Morning saw the two armies arrayed at the opposite sides of a long stretch of grasslands. With armies this big, the battle lines were simply too long to effectively observe from a single location, and the lines stretched for several dozen kilomels in both directions from the order’s command post. The battle lines would’ve been even longer, but both armies held over a third of their forces in reserve to replace tired troops and to take advantage of any breaches in the enemy lines.

“What’s going on with the centaurs?” General Luthana asked with a frown.

The question was reasonable, since the centaurs were rushing around as if they were reacting to some sort of large event. Or preparing for one. Most of their lines were arrayed for the battle, but the rest of them looked like an anthill that had been kicked over. The officers on the order side were not sure what to make of the strange movements, since they didn’t seem to be serving any tactical purpose.

Dee looked at the vast ranks of centaurs for a while before making her comment. “There seems to be a distinct lack of mages when compared to yesterday.” She said nonchalantly, as if the thinning of mages on the centaur side had nothing to do with her.

“You think something happened to their mages?” Noyala asked innocently, while covering her yawn with the back of her hand.

“Maybe Razark did something.” Dee said throwing the blame on her master.

Their night raid had been very fruitful. They had specifically targeted the centaur mages, who had already suffered some casualties during the siege. Trying to assassinate the strongest warriors or the leaders among the centaurs could’ve led to extended battles breaking out in the middle of the centaur camp. In addition the lower ranked mages were not as well protected or capable of resistance. Dee had walked through the camp like a true wraith and claimed the lives of the lower ranked centaur mages wherever she passed. She had already been familiar with their security thanks to her escape from the city.

She also didn’t want to admit it, but the presence of the Zabaniya assassin had helped immensely. He was one of the best assassins among the Zabaniya after all, and his speed at cutting a swathe of death through the centaur camp was no less than Dee’s own. That was mostly thanks to the fact that the man had divided into almost a hundred copies of himself as they moved towards the centaur camp. That was also the reason why the man had felt hollow to Dee earlier, as the body Noyala had captured was just another copy. The main body was most likely safe back at the headquarters, relaying everything that happened to his master.

Noyala had not been as fast as the two people trained by Zabaniya, but her skills as a mage allowed her to infiltrate the areas of the stronger centaur mages with relative ease. Where Dee would have to either avoid the magical wards or break them, Noyala could just walk through them with the correct counter spells. As a result, while Dee and Asahim dealt with the lower ranked mages, Noyala had gone straight for the stronger ones. Several things in her behavior told Dee that this wasn’t the first time the Sidhe woman did something like this. This combined with her impressive stealth abilities told a story of her past. A story that seemed familiar to Dee in certain ways.

Perhaps that was part of the reason Dee felt such weird trust towards the woman. The previous night she had left her almost defenseless body in the care of Noyala while discussing with the leader of Zabaniya, and she had done it almost without even considering the possibility of danger. Something just told Dee that she would be safe in the Sidhe woman’s care. At least for now, while their goals were aligned. Whatever Noyala’s exact goals were, she had made it clear that Dee could be useful in fulfilling them. That combined with the familiar feeling of death and darkness that surrounded the woman that felt so familiar to Dee, made her feel like trusting Noyala was safe at least for the time being.

She idly wondered about Noyala’s past. It was clear the woman had some dealings with the Winter court. That much was obvious, made even more so by her friendship with a member of the Threads of Fate. Yet she had been hunted by a group of Sidhe that seemed to be elites among the Winter court forces. Maybe she was what could be called a ‘problem solver’. One that usually solved problems with sharp pointy objects. Maybe she had seen or heard something she shouldn’t have during her work, resulting in the chase that had brought her into contact with Dee. Maybe that was who she wanted to take revenge on. An ex-employer now turned into an enemy that wanted to get rid of loose ends? That was a lot of maybes.

Dee’s thoughts were interrupted by a large burst of power from both armies. Apparently Luthana had decided to take advantage of the confusion among the centaur ranks and had commanded the order’s forces to advance. The bursts of power were from the two armies combining their powers before coming into contact with the enemy ranks. The paladins used their typical Aegis to protect themselves, as a golden protective field settled over their heads, intercepting incoming arrows from the centaur skirmishers.

