The congregated players all started bustling after receiving the mobilization notification. Eric looked over to Cattie. Her group had already started grabbing their gear to prepare to form up with their divisions. The group was split across various divisions within the Legion so it was likely he would see them again until after the first day’s march.

Cattie gave Ella a tight hug and waved goodbye to the group before darting off. “Good luck everyone! I’ll catch up with you later,” she said in farewell.

Jax walked over and slapped Eric on the back with a heavy hand. “Good luck out there. I’m glad we have that magic bow of yours on our side,” he said chuckling.

“Thanks, good luck to you as well,” Eric replied with a tight-lipped smile.

Jax nodded toward Ella and Liam before turning to make his way off. Ella and Liam slipped away with a quick wave, and Eric turned to find his own division’s mustering area. He found it was only a short distance away, and he already saw a few other players starting to gather from different areas of the assembly area.

Eric made it a few paces from the glowing area signifying the mustering area before spotting a man wearing a thick green cloak and pointing in his direction while talking with several people gathered around. Eric heard the man’s confident voice over the clamor, “There is the captain! I’ll go check in with him.” The man approached Eric with a welcoming smile.

Eric looked around for a moment in confusion. Not seeing anyone else near him, he realized the man had been speaking about him, “Hi there. Are you in the 5th ranged division as well?” Eric asked the man that strode up to him. The man’s thick cloak waved slightly in the wind, and his handsome face was framed with light brown hair making him look stoically striking with the rest of the group standing idly behind him.

“Yea, I’m Clarke. You are the captain of the division right?” he questioned curiously.

“That’s right. I’m Eric,” he responded with a slight smile.

“Nice to meet you, Eric,” Clarke said extending his hand and flashing a smile. Eric returned the handshake with a firm grip as Clarke continued, “I am the division’s lieutenant and your second in command.”

Eric noticed Clarke had a small blue leaf symbol floating over his head and all the other players behind him had one in green. Eric decided that the leaf must be the symbol of his division, and the colors indicated ranks.

“You as well. I look forward to working together,” Eric replied as he got his bearings.

“You bet! Going to be fun kicking some Valix ass,” Clarke said with a short chuckle.

“That’s the idea!” Eric exclaimed positively.

“I heard the other division captains are meeting with the Legion commander over by the officer’s tent shortly,” Clarke said as he pointed behind his back toward a small tent near the edge of the assembly grounds butting up against the city walls. “I can gather the division together and make sure everyone is accounted for if you want to go report to the commander,” Clarke said.

“Excellent! Thank you, Clarke. I will go check in and find out when we will be moving out,” Eric stated cheerfully. He was happy to have a lieutenant that seemed to have plenty of experience and could help provide some guidance and organization. Eric gave him a short nod, and Clarke turned to head back to the rest of the division.

Eric headed toward the direction of the meeting at a steady speed and saw a group gathered around a raised platform set up outside the marked officer’s tent. The platform had several well-equipped men standing stiffly and observing the troops scattered across the assembly area. Eric approached and found a place at the back of the group. He noticed almost all of the players gathered were wearing much better equipment than he could afford and were likely much more experienced based on his special appointed role from Flynn rather than following the typical assignment path.

Eric also noticed the area became highlighted in his vision after a moment, and he received a message similar to the first directing him to the location to meet with the officers and receive orders of deployment. The group grew steadily over the next few minutes as the other captains received the delayed directive to meet. The man standing in the center of the platform began walking up to the edge overlooking the crowd after it had swelled. He was an aged man with visible battle scars on his exposed skin and a tight knot of white hair tied back close to his head.

His heavy steps made everyone silent and attentive to his movements. He came to rest at the edge of the platform before speaking. “The darkness has been awoken and our time of peace and prosperity hangs in the balance,” he said in a low rough voice that shook through the crowd.

“You have all been brought together to preserve the way of life we have worked hard to build for ourselves in these lands. It is up to all of us to meet the threat that moves against the people of Dorenth. Each one of you has been selected to lead a division in the Legion because of your experience and skills, but all of you have to lead your troops with honor, courage, and fortitude. We will stand against the monsters that threaten to take away all that we cherish and we will crush them without mercy,” he pronounced passionately as his voice grew louder.

A moment of silence passed as everyone digested his words. He continued in a softer tone. “I am Lord Rarnic Bonhald and will serve as your commander for this expedition. On behalf of the king, I will provide you with the supplies and resources you need to reach the enemies that threaten to disturb our peace. Each division will be provided supply wagons and rations for the entirety of the journey,” he said calmly.

He continued with a more serious tone, “As division captains you will be responsible for the safe journey of your troops to the battlefield. You will also work with the company commanders to ensure proper deployment and formations for the battle. This will prove vital to our success and without everyone’s cooperation this encounter will be doomed. Keep this in mind as you prepare your troops for battle. The supplies and wagons will be provided when we reach the outskirts of the settlement. Prepare your troops to move out shortly.”

