chaotic by any means, but they were turning around and abandoning the front!

"And they will not be back any time soon. All the other angles of attack are closed off." Allyoceer points out as she pats me firmly on the back.

"But we know they are not dependent on just marching around." I point out. A floating, but crewless gun platform then proves my point with its idle hovering.

"Nothing they have can stop us. The few scraps they chuck over the mountains will be easy pickings."

"And when the airships come?" I ask her, not liking the implications of her tone.

And she goes quiet and slightly pale, "We will face them with the might of three Valkinvar Ordoars."

"I hope it is enough..." I wish as my despair came through to my face. I have spent so long running from those things that I did not know if we could fight them. There was more weight of shot than all of the guns we had here. The armour was strong and thick enough to stop our blades and the amount of magic they funnelled...

It was terrifying to feel that much magic in one place. Even Valkinvar-Staguiffmani Dannatili's recent display was nothing in comparison! I suppose it was just the way it moved so there was some relief to be found. But, to even know it was capable of that, it terrified me.

"We will make it enough, then." Allyoceer tells me as she returns her eyes to the land below and her mind to the circumstances at hand.

"I repeat myself." is all I could think of to say as I watched the enemy turn their backs on us.

"So were there any complications on your end?"

"No, Wing-Head Allyoceer. We cleared the enemy from the battlefield and ensured the informals bridged the gap to our position."

"And here come the formals to fill out the battlefield."

"It will be a uncomfortable task we now ask of them."

"But it is one that must be done." she answers before I snatch her arm up by the wrist.

"Please, Allyoceer, do not encourage our damnation." I beg of her as I recall what Grand-Thoucomm Pathort did. Damnation came not long after. Waionr spied the foul move and punished us for it.

"Do not worry, I will not order the men to violate the tenants of war. Our future love will not be shamed in the coming days."

"A very busy couple of days..." I mutter as we make our way back to our side of the mountain of rubble.

"It will give everyone something to do other than clog up the corridors of the Long Battery Fort."

"Are you reminiscing about our initial time there?" I asked her, somewhat perplexed by the joy she seemed to have at the thought of it.

"I am glad that all the things I have been worrying about will now been diminished concerns. We are free to pick clean the supplies of our retreating enemy. Our guns will be silent for the first time in... However long it has been since this siege started."

"Then we must work hard to make sure it stays like this."

"Of course, and now, more than just the gun crews and us can work towards that goal."

"Hm, that reminds me. When we first started the raids, when we lost Annalla, many of the supplies we tried to get were scattered in the valley Brother Lavauroas' monastery once stood."

"They were not recovered in later raids?"

"Not that I am aware of, so sending a few men into that pass may benefit us somewhat."

"I'll consider it for later, then."

"With all due respect, I believe it may be best for us to focus on these out-of-sight tasks first. It will be easy to forget about them if we focus on the battlefield before us now." I explain to her.

"I guess that would also give us time for carrion to appear."

"Carrion, Wing-Head?" I repeat in confusion.

"Food." she clarifies before she starts to drop down to the valley floor.

"Hm, maybe I will find myself tasting human once in my life." I comment as I remember that first meal I shared with Nin and Vadei. That joke the hwardgon told was unsettling at the time and it stuck with me. But now, hearing Allyoceer's idea, it might somewhat prove foreboding.

Though, I knew full well the two events were completely unrelated and unconnected. My mind was just eager to be busy with other things. The sights before me were unsettling. I wanted to be rid of it.

"We will finally have the water for baths!" I suddenly realise as the supplies we will get will no doubt include water. Our guns going silent as well would mean they'd no longer need clean water to clear away the soot and burn marks.

"Someone's happy." Lavauroas commented as I touched the ground. His great weapon was once again being used as a means to lean. And his expression showed how close he was to a hearty yawn.

"I am, in fact! Just not because of this..."

"So what's got you all chipper?" he asks as he steps off of his weapon to move closer.

"We can now use the water to clean ourselves." I whisper to him eagerly, hoping to not set off the others. Dannatili especially as her Ordoar prided themselves on their hair. If she learned of it, she would see that no one else used the baths until she was presentable. Not even mildly, she'd go the full ceremonial length with it!

"The monastery stream leads to a small lake, you know." he points after he scoffs his bemusement.

"The monastery is gone." I point out as I glare at him.

"Shining Armour, the monastery is independent of the stream it was built on." he points out as he starts to float.

"You will take me there?" I ask him as I follow him up the mountain. Though, why he left his weapon behind I could only guess.

"I'll let slip an indicator that it's down there." he answers after taking a breather on the first peak he came upon.

"I can't just waste time looking for a small lake right after a battle."

"Why not? Your armour is filthy for starters and so are you."

