Eternal
Year 42
While you doubt this is going to be your last battle with the Torites, you’re at least hoping it’s going to be the one to break their spirit to the point where they become less of a problem.
Still, the fact that they’ve finally unified their forces into armies shows you that they realize you aren’t going to just go away and their hit and run tactics and attempts to win through attrition aren’t going to succeed. It shows you that this is a concentrated effort to get rid of you once and for all. It won’t work either and really works to your benefit. It allows you the opportunity to kill a bunch of them in one large grouping now.
Maybe there will always be pockets of Torites lurking in the untamed wilderness but one thing is certain. The territory WILL be the Empire’s and the Torites can either submit and see the light like the kobolds eventually did or slowly be driven into extinction like the gnolls.
But that’s in the future, right now you’re drawing up the plans for this impeding battle. Considering how large the Torite horde is, you’ve combined your available forces with Decena’s army. It was quite the happy day for her seeing as she hasn’t seen you for five years. You still aren’t quite sure how you exactly feel about her, but she’s definitely been winning you over as far as her victories have been concerned. She remains professional always in front of everyone, but the first time she got you alone, she literally jumped on you and wrapped her legs around your waist, planting a kiss on you.
But again, you can sort out your possible complications with Decena later. Now is the time to make sure the both of you come out of this alive.
“We should have the second airship here before we begin our assault. Hopefully that will take some of the pressure off of the Storm to deal with the harpies.” You remark.
“Its isn’t just the bird bitches that flap about though. Don’t forget, there are still those manticores and those chimeras.” General Ackerson remarks.
“Yes, I’m well aware of both, Ackerson. Thank you for pointing out the obvious. However, I’m more inclined to believe the Torites will be relying on those beasts to attack our people on the ground. The beasts aren’t the most graceful of fliers and would most likely just be big target, which they will be for us anyway, but they’ll still do more damage to a group of soldiers on foot and horseback rather than a flying fortress before going down.” You remark.
“Those chimera things don’t even fly very high. The wings are almost so small that they’re just for show. Never had one swoop down on us.” Decena adds.
“Wouldn’t be best to have us mages together so that we can join our energy and create a shield for the majority of the army?” Galen remarks. He isn’t complaining, but he’s definitely trying to find a loop hole to possibly make himself safer and not have to do as much work.”
“Galen, you know that the Torites attempt to target spell slingers as soon as possible. If they actually get you in a group and strike lucky, well there goes a powerful chunk of our fighting force. It’ll make things harder for them if you’re all spread out. Besides, you’re personally going to be hiding behind a small contingent of golems and backed up by Captain Flevas’ men. You couldn’t be any safer.”
“Huh. So my backup lies in the hands of an elf? Might as well kill me now and get it over with.” Galen remarks. You just shake your head and ignore his last comment; he’s too valuable to punish right now.
After hammering out the plan, you and the rest start setting things in motion and preparing everyone. You know the Torite horde is on the move not too far from your location. But they aren’t here yet and won’t be for at least a half-day’s time. It gives you a bit of time to at least get some rest since you’ve been running around attempting to take care of everything and haven’t slept. You didn’t even realize how tired you were until you lie down on your sleeping bag.
Just as you lie down and close your eyes, someone enters your tent and you instinctively grab your sword.
“No point in that, I’m not really here you know.” You hear a familiar voice whisper.
You sit up and see Semra standing before you, or rather the image of her. She’s no doubt using the same kind of magic she did when she tried to convince you to kill Casimir. She’s probably nearby somewhere though.
“I thought you said we weren’t going to see each other again.” You say.
“I didn’t think we would. I truly believed you would die on Mortos. I suppose I underestimated your ability to survive even there. Quite impressive and it’s no surprise that you assumed Casimir’s throne soon after. Everything worked out for you, but tell me how did you accomplish such a feat?”
“Just luck I guess. Look, if you came here to kill me, you’ll need to get behind the long line of Torites marching towards this place.” You say while lying back down and shutting your eyes.
“My, you’re quite confident to stay in such a vulnerable position if you really believe I’m here to kill you.” Semra says.
“No, I know this is just grand standing. If you were really going to kill me you’d have your underlings conspiring with little plots in the shadows.”
