“Any news from Uriel?”
“Arariel’s been trying everything he can to get a reply, but nothing’s succeeded,” Iomor replied. They were going in blind then, he knew. Sebastian contemplated for a minute. If Uriel didn’t show up, they would be relying on Ciel’s success in getting a force from the West too much, possibly enough to cripple them.
“Well there’s no point in delaying it, let us march,” Sebastian announced. Iomor gave a bow and escorted him to where his army stood waiting for his command.
They regarded him with a mixture of excitement and fear. It was the first time since he had taken power that he had to order the assembly of the army, as well as his first time leading one. Iomor gestured for him to begin. Any army needed a motivational speech, not everyone was so keen on blinding marching to their deaths.
“All of you know the potential danger of our enemy,” he began, his voice was firm and unwavering, “if we do not act now, then the consequences will be unthinkable.” Voices whispered in the audience, but Iomor silenced them with a gesture, focusing their attention back on the King. “So today I ask you all to march with me, to defend the land we call home from the clutches of a madman!” Sebastian continued. His voice echoed around the expansive corridor, reaching everyone inside. Unbeknown to him, Kaiser was watching from the doorway; he had just returned from a final perimeter check. “I cannot guarantee you will all come home alive, but I have no intention of leaving any of you to die,” the King spoke. The crowd was starting to respond positively to him, a few cheers erupted from various places. “Now, let us march!” he bellowed, the place erupted into a unified cheer as Sebastian turned to walk out of the doorway.
“Not bad,” Kaiser chuckled, opening the doors wide, “we’re all clear to go, by the way.”
Sebastian gave him a nod and gestured for him to follow. A few demons gave him a cheer as he assumed position alongside the Kin. The solid wall of muscle that was Kaiser provided a formidable defence against attackers, something that they would be using heavily.
They marched north, keeping close to the Skyrend Mountains to protect themselves on one side if anything attacked them. A handful of Nightmares met them, but none of them was overly interested in fighting, instead opting to run around the marching demons.
"They're scouting us," Solomon remarked, watching as an Acromantis was struck down by arrows before it made its way to the back.
"That's why we're going to startle them," Iomor grinned. He had been informed of Solomon's plan, though Sebastian was still in the dark about it, or as far as Iomor knew. Sebastian raised an eyebrow, he somehow doubted that they were thinking the same surprise, but he knew Iomor would not betray him.
As they neared the top ridge of the mountains, the army started to become nervous. They had expected more resistance on the way up, all of the remaining creatures must be nestled up within the main towers. The alternate suggestion was not one they wanted to consider, they had left their cities vulnerable to an assault. If the Nightmares had managed to sneak around them, the result could be devastating.
A familiar sight greeted them at the edge of the cliff; the bright white wings of angels surrounded by the much smaller human companions. Sebastian was not encouraged by the sight, however. He could see Gabriel but not Uriel. Thardosean was stood next to Gabriel, seemingly discussing something, confirming the fine details of the plan. Sebastian let out a long sigh as he approached the two leaders, as his own army joining the ranks of those that had already been gathered. The humans felt rather dwarfed by their much taller companions, but they knew they had not been brought in as frontline fighters. Armed with bows, spears, magic and anything else ranged they would be taking up rear support.
Gabriel and Thardosean gave Sebastian a bow as he approached them. That was one thing he had to admit with Gabriel, he was politer than Uriel and far more pleasurable to deal with.
"Good to see you both gathered here," Sebastian greeted them, returning the bow, "though I had expected to see Uriel as well." Gabriel tilted his head and shrugged, not offering any explanation, which came over strange to him. Sebastian glanced over to Thardosean, who was trying to stifle a laugh, or that's what it appeared to him. "What?" he said, being startled by a sudden sharp shove on his back. He turned around, only to be greeted to Uriel who was sporting a stupid grin. The fact he had bandages peeking out from his armour didn't escape the demon’s attention, however.
