Chapter 11: One Small Step

Me? I’m not bigger than you or better. I am simply applying myself to the open position. Hero? Some call me that after the successful defense of the wall in the largest skirmish the empire has seen since the Eradication era. I don’t think so, but I accept the fact. If it wasn’t for Lord Vasu, I would be dead right now. Hero? Now that is a hero! I was knocked from the wall by a goblin blast and fell onto the wrong side. Truly I thought it’d be my end. Laying there I watched Vasu jump down casting as he let gravity do its work and a raging fires storm engulfed him as he chopped down. Now that my friends, was heroic.

Recount of the Skirmish of 1192 ES. spoken by Lord Alexander Fross.

I slowly walked forward looking over every single one of my squads. Roughly one thousand men stood in front of me all youths barely older than me. I could see the tension, the nervousness, and the raw excitement. These kids had no idea, and I barely had any idea myself. War. What caused it. A difference in opinions or perhaps in ideologies and race. Today these young men and women would be blooded. Today they would go from trainees to real soldiers. Today what would cause a war was simple… it was me.

“Today… the small group that was once known as the little army shall earn its keep. You aren’t little anymore. Today… today you shall be bloodied today you shall be known as the Crimson Army. Today you shall bring honor to the dukedom and the Empire. Today you shall become HEROES.”

Cheers began to erupt as I finished my impromptu speech and a firm resolution settled over my army. Most were on their way in Path of the Body with only around five squads of mages being present. With my squads consisting of twenty members each. Out of those five two were dedicated healing squads led by Ivy. The rest were here for destruction. Today I would be seeing how magical warfare was waged. Learning about it and the effect it caused in the world was one thing. Participating and causing it was an entirely different story.

Amaya stood by my side eyes lit with excitement. She was still in the process of working with her small army of nobles and perhaps soon they would undergo the geas and be integrated into my army. Most were a solid tier four with some of the older ones being tier five and would truly have made a wonderful addition. Perhaps in the coming months.

“Today is your day to shine Crimson General.”

Amaya looked at me and nodded. A different demeanor was present today. One that I hadn’t truly seen. Right now, she wasn’t just my cousin she was the Crimson General and today she would be bloodied. Today she would be leading the army in terms of tactics while I would be the spear tip executing her orders to make sure they succeeded. She would be stationed towards the back on the army near the mages.

I took a step back and Amaya assumed control rapidly calling out orders and our army began to move followed by a small contingent of civilians who would provide aid in terms of cooking and carrying extra equipment. The mages grouped together under Amaya orders and cast a spell of |Haste| over the entire army and the troops began to march. There were no calvary in my Crimson Army as training calvary took a minimum of ten years. Not only did the soldier need to bond with their magical beast. They must constantly train with the creature in order for it to achieve the necessary strength to be effective in high level battles. Magical warfare was not a game.

***

Amaya jogged in front of her army next to Aegis as the mages and civilians rode alongside them on a magical platform. They would need to climb through several mountains to reach their destination, but the moment Aegis received word of the force Amaya could guess what his decision would be and since they landed, she began to make ample preparations having the land cleared of any beast that may attack the army and having the earth mages that they hired to build small bridges and other pathways that would make their journey smoothing. Her core whirled in excitement as it pulled in mana and essence to bring her back to peak. Soon the small gem that represented the core would begin to expand and replace her heart giving her access to even more mana and strength. Like this a week of traveling passed with little to no incidents along the way.

It should have taken them longer, but the moment Amaya took charge of the army she could feel it. She could sense when her soldiers were tired or what their moral was like. Right now, it was at an all-time high as excitement buzzed throughout the Crimson Army. Right now, they were ready to march into battle under her will.

Amaya was also buzzing with excitement. She trained since a child for this opportunity, and it felt truly satisfying that she would finally get the chance to fulfil her duty to her family. She looked over at Aegis who was calmly sitting amongst his soldiers chatting and eating. Men would die today. She realized that Aegis knew that, yet he was calm about it and easily relaxed with his soldiers. Maybe… maybe she should try it too. To really get to know some of these people as Aegis had done. After the battle perhaps she would give it a try.

Amaya looked to the young soldier in front of her. He was older than her but the natural aura surrounding her made her appear mature and in charge. They were less than three hours from the count and his forces. The young man in front of her would be announcing their presences to the world. Announcing that the Empire had come to conquer. He was dress in a light crimson armor with the Kan crest plastered on his breastplate him. the army would be around thirty minutes behind him when he delivered the message giving the count a short amount of time to prepare his troops for battle. Time that Amaya did not have to give at all. She wasn’t a barbarian, however. The south and north dukedom of the Empire had more than enough of them.

Her hands grasp her early birthday present an earthy brown and red staff with a figurehead of a dragon clutching a sharp pointed gem within its maw. With two thumps to the ground Amaya became covered in a light metal armor from head to two. The armor was like Aegis with dragons on the pauldrons and kneecaps but this time they had a silent watching gaze. As if they were judging you. Amaya paused for a moment trying to remember what Aegis told her before it came back to her.

