6660 A.P. (After Purge)
6th Moon, 8th Daylight
Morning of the 9th hour
Royal Court, Heinguard
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‘Twas the morning, seven daylights before the Ascent Festival of the great kingdom of Thessascus, the Capital of Heinguard was still adjusting to the influx of the Descended who arrived a few daylights past. A messenger by the rank of Griffon fleet officer promptly flew to the first ward, much with haste. He was to bring forth a message of utmost importance. He passed to an elite guard by the gate who took it. The elite guard was surprised by the color of the sealwax as it was golden, the second to the highest rank of priority. It was only used for one purpose and one purpose only,
War.
The receiving elite guard made haste as well, arriving like the wind to the Royal Palace and further towards the sleeping chambers of the king. He was abruptly stopped by the stationed elites, guardians of the regal doors.
“Dendric, what business doth thou bringest at such early an hour?” greeted one of the stationed
“Mornin’ Brax, Bron. Message was delivered by the border patrol, golden ranked seal.” Shock plastered the expressions of the two as they loosened their crossed halberds. Sweat trickled from their furrowed brows as Dendric cut their chatter off, implying them to quickly step aside.
“W-what?! I-i-it c-cannot be. Are you s-”
“-Sure? Positive. Means the kingdom of Partevia’s on the move. Let me through at once.”
And that they did. The intricately carved wooden door swung opened as the king himself was surprised by the early intrusion. The elite showed his hand, as too much banter does not bode well in such calamitous circumstances. The king immediately understood just by looking at the folded parchment. His face became pale as a pearl. He stormed out of his quarters and bade the three elites to summon his advisers at once as he will receive them in the court hall precisely in an hour.
Tension was as frigid as the morning winds yet hotter than a summer’s noon as endless arguments erupted from the advisors and his uninvited noble vassals, an hour later. The nobles dispute the insights of the advisers as if wanting to lay in bed with the raiding enemy. The king was still occupied with the contents of the golden epistle to make full notice of the squabbles of lesser men.
Hmph, Politics.
The Letter states that a Partevian army of ten thousand strong was heading towards Mudshire, their borderline city nearest to the other kingdom’s territory, on foot. It may take those soldiers seven to eight daylights to arrive and slaughter the civilians since only a thousand soldiers were dispatched to defend it. Another Partevian army was seen hidden near the forest of Lormwood many leagues away from their first army. Fortunately, it was impossible for the two armies to provide each other with backup. They numbered seven thousand and positioned inside the outer territories of Thessascus in the southwest. Thessascus would be awaiting disaster as the kingdom cannot fight on two fronts at the moment. The Goblins are making their move as well from the southwest near the outskirts of Zolumn, positioning their armies to directly attack Heinguard without minding the other walled cities. The lizard-kin assembled an army as well from the southeast, marching through the swamps of Mosstrow near the capital of Partevia. Partevia’s foolhardy positioning of her troops led to open hostility of the different kingdoms nearby. As a result, it was too late to turn back the sands of time. War is now inevitable.
That foolish king!
King Christoff cursed as he condemned the senile snake. Ambitions of self-interests may cloud the minds of the bests of us, and corrupt the worst. Did he really think that by owning one Saint Hero, he can attack other human settlements without costs? Did he really think that the Lady Geraldine can lose to a recently leveled Saint? He did not even consider that by removing his armies from his lands he attracted the attention of the other races?!
His majesty’s concentration was abruptly broken by the intensifying squabble of people in his court. Everyone was shouting to each other, cursing and threatening one another…Except for two people.
Princess Pandora of the Moonlight Seal Heavenly Cloud Palace and a youngster, a servant of the Goddess Atlantis were looking at the three dimensional map of the discovered parts of southern continent. The Princess had her eyes closed as the boy-what was his name again? Ah yes, June was it -was muttering and pointing to the mountains and passes between the two warring Kingdoms. He was surprised as the princess suddenly shouted at all the people of the Royal Court.
“Sileeeence! How dare you imbeciles try to raise your voices in the presence of the great king of Thessascus! Have you no shame?! Have you no honor?! The Goddess Gaia didn’t shove me to this world to listen to your petty cackles!” (Dora)
“And who might you be? For a mere girl to order us, your stature is but a speckle of dust in the sand!” (One of the vassals)
“I am Lady Pandora, Princess of the Moonlight Seal Heavenly Cloud Palace. I came to this world because my Goddess commanded me so. King Christoff the Valiant decreed me as one of his trusted advisors. Now, I don’t care what stature you have Mr. Nobleman for you to behave like an arrogant prick but in my world, being rude in the presence of the King will be bestowed a punishment so painful you will wish you’d be more humble!”(Dora)
“What did you just say to me?!”