"You honestly thought I wouldn't be here?" Uriel teased, giving Sebastian another knock across his back. The demon was starting to feel uncomfortable due to the angel's behaviour.
"Well, I do notice those bandages on you," he retorted. Uriel raised an eyebrow before laughing, he could tell Sebastian was more worried than he let on.
"I'll be fine, even if I have to act more as a figurehead than a fighter."
Sebastian let out a relieved sigh, although he would prefer having the angel as a battling companion. He could not deny Uriel's prowess in battle, the two were evenly matched if they ever faced off against each other.
"Hate to interrupt, but we have better things to attend to," Thardosean spoke up. While watching those two being friendly with each other was a pleasant sight, spending too much time would make their intentions obvious. Sebastian gave the King a bow, pleasantries would have to wait for afterwards.
The leaders discussed the strategy briefly. It was a simple plan but would be far from easy to execute correctly. Their intended target would not just lay down and die, quite the opposite in fact, or at least it was what they expected. The true extent of his retaliation would not be known until they attacked, as such any pre-made plans would need to change swiftly to accommodate or risk high casualties. That was also banking on the assumption of the Nightmares present at the spires were of known varieties, unknown ones could wreck morale and break apart the formation, creating vulnerabilities. A forward, armoured line would head the offence; they were intended to keep the lesser species such as the Acromantis or Banshee at bay while ranged units behind take down any stragglers and dealing with anything flying or equally ranged.
Once the initial garrison had been pushed back, a force would separate to deal with the rogue chaos mage which consisted of Sebastian and Uriel, as well as their immediate strongest companions. Thardosean would continue to serve as an overseer to the combined army, directing any fresh orders that needed to be done. Both races had instructed their armies to respond to the Human King in their stead, a move which not the most popular but none the less accepted.
Once the armies had lined themselves up, the end result was impressive. Rows of metallic armoured shined in the rising sun, the white-gold armour donned by the angels contrasted the dull shades of silver and black that the humans and demons wore. All were equally efficient as each other regardless of the aesthetics. The angels looked rather uncomfortable being lined up in pairs next to a demon, as the average new blood demon stood notably taller than the average angel; the difference was such that the demons could opt to use the angel as an armrest if they so desired.
Just behind the main flank was a collection of larger old blood demons, with their extended reach they could assist the front line while providing a defence against any Nightmare that broke through or otherwise bypassed the line. Those near Kaiser were additionally uncomfortable; the fact that if he actively missed a hit the resulting misfire could be strong enough to kill them if it connected. Kaiser tried his best to reassure the angels, but the words were lost on them. There wasn't an angel on the Central Isles that didn't know of the demon's raw strength. He had felled a fair few angels in his time, as well as demons. It was mostly those related to Sebastian's father posse when he had gone missing the most disgruntled of his followers turned against Sebastian. There had been speculation that Sebastian had killed his father in order to take the throne but the truth as to what happened had never been revealed. Certain things were best to keep quiet, regardless of intentions, a Kingslayer is not someone who is often kept alive.
After
final deliberations between the leaders over exact details of the intended plan, the order was issued to march. The resulting battle cry resounded through the air, pushing the army onwards. It became obvious when they came close to the outer wall surrounding the spires that the defending Nightmares had bolstered their defences hastily. Crude extensions and stone spikes surrounded the exterior, a result of earth magic being used to manipulate the ground. As such it would be simple to undo, but it would slow them down and leave them open to any ranged attack while the mages worked.
The mages surged forward and lined themselves up behind the initial flank, using their own magic to dismantle, obliterate, manipulate and otherwise dispose of the spiky wall. A few used the time to erect barriers around the waiting army. While magic was ineffective against the Nightmares directly in a pure form with a few exceptions, it could be used to protect against their projectile attacks. High pitched screams emerged from the inside of the wall, no doubt emanating from Banshees hidden within the complex. Due to the distance, the effect was much reduced, but they would have to be dealt with swiftly as they moved into the walls.