“Yes, I’m aware of the troubles you’ve been having lately and while I’m flattered you believe it to me, I’m actually here to clear my good name.”
“Hah!” you snort.
“Okay so just my name. In any event. I’m here to tell you that it isn’t me, though you do have enemies of the svelk persuasion.”
“I’ve got enemies of every persuasion and that’s not a very convincing argument that you’re somehow innocent.”
“Okay how about this then? It’s not me because I’ve been keeping an eye on you and so far you haven’t warranted anything that needs me to stop you yet. My daughter on the other hand disagrees. She claims that my…past with you is clouding my judgment.”
“We never had a past Semra. I don’t know what YOU think it is, but WE were and never will be an item.”
“Oh yes, that’s right. You’ve got that vicious little young thing on your dick now. Decena is her name? She is quite the warrior. Lot of those moves are familiar, they’re all the ones I taught you. Hey have you taught her any of my other moves when you’re bedding her?”
At this point you sit back up, annoyed with Semra’s remark.
“Is this going anywhere because I have a shitload of beast men to slaughter tomorrow and you’re keeping me awake!” You snap.
“Oooh! Struck a nerve did I? Haven’t been able to do that for quite awhile, I really missed it. Tell me though; is it very serious with this one like it was with Alison? Didn’t think you’d get over her so quickly. Really though I don’t know why you pick any of these females. This new one is just likely to wind up dead, if not by the sword then by age. Her youthful appearance with eventually wither and fade like it does with all of those lesser born.”
At this point you lie back down and close your eyes again. You’re not playing this game.
“You done already? Disappointed, you used to be so much more fun. Very well, just listen then Eternal. I know you have a hard time with that, but maybe you’ll actually heed what I have to say for once. I am not your enemy. As I have said, my daughter is your enemy and she makes her base of operations in a city-state called Ryglik and lies south of the former Broki Kingdom. Of course that whole area consists of several city-states and she may very well move around, but that’s the main one she’s operating from.
You remain silent while Semra continues to talk.
“Well I’ll take your silence that you’re at least taking it under consideration. Oh and while you’re at it, you still might want to consider giving up all this foolish nonsense. Perhaps you’re a better Emperor than Casimir ever was, but you’re still mindlessly following a path that you think has been laid out for you. It’s almost like Casimir is still barking orders at you.”
“I guarantee Casimir’s not saying much of anything anymore.” You answer.
“Be that as it may, I’d hate to see you follow in his horribly misguided footsteps and make the same mistakes he did.”
“Well, I don’t have you as an advisor, I’d say that already puts me ahead of the game.”
“Pfft, you’d be lucky to have me by your side. Not my fault you can’t see and accept the truth. Anyway, I’ll take my leave now. Perhaps we’ll see each other, perhaps we won’t. Perhaps we’ll even see each other in the flesh again, wouldn’t that be fun?”
“Sure would, I could give you your dagger back.” You remark.
“Mmmm, I bet you would. Well if that day ever comes, you make sure you give me a long hard kiss as you’re sticking it in me. Oh one last thing, your General Ackerson is planning to betray you at some point during tomorrow’s battle. Not sure when and how, but he’s got quite a few soldiers willing to work with him on it. More of my daughter’s work no doubt.”
With those final words, you cease hearing Semra’s voice. You briefly open your eyes and find that her image is gone as well.
“Fucking bitch.” You mutter, as now you’re never going to be able to sleep with this last bit of information she just gave you.
The big problem is she may very well be telling the truth, because for the most part Semra has never really lied to you. You didn’t believe her at the time, but she told you the complete truth about Casimir and his intentions. She didn’t have Alison killed either. As usual in her own fucked up way that you still don’t understand she has attempted to help you.
Of course that was in the past, she could be lying about everything right now. While she has confirmed your own beliefs that it’s been the svelk working against you, she’s also trying to put the blame all on her daughter. Granted you know they probably don’t get along, but still.
There also has never been any evidence that Ackerson has shown signs of being a potential traitor. Doesn’t even make sense, but then again you can’t trust anyone nowadays.
Now you have to play a guessing game to as whether or not someone on your own side is going to kill you in the middle of battle. You miss the days when all you ever concerned yourself with were the people on the other side trying to kill you.
