Ieros accessed the memories and the “live feed” of his observers with the battle between Azemar and the Serisian General which was still raging. Of course, he wasn’t surprised, the Serisian General was no fool and his duty was merely to distract while the vemarisian force invaded. But that would no longer be happening but the general didn’t know that. Ieros then took a look at the vimarisian messenger which was currently two days from reaching the Serisian General, riding on a strange birdlike creature with a second one in two which he occasionally switched with, allowing the first one to rest.

But of course, that was still two days from now and from where the battle was going, the Serisian General was going to lose. Ieros watched from afar, floating in the sky in an orb which reflected light, making his position invisible to others. He sat on a chair and had a table in front of him, where he would randomly select an observer to read. The emotions of the soldiers were rather different, of course, that was given because the vimarisian soldiers were fighting against his constructs. This should be more interesting, it seems that he would have to make his soldiers more human next time, that would be troublesome.

Perhaps he should give up on that altogether, after all, it is best to study from the original instead of an imitation. So once more, he began to read, selecting one that was observing a young man from Seris.

Why am I here? This is horrible, this must be some sort of terrible dream, Matthew didn’t die, right? No, this must be some nightmare, right now I’m home, I’m home and I’m dreaming, I’m ho…

The live feed was abruptly cut off, the boy had died. He had been living in a state of denial, a sort of reflex for many humans in the face of something horrible. Of course, Ieros viewed this as foolish but he could understand why they did so, their minds were weak. They could not handle the pressure of the truth and so denied it, instead living in a fantasy world that was ultimately a lie. Really, humans never did learn. War is horrible to them and yet there is some terrible fascination with it that ultimately draws them back. Ieros briefly wondered just how this race had managed to stay alive for so long but he already knew the answer, their ridiculous reproduction. To use a human quote, they “breed like rabbits”.The rate at which they reproduce far outpaces the rate in which they die, even in wartime although the two rates are rather close.

Then there was also their humanity, agreeing to stop a war before wiping one another out. These humans were not foolish but they weren’t wise either, just in the middle as mortals are. But perhaps they were like this for a reason, to keep them forever at the bottom so that the gods could lord over them forever. But that too was strange, for the gods were like the humans, having adopted many of their customs. Now that was foolish, to step down from the throne of wisdom willingly.

Ieros did not understand, but then again, there was nothing in this world that was quite like him, he was alone and always will be. Of course there were his multiple selves, the fragments but in the end, they were all one being, Darkness. But the fragment pushed such thoughts aside and selected another observer, converting it into a book and reading, this one of a veteran of Athera.

Those damned Serisians, never thought I’d be on the battlefield again. *sigh* I thought I would finally be able to settle down, ha, of course with no wife. Too late for that but… *sigh* that would have been nice. And this war, it’s far too early for the rookies, most of ‘em aren’t gonna see tomorrow and I’ll only have more bodies to bury. Hell, I might even join ‘em, and perhaps it would best if I did. I’m too damn old for this and a peaceful society has no place for a veteran. Yeah, perhaps it would be better to die.

The observer then told of how he fought, killing his enemies with no hesitation, always muttering about how there was a special place in hell for him and that it would be better to die. A man who felt regret, yet his loyalty made him keep living. A man who put duty ahead of his feelings, one of the many types of humans that lived. Then there were those that were deserters, ones that ran from the battlefield for their lives, only to be plagued by guilt for years later. They too were interesting, for these types would do anything to continue living, to avoid the mysterious end that was Death.

But they too were plagued with regret, thoughts such as, What if I had stayed? What if I fought? Could I be in a better situation? It would be better if I died. Some would then end their lives with their own hands, the guilt being far too strong. Interesting, really, humans can be anything, from the most pious to the most evil. But then again, such things were relative, these humans just… were. They were what they were, just like how the gods were gods, they simply were. And he too was no exception, he too… was. He existed and that’s that, nothing more, nothing less.

But enough about the philosophies of existence, it is the traits of man we focus on. About the intricacies of the mortal mind, about their fears, their hopes, their dreams, their instincts. Truly, how fascinating, how the mind does all that it can to save at least some semblance of control in the anarchy that is Reality, even to the point of denial. The fragment would be amused if it was capable of amusement, but it just accepted this as a peculiarity of mortals and left it at that.

Really, the mortals were rather interesting, to see how they fought against anarchy by creating societies, the bastions of control in a sea of chaos which were not perfect but better than what most mortals could hope for. Really, how they fight against it, rebel against it, defying logic and persevering through sheer willpower. Fascinating… But Ieros soon stopped such divergent thoughts, this time selecting the observer that was attached to the Serisian General. He was curious as to what this man was thinking.

Haven’t those damned Vimarisians gotten through yet? To damn slow, if it was me, I would have gotten our forces there in a matter of a few days. I knew that the Hollowed Pass should be unguarded but there was a small fear in my mind, especially with how Azemar was so confident with his attacks, as if he wasn’t worried. It was possible that he had no knowledge of the pass but that was unlikely, he was a general of the highest caliber, he must have noticed it. I began to despair, our plan must have been caught by him and now, he was doing his best to defeat me quickly so he can reinforce the garrison force.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

But there has not been word from the Vimarisians, a fact which also makes me worried, they would contact us when they have arrived but it has been a day since they should have. Suddenly, the communication crystal lit up, speak of the devil. Finally, took them long enough. But upon hearing the contents of the message, I despaired, there was indeed an army placed to defend the pass and they had repelled the Vimarisians. But it seemed that this was a mercenary army, their armor bore no insignias in which to recognize them by.

