Chapter 21

Imperial Capital

Princess Parthia awoke to the sound of the capital sounding far more chaotic than usual.

Moving quickly out of her bed, she walked to her balcony and surveyed the lands her father ruled. The rivers and homes built surrounding them were still there. The aqueducts stood. She saw wyverns on their daily patrols up above. Down below, the great walls protecting the city still stood. Nothing seemed particularly out of place. The people, both military and not appeared almost as ants from her position high above all of them, rushing through the capital as they often did.

Still, she could sense something was wrong, very wrong.

"Paloma!"

Her loyal guard entered the room quickly, the young chestnut-haired girl paused, straightening at the serious expression Parthia wore.

"Yes, majesty?"

"Has something happened? Any attacks?"

"No, your majesty, I'm afraid I haven't heard anything at the moment. Alita and Vilma are still doing their rounds, so maybe we’ll receive news then." the young guard said.

Parthia nodded.

"Help me get dressed. I... fear something has happened."

Instead of her ceremonial toga, or any royal line of clothes, she wore her "combat dress", which entailed a breastplate polished to a shine, a sharpened sword as well as steel boots and leg guards under her blood-red combat skirt not unlike those worn by her younger subordinate or male counterparts. She considered herself a soldier no different than the legions, after all, even if her order of “knights” was more of a home guard mainly used in ceremonies or settling disputes than a true military unit. Still, they were her soldiers, they trained, and something was telling her that something somewhere was very, very wrong.

If she could help it, then it was her responsibility as a member of the imperial family to try.

Paloma followed her down the halls of the imperial palace, nothing appearing particularly out of place. The halls were still polished and clean, the busts of past emperors remained where they always were, and the purple curtains were still there as servants continued to do their daily work. It was approaching the main hall when they stumbled onto the sight of an older General of the eastern armies.

"General Tiberius! What is the word?" Parthia called.

The old man simply said "That's what I would like to know. My presence was requested and I arrived today to witness a defeated army, none willing to speak of what transpired in the Alpine Mountains!"

She winced at the statement.

Was he talking about…?

"The Imperial Army was defeated then?”

“All I saw were wounded men. It was either a terrible defeat or a bloody battle.”

Parthia nodded.

“Are you here to speak to my father?"

"That is my intention and I believed he called me here for precisely that."

Several other officers walked past them, whispering amongst themselves with silent urgency.

"Something terrible has happened, that much I know." The general said.

Parthia stiffened slightly but kept her otherwise brave face as calm as possible.

It must be about that doorway to another world...

They followed behind the officers, entering the main chamber when they were met by the grisly sight.

Two messengers stood before the emperor.

One was missing an arm, a bloody rag tied to keep him from bleeding out as several healers tried tending to the wound. The other one appeared unhurt despite his dirty armor and body.

"General Tiberius, good. Take them away, see to their wounds." Emperor Adrian sighed in a tired, dispassionate tone.

At first, Parthia wondered what wounds the other messenger had, as he appeared unharmed; but as soon as the man turned, she saw his burnt skin and exposed teeth and bones.

Paloma covered her mouth in shock and Parthia attempted not to look horrified by the sight of blood, but… truth be told, aside from a few mild accidents in training, she hadn't actually seen much blood, let alone wounds of that nature.

Both soldiers were led away by the healers and their officers, General Tiberius patted them on the shoulder as they left.

"Good men… Now, Emperor Traianus, what is the situation?"

“We were getting to that.”

Parthia then saw Antonius, standing on the far right of the room, eyes uncertain, hair unkempt as if he’d just woken up.

Her father said, “Indeed.”

Quietly, he glanced at the other officers, then at his daughter… and finally at his eldest son. Parthia had not noticed Lucius in the corner to the left of the room, arms crossed, appearing to be in quiet reflection as he looked ahead.

"The forces guarding the Doorway against our enemies were routed. We do not know how many are arriving daily since this message was written, but Seljuk assures me they haven’t pushed out of the mountain range itself. We have no idea how powerful all their weapons are, but the combined Army stationed in The Alpines, the ones preparing to engage and actively awaiting them was forced to retreat not long after the messengers were dispatched."

"Wait- General Atilla sent wounded men to deliver-?"

"According to them, no. He sent the burned one when the battle began with the simple message that the enemy had commenced their attack… the second messenger was sent only an hour later. I believe Atilla hoped to last a little longer than that. One says he had stopped at the rear guard to enter one of the mountain passages when a bolt of some kind landed not too far from him as the battle was joined. The other tells a similar story of being grazed by one of these arrows."