While you doubt this is going to be your last battle with the Torites, you’re at least hoping it’s going to be the one to break their spirit to the point where they become less of a problem.
Still, the fact that they’ve finally unified their forces into armies shows you that they realize you aren’t going to just go away and their hit and run tactics and attempts to win through attrition aren’t going to succeed. It shows you that this is a concentrated effort to get rid of you once and for all. It won’t work either and really works to your benefit. It allows you the opportunity to kill a bunch of them in one large grouping now.
Maybe there will always be pockets of Torites lurking in the untamed wilderness but one thing is certain. The territory WILL be the Empire’s and the Torites can either submit and see the light like the kobolds eventually did or slowly be driven into extinction like the gnolls.
But that’s in the future, right now you’re drawing up the plans for this impeding battle. Considering how large the Torite horde is, you’ve combined your available forces with Decena’s army. It was quite the happy day for her seeing as she hasn’t seen you for five years. You still aren’t quite sure how you exactly feel about her, but she’s definitely been winning you over as far as her victories have been concerned. She remains professional always in front of everyone, but the first time she got you alone, she literally jumped on you and wrapped her legs around your waist, planting a kiss on you.
But again, you can sort out your possible complications with Decena later. Now is the time to make sure the both of you come out of this alive.
“We should have the second airship here before we begin our assault. Hopefully that will take some of the pressure off of the Storm to deal with the harpies.” You remark.
“Its isn’t just the bird bitches that flap about though. Don’t forget, there are still those manticores and those chimeras.” General Ackerson remarks.
“Yes, I’m well aware of both, Ackerson. Thank you for pointing out the obvious. However, I’m more inclined to believe the Torites will be relying on those beasts to attack our people on the ground. The beasts aren’t the most graceful of fliers and would most likely just be big target, which they will be for us anyway, but they’ll still do more damage to a group of soldiers on foot and horseback rather than a flying fortress before going down.” You remark.
“Those chimera things don’t even fly very high. The wings are almost so small that they’re just for show. Never had one swoop down on us.” Decena adds.
“Wouldn’t be best to have us mages together so that we can join our energy and create a shield for the majority of the army?” Galen remarks. He isn’t complaining, but he’s definitely trying to find a loop hole to possibly make himself safer and not have to do as much work.”
“Galen, you know that the Torites attempt to target spell slingers as soon as possible. If they actually get you in a group and strike lucky, well there goes a powerful chunk of our fighting force. It’ll make things harder for them if you’re all spread out. Besides, you’re personally going to be hiding behind a small contingent of golems and backed up by Captain Flevas’ men. You couldn’t be any safer.”
“Huh. So my backup lies in the hands of an elf? Might as well kill me now and get it over with.” Galen remarks. You just shake your head and ignore his last comment; he’s too valuable to punish right now.
After hammering out the plan, you and the rest start setting things in motion and preparing everyone. You know the Torite horde is on the move not too far from your location. But they aren’t here yet and won’t be for at least a half-day’s time. It gives you a bit of time to at least get some rest since you’ve been running around attempting to take care of everything and haven’t slept. You didn’t even realize how tired you were until you lie down on your sleeping bag.
Just as you lie down and close your eyes, someone enters your tent and you instinctively grab your sword.
“No point in that, I’m not really here you know.” You hear a familiar voice whisper.
You sit up and see Semra standing before you, or rather the image of her. She’s no doubt using the same kind of magic she did when she tried to convince you to kill Casimir. She’s probably nearby somewhere though.
“I thought you said we weren’t going to see each other again.” You say.
“I didn’t think we would. I truly believed you would die on Mortos. I suppose I underestimated your ability to survive even there. Quite impressive and it’s no surprise that you assumed Casimir’s throne soon after. Everything worked out for you, but tell me how did you accomplish such a feat?”
“Just luck I guess. Look, if you came here to kill me, you’ll need to get behind the long line of Torites marching towards this place.” You say while lying back down and shutting your eyes.
“My, you’re quite confident to stay in such a vulnerable position if you really believe I’m here to kill you.” Semra says.
“No, I know this is just grand standing. If you were really going to kill me you’d have your underlings conspiring with little plots in the shadows.”