Once Lord Rarnic finished his speech he promptly turned and stepped down from the platform before ducking back into the tent nearby. The two men that were standing on either side of him followed him inside, and a message appeared alerting the Legion that the march would begin in less than ten minutes. Eric noticed he had a new menu appear to the side of his vision that showed the status of his division and a high-level overview of the Legion, totaling over five thousand troops.

The crowd of captains that had gathered erupted into chatter after Lord Bonhald disappeared into the command tent. Eric took a few moments to listen to some of the conversations around him and explore his new menu. He discovered the Legion was made up of almost sixty divisions with each ranging in numbers. The smallest were some of the scout divisions at less than twenty and the largest at over two hundred for the front-line combatant infantry divisions. He found his division was forty-two strong including himself and Clarke. All the troops were given the standard rank of legionnaire other than the captain and lieutenant within each division.

With little time left to gather his troops before the start of the march, Eric closed the menu and quickly walked back to his division’s assembly area. He found Clarke had taken charge and already organized the troops into a rough formation of four across and ten deep. The troops were all carrying bows of some kind, and there was a mix of human and elves among them from first glance. There was also a healthy mix of females to males. It seemed that ranged weapons were equally popular among both genders.

Eric found Clarke near the front of the formation chatting with a couple of stoutly built men. They were discussing strategy when Eric arrived, and he apologized for interrupting. Eirc quickly introduced himself to the newcomers. The new men were both carrying long bows and had on thick leather armor sets covering most of their bodies.

Eric learned their names were Kaden and Finley. They were brothers from the old world and had spent several months in Teurilia training as rangers. After introductions, Eric nodded his appreciation toward their experience and provided the group with an update on the speech from the commander. Clarke and the two rangers fell into formation to prepare for the march ahead, saving their strategy discussion for later.

It took some time for all of the troops to move out of the assembly grounds because of their large numbers, but Eric’s division was soon making steady progress toward the outskirts of the city. The rest of the day glided by after the march began. The excitement of the upcoming battle was on everyone’s mind. Upon reaching the outskirts of the city in the late afternoon, Eric’s division received two supply wagons equipped with two horses a piece.

The king had arranged a staging area at the edge of the city sprawl for supplies and support for the Legion. Each division took possession of the provided supplies as they passed through. The majority of the space in the wagons was used for rations and camping supplies, but there was enough room for several troops to take shifts resting in each and a schedule quickly fell into place by the time the light was fading.

Eric took the downtime to meet each one of the soldiers under his command and did his best to learn a little about their combat style and abilities to better prepare for the upcoming engagement. The evening came swiftly, but by the time the division made camp he had met with all of the troops and put names to faces.

The Legion made camp on the side of the main road that led west from Dorenth. The camp site was in a large clearing that offered plenty of space to spread out. Fortunately, the road was well traveled and maintained making the first day’s march fairly easy. Eric learned the closer the Legion got to the frontier the more difficult, the terrain would become according to one of the soldiers that completed a quest to scout a village located near the border.

Eric settled into a seat next to Clarke, Kaden, and Finley near a camp fire and they discussed tactics and strategy. The discussion was fruitful, and Clarke provided valuable insight into the various types of troops and formations they could expect from the other divisions while Kaden and Finley had valuable information about the enemy troops. Clarke’s knowledge was gathered by through studying historical engagements fought in Teurilia and he explained the forming of legions by the royal courts was a common practice. It was easy for Eric to see Clarke’s passion for warfare and tactics.

Clarke explained the Legion was formed by five different types of divisions: Ranged, Melee, Support, Mounted, and Mage. The ranged, and melee divisions were the most basic and numerous making up the majority of the Legion’s troops. The support division was primarily engineers and craftsmen that helped build fortifications and operate artillery if needed. The mounted division was made of experienced knights and paladins that were used to flank enemies and chase down routing enemies during battles.

The mage division was more diverse than any of the others because of the variety of magic wielded. The core of the mage groups were elementalists that specialized in some form of offensive element. The others were a mix of support magic users, most focusing on Light magic for healing.

Eric listened intently to Clarke’s description of each division to better understand how each fit together. Kaden and Finley pitched in to explain the Valix had similar divisions of troops with some specializing in offensive magic to curse enemies and even some that used slings to attack from range, but they confirmed the majority of the troops would be frontline warriors armed with deadly spears. The Valix were naturally built for melee combat with their thick armor scales and natural poison.

The discussion went late into the night, and Eric was thankful for the diverse experience of the group. He excused himself after the fire started to dim and found a bare spot on the ground to lay his sleeping mat for the night. He fell into a deep sleep after a mentally exhausting day and dreamt of the battle ahead.