Dee was somewhat surprised to see that the Aegis was not a single protective field this time, but several overlapping fields covering different parts of the army instead. Then again it made sense with some thought. While a single unified Aegis would be stronger, the whole army would be boned if the person creating the Aegis was killed. Instead each section of the army had their own Aegis, but they were overlapping partly so that if one part came under heavy bombardment, the others could extend their portion over to take some of the load.

Golden light also surrounded the paladins and templar. The exact nature of the buffs they received depended on the person creating that particular section of the Aegis, but usually they were defensive and strengthening in nature. A weird glow also came over the centaur army. They didn’t have a protective field like the paladins, but each centaur was showing a glowing aura. Dee couldn’t tell the exact effects, but it was rather safe to say the centaurs were greatly strengthened, and seemed on the border of going berserk. Apparently the aura was almost as much to stop them from running away from the battle as it was to empower them.

“Normally the centaurs wouldn’t get caught in a pitched battle like this. When dealing with armies this size, the battle becomes less about tactics and more about pure staying power and crisis management. There’s not enough space to maneuver and trying to maneuver armies this large would be folly anyway. As a race, one of the strengths of the centaurs is their mobility, so a battle like this is not in their favor. Usually they would try to harass us as much as possible with hit and run tactics of their lighter forces. When we give chase, they would turn around and strike at the weak sports in our strung out lines with their heavier forces. Now they can’t. Can you tell me why?” Luthana remembered that Dee was here to learn, and she also wanted to hear the kitsune girl’s thoughts in case there were some new insights to be had from a fresh pair of eyes.

Dee considered for a moment. “Well, they would have to abandon the siege and risk getting hit by both us and Razark while retreating. I’m guessing they also asked for help from their other warhosts, as they aren’t aware of them being tied down by our other armies. Normally the centaurs could use their mobility to reinforce each other quickly. I’m guessing they’re hoping to keep up the fight until their reinforcements strike us in our rear.” She might not have much experience, but she wasn’t stupid.

Luthana nodded. “Correct. There’s also the fact that we’re roughly equal in number, in fact they might have a bit more troops than we do. So they probably aren’t sure if they can defeat us with their current forces. They can’t in case you were wondering. Mobility is their forte, while pitched battles like these are ours. We have the best heavy infantry in Pantheon, and with our holy powers our staying power is almost ridiculous. We might not be able to blast them away like a large group of mages would, but we can and will grind them to dust over several days of battle, or until they run away.”

Her voice was suddenly covered by the thundering sound of millions of hooves hitting the ground as the centaurs charged towards the order’s lines that were already approaching them in kind. The eerie singing and hide drums echoed with the hoof-beats of the centaurs and a great crash of metal overrode all other sounds as the lines crashed into each other. Or it was more accurate to say the centaurs crashed into the wall that was the order’s lines that barely budged from the impact. The crush of momentum carried the second, third and fourth ranks of the centaurs into the backs of the first rank. The centaurs of the first rank were almost all killed, not by the order but by the crush of flesh from their own troops stampeding over their brothers and sister.

The battle devolved into a prolonged melee as both armies waited for an opening to exploit. The first two hours of battle saw no change as people died from lances, swords, axes, arrows and crossbow bolts. At that point the order started to show its professionalism as it used a part of the reserves to rotate into the battle, taking over from the exhausted men that had been battling all this while. This was a dangerous maneuver, as the moment of switching places revealed small gaps in the line. Luckily the centaurs were unable to exploit those gaps, partially as the battle had worn on them as well. Their weird aura increased their stamina, but constant fighting took its toll in slowing the reflexes and the acuity to take advantage of small gaps in the enemy.

On the other hand, the centaurs now had tired troops fighting against fresh troops from the order. This soon caused collapses in some parts of the centaur lines. This allowed the templar to push in and strike at the now opened flanks of the centaurs. The centaurs responded by throwing their gathered ki at those collapsed areas, as enormous swords of ki struck at the Aegis protecting the troops. Most of the Aegis shields held against the onslaught, but one of the paladins holding up an Aegis segment got distracted by the added strain and was cut down by the nearby higher ranked centaur warrior.

The dying paladin had been quick enough to let the Aegis collapse before dying, but that left one part of their army vulnerable. Their buffs would not run out so quickly, but now there was nothing to stop the centaurs from pouring all their power into the open part of the army, and all manner of ki attacks suddenly rained on the exposed troops. The neighboring Aegis were extended to cover the exposed part, but there was a large price paid in blood as paladins and templar were torn to shreds by the storm of ki, collapsing some of the formations in that area.