“We pull your teeth, one by one, healing you so that death will be so slow and painful. We hang your family in front of your face for you to watch their untimely demise. We then whip your back till all we see is red meat. We dip your body in melted sugar and lay you down in the mound of red ants. We slice your crotch, inch by inch-”
“…” (Nobles)
Fear and shock were plastered in the faces of the nobles as Dora continued the mental torture. Some even grope their own groins at the mere thought of slicing their privates part by part. All were silenced as Dora walked towards the man who attempted to be rude to her. Everyone can feel the pressure leaking out from the red princess, showering them with dread.
Her beautiful face contorted with fury as she continually berated the unruly people. Even the king himself cannot believe what’s happening right before his eyes. Those power hungry hyenas that even he has difficulty in controlling were now being submissive to the little girl. He was elated that some are still loyal to his rule as the princess defends the authority of the crown. He didn’t dare to interrupt so that the momentum the princess built would tilt in their favor.
“-Now, I dare anyone to speak! Am I really just a speckle of dust on your unwashed butt cracks?! Am I Just a lowly person just because I am a girl who cannot voice her opinion in this court?! So are you saying that a girl like the Saint hero Thessa is but a speckle of dirt to you as well?! I AM A DESCENDED FOR CRYING OUT LOUD! I HAVE THE BACKINGS OF THE GODDESS AS WELL, DAMNIT! YOU’LL DO VERY WELL TO GIVE ME YOUR UTMOST RESPECTS YOU FUCKING COCKROACHES!”
“YOU DARE, WENCH?!” (Nobles)
Then suddenly as woman on her forties walked towards the assembly and scared the nobles out of their wits. She sported a golden cloak entrenched on a silver ornamented armor with a large golden bastard sword strapped right behind her back. The King brightened up and muttered ‘Great granny Thessa’. The silence that was already emanated deepens more.
“Did you just call me wench?” (Lady Thessa)
“N-no! m-m-my L-lady Thessa, I-”
“She is not wrong Count Brickswood. The Descended has the potential to reach the 99th level in but a few years and can even go beyond that level a few years more. You really do well to remember that forging grudges against them would be your downfall in the future. Especially with this one who has the Goddess behind her back.”
“B-but she-”
“Careful on what you say if you don’t want your family to be cursed by the Celestials.”
All bowed down when they realized they’re in the presence of the Saint. Even June and Pandora bowed down as well. No one dared to speak their minds as the pressure from the Saint made them sweat buckets. Even if they do not hold the King with high regards, they still fear the might of this person.
“Now as I recall, your name is Princess Pandora, a newly appointed adviser to my incompetent great grandson? I have no time to introduce myself as the time is dire and I discern that you already know who I am. What say you we talk in the balcony? Bring your aid with you. He’s the only one here that seems calm even after learning the grim situation.”
“It would be our honor, your grace.” Pandora knelt. The old knight strode towards the other direction, not even glancing nor giving face to the people present in the room. Dora then stood up and looked at the bewildered faces of the nobles as she commanded her final words to them.
“What the hell are all of you still doing here? I don’t recall his majesty even inviting you for the war preparations in the first place! King Christoff might be lenient but don’t expect me to be so! The next time I see you disrespecting him, I will personally gut all of you!”
The Vassals as if molded to a single entity, made their exits with fear in their eyes. They now understood that their high and mighty days are coming to an end as they realize that the Descended are now the future power houses of the kingdom. They now made plans of nurturing High-humans as much as their gold could afford. It was the time when all nobles posted notices all throughout the city, looking for promising adventurers to serve their household.
It was also the day that the legend of the Red princess was spread throughout Heinguard. They didn’t even realize that it was {Killing Intent} from the Princess that made these nobles submit to her. So the people exaggerated the rumors regarding the demons of the crimson manor to be made true after all.
