Faith and Sword

Mount Yarsano

On that fateful night, at the beginning of Autumn, Northshire fell to the Empire. Not long after Cielo and the others departed, the rest of the Castians claimed the central square, slaughtering all of the resistance that were left standing. They sieged Castle Northshire for three days, before the leaders of the Insurgency raised the white flag over the dying flag of the Black Moose. With the lowering of the drawbridge, the Castians entered the castle, appearing to be polite and settled down. But in one of their devious acts, they revealed their weapons, attacking those who had wished to surrender on peaceful terms. Lord Vale, the representative of Northshire, who had defected to the Insurgency, stepped up to the battle, stirring up a snowstorm around the courtyard. His Lord's Weapon was a scepter that had a crystal at it's head, granting him control over the surrounding snow. Bringing the chill of the north to the battlefield, Lord Vale held back the Castians, who had surprised their enemies in a devious strike. But as per ordered by Major General Tychus, none of the resistance at Northshire was to survive. Tychus, with his Verunian blood, marched towards the former Lord slowly, since the cold had no effect on him. He swung his giant great sword towards his formidable opponent, beheading the defected leader. Tychus claimed total victory, as he stood over the castle walls, picking up and raising the standard of the dark blue phoenix. The men cheered and cried with relief, as their long journey and hard-fought battle had finally come to an end. They celebrated swiftly, enjoying their last night with a feast and plenty of ale from the city's storage, not giving a care about the remaining populous.

A month would pass, and the remaining army marched back into Tana. The people of the Lower Ring were beginning to grow restless during this time, as they continued to endure terrible living conditions. Guards would be assaulted by multiple people on a night shift, workers would have strikes outside of their warehouses and factories, demanding higher pay and better working conditions. They began to form into groups, rioting out in the street and rebelling against those who forced them to work in such a sloppy condition. But they were only minor disturbances, and the guards of the Lower Ring took care of them quickly and quietly, before their cries and shrieks would alert the masses.

Back in the Upper Ring, two days after their return, Felix sat outside of Lord Jeremiah's office. He had asked Felix to show up privately, which left Felix completely puzzled, as they had already testified and filed reports on the battle already. They had been back for a few days now, and all he wanted to do was finally get to rest after all of this commotion. First a battle at Blackwood, then surgery, and then a three week march to a castle before besieging it? What now? I just can't catch a break, Felix though to himself. As he sat outside in the hall, Lord Jeremiah, the councilman of Tana, strolled by, and pulled Felix into his office quickly. The room was very simplistic, which was out of the ordinary for the rest of the ornate Council building, and Felix sat in a cushiony, leather chair.

"How did the operation go, from your perspective?" Lord Jeremiah asked patiently, as he finally sat down across from him.

"We claimed victory, and restored Northshire to the Empire," Felix replied, biting his tongue. Jeremiah peered through him, seeing through his facade immediately.

"How many did we lose?" he asked politely.

"We lost over four thousand men, and the injured are beyond count, sir."

Jeremiah scratched the hairs on his chin. He was a reasonably tall man, with messy, black hair and a pair of rectangular glasses that covered his angular eyes. While his skin was of a lighter color, he seemed to be very muscular, despite being smaller than Felix. He had a kind glimpse in his teal eyes, but there was something menacing about them at the same time, almost as if they seemed too nice.

"What happened, really? I understand that we claimed victory, yada yada we won, as you put it. But how did such a feeble resistance, as Tychus puts it, defeat so many of our men?" He tilted his head as he asked Felix this, frowning slightly.