“Yes, I’m aware of the troubles you’ve been having lately and while I’m flattered you believe it to me, I’m actually here to clear my good name.”
“Hah!” you snort.
“Okay so just my name. In any event. I’m here to tell you that it isn’t me, though you do have enemies of the svelk persuasion.”
“I’ve got enemies of every persuasion and that’s not a very convincing argument that you’re somehow innocent.”
“Okay how about this then? It’s not me because I’ve been keeping an eye on you and so far you haven’t warranted anything that needs me to stop you yet. My daughter on the other hand disagrees. She claims that my…past with you is clouding my judgment.”
“We never had a past Semra. I don’t know what YOU think it is, but WE were and never will be an item.”
“Oh yes, that’s right. You’ve got that vicious little young thing on your dick now. Decena is her name? She is quite the warrior. Lot of those moves are familiar, they’re all the ones I taught you. Hey have you taught her any of my other moves when you’re bedding her?”
At this point you sit back up, annoyed with Semra’s remark.
“Is this going anywhere because I have a shitload of beast men to slaughter tomorrow and you’re keeping me awake!” You snap.
“Oooh! Struck a nerve did I? Haven’t been able to do that for quite awhile, I really missed it. Tell me though; is it very serious with this one like it was with Alison? Didn’t think you’d get over her so quickly. Really though I don’t know why you pick any of these females. This new one is just likely to wind up dead, if not by the sword then by age. Her youthful appearance with eventually wither and fade like it does with all of those lesser born.”
At this point you lie back down and close your eyes again. You’re not playing this game.
“You done already? Disappointed, you used to be so much more fun. Very well, just listen then Eternal. I know you have a hard time with that, but maybe you’ll actually heed what I have to say for once. I am not your enemy. As I have said, my daughter is your enemy and she makes her base of operations in a city-state called Ryglik and lies south of the former Broki Kingdom. Of course that whole area consists of several city-states and she may very well move around, but that’s the main one she’s operating from.
You remain silent while Semra continues to talk.
“Well I’ll take your silence that you’re at least taking it under consideration. Oh and while you’re at it, you still might want to consider giving up all this foolish nonsense. Perhaps you’re a better Emperor than Casimir ever was, but you’re still mindlessly following a path that you think has been laid out for you. It’s almost like Casimir is still barking orders at you.”
“I guarantee Casimir’s not saying much of anything anymore.” You answer.
“Be that as it may, I’d hate to see you follow in his horribly misguided footsteps and make the same mistakes he did.”
“Well, I don’t have you as an advisor, I’d say that already puts me ahead of the game.”
“Pfft, you’d be lucky to have me by your side. Not my fault you can’t see and accept the truth. Anyway, I’ll take my leave now. Perhaps we’ll see each other, perhaps we won’t. Perhaps we’ll even see each other in the flesh again, wouldn’t that be fun?”
“Sure would, I could give you your dagger back.” You remark.
“Mmmm, I bet you would. Well if that day ever comes, you make sure you give me a long hard kiss as you’re sticking it in me. Oh one last thing, your General Ackerson is planning to betray you at some point during tomorrow’s battle. Not sure when and how, but he’s got quite a few soldiers willing to work with him on it. More of my daughter’s work no doubt.”
With those final words, you cease hearing Semra’s voice. You briefly open your eyes and find that her image is gone as well.
“Fucking bitch.” You mutter, as now you’re never going to be able to sleep with this last bit of information she just gave you.
The big problem is she may very well be telling the truth, because for the most part Semra has never really lied to you. You didn’t believe her at the time, but she told you the complete truth about Casimir and his intentions. She didn’t have Alison killed either. As usual in her own fucked up way that you still don’t understand she has attempted to help you.
Of course that was in the past, she could be lying about everything right now. While she has confirmed your own beliefs that it’s been the svelk working against you, she’s also trying to put the blame all on her daughter. Granted you know they probably don’t get along, but still.
There also has never been any evidence that Ackerson has shown signs of being a potential traitor. Doesn’t even make sense, but then again you can’t trust anyone nowadays.
Now you have to play a guessing game to as whether or not someone on your own side is going to kill you in the middle of battle. You miss the days when all you ever concerned yourself with were the people on the other side trying to kill you.