“System show me my equipment details.”

Crimson Light, Hope of the Dragons.

Item Rank:

10.

Item Type:

Masterwork, Weapon, Set

Description:

This is a set item. Equipping this item will bestow you with the armor Crimson Light and weapon Hope of the Dragons. Either can be stored in the small spatial space equipped bounded to the items. This item was forged by Master Arlong Faraan and inscribed by his wife Master Ruinia Faraan and has been bounded to Amaya Kan. Ahana Kan has inscribed the spell |Forlorn Hope|. Asrealt Kan has inscribed the spell |Seismic Collapse|.

Effect:

Crimson Light is a masterwork item and thus cannot be affected by the erosion of the basic elements. As a bound item Crimson Light can store its user’s mana and use it to reinforce the armor against physical or magical attacks. Hope of the Dragons is a masterwork item and thus cannot be affected by the erosion of the basic elements. As a bound item Hope of the Dragons can store five spells of the same tier as the user. As the tier increases so too will the level of spells able to be held.

Such detailed information that only someone like Master Arlong Faraan or his wife should be able to provide. It intrigued her to no end on how the system received this information. Yet it did not talk to her like Aegis claimed it did to him. Things he was still hiding from her. Things that she began to pick up on.

After the short break the messenger was off and thirty minutes later her Crimson Army was off as well. Navigating through the sword like mountains swiftly.

***

Fabian looked on resolutely as he jobbed towards the encampment of the soldiers his Young Lord was preparing to fight. His heartbeat in excitement and he truly felt honored to be chosen for this role even if it was the most dangerous before the upcoming fight. He was confident, however. Not because of his trust within himself but the trust within the ability the Young Lord granted to him.

“Aspect,” Fabian whispered, and the glowing box appeared in the side of his vision allowing him to read and move at the same time. Fabian had not only received the same aspects as his fellow brothers and sisters in arms, but he received something else. Something that the Young Lord even liked.

Aspect: Courier

(Uncommon)

25%

Effect: Double your current physical speed and endurance. Increase in mental resistance and mind-altering effects.

Perks:

Farther than Before (Tier 1): When activated allows user to travel double the distance per step.

You’ve been Served (Tier 1): When activated allows user to bypass any physical attacks up to two tiers ahead of user’s power.

Charming Smile (Passive) (Tier 2): Your natural charisma allows other to view you in a favorable position.

Transportation Elevation (Passive) (Tier 1): Your natural charisma allows you to receive goodwill from animals while any animal you use as transportation receives your buffs.

Not only did Fabian already advance his aspect unlocking a second perk. It was one that could even save his life if he was attacked. Concentrating Fabian said the words that came to his mind. The activation phrase as he liked to call it.

“Days one, Days two, under my Lord, I am here to serve you.”

An arrow whizzed through his left shoulder and Fabian came to a stop and looked at the spot the arrow passed in amazement.

“Ha-ha. A gift truly of new magic from my Young Lord.”

He looked through the rocky area he was passing though straining his eyes to see who shot at him.

“My name is Fabian. I come bearing a message for Count Caccula from my Young Lord, Aegis Kan, Son of Vasu Kan, Lord of the Wall.”

Fabian waited in the silence still not able to spot the scout who shot at him. until a few meters away a grey outcropping moved, and a pair of scarlet eyes stared back at him. Fabian heartbeat in excitement he would be the first of his lord’s troops to interact with the races on this continent and he felt honored by his Young Lords trust in him to complete the mission.

“Speak who is this Aegis and Vasu Kan. I know of no lords of this title and none bearing the Lord of the Wall.”

“My message is to Count Caccula and Count Caccula only.”

Fabian took out a medallion and the symbol of the Kan flared into the air giving off a noble aura and suppressing the scout. A grunt came from behind Fabian, and he turned to see several figures sneaking upon him.

Calmingly removing himself from the encirclement Fabian deactivated the medallion. He needed to hurry for he could feel his strength drain with every passing second as his second perk was activated.

“My person will not be assaulted for I am only the messenger. Here to deliver only to Count Caccula. For every moment you hound me is every moment your count is less prepared for what is to come.”

The first scout sent a few hand signals to the rest and an argument seemed to take place as they fiercely gestured at one another. A few minutes of silenced passed before they spoke once again.

“Your dialect is from those of the free people. Yet we’ve never heard of these lords you speak of why is that.”

Fabian was surprised by this question and only let it show on his face for a brief moment. Mind magic had been used to transfer the language into Fabian’s head, but he had no idea how the language was spoken and only followed the translation that would appear in his mind.

“You are wasting time. It is urgent that I get this message to your lord in the next 30 minutes or less. My Young Lord will wait no longer.”