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Pandora and June walked side by side with the King, the advisors and the Saint. The elite guard never bothered to stay close to them as they know that the safest place in the south was to be near a Saint. They approached the balcony of the second floor of the Royal Palace. The Beaming King made a few hand gestures and a table showing the known map of the Desolate Lands appeared out of thin air. He had already heeded a few advises from the red princess and he was not ashamed to be proud to have gained a valuable asset at his disposal. The other advisers were also astonished with the little girl’s talent. In their hearts, they already accepted the princess as an indispensable treasure of the kingdom.
“I must thank you little princes for your assistance today. I never knew there are still people in this court that the King could trust.” (an advisor)
“Ha! Those ingrates disturb too much of my rule, I’m starting to feel that they’re spies from other kingdoms! Bet they were surprised by the girl’s sermon” Mused the king happily
“Enough pleasantries dear Toffy, if this advisor of yours is as good as what you claimed, I want to know for sure myself. Tell me high-humans, how can we escape this predicament without resulting me, a saint, to partake in the war?” (Saint Thessa)
“At once, your majesty. My tactician and I already made up a plan to reduce the losses and win the wars before it can even begin-”
“-Wars?!”
“Before I start the explanation, I must urge my king Christoff to send his fastest message bird to the Kingdom of Partevia as soon as possible. Send a second word to every human kingdom known to us as well.”
“Hmph! And why must we do that?” (Saint Tessa)
“Because my dear lady, for this plan of ours is to succeed, the letter is of utmost importance. It may shift the balance of power in the south!” Dora was successful in making the royalties intrigued. “Shall I continue?” they then motion her to do so.
“…”
“The content of the letter must accuse the kingdom of Partevia of blatant misuse of power. As you know, the Kingdoms of the other continents swore to honor their treaty of non-incursion as should we.Human to human invasion should never be done without the right reasons yet we were being attacked without a sliver of explanation at all. So the move the Partevians are making, if they’ll be unsuccessful, would demote their own stature and will be eyed by most kingdoms as untrustworthy, deceitful and weak. The commerce due to maritime trade and secret transactions of the human kingdoms with each other would then exclude Partevia. In effect, their power would weaken even further. Since only two human kingdoms are here in the south, the support and authority will befall into us, the Thessasceans. Due to having more resources and powerful backings, we can pressure Partevia to beg and seek for our aid in the future. They are further down the south you see. We all know monsters there are powerful as they are many. They can only survive for long due to the assistance of the other human kingdoms. If we cut their resources, they would undoubtedly fall.
This is where the messages would be of great importance. It will hold the royal decree of the king himself, I meant you, king Christoff and if by chance, the Lady Thessa as well, to strengthen the authenticity. We will write to them that we know of their plans as we have captured their spies in our noble’s ranks. This is just a bluff to weed out the spies amongst the nobles. If by any chance a noble household decided to have a vacation for the next three weeks, raise your suspicions towards them. But I digress. Now, the letter must also include that since they appear to violate our good will and the relation between the two kingdoms, we will no longer bring aid to Partevia even if they beg. We will send another letter to other kingdoms of our dissociation towards Partevia as well.” (Dora)
“Your wisdom exceeds your reputation Princess, but I still cannot see how we can win. That plan of yours can only work if we don’t lose.” (Lady Thessa)
This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
“This is where my war general will come into play. Tactician June, the floor is yours.” (Dora)
“Thank you my princess. Now as you all can see from this map, deploying an army to match their forces is impossible in such a limited span of time. By the time our soldiers reach the borders, the furthest cities would already be lost. I strongly suggest that we must send all men able to bear arms (here) from the municipality of Crendoor to (here) the outskirts of Mudshire and the men of Idliss (here) to (here) Crendoor.
*pointing on the map*
{N}Heinguard—Idliss—Crendoor—Marakov, Zolumn, Findorn—Mudshire{S}
We will send the equivalent men from the capital to Idliss. Note that this isn’t the major force, only a contingency plan to further strengthen the defenses. By doing this, it would take less than five days of travel time as assumed from the accuracy of this map. It also will not make any of our cities and towns defenseless from monsters and bandits. My lady Geraldine, can you give me the estimate of soldiers in all of our cities?” June pointed out the cities as the old lady intently listened. She then cooperated by giving sensitive information regarding the armies of the kingdom.
