Omnixius
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DKP 7-16 Why I fight
🕑 Added 2022-01-12 16:38:19 +0000 UTC“This is a waste of time,” she grumbled as they waited in a dark barn. “What kind of knights skulk in the shadows?”
“The kind that wants to minimize casualties,” Jessivel replied as he turned on Alayse. “You do remember that Gersius wants us to keep the deaths to a minimum?”
“He has won the empire and now leads a massive army,” Alayse countered. “Why is he so careful to flex his might?”
It was the same old argument, one that had repeated itself ever since being dispatched to hunt the traitors. He was tired of explaining how some matters didn't need to be solved with a violent cavalry charge. She simply wouldn't see the logic in making slow, careful maneuvers to avoid fanning the flames of resentment.
Gersius knew that arresting powerful heads of the various faiths would cause a disturbance. If they had to assault a temple and slaughter the priests inside, it would cause outright insurrection. The priests of Gorrin were already up in arms over the order that the grand head of their faith be arrested. They were abandoning the empire but did have a small military component of their own. If Gersius began attacking their temples, that military might be used against him. The same was true of the other faiths who would see attacks on their temples as insults to their gods.
Gersius knew there were leaders in every faith loyal to the enemy in the east. Secret documents recovered in the old abbots hidden vault implicated many. Yarvine had been one of them, the Father Abbot another, but there were a dozen names on the list of wanted men. No order was safe from corruption, not even peaceful Vellis.
Alasye had been invited to a secret meeting with Gersius where this conspiracy was laid bare. It came as a shock to Alayse to hear that a prime had been involved. She was already reeling from the battle of Calathen, where she and Jessivel charged through the shattered gate into the city plaza reeling from an explosion. Their orders were to cut down any resistance and move on to secure the main causeways. Here in the dust and chaos, they came face to face with a formation of priestesses aiding the enemy. They were dazed from the explosion, and most of their number dead or so badly wounded they posed no threat. Alayse didn't care. She was so enraged to see them standing with the fallen priests of Astikar that she ordered her forces to focus on the women and annihilate them. Jessivel didn't blame her. After all, it was the priests of Astikar that were arresting women of Ulustrah and herding them into camps. In these camps, women were beaten, and in a horrific act of cruelty, hundreds had their legs broken just to slow Gersius down. He understood why Alayse hated these men and could not tolerate seeing someone who claimed to be her sister stand with them.
That anger burned bright when Gersius laid out his plans to bring these leaders to justice. Alayse could not contain herself and spoke with a sharp tongue promising unrestrained violence on the traitors. Gersius couldn't afford to fan the flames of discontent in the other faiths and had to put a leash on her. Thus overall command was given to Jessivel despite his protests. The order was simple, hunt them down and quietly extract them if at all possible. Avoid any direct conflict with soldiers of other faiths unless absolutely necessary, and if so, minimize casualties. Hostile priests once defeated were to be healed and taken prisoner.
Alayse argued against the orders, suggesting she had a right to revenge for what had been done to her sisters. Gersius told her there was no place for revenge in his leadership. This was a war of lies, and he would not butcher a faith for believing its leaders to be trustworthy. Thayle stepped in and pointed out that she made the same mistake about Yarvine. Many in the camp believed the woman couldn't be wrong because she was a prime. They turned a blind eye on a viper because she held a title that said she could be trusted. It nearly caused a civil war in camp despite Thayle being a champion of Ulustrah.
Alayse relented in the end, but her anger didn't abate. She was accustomed to taking direct action, and her hands were tied. Jessivel went after the first target, the forge master of Gorrin. Jessivel had been tracking him for days, with sightings consistently placing him heading east. Now his scouts were spreading across the countryside, and every last sighting put the wanted man here someplace. After three days of careful searching, they had turned up no further trace, but then he received a letter. His spy network came through and tipped him off that a small nearby castle had an old temple to Gorrin inside. There were reports that a strange group of travelers arrived at the castle weeks ago. Local traders were shipping an unusual amount of foodstuffs to the castle of late, and nobody was allowed inside.