"An hour? They were beaten back in an hour?" Parthia asked, eyes wide with shock.

Her father only nodded.

Lucius said nothing, nor did he seem to care much for the exact nature of why they had been pushed back.

The officers began to whisper amongst themselves.

"Are negotiations on the table?" General Tiberius asked bluntly.

The Emperor let out a tired, perhaps frustrated, sigh.

Lucius spoke then.

Loudly.

Stolen novel; please report.

"Are you insane?! Negotiations after a loss only mean death for the Empire and all of its people!"

"I understand, majesty, but… then we need to get creative with our methods of resistance. Perhaps pretend to wish to negotiate so we may better gauge the enemy?"

“You think they’d even consider it? No, we simply have to-”

"Father, we must at least try to negotiate!”

All eyes turned to her, the room falling deathly quiet at her outburst.

Parthia resisted the urge to shrink away, sucking in a breath before preparing to speak.

Be Strong... you’re one of them...

“Father, I may not be a masterful tactician, but that doorway must be a chokepoint, and I understood General Atilla kept it well-defended! If the enemy beat them back so easily in spite of the advantages we held over them, then perhaps, we should regroup our forces and try to see if we can communicate with them to avoid more bloodshed!"

She could feel all the eyes in the room bearing on her like hunting dogs on a wounded deer, feeling herself shrink ever so slightly. Of course, it was likely a combination of her attempts at keeping her head high as all the officers in the room towered over her.

Antonius spoke then.

"I believe she has made quite the case, father. We can guess our enemy's reason for attacking, but we don't know. We are entirely oblivious to the nature of their weapons and tactics, after all."

“Come now, dear brother, we both know that risks opening the door to them doing the same to us! I say we use spies to gather the information in secret. Why let these barbarians get any more of a glimpse of our tactics or weapons?”

Emperor Adrian raised his hand and made a fist, silencing the room.

“There are far too many unknowns even now… clearly closing that accursed door failed. I want all of our forces to prepare a counterattack. Octavius and his men should still be up there, fighting alongside Warlock Agustine’s people against this threat. The mountains should slow them down enough to allow us an opportunity to gather our forces, I believe…” he then muttered “I do not believe we can go to the negotiating table without a proper victory. We must deny them what perceptions they may have of our forces after such defeats.”

Parthia immediately spoke.

"Father, my order is battle ready and can be sent out to the field at a moment's notice! If negotiations are not on the table, at least allow us to assist! If they’ve begun to push out of the highlands of the Mountains then there are areas that must be evacuated immediately! My people can get there while the rest of our armies focus on delaying the enemy."

There was silence for a moment then; both her father and her brothers eyeing her studiously.

“Is that true?”

Paloma quickly said “Y-yes, Emperor! We can assist with evacuations and we have the supplies for a sustained expedition into the Alpine Mountains if you so deem it!”

Parthia smiled at her subordinate, the girl appearing small and naïve, but now demonstrating she was capable of presenting information as any good soldier.

Emperor Adrian finally said "Then take your order, my daughter, and try to assist the armies up north where possible. But listen well. I order you to avoid the enemy at all costs. Reconnaissance and assistance only, do you understand, Parthia? Information is vital.”

“And if we find they wish to negotiate?”

“Yes, we should be at least somewhat open to negotiations. But be wary. If they capture you…” he grimaced before saying “No… they mustn’t. Come back to me, understood?"

The young royal actually winced in surprise.

That easy?

"Y-yes, Father- your majesty! I shall go at once!"

"Do." The emperor said.

With a badly hidden sense of excitement, the young princess quickly exited the room, Paloma flustered by the sudden shift in tension, awkwardly following after her. Finally, a mission other than training or trying to manage funds for her order! She would not let her people down!

***

The second the door closed as the two girls left, Emperor Adrian Sol Traianus turned to Tiberius.

"General, you are wiser than most, so I likely don't need to tell you exactly how dire our situation is."

"I understand the scene that greeted me outside the entrance are the remains of the imperial army sent to the Alpine Mountains?" the old general asked with a sigh.

Adrian crushed the parchments in his hands.

"No, but it could be arguably worse. Those are all that have returned begging for clemency… unable to perform their duty due to their injuries. Given what we’ve been told here, the unhurt compatriots that should have escorted them here did not die in battle."

