Elassa watched her army lift off into the air. All in ranks and in their colourful robes. Every staff glowing, cloudless thunder and lightning split the sky as magical energies began to run rampant. Arcadia felt its first earthquake in centuries. Two months more. Two months more and they would be ready. Arascus could use his fancy toys all he wished. Fortia’s defeats were a blessing in disguise, she would lose the prestige she had claimed in the Great War. The red and purple waved behind Elassa as her mages returned to the ground.

She had already won, now the war was just a mere formality.

This sort of force had not existed since the start of Worldbreaking.

Iliyal’s small plane landed in Sokolowski’s campsite. Whereas fields and rivers typically had names, the desert dunes were simply an unending ocean of rolling yellow sands. There was little to nothing to delineate one area from another. Campsites were given basic organisational names, and then another for the archives if anything important happened around it. Waeh’s death and Fortia subsequent battle had taken place in what was simply referred to as ‘Location One.’

Now Sokolowski’s headquarters had been pulled further south, closer to Kirinyaa’s central mountain range. To replenish the wounded, after the battle, half of Division one had been wiped out in the battle. That was around five thousand men gone. For what was estimated to be sixty thousand of Fortia’s, this was another battle that would go into the history. Another brick added to the impregnable fortress that made up Kassandora’s fame.

Iliyal left the small plane on the dirt. He came dressed in his suit, with a briefcase. Anassa’s sorcerers were flying around in the blue sky. Clerics were still healing the wounded. Fer’s beastmen were also prowling around the campsite, with men giving them wary looks or simply pretending they weren’t there. Tents had been put up. Artillery wagons were being repaired, several teams were arranging stocks of ammunition. A truck filled with bottles of rum had made a crowd, some sergeants were pushing the men away and shouting about how the alcohol was to wait for tonight’s celebrations.

Iliyal walked through Kassandora’s camp towards where the Divine’s tents should be. If you walked through one of her camps, you walked through them all. Tents for soldiers facing the enemy lines, the supplies and medicine in the centre, the command quarters. Food and spaces for artillery in the back. The only change the modern age had brought was wider paths, large enough for trucks to pass each other by, and an airstrip, although that was placed as the terrain allowed it to be.

A wolfman strode confidently to Iliyal. Hulking, although slightly shorter than him. Scars on his chest, fur matted with sweat, a jaw spilling over with long teeth. “I remember you.” The wolfman said. Iliyal looked the beastman up and down and shrugged.

“A grand many people do.” Iliyal replied coldly, the wolfman’s red eyes blinked under the weight of Iliyal’s green gaze. “What do you want?”

“Spy checking.” The wolfman said and leaned in. He smelled Iliyal twice and nodded. “You’re not a spy.”

Iliyal shrugged in reply. “I’m not, that’s it?” The wolfman nodded and replied in his guttural tone that broke up words into their syllables.

“You were the one who led us to Packmaster during the Hunt.” He said. “Not of the blood but trusted. Thank you.” He finished, made a slight bow and went off to the plane to inspect the rest of the crew. If they were operating by smell, it was most likely shape-shifters. Iliyal kept on moving with his briefcase through Kassandora’s camp.

Kavaa was healing men who had been injured. About two dozen were laying under a piece of fabric put up to give them shade. All of them had a limb that was amputated, some their arm, others their leg. Two were lying on the ground with only stumps. Kavaa’s hands were on one man’s bare chest as he lay asleep. His knee started to expanded, a bone pierced its way through burned skin which started to flake off as the man mumbled something in his sleep.

What a power.

If they had that against Leona back then… Iliyal sighed. There was no reason to think about what could and what didn’t. They had Kavaa now, that was enough. The Goddess of Health didn’t look up from the injured man once as she worked on him. Iliyal did not stop to look how long it would take either, if that was information important enough to know, Kassandora would tell him. If it wasn’t, then there was no reason for him to be aware of it.

There were more beastmen here, prowling around and smelling men who looked as if they would rather be anything but under their suspicious noses. The civilians were obviously terrified, their knees shaking and their arms trembling as they stood under the watchful gaze of Fer’s children. What they were doing, Iliyal did not ask. If it was important enough for him to know about, he would have been told already. Simple as that.

And so Iliyal kept on walking until he saw a single solitary tent a short distance from the camp. A large round thing that had obviously been hastily built by Divines. The long logs were smashed into each other, the beam that held up the dull red cloth had nails sticking out of it in odd angles, as if they had been shot into the beam rather than hammered in. Damian Sokolowski was standing on guard, the only man in the area, shaved and with fresh pink skin on his head. Healed then after the battle. He looked around at Iliyal and saluted.