Jessivel took over an abandoned farm five miles from the castle and ordered the scouts to surround it. If the man was inside, his presence would be spotted sooner or later. The important goal was to remain undetected and prevent the man from slipping out in the night. To that end, he broke the women of Ulustrah into small units and scattered them in distant patrols. If the forge master slipped out and got through his men, they would be caught in the nets of Ulustrah. Only the women trained as scouts were kept nearby to watch the castle walls.
The door to the barn flew open, and a woman in the green armor of Ulustrah strode in. She fell to one knee before Alayse and announced that she had news of the traitor.
“Don’t bother reporting to me,” Alayse scoffed. “I am not in charge of this operation.”
Jessivel rolled his eyes and reminded her that she was not in charge because she argued vehemently for the use of direct force. She shrugged and waved the woman away to send her to Jessivel.
“My lord,” the woman began. “The scouts have confirmed Forge Master Vorstag is there. He was seen on the walls not four hours ago.”
“Finally,” Alayse sighed. “Can we do something now?”
“No,” Jessivel replied. “Now I need to know how we're going to get into the castle without having to make a suicidal charge of the front gates.” He paced a few steps and worked on the problem when another thought came to mind. “Do we know how many men protect the castle?”
“Reports are still the same,” the woman replied. “No more than a dozen men on the walls at any one time. We have done our best to identify if any of them are priests, but unless we risk getting closer, we can't tell.”
“So nothing has changed,” Alayse grumbled. “You have no idea how many men are inside and if any of them are battle priests. All this waiting around, and we have learned nothing.”
“We have learned plenty,” Jessivel corrected. “We know for sure our target is inside and that he is unaware we are surrounding him. Time is on our side, and it would be foolish not to use it to formulate an effective plan.” He paused as a thought came to mind, and his eyes fixated on Alayse. She was brave, straightforward, and hardly did anything without making a lot of noise. Perhaps those qualities could be put to good use and a bloodless solution to the problem found in the process.
“So we’re going to sit here and wait some more?” she asked in a scolding tone.
He sighed, but now he was playing a game. He turned about with a nod and explained his idea.
“Forgive me. Maybe you are right. We have seen no more than a dozen guards at any one time. Assuming they had as many as four changes of the guard, that gives them just under fifty men. Even if half of them were battle priests, they would be no match for your forces. Maybe it's time we put that superiority to use.”
“Finally, you are making some sense,” Alayse said with relief. “We can breach the walls of that small castle in an hour. By the morning, we would hold it, and our quarry would be taken, probably alive.”
“He has to be alive,” Jessivel corrected. “Gersius demands it.”
“Fine, alive,” Alayse relented.
He stared at her with as firm a gaze as he could muster, but inside he was struggling not to laugh. She was so eager for battle and would be the perfect tool for this situation. He turned the attack over to her and instructed her to gather her riders to the east in a town called Willick.
“Why, Willick?” she asked. “You have my forces scattered in small groups for twenty miles in every direction. It will take me three days to regather them in Willick and then a full day to march them back here. Why not just gather them here?”
“This is too close to the castle,” Jessivel replied. “If you form here, there is no chance of surprise.”
“It’s not going to matter. They can't get out, and they never leave the gate open. No matter what happens, we're going to have to cross a wall, and that will hardly take them by surprise,” Alayse countered.
“If you begin gathering here, they may get word and bring reinforcements in from the surrounding towns. You might find those walls defended by five hundred instead of fifty, and Gersius will be furious at the casualties,” he said, being careful to use an honest excuse.
“Always trying to minimize casualties,” Alayse complained. “Fine, have it your way. I will reform at Willick and march on the castle from there. What are you going to do?”
“I am going to move further east. I will leave some scouts to watch the castle and give you an update when you arrive.”
“And what do you want me to do with this fool once I have him?” Alayse asked.
Jessivel smiled as he tried to be as evasive as possible. “We will link up and take him to Calathen together.”
She nodded and headed out, leaving Jessivel to admire the cleverness of his plan. He waited a few minutes then called for Captain Herris, instructing him to put out a general call to gather at a new point to the east. When Herris asked why they were moving, Jessivel only told him it was to stay out of the way.
Alayse did exactly as instructed, first sending messengers to alert her soldiers and give them new orders. They were scattered in packs of twenty for miles in every direction as they scoured the region for information. It would take a day to reach them all and two more to gather them. It was a delay that annoyed her, but one she would live with since it was a side effect of the only good thing to come out of her meeting with Gersius.