The old general felt his eyes widen with shock.

"Deserters?"

"Yes. At least an entire legion deserted if the reports from the men are correct… it could always be more that simply did not bother returning here. At the very least, most of the army that escaped is still up there, preparing what strategies they can, but this situation is only becoming worse if so many deserted after a single battle." came the dry reply.

Before the old general could consider this, the Emperor spoke again.

"To make matters worse, I can't help but believe that their desertion will ultimately help us."

"How so?"

The emperor simply tossed the crushed parchments toward the older man. Tiberius picked them up and read them in silence. One was indeed the warning of the arrival of the enemy, but the other… the other simply read:

Enemy breaking through all defenses.

Catapult and ballista strikes ineffective.

First Legion and most of the Second Legion have been completely destroyed.

Survivors are retreating and I have ordered the remaining Third, Fourth, and Fifth Legions to fall back and try halting the enemy in the mountain passes where possible.

I will use the remaining cavalry from the Second to delay the enemy when they move through the nearby fields.

I shall take as many of them as I can with me.

Emperor, this enemy cannot be defeated through standard means. If you still wish to fight, you must prepare to destroy the empire and deny the enemy the supplies to continue. There will be no winning this war otherwise. Do as you wish.

-General Cassus Atilla.

The implication was clear.

"Scorched earth… we are not to allow the enemy to begin establishing itself on our lands. At all."

The old general nodded solemnly.

"That will be the new purpose of the deserters… we will give them free rein to destroy anything and everything between us and that accursed doorway to their heart's content. At least that will slow down their advance. No army can survive without a steady amount of supplies."

"But then… the villages, Vicenzo…"

"Vicenzo will fall sooner or later. We must simply accept that. We mustn’t even risk the possibility of the enemy getting its hands on some fertile farmland with which they can continue their war. General Octavius and his subordinates will ensure the city and its farmland are destroyed."

"Is that the only option, father?" Antonius asked.

"It is… at least as of right now. Perhaps my daughter can find some weakness in their doctrine that we can exploit, but until then… we must prepare for the worst. We destroyed the beast men, we conquered this world, we brought order... we will do it again if we must."

"Father, we will be victorious!" Lucius said in a tone that suggested bravado, but everyone could sense the slightest hint of fear and worry.

"We shall surely try, my son."

Alpine Mountain Range

"I want more men to cover up the rear. Maybe if we block enough of the routes-"

Agustine interrupted Octavius, pointing to the dimly-lit map saying "That's not the problem, the problem is the main highway... it's too wide, so once they get their bearings, those war machines of theirs will storm down that path and cut anything down. We should focus on blockading it immediately."

"I agree, but without men covering up our rear, we won't be able to hold long enough to block it properly."

Augustine shook his head, saying "I think we can do it quicker if we use the earth mages. We've practiced some new techniques recently that might do the trick."

Octavius glanced behind him. The men were still marching orderly enough. They had avoided the catastrophe a disorganized retreat would bring thanks to Atilla and perhaps the mountain's rocky terrain.

"I think we'll have to go with your plan then... I'll focus on scorching the earth from here to Vicenzo. If you can use your magic to block their way, then... then maybe we can set up some proper ambushes near the gorges further down."

"What about sending some spies to capture enemy troops?"

"I'm ordering a few to do just that. Maybe finally gain some proper information on these barbarians. If what the emperor says is true, we may have some outside help soon. Slaves from the far east with magical abilities."

"Mind readers?"

"Allegedly... unnatural beasts, but... they seem to belong to the Seljuk tribe. If we can get even one of their troops we should be able to figure out some of their weaknesses... then finally give them a crushing blow."

He glanced at the blackened night sky. An owl chirped in the distance in spite of the occasional thunder from the enemy magic.

A good omen, he figured.

Then he huffed in defiance as more enemy magic erupted on the horizon, its explosive echoes ringing through the jagged peaks that still surrounded them. It gave their men pause, some glancing nervously at the horizon, wondering where the magic would fall next as distant thunder signaled the enemy's weapons striking once again.

Octavius didn’t think about it, instead glancing at the parchments in his hand that showed an odd drawing of a demi-human with a fox-like tail, biting into a crudely drawn man, blood dripping from the neck while letters seemed to flow like a river out of the man's head and into the ears of the demi-human abomination. The information on the side made it very clear what this was and he would gladly accept the beasts.

The war was just beginning.