Damn, I have no choice but to retreat, the Vimarisians were our only chance of victory and they were repelled. But if we retreat now, my forces will only take heavy losses, either we surrender or a force stays behind as the rearguard to delay the enemy. After an hour of deliberation and hardly any sleep, in the morning, I made my decision. There was no way we could win and if we stayed, we would only die. We would have to retreat to Iredale and consolidate our forces and wait for reinforcements from Seris. But this isn’t really a loss I suppose, although it does leave a bitter taste in my mouth. My task was simply to delay the enemy and that I did, it was Vimaris that failed.

But I still had a duty to uphold so when I stood before my troops, I told them of our situation and the plan to retreat. A force would stay behind as the rearguard and if no one wanted to volunteer, I would stay behind. After all, my duty was to stall the enemy, it did not matter for who. The troops would do just fine without me and after all, there was another army on its way with an even better general, they would be fine. I was expendable after all, that was why they sent me.

With this knowledge in mind, I told my men, “I’m sorry that you will be staying with me but this is for the success of our campaign. As long as we hold Greenhill Fort, there is still a chance for this invasion to succeed. Our sacrifice shall be for our nation.”

It was a short speech but I didn’t need to drag it out, doing so would only be an insult. I then heard the voices of eight hundred men shout,

“Our sacrifice will be for our nation!”

I smiled, I knew I could trust these men, they had been with me since the beginning of my career. I then sighed, knowing that of the many faces I see before me, I would see only less of them in the days to come. So the army made preparations to leave while my force stayed behind, ready to face the enemy.

Ieros stopped reading, now more interested in the battle, wanting to see how the Serisian General would fight against the enemy. How long would he be able to delay Azemar? Ieros waited with anticipation, deciding to also send a message to Azemar at the same time, sending a shadow that stood before him as he watched the battlefield. Azemar was understandably surprised and his guards drew swords but of course, their attacks were useless against the creature whose form was intangible. But Azemar raised his hand to stop them when the thing spoke,

“My master, Ieros, wishes to inform you that there are no longer any problems at the Hollowed Pass. The Hollowed Pass is now invulnerable to attack.”

Azemar had caught on to the “no longer any problems” but before he could ask, the creature melted into shadow. He mused, So, there was an invasion force, was it Seris? But they couldn’t have taken a force so far into atheran territory without being noticed. No, the most likely suspect is Vimaris. They had long been known to be allies of Seris and I wouldn’t be surprised if it was them.

Unbeknownst to Azemar, Ieros was also reading his observer, so Azemar’s thoughts were known to Ieros. Ieros was not surprised, he had expected no less from the Sage of War. Not many could deduce what Azemar had, in fact, he had already been thinking about the possibility of Vimaris being in the war ever since the first battle with the Serisian General. He felt that the general wasn’t being serious, merely stalling for time but he couldn’t afford to go to the Hollowed Pass himself, only trusting Ieros. But now, with the knowledge that the serisians were on the verge of retreat, he decided to push the advantage, especially with the mages having finished their mage circles.

The Serisian General also had a few mages at his disposal, although not as many as Azemar. But it would be enough to delay the enemy and if he could accomplish that, the general would be satisfied. He would have fulfilled his duty and to a soldier, that was all there was to life. Ieros approved of this man’s mindset, devoted to his work and not allowing such weak things such as cowardice to get in the way of it. He would remember this particular specimen, along with the other geniuses of humanity for he has earned his ranks among them.

But he returned his attention to the battle, seeing the battalion of eight hundred stand ready, five mages having already prepared a mage circle. The main serisian force began to retreat and Azemar, noticing this, decided that he was having none of that, sending half of his army to give chase. But the force of eight hundred perfectly eclipsed his force, the mages firing various bolts of elemental energy such as fire, lightning and flying boulders. They smashed into the ranks of Azemar’s forces and they were forced to stop, the mages in the back shielding them with magic. From then on, since magic was rendered useless, the two sides clashed, the force of eight hundred lasting for a day as they slowly gave ground, not intentionally but because they simply could not push back. But they had succeeded and the serisian army was now too far to be chased down.

The general had been captured, along with two hundred of his men, their mages having died from expending too much of their energy. The general had been rather simple with his strategy, to separate his men into groups of one hundred, setting up eight square formations where they could defend against all sides. The middle square contained the general and his mages which continued to defend and and support with magic while the soldiers defended them. He also gave orders that should one unit look like it was about to fall, that it should merge with the nearest unit. In this way, they managed to hold an entire day, even though they were tired, the front line shifting backward to rest while the reserves pulled up front.

This strategy wouldn’t win any battles but it could sure defend against multiple enemies, usually a last stand sort of thing. Ieros appreciated the level of commitment this nameless general had to his nation for a moment, committing it to memory. Perhaps he would remain nameless, as no matter how hard Ieros searched his mind, he could find no name. This man was nameless, or at least, believed that he was. That was how committed he was, that he was not an individual but part of something far greater, the nation of Seris. He would remember this nameless man and he would never forget.

Seeing as the battle was over, Ieros stood and opened a gate, stepping through. He reappeared in the garden, resting his human body in the cottage while the fragment’s form merged with the shadows below. It too, then rested, its thoughts becoming still as did all the shadows all over the world, becoming as still as the surface of pool, deep within a cave.