Story:Kings of Strife/Part 51

Part Fifty-One
When the sky fell on Morshia and wiped away the city’s life, all of the soldiers outside of the city joined Vainia’s army purely out of fear. Within that hour, the young queen’s ground forces grew by thousands, but the vicious northern Inusian winter spent the next day trying hard to lessen that number once again.

She had bid her entire army march, ceaselessly, and they went around the ruined city. Though going north of Morshia instead of through it added a few extra hours to the time her army spent on the move, Vainia knew that not subjecting all of her men to the horrors undoubtedly awaiting in the skeleton of the metropolis preserved morale and prevented disgusted uprisings. She had remembered the horrors that stood in Phenicks when it was crushed by a similar act of pseudo-divine power.

Besides all of that, the extra hours of the extended march gave her more time to rest.

The effects of the massively powerful spell she performed were very concerning. Immense pain and strong migraines tore through Vainia’s body, and once she felt the full brunt of the magical power leave her body, she became blind for a short amount of time. Only Asearya had seen this, as she walked far ahead of the main army at Vainia’s side, which was still some distance behind the main vanguard. The blindness had been surprising, terrifying, and even painful. For a time, Vainia even cried tears of blood from her temporarily useless eyes.

When she regained her vision after about an hour of blindness, Vainia was met with freshly fallen snow, a newfound appreciation for the colors of the world, and a fear of her own abilities.

“You, too, will be blind,” echoed the croaking voice of her deceased grandmother, the Savage Queen prophesizing to her heir even after her death. “Embrace it.”

‘Just how much did Grandmother know?’ Vainia wondered as she walked hand in hand with Asearya, who wore a sharp yet modest outfit of black leather that contrasted with the white snow and her gray hair. Vainia’s grandmother, though she was blind and ridden to isolation within her own chambers, had known of Vainia’s possession of the Crystals as well as the fact that she could use rune spells. She had even advised Vainia to memorize her incantations for greater power, something Vainia had taken to heart and endeavored to do over the two months she was within her own self-isolation. It was possible, then, that old Nolterya had known that the more powerful spells Vainia performed would be harmful to her eyesight. ‘I still have so many questions…’ Not for the first time, Vainia’s heart stung with pain and remorse as she mourned her lost family.

‘No. I have no right to mourn. I am the queen of ashes and corpses, and this is my war to prove it.’ A queen did not mourn over the deaths on her path to annunciation, much like how a beast did not mourn the weaker animals it ate in order to survive and prosper.

The blindness did not happen until all of the magic power had faded from her body, so about an hour after her vision had returned, Vainia decided to keep the runic magic around her body at all times. If she got used to the power, enough so that summoning a small amount did not drain her at all, the constant aura would be enough to stave off the blindness. ‘I will embrace the blindness with more power, just as you advised, grandmother.’

Asearya did not notice for hours, and when she did, she stared right into Vainia’s face and trembled. “Your eyes, my lady,” she had said with fear. “They’re glowing – and they’re gold.”

Vainia was quieted by this, but assumed this was a side effect of the rune essence being summoned around her, not unlike the glow of light around her fingers when she was tracing rune symbols. “So be it,” she had said simply, and only kept walking through the snow.

The army trudged behind her, slower than she would have liked. At this rate, they had a few more days before they reached King’s Town, the next destination in her campaign of war. Though she had the two parties separated, the Inusian army in front of her main Shorican force and behind her officers and vanguard, there was still unrest and loud noise coming from the army. She had the Inusians leave behind their bluecoats and toss them into the sea as they left behind Morshia on the horizon, and had no doubts that they would all follow her orders out of fear, but she had no confidence that they would mesh comfortably with the Shorican forces, nor did she think they would really fight reliably when her army arrived at King’s Town.

‘That is alright. They will serve as fine front-line soldiers to soak up attacks.’

Surprisingly, the army met very little Inusian air resistance from any direction. There was no doubt that the Inusians were moving the World Government forces they had in order to reinforce their own army, and though there had not been a war in years around the entire world, she knew that Inusia had a fleet of airships ready to be used against her. So where were they? Why was her army being allowed to march across the northern Inusian coast without any resistance?

