"I tire of this useless war," the duke's voice rumbled in the dim tent. "Why haven't we been able to catch neither hide nor hair of tribe? Are the Halvar's craven or my men useless?"

When Duke Flaven and his army had joined the battlefront, they were tasked to protect the main army's western flank by the commander, Ser Unyse Inger. And for the past four moon cycles, they had performed their duty well, keeping the Cuyler tribe from catching the main force unprepared.

But it was in the past moon cycle that the troubles started - the Ruling Council changed the commander leading the tribal force. The new commander shifted the positions of the tribal armies. And the Cuyler tribe was moved to the centre while Halvers took their place in the west.

The Halvers, since then, had vanished into the air with only regular small-scale skirmishes as proof of their presence. The rock warriors had not been true what their name meant in tribal, neither acting as stalwart rocks nor as warriors. Whenever the Flaven army advanced, the tribe would retreat and hide.

Adath did not like where this was going. He feared it to be a trap and the Halvers a mere bait. The air smelled of dread to him, and he had learned early in his life that the elements may try to engulf the person, but they won't mislead.

And he believed that Duke Flaven shared his fears - mayhaps Earth was speaking the same to him. If he could, he would advise the duke to stay put instead of following the retreating Halvers anymore. But as the duke's shadow, it wasn't his position to speak in a strategy meeting. He would share his thoughts with him in private, but without the lords' agreement, Duke Flaven was bound to follow their advice, even if the duke believed them to be a mistake.

Out of the chastised lords, Marquess Milada decided to answer, the tap of his cane punctuating every word.

"My Lord, let us move towards the east and flank the Halvar tribe. With this movement, the tribe's army would be pincered. With our army to their right and the Reisses to the left, they would have nowhere to run, and we might get a proper fight instead of this game of cat and mouse. The manoeuvre might be risky, but if it works in our favour, we'd be out of this idiotic war quicker."

Lord Milada, then, took the anvil-shaped piece from the terrain map and moved it a few paces to the right to show his point. It made the rock become sandwiched by the anvil and the falcon, and with a mountain behind it, the Halvers seemed trapped.

A good strategy, Adath would have agreed, if he didn't fear it a trap. The mountain would prove a good choke point, which the old marquess undoubtedly wanted to make use of. But if he wasn't blinded by his arrogance, he would've seen that the enemy could do the same.

"This, Your Grace, would prove to be a good solution. Though risky it may be, we have nothing to fear. Every soldier from the Bay is worth three as many of these savages."

Adath hadn't thought that Marquess Rogare would chime his agreement. The large man was a master knight, and one didn't reach that position without having some wits in them. A plan that might effortlessly turn on them was not something he believed the giant warrior want to be a part of. Unless there was some deal between the Milada's and the Rogare's, he reminded himself.

"Has the cold made you all daft?" Duke Flaven asked with a raised eyebrow. Adath could feel his anger radiate even from where he sat, observing. And it was all he could do to not call upon air to protect himself. "Am I the only one who can see that it might all be a trap? Even a babe should be able to that the retreat on the western flank is too suspicious. Do you believe me blind, or you an Ethereal, Lord Milada, for you to suggest such a course?"

The pressure that Duke Flaven generated caused the already feeble looking Lord Milada to truly shake. That the duke was an elemental knight while the marquess, a master, might have a hand in causing such an effect. And it made the question laid out by Duke Flaven even more mocking. If just the duke could make him tremble, it would be an insult to the Ethereals to call him one. As any ethereal was farther ahead on the path than an elemental.

The Empire also had only a few ethereals in its midst. Adath shuddered, thinking what would happen if one of those illustrious figures heard this. The wrath of a single ethereal, not even necessarily an ethereal knight, was enough to lay a whole small town to waste. Like any child with stars in his eyes, Adath too had heard tales of great battles between the renowned Ethreals.

He, too, had hoped once to reach such a stage, but he didn't possess such talent. Now he only wished to see Aren reach it before Adath went into Najht's eternal dreams.

"My lord," Marquess Wylen came to Lord Milada's rescue. "We do not require an ethereal to win this fight. There are no seers in the enemy lines that we know of, and the Halver Tribe must be tired running ragged from us. And Archduke Lovare's ravaging of their vassal tribes has already reduced their numbers. I do not believe we have anything to fear, My Lord."

