Deathless

Chapter Thirty-Three: Counsel

Chapter Thirty-Three: Counsel

Arlenn's Point stood as a vigil in the distance, a sword thrust through the ground mounted with dense green. And at the top, Iepenel knew, would be the place where he would see his brother Ashmur for the first time since the Arlenian Civil War began.

There had been parleys, of course, at the start, but Ashmur had refused to show up himself, preferring instead to send envoys to meet with Iepenel. Ashmur had shown no desire to end the conflict on peaceful terms, and had stopped sending envoys altogether in the third year of the war.

Iepenel knew that Ashmur would burn all of Arlenia to the ground before he knelt to Iepenel, the rightful emperor of the realm.

The early morning sun gleamed behind the mountain as Iepenel gazed upon it as he took his daily morning stroll, before he would have to deal with the problems of the day.

There were only two weeks left before the parley, and as Captain Kalun told him, Ashmur's armies were closing in on them swiftly.

If Kalun was to be believed, Ashmur was converging around Arlenn's Point and Iepenel's host as well, forming a circle around The Sword and would apparently encircle Iepenel completely by the time the parley and the eventual battle would take place.

"You must take Arlenis's Stronghold yourself, and swiftly," Isylric, the Luartian governor, had told him the night before. "At this rate you'll be crushed underfoot in the battle to come."

"Wise counsel, my lord," Caswil had agreed. "If we were to hold Arlenis's Stronghold we would at least stand a chance against Ashmur's forces."

Iepenel had considered for a time, but had rejected the plan.

"If we take Arlenis's Stronghold, it would only heighten tensions between the rebels and the Empire," he had told his advisers. "The battle would begin too early, and we would be crushed regardless of whether or not we hold the stronghold. We'll be without Ryfast's naval support up there, and will have to wait for reinforcements to be deployed, which will take up to three hours to scale the mountain. We may not have three hours against the full might of Ashmur's armies. No. The battle must take place on the ground, regardless of whatever tactical disadvantage we may be at."

Isylric had vehemently disagreed, and had urged Iepenel to reconsider.

But Iepenel had made up his mind. Isylric and Kalun had left grumbling, but Ancelian, at the very least, had agreed with him as well.

"Captain Kalun's reports have grown increasingly vague," Ancelian had told him that night after the Luartians had left. "They make no references as to the composition of the rebels' army, and only hints at their numbers. I think that Kalun is deceiving us."

"The evidence makes sense, make no mistake," Iepenel had told him thoughtfully. "If he were my subordinate I would immediately have him interrogated, but since Kalun is a Luartian, we cannot take action against him without solid evidence."

"To hell with the Luartians," Ancelian then said. "Arrest the man and put someone more trustworthy in his place."

"If I do that, the Luartians may well withdraw their support," Iepenel had replied. "We'll need solid evidence before we can remove him."

Ancelian had scoffed at that. "Leave that to me, then."

That night Iepenel called a war council, with Ancelian, Caswil, Kalun, Isylric, as well as two of Iepenel's other trusted officers, Captain Fercen of the Lion Division, as well as Captain Cuthlac, one of the Eagles.

They assembled in the war pavilion that Iepenel had had set up, with a round table at the centre of it with a map that Iepenel had had drawn of Arlenn's Point and the surrounding areas. The attendees gathered around the table.

Iepenel began the discussion. "With only two weeks left before the parley, we need to make plans for the inevitable battle that will follow."

Ancelian nodded. "We have the basics of the plan set in stone, but since the seven of us assembled here will each play crucial parts in this operation, we thought it best if we reviewed all the facets of the battle plan."

After a short pause, Ancelian continued. "Now, our host is assembled at the southern coast of the Red Bay, with Arlenn's Point to our east and the waters of the Red Bay to our backs."

"If our intelligence is to be trusted," Ancelian said, with a nod at Captain Kalun. "The rebel forces are surrounding our host on the west and south. We will have to hold out until Admiral Ryfast and the rest of our forces can arrive to give us aid."

"We've already got fortifications set up around our camp," Fercen continued. "My legion's been in charge of digging trenches and such, but these defences won't last us long."

"Therefore," Ancelian said. "We'll need to rely on our pikemen to hold the enemy back. We'll station pikemen along the outermost lines of defence to drive the enemy out. That should keep the enemy cavalry charge as well as their juggernauts back for a time. At least, enough time for reinforcements to get here."

"But what about siege weaponry?" Cuthlac asked. "Cannons, catapults? Any of those could easily crush our defences."

"Ah, and that's what the scorpions are for," Ancelian replied. "We've already put in the works some makeshift siege weaponry. Scorpions, primarily. They'll be able to launch bolts up to a hundred metres away. Should take care of whatever siege weaponry the rebels have got. At least, well, until our own scorpions are destroyed."

"And what about when Ryfast does arrive?" Isylric then asked. It was the first time he'd spoken since the war council began. "What then?"

"Ryfast's heavy munitions ships will provide cover fire for the transport ships as they arrive onshore," Iepenel answered instantly. "They'll deploy about half a kilometre southwest of our camp, and if our intelligence is correct, they'll be in a good position to sweep the enemy's western front from underneath their feet."

"Now, our armies are about five thousand horse, seventy thousand infantry, and perhaps twenty thousand archers, with the rest being sailors, engineers, medics, and the like, as well as some mercenaries and freelances," Caswil said. "The enemy, to our knowledge, despite outnumbering us with one hundred and thirty thousand fighters, is mostly made up of untrained and unbloodied swordsmen, with precious few cavalry and even fewer archers who can fire half a decent shot. Their commanders are common farmers and fishermen; their generals merchants and smiths. Even though Ashmur's knowledge of warfare is vast, and he has indeed bested us at times, especially at Ictus City, the knowledge of his commanders is not. We're taking advantage of this fact here, and we believe that a surprise attack from the back will be enough to bring down their western front and secure us the victory."

"Once they've taken down the western rebel front," Ancelian continued. "Our warships providing cover fire the entire time, of course, they'll join up with our main host. We'll have heavy infantry lead the charge, with cavalry going the long way around to surround the enemy's remaining host. Of the one hundred thousand men we are in possession of, we have about five thousand horsemen in our ranks. Assuming they don't run into any problems, they'll be able to take the enemy host from behind. Captains Kalun and Cuthlac will lead that charge."

Both captains nodded at that.

"And that," Iepenel concluded. "Is how we're going to win this war."

The officers in the tent gave a cheer of admiration.

"This operation will commence in two weeks. I will ascend Arlenn's Point with only a few companions. The rest of you should prepare yourselves for what is sure to come. And." he took a deep breath before continuing. "And should I die, I trust that Captains Fercen and Cuthlac will take up command until Commander Agron can arrive."

Fercen and Cuthlac nodded uneasily.

"This is it," Iepenel said. "Seven bloody years of civil war have led us to this. The final battleground. The final clash of swords. Before the month is up Arlenia shall be free again. Before the month is up, Arlenia shall be ours again to build it anew. Before the month is up, we shall have brought down Ashmur the pretender and restored peace and unity to our great country! What say you, my friends?"

A resounding cheer erupted from the assembled captains and commanders.

However, three of those seven that were assembled had very different expectations for how this war was going to end.