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[Anke de Schuldeif]

Posting Order: Anke -- > Lianor -- > Arcshot






The army was as prepared as it was going to get. Anke had already dallied enough, but now it was time to shove all distractions to the back of her mind and focus on the task at hand. She was well aware of her troops' inexperience, and that the civil war had put quite the drain on manpower. Something like that, however, was but an obstacle.

If she let something like that get in the way of her--no, Aspyre's victory--then she didn't deserve General.

The Commander insisting on accompanying her was unnecessary; when Anke had tried to tell him as much, he had roared in her face and forced her to kneel. He was one of the few men alive who could make her do such with minimal resentment; despite being well over the age of fifty, Commander Isaak apparently did not trust her with his troops (really, that wasn't needed-- just because Anke had the tendency to use the soldiers like ants...) and would serve in the battle as well.

Out of respect for his position, experience and the person she knew he was, Anke had obeyed. The foreign bastards would face not only the Arrow, but the Glaive.

They were outside the gates already. Anke herself was armored and mounted, seated atop Benedikta and fully suited. The warhorse, used to such weights, kept her great neck lowered to save the strength she would need later. There would be a march and many nights camped, which Isaak and Anke would use to the fullest in order to properly map out their strategy. Anke's was simple, but effective-- box the invaders in.

This--this was Aspyrian territory, and their attack was a prod to see how well their territory was defended. To show weakness was to sign a death warrant for the infant state.

Spread out in front of her was approximately half the military, footsoldiers and the cavalry and archers; the others would be spread thin among the various territories, but with the training all three Generals and the Commander had given their troops defense would not be a problem.

[Lianor]

Captain Lianor Grander was one of the remaining retired ranks that returned to the call of arms. She would've expected to see Colonel Ashbringer but it would seem he had other duties, she had respect for his absence. Like her general, she was armed, armored and mounted on her warhorse named Arthur, which took about a week to getting used to him. She may need to practice some more handling the beast in whatever spare time she had before the actually fight begins.

If she were to make a strategic guess on her general's mind, the likely area most concentrated of military presence would be in Antioch. An obvious choice being it was breadbasket of Aspyre and largest target nearest to the invaders. If they took hold of it, this war would last even longer.

The Captain looked to her men, a handful of calvary armed with sabers rode along with her. They were mostly young recruits but seemingly confident and eager for the fight, however only in the real battle would prove their worth after training. She flashed a smile to her men then resumed looking forward as casual. The thought of Jessica crossed her mind but she wasn't regretful above her leave, rather she was smiling.

The song she played before her leave echoed in her mind for awhile as their trip continued.

[Seris Arcshot]

Arcshot knew this day was coming. Invaders that threatened Aspyre would have to deal with the country's pride.

He had stopped his record-diving two weeks beforehand and resumed the standard military training. He said his goodbyes to the people he cared for the most and who cared for him, like what most soldiers do before heading to battle. There was a good chance that he wasn't going to go home after this one, and if he did, he would return with scars of battle, literally and figuratively. Finally, he prayed to his brother for guidance, even if Arcshot knew he was still alive.

At one of the archer divisions, he was there, lined up and dressed like his comrades: light metallic armor with a layer of thick leather on the inside. Unlike the others, however, only his bow stood out. He had the two optional blades ready just in case of a melee situation.

As they marched across a hillside, Arcshot looked back to see his home one last time before his emotions faded to seriousness.

[Anke de Schuldeif]

There was no one Anke held dear that she could bid farewell to. She had already informed Haine a week or so past that she would be leaving with the army. Any more information was unnecessary, and the fact that her king was the closest damn thing she had to a 'friend' was irrelevant.

Besides. A sentimental goodbye would imply that she wasn't coming back, and Anke refused to let herself go to waste by expiring so quickly. Underneath her, Benedikta shivered.

A gauntlet moved to caress her neck, gliding over hard muscle, and Anke surveyed the army. She wore no helmet; eyesight was extremely important for both an archer and someone who planned to burst into the thick of the fighting. Like always she would hurl every ounce of fire she had into this battle.

Failure... she hardly knew the word.

The sun gleamed bright and sweltering while they all sweated in their various getups and protective gear. Anke ignored the discomfort and kept her eyes on Isaak. The man wasn't massive, or even anywhere near as short as his General was; if anything he had an average stature. Only training could have put on the thick muscle wrapping his biceps, shoulders, legs and other key points of the body. Like her colleagues, Anke knew as well that there were a great many scars littering the sculpted mess of the Commander's body.