With the capture of Calathen came a vast number of horses once used by the order of Astikar. Gersius put these to use and ordered the size of his mounted armies increased. It was to Alayse the bulk of these horses were given, and with them enough women to create a large formation. She now counted five thousand women of Ulustrah under her command. Jessivels seekers were expanded to just over a thousand, and Gersius mounted another thousand men of Astikar as heavy cavalry. In addition to these, he mounted five thousand light cavalry and built another force of over two thousand made up of knights from the various kingdoms. Most of the light cavalry was engaged in hunting down rogue packs of bandersooks, while the heavy cavalry was under Jessivels command. The knights were kept in Calathen itself more to protect the nobles that made up the force than any other reason.
Alayse argued with Thayle for hours over being attached to Jessivel, but Thayle was unimpressed. She told Alayse that they wanted the two forces to travel together to bolster their strength. She also felt Alayse needed to learn some of Jessivel's restraint and refused to budge on the matter.
Alayse understood why Jessivel was the way he was, but that restraint was driving her mad. Jessivel preferred to creep and crawl, waiting for agents and scouts to spy out his targets. He only acted boldly when a display of force was likely to result in a rapid surrender. He avoided open battles at all costs and was even more concerned about casualties than Gersius. He didn't even bring the heavy cavalry under his command, leaving it behind in the staging areas. He was impossible to goad into action and brooded over maps and letters like Gersius did.
Thankfully he finally saw reason and turned her loose to deal with the problem. She would show him how direct force could accomplish his goals quickly and decisively. Her army assembled, she marched them back, boldly parading through towns and villages so that the people might see her strength. It was only proper for a leader to show her strength and let the enemy know that challenging her was foolish. She would surround the castle and demand the forge masters surrender so she could say she tried to be diplomatic. Who knows, maybe the fool would surrender, and Jessivel would have his bloodless battle. She sincerely hoped he would resist, and she would be forced to drag him out by his neck.
For three days, they marched on the castle nestled in the hills beside a small town. Word was almost certainly spreading that her army was coming, and her adversary knew his time was up. When they reached the outskirts of the town, she divided her force into five formations. Each would descend on the town from a different direction, denying them any chance of meeting her head-on. It was too much disappointment that the town was completely undefended and the people shuttered in houses. Not a soul wandered the streets, and when she ordered doors, knocked on the people inside said they had been told to wait until she was done.
“Told by who?” she demanded as her anger flared, but the people only pointed to the castle.
They massed at the walls an hour later to discover the gates thrown wide and a single man standing in the opening. He smiled and greeted her before delivering the message that made her blood boil. That was four hours ago, and her blood still simmered.
“You used me!” Alayse shouted as she stormed into Jessivel’s command tent.
Captain Herris excused himself and hurried from the tent as Jessivel struggled not to smile. It was true he had used her, and the plan worked perfectly.
“The castle was abandoned by the time I got there!” she shouted with a pointed finger. “You knew he was going to run!”
“I did,” Jessivel replied. “And thanks to you, we capture him a few miles east, traveling with only a handful of guards.”
“What about my battle?” she shouted as her hand twitched to draw a blade.
Jessivel ignored the tone of her voice and explained the plan. He knew she would march through every town and village, spreading word of her approach. That word would reach the castle, and the man hiding inside would realize he would soon be trapped. He could attempt to hold out, but once the size of her force was discovered, the only logical course of action would be to flee. Jessivel knew the Forge Master would go east, so he moved his forces to the east and waited. The night before Alayse reached the town; they captured the forge master ten miles out riding in plain clothes with only four guards. There was always the chance his plan would backfire. Alayse was never going to take the castle by surprise, and they could have reinforced it with civilian soldiers.
“I suppose he surrendered without a fight,” Alayse growled.
“Thanks to you, he did,” Jessivel said in a calm voice. “Of course, it helped he was outnumbered a hundred to one.” He paused as Alayse trembled in rage and asked why she was so upset.
“Why am I upset?” she shouted back. “I readied an army for battle and spent three days giving instructions and orders so we would be ready when the time came. Then we finally arrive to discover one of your men standing in the gate to let us know the battle was already won. Do you have any idea how that makes me look to my forces? You played me for a fool and used me to get your bloodless battle.”