There were a few options Vainia came up with as answers. Considering the Morshian defenses had assimilated into her army, the Inusians could be holding back their aggression in order to save the lives of their own men – but that was unlikely. ‘This is the nation that destroyed its own most prominent academy in an attempt to assassinate me,’ Vainia remembered. There was not an issue of there not being enough ships – she knew that for sure, from instinct and her own limited reconnaissance of Inusia’s forces she had performed during her years at Zeta. So, then, the Inusians could be saving their aggression in order to keep her invasion a secret… or they could be focusing elsewhere. Inusia held absolute dominion over the government of every nation, and manipulated the world’s media without any opposition, so of course they would have no qualms reaching into Shorica and wiping it clean while most of Vainia’s forces were rending Inusia’s northern coast.

That would do just fine. ‘My Eternal Corps will not fail, and Inusia’s lack of focus – such hubris – will only result in their own downfall.’

For the most part, everything was going according to her plans. The only things that stood in her way were the elements dragging down her army and sapping their strength, and her own Barons.

‘One of them will betray me,’ she knew. ‘Perhaps all of them.’

Vainia’s focus snapped away from the convoluted plans constantly swirling around in her head as Asearya paused, the maid’s sudden motion bringing Vainia to a stop as well. Night had fallen a good amount of time ago, without Vainia’s notice, and now that she and her maid stood atop a snow-capped hill, they could see both the vanguard encamped ahead and the ground forces behind making up the rear, very slowly. All around the two were almost faded footsteps from the vanguard moving a good distance ahead of them.

“We are stopping too much,” the young queen said with a frown as she crossed her arms. Both her hands now free, Asearya adjusted Vainia’s cape and took hold of the queen’s rapier from her waist, lessening the burden on her master. Vainia continued to complain. “I mean to drive them onward, until we are at King’s Town, even if it means they do not rest. Time slips away uncontained.”

“The effort will kill them before the Inusians get a chance to, my lady. Time slips away, but is an obstacle that can be overcame.”

‘No,’ Vainia thought to herself with a frown. ‘Time is the only thing I cannot conquer.’

Asearya continued, the taller woman walking demurely a step behind Vainia as they both descended from the white hill. “This winter is especially cold, though, my lady. Even in Mortis, its effects were chilling. It is not safe to drive the army too far in such conditions.”

The maid was right, Vainia knew, but she was reluctant to accept it. The queen, in her youth, had read of many a military campaign that failed due to overexposure in the savage northern Inusia winters. “Casualties are of no matter to me. Not anymore. Even if every soldier beneath me perishes, as long as I stand on the throne in the name of Mortis, I will have succeeded.”

Asearya nodded, her straight silver hair bobbing along with her. “Perhaps, Lady Vainia. That much is true – but I cannot defend you from every foe by myself. Though I am unparalleled, some others are needed.”

Vainia looked to her friend with a rare smile. “Nonsense. I don’t know of a single mortal who is better suited to guarding me.”

Not for the first time, Vainia’s thoughts wandered to Gin Taoris – her Knight – who was missing for months. She had thought he would meet up with her at the border he was guarding when she invaded Inusia, but he was not found anywhere; only ruins of structures, and bodies. Corpses lay all about the Shorican borders, so Vainia knew Taoris (or rather, Constantus Veit) was there…

Lost in thought once again, Vainia sighed and blinked, her eyes somewhat irritated by the power beneath them. It would take a while before she got used to them, most likely. Her vision blurred for a little while, but it was clear enough to see that the vanguard was still at least two miles away, encamped near the cliffs of the northern coast.

The queen and her personal maid walked close to the forests that lay to the south, using the darkness to keep them cool and hidden in darkness. There was no need to travel with less protection than was necessary, especially when the vanguard were likely removing their armor and starting to relax within their camp. Both Vainia and Asearya began to engage in simple, fun small talk in order to keep their journey light in mood now that the queen had been pulled from her reverie for a moment. The effortless conversation was a welcome yet brief respite for both parties, one occupied by servitude to her loving master and one occupied by the details of empyreal dominion.