"Halver is a large tribe, Sava, do not presume them to have no hidden cards. Even after the ravaging, they still have a voice in the Ruling Council so, their seer must still be in a position of power."

Lord Somer piped up. It seems that there was no private plan amongst the lords, Adath sighed in relief. It was just that they had grown arrogant in their constant victories.

The Tribes followed a very different ruling method than Eterna, with the strength of awakened changing the standings of tribes quite often. Any tribe with a vessel, their equivalent of an elemental, would be considered a medium-sized one. And a seer would make their tribe's voice in the Ruling Council hold a lot more weight.

That the Halvers were still considered a ruling tribe meant that their seer suffered only a slight setback from Archduke Lovare's attack. Though, if a seer came to attack the army, only Ser Unyse would be able to hold them back.

"No need to fear, Lord Onar. I'll set up enchantments to make sure that there is no chance for an ambush. I believe that this a gamble we should make; it might just overturn the western flank to our side. And that might cause the centre to fold early."

"Don't daydream, Sava." Lady Thur spoke for the first time since the meeting had commenced. "Your formations might be beneficial, but they won't allow us to plan for every eventuality. I think this a trap, and if anyone here wants me to step in it, you'd have to convince me of my safety."

She finished her words with a feral grin, which reminded everyone how she had gained the honour of sitting at this table. The lady was Duke Flaven's cousin and born to the mercantile Thur household of Seacliff. When she had awakened, she was called to the castle to be young lord Robin's companion.

After a brief period of courtship, they had been betrothed to the joy of the whole castle. Adath still remembered helping Lord Robin sneak into Lady Veris' room and then standing in the room to make sure nothing untoward happened. Those happy days ended with Lord Robin's death to the bandit camp, and Lady Thur, in rage, took a small contingent of men with her to gain her vengeance. That the lady and almost all of them came back was a testimony to her skill. Since then, she declared herself the widow of Robin and took up the vow of serving House Flaven in his place.

"Lady Thur, you need not trouble yourself," Milada tried again. "If the duke believes it to be a trap and we prepare for it, then it won't remain a trap, and we will emerge victorious for we already knew of it. If it isn't a trap, then there is no questioning our chances. In any situation, our victory is guaranteed."

Adath saw that the argument was swaying the duke, and Lady Thur was known for using such strategies. Meaning she was already persuaded, as far as he knew. So, he concluded, trying to affect their decisions was a lost cause.

"Ser Adath, you have been quiet for some time now. Can you enlighten us on your views on the topic? The lord's shadow must have some opinions on the coming battle, do you not?"

Marquess Archibald Rogare, his old rival, would never let go of a moment to call him out or humiliate him. The man, for all his warrior-like physique, behaved like a petty maiden in front of him. Even the whores on the dockside behaved better in case of a perceived slight. And the man was acting like such just because he lost the race to masterhood they had privately.

Refuting their plan was to humiliate the duke while accepting it showed subservience to all the suzerains under the duke. If the man had put as much thought into understanding his element as he did into these games, Adath doubted he would have won the race.

"My Lord, though I believe the plan to be an unnecessary gamble, as the duke's knight, it is my duty to follow. So, if the duke agrees to this course of action, I'll pray to Herr for the gamble to pay off and follow him like a loyal shadow."

After his words, the discussion ended, with Lady Thur's up roaring laughter following close behind.

Adath hadn't believed that the plan would go as smoothly as it was going. After the discussion, the duke had sent out scouts to get the enemy position, along with a few messengers to Lord Reiss. The scouts, led by Lady Thur and Lord Wylen, had uncovered tracks of the retreating Halvar tribe and planted a few marks to misinform them of where the Flaven army was.

With Lord Reiss' agreement to the plan, all the pieces were set to motion. Flavens started pushing the tribes east while the Reisses began to make moves towards the west slowly. Secrecy was of utmost concern for the upcoming ambush. If the Geir tribe, the one which House Riess was holding back, were to find out about their plan, they could readily counter it. So Adath didn't begrudge their caution, but many Lords in the camp weren't like him.

With the plan in motion, Lord Wylen started to prepare ahead. He began to create various enchantments on the positions that they assumed would be of import. All the while, Marquess Rogare and Adath continued to pressure the tribal warriors with their superior numbers. Herding them to the mountain valley like shepherds herd sheep.