He chewed on that thought, wondering why battle was so important to a woman. Why was Alayse always so eager to prove she could fight?
“Why would the battle being avoided make you a fool?” Jessivel asked. “We achieved victory without cost and saved our forces to fight another day.”
“What good is an army that never fights?” Alayse asked. “Why is Gersius so focused on avoiding bloodshed?”
“Because the enemy keeps hiding behind the innocent,” Jessivel argued. “You have heard the stories; the people were lied to and told Gersius was a traitor. They marched out to fight, believing they were doing what was just under the divines. He knew they were deceived and refused to spill their blood if there was any other way to accomplish his goals.”
“Even walking alone into tens of thousands of soldiers?” Alayse asked as she remembered the story. What she would have given to be there when the divines themselves marked Gersius as the one they stood behind.
“Most of those soldiers were farmers and tradesmen pressed into a formation meant to overwhelm him,” Jessivel corrected. “Gersius saw them as the people of the land and could not bring himself to destroy them.”
Alayse sighed and put a hand to her head. She understood the ramifications of what would happen if a small professional army clashed with a massive militia. Even if the militia had won, the casualties would have been catastrophic, with almost no priests to heal. Gersius had chosen to stand alone against them and forced the hand of the divines. It resulted in a miracle, where not only did the army route, but those tens of thousands ran home telling the tale of Gersius chosen of the divines. Now the common man looked on Gersius as a sort of savior, and faith in his new empire was enthusiastic. The people who once believed in a lie now saw a dragon knight, chosen of the divines, and sent to save them.
“I see your point,” Alayse relented as she turned her back on him. “I guess my role will always be the same.”
Jessivel was confused by that remark and pressed her to explain what she meant. Alayse looked hurt as she turned back and told him that there was no room in the order of Ulustrah for a woman who wanted to be a warrior. She had focused on perfecting her craft, studying combat, tactics, and fighting styles for years. She learned to lead and then took command of her own formation. Unfortunately, it was for nothing because all she was ever deployed to were minor skirmishes with bandits or raiders. The order of Ulustrah didn't want soldiers; they wanted counselors. They wanted women who could solve problems by getting to the truth and talking it out. She tried to make them see the wisdom in keeping a standing military force like the order of Astikar did, but the primes were content to keep two small companies.
“In every conflict I have been allowed to participate in, I was always limited. They always held us back and refused to let us do what we are made to do,” she said.
“I don’t understand what you want,” Jessivel said.
“This is my chance to show them they are wrong,” Alayse said. “Finally, the primes will see that they can't solve every problem with kind words and well wishes. They need to keep a larger force at the ready to protect their interests and the people under their care. But the war has finally come, and I am still being held back. I am not being given a chance to show them we can win through the strength of arms.”
“You want your chance to prove yourself,” Jessivel said, but Alayse was quick to correct him. She didn't want personal glory. Instead, she wanted a chance for the women under her command to prove the time and effort spent on them wasn't wasted.
“Most of the women who made up my original company were volunteers. They were like me and believed the order needed a strong arm. Priestesses armed with sticks hardly presented the image of strength,” she pointed out.
“I can see where that wouldn’t be seen as much of a threat,” Jessivel agreed.
“It doesn’t help that we share temples with Vellus. People think of us as being pacifists like they are,” Alayse added. “But this is our chance, not just for me, but for all the women who think like me. A chance to show the order that we need more than a token force.”
“You should have joined the order of Astikar,” Jessivel said as Alayse suddenly stopped. She turned to face him, anger burning in her eyes. Something he had said touched a nerve and made her temper flare.
“Do you think I wouldn't have?” she shouted. “Do you have any idea how many women in my command would have loved to join the order of Astikar? You’re the only faith that builds fortified temples, demands that most of its members be trained in military combat, and keeps a large standing army. You understand that if you want peace, you have to be strong enough to keep it.” She stopped as her face trembled in rage, her eyes searching him for some hint of a response. “But your order doesn't take women, or it didn't until that dragon showed up. No, I and the others were left with only one option, to join the order of Ulustrah. We play at being soldiers and prepare to be good housewives.”
