I pressed my sleeve against my face, trying to hold in a sneeze. A group of thousands of people could raise quite a bit of dust, especially on a gravel road. But I wanted to walk along with the army for a while.
It wasn’t the whole army, of course, but a sizable chunk of it. Many soldiers were still scattered through the region, reinforcing garrisons and trying to prepare defenses against the nomads. I felt like the war had entered the next phase. We’d been marching for a few days already, and had covered a large distance.
Unfortunately, the nomads didn’t make it easy for us. They were more concentrated than previously, but still not a real army, and moved a bit quicker than my troops. Although we’d managed to herd them somewhat, this wouldn’t be over quickly.
“Thinking about your new ‘recruit’?” Lei asked. “From what I heard, I don’t think Tenira meant for you to go out and look for someone that instant, you know.”
I snorted at the boy walking along beside me like he didn’t have a care in the world. Tenira had fallen back a bit and was talking to Aston, so she must have missed this.
I didn’t really want to talk about Tia Yarani or why I’d decided to pick her up. She was someone I knew wanted me without regard for my station or title. Maybe this was just my ego, but whatever. I was expected to gather lovers, why not start with her?
“And what did you do that night, Lei?” I asked.
He blushed and looked away. “Well …”
I tsked. “On second thought, I don’t think I want to know.”
He rolled his eyes at me, but didn’t answer.
I returned my attention to our surroundings. In the distance, I could see the mountains of the so-called Tip of the World rising into the sky. I imagined I could even see the ocean, but that was probably not it, since we weren’t that close yet.
“Where are we going, exactly?” Lei asked.
“That depends on the nomads,” I said. “We’ve been herding them southwest-ward. That way, they can either head for the border, for the bay, or for the mountains. We’d have the advantage at the bay, since we have naval support and they don’t.”
I paused as I considered that. The Yellow Graves were bordered by the ocean. On the other hand, both the Zarian Dominion and the Empire built up their naval power in the region, and wouldn’t let the nomads develop any kind of navy.
Before I could continue my explanation, a shift went through the soldiers as they changed course again, leaving the road to cut through the fields. I frowned and looked for Aston.
“Another course change, Your Highness,” he explained. “They’re heading further west, and seem to have increased their speed even more. We’re trying to get more soldiers to the Itirakin, but it’s going to be close.”
I’d given the order for this march and our current strategy, with the agreement of the commanders and nobles, but left the details up to the officers to handle. That included course adjustments like this.
I frowned and looked at the map he showed me, a few new lines drawn in. “That puts them a lot closer to the mountains, and they’re cutting it pretty close to our forces at the regional base.”
“I assume they want to follow the bed of the Itirakin into the mountains,” Aston said, tracing another line.
I sighed. There was a point on the map almost directly along the routes the nomads would take. “Let’s hope the evacuation is going well,” I muttered.
Judging from Aston’s expression, he didn’t feel optimistic.
“It’s bad if they reach the mountains, right?” Lei asked. I’d almost missed him coming up behind me. He scrunched up his face. “Trying to dislodge them from there will be a pain.”
“Yes, but at least the mountains are mostly empty,” I said. “What inhabitants there are will be able to flee from the Zarieni. Since they’re used to handling flight, and the nomads are still a distance away and mostly on the ground.”
It would be a pain, but at least we’d keep the collateral damage down and the civilians mostly safe.
Tenira walked up from Aston’s other side. “As soon as they’re stuck somewhere, they’re losing,” she said confidently. “Time is on our side, right?”
I shrugged. “You’re probably right.”
The conversation died there. I took out my flying sword and ascended into the air again, trying to get a better view of everything. It didn’t help much. The rest of my retinue, the older cultivators, were mostly airborne, too. Ever since the nomads’ attack, they’d stuck closer to me.
Maybe the smarter ones knew better than to come along to war, and these are the suckers who got roped into it by the others. I shook my head. The thought amused me, but I probably shouldn’t let anyone hear it.
After that, not much happened. I stopped flying. We moved forward steadily, but didn’t get any closer to catching up to the nomads. Occasionally, there would be a small course adjustment. I could see how certain officers exchanged more and more concerned glances. It didn’t seem like the evacuation was going well.
Eventually, General Wei approached me to explain, with a solemn face, that they wanted to withdraw the troops that got too close to the nomads. They needed to make sure the people they’d evacuated reached sanctuary safely, and the nomads were starting to chase them with a vengeance.
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I understood that, of course. Wei and the others knew what they were doing, and if they said the risk was too great, I couldn’t disagree. From his expression, I knew that the local forces didn’t manage to evacuate everyone. But if our forces were decimated by the nomads, it would be even worse.
“Of course, General, I trust you to handle this,” I answered.
He bowed and withdrew to confer with his subordinates, many of whom were maintaining contact with local detachments through their communication devices.
By now, we were starting to enter the foothills of the mountains, and I saw the Itirakin river coming closer. Ahead, the broad riverbed it followed would narrow, marking one of the main passes for getting deeper into the mountains. The nomads would have been following it for the last few kilometers.
I squinted, trying to make out more details. The sun was setting, and the fading light of dusk didn’t make it easier. But there was smoke rising from up ahead, wasn’t there? We entered a wooded area now, which made it hard to be sure.
I wasn’t surprised when our march slowed down again, and Aston told me the officers wanted me to come to the front.
Trying to keep calm, I made my way through the troops, who parted to let me pass easily. Once I reached a group of officers gathered at the front, I nodded to them, but my focus was drawn to the scene in front of us. The forest opened onto hilly terrain, where a settlement had been built in a small depression.
