Wars only bring sorrow and grief to people, no matter how grandiose the justification behind it is. Yet people would always resort to it, be it to fulfill their ambitions, or their greed, uncaring about the many innocent souls whose lives would be the currency in which those goals would be paid for.

I propose we all submit our petition to the senate, to cease these pointless expansions, that only served to stroke the egos of the gloryhound generals and enrichen the purses of those behind them, that we pursue peace, and a better living for all our people instead-" - Last speech of Demetrios Veritas, philosopher and scholar from the First Elmaiya Empire, just prior to his assassination.

Near Tohrmutgent, Lichdom of Ptolodecca, fourth day of the second week of the fourth month, year 68 VA.

In merely a week's time, the expedition army to retake Vitalica was assembled and on the march. All of the Templars and Death Guards - both old and new - volunteered to join the fight, as had a sizable portion of the militiamen that had joined the refugees.

They were further bolstered by two legions of Ptolodeccan heavy infantry, each composed of two thousand eager veterans who did not fear death in the least, as well as six mage cadres lent by the Bone Lord, with the thirty thousand skeleton soldiers they came with.

Grandpa Aarin's support had not stopped there, as the fourth division of the Wings of Night was also assigned to accompany them, and he lent five hundred of his Death Knights to the family as well. Between Kestera, Mimia, Éirynn, and Clovis, they had just enough to keep those undead going.

The only reason it even took a week before they started marching was because the second and third divisions of the Wings of Night were already sent ahead of them, each with their own larger detachments. They would be circling the borders of the old Vitalican territory, and ensure that nobody interfered with the battle within.

As it was, the mood within the army was serious as they marched en masse towards the land that used to be Vitalica. By now their enemy would have definitely heard news of their arrival, and would expect them, so they prepared themselves to fight.

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The whole family was present amongst the expedition, as Maebh led the Templars, and Diarmuid his Death Guards. Even Akeshia insisted on coming along to help, and she was in one of the wagons in the rear, with several other healers who had volunteered for the expedition.

Aideen rode at the head of the army, near Diarmuid and Maebh, while Kestera and Clovis flanked their respective spouses, each with two hundred death knights under their lead. Mimia and Éirynn were seated on Haon, with Dó, Trí, and Ceathair around them, and another hundred death knights marching behind.

Haon had been the recipient of Éirynn's latest idea, and had no longer looked like a lupine skeleton. Instead, his form now looked more like a crude sculpture of a wolf, made from countless small pieces of bones fitted together, with the only skeletal looking part of him being the blade-arms attached to his back. Éirynn had not had the time to work on those yet when the news came. The makeover had greatly benefitted the bone construct, and they found that he was stronger, faster, and far more resilient than before.

Those improvements had caught the Bone Lord's attention, and he had taken a great interest in what Éirynn was doing, to the point that he offered to take her in as his disciple so they can both further hone this new method she found. Éirynn was still pondering the offer when the news came, but she confessed to Aideen that she will likely take the offer once they return from the expedition.

Aideen approved of her choice, as when it comes to Death magic, she doubted any better teacher than the Bone Lord existed. He had lived for so long and seen so much that he was by far the most experienced Death mage there is, and would likely be able to help Éirynn improve greatly. As for her parents, Aideen knew that Kestera, having been raised in Ptolodecca, would only be honored by such a thing, while Diarmuid was unlikely to protest such a boon.

The army marched towards Vitalica, a march that would take them a week at most, given how everyone in their army was either mounted, in a wagon, or were tireless undead beings.

In all honesty, Aideen mostly thought about the implications of Maebh's request to grandpa Aarin, that she had made after their talk last week. It was out of her expectations, and she had not known what to think about it.

Maebh had requested that after they reclaimed Vitalica, grandpa Aarin would extend his protection to the people there. That seemingly innocuous request had a deeper underlying meaning to it, as it would have meant the end of the old Vitalica - she refused to consider the rebels in the former Junoran lands calling themselves Vitalica as the same thing - as a nation. They would just be another part of Ptolodecca from there onwards.

Grandpa Aarin had agreed to the request, and to be completely honest, Aideen couldn't really see it as a bad thing. Her father and grandfather had tried their best, but their efforts had effectively gone up in smoke already with the rebellion seven years ago, and Maebh was too young when it all happened, she was never really prepared to lead a nation.

Perhaps such a conclusion would be one that brought peace for their people, and would let Maebh and Éirynn, their younger generation, to actually live their lives without the burden of a nation on their shoulders.

As for Aideen herself, she couldn't help but ponder over her own future. A future that grandpa Aarin had said might well be as endless as his own, and she thought about what she might do with her life, should it truly be unending.