Jessivel could see what she was getting at now. There was no place for a woman of Alayse's talents except the order of Ulustrah, and they would never allow her to truly put those skills to use.
“What's worse is we had to obey the other rules,” Alayse added as she looked down and folded her arms. “We couldn't form relationships with men. Getting married meant being cast out and unable to at least play at being a warrior.”
“But that has changed too,” Jessivel reminded. “Thayle set all that straight. You are free to love and marry as you choose.”
“Do you think that's any consolation to us now? Do you have any idea how many women have fallen in love and had to walk away in order to keep their position? Now, years later, they are free, but the men they once loved moved on and found somebody else. Worse, many are too old to start a family now, the time of their youth wasted on a lie. There are thousands of women full of regrets for the things they gave up in ignorance.” She sniffed, and for the first time, Jessivel thought he saw vulnerability in the woman known as Alayse.
“I hadn't given this any consideration,” he admitted begrudgingly. “I suppose it is cruel that you were not allowed to join the order you would have preferred and then forced to choose between the love of man or faith.”
“Only to find out too late that neither of these limitations was meant to be,” Alayse whispered. “I have wasted years of my life, and so have many of the women who serve under me. This is our chance to make something of those sacrifices. All the things we gave up could have some meaning if only we could be let loose to do what we trained to do.”
“To fight,” Jessivel sighed with a nod.
“Exactly,” she agreed. “That's why I am so mad at you. You keep using us to avoid battles and prove we are nothing but a token army. We are a gesture at best and one my own leadership sees almost no value in.” Alayse sniffed again and looked up to avoid seeing him. He could tell she was struggling not to cry when she began to discuss Thayle. Alayse didn’t think it was fair that the woman who once ran away from fighting to hide in a tiny temple should be the supreme commander of the armies.
“What did Ulustrah see in her, that she chose Thayle over me?” Alayse asked.
Jessivel wasn't a counselor, but he was a man of faith and a hunter of men. Over the years, he had come to understand the motivations of men and how those affected them. As a matter of faith, he knew the divines often sought out qualities more subtle and frequently chose those who seemed ill-suited to the task. However, in the case of Empress Thayle, he suspected the reason as the tale of her role in things was well known.
“I suspect what Ulustrah wanted was a woman who could help a dragon fall in love with a man,” Jessivel said. “She needed to know how to fight, but she also needed a heart devoted to the task of helping others find love. In this regard, Thayle is very skilled, and she was willing to give up everything to see them together.” He paused to step closer as Alayse continued to stare at the ceiling. “We both know the story. Thayle offered to have their children when they learned Lilly could not. She was willing to give up her place as a priestess just to see them happy. Could you have done the same?”
Alayse trembled as she took a deep breath and slowly shook her head no.
“Then we both know why she was chosen over you,” Jessivel sighed and watched a tear roll down Alayse's cheek. “I'm sorry. At the very least, no woman whose heart beats as fiercely as yours will be denied her place in the order of Astikar again. Sarah, herself, is overseeing the training of the first candidates.” He paused again and thought over his words before suggesting that she could change faiths. Alayse shook her head again and explained that she made vows to serve Ulustrah and would not break them, not even for her own desires.
“More proof that you are a great credit to your order,” he said and stepped beside her. He could see her eyes were rimmed in red as more tears ran down her cheeks. “I will write a letter to Gersius and ask that you and your forces be reassigned to an active front. Your talents are being wasted here, and it isn’t fair to the women under your command. You deserve a chance to prove that you can be more than a token force.”
“All I ask is to be given a chance,” Alayse agreed in a voice that trembled on every word.
“Be careful what you wish for,” Jessivel warned with a shake of his head. “Gersius's march to Calathen was full of battle, but by his own admission, they were quick and small. He hardly saw a fight that numbered over ten thousand, and when he did, a significant portion was made up of militia.”
“What is your point?” Alayse asked as she continued to stare.
“My point is we have yet to meet the Doan in a full confrontation. Estimates put their army at over two hundred thousand broken into three forces. In addition, they use bandersooks, and I am sure I don't have to remind you, they have dragons of their own. Sooner or later, you are going to get the battle you want. I only hope you find whatever you're looking for when you do.”