As quickly and naturally as it started, the respite ended. Asearya slowed her steps and narrowed her gray eyes, searching throughout the air with a focused face. Vainia noticed her servant’s concentration and stopped walking; Asearya mimicked her sedentary stance immediately.

“Are we compromised?” Vainia asked without a hint of fear. Between Asearya and herself, she had absolute confidence in her safety, but not enough that she became complacent – and thus weak.

“I believe so, but this is no mere assassin.” Asearya slowly lowered her sense of gravity and pulled out two long, thin knives from the back of her bra. With her other hand, she handed back to Vainia her sheathed rapier. “Rather, these are not simple assassins.”

“Multiple enemies?” This was enough to give Vainia pause, and she looked around with her golden eyes. The vanguard was still too far off to see the two of them, especially when they were so close to the dark forest; even if a vanguard scout could see the two attacked, any relevant rescue would come too late. Likewise, Vainia’s army moved behind her, and at such a pace that it would never reach the two of them in time.

Still, Vainia was not afraid. She had plenty of power within her body, and along with Asearya’s prodigious strength, she felt entirely justified to be moving on her own. The queen started to gather energy within her fingers before she paused, eyebrows knit with confusion. “The enemies are likely going to emerge from the forest, but how many are there?” She could not summon any sort of useful spell if she knew not what enemy awaited her, or what strategies they would use.

“I cannot tell,” Asearya said, her face just as confused. She had pulled forth a full arsenal of eight knives, four gripped in each hand, and she stood with bent knees and lowered shoulders, completely battle ready. Try as they might, though, the two could do nothing but feel a general aura of bloodlust – no bodies or specific weapons could be identified.

The two stood in ready silence for a long moment before movement suddenly exploded from the forest in front of them.

Like a massive army of barely-controlled puppets, a group of Inusian bluecoats rushed out at Vainia and Asearya with inhuman speed. There were at least 20 men, all rushing at her with glowing golden eyes, shortswords in hand, and a startling lack of coordination. They tripped over themselves and their free arms flew about behind them as if they were not bothering to control their own flesh.

Asearya moved first, stepping in front of Vainia immediately and throwing four of her knives into the faces of the closest bluecoats. Two were struck in their eyes and fell; another had the knife impale in his neck, but kept moving without even a grimace. The final one was hit in the forehead, right between the eyes, and stumbled as if losing control of the limp body he had. None of them screamed.

Vainia’s guard was taken by surprise at the odd endurance of the Inusians, and paused, her guard lowered. The queen took this moment in stride, and with dancing fingers she traced the symbol of an offensive rune incantation in the air. Once she had the performed the spell, a large circle of lost pink symbols and circles appeared in front of the two on the ground. The circle appeared with unprecedented speed and was much larger than Vainia anticipated. ‘Could it be my eyes?’ she wondered, quickly, before discarding the idle thought with her focus.

Even though the circle appeared in front of them almost instantly, the bluecoats did not even respond to the rune. They ran, disheveled steps bringing them ever closer to the two Mortisians, and a multitude of at least eight soldiers stepped on the territory of the rune spell. Immediately the entire circle lit up with light red fluorescence, and a massive amount of red-hued swords made of tiny runes burst up from the ground. The blades impaled the soldiers who had stepped on the circle, staining the snow with explosive bursts of blood and halting them all in their tracks.

Still, not a single cry of pain erupted from any of the injured soldiers. Without even a moment to look around in fear, the unaffected bluecoats continued to shuffle towards the queen and her maid.

Vainia stepped backwards, handing her rapier back to Asearya as the thin girl threw her last handy knives at a couple of oncoming Inusians. This time Asearya aimed for their eyes, and all of the victims fell upon being hit, all instantly lifeless upon impact. “Here, you hold them off!” Vainia cried.

Asearya grabbed onto the rapier with a nod, unsheathing it and tossing the heavy blade protector onto the snow. “I will be close, my lady!” she breathed, before dashing forward and impaling an Inusian in the face. Like the others who had been stabbed or impaled, the bluecoat went limp as soon as the blade made contact with their brain.

