Fort Sugan was a small fort located on the southern border of the Swora Oligarchy. It was a strategic location as it was close to Midland's northern border. It was built in a deep valley surrounded on all sides by mountains. It was also home to an army of over five hundred Sworan soldiers. It was the last outpost in the region and was considered impenetrable. Arlan deemed this fort to be their key to winning the northern front against the Swora.

The guard unit had already left to search for their supply convoy as the Banner of the Claw arrived to assault it. Arlan's plan was simple; destroy the garrison and take control of the fort. Roderic was leading the Hatchets while JD and Arlan led the Vanguard. In a nearby hidden position, the young lion was taking his final survey of the fort's garrison and defenses.

"Captain," said Yanie, "My rangers are in position. It's only two past noon though. Are you sure this will work?"

"Yes," replied Arlan confidently, "we've done enough scouting that we can accurately predict when the guards are going to leave their post."

"Understood," answered Yanie, "I'll make my preparations then."

Lem interjected, "It seems like you were right, Captain. Its only defended by a skeleton crew."

The fort was understaffed with only two hundred men. Most of the soldiers had left an hour earlier.

Dimitri arrived to give his report as well, "B Company is in position."

"Excellent," replied Arlan, "Are the men nervous?"

“No, we're ready for war," answered Dimitri.

Arlan briefed his officers, "Good, the Silvan Rangers will suppress the walls with arrows. Chrysta and Marie will also be using the [Urn of Mist] to provide cover for us to reach the walls."

“What about the guard unit?" asked Roderic from behind.

“It will take them too long to return," responded Arlan, "they left an hour ago to look for their supply convoy. We'll have control of the fort before their return."

Arlan then addressed his squad leaders, "The Vanguard will strike the center with me, like we did during the goblin campaign. The [Urn of Mist] will provide enough cover until we reach within 50 meters. Roderic, take the Hatchets and climb the north wall. We’ll have their attention focused on the south wall."

"Yes Captain!" answered the squad leaders.

Arlan then took a deep breath before addressing his men one more time, "All units, prepare yourselves for the assault!"

He then activated his Warlord's Regalia and empowered everyone within earshot. Arlan then gave the signal to begin. Yanie's rangers released volley after volley of arrows at the walls. Arlan and his Vanguard then charged forward while Roderic and his Hatchets stealthily moved around the east wall. The volley of arrows struck ten Sworan soldiers who were posted on the wall and an alarm bell rang out immediately. The defenders from within were now realizing and shouting that they were under attack.

There was still a few hours of light out but the [Urn of Mist] did its job of masking the Banner of the Claw’s movements. The surprise caught the defenders ill-prepared. By the time fifty Sworan archers started running up the stairs to the ramparts, Arlan and twelve of the Vanguard had already beaten them there. More Banner of the Claw soldiers were climbing up behind Arlan. The young lion had wind magic imbued into stone plates with small iron bars to lift his men up the walls. Although they were only usable once each and didn’t last very long, it served its purpose in getting a strike force on the ramparts.

The Sworan archers were both scared and confused as to how they were scaling up the walls without any siege ladders. Their fear was due to their lack of hand-to-hand combat experience and the reputation of who was before them. They drew their shortswords in preparation to fight as Arlan gave the attack order to JD and the other vanguard members on the ramparts.

"Don't hold back!" shouted Arlan over the sound of battle. He leapt off the wall, using his [Windshear] and landed below in the courtyard before an unsuspecting archer. He swung his claymore downwards, chopping his opponent's head cleanly from his shoulders. Arlan was alone and surrounded by thirty Sworan swordsmen who were all second-tier red cores. Despite outnumbering the lone young lion, the Sworan swordsmen all felt a cold sweat from Arlan's presence. His eyes alone struck fear into them. They simply waited for his next move and to their surprise, he turned around and lifted the wooden beam that barred the gate with one hand.

Meanwhile, Roderic and his sixty Hatchets had already scaled the northern wall with the wind-imbued disc that Arlan had provided. They were undetected and had orders to stop any attempts for the Sworans to organize a counterattack. The enemy was so unprepared, it wasn't until two minutes into their charge that one of the Hatchets was able to cut down the first Sworan soldier. From then on, it was complete chaos as the Hatchets rushed through the northern ramparts cutting down every Sworan soldier they saw. Within a minute, the Hatchets had secured the northern wall. A Hatchet reported to Roderic as he pulled one of his axes from the back of a dead Sworan soldier.