The two went silent for a long moment when the tent's flap flew open, and Captain Herris rushed in.
“A message for you, sir,” he said with a paper in an outstretched hand. “Sealed with an imperial dragon's head and delivered by the dragon Shadros just a minute ago.”
Alayse finally looked down as Jessivel furrowed his brow and reached for the letter. He took a moment to glance over the red wax stamped with the head of a dragon before breaking it. He had to carry the parchment to a nearby table where candles provided enough light to read. It was a lengthy letter that carried with it both instructions and warnings. His brow furrowed as he reached the bottom and finally glanced to Alayse, who stood by patiently waiting for news.
“We have been ordered to join the main army assembling in the plains,” Jessivel said as the two stared anxiously.
“It must have said more,” Alayse insisted as she pointed to the lengthy letter.
“It says that a new threat is approaching from the east. An army that fancies itself as dragon slayers has vowed to kill Empress Lilly and take her head back to Whiteford.”
“We knew that already,” Alayse scoffed and wiped at her eyes. “Your spies are the ones who alerted him of the danger.”
“And your scryers have helped relay that information quickly,” Jessivel agreed. “But we knew only that a threat was forming. Gersius must have gotten more information. He suspects this army might reach fifty thousand before it gets to the border.”
“And we hadn’t heard about the vow to kill the empress,” Herris pointed out.
Jessivel glanced over the letter again as his mind worked on the possibilities. He was surprised when Alayse summarized the problem most eloquently.
“So he's trapped between three armies attacking so far apart that he can't possibly meet them all,” she said. “He still has no idea where the northern army is, and this eastern one is where?”
“He suspects no more than two weeks from the borders,” Jessivel answered.
So he recalls us to reinforce the army massing in the plains. He probably wants to make use of our mobility since he has such a vast area to protect,” she guessed and began to pace. “A pity he put ten thousand of the women of Ulustrah into blessing teams and scattered them across the empire.”
“The letter says he has recalled them as well,” Jessivel said as he tossed the letter onto a table.
“Even so, he doesn't have enough soldiers,” Alayse insisted. “He has seventy thousand defending a border against over a hundred thousand. He might have the advantage of fortified keeps and steep hills, but his defenses are spread thin, and an attacker can concentrate his efforts. Gersius will be reacting, and his movements will be slow. He needs to send the army he is building west, but now he will be forced to send the bulk of his fledgling army to the east. If the Doan attack from the north or the west while this army is east, he might not have the strength to resist them.”
“Likely, the Doan will attack from both directions at once,” Herris said.
“Then he will need a mass of cavalry to rush in and plug holes,” Alayse said with a slight smile.
“I would not be smiling about this,” Jessivel remarked.
Alayse dropped the smile and turned on him with deadly serious eyes. “This is the perfect opportunity to show my order and the people that we can make a difference. Never in the history of my order have so many priestesses been assembled in one place at one time.”
“Most of which have no arms or equipment,” Jessivel pointed out.
“Calls for supplies were sent by scryers weeks ago,” Alayse commented. “By now, every temple in the east has emptied their armories. It should all be packing along the east-west road on its way to Calathen.”
“Assuming the borders with the common lands stay open,” Jessivel argued. “Or did you forget that many of the rulers there are cold to the empire?”
“Why do you always see problems?” Alayse demanded. “Why do you never trust in things to work out?”
“Because trusting in the unknown is the quickest way to get killed,” he said before turning to Herris. “Send riders to recall the scouts and search parties. Break the camp and make ready to march in two hours.”
“Yes, my lord,” Herris said with a bow and hurried from the tent.
“And what about our distinguished guest?” Alayse asked, referring to the captured forge master.
“You and I are going to deliver him to Calathen. Since we will be there in person, I will forgo the letter and make a formal request that you be given command of a proper army,” Jessivel answered.
Alayse didn't flinch but, after a moment of silence, nodded and turned away. He let her go and went back to the letter to read the final lines again. If Alayse knew what it said, she would be furious, but he finally understood what Alayse was fighting for. Perhaps he could get Gersius and Thayle to see it too.
Comments
Sorry this was so late. As I am sure most of you know I have some issues going on, as well as trying to work myself to death with multiple stories. Thank you so much for putting up with me.