‘What is this?’ Vainia wondered in between spells, her thoughts becoming increasingly frantic. Though her spells – purposely made smaller and less effective so as to not injure Asearya, who flew through the snow stabbing the bluecoats with practiced grace – were wiping out multitudes of Inusian soldiers, a veritable army rushed out from the forests, their numbers appearing almost inexhaustible. She finished the touchings of one spell and instantly started chanting another, even as ethereal light stained the snow and was soon covered by blood.

Something caught her eye, something that brought alarm and pause to the young queen. One of the soldiers ripped apart by her last spell was not a bluecoat; they wore an all-tan uniform, accentuated by dark body armor. Two more khaki-uniformed men rushed out from the abyss of the forest, body parts flailing about and hands holding shattered blades. ‘Those are my men,’ she realized. ‘All of these are my men – they are all in my army.’

How were they attacking her, and why?

Vainia’s lapse in concentration had left her open to attack, and Asearya noticed. After stabbing open an Inusian’s neck, she bounded backwards in order to return to Vainia’s side. The move was awkward and forced, and as she moved, Asearya was sliced on the back with a slashing sword from one of the Inusian marionettes. The snow-colored maid cried out, but still landed at Vainia’s side and impaled a would-be assassin right in their left eye. Bone and blood shattered from the righteous thrust, and the Shorican soldier collapsed to the ground.

“Asearya, no!” Vainia let her focus fall once again when she noticed her best friend was hurt. She put her arms around the maid’s shoulders, stabilizing her faltering stance. “You’re hurt!”

“I’ll be fine, Lady Vainia! Please, stay back!” Asearya held a hand behind her, forcing Vainia to move, and slashed out the eyes of an oncoming Inusian with a swift horizontal swipe. “We just have to hold on until the vanguard notices us!”

‘That may already be too late,’ Vainia realized with a lurching stomach. Her lapse in concentration and Asearya’s injury had injured the efficient defense of the two, and while they had slowed down, the silent and traitorous army had only sped up their multiplication. The soldiers physically moved slower now, but they advanced nonetheless with deadpan faced and raised swords. The two were surrounded.

Vainia struggled to think of a spell to save her and Asearya, but the only thing that came to mind was her trusty chain spell. Though she did not even mouth it, simply thinking of the spell summoned a sleeve of chains to wrap around Vainia’s left arm – but that was useless here. She backed up futilely as Asearya bravely fenced off the stampede of enemies. ‘Why can’t I focus?’ Vainia frowned, and her eyes kept darting over the bleeding gash on Asearya’s back and the red flesh around it. ‘Where is my power when I need it?’

Though Asearya fought bravely and unceasingly, she was only one warrior against a crowd of unyielding enemies. They advanced, and advanced, and in an instant of blood Vainia knew that she and Asearya were doomed. ‘Cut to pieces by my own army,’ the queen thought. She toyed with the idea. ‘What an ironic way to go.’

Two silver slashes cut through the air in front of the two, with such explosive force that even Asearya paused in awe. Next a shower of red rained down from the air, along with a number of blue and tan-covered body parts flying through the air, haphazardly. The sound of grating metal on non-resisting flesh burst through the still air and blood continued to rain, its abundance obscuring vision. The brutal exchange lasted for three seconds at most, punctuated by countless silver slashes, but to the two observers the moment of awe appeared to last for incredible minutes.

When the shower of red finally ceased and every bluecoat and khaki soldier lay at the ground, haplessly torn to pieces, a single huge figure in red stood with his back to both Vainia and Asearya. Two massive bloody swords rested in his hands, their tips pointed and dripping onto the ground. None of them said anything – rather, the only one that spoke in the immediate area was a corpse, his upper half bisected and tossed face-up onto the ground.

“Let this be a lesson of your own limits,” the Inusian said, his golden eyes staring straight up at the night sky. “The way to surpass them lies in Castle Kornelia. Go with haste and find your third Crystal before it is stolen from you, rune child.”

So spoke the disconnected corpse, before Gin Taoris crushed its head with his armored boot.

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