"We've secured the northern walls. Our Vanguard has just begun a battle on the southern wall and the Captain has been spotted in the courtyard surrounded. Shall we proceed to help?"

"No," answered Roderic to his Hatchet, "We hold our ground as ordered. The Captain wouldn't put himself in a position he couldn't win."

"As you command," answered the Hatchet.

From the highest point of the northern wall, Roderic simply gazed south to the courtyard and watched Arlan lift the wooden beam one handed while surrounded. Roderic noticed the enemy soldiers paralyzed with fear and unable to even move to stop the young lion from doing what he wanted.

"Fucking incredible," muttered Roderic impressed.

Back on the southern rampart, JD and twenty-five Vanguard members were engaged with the archers in a one-sided slaughter. JD was at the forefront of the fight. Arlan had entrusted JD with securing the southern wall until the gate was open. Arlan wanted to limit the damages to the gate in order to use it defensively or he would've simply smashed it down with [Titanstrike]. In order to do so, the young lion ordered JD and his detachment to hold the southern wall while the Hatchets stopped any more movements from the north. This meant that there were only thirty Sworan swordsmen to stop Arlan and the rest of the Banner of the Claw from flooding in.

JD spun with two blades swinging like a tornado through the enemy archer ranks. As the wooden beam was dropped by Arlan, JD and his team had secured the southern wall. The rest of the Vanguard, including the Silvan Rangers flooded in through the open gate. Marie, Chrysta, Lem, Dimitri, and Erin were at the forefront of this group. Yanie, Mahari, and Fiala were second with the Silvan Rangers.

Erin arrived next to Arlan and nodded that they were all through. Mahari and a few Rangers lifted the wooden beam with all their strength back on the gate. The Sworan swordsmen were easily outnumbered greatly. Their comrades weren't coming due to the Hatchets stopping any form of reaction. The defenders knew this battle was already over.

Arlan raised his blacksteel claymore with the tip pointed at his foes and used wind magic to carry his voice, "I am Arlan Reeve, Captain of the Banner of the Claw. You have my word that you will be treated fairly if you surrender and lay down your weapons. Any hostile intent or refusal will result in death. What say you?"

The Sworan soldiers looked upon each other, unsure if this was a bluff or not. A senior Sworan swordsman yelled out, "We refuse! Your promises are nothing but vile lies! You'll cut us all down the moment we lay down our arms!" This simply reinforced the Sworan's fanaticism. Marie had just arrived next to Arlan to hear the enemy's response and it angered her beyond control. So she yelled back, "We will do no such thing! You will not be har-"

Arlan's left-arm cut off Marie from finishing and said to her, "It's no use, they're indoctrinated beyond reasoning...a common training procedure for soldiers to fight beyond their fear of death."

Marie had known this already but wanted to refuse the reality of the truth. Fiala's hand rested on Marie's shoulder to reaffirm that she wasn't alone in trying to accept the harsh realities of war. Yanie and her Silvan Rangers were veterans of war and simply readied their arrows. Even though there were only thirty Sworan swordsmen in the courtyard, there were still at least a hundred other Sworan soldiers throughout the keep. They were all confused but ready to fight until death.

Arlan knew how dangerous this fanaticism was, it could cause an unnecessary casualty for his soldiers. The Banner of the Claw could've easily brute forced their way through Fort Sugan in a blood bath but it would've brought about high casualties from both sides. The Sworan defenders all readied themselves and started to try and flood out from the keep. The Hatchets and Roderic started to intercept and cut down any from the keep as Arlan had predicted.

The Sworan swordsman in the courtyard witnessed the ferocity of the Hatchets and started to also ready themselves. Arlan nodded at Yanie and her Silvan Rangers took to the front with their bows drawn, arrows aimed at the thirty enemy soldiers before them. The senior Sworan swordsman cried out, "My brothers, let us die a warrior's death and we'll meet on the other side! Swora Aeternum!"