This prompted Luthana to send part of the reserves to take over that part of the battle, while the templar responded to the onslaught and since the centaurs focused their ki into attacking, they were too busy to defend properly. Contrary to the paladins, who were great at defense, the templars were much better at offense and the centaurs had to watch in horror as great columns of holy fire descended on parts of their army. Specifically, the templar targeted the reserves of the other side. Those already locked in combat were less of a threat as they were already tired, but striking at the fresh reserves removed the chance of getting less tired troops into battle and prevented their use in situations just like this one.

The order’s forces that had managed to breach into the centaur ranks widened the gaps that were now forming, and the heavy cavalry of the order rushed into those gaps, crushing the centaur resistance. The cavalry could have looped around to the rear of the fighting centaurs but they were soon intercepted by the remaining reserves of the centaur forces. Those reserves managed to stop the advance of the order cavalry, but the damage had been done. Now there were wedges of order forces splitting the centaur army into segments. This allowed the templars to focus their efforts on one segment at a time, reducing their numbers heavily.

What surprised Dee was that Luthana didn’t have to give any commands aside from giving the signal to the cavalry to make all this happen. This was the result of the orders doctrine of giving the local commanders a lot of leeway and autonomy, so they could take advantage of any opportunities presented. Noyala noticed Dee’s evaluating look.

“The Radiant Sun has always liked using strategic generals instead of tactical ones.” She said in a quiet voice that only Dee could hear.

“Strategic generals?” Dee asked.

“Oh right, you’re new to this. Generals can be as varied as people are in life, but they fall into three rough categories. Strategic generals are the type that likes to move armies on the maps and make large plans over longer periods of time. They also usually are excellent bean counters and logisticians, and for a good reason. In the absence of really powerful individuals, logistics and supplies decide wars.” Noyala explained, although her voice made it clear that she didn’t really appreciate the bean counter type that much.

“Luthana probably falls into this category. It can be a bit hard to say for sure because the strategic types overlap somewhat with the tactical types. When you’re thinking of generals that create magnificent ambushes or defeat the enemy by outmaneuvering them, you’re thinking of the tactical types. They are the ones that can snatch a victory from the jaws of defeat with their minds and leadership alone.” Noyala’s appreciation towards the tactical types was much stronger and clear in her voice.

“You said there were three categories.” Dee pointed out.

“Yes, the third type is a bit..special. Those who like the third type call them the hero type, and those that don’t call them warchiefs. The generals of this type hand in their general’s baton in favor of becoming one of the soldiers and leading from the front. Their success can be hard to estimate as it depends greatly on their charisma and personal strength, but they are certainly the most unpredictable type.” Noyala’s pursed lips were a sign of her not really knowing what to think of this type of generals. Many of the greatest heroes of the ages had been of this type, but so had been some of the greatest fools.

Luthana had heard the end of their conversation as she came closer interjected at this point. “And a wise ruler or community wants generals from all three categories as their strengths complement each other.” The general could guess the parts of the conversation that she had not heard as this was a common theory among the officers, and a source of endless debates on the merits of each type.

“General.” Dee greeted Luthana simply.

“Your turn will come in a moment in case you’re willing. As we’re putting a lot of stress on their ranks, they will have to send their strongest individuals to try and make a difference. I would like you to intercept them.” The general made it a request and not an order.

“I think that’s my cue.” Dee replied almost immediately, as she noted a group of much bigger centaurs moving towards the order’s cavalry.

“Need help?” Noyala asked, sounding almost hopeful.

“You can have the next group. I don’t think there’s more than one rank seven warrior in that group, the rest are rank six at most.” Dee replied, and seemed to vanish.

At first she had planned to use her angel form and psionics to deal with the situation, but decided to save that for now. She had a feeling she might be forced to have dealings with the elven empire in the future, and she wanted to keep her angel form’s appearance a secret for now. Her two other forms were simply too recognizable, and while the spies of the seasonal courts might have heard of her having an angel form, they most likely didn’t know how she looked like exactly. If she hid her wings and halo, or changed the wing color, she might be able to pass off as an elf or a Dark Avariel like in the past.

