Chapter 21.1: Winter Unbounded

Maya

2 weeks ago

The cloudy sky hung over the marshlands of Ash. Maya’s flimsy sandals sank into the soft mud as struggled to hold herself up. Her feet felt so damp and soggy, her sandals most likely wouldn't last the trip back. It had felt like days she had been walking for now when really it had only been a few hours, constant starvation would play tricks on her that way. She could ignore all of this though, she had gotten used to it. Her dress, however, she could not. It was all she wore as she was herded into the platoon of Ashian men. The dress was flimsy grey and had tears strung around it. She couldn't see the men’s eyes through their helmets but she felt many gazes on her. A violent shove interrupted her thoughts that nearly made her face plant into the ground.

“Stop dawdling Ketan!” Shouted one of the large gruff soldiers behind her. She was tall for a woman but they dwarfed her in size and height. Maya was unable to count how many times she had been shoved and beaten. Her whole body twinged in pain, but that didn't matter to her. It was the upcoming battle she was worried about. She was only being shuffled along the marshland to be used as a cannon once they reached the Vholerian border. The pain of beatings and shoving couldn't compare to the feeling of using her magic. Her magic being so potent that it would be painful just to use it at its lowest output. It was as if filling a glass vessel with too much weight, they vessel wouldn't be strong enough to hold it and would eventually break under enough pressure. Yet the Ashians continued to use her anyway, the king continued to use her that way, no, her own father did. Perhaps that was wrong to say, however. Her father had such little control over Ash in the present day. Really he was only there to be used as a figurehead and continue the progression of the royal bloodline. Gheptiza was the one she held disdain for. Anything related to how the Ashian army formed tactics or strategized. When they would strike and where was all under the order of Ghpetiza, the current commander within Ash.

“VHOLDERIANS! NORTH EAST!” The soldiers all turned as the squad platoon leader shouted out the arrival of the enemy force. Maya was unable to see over the tall burly soldiers but her cat-like ears picked up the sound of the Ashians drawing their weapons. Oh no, it’s happening, no no no! Maya's head began to race as she feared the inevitability of her upcoming tasks.

“Front of the line, Animal.” The soldier behind her shoved her to the front of the platoon and in between the sixty or so soldiers she was stuck in the middle.

“You see the Vholerians girl?! Fire at their front line in a wide strike.” Maya stood hunched over in pain as she looked out over the flat dead landscape of the marsh. Across the land stood the Vholerians, roughly the same platoon size as the Ashians. She now stood in front of the Ashian force. Her body began to tremble and she felt like throwing up. There was no way out of this, she would be forced to use her magic, otherwise, the Ashians platoon would tie her up and throw her into the back of the line. Punishment would swiftly meet her after the battle. She feared punishment more than anything, she could barely process what happened the last time she disobeyed an order. Her mind blocked the harmful memories from being processed in her head. Please, I don't want to live anymore. Please let this suffering end oh goodness let it end. The Ash soldier behind her kicked Maya with the sole of his boot, she gasped as she hit the ground face-first. Coughing as she recovered, her Ketan features obscured by the mud on her face. Please let this nightmare end Maya got to her feet slowly as the Vholerian force neared, the squelching of the mud getting louder as closed the distance. Sorrow filled Maya’s face as she reluctantly began to emit mana from her body. Even at the lowest output, she burst as bright as the sun with the mana releasing from her body. Not a moment later, the mana became an ocean blue, not too different from standard mana. Another burst of mana shot out around her, strong enough to blow a gust of wind that staggered the Ashian force that stood behind her. Maya screamed in pain as the mana began pouring out of her, overwhelming her. The Ashians retreated back so as to not be within range of the chaos. Maya’s mana became more unhinged and she slowly began to lift off the ground erratically, her screaming and pain continuing. Large concentrated orbs of ice mana burst out from her and into the sky. The orbs cracked like the sound of ice and the mud beneath Maya began to freeze over. The orbs of ice mana began flying out of her and landed completely randomly around the battlefield. Like a catapult operated by a blind man. Once the orbs reach the ground again they materilised into giant chunks of ice the size of a horse wagon. Large enough to crush a man easily. They landed everywhere and soon the battlefield became chaos. They struck random sections of the Vholerian platoon, the rocky mountains that surrounded the marsh. Some even hit the Ashains force. Maya had no control over the amount of mana expunged and became a frenzied terrified young woman. The surrounding mountains began to fall apart and crumble from the chunks of ice impacting the cliff face. Maya soon began to drop back to the ground as she slowly became unconscious. The mana slowly began to dwindle from her body until she returned to normal. This was the two forces' sign to engage one another. They both charged with loud battle cries across the frozen, impacted marsh embedded with chunks of ice. The field was almost unrecognizable. The two forces roared towards one another and the clash of blades and burst of magic consumed the battlefield. Maya collapsed on frozen marsh ground. The overuse of mana completely overwhelmed her, Maya's body was covered in frost. Please let me die here…just right here.

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A few hours had passed. Ash was victorious thanks to Maya’s uncontrollable magic. The main force began to retreat with only a few losses. Maya however, was not allowed any moment of respite. After the battle had finished, she was quickly thrown back into the center of the platoon for protection against ambushes. Maya’s body was even weaker and twinged with even more pain. She struggled to keep up with the retreating force and was shoved and thrown abuse. The Ashians not hiding their disdain for Ketans. Maya’s mind began to go numb. She had no urge to fight back, no strength to fight back. She let herself be abused as she would await inevitably being locked back in her cell until the next crusade. Her waning thoughts were interrupted by a bolt of lightning, multiple small bolts that struck the outside of the force of soldiers that protected her. Before long, the Ashians focus had been drawn to their west.

“Ambush! Ambush!” The soldiers yelled as they charged ahead of where Maya stood leaving her isolated on the soggy marshland. She watched as the soldiers fought an unknown force. Her body was too weak and her vision was beginning to blur. Without Maya noticing, Her legs began to collapse and she fell unconscious on the cold battlefield.