"A fair enough point." I shrug in agreement as my prior morals crumble in the face of his argument. Then, without wasting a further second, a glide down into the valley. Passing by the site where I lost Annalla and the ruins of the monastery. I viewed one with regret, the other with scorn. But whenever I saw the water, my mind went fuzzy and I felt like a child.

It's sweet joys would be mine and the stream was widening quickly!

"There we are!" I breathe in relief as I shoot straight into the water. Not even bothering to remove my armour. Instead, I just let the water soak me through and through. And I shivered as I felt the cool water go down my relatively sensitive back.

"Having fun?" Uala asked me in a surprisingly laid-back tone. Though her appearance here made me jump and I suddenly shot out of the water with my blade at the ready.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Lavauroas howled from the top of the mountain as I calmed down. And, to make matters worse, nearly everyone else had gathered here.

"How selfish of you, Wing-Tip Vapooliar." Dannatili jokes as she looks at the water lovingly.

"Hardly." I remark as I plant my sword at the edge of the lake.

"Well, whatever, I want out of this second skin all the blood has given me." one of those who went with Uala commented as she shot straight into the water as I did.

"Oh, how I wish a flower was passing by." Dannatili sighed wishfully before she began to partially strip down. Then, from the side of the lake, she began to use her magic to cup it and gently pour it down onto herself.

"I'm just glad we have clean water." Cetrepe tells her before she sinks under the water. But, while they were all focused on that, I flew up to Lavauroas who was still laughing.

"Couldn't help yourself, hm?" I asked him with an emotionless tone before I cracked my knuckles before him.

"Not at a-!" he began to answer before I sent my fist right at his chestplate. And down below, a tower of water suddenly erupted into the sky and childish screams filled the air.

"That felt good." I say as I both got my vengeance for his sacrelige of his former post and revenge for the cheap laughs.

"What's going on?" Allyoceer asked as she came up to join me on the mountainpeak.

"Nothing, Wing-Head Allyoceer." I answer with a professional tone before I move to head back to the water.

"Hold your position, Valkinvar." she orders me with a stern voice. And I did so, only to be tackled from behind and sent straight into the water.

"Betrayed by my own superior!" I call out in laughter as I escape to the surface of the water.

"DO YOU MIND!?" Dannatili screeched as she found herself soaked from head to toe. But, none of us understood her, clearly. She was going to be fully soaked by her own hands in good time. So, to emphasise this, everyone got the same idea and we threw all we could at her.

"You staff-holders are no fun." Lavauroas comments as he climbs out of the lake.

"Fun...? FUN!? I'LL SHOW YOU FUN!" she roars in fury as she brings out an impressively faded display of magic. And it became as if she had learned water magic! Projectiles were going everywhere of all kinds! Muddy water, dirtied water, clean water! Some were even just blasts of magic wind!

"Valkinvar-Imdvarce! Show them your strength!" Allyoceer decrees as lines are drawn in the banks. All of us versus just two from the other Ordoars. We were all smirking but they weren't. Lavauroas had resigned himself to his fate, unbothered by the water. But Dannatili is where all the fun was as she was not putting up with it.

"The Valkinvar-Staguiffmani is the greatest of all Valkinvar!" she proclaimed as her remaining magic spread out into the lake.

"Shower incom-" I began to laugh out as the water took on a green glow.

.

.

.

"Explain the situation to me now." I demand of the man I came nearly face-to-face with.

"The Valkinvar have launched an assault on our column! They've blocked the pass and swept away our attempts to bring forward heavy, mobile artillery!" they explained to me as their information was transmitted to us.

"So you are more dependent on us than ever." I commented quietly as I remembered the words of the war-witch. She was correct, it seemed, we were truly needed out here at this siege.

"The army is being pulled back to the nearest opening in the terrain, but we cannot continue on with our advance." they went on to say.

"Make sure your supreme officer is at the rendezvous, I will bring the Thunderous Brawler before them." I tell them as we put an end to the feed.

"Will you be heading out alone, Captain-Engineer?" one of my aides asked as he inspected a tablet.

"Bring the Thunderous Brawler in close and I shall depart on a smaller craft when we are near." I tell him as I move off of the bridge. Followed closely by a pair of decorated bodyguards. Through tunnels and passes, we went. All the way until we reached the onboard tram system.

"Altered stop, the Private Hangar." the driver manning the tram declared to all of his passengers. And while many did not respond because they could not, many others groaned at the lengthened journey. One passenger, in particular, couldn't help but squawk and thud about.

And, as they were here, I took advantage of the moment, "Are the heavy lancers ready to disembark?"

"The last of the ryphurgok are being moved into position and the last few pieces of gear are being approved for use. We will be ready shortly, Captain-Engineer." the rider explained to me before he looked up at his heavily-built steed. A mass of solid muscle hardened by a diet of stone.

