“Even when you try to avoid conflict, sometimes the conflict just finds you instead.” - Saying attributed to the Silver Maiden.

Three days later, Aideen found herself riding atop a skeletal steed – with a saddle for some comfort, of course – at the head of a massive army, headed straight north towards Antemeia. Mimia and Èirynn rode next to her, both of them on Haon’s back, while the other three constructs walked behind the couple’s three children as their guards. Celia and Kino rode on Aideen’s other side, while Calais was also present and looked the most nervous out of the lot.

They were accompanied by five other people, commanders of the gathered army behind them, in fact. Arno and Leah were both of elvish heritage and cousins to each other, who led the third and fourth divisions of the Wings of Night, respectively. They were both Ansel’s grandchildren, so perhaps their joining the vaunted military unit was a family tradition.

The infantry contingent – the five thousand strong living contingent comprised of two thousand heavy infantry and three thousand archers, that was – was commanded by an orcish man who answered to the name of Baruk. While he was sparing with his words, the man showed great competence in leading his troops, and showed no reluctance at following orders he was given.

Other than them, one of the Bone Lord’s newer disciples, a female goat therian necromancer by the name of Veria was also present. She was in charge of the cadres of mages and necromancers who maintained and controlled the remaining forty-five thousand members of the army, which were all undead skeletons, with a smattering of skeleton warriors, bone champions, and even a few death knights here and there, depending on the capability of the necromancer in charge of the group.

Lastly, they were also accompanied by Yliz, an elven woman who served as one of the squad leaders of the Death’s Hand. Over the centuries the function of the group had been expanded, and in the present day they served as intelligence agents, assassins, as well as scouts for the army. The “squad” consisted of nearly a thousand members, nine out of ten of which were scouts, with the rest being assassins.

It was an imposing sight to see such an army, to say the least, and the citizens of Tohrmutgent cheered as they passed them on the way to the city gates.

While Aideen was nominally in overall command, she quickly delegated that task to the respective unit commanders, as she acknowledged that war strategies was a field she never truly learned much of. It was a move that earned her the approval of said commanders, as being saddled with an unskilled superior was one of the worst situations possible for them.

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The army marched northwards confidently and rapidly, as their undead steeds – the infantry rode on carriages pulled by undead constructs, while the skeletons were packed into more of the same – needed neither rest nor food. Along the way, Aideen noticed a near-constant exchange of messages via undead couriers from the north, from the faction that sought refuge with them, keeping them informed of the situation in Antemeia.

By the time the army reached the border between Ptolodecca and Antemeia a week later, the Vitalican crusade had already taken over the eastern third of Antemeia’s territory, slaughtering everyone they met along the way. The Council of Flesh Artisans had withdrawn to several forts and their capital, intending to fight to the end, while the other faction had fled south towards the Lichdom.

Already they ran across several groups of refugees from Antemeia, though the Bone Lord had also thought of that already and notified the border guards to help deal with the situation. That way the army would be free to head into Antemeia proper to save more people instead of being delayed by the refugees.

There was a notable increase in the stream of refugees as the army crossed into Antemeia proper, but no signs of fighting, as apparently the fighting was mostly happening in the northern parts of the country. Oddly enough, the army had yet to cross paths with people from the faction that sought refuge either, other than a few minor members who were helping guide refugees to flee southwards.

Apparently they were quite committed to saving their people at all costs, and most of the necromancers from that faction had actually stayed back to delay the crusaders, buying time for a few of them to guide the refugees away to safety. It was quite a courageous stance to take, one done at great personal risk to themselves at that.

Because of that, when Aideen received word from the Death’s Hand scouts that there was an ongoing battle roughly half a day’s travel away to their north, she gave the command to rush there to see if they could help the Antemeians. While the two nations had not seen eye to eye for centuries, Aideen could respect those who were willing to give their all in the name of saving the lives of their people.

A quick talk with a member of the faction they were in contact with – the man had volunteered to guide them further into Antemeia – confirmed that it was indeed his compatriots who were fighting the delaying action ahead of them. The odds were not looking good for the Antemeians, as the crusaders were pushing them hard despite their efforts.

As such, the Ptolodeccan army rushed towards the battlefield, and as Aideen saw the ongoing battle in the distance, arrived not a moment too late. Despite the dogged resistance they gave against the crusading Vitalicans – easily recognizable in their white clothes – the Antemeians were close to breaking. Most of the zombies they controlled were already dismantled and no longer usable even as they fought a desperate fighting retreat.

Needless to say the sudden appearance of a group of riders followed by the dismounting infantry and the Ptolodeccan necromancers bringing their skeleton army into play was something neither side of the battle expected to see. Before the infantry even finished forming their formations, however, the Wings of Night already led a charge straight towards the crusader lines, Aideen and the rest riding alongside them.