Eternal
You made a promise that you wouldn’t keep her any longer than necessary and that if war broke out here, you’d want her to lead the new eternals into battle. Your word is still your bond as far as those close to you go.
Seeing as you want her to get back as quickly as possible, you tell Kivan to have one of the new longer range airships that can travel a lot further than their predecessors sent. (Another recent improvement courtesy of Elam’s work with the gnomes) Maybe it’ll even instill a little fear into the natives of Nyytrus if they happen to catch sight of it.
While you’re waiting for her arrival back, you aren’t wasting any time getting the rest of your plans underway. You figure a four-pronged attack will work suitably for the initial assault.
You’ll have your fleet attack south Nakol from the sea and land troops there. You’ll have the rest of your airships fly over the mountain range and bombard northern Nakol. Your kobold forces can dig under the large mountain range as usual. Finally you’ll have the majority of your forces march through the mountain passes. You’ll hold back your Eternals until Decena arrives, besides it would probably be best to “test” the Nakol defenses located in the pass choke points anyway.
This is going to be a bit different from the conflicts in the past, your armies aren’t going to be relying on any magic support at all. What few mages you have left are either overseeing the next Eternal tanks or are part of the Eyes now (Aside from the ones that Mortimer killed recently). You don’t know just exactly how powerful Mortimer’s own magic is, but you do know he’s the only wizard in his kingdom so you’re not anticipating any problems, if technology has proven anything its that the lowliest unskilled peasant can figure it out and use it with great efficiency. A sign of the times you suppose.
In any case you have no doubt that when the time comes, it’ll probably be up to you personally to take down Mortimer in a magic showdown and if Semra is in your way then you’ll deal with her as well.
By the time Decena arrives your invasion of Nakol is well on its way and going more or less as planned though there have been a few hiccups here and there. You meet Decena when she gets off the Storm II. She’s much more “weathered” looking from when you sent her to Nyytrus. Granted as a warrior she will collect battle scars and such, but she almost is unrecognizable. She has a “stare” that you’ve seen in more than a few soldiers that have broke under the strain of battle, but this seems impossible for someone of Decena’s training and experience.
Still, she manages a smile when she sees you.
“General Decena reporting for duty my Emperor.” She says.
“No need for the formalities, I’m just glad to have you back.” You reply.
“It’s good to be back. Just show me to my next assignment.”
“Well we do have a little time before that…are you okay? I mean how is everything Nyttrus?”
“When I left everything was fine. If I seem a bit off, I’m just a little tired I suppose. Apologies Emperor.”
“Hrm, maybe you should rest first before running off into battle again. This war doesn’t need you right this minute.”
“If that is what you wish…um can I talk to you in private?”
“Erm, of course.” You answer unsure of what to expect.
You and Decena find some place secluded and no sooner have you asked her what’s on her mind; she’s wrapped her arms around you and buried her head in your chest.
“Please never send me away for that long again.” She says.
“Decena…what…” you sputter unsure of what this is about exactly, but she’s obviously upset. “What the hell happened over there?”
“I dunno…I just…I dunno. I was fine for the first year. I missed you, but I was fine. After that though I started feeling a crushing emptiness. I think it was some sort of Iznac magic. I got hit by a black cloud of some sort by a priest. Haven’t felt right until I got the news I was coming back here.”
“You never said anything in the letters.”
“I didn’t want to worry you, I wanted to stay strong for you…I guess I’m failing again though…”
“You’re fine Decena, just come with me, maybe I can figure out what the hell these Iznac did to you.”
When you get Decena back to the palace you check to see if she’s under some sort of curse or something similar. Decena insists that you don’t make a fuss and definitely not use any sort of healing magic on her since it will shorten your own lifespan. You reassure her that whatever you need to do probably isn’t going to do anything major to you.
“It’s more important that you’re in the best physical condition and the right frame of mind before I send you back into another major conflict. Besides, if I lose a few days, weeks or even months, what’s the difference? It’s not like I’m going to live forever anyway.” You say.
“Don’t say that.” Decena says.
“Why not? It’s true.”
“But I don’t want to believe that it’s true. I want to believe that you’ll somehow live forever and ever. In fact I know you will!”
You flash a quick smile and shake your head a bit. Decena still retains an image of you being “invincible.” To be fair, probably most people do (Even the cynical probably just believe you’re too “tough” or “magical” to die), but then they don’t really know you as closely as Decena does. And the way she believes it is more of a childlike hope that she never really grew out of. Funny considering that she never really had a proper childhood.
After a few magical incantations, you discover that Iznac magic is indeed still affecting her, but its rather easy to get rid of, in fact it seemed to prey upon the fears in her mind. Not surprisingly that involved being away from you and that started to gradually mess with her head. It’s a testament to her willpower that she managed to fight it off for as long as she did. Being actually around you probably weakened the magic.
It’s actually a good thing you called her back when you did, who knows what might’ve happened had you not done so. It is a bit alarming though since you weren’t aware of what powers the Iznac had other than the letters Decena sent.
“You should be fine now, but you said that everything is okay in Nyttrus? I mean did anyone else get hit with this type of Iznac magic?” you ask.