The death sentence order was given and all thirty enemy swordsmen started to bolt towards the Banner of the Claw. Yanie looked to Arlan for his signal and he answered her with a nod. The Silvan Rangers sent their arrows forth striking all of the Sworan swordsmen at once. Twenty were immediately killed while the remaining ten were mortally wounded trying to stand once more. Roderic and his Hatchets had just finished eliminating the remaining Sworan soldiers to see the charge unfold in the courtyard. The young lion held up his left palm to stop the second volley from firing and walked forth.

Arlan stopped before the kneeling senior Sworan gave the foolish order. The mortal wounds revealed themselves to be an arrow through the right thigh and another through the upper chest. The steel longsword was still in the senior Sworan's right-hand who figured this may be his chance to strike down the arrogant captain from Midland. He mustered his remaining strength and started his swing toward Arlan's neck.

"Arlan!" cried out Fiala and Yanie while the rest of the retinue weren't surprised and knew the results. The senior Sworan swung all the way through and smiled at the thought of taking down the infamous Immortal General with such an easy attack. But his joy was short-lived when his weapon connected with metal, not flesh. A bang echoed through the courtyard and the steel longsword's upper blade had boomeranged a few meters into the nearby ground. The senior Sworan looked up to see that Arlan had blocked the swing with his blacksteel claymore's edge. The dying soldier looked down at his broken sword and merely accepted his fate smiling.

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Arlan gave the enemy his words once more, "You stood bravely, and have earned my respect. I will now give you and your men the warrior's death you desire so strongly. Rest peacefully in your Elysium."

As promised, the young lion raised his blacksteel claymore and beheaded the Sworan soldier before him. Despite Arlan's hatred for the Swora, Arlan knew these weren't the same soldiers responsible for the atrocity committed at the orphanage awhile back. Arlan nodded at this upper echelon from the Vanguard and they proceeded to give the enemy soldiers clean deaths. The battle was over, the Banner of the Claw had captured Fort Sugan. The Warlord's Regalia was powered down.

Roderic arrived in the courtyard and gave Arlan his report, "The Hatchets have secured the northern ramparts and the keep. There were no casualties, not even injuries. As usual, your strategem worked flawlessly."

"Not flawlessly," replied the young lion while he stared at the body of his enemy before him, "they didn't surrender like I thought they would."

The Senior Sergeant saw the unchanged expression of his young Captain and reassured him, "Our victory here came at no cost, and they died a warrior's death."

"It isn't their death that bothers me," replied Arlan, "It's that I was sure that they would surrender, but I miscalculated their resolve."

Roderic blinked twice and gave out a hearty laugh, "Captain, if I may be frank?"

"I always welcome your honesty," answered Arlan.

"For a second, I thought you felt sad over their deaths," said Roderic, "But you're only bothered about your small mistake. This is not ordinary for anyone who has only fought battles for a few years. Is there something I should know?"

Arlan answered, "See me privately after we've secured the rest of the fort Roderic."

"Aye Captain," replied Roderic as he saluted and returned to his men.

JD was waiting for Roderic to leave and asked, "Your orders?"

Arlan gave his instructions to JD, "Have A Company assist the Hatchets in securing the fort and B Company to set up watches on the battlements. Tell Yanie I want at least twenty Silvan Rangers at all times on the walls and to have ten patrol the surrounding area once an hour. Report to me or send a runner once an hour. The large guard unit should be returning right at nightfall. We'll brief you in a few hours before then."

"By your command," answered the Adjutant Knight.

Arlan's [Battle Trance] couldn't pick up any remaining enemy troops within the fort but having his men secure the fort was his way of double checking for anyone who could potentially hide their core. The young lion turned to see Fiala performing a Rite of Numen on the fallen Sworan soldiers. Fiala asked Arlan, "Are you alright?"

"Just annoyed that I made a small mistake," answered Arlan, "Please continue Fiala, don't let me interrupt you."

Fiala nodded and continued with the Rite of Numen. She closed her eyes and concentrated while her magic flowed through her body. Her mana was in balance while her aura was at full strength. Suddenly, her mana surged higher than ever before. Her magic reached its peak and immediately dissipated.

Chrysta and Marie had just finished using [Detect] and gave their all-clear to Arlan. Chrysta walked up to Fiala and asked, "Are you hurt?"

"No, I'm fine," Fiala answered while shaking her head, "I just feel a bit tired. I'm not used to these long days."

Marie wrapped her arms around Fiala from behind and said, "Don't worry. You'll get used to it. We at least now have the safety of these walls."