I’d expected bad news, but I still ground my teeth at the sight. It had once been a village. Now, the palisade was dented, splintered, and charred. Behind it, I could see a few smoldering ruins that had been houses not too long ago. A few remaining sources of orange glow left no doubt they had been thoroughly razed. But worse than that were the bodies. A few buried among their houses, more scattered over the main street like some giant had tossed out his toys. A few people in the tattered remains of armor were more visible, from the top of poles outside the village’s ruins.
I took a deep breath, and regretted it immediately as the hint of smoke on the air only made the scene more vivid.
“Let the army stop here,” I said after a moment. “I want to take a closer look.”
It didn’t take long for a group of us to separate from the main host. Tenira stayed behind, while Lei accompanied me along with a few of the elders, and of course Aston and other guards. Soldiers already spread out in the air and on the ground to cover the surroundings. Wei and a few other high-ranking officers came along, as well.
It didn’t get any better as we neared the razed village. I pulled a scarf around my mouth and nose, trying to combat the smell of smoke and burning hair and other things. A few people in the group used techniques to light our way, and gave us a clearer image of the devastation. I tried not to look at the faces of the fighters outside the village as I took note of their heavy injuries, then entered through the destroyed gate.
The inside of the village didn’t leave any doubt that the nomad raiders had thoroughly followed the ‘rape, pillage, and burn’ tactic. Especially the bodies of the villagers. I had to be careful to pick my way across the debris scattered over the street, but barely noticed it as my attention was grabbed by the grisly scene.
When we left the village on the other side, it felt like I’d been breathing in someone’s impression of hell for a while, and I removed the scarf and sucked in deep breaths of the clear evening air. No one had spoken, but I could hear a few others doing the same. There were also a few people retching, but I didn’t check out who.
I clenched and unclenched my fists, then shook my head at myself. Maybe I should be more affected, but it’s probably a good thing I’m not. Still … these were my people. This was a massacre, a war crime. I need to make sure something like this doesn’t happen again.
“Looks like this field goes on for a bit,” I said. “We’ll make camp there.” I pointed out a spot maybe a hundred meters from the destroyed village.
“Your Highness?” Wei asked.
I turned to them. “I want the soldiers to move through the village. After everyone’s passed it, have the bodies gathered and funerals held according to the local customs.”
The General bowed his head. “As you command.”
Oldtis-on-the-Itirakin had been a reasonably sized, bustling village. I had a rough idea of how many people had been killed here, so most of its population must have been evacuated or managed to flee from the raiders. Maybe these people hadn’t wanted to leave their homes. Maybe they’d barricaded themselves in, waiting for rescue. It doesn’t really matter now. We still failed to protect them.
I stayed mostly lost in my head while they threw up the camp. I didn’t feel like retreating into my tent, so I paced atop a small hill, looking out over the forest and the mountains. The almost full moon shone down at us, and gazing up at it and the stars quieted me a bit.
After a minute, the rustling of cloth betrayed Tenira’s presence as she came up behind me. “Inaris?” she said hesitantly. “Are you alright?”
I turned to face her and smiled. “No need to be timid. I’m fine.”
She stepped closer. “If you’re sure. I’d understand if you felt bad.”
I sighed. “I know that might sound wrong, but … I didn’t know these people. They’re dead, and that’s bad. But it’s not tragic for me.”
Tenira nodded.
I cleared my throat. I hadn’t really considered that my order to have the army move through this would include my friends. It was a gamble, anyway — I hoped that it would increase their motivation, but too much and they might be too fervent and out for revenge.
“Did you walk through the village?”
“I flew over it.” Tenira glanced away.
“That’s probably best.”
She ran a hand through her hair. “You’re really alright? Even I feel a bit guilty, like I should have been able to prevent it.”
“I don’t feel guilty, not really.” I shrugged. “I feel angry. At the nomads. For doing this. For putting me in this situation. And, well. These people were my citizens, I was supposed to rule them someday. Or their descendants, at least.”
Tenira leaned against the single tree decorating this hill. She looked at me in silence for a moment, before she asked, “What do you want to do?”
I grunted. “What do I want to do? I want to conquer these people’s tribe, their civilians. Find out who the leaders’ families are, by any means necessary, and toss the raiders a few heads. Use the rest as hostages and bait to force them into a real fight and crush them. String their corpses up along the border.”
Tenira blinked. “I see.”
“But what will I do?” I continued. “I’m not quite sure yet.”
Tenira didn’t seem put off. “I think your self-control’s impressive, but remind me not to make you angry.”
I snorted. “Thanks.” My anger is usually a cold thing.
For a moment, we just stood there in silence, while I tried to shore up that self-control more and deal with my emotions. Not easy at the best of times, but I appreciated Tenira’s company.
“By the way, a group just arrived from the palace,” she said. “Apparently, Kiyanu — he’s in the eighth stage and loyal to the Empress, if you didn’t know — took up residence there. We got a few more guards, and I think Kariva sent a few of her agents.”
I smiled. That sounded good. “We can use them. As soon as Aiki Ilia gets back to me, especially.”
Tenira raised an eyebrow. “She just came, as well, with a few bedraggled-looking strangers. It looks like she joined the new arrivals on the way.”
My smile got wider. “Tenira, you angel. I appreciate you.”
She blushed. “You’re easy to please, aren’t you?”
I laughed. That was a line just waiting to be built on, but I didn’t want to ruin this. Instead, I started walking.
I still had work to do, after all. War waits for no man, or woman, or other being.