That was just a momentary whim, but she decided to go with it for now. Instead she took an enormous leap boosted with her psionic force control, and landed right on top of the group of higher ranked centaurs in her bestial form. The landing was rather unpleasant, for the centaurs that is. A furball of tooth, claw and power suddenly crashed in their midst, and tore four of them to pieces in the first attack. These centaurs didn’t have the enhanced strength of some of the opponents she had faced lately, and she was already much higher ranked than they were, so the results were rather obvious.

The biggest and most powerful centaur tried to catch Dee as she leaped from one centaur to another, tearing them to pieces as she went. Dee however liked this little cat and mouse play, although she was mostly likely the cat in this analogy, while one of the bigger mice tried to desperately fight her. She blasted a couple of large holes into the nearby normal centaur warrior ranks with her psionics as she passed by. Eventually she allowed the big centaur to catch her, and the big centaur cleaved his axe towards her, while she stood still just staring at the approaching “danger”.

“Nope.” She cheekily said, as the centaur suddenly froze in place, the axe only centimels from her head. Not that it would have done that much damage to her reinforced body. Still, a strike to the head was a strike to the head. Unfortunately Dee had attacked the centaur’s mind, and had frozen him in place as soon as she got access. Well, almost as soon as she got access. She had waited a bit for a theatric moment.

‘Psychological warfare and all that.’ She lied to herself in her own mind. Truthfully it was just more fun this way.

She then proceeded to cleave the centaur’s head from his shoulders before consuming all the dead souls in the vicinity. This was a battlefield, so there were a lot of souls floating around. Luckily she was far enough in the back ranks of the centaurs that the order didn’t see what happened. The normal centaurs didn’t notice either, although they felt a deep chill in their backs as they felt the souls being consumed, and they instinctively moved further away from Dee. Some of the more powerful centaurs did notice, which only increased the fear she instilled in them. It also earned her a nickname among the centaurs, the Reaper.

The battle lasted until the evening, though the centaurs were already collapsing at this point. Once it became clear that the order would not be stopping the battle for the night, the centaurs realized they were in deep trouble. The final nail in their coffin came in the form of Razark attacking them from within the city. He wasn’t alone as the remaining inhabitants also took the chance to exact some revenge on the ‘clippity-clops’ as the dwarves called the centaurs.

The combination of these factors lead to a complete rout on the side of the centaurs. Dee got to see that a large portion of the casualties were actually inflicted at the moment of retreat, as the order shamelessly used all their power to strike at the unprotected backs of the retreating centaurs, while their cavalry rode down as many of the fleeing enemy as possible. Dee and Noyala didn’t bother taking part in the slaughter, as there was no fun to be had there and the order was already doing a fine job of it.

While General Luthana was happy to achieve victory in a single day instead of grinding the enemy down over several days, that still left the order to deal with the aftermath. Even as an assassin Dee had not seen quite anything like this. Even with the healing and protective powers of the order, a full hundred thousand of their members had fallen as casualties. That included the dead and those too seriously wounded to continue taking part in this operation. There was also another two hundred thousand inhabitants in city of Craghold that had either died or were in dire need of medical attention.

All of the damage wasn’t physical either. Many of the paladins and templar had never seen battle like this, and had suffered a severe mental shock as a result. Some people were brave in small battles and normal life, but simply collapsed when faced with war. Many people had seen their friends die and many others had lied bleeding and suffering on the field for hours before finally finding relief either in death or in the hands of the healers. Those that had been healed physically might never return to battle as the pain and suffering had left marks on their mind. They might need weeks, months or even years to fully recover, if they ever did. Those dwarves in the city had been forced to fight among the bodies of their dead for days. Although dwarves were hardy folk, staring at the dead bodies of your neighbors and family without the ability to bury them was heavy on the mind.

And that didn’t even touch the charnel house of the battlefield with hundreds of thousands of dead centaurs and paladins. There was blood and entrails everywhere. Even Dee felt a little queasy at the sight. She liked to kill relatively cleanly, and might even eat her kills in her beast form that didn’t mind raw meat. This was far from any of that. Closest thing she had seen and what eventually kept her calm was the memory of the stacked bodies of the dead children in the Zabaniya base she was rescued from.

The centaurs had also left behind wounded, but those where finished off as soon as the order got the chance. General Luthana looked at the battlefield. "Gather our dead and build a funeral pyre for them. Return the bodies of those that have families. As for the centaurs, burn the whole field.”