Book 2 Chapter 47

Maria and Clarie sped through the grassland as they ran around the edge of the battlefield towards Rasor’s right flank. Carried by the Blessing of Life, the ground was torn beneath them with each step, and before long they arrived at the Rasor line

“Are they going to let us through?” Maria asked nervously as they approached the side of Rasor’s battleline, far enough away from the fighting not to get caught up in it.

“Ha! They better…” Claire said, grinning as they ran. Sparks lit in her hair and sprouts of fire sprang from her steps as she increased her pace. In front of her, the Rasorians watched the incoming figures with confusion.

“Out of the way!” Claire roared, charging towards the stunned men and women.

“Princess!” The soldiers yelled as recognition flashed on their faces, before being replaced by terror as they realized that she wasn’t slowing down. The men and woman guarding the right flank dove out of the way as their princess charged through, followed by another quickly moving figure that a few were able to recognize as the Holy Saint.

“Sorry!” Maria called as she ran past the scrambling soldiers who stared back at them in shock.

“Hey, tell my brother to call a full retreat!” Claire called back as well as they broke through the right flank and headed towards where Claire’s Red Knights had been placed near the center…

“So, how are you going to tell which ones are working for the confederation?” Torvus asked as the duo moved through Lutel’s army towards the Water Priests.

“I won’t…” Nerida answered seriously, “Or at least not yet. I’ll take my time finding that out later. For now…” Nerida smiled sweetly at the former assassin, causing him to shiver. “ I’ll simply get rid of anyone that doesn’t obey God’s orders..”

As they arrived, the priest’s guards, marked by the distinct blue color of their armor, greeted Nerida nervously. Torvus watched them visibly wither under his companion’s cold eyes, despite the friendly smile that she wore. They didn’t dare to even slow her down as she approached the Shard Users of the Temple.

When the blue-robed priests first noticed her, there was a ripple of surprise. Some looked eagerly towards the newly arrived idol. Others seemed to stand nervously, refusing to meet her eyes. One priestess, who seemed to be leading the group, stepped forward quickly. “Priestess, you shouldn’t be here, it would be a terrible thing if something were to happen to you…”

“Thank you for your concern,” Nerida replied, flashing a bright smile at the young woman. “You trained under High Priest Hoger correct?”

“Yes Priestess, My name is Sarah Russet, I have the honor of serving as the hand of the High Priest in our holy crusade to crush Rasor once and for all…”

"Very good, I’m glad for your enthusiasm,” Nerida praised, “But unfortunately there has been a change of plans…. The army will be retreating soon so I'll have you all prepare to cover our withdrawal.”

“I’m sorry Priestess, The young woman answered seriously, “But while I understand your heart grieves for those that may be lost, I must follow my orders…”

“I understand, I believe the official orders should come down at any…” Nerida stopped as horns sounded from the command post at the back. “There we are, you now have your official orders…”

“I understand you have been gone for a few days. The Water Conclave decided that the king may be in an unfit state to command the army after the death of his wife and son… The generals were instructed to ignore his orders unless they fit in with our goal…”

“Shit…” Torvus cursed quietly.

“So you’re saying that they, as well as yourself, refuse to retreat.?” Nerida asked cocking her head innocently to the left.

“Yes Priestess, this battle is too important to let the King's feelings to get in…” The young woman stopped, her eyes widening in surprise. She tried to cough but what came out was a gurgle as water spilled from her mouth. The water twisted and pressed itself back against her face smothering her mouth and nose.

Panic set in as the young woman struggled, her hands rising to try and push the water from her face uselessly. Torvus could see the blue shard in her hand pulsing as she tried to fight back… Yet the water only grew, forming a bubble around the woman's head.

Finally, she could take it no longer and gasped, her last bubbles of air escaping as she fell to the ground. The pocket of water covering her head maintained its shape until she was absolutely still…

“Now,” Nerida started, smiling back up at the other Water Priests in front of her. “Prepare to retreat…”

They nodded dumbly, Each with horror on their faces as they looked down at their former leader. She had been the strongest of them, all of them with the Water Spirit’s gift of controlling liquid, yet even such a person had been forcefully drowned…

Nerida smiled happily at their response, “Good!”

“What do you mean you already ordered the retreat?” Tirr asked Agir angrily, “Why aren’t your men falling back?”

Agir looked down at eh battlefield in front of them, studying the right and left flanks before setting his eyes on the center… He signaled his men once more and again the horns sounded, yet once more there was no response

“What's going on?” Tirr asked again.

“It appears my generals are not listening to me…”

“You…”

As they looked horns sounded from the Rasorian line and it began to retreat. Its soldiers falling back in an orderly fashion.

Tirr smiled briefly until a horn sounded from the Lutels central army… The Lutelian troops surged forward, taking advantage of the Rasorians retreat.

“Damnit..” Agir cursed taking his son with him as he got back on his horse, “I’ll handle it… Even if I have to kill them myself.”

“How many people are going to die in the meantime?” Tirr asked. Agir didn’t reply, shouting orders to his men as he prepared to head to the battleline himself. Tirr looked at the roaring Lutellians, and let out a growl as he and Garm set off ahead of the young King.