Heir Apparent - a Summoner FanFic

On the Front Lines

Dorien did something silly after that. He avoided the elves. The young prince wasn't the kind of man to be intimidated usually but Traeliorn had shaken him to his core. It may have been the thrashing during the sparring session itself, or the look in his eyes and the bored tone with which he spoke, but either way Dorien knew that the elf would be unfazed if he were to spontaneously combust.

His avoidance tactics were largely successful, helped by the fact that they ate alone and separated themselves from the group at every available opportunity. They even had some classes separate from the rest of the adepts.

"It seems stupid to me." Tilly muttered one evening in the library. She, Nadia, Micca and Dorien had developed their own bridging group within the year, bringing the nobles and commoners together. "They're supposed to be helping the humans prove the elves can be integrated. Can't happen if they're always on their own."

"They won't be able to avoid us tomorrow." Micca commented "There's only one camp we're allowed access to on the lines."

Dorien hmmed at that. He was not looking forward to the visit tomorrow as much as everyone else. He'd seen the effects of the war on the soldiers, the stark expressions on the drawn faces. When all of your life was mud and blood, you almost stopped feeling human, and stopped behaving as such too. War wasn't about glory, it was about death, both physical and spiritual. That's what they would see tomorrow.

And he didn't want to experience that with Traeliorn watching.

Nadia gave him a sympathetic smile, knowing how he felt about the elf, before turning the conversation back to the day's visits to the ether in which they had learned about Felid hunting methods, something that would certainly come up in the exams at the end of the year.

The coach ride to the front lines was like any other at that time of year and in that part of the world: long, wet and without scenery. Although he'd only made the journey a few times before, Dorien could have named every shed and barn they passed, knowing full well there would be no town or village, Raleighshire being too far west and The Hovat Plains, his own family home, too far east.

Nadia saw his longing gaze and gave his hand a comforting squeeze. She was doing a lot of comforting him of late. He'd have to find a way of thanking her, and of being in less need of comforting.

The journey ended at one of the hundreds of camps that dotted the boarder between Hominum and the orc jungle, close to half way between two of the watch towers. The towers had been built within sight of each other so that messages could be passed along the front line. The great trench spread out in front of them as far as the eye could see in either direction.

Dorien half listened to the gasps of wonder and interest made by the others. Traeliorn and Almithara of course made no such sounds to show how they felt but stood stony faced as the others chattered excitedly. At the other end of the spectrum, Azdok swore. Even Nadia seemed taken aback by the size and bustle of the camp.

Dorien didn't see the neat tents, the fine uniforms, the drilling soldiers, like he did in his first visit. He saw the blank stares, the pain and hopelessness in the injured in and surrounding the open medic's pavilion, and the drunk, mud-splattered and bloody soldiers stumbling here and there. An attack must have occurred quite recently. Dorien thought to himself.

"Good morning, ladies and gentlemen." Dorien turned to find that the group were being addressed by an officer in a pristine uniform. The young man could only have been a year or two older than the second years that were just a few feet away being addressed by another officer. He probably only graduated from Vocans in the last five years. For he had definitely attended, that much was clear by the Anubid at his back. Dorien had never seen a specimen of the demon his father had favoured before he died. Though gangly and beastly to look at, it was built with wiry muscle and Dorien knew from his demonology studies that as a rule Anubids were proud creatures.