"You are one of those you speak of?" I inquire as I wasn't quite expecting to see a majestic beast like this on the tram I was taking.

"I am, Captain-Engineer." he answers with a nod.

"Then all the best in your preparation. However, beyond this delay to that task, I would have you delay yourself further." I start to say to him before I made a pause to think about it. He was no officer, but he could be trusted to pass it on clearly.

"Captain-Engineer?"

"Notify the Lead of the Charge that he will be engaged in a different kind of operation. And that he is to join me out at the command post on the ground as soon as he can." I tell him to which he nods in understanding.

"Understood, Captain-Engineer, it will be done."

"I still hold the same confidence in you and your brethren, but let it be known we will be heading into a far more difficult situation." I tell him before I stand up as the tram reaches its destination. And, although my departure was not officially declared, it was still met with respect and professionalism by those nearest to me.

Though, as I was in a rush I did not respond in kind as I should have. I just kept my pace and went down the corridors until they opened up into a vast chamber. It was an active, busy place even with its purposes built around me and the other officers. So, I navigated it until I came upon a pilot standing at attention outside his craft.

"You are for me?" I questioned the pilot to which he silently saluted.

"Shall we accompany you further, Manufacturer-Commander?" one of my bodyguards asked. A question that made me stop on the ramp of the box-shaped craft.

"No, you are dismissed for the time being." I answered as I stepped into the modified troop transport. And I relaxed into one of the plump chairs and glanced out of the window. It was rare for me to ever see my beloved airship from this angle. So I made a point of enjoying it.

Thankfully, I had to make no call to the pilot as our path took us on a good enough view of the airship. And I just couldn't help myself, I took in all the sights that I could. Like someone would appreciate a tall woman, I found myself looking down at first. But, rather than a pair of heels, I was glad to see the full might of Prince Jhrartur's engineering talent.

A New Story-Class airship of the 'broadsider' categorization. They were named in part for the flowery speech he gave on the official formation of the Royal Jhermonikra Air-Navy. They were meant to mark a change in the fortunes of our proud union. A change of the grand kind, like how a story changes so quickly when the author wills it.

And to do it, we had a mighty machine that brought in more magic than entire cities! Through the funnel-tunnel wind directors, it went and then out through the six suction-expulsion vortex amplifiers. Or, through the seventy-two vastly smaller wind-lifters decorating the upper edges of the airship.

A lot of magic flowed into this machine and it all went right back out to lift her tremendous weight. But not all of it went out those six primary limbs of my vessel. A vast quantity was also set aside by the funnel-tunnels for our weapon systems. And they themselves could be treated as such should the need arise.

More than three-thousand magic and matter erasure cannons lined both of her sides. If we carried physical munitions, we'd have more weight in shot than anything out there. Even the grandest of land battles would have to have been fought again and again to match our total firepower. Yet, even with all those great guns, we had plenty of room for more.

The room, however, went to her counter artillery. That which protected us should we ever find such destructive guns turned on us. I had never found out how such weapons were made. But I slept far better knowing His Royal Highness, Prince Jhrartur devised a system that countered them perfectly.

My airship, the Thunderous Brawler, like all others was a might incarnate. Blessed by the Unassailbile, The Giver of Wind himself. We brought forth his will and enlightenment where ever we flew. But now, we came as saviours in a time of need.

The situation at the Long Battery Fort painted a clear picture. Its arguments for why such machines were built were clear and strong. Regular forces simply could not penetrate such masterful defensive warfare. It was no surprise that I was even heading out for a direct meeting with their supreme commander.

They were boxed into that pass and barely allowed to move out. And when the power of the Valkinvar came upon them, they were trapped. Left to be slaughtered so that the hope of a united continent could live on. I held the loss of life in contempt, but I pitied the officers who would survive.

Theirs would be a long journey to the graves and the fields set aside for the dead. So many would have to be hauled back to be honoured properly. By loved ones and divine protectors. But I was here now, the Thunderous Brawler was here now and we would see that stop.

There would be an equal and greater loss of life for the heretical enemy we faced.

"Manufactuer-Commander, we are coming up on the command post." my pilot informed me as I heard the small machine hiss as it revealed its limbs. And, as if it were yawning, the back opened up with a gentle gust of wind that went back into my face.

"Which way?" I asked the first soldier I came across. However, their face was hidden from me so I would get no vocal response. Only a temperamental and unclear gesture.

"Manufacturer-Commander!" called out someone not long after I headed in the direction of the raised arm.

"You are who I spoke to not long ago." I recalled as we greeted each other from a short distance.

"Yes, the Peak of the Army is within here." he answered as he urged me into the command tent. And we silently greeted each other. As we did that, his aides cleared the table and set off a magic device. One that detailed thoroughly what the situation was.