“Yes it has happened, but Iznac priests aren’t that common. I mean I saw orcs and kobolds get hit with the same spell, but it didn’t seem to affect them. I mean at least nothing I noticed. They seemed to continue to act like…well orcs and kobolds. There were a few instances of my human soldiers committing suicide though.”
“Well, I guess I won’t concern myself too much about it then since orcs and kobolds are the main ones over there. Guess their more simplistic minds are a good defense against the magic. Orcs don’t really fear anything except perhaps looking weak, and kobolds only fear failing the Empire and myself. I imagine if the magic affects them at all it might only entice them to fight harder. Bad for the Iznac, good for us. In any case as soon as this Nakol business is over with, I might just have to take a personal trip over to Nyttrus.”
“How long do you anticipate that this conflict might last?” Decena asks.
“Hard to say, I assumed that it might be a costly war and that the sorcerer king would have powerful opposition, but so far nothing of major consequence. I wonder if there will actually be anything left by the time you lead the new eternals into the thick of it. Hell, I’m starting to wonder if it won’t be overkill, but I’d rather it be overkill than underestimation. Besides I’m sure he’s going to pull out a few tricks that we haven’t seen yet.”
With a few more brief bits banter, words of encouragement and some rest, Decena seems back to her old self and is eager to lead the new eternals (who are just as eager to get into battle seeing as they’ve been training their whole lives for a moment like this.
Just as you figured, Mortimer does have other tricks up his sleeve to make the invasion go a lot more difficult. You don’t know if he always had an agreement with them or perhaps they’re just siding with him out of spite, but the satyr and harpy clan survivors that fled to the Nakol mountains after the Tor War rear their ugly head again. This mainly involves their usual ambush tactics in the various mountain passes, but apparently there are still enough of the harpies to mount full assaults on your airships.
Apparently Mortimer doesn’t have a problem with their mages either since they still have a few left and they’re using their elemental magic to a great degree causing rockslides in the mountain passes, strong damaging winds against your airships and even violent tidal waves against your fleet. You don’t remember them having quite that much magical strength before so you imagine Mortimer must be enhancing their abilities with his own.
There are also reports of svelk mercenaries among the normal Nakol army. You knew that not ALL of them threw in their lot with Eldolith. These must be the ones that followed Semra. Well you can finish that job too.
It doesn’t matter what the sorcerer king does though, nothing is going to save him as far as you’re concerned. When Decena breaks through into Nakol lands with all your new eternals under her commands they prove that point by completely razing several major settlements. Between her leadership and their skill, his soldiers aren’t standing a chance against them.
This war might be far from over, but its not going to take as long as you thought it might.
Seeing as you want her to get back as quickly as possible, you tell Kivan to have one of the new longer range airships that can travel a lot further than their predecessors sent. (Another recent improvement courtesy of Elam’s work with the gnomes) Maybe it’ll even instill a little fear into the natives of Nyytrus if they happen to catch sight of it.
While you’re waiting for her arrival back, you aren’t wasting any time getting the rest of your plans underway. You figure a four-pronged attack will work suitably for the initial assault.
You’ll have your fleet attack south Nakol from the sea and land troops there. You’ll have the rest of your airships fly over the mountain range and bombard northern Nakol. Your kobold forces can dig under the large mountain range as usual. Finally you’ll have the majority of your forces march through the mountain passes. You’ll hold back your Eternals until Decena arrives, besides it would probably be best to “test” the Nakol defenses located in the pass choke points anyway.
This is going to be a bit different from the conflicts in the past, your armies aren’t going to be relying on any magic support at all. What few mages you have left are either overseeing the next Eternal tanks or are part of the Eyes now (Aside from the ones that Mortimer killed recently). You don’t know just exactly how powerful Mortimer’s own magic is, but you do know he’s the only wizard in his kingdom so you’re not anticipating any problems, if technology has proven anything its that the lowliest unskilled peasant can figure it out and use it with great efficiency. A sign of the times you suppose.
In any case you have no doubt that when the time comes, it’ll probably be up to you personally to take down Mortimer in a magic showdown and if Semra is in your way then you’ll deal with her as well.
By the time Decena arrives your invasion of Nakol is well on its way and going more or less as planned though there have been a few hiccups here and there. You meet Decena when she gets off the Storm II. She’s much more “weathered” looking from when you sent her to Nyytrus. Granted as a warrior she will collect battle scars and such, but she almost is unrecognizable. She has a “stare” that you’ve seen in more than a few soldiers that have broke under the strain of battle, but this seems impossible for someone of Decena’s training and experience.
Still, she manages a smile when she sees you.
“General Decena reporting for duty my Emperor.” She says.
“No need for the formalities, I’m just glad to have you back.” You reply.
“It’s good to be back. Just show me to my next assignment.”
“Well we do have a little time before that…are you okay? I mean how is everything Nyttrus?”
“When I left everything was fine. If I seem a bit off, I’m just a little tired I suppose. Apologies Emperor.”
“Hrm, maybe you should rest first before running off into battle again. This war doesn’t need you right this minute.”
“If that is what you wish…um can I talk to you in private?”