Ultimately, they were at the same rank, there was no reason for Sokolowski to salute right now. But Iliyal would be lying if he didn’t admit he appreciated the gesture. He had lived too long for the young blood to not be saluting him. Iliyal saluted him back and stopped. “Are they busy?” He asked. Sokolowski nodded, speaking in that harsh Lubskan accent of his.

“They are.”

“Who?”

“Goddesses Kassandora and Anassa, God Arascus.” Iliyal sighed and turned around. Kassandora herself, he would knock and enter. Arascus and Kass, he would do the same. Anassa though? He’d rather not a talking to later by the Goddess of Sorcery. They both looked over the camp, with it’s roving men and trucks that were bring more. Kassandora would be holding a celebration, when wars were still easy like this, it was customary to build morale and rapport among the troops. When offensives started, they wouldn’t have time for little more than a drink.

“How was the battle?” Iliyal asked.

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

“Close.” Sokolowski replied. “But we made it.” He took a deep breath and looked up at the clear cloudless sky above them. “Honestly, I thought we would lose at one point, but we didn’t.”

“It’s always like that.” Iliyal replied. “You get used to it.”

“Do you?”

“Trust me, you do.” Iliyal said. “Sooner or later, you’ll realise how the battle is won before it even starts.” Sokolowski nodded to the empty to the empty air.

“And you? How’s it’s going on your front?”

“You watch the news?”

“No time.”

“Then turn on EIE clip and you’ll see.” Iliyal said with a smile. “I’d say it’s going well. Could be better, but good enough.”

“It could always be better.” Sokolowski said idly. That was Kassandora’s line, she had ingrained it into both of them. Iliyal nodded as his eyes flicked across the camp. There was no need to ask about what they would be doing, although the elf was curious, and the report had given enough of the important information for him to get a general picture of what had happened. There was little to talk to about the man, he was obviously too nervous to say anything in front of Iliyal. He didn’t have the familial bonds Ilwin had, nor that shamelessness Alee could bring out. Iliyal smiled as his mind went to memories of the maid back in Karaina.

Eventually, their wait was interrupted by Fer appearing from within the camp. Neneria was stalking close behind her. Of Death’s cold dark eyes merely glanced over the two generals as she kept walking towards the tent. Fer’s lit up when she Iliyal, that golden mane of hair behind her waved from side to side as her swishing tail beat against it. “Look.” Iliyal’s elven heard her voice. “My favourite elf is here.” Fer said cheekily to Neneria.

The Goddess of Death sighed. “He is.” Iliyal pretended not to hear, Fer was like that to everyone.

“Do you think he has something to report?” Fer asked in a tone that was obviously too loud for him to not hear.

“He can probably hear you, you know?” Neneria replied softly. Fer sighed, her golden eyes rolled and she shook her head.

“Well forgive me for indulging in my curiosity.” She said sarcastically. Neneria’s lips made a tiny little smile of satisfaction.

“You are forgiven.” The Goddess of Death walked right past them into the tent, Fer stopped before Iliyal. Twice his height, a giant. He looked up at her as Sokolowski pulled a salute. Fer slapped the man’s salute away.

“So what are we here for?” She asked and bent down. She smelled Iliyal twice, then Sokolowski. “Not a shapeshifter either, so you’re real.”

“I try to be.” Iliyal said as Sokolowski seemed to shrink in the presence of the Goddess of Beasthood. “I have news for Goddess Kassandora.” Fer raised an eyebrow.

“You do?” She bent at the waist to put her face on the same level as Iliyal’s. Some Divines were simply too large for their own good. “What is it?”

“It’s a military matter.” Iliyal responded flatly. Maybe Sokolowski would have been intimidated, but he had worked with Fer too many times before. It was important to be polite, but that didn’t mean one should roll over and do everything she said. Frankly, once you got past her crude looks, Fer was rather easy to deal with.

“Am I not part of the military?” Fer asked slowly.

“You know what I meant, it’s for Goddess Kassandora first.” Fer narrowed those cat eyes at him.

“So you’re not going to tell me?” Iliyal sighed. Sometimes, he wished another Divine would just appear to whisk Fer away.

“It’s important enough to where you’ll find out soon, but not here.” Iliyal said, he gave no reaction under Fer’s gaze as the woman thought of what to say, eventually nodding, and standing back up. The hardest part had been to keep his eyes on hers, and not have them drop down to look into her loose white shirt. He actually had to tighten his grip on the briefcase for that.