“I see, that is not a bad idea, although it won’t be enough to fend of the invaders. Idliss has two thousand. Crendoor two thousand five hundred. Marakov has three thousand. Findorn nine hundred. Tea town has a thousand as well as Zolumn. The others are too far away so they cannot give aid. There’s a camp near Lornwood, three thousand strong elite soldiers. But they would be outnumbered three to one as the latest Intel is that the hidden forces of Partevia are being reinforced by a few thousand more, numbering nine thousand elite Partevian warriors in the other front. *sigh* our human territories were at peace for seven decades so the army is on hiatus and haven't grown stronger since. To think that they have the audacity to do this…” (Lady Thessa)
“Heh, so we don’t really have a problem after all...”
“What do you mean?! Can’t you see we’re in a pickle? We cannot fight in two fronts. Our numbers are not enough, preparations or war may take months. My Great nana Thessa can’t split herself into two!” the king forcefully spat, worry was palpable in his face. June however was indifferent, not caring at all. As if there is no war to begin with.
“My king, if my calculation is right, then we won’t be needing our Saint Knight after all. Well unless ofcourse, the opposition bring forth their Saint as well.” June explained as their confused faces were starting to wear him out.
“We would use a flow system in dispatching the troops. The inner cities would provide 80% of their men towards the Middle cities. The middle cities would provide 70% of their forces toward the outer cities, you understand? They must prepare for departure as soon as possible. Now, I understand that this kingdom has elite aerial soldiers right? They are the fastest maneuvering troops this kingdom-”
“-How’d you know about the Griffon fleet?!” (Christoff)
“- has to offer. Lady Thessa, how many are they and how fast can they travel to our borders?”
“Three thousand. They can get to the borders by their maximum speed in three and a half daylight and dark”
“Good. Send five hundred to the camp at Lornwood, another five hundred towards Mudshire, another five hundred near the army of Goblins, five hundred more near the army of Lizard-kin. And a thousand at this spot, the most advantageous defense point of our territory, the Skirlig Plateau, a few miles south of Mudtown. All deployed footsoldiers are to make camp there as well. It may take two weeks to buld us a formidable army so they must be deployed immediately. The plan is horde kiting. We will lure the enemy forces in Lornwood not towards our prepared forces camping near, but to the nearer Goblin army going straight for our capital. We will use only a few hundred of the fastest men on Griffons, hit and run style. We will lure the Gobkins towards the Partevians in Lornwood as well. We will create a fake camp in the middle of both armies in the thick forest of Neihga with dummies, high flags and torches. The three thousand Thessascean forces of the the Lornwood camp would circle back, preventing the escape route of the hidden Partevian army. We will tire out the goblins and Partevians and flank the surviving ones through their rear and as well as their right flank through the reinforcements from the Skirlig camp forces. They would be then forced to flee southwest. But the territory of Severed Devilings is located there so they would be slaughtered if they do not yield to us. We can also lure the Devilings but we do not have enough men at the moment.
Now, the enemy forces that will siege Mudshire would be lured towards the further south of Skirlig plateau, also known as the Death trenches. We must make ambush on high ground and bombard them with ranged projectiles there. Since you said that they would be attacking in the eight of daylight, the flying ships can travel to the borders by five. Mages and archers should be deployed using the flying ships. Even if they are able to pass through there, they would be delayed by a few more days, maybe even weeks as the trenches are far too tall and cramped. By then, we have already assembled an army at the Skirlig Plateau with the advantage of a higher ground and more men. These routes are the only way for a huge army to pass freely and safely against monsters packs so I am sure that they will not choose the other routes. We also must be weary of scouts. Reserve one flying ship with assassins, scouts and counter agents to masacre their scouts, his must ne a priority as well....hmmm, that’s about it I guess.”
The face of the King and the Saint cannot be painted as they were impressed by June and Pandora. For them to think this far was impressive, nay, terrifying even. All the moves are calculated and nothing was missed.
“…I am speechless. Toffy, you really did well this time. To think that you roped such talented individuals, your talent for discerning people are improving huh. I guess you’re really are related to me after all.” The Saint bragged as she looked at us with great respect.
“I don’t know what to say as well. To think that the Goddesses have favored our kingdom with such fine, brilliant subjects...I must know, what are the other five hundred griffon soldiers sent near the Lizarkin hordes for?” (Christoff)
“Oh, we thought it’d be obvious. Lizarkins would be lured towards the capital of Partevia, a warning for their king not to mess with us” (Dora)
“Hoho~ well played. Thank you princess, and you too June, for the wisdom. The kingdom offers you our sincerest gratitude. We would contact you again if anything serious comes up. For your effort, you would be greatly rewarded!” (King)
“I heard that you require masters of your chosen professions, am I right? Please tell us of whom ever you would need, Christoff and I will do the rest. I myself am willing to bestow my fighting arts if you ever need it. Well, I guess this is goodbye for now, till then children.” (Lady Thessa)
Lady Thessa and the king bowed and retreated to prepare the forces while we were escorted away from the premises. It was such a good opportunity to make connections with a few of the most influential humans in the southern continent. A carriage was waiting as the two traveled back to the Crimson manor. June Decided to depart for the Thessascean Archives as he was to return the books and to read more. Such a productive day it was for the crazy princess and the scheming tactician.
