Crown of Blood

18.1.|| War Crimes

Winter had come to Iride.

Caught unaware, the citizens huddled in their houses and looked towards the skies, begging their gods for forgiveness. It took a few days for the news to become whispered words on frozen lips all throughout the kingdom.

It wasn't the gods.

It was Endir.

Ednir was attacking. Endir once again had magic.

Desperate rumors circulated with a speed far greater than any royal runners. The Witch King was back, and now he would conquer Iride in a fit of vengeance. He had brought the endless winter upon them.

It took much longer for other tendrils to break through collective knowledge.

The Witch King was dead. This time, Endir had an Ice Queen who wanted to punish Iridie for its riches.

The current king would not let her.

The current king was not Fherras. He was young, handsome and brave. He used to be the beloved Admiral of the Royal Navy. He was the cursed duke of the southern lands of Sandrine.

Their king had magic, too.

And while the news first terrified the subjects of Iride, as the days of ice and cold turned into weeks, they began to wonder. If the queen of Iride had ice, did their king have fire? Could he end the winter? Could he protect them from Endir?

What if magic could not only destroy, but also create?

More news reached every corner of the kingdom. The king was not in Valona. He'd gone out to meet the armies of Endir and stop them. He would protect his people.

And with those news brought from the frightened and awed lips of displaced peasants, the quality of the whispers changed.

There was hope. Maybe magic wasn't evil. Maybe the king could shield them from Endir's wrath. After all, it had been weeks since they invaded, and they hadn't been overwhelmed.

Slowly, people whispered that it might be the king's magic protecting them. Either that, or his prowess in battle was enough to counter the magical force of Endir.

People began to have hope. To believe that, even if their crops were covered in frost, they may still get out of the endless winter yet.

What they didn't know was that their frustrated king was not winning the war.

He was delaying it.

⚜

Cage felt like screaming.

It was not going well. His plan of leading a guerilla war against the incoming forces of Endir had shattered the moment Kat decided to do the same.

In accordance with well-tested battle strategies, General Harkiss had amassed his armies on the closest plateau to the Derbin pass, waiting for the invading army.

In the meantime, Cage, Jazz and Trix made quick incursions into the forest to check on the progress of Endir's advancement, most times joined by a squad of elite soldiers. They knew the opposing army would be slow, but their pace ended up being almost snail-like.

At first, it was obvious that the terrain and the snow Kat used as a cover to approach impeded her own army. Then, they just disappeared.

It took days and much frustration to finally find that the Endirian army had taken advantage of the terrain and had split into many much smaller units which could advance in different directions. They were not heading for the plateau. They would not face the army waiting there.