“Erm, of course.” You answer unsure of what to expect.
You and Decena find some place secluded and no sooner have you asked her what’s on her mind; she’s wrapped her arms around you and buried her head in your chest.
“Please never send me away for that long again.” She says.
“Decena…what…” you sputter unsure of what this is about exactly, but she’s obviously upset. “What the hell happened over there?”
“I dunno…I just…I dunno. I was fine for the first year. I missed you, but I was fine. After that though I started feeling a crushing emptiness. I think it was some sort of Iznac magic. I got hit by a black cloud of some sort by a priest. Haven’t felt right until I got the news I was coming back here.”
“You never said anything in the letters.”
“I didn’t want to worry you, I wanted to stay strong for you…I guess I’m failing again though…”
“You’re fine Decena, just come with me, maybe I can figure out what the hell these Iznac did to you.”
When you get Decena back to the palace you check to see if she’s under some sort of curse or something similar. Decena insists that you don’t make a fuss and definitely not use any sort of healing magic on her since it will shorten your own lifespan. You reassure her that whatever you need to do probably isn’t going to do anything major to you.
“It’s more important that you’re in the best physical condition and the right frame of mind before I send you back into another major conflict. Besides, if I lose a few days, weeks or even months, what’s the difference? It’s not like I’m going to live forever anyway.” You say.
“Don’t say that.” Decena says.
“Why not? It’s true.”
“But I don’t want to believe that it’s true. I want to believe that you’ll somehow live forever and ever. In fact I know you will!”
You flash a quick smile and shake your head a bit. Decena still retains an image of you being “invincible.” To be fair, probably most people do (Even the cynical probably just believe you’re too “tough” or “magical” to die), but then they don’t really know you as closely as Decena does. And the way she believes it is more of a childlike hope that she never really grew out of. Funny considering that she never really had a proper childhood.
After a few magical incantations, you discover that Iznac magic is indeed still affecting her, but its rather easy to get rid of, in fact it seemed to prey upon the fears in her mind. Not surprisingly that involved being away from you and that started to gradually mess with her head. It’s a testament to her willpower that she managed to fight it off for as long as she did. Being actually around you probably weakened the magic.
It’s actually a good thing you called her back when you did, who knows what might’ve happened had you not done so. It is a bit alarming though since you weren’t aware of what powers the Iznac had other than the letters Decena sent.
“You should be fine now, but you said that everything is okay in Nyttrus? I mean did anyone else get hit with this type of Iznac magic?” you ask.
“Yes it has happened, but Iznac priests aren’t that common. I mean I saw orcs and kobolds get hit with the same spell, but it didn’t seem to affect them. I mean at least nothing I noticed. They seemed to continue to act like…well orcs and kobolds. There were a few instances of my human soldiers committing suicide though.”
“Well, I guess I won’t concern myself too much about it then since orcs and kobolds are the main ones over there. Guess their more simplistic minds are a good defense against the magic. Orcs don’t really fear anything except perhaps looking weak, and kobolds only fear failing the Empire and myself. I imagine if the magic affects them at all it might only entice them to fight harder. Bad for the Iznac, good for us. In any case as soon as this Nakol business is over with, I might just have to take a personal trip over to Nyttrus.”
“How long do you anticipate that this conflict might last?” Decena asks.
“Hard to say, I assumed that it might be a costly war and that the sorcerer king would have powerful opposition, but so far nothing of major consequence. I wonder if there will actually be anything left by the time you lead the new eternals into the thick of it. Hell, I’m starting to wonder if it won’t be overkill, but I’d rather it be overkill than underestimation. Besides I’m sure he’s going to pull out a few tricks that we haven’t seen yet.”
With a few more brief bits banter, words of encouragement and some rest, Decena seems back to her old self and is eager to lead the new eternals (who are just as eager to get into battle seeing as they’ve been training their whole lives for a moment like this.
Just as you figured, Mortimer does have other tricks up his sleeve to make the invasion go a lot more difficult. You don’t know if he always had an agreement with them or perhaps they’re just siding with him out of spite, but the satyr and harpy clan survivors that fled to the Nakol mountains after the Tor War rear their ugly head again. This mainly involves their usual ambush tactics in the various mountain passes, but apparently there are still enough of the harpies to mount full assaults on your airships.
Apparently Mortimer doesn’t have a problem with their mages either since they still have a few left and they’re using their elemental magic to a great degree causing rockslides in the mountain passes, strong damaging winds against your airships and even violent tidal waves against your fleet. You don’t remember them having quite that much magical strength before so you imagine Mortimer must be enhancing their abilities with his own.
There are also reports of svelk mercenaries among the normal Nakol army. You knew that not ALL of them threw in their lot with Eldolith. These must be the ones that followed Semra. Well you can finish that job too.
It doesn’t matter what the sorcerer king does though, nothing is going to save him as far as you’re concerned. When Decena breaks through into Nakol lands with all your new eternals under her commands they prove that point by completely razing several major settlements. Between her leadership and their skill, his soldiers aren’t standing a chance against them.
This war might be far from over, but its not going to take as long as you thought it might.