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The meeting with the king was pretty eventful. Not only did they gain reputation in the Heinguard household, they also secured masters to teach them skills. As they say, two birds with one stone. June came back to the second floor of the Archives to read more scrolls. He greeted Granny Gidda as he returned the borrowed books:
The History of Aetheria
The very recent Compilation of Human Kingdoms
Introduction to the concept of Mana
He did not gain new stats from reading the book of mana as he had sufficient enough knowledge of its basics. He pondered if this was true though, maybe he just reached the cap of acquiring stats in wisdom and Intelligence aside from leveling normally. He decided to read more books associated with the history of the continents all afternoon and finished almost half the books on the second floor. It gave him decent addition to wisdom and a few for intelligence.
+12 Wisdom
+9 Intelligence
After reading a few more he noticed that he have really reached the cap as no stats popped up anymore. Nevertheless, June was satisfied with just acquiring such heavenly defying skills. It may take months just to read half the scrolls in the second floor, yet he did so only in a day.
His {Instantaneous Reading} skill is quite the cheat. It was a part of his S class cheat skillset, {The Thousand Tongues} with uses too important to boast around. There are many things he still doesn’t understand about the skill as there are question marks blurring the other uses of this utility skill. He didn’t even understand how or why the skill was said to be “Concealed”. Even using {Identification} didn’t do much either. All he knew that it was very special as only a few know of this skill. Even the Gods covet it! Ostheroth said so himself.
June then started to finish reading the entire second floor before going home. It was already one hour past midnight when he decided to call it quits, yawning his mouth off while locking the doors. He checked his notification boxes for a moment and he was wildly surprised. Heh~ so those tomes bestow skills after all.
You have learned the spell, Imprint Marking
You have learned the spell, Hearthen Drill
You have learned the spell, Lesser Confusion
You have learned the spell, Shadow vines
You have learned the spell, Light Body Skill
The {Imprint Marking} is a utility skill capable of tracking the position of a marked object/person using mana. The {Hearthen Drill} is an elementary magic spell of the second circle. It is capable of digging soil underground. The {Lesser Confusion} is a weak spell that renders a target disoriented for a few seconds depending on the target's mental strength. {Shadow Vines} is a movement limiter spell of the dark element series, a rare skill that can also be used for crowd control. {Light Body Skill} is a skill that renders the user's body as light as a feather. used in coordination with movement skills that makes the user seemed gliding in the air.
There are more tomes which glow blue like the ones he just read. All throughout the confines of the Archive were scrolls that emit bluish aura when using the skill {Arcane Visualization}. Some are hidden between stacks of books while others are far above the make-shift shelves. Some are even below the loosen floorboards along with other normal books and tomes. This archive was a great treasure trove for people like June. His party mates are already near the novice level of {Mana Manipulation} and it will take a day or two to leave the beginner stage.
June was a bit restless because he knows that sooner or later the Archives would be swarmed by High-humans employed by the nobles. The hidden skills and spells scattered here would be lost if he doesn’t move soon. He went back to the building and gathered all parchments and tomes with aura in the second floor. He hid them near the crevice the size of a small and old t.v. and blocked it with a cabinet filled with the most boring articles and fictional stories made by incompetent authors to dissuade others to look though the mess. It was the perfect cover-up and the least suspicious part of the Archives.
He went home quarter to two and meditated. One of his findings is that high-humans don’t need much sleep when they have a higher level of meditation skill. It puts them in a trance like state similar to sleeping and the benefits are much more so. It only takes four hours of meditation equivalent to 8 hours of good night sleep to achieve similar effects.
(End)
Teaser:
The following morning he woke up to the smell of freshly baked bread. He helped himself with some breakfast and showered in the washing room. News of the upcoming war was the topic of the day and due to the quick respond of the imperial family, preparations were already set and on schedule…
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