The cleric smiled in return and agreed, "I hope so."

After the small exchange, Arlan ordered his men to clean up the bodies into a pile outside. The Banner of the Claw couldn't afford the time to bury the dead, even if any of their own had perished in battle. Cremation was considered a respectful tradition across Althea. Arlan ordered this despite knowing that the large fire would alert the enemy guard unit outside that Fort Sugan was at least under siege.

Since Marie was able to cast up to tier-five fire magic, she was always tasked with igniting the bodies aflame. Her fire spells burned fourfold hotter than a standard fire so it would cremate the bodies much faster. Since the Banner's incursion into Sworan Territory, Marie had performed this task several times. She never complained or felt remorse. Her ability to maintain her emotions made her feel as though Arlan's strength was within her. She would perform the task perfectly.

Everyone was now busy with their given task and orders. The siege was the first half, the second half was fortifying Fort Sugan as their base of operations and preparing for the inevitable battle against the returning guard unit. The Banner of the Claw had roughly two hours before the sun would start to set and that's when Arlan knew the Sworan guard unit would return. So after an extremely busy hour, Fort Sugan now had House Reeve Banners hoisted up.

Within the keep was a captain's quarters that had been taken over as a command room. Discussion within between the young lion and his upper echelon was mid debate when JD left the room and proceeded down to the first floor. The keep had four floors that were slightly higher than the stone walls which were nowhere near as tall as a standard castle wall. The Adjutant Knight was doing one final round to check on the task he assigned to the different leaders within the Banner of the Claw.

When he arrived at the main-hall on the first floor, Yanie had just finished addressing two of her rangers. Mahari was naturally by her side and was always seen with Yanie or Fiala. JD and Arlan both knew that ever since Anthony Fira's death, Mahari likely felt a form of survivor's guilt. The lizard beastmen tribe he hailed from greatly valued the honor of defending their families or comrades in battle.

Yanie noticed JD had entered the main-hall and gave her report, "JD, I've posted pairs of rangers across the four corner watchtowers. They've been given bells to ring if they spot enemy movements."

"Excellent," replied JD, "and what of the first patrol?"

"They had just returned and reported to me. The immediate area is clear of any enemy movements or scouts," answered Yanie, "Where is Arlan?"

"He's in the command-room," answered JD, "I just wanted to make sure everything is in order before our defense brief."

"All is well, I'll head up to the command-room now," confirmed Yanie, "I'll see you there later."

Mahari nodded at JD and followed Yanie up the stairs to the command-room. JD continued on outside to see Erin directing the movement of their own supplies to the storage. The Adjutant Knight approached his long-time friend for an update, "Erin, how are things regarding our supplies?"

"There wasn't much left," replied Erin, "We came in with a month's worth of food and rations but Fort Sugan had barely a few days of rations. Our raids on their resupplies were extremely effective. All the spare weapons and armor are either rusted or have the Sworan colors which would cause friendly-fire issues."

JD knew this kind of report was inevitable but smiled at the situation and said, "This reminds me of our time back when we were still recruits. The Pennington Noble would accuse me, you, Noah and Trent of being lazy and had our food rations taken... Then Trent would steal bread from the other units since we were starving from hunger."

Erin chuckled at the memory and answered, "I do. Remember when he got caught and had to spend a week in detention?"

"Yeah, the look on your face when Noah told you that Trent got caught," added JD, "Oh and Noah's great idea to sneak into Trent's holding cell so we could give Trent parts of our rations..."

"That's right! I remember... Those were some good times," replied Erin with a smile. The two friends sat in silence as they remembered their two fallen friends.

JD looked at his friend with sympathy, "Noah was like a little brother to me and us four really went through shit together."

Erin looked up at the sun as it was nearly touching the horizon and asked, "If something were to happen to me, can you look after Trent's little sister Lanny?"

"Erin..." uttered JD, "I won't have to. Arlan is going to get us all home safely. Besides, Lanny barely knows me and she knows you like a second brother."

JD embraced Erin closely, for they shared a deep pain of loss. Erin was uncomfortable at first since other soldiers were still around but realized it was something he needed to feel better. He realized that his grief didn't have to be shouldered alone. JD was also grieving while shouldering the responsibility of being the right-hand of Arlan and second-in-command of the Banner of the Claw. Erin felt better knowing that JD understood the pain.