As the spike wall was broken down, two massive forms leapt from the surrounding waters towards the waiting group, smashing into the army with their long, solid legs. The forms were familiar to the demons, but the angels were tense; it was the same type that had held the door to Shadekeep wide open. That one hadn't been actively aggressive, however. The two now stood over them posed a risk based on their size alone; one well-placed leg could easily kill a human and badly injure one of the others.
"Aim for bulbous sacs on its head," Kaiser shouted, grabbing onto the back of the closest one and using his weight to pin the creature to the ground. When the second saw what the demon was doing, it reared up and brought its front legs down in an attempt to crush the demon's skull or at least stun him, hoping to release his grip on the other one. He manoeuvred back as much as possible without letting go, but the leg still hit his head firmly. The other one narrowly missed Iomor who had been moving to take down the disabled creature. Kaiser grimaced. His head was throbbing, and he could feel blood starting to run down from his forehead. It would not be enough to stop him, just enough to anger him.
Lurching his body forward, he reached out and clamped his hand around the nearest sac on the pinned creature's head before exerting a crushing force with all the strength he could muster. The creature screamed and flailed, but its legs had already had their movement severed by the back lines of the army, leaving the front line to focus on preventing anything breaching, even if it was difficult for them to ignore what was happening behind.
Iomor, who was rather unamused by his near squishing incident, had scaled up the aggressor's leg and glided onto the creature's head, poised ready for attack. It did not appear to be paying much heed to him, its focus was still intently on its struggling companion. Before it could launch a secondary attack, Iomor drove his blades deep into one of the fleshy sacs, causing the creature to violently jolt back, resulting in the two back legs colliding with the front line. Those hit fell forward, winded by the surprise blow, only to be quickly hoisted back up to reform the line if their injuries were minor. The blip in defence was enough motivation for the waiting creatures, however. As soon as the knocked down angels and demons had been pulled up, they bore down with flaming scythes, supported by the ferocious cutting winds provided by the garrisoned Banshees. Armour held strong against the cutting effect of the Acromantis's scythes, but the flames heated up the plating, severely burning the flesh below. What skin that was exposed was snapped at by the conjured wind, tearing open clean wounds.
Blood dripped onto the frosty ground, a mixture of black and scarlet liquid, along with broken shards of carapace as weapons danced into the crystalline lifeline of the Nightmares. The line surged forward, aiming to turn the tide on the offensive and push the creatures back towards the spires.
Chapter 15: Leaving the West
Ciel scanned around. Considering they were to be marching soon no one was overly worried, or on the other side excited. Perhaps that was the difference between the army his father maintained in the East, most of the vocal soldiers were younger and eager to prove themselves. The only thing these demons were eager about was coming back home afterwards, as they had nothing to prove about themselves.
"Not what you were expecting?" a voice enquired from behind. The sudden interruption to his thoughts caused him to flinch. He turned around to find Amnur behind him, who was chuckling at his reaction. "Did I startle you?" Amnur teased, the demon was high spirits. It was unsurprising to Ciel. After all, this was the best attempt they had at retrieving his daughter.
"Possibly, I had expected those here to be a bit more eager," Ciel sighed, his shoulders slumped down as he turned his back to Amnur, gazing out over the snowy bogland. Amnur smiled and patted the dejected demon on the back, coming up level with him.
"Fighting is only a necessity, any pleasure from it has long since been lost from those who live here."
The kid was naive about what those in the West had endured, but he couldn't fault him for it.
The full population of the West was starting to become apparent to Ciel as the last preparations were made for the assault; despite there only being three named settlements in the swamplands there were a fair few demons in front of him. Along with the humans, they had a formidable force, potent enough to launch their surprise attack with brutal efficiency. Crono had assumed that Sebastian and the others would march at dawn, giving them the most amount of daylight to fight in. No one wanted to be pitted against those creatures in the dark of night, more so when they would be out in the open.