The whole time, despite the feeling of wrongness, Adath continued to perform his duty impeccably. And whatever time remained, he spent it with his son.

His son, Aren, had awakened to metal only in his eighteenth cycle, to the joy of the whole Rayer household.

As a master knight and the strongest master in Seacliff, Adath knew how rare it was for people to awaken. The Devout might tout that people awaken when the Primals grant their blessings, but that was just that, a lie. Adath, like everyone else, knew that awakening only dependent on oneself, and no external power could affect that. When one truly begins to understand oneself, they awaken to an Element. That is also one of the reasons for awakened to seem eccentric to the mundane people. It is believed the further along the path one goes, the more eccentric one becomes.

Many were unable to find themselves even after their whole life, never awakening, while, of the remaining, most only do so in their later years. That Aren had awakened early showed how much potential the boy possessed. And Adath knew the only hurdle in Aren path would be the young age of the family's Orb, an issue that Adath needed to solve.

To increase an Orb's strength, an awakened with a concept should pour their understanding into it. Adath had heard that the process was quite painful, and handing them out to anyone was political suicide. So any Elemental, much less Ethereal, would do so without any prior contract. Adath knew that creating a concept was not something he could do, so his only hope was in serving Duke Flaven so that the duke would grant Rayers that honour.

That both Adath and Aren were dutybound to participate in this war

could only be considered Herr's roll. On the one hand, it might just help the boy grow faster, but on the other, many starry-eyed awakened died in such wars regularly. When the boy was conscripted in the army, Adath had drilled it in his head that a sharp knife in the heart could kill him, no matter the hand carrying it was of a mundane or awakened. All to rein in the arrogance that many newly awakened had in them.

'An initiate is as strong as two ordinary people, but what if they have to fight three?' - Was an age-old rebuttal that Ethereal Frostfire had given to the Slovan Rebellion. A statement still used to make the newly awakened understand not to abuse their gifts. Such arrogance has caused multiple deaths throughout history.

And Adath was determined to not make his son one of them - Tia would never stand for it.

Adath had kept an eye out for Aren since the beginning of the war so that nothing adverse happens to the boy. Since the first battle, the Aren had performed impeccably. Respecting his superiors, following orders, making friends, and doing whatever a good soldier is supposed to do. Adath would be the first to agree that some newly awakened soldiers were horrendous to deal with - he even had personally dealt with some of them. That his son was not the same made him truly glad.

The duke kept his soldiers in a tight schedule, and their mornings were spent in training and spars. Most would train before the night sentries returned from their posts, and the next watch took on their duty. After the shift change, everyone would be off to their assignments, some scouting, some foraging, some performing other activities. So Adath got to talk with Aren only during that time when he would train the boy.

Any awakened in the army would train to fight in between crowds as creating a whole unit just of awakened was a foolish notion. Whatever awakened could be spared were added to different squads, so for initiates and acolytes, learning to fight in a crowded space without harming their squadmates was required. This was made simpler as initiates, acolytes and masters just used their traits in conjunction with weapons, unlike elementals and others that used their element more.

Adath was proud to say that Aren took to the notion as a gryphon to the sky, and their continued morning sessions showed the same.

Adath just hoped that the coming extensive battle would show the fruits of their labour.

"How fares the battle, Ser Adath?" Duke Flaven asked. They were in the command tent, and all the great lords, except those leading the charge, were present here. The duke's question made him wish Lady Thur was also present and not heading vanguard somewhere out in the field. If she was present, the question would have been directed to her, and he would be spared the politics.

"Marquess Rogare is performing calculated strikes to direct the retreating enemy to the valley, while Lady Thur's vanguard is making them unable to push back. With the forward unit of Riess Army led by Count Ingler advancing from the east, the Halvers have nowhere to go but back. Even if the Chieftain Nuhat and Vessel Inaiao are aware of the trap they are in, they cannot do anything about it."

The battle started with Lady Thur's vanguard charging the shield wall of the Halvers. Adath had to give it to the savages; the Halvers knew how to mount a good defence. It took Lady Thur many tries to break it, and it still required the master to take matters into her own hands.

After the wall broke, Lady Thur slaughtered her way through the centre while Marquess Rogare led the cavalry charge from the west while. Adath had led a weaker attack on the east to direct the army toward it. Seeing only Adath's flank as the available pathway, the chieftain bid the army towards him in retreat.

