“Do I know you?” 

Sitting down in my office within the citadel, I was staring at the green eyed, brown haired youth that my scouts had brought in. The young man in question was staring at me with his mouth wide open, indignant that I didn’t know him. 

Putting both his hands on my desk, the young man huffed. 

“We’ve fought before.”

“Do you have any idea how little that narrows things down?” I retorted with an annoyed look. “C’mon, give your name. If that doesn’t work then tell me how long ago we fought and where it happened.”

“Varius of house Mizrael,” he answered, though my face remained clueless as ever. 

Clearly annoyed by my memory, Varius grimaced for a bit. 

“I was one of the rookies that took part in your training a while back, though you called yourself Iblis at the time.”

“Oh, you were the idiot that picked a fight with me,” I suddenly recalled, speaking in a very surprised tone that lacked any hint of hostility.

“That’s irrelevant,” he replied. “I came here to tell you about the betrayal of my family, not to bring up old grievances.”

“Betrayal?” I asked. “Did your family throw in their lot with the rebels that crossed the border?”

Clenching both his hands with a firm look on his face, Varius stared straight at me. 

“Exactly. And now those traitors are letting the rebels stay at their residence.”

“How did you find out about all this exactly?” I questioned him. 

With a sad look on his face, Varius sighed. 

“I was there when the rebels across the border arrived and started to negotiate with us. They promised that they could bring back Stygia and that the people would revolt against foregin oppression. And even after everything I tried, I couldn’t convince my family. If your scouts weren’t there, my sister and I wouldn’t have even been able to escape.”

“Well at least you’re alive,” I commented in neutral tone. “You have a place to stay here in Damask?”

“My sister and I are planning to stay at an inn right now,” he answered. “Our money should last us for a few weeks.”

“I’ll arrange a room in the citadel for you to stay in then,” I told him. “But can you tell me more about the rebels while you’re here?”

Nodding gratefully, Varius began to detail everything he knew from his encounter with the rebels.

Confirming what the scouts had said, Varius told me that the rebels were around 300 men strong, mostly consisting of veterans from the Stygian war. More importantly, he claimed that there was only a small contingent of 30 cavalrymen and only a single battlemage. Their leaders were also former officers in the Stygian army, though Varius was unsure about whether they had received support from the Zayids or some other forces. 

“Did you notice any funny symbols being worn by the rebels?” I asked Varius.

“Not any that I could make out,” he answered, causing me to sink into thought. 

After pondering for a while, I gave up and sighed. 

“Such a shame that I’m stuck waiting now. But as much as I think that they might have the support of an evil god, I don’t fucking know for sure.”

“You believe they’re supporters of Ahriman?” Varius asked with wide eyes. 

“Unlikely,” I replied. “Though there are a number of other malevolent deities that they could be currying favor with. That or they really believe in Stygian national identity.”

“Well the Zayids don’t seem to be controlling their local populace very well,” Varius pointed out. “Though that’s across the border, the border they just recently crossed.”

“Yeah, and the populace in Zayid lands are not anywhere near the point of rebelling,” I argued. “Unless the rebels fabricate an incident to incite the populace. That’s also a serious possibility.”

After a while, I called Gallus and the other officials of the region into my office to discuss matters. However, we realized that our best plan of action was to wait for troops then move to crush the rebels without exposing ourselves. At the very least, we know that the rebels are staying in an estate in the southeastern region.

So after finishing my business at the citadel, I went back home to tell everyone about my fortuitous meeting with an old acquaintance. 

“I really wish he fucking died,” Sekh snarled after I told my story. 

On the side, only Justin could be seen laughing while all the girls wore serious looks. 

“I don’t like him at all either,” Zeph added, causing Irene and Minerva to nod in agreement. 

“Well he did give us some useful information,” I said while shrugging my shoulders. “But don’t worry, you won’t have to meet with him. And besides, he'll be useful successor in the case that we wipe out his family.”

Perhaps she had a particularly bad opinion of Varius, because Sekh wrapped her arms around me and dug her face into my chest. 

“Let me stay like this for a bit.”

“I wasn’t planning on stopping you,” I told her, my hand gently stroking her feline ears. 

Before the two of us lost touch with reality, Minerva suddenly cleared her throat and spoke up.

“Azel, does that mean you’ll be heading out to fight soon.”

Turning my head to her, I flashed her a reassuring smile. 

“We will, but things look to be well in our favor as of now.”

“I hope it stays that way,” Minerva commented with a bright but wary grin. 

During the next few days, a sizable number of soldiers from the countryside arrived in Damask. The total number of fighting men, which meant that we weren’t counting the camp followers, amounted to 370 with the addition of our city’s garrison. Said group of men consisted of 2 private battlemages, 120 horsemen, and the rest were foot soldiers. However, only half the cavalrymen were dedicated riders while the other half were just mounted infantry that used their steeds to ride to battle and would dismount to fight. 

Additionally, we received new reports from our scouts about the rebel forces. Apparently they were raiding the countryside, targeting non native farmers while pressuring the locals to join their forces. As of now, their numbers had increased by only a dozen men, the quality of which was only equivalent to a militia. 

However, the unsettling news was that the farmers that resisted were generally taken in alive. Although not guaranteed, this likely indicated that the rebels were performing a sort of blood ritual to gain an advantage. 

Fortunately, the Iasor soldiers who had fought in the Stygian campaign knew about this practice and already began to evacuate civilians from the area to stymie our opponents. Still, it was in our best interest to quickly stomp out the enemy. If we wait too long, the local populace might see it as a sign of weakness and change sides and there is also the possibility that they accumulate enough sacrifices to pull off a powerful spell. 

As such, Gallus, Gregorius, and I began to swiftly finish our preparations for an expedition. While we had already gathered the necessary rations, mapped out the roads, and deployed scouts, we still had the task of organizing our slightly disarrayed force of frontier troops and private retinues. 

After waiting two days for the rest of our forces to trickle in, making our total forces amount to 410. The additional troops consisted of 35 footsoldiers and 5 cavalrymen, with an unfortunate lack of battlemages. Since we still needed to keep troops in Damask to guard the city, in the case that the enemy attempted to outmaneuver us, we left 40 soldiers to guard the city along with the militia. As such, our expeditionary force amounted to 370 men; the composition being 2 battlemages not including Zeph, 125 horsemen, and the rest were infantry. 

Once our forces were in order, we quickly gathered our necessary supplies and began the march towards the estate of the Mizrael family. Acting as one of our guides was Varius, who I would have to meet with separately from Sekh and Zeph. And as for my companions, only Sekh and Zeph were coming along; Irene and Justin would stay in the city to help Minerva while she kept things in order. 

The day that we were going to leave, Minerva and I were alone in her room as I was bidding her