Chapter Seventy-Eight: War

Weeks pass into months, and the war's ignition draws close. The nobility of Spara draw from their pool of citizens, and an army is formed. Weapons and arms are forged en masse, and the regional lords send their best soldiers to mount Zanka to earn the Goddess' blessing. An encampment is constructed near the forest on the border of Athene and Spara, and Prince Edgar relocates himself there. Tim joins him, moving the stone slab with the transport circle on it to the camp. The magic user Thomas is hired by the king to join them, in case they need Tim and neither he nor Meg are there.

The propaganda has done its work, and the soldiers are united in a hatred for the usurper of Athene. He is known by them as a power-hungry madman, who seeks to conquer nations, and attempted to assassinate their princess. This is compounded with the known hubris of the Athene nobility, who believe themselves to know the intentions of the Gods, even in spite of the gods themselves. This does not sit well with the pious people of Spara, and so in the name of their country, the royalty that leads them in prosperity, and the Goddess that lives within their borders, they await the war.

In the land of Athene, Richard did not sit idle. He had been raising a true army longer than Spara, and so was able to afford the time to have his soldiers trained more. Weaponry was being developed based on information provided by him, and in the background, his magic research group progressed their own assignments. He wasn't unaware of the power of morale, and had spread his own message through the land. He played on the lack of divine presence within his nation, claiming that the other countries looked down on Athene as a nation of heretics. He said that the other nations did not appreciate the gods, and believed that the gods within their borders belonged to them, and not the other way around. This message angered the people of Athene, and in their anger they forget to question whether the cause of their anger was even real.

And so the two nations stood on the brink. The people of Spara standing against Richard the usurper, and the people of Athene against the world.

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"I'm not going anywhere."

"Well you're going to have to."

"Well I'm not."

"You're being very selfish here Meg."

"How horrifying, I'm becoming like you."

"If only you were, then you wouldn't need me around and I could just go."

Tim and Meg were arguing in the library. As the war loomed closer, Tim would be required to remain with the advancing army, leaving the library open to attack. This would create an opportunity for Richard to launch an attack on both at the same time, forcing Tim away from the battlefield. Tim had recognised this long ago, but Meg simply refused to leave, wanting to stay in the library to work.

This left the two at a bit of an impasse.

"You can't make me go." Meg said, sat in her seat at her desk.

"I can." Tim said bluntly. "And I will if you force me. All that will change is whether or not you'll have a chance to keep working while you're there."

Meg sighed, and pleaded with Tim. "But I really don't want to."

"And I really don't care. You've still got some time, pack."

"How long until it starts?"

"Few days, a week. Two weeks tops. However long it takes until all the lords reach the camp."

"Where am I staying?"

"You've got your own tent."

"Really?"

"Well, I've got my own tent, while you and Thomas get the magic tent. It's got a cupboard and a desk and stuff, but you'll be in mine and I'll bunk with Thomas."

"Thanks. Where's the other army?"

"Right on the other side of the forest. So basically the army won't even see the battle, I'll have ended it before they get there."

"Why do they even need an army anyway if you're just going to deal with it?"

"Because I can't garrison an entire country. Eradicate law and order across a nation, especially in a time of war, and watch it all burn to the ground. There are opportunistic bastards everywhere."

"You could just not kill literally every single soldier you come across."

"Don't be silly, they're soldiers, I have to kill them. It wouldn't be right otherwise."

"And why the hell is that?"

"They're soldiers, they exist to enforce their will on the world with the resolve to kill and be killed, I respect that. To not kill them would be disrespectful. And if there's any of them that would kill without the resolve to die for what they're fighting for then they don't deserve to live, and I'll kill them anyway."

Meg looked to Tim with a worried concern. "Tim, please tell me you aren't going to massacre them as they retreat."

"Of course not. If they realise who I am and decide to fall back I won't begrudge them that. Anyone that enters a battle does so with the expectation that they have a chance of winning as a whole. If they see me, realise that victory is not on the table, and decide to give up, I'll respect that. But if anyone tries to escape just because I come near them, then I'll kill them anyway. Smart decision making I respect, cowards I don't."

"...I have mixed feelings about that."

"How so?"

"Well on the one hand I'm kind of happy you aren't just a mindless killing machine, but on the other, it's kind of disturbing how much thought you've put into how you conduct your mass murders."

"Well I've had many chances to find out how I feel about it."

"That is the source of my discomfort, yes."

"You know, with my involvement, it's quite likely less people ended up dying than would've if I was never there. All of one army is less than most of both armies."

"Doesn't mean I enjoy the act of wanton murder."

"Hey! You take that back."

"What could you take offense to in that statement?"

"It isn't wanton murder, it's a battle of wills. It's an attempt to steer the world and is worthy of respect, regardless of the reasons for doing it."

"Fine, fuck. I never knew you could be so pedantic. Seriously, I mean."

"It's a matter of respect."

"Yeah whatever."