"As you can see, the enemy has pushed out across the Batterywatched Plains and blocked off the pass completely." he pointed out as they highlighted what must've been the last piece of reconnaissance they were able to get of the plains.

"They have made no attempts to push your army as it was turning away?"

"No, we believe that their vile god is satiated for the moment with the blood spilt." one told me.

"We know that the force that they cut off was sizeable, they have most likely exhausted themselves." another answered.

"They won't dare to push beyond the range of their fortress guns. We know no support is coming from them. Even with the delay to our advance, the surrounding land has been marched over and secured. They are cut off in their near entirety."

"But a pass remains open and I intend to see it shut." the Peak of the Army reminded everyone present before he groaned at the situation.

"Control of the siege will have to pass to me." I state bluntly. Thankfully, no contesting claims came from them. And they quickly submitted the authority to me.

"And how will you handle it?"

"We need to separate their regular forces from their witches. By bringing the Thunderous Brawler in along a clear line of sight. I will make the Valkinvar flee or come to me. Our guns and the few fighter craft we are in possession of will hold them should they choose to fight."

"And of those who are restrained to the earth?"

"They will be handled by a joint effort by our complement and our broadsides." I explain to them as I hover an item in the air by where I intended to bring my airship in. Right in the centre of the plains where I could occupy them completely.

"Your firing arcs would not be able to handle the lower fortifications or anything moving out across the plains." one of them pointed out to me. And, as if by divine providence, the man who would head it arrived before us.

"This is where the cavalry I once promised you would come in. Our Lead of the Charge will turn our enemy's own hubris against them. It is clear that by blocking the pass, they think they can stop our troops. I intend to use it against them." I explain as the Lead of the Charge walked up to the table. His impressive display of colours and order heraldry outshined even the most decorated within this tent.

"We could ready ourselves by loading the ryphurgok onto smaller troop transports. And, with the cover provided by the Thunderous Brawler, both visually and magically. We would be able to unload ourselves onto this man-made ground and charge down it and smash their forces apart on the open plains beyond."

"You would be charging right into our old fortifications." one of the likely withdrawn field officers pointed out.

"We have charged through worse." the Lead of the Charge confidently nodded.

"Then what of the lower fortifications of the Long Battery Fort? You would not be able to bring in any heavy weaponry."

"An issue that will be solved by us, but, should it prove necessary to break beyond the walls, I trust my cavalry commander to equip his men for such a task." I tell them with confidence to calm their worries.

"May Jhrarda lend you his strength, then." they began to say one by one. Or, it was something similar to that effect.

"I understand you have just arrived, but inform your men of the plan and its developments. We must act quickly and exploit the loss of our fellow man." I tell him with a grim tone.

"Of course, with the same haste as I have on the charge." he dramatically answered before he went off.

"Right, the rest of you have your duties to attend to. I shall have the tent for just us two, now." the Peak of the Army told his staff. And, quickly and quietly, they went off to handle their retreating force. I had to admit, I had no idea how such a task would go. All this victory had dulled my understanding of it.

This kind of setback was just unprecedented given the progress we have made so far. A centuries-long stalemate suddenly went in our favour because of airships like mine. Bloody sieges in the tight corridors of our homeland should've been a long-gone thought by now. Much less one where we'd be forced to retreat.

"I do not wish to see our branches conflict, Manufacturer-Commander."

"I feel the same, Peak of the Army. This war is meant to unify us, as strange as it sounds."

"I know, we all know. But every parent realises at some point a firm hand is needed to handle a troublesome child."

"Allow me to make it clear, regardless, though, that once this siege ends, we will make a point of guiding you further along."

"Even without his Royal Highness, Prince Jhrartur's approval?"

"I am sure he and his staff will understand the need for the support along this route."

"I suppose even his contacts can be wrong on occasion." they then sighed.

"The area was meant to be clear?"

"Yes, we had received assurances that the fortress had been abandoned in light of the Seventh Line being broken. Our army was not prepared to be fired upon by the guns of the fortress. Let alone worm what we needed up to the unexpected front."

"We can only make the best of what we are given. But, do not worry, we can handle this." I tell him, trying to reassure him with the confidence I had in my airship and her crew and complement.

"You'll have to forgive my bitterness. To handle this and then concede it to another." he groaned.

"We both find ourselves here with wounded pride, then."

"An airship's captain comes with wounded pride?" he scoffs mockingly.

"War-witches came to see us beforehand, they were aware of the siege and coerced us here with claims of cowardice." I explain to him, somewhat bemused by the whole affair in retrospect.

"He who proposes a headlong advance against a Valkinvar wing and their fortress came here because he was called a coward? Well, my mood has improved I must say."

"Fair enough, but, now, you can improve mine by telling me all you can about the Long Battery Fort." I let with bemusement at first before my professionalism took hold.

"Now, we have not seen all of her capabilities, but-"