Wootz steel is hypnotic. Known as Damascus Steel to most people on my Earth, it was a fixture in many fantasy stories, even though it was a real material. In a world without fantasy metals like mythril and adamantium, the closest thing you could get was something like Damascus Steel.

Alternating waves of gray and black, like ripples on a lake etched into metal. Trailing a finger across the surface, you could almost imagine feeling ribs of carbon amid the steel. Damascus Steel swords had been highly prized in the medieval era on my Earth, since they were praised for their sharpness and durability, and also became associated with magic and superstition.

I pressed two fingers on the flat of the blade. The ripples on this sword were particularly striking, like a hypnotic spiral. Perhaps if you stared at it in the right light, I could snap my fingers and make you dance. I had no idea if I’d ever be able to invent hypnotic or mind control magic on my own, but if I did, I would definitely apply it to this sword. The steel for the sword had been made by the metalworkers in New Cas City, but I had shaped the sword myself. It required a lot of fire and air magic, along with a little earth and metal, but I was satisfied with what I had. All that was left was to give the sword a name, but I decided to think about that later.

The sword was important. I knew I might be going up against the immortal’s minions, which meant I had to prepare for every eventuality. Including the possibility that my magic wouldn’t work anymore. I’d made one for Kelser too, and made Damascus Steel tips for the spear tips of the best human hunters. There wasn’t enough time to make many Damascus Steel weapons for the demons, but that was okay. They were all decked out in iron armor, wielding iron swords, spears, and pikes. Bain Rusta told me this was the sort of armor they used against the Lux Republic, but it wasn’t as useful against beastmen, who liked to make use of their higher agility and reflexes.

We were joined by more contingents of demons as we marched towards the border. Bain Rusta had taken over organizing the various armies. Kelser had stopped moping around once the scale of the battle started settling into his head. He decided to practice magic with the other humans, and I dropped by to give them some ideas. Soon, they were all practicing alternating lines of magic bombardment, quick casting of large earthen walls, ditches, and other obstacles to help divide larger armies, as well as a mechanism for holding apart the sides of the water in case of a river retreat.

The final stop on the way to the border was a little fort nestled into the forest, overlooking a steep cliff with flat plains below it. It provided a beautiful vantage point from where the demons could look far into the distance and spot any approaching Republican armies, although now, the many eagle-eyes scouts and observers on the fort towers were straining their eyes for signs of beastmen activity.

A few other armies were waiting for us there. Bain Rusta advised that we wait for some reinforcements to arrive from the surrounding cities, but added that there was no reason to wait for more demons to join us from the South, since they would be heading East to reinforce the border with the Singing Horde.

The few days we spent on this lonely fort above a cliff were tense and unnerving. Bain Rusta had stopped receiving any information from inside the Lux Republic, and all of our scouts couldn’t find anything nearby except for a few destroyed villages. We considered sending a small force to a larger town or city, but not only did we suspect they would be as ravaged and empty as the villages, we also didn’t want to risk alerting the horde, now that we had assembled our grand army.

I called the leaders of the various forces that made up our grand army to my tent. Kelser stood right next to me, followed by elders Kezler, Brol, and Mann. Bain Rusta stood on the other side of the rough wooden table I had been provided by the commanding officer of the fort. Speaking of whom, the commanding officer of the fort, a short woman who everybody called Captain, led the few guards and career soldiers of the fort. Other soldier and guard leaders who had left their cities with small skeleton crews to come join us in the war, stood beside the Captain. Various local rulers of cities and towns stood next to Bain Rusta, alongside the heads of mercenary troops that had been hired by the administrators and governors with the authorization of Queen Kol, who promised to pay them with gold from the royal treasury after their return, which meant she was hoping they would help get rid of the isolating barrier around the capital, which was a phenomenon that they did not even know about.

And juggling all of these complicated personalities with their own vested interests, was an elf from a foreign land and another world, who was already tired of all the bickering and arguments which were occurring even before he had formally started the meeting. Yes, I was not looking forward to this.

I cleared my throat. The crowd of leaders quietened. I began to speak, and they hushed completely. I was so startled by the speed of their silence, I almost bit my own tongue. Thankfully, that didn’t happen, and I was able to go over our plans one last time. All the while, I thought to myself that I had underestimated my influence over these demons and humans. I suppose if a mythical being appeared in front of me on my old Earth, I would react in a similar fashion, but actually being that sort of mythical being myself gave me an eerie feeling.

I finished the meeting with that feeling still lingering in my head.

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The last reinforcements joined us in the fort. We let them rest and replenish their supplies, before setting off an a march down the side of the cliff and into the plains below. Bain Rusta said that these empty plains tended to be the site of the bloodiest battles between the Republic and the Kingdom, since they were ideal for large armies. The Kingdom’s armies had marched like this towards the Republic’s heartland for generations, which made me frown. I had to remember not to leave the Kingdom with too much of a technological advantage over the Republic after this battle with the immortals was over. Even though I thought the current queen, Kol, wouldn’t try to conquer another people like this, I couldn’t trust that she or her descendants wouldn’t be tempted to increase their power through violence and conquest.

Scouts scoured the plains, checking in every smoldering village and town turned to ash. My face was grim, and a heavy cloud descended on the army. Even as the ground shook under our feet and the rumbling thunder of our march filled the air, it was the silence of the surrounding area that was the loudest in our ears. Bain Rusta told me these places had never been very densely populated, since they were so close to a dangerous border and didn’t have as much freshwater as the lands in the heartland of the Republic, but they were still bustling and lively. Even the demon armies never destroyed the villages and towns around here, since requisitioning food from those places was an essential part of the supply lines for their marching armies. We had already known about this devastation from the scout reports, which was why we had come with more supplies than usual, but being in the midst of these ruins, the scars of intense violence marring the otherwise pristine countryside, it was a feeling that was difficult to describe.

The worst part was what was not there to be seen. In none of the villages or towns, did we come across any blood or corpses. The inhabitants of the Republic were called spirits and fairies, but Bain Rusta confirmed that they were as flesh and blood as demons and humans. In fact, I suspected my translation magic was just giving me the best possible translation for these beings based on their appearances, since I knew these so-called fairies and spirits didn’t know magic, and couldn’t do things like fly with their wings and were actually quite tall.

“Even the beastmen aren’t leaving behind any blood,” remarked Bain Rusta. “This is not how they fight. They raid and pillage, leaving the site of their violence more quickly than they come. They never take their dead with them, nor do they clean up blood and gore. Something has made the beastmen change generations of established behavior.”

I stared at another pile of debris and ash that had once been a village. Among the gray, I noticed a small splash of color. I walked into the ruins and stooped down, picking up the colorful object. It was a tiny dress, its edges frayed and burnt. Next to it, I spotted a charred bit of wood, roughly carved into a humanoid shape. I bent down and placed the dress on top of the doll, and rejoined the army as it marched deeper into the lands of the Republic.