After a few leagues of the same, when Adath saw Count Ingler's army, he stopped his pursuit while the other masters continued. With the count and him on their left, the marquess on their right and the Lady Thur viciously attacking from the front, the chieftain had nowhere to go. His only option was to go turtle into the valley, right into Lord Wylen's ambush.

"My Lord", the smug Milada spoke."It seems our gamble has paid off. With the enemy tied down like so, it would only require us but a few moments to whittle their numbers. We would rout the Halver Tribe here and bring home a grand victory."

"No need to count the chicks before they hatch, Marquess Milada. Most of their shamans have not even been identified, much less information on them gathered. And the tribe has its chief and vessel still on the battlefield. Most of our masters are tired, and the reinforcements that Lord Riess sent are not enough to replenish them; I foresee the coming battle to be an uphill one."

Lord Onar had a different - bleak - take on the events and Adath couldn't find any fault in his reasoning, try as he might. The strategy required a large number of men that the duke's army couldn't field. The duke's army fielded one elemental, five masters, around four times as many acolytes and initiates, and three thousand soldiers. Though still more massive than the Halver Tribe's force, it was not enough to finish the pincer.

Duke Flaven had asked for Duke Reiss' assistance to counter this issue. That Duke Reiss had accepted so readily showed how much the situation benefitted him. House Reiss stood to gain a lot if the battle went as planned. Along with House Flaven, House Reiss would also gain the glory of destroying the Halver Tribe. All for the cost of a sending few soldiers and a master. A price too small to leave such a chance behind. If someone were to ask Adath's opinion.

And if the plan went awry, the fault could be easily pushed on to House Flaven, leaving them to suffer the commander's wrath.

"Onar, you seem to have forgotten who taught you war strategy. I may have grown old, but my mind is still sharp as ever." The old man decided to play his age. Though Adath had to agree, he was the oldest of the Bay Lords, and one didn't grow to that age with an empty head. "The ambush is two-fold, one the actual, other psychological. As you believe the army to be overextended, so do the commanders on the opposing side. Why do you think they hadn't responded yet and allowed us to rampage in their lines?"

The old lord's question was the same one that Adath had asked himself since the commencement of this battle. He didn't believe that the opposing commander couldn't see how extended, even after the reinforcements, the duke's forces were. And it seemed the marquess shared his belief.

"We know that this may very well be a trap. No, we know that it is a trap, so why shouldn't we take advantage of it."

The man started behaving like a lecturer, moving about the floor and voice resonant. Tapping of his cane the only constant interruption to his lecture.

Adath saw the duke silent, showing his approval of such an impromptu lecture. He remembered asking Duke Flaven why he hadn't pushed against the then-nascent plan harder, privately, after the strategy meeting had ended. And the duke's reply of trusting his vassals to not work for his detriment showed his stance on such matters.

"Let those savages believe that awakened are more valuable; we just need to keep Ethereal Frostfire's words in our mind. They will send out the unawakened in droves, and before they play their actual cards, we'll whittle them down. We crack the foundation and perform a speedy retreat."

Adath now understood the games the two parties were playing a little. There were layers to every move and contingencies for each one of them. The battle may look like it depended on the fight between the currently present armies however, the actual winner would depend on the speed of the reinforcing forces.

Suddenly the tent flap opened, and a ragged man came in. And while kneeling in front of the duke, as etiquette demanded, he spoke.

"Your Grace, Duke Reiss had sent a message stating that they might not be able to arrive in time. The Gier Tribe launched an attack on them, making it unlikely for them to detach from the battlefield swiftly."

Adath could almost hear Herr's laughter as Marquess Milada's face paled. Duke Flaven got up for his seat and started ordering the messenger, understanding how grave the coming news might be.

"Send word Veris and Archibald to start pushing farther and Sava to begin his attack. We need to initiate the retreat as well, so any distraction would be a help."

Then turning to the Adath, he spoke. " Get my horse and glaive ready, Ser. We have a vessel to attack."

"I'll also join the battle, Lord." Lord Somer said, unexpectedly. The man was a master, but he hasn't fought in a war for many cycles. The lord behaved as a quartermaster for the army, managing soldiers and battalions, not as a war leader.

The duke gave a quick nod, "Marquess Milada would organise the retreat while we engage the enemy, then."

With those words, the command tent became a font of activity, everyone running around to complete the orders.