"So, are you going to come peacefully?"

Meg sighed. "Yes."

"Good. I'm off for a meeting with the lords. I'm probably late already but oh well."

"Have fun with that."

"I'm sure I won't."

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Standing at the back of the library on his way to the transport circle, Tim stopped with a frown, and scanned the scenery around him. After a few seconds, he shrugged, and whisked himself away to the camp.

The observer let out his held breath as Tim left, and shuddered with relief. If he was watching anyone else, he would have no need to be so tense.

High up on the mountain, the man turned, and lay out a sheet of cloth, on which was a transport circle of his own. He placed down a pre-written letter on it, and sent it away. His job done, he looked down one last time at the library. His eye shone, as the magic circle tattooed into his sclera activated, and he saw the circle the Representative just went through.

With repeated glances at the library as he went, the man moved to the other side of the mountain, and descended.

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"Morning all." Tim said, stepping into the tent used for strategy meetings.

"You're late." Edgar said as he, along with a number of other men, shot him a frown.

"Yup."

"Can you please take this seriously?"

"I don't see why I would."

"We're about to go to war."

"I'm about to go to war, you're here to back me up. And by that I literally mean follow behind me."

"Maybe to start, but Athene is a big country, and you can't be on the frontline everywhere."

"I think you'd be surprised."

"I'd rather not be, which is precisely why we're holding these meetings. Which are completely meaningless if you aren't part of them."

"Fiiiine, what are we doing?"

"We're discussing our movement plans once we're past the forest."

"Oh yaaaaaaaaaay."

"Shut up."

"'Kay"

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Tim walked to the edge of the camp, and looked across the grassy land to the forest nearby. The camp had been set up as close to the forest as possible, without risking being so close they wouldn't notice a surprise assault, and it was entirely possible for a strong bow to shoot from the edge of one into the other.

"Tim." A voice Tim had been hearing a lot recently called out to him.

"Thomas." Tim said, as the man came up beside him, and joined him looking out to the forest.

"It's going to start soon, isn't it?"

"Yup, nervous?"

"Yes."

"Well, just think of all the toys they've got locked away that you'll be able to play with when it's over."

"Most of it's going to be war related though, right?"

"You're right, I can think of no other purpose for enhanced strength and healing other than battle."

"I get your point, but I'd still rather not be here."

"Well suck it up, it's not like you're going to be fighting."

"Maybe not, but I still don't feel safe."

"Why don't you do something about it then?"

"Like what?"

"I don't know, you're good with illusions right? Is it possible to have a circle capture what's above it and have another one that recreates it so it looks like there's more than one?"

"That... Maybe?"

"Or how about have a box that creates what's on the other side, so whenever you look at it you can't actually see it?"

"You could make yourself invisible!"

"Yeah, why not that?"

"I'll go see if I can do it!"

"You do that."

Thomas ran off excitedly to the tent where his magic resources were set up, and Tim watched him go with an amused expression.

"Like an overgrown child." He said. "And that's coming from me."

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"You got everything you want?"

"Probably not."

"Well we're not coming back until we're done, so don't complain."

"I'll just summon whatever I need."

"You mean steal."

"No."

"Can you guarantee it'll definitely be yours that you summon?"

"...No."

"Then you mean steal."

This discussion came the following day, as Tim and Meg were about to leave the library and head to the camp. Tim had already taken through most of the stuff she wanted, and the last thing to go was the woman herself as she had repeatedly checked to make sure she had all that she needed. Despite this, or perhaps because of it, she was adorned in numerous satchels all containing various items she wanted to take with her.

As they headed towards the door however, the middle of the great window began to glow with a blue light, and the two frowned up at it. Shortly after, a figure stepped through the door.

"Fen?" Tim said, shocked, while Meg looked at the woman with disgust. "What are you doing here?"

"We need your help." Fengari said, holding back her desperation, but not succeeding in hiding it completely.

"There's a group of soldiers on horseback that have been killing the town and city guards across the East of Massa since last night, and there's a group of foot soldiers following behind, heading straight for The Silver City."

"Massa is..?" Meg asked.

"The country that Metz lives in." Tim said, with a grim look. "And it borders on the East with Athene. Guess the war starts today."

"But why would they attack in the South? Doesn't that just mean less troops in the North?"

"Me." Tim said. "They want to draw me to the South, while they attack in the North."

"Well what are you going to do?" Meg asked.

"Whatever he does it better be fast, time is of the essence."

"Well, isn't it obvious?" Tim said, a grin forming across his face. "I'll go down there, wipe them out, then head up North and take them out too."

"Great, let's move." Fengari said, and hurried to the door.

"C'mon Meg, I'm going to send you to the camp, you need to warn them what's coming."

"Do I have to?"

"Yes, unless you want to bet your life that they haven't got a force heading here as well in order to take you out."

"Fine."

And with that, the two sprang into action, one reluctantly, one with gusto.

And the war began.