After a few seconds, they let go and Erin remembered he didn't finish his report and said, "Oh, one more thing, JD."

"What is it?"

"We found a large cache of Sworan Iron Arrows in the armory. It was enough for at least three-hundred archers. There weren't any spare bows but I let Yanie and her Rangers have at it. All sixty rangers and Yanie will be able to reload their thirty-arrow quivers four times over each."

JD knew this was a huge boon to the Banner of the Claw's Silvan Rangers since they were deadly accurate with their bows and were running low on arrows. Without a doubt, JD figured Yanie had already informed Arlan by now. JD nodded and replied, "You saved the good news for last."

Erin apologized "Sorry, it finally crossed my mind at the end."

"I was kidding," JD reassured Erin, "Yanie just left for the command-room so she likely already informed the Captain but I'll still include it in my final report. I'm going to see how the others are. Once you're finished here, head up to the command-room. The defense brief is going to start soon."

"Acknowledged, sir," answered Erin as he saluted and continued his duties.

JD continued onward toward the opened gate where the Hatchets had gathered. Roderic had finished relaying the orders he had been given by Arlan to his Hatchets. JD was still shorter and younger than the grizzly veteran Hatchets. After noticing the arrival of JD, Roderic dismissed his men and waved JD over to accompany him. The pair waltzed right outside of the southern gate that they had just breached hours before.

Roderic addressed his superior, "Knight JD, you must be here for my updates?"

"Yes, Roderic. We haven't much time left to address any issues that may have arisen."

"Aye, luckily everything has gone smoothly. After our initial sweep of the keep, the Sworan map we turned in was the only item worth mentioning."

"Yes, that map had every major Sworan defensive position north of Tudora and south of Rinhaven."

"And we finished stacking the corpses for the Embercaller. Are you sure she's alright?"

"I don't know Marie as well as Arlan does but if he trusts her, then so do I. Thank you Roderic for being reliable and easy to work with. If naught for you, we would have much more trouble."

"Count Emile chose me because he believes in the Banner of the Claw. He knows that I can help the most by being here in service of Midland. And Arlan is a damn good leader, I've never fought under anyone like him."

JD nodded as the pair arrived before Marie and a large pile of smoldering ashes. Roderic saluted and excused himself to the Command-Room. The Embercaller did as she had always done, she had incinerated the remains of the enemy. Fiala sent their souls to Numen while Marie destroyed their vessels they had left behind. The Adjutant Knight observed quietly as he knew Marie had been finished for quite some time now. He didn't need to ask for her report. The grey ashes before him said it all.

"Marie, it's time," said JD as the crackling sounds of the dying fire echoed.

Marie held her ground and uttered, "The souls of the dead will always yearn for life. So they shall be reborn again for their flames will never die. It's what Fiala told me earlier."

JD was taken aback at what he had heard. Marie finally turned and started walking back toward the southern gate. She passed by JD and said, "I thought I would one day use my magic in a noble manner and bring honor to the Balan name. I never expected my flames to induce such fear and agony."

"Marie... Maybe you should rest and let Chrysta-"

"You misunderstand me," replied Marie, "My flames give me the warmth I desire. It is those who I've killed that I've inflicted the fear and agony upon."

The Adjutant Knight nodded and apologized. "I'm sorry, I spoke out of line."

"It's okay, JD," answered Marie, "I don't enjoy killing others and nor do I enjoy unleashing my fire upon the mountains of bodies. But... I don't hate it either. I'm starting to understand Arlan's mind."

JD had no response and was unsure of how to feel about what Marie had said. He knew it was true but not just Arlan, it was true for the entirety of the Banner of the Claw. They had all started to imitate Arlan's unbothered efficiency in killing. But none of them find enjoyment in killing either.

Marie broke JD out of his daze by saying, "Let's go, the defense briefing should be starting soon."

The Adjutant Knight pushed the thoughts aside and followed the Adjutant Mage. After JD and Marie passed through the southern gates, they closed shut. The pair were the last two outside. They made their way through the courtyard and into the keep. Then proceeded up the four floors to the Command-Room at the very end of the hall. Marie and JD entered and realized they were the last ones to come in.

Then JD gave a condensed overall report to his Captain. Arlan nodded and announced, "Let our defense meeting begin."