How many drills had she gone through where he would march, shirtless and shameless, in front of his soldiers screaming?--no, now was hardly the time for nostalgia. Anke paid attention to the orders Isaak was shouting, mainly for the higher ranking officials such as herself and his own person to stick to the center of the force. The archers were to position behind the cannons the soldiers wheeled on large wagons, drawn by horses that would be put to use by the cavalry once they reached the invaders. At the very front were the spearmen, and behind them the cavalry.

[Lianor]

She listened intently to the Commander's words as they marched on towards their destination. The Captain began to count the faces around her, and would be damned if any of the soldiers showed weariness even before the first fight began. She would hate nothing more than a battle lost before it would even begun. There were few sparks of fear, hear and there mostly from the young-ins. Tension was normal but fear was a mind killer, it eats away a man's insides before anything even actually happened to him.

The Captain had to sometimes reassure them with a few words - just stick to your group, watch your guy's back as you watch his. That should put some faith in them, however small it might be. If there was a time one needed to back out, this was it. However, no one did, instead everybody just kept moving forward and that's how it was supposed to be in the military. Were these individuals too scared of shame? or did they believed in something much more?

The army was well-positioned now, she was with the center of the calvary ranks, Arthur shook his head for awhile before bowing down. The spear men were poised upfront, while most of the other ranks were behind her.

[Seris Arcshot]

Despite all the preparations Arcshot did, he had to admit that he was nervous. It was like the school plays he did when he was a little schoolboy, but now it was a lot more serious. He looked around, eying his comrades. Some of them were looked bold enough to put in the front row despite their role, and some had trepidation plastered all over their faces. Arcshot, being educated and all, only rationalized the situation of others:

They were just impatient with all the walking.

He observed his comrades again, and to his fortune, it seemed his reasoning was true. The people next to him looked as if they held themselves back on shouting "ARE WE THERE YET?" and at the same time their grip was tight on their bows.

Oh yes, it was in them too.

The feeling of battle, the feeling of releasing a perfectly aimed arrow, the feeling of killing and the need to satiate the thirst. A chill ran up and down Arcshot's spine as he dismissed such thoughts.

Save it for the battle, Arcshot. It'll have its time.

Arcshot sighed almost silently. He just admired the now-better climate and the repetitive beat of different kinds of boots treading on the ground.

[Anke de Schuldeif]

((apologies for the delay. I've been exhausted and my brain has just been 'fzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzt' for the past few days. ))

Their destination wouldn't be reached for a good few days, and that was if she was especially hard on her soldiers. By the time the invaders were in sight, they would be tired. Downspirited. No doubt the Commander would make one of his infamous speeches to raise the overall morale-- Anke herself would follow him with a present of her own to create bloodlust in the army.

The strategy the Commander had suggested was simple, but in this case, effective. She would direct their troops to form an inverted arrow, essentially trapping the foreigners and forcing them into a retreat, if not defeat. There would be no room for mercy in her regime, much less for the foolish men and women so full of self as to attack a fledgling state. While Aspyre did make a tempting prize with its flourishing counties, Anke despised any and all threats to Aspyre.

Of course this one would be dealt with...

Aspyre's army marched still. The Arrow rode behind the archers; the Glaive with the cavalry. Hills were passed, the sun lowered, and soon enough it was nightfall. Isaak called a halt and ordered camp to be set up, voice booming.

[Lianor]

As most of the soldiers set up camp for the night, Lianor requested two men to follow her. The captain would be scouting the perimeter before darkness descends and eventually create a patrol line for shifts. Even though they were still on friendly ground, one can't be too self-assured. It was a nice feel to be back out in the woods again though, a change of atmosphere was nice and she gets to be more familiar with Arthur as well.

As night settled in, most of the men had set up camp. The captain had to assign at least eight men to patrol around the base, two-man teams circling the campsite, four per shift every two hours. She made sure to take serious watch especially on the Commander's and General's tents. After the small organization, Lianor finally set up her own camp, quite easily and in a flash. It seemed she hasn't lost most of her touch yet in living in the outdoors.

She later parked Arthur next to the other horses and gave him some horse feed. Later, he joined some of the other boys huddled around the campfire where they had a nice casual talk.