“Damian here is safe, just so you know.” Fer said. She patted the human on the head. “Also, Kassie will tell you but I want to first. We found spies.”

“Shapeshifters I assume.” Iliyal said. Fer made a satisfied gaze at him as she smiled and almost closed her eyes.

“How did you work out?”

“I got smelled when I landed.” Iliyal said and Fer nodded.

“Kassie really knows how to pick her men, doesn’t she?” Iliyal smiled back. He had lived too long for most compliments to have an effect on him, but one that had never failed to work was when he was reminded that Kassandora had chosen him out of the thousands of candidates suitable to lead a Legion. “Alright.” Her ears bounced up and down and she looked at the tent. “They’re just laughing in there.”

Iliyal said nothing, but it was annoying that he had been delayed for so long. But Divines were Divines, and mortals were mortals. This was par for the course. He wouldn’t have made it so long if he let it show. “How important is it?” Fer asked.

“It’s quite important.”

“You sure about that?” Fer raised an eyebrow, Iliyal thought for a moment.

“I am sure.”

“Then come with me.” Fer said and Iliyal turned on the spot. Damian Sokolowski stared at both of them in awe. Iliyal trekked straight backed towards the tent as Fer threw the cloth back. “I am here!” She proclaimed loudly to a series of sighs. Anassa was sat in her red dress, Neneria in her black. Kassandora and Arascus were both sat on the other side of the round table, everyone turned to look at the two who had just entered.

“Every time?” Anassa asked, then her eyes settled on the elf behind her. She made a terrible smile and turned to Kassandora. “Oh Kassie! You’re little elf is here!” Kassandora had already seen Iliyal. The man saluted. Kassandora returned the salute.

“Iliyal, what’s the situation?” She asked sharply as Fer laughed and stepped in to take a seat.

“Ohohoho, he says it’s very important.” She collapsed onto a chair that creaked under her weight. Kassandora looked at Fer, bit her tongue and turned back to Iliyal as the man marched up to the table. War plans and documents were littered around it. He made a show of not doing much more than glancing at them.

“Yesterday, I had a guest. I would have been here tomorrow if it wasn’t for a flight delay.” Fer lay down on the table, as she always did.

“Don’t worry you got here late.” She said. “Kassie and Ana weren’t in any state to do any work yesterday.” Iliyal shot her a confused look. Anassa smiled back at Fer.

“If you want, I can make sure you get the same treatment today.” She cooed, in that alluring tone of hers she always did. The two Goddesses chuckled between each other as Kassandora blushed.

“I’d like to see you try Ana.”

“You think I can’t?”

“I know you can’t.” Kassandora shook her head and slapped the table to shut them up.

“We were getting healed.” Kassandora said quickly. “The battle was harder than the report said. Anassa took a wound through the stomach, I had the same.” Anassa rolled her eyes as Arascus crossed his arms and leaned back. He looked at Iliyal, made those eyes which only spoke of tiredness and shook his head.

“Come now, Kassie, indulge a bit.” Anassa said. “Teasing is fun.” Her eyes went over to Iliyal and Iliyal took a deep breath. Anassa was about to say something terrible. “And I’m sure Iliyal here can take it.” There it was. He looked to Arascus and Anassa for help as Fer chuckled from besides him.

“What have you brought?” Arascus shut them all up.

“The guest was President Artois.” To anyone else, Iliyal would have given a build up. But Arascus’ questions demanded immediate answers. He put the briefcase onto the table and opened it up. Then brought out the piece of paper Artois had given him. There was the five stamps of office from Doschia, Lubska, Rilia, Allia and Rancais. “I…” Iliyal said as every Divine in the room scanned the paper. “Well, I think we should follow through this.”

“Follow through?” Anassa asked.

“There’s nothing to follow through on here Iliyal, this is...” Fer trailed off as she kept reading. Even Neneria spoke up.

“Luck does favour us.” The Goddess of Death said in that quiet and calm voice of hers.

Arascus and Kassandora finished reading the paper first as Iliyal brought more. Artois had left a fair few, detailing the plan and everything. He had, in a roundabout way, asked for Kassandora’s advice on whether the Epans had formulated something that could work. Arascus looked to Kassandora, and Kassandora beamed a smile back at him. Kassandora spoke first. “You follow through when you find an opening in someone’s shield. This is whole damn city wall coming down.”

Arascus smiled in a terribly satisfied manner and agreed. “This is the opening we needed for Epa.”