Uraia and the Okwari riders left with Uther for the battlefield. In her absence I put Klara in temporary command of the Royal Guard.

"Ferland is in charge while I am away, I need you to protect him," I said to Klara before my departure.

"I'm not going to the battlefield?" Klara asked, disappointed.

"You're needed here."

Before I walked out of the palace to go and get Myra, the Overseer decided that we should have one more conversation before I left for the battlefield.

"You must win this battle, no matter the cost," he said to me.

"You mean if it looks like we're going to lose I shouldn't hesitate to make use of Myra."

"You may not realize it, but in the short time that you have been queen you have accomplished extraordinary things. The kingdom can't afford to lose you, so no matter what you must be victorious, and you must return to your throne."

"I have no intention of doing otherwise."

Cyrus had gotten Myra saddled and harnessed up for me and was waiting for me with her behind the palace. Only when I was getting ready to take off with Myra was I fully struck by the reality of the fact that we were going to war. Flying over the kingdom and looking down at all that I was responsible for, the Overseer's words to me before I departed weighed on me heavily. Failure meant surrendering the kingdom to Volstaff, and under no circumstances was I prepared to have the citizens of Aseron submit to Volstaff rule. I was confident in our ability to win the battle with our soldiers, especially with the Okwari riders as part of our forces, but if things went against us on the battlefield I would have no choice but to intervene with Myra and if I did I would have to make sure no Volstaff soldier was left alive to tell the tale of our army's failure.

I arrived at the battlefield still unsure as to whether I had it in me to singlehandedly carry out such a large scale massacre. To avoid Myra being seen by the Volstaff troops I had her land far away from the mountain pass and we walked the rest of the way to where our troops were gathered. I left Myra behind the troops and made my way to Uther who was at the front lines.

The longbow archers, cavalry, teewah riders and some infantry were all stationed at the bottom of the slope where they couldn't be seen by the Volstaff army. Uther had cleverly positioned four infantry regiments above the slope for the enemy to see; his thinking was that if the enemy saw so few soldiers they would believe that they would have an easy time winning the battle and rush in to our trap.

"Is that them?" I asked Uther when I reached him at the front of the army.

"That's them."

Uther had managed to get the army to the pass before the Volstaff army.

"How many of them are there?" I asked.

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"I'd say about twenty five thousand."

"And how many do we have?"

"Ten thousand."

"So our disadvantage is about what we expected."

"Their king has made the journey with them, he'd like to talk with you before we begin."

"Well, let's not keep him waiting. HORSE!"

A horse was brought to me and I rode out to the centre of what would be the battlefield to meet with the Volstaff king, who, when he saw me riding toward his army, came forward on his horse to meet me.

"So you're the new queen of Aseron," he said after arriving at the centre of the field on his black stallion and sizing me up.

He had a swarthy complexion, hair down to his shoulders and a long beard that was tinged with white hairs. He was wearing ornate metal armor with a blue cape clipped on the back, armor that was more decorative than for protection.

"Yes, and you're the king who has tried every underhanded trick in the book to gain control of my kingdom."

"Your kingdom was weak, when kingdoms are weak they become targets for other kingdoms; what was done to your kingdom has been done countless times before to other weak kingdoms."

"Well Aseron now has a queen who was selected by Aseron's Overseer to be its ruler, so it's no longer the weak kingdom that you had set your sights on."

"You say that and yet when I look behind you I see only four infantry regiments, you can't hope to win this battle with such a paltry force."

"What we lack in numbers we make up for with ferocity."

King Anua let out a loud guffaw after I said this to him, betraying his arrogance and over-confidence.

"I did not come here seeking a massacre," he said when he was done laughing, "if you agree to surrender to me here I shall spare you and your army and you can all go home in one piece."

"Funny, I was about to make you the same offer."

My response removed the smile from his face.

"Be warned that if you do not accept my offer I will show no mercy to your soldiers, even if you decide to surrender, my army will not stop until every one of your soldiers is dead."

"Rest assured, I plan to extend the same courtesy to you and your men."

We parted and returned to our armies having said all that needed to be said.

"He's feeling very confident of his chances, so we can expect him to charge in; tell the teewah riders to get ready, we'll counter with them and the longbows," I said to Uraia and Uther.

They went to deliver my orders to the soldiers at the rear, leaving me with only one thing left to do, which was to address the soldiers that had gathered to fight for me.

"Soldiers of Aseron, I am your queen, Alegra Luthera. We are here today to defend our kingdom against the forces of Volstaff that have come here hoping to take our land from us and place us and our fellow citizens under their rule. It is up to us to stop them here; if we win this battle, and send the Volstaff army home as defeated men, Aseron will no longer need fear any threat from any foreign kingdom. Today's battle is to ensure our future as free Aseronians, and looking at all of you fine soldiers before me there is not a doubt in my mind that we will be victorious!"

The soldiers cheered, and I could see the belief in their faces.

"The king of Volstaff has brought his army here thinking that he'll be able to easily brush us aside and march his army on to our capital. Show him how foolish he is to be so disrespectful of us. Defeat them and you will return home as heroes, and your victory on this battlefield will be recorded in history as one of the finest performances by any army on any battlefield!"

The soldiers cheered again, this time louder.

"And just so you don't hog all of the glory for yourselves, I will be on the battlefield with you, so that I should become known as Alegra, the warrior queen!"

The soldiers laughed at this brief moment of levity that I chose to add to my speech, their laughter serving as proof that I had succeeded in winning them over.

"Now, ready yourselves! Battle is about to commence."

I rode to the rear of the infantry regiments, where the battle would be directed from.