"It would be nice if we were going on a little bit more than guesswork," Amnur huffed. Ciel gazed down at him and replied with a smile, garnering a raised eyebrow.
"We'll be fine. I trust you'll be torching anything that comes near?"
"Now you're talking my language," Amnur laughed, stretching his arms behind his head. He did wonder if Ciel was truly that comfortable with him. He had once been close to Sebastian before the full details of his role as Court Mage became public knowledge. Then again, Amnur would be a hypocrite to judge Ciel for his own family relations, perhaps the boy in front of him was willing to look past everything he had been told. Either way, he hadn't forgotten how Ciel had first reacted when he found out who he was. Although fear is vastly different from anger, both were still negative reactions. He felt a need to explain himself, to explain why he had killed innocents, without sounding like he was creating excuses. The thought chain must have been taking a toll on his mood, Ciel appeared worried all of a sudden.
"I need to explain something to you," Amnur spoke up with a stern tone. Ciel straightened up. The young demon was taller than his older counterpart, but he showed every intention of listening to him. Amnur accepted his silence as permission to continue, not that he had much intention of stopping. "Your grandfather was determined to have me subservient to him," he groaned. The memories were painful to recall, he had long since tried to bury them with little success. "The first time he turned up on one of my assignments and massacred the villagers I had been trying to spare, then he butchered my parents after the second incident of insubordination. After that, he decided to cut off any support I had by making my deeds known."
Ciel wasn't sure how to react to what he was being told. He could tell from Amnur's whole posture the pain of the past events. The demon wanted to comfort him but had no idea even how to start.
"You're strong, though, why did you never stand up to him?" he blurted out. That wasn't quite the best way to comfort him, but Amnur didn't react to what he said.
"I did, he damn well nearly killed me," he admitted, tugging back the edge of his newly donned leather armour to reveal a raw scar leading down from his shoulder. Ciel mentally slapped himself. Of course, Amnur wouldn't just sit there and take his grandfather's aggression without a fight, but it was odd that such a thing was unknown to him. His father
wouldn't omit such detail.
"Only Dumon knew the full details. Of course, he threatened to kill Dumon if he informed anyone else," Amnur remarked, seeing Ciel's confusion on the matter. It satisfied his curiosity but still left a lot of unanswered questions. He stood there unmoving for a moment, before putting a reassuring hand on Amnur's shoulder. The demon was pleasantly surprised by the move, from what Ciel could see.
"Don't get me wrong, though. Hurt my daughter, and you'll seriously regret it."
It became obvious to him just what Amnur was implying. He knew about his feelings for Sakura, though it surprised him that he didn't outright reject the idea. Ciel didn't know enough about their relationship, he was very close to his own father, but he knew that he wouldn't react well when he told him.
After a moment of deliberation, he reacted to Amnur with a respectful bow. He had no intention of crossing the demon. It would be a rather detrimental experience on his health; he'd rather keep his skin un-burnt as well.
“So that’s where you two lovebirds got to,” Crono spoke up, attracting their attention from each other. He was now fully dressed in armour. It was a change from the assorted cloth and fur clothing he had worn previously. However, it still mainly consisted of leather, with metal used sparingly as a defence for the most vital regions of his body. Ciel had noticed the lack of metal used for armour, and just generally; it was probably another difference between the two regional factions. Most of the metal for the East had been imported from the South and a long time previously, the North. Since then they had recycled what they had, only trading for more when supplies became too old and unworkable. Everything in modern times revolved around equal trade, it was a far cry from when the nations used to work together and supported one another.
“Are you ready for this?” he enquired, casting his gaze down at Ciel. The demon was rather unarmoured due to not having taken any with him when he had departed from the East. They had managed to salvage him some leather from currently unworn and more ragged armour, but they had little to spare at the time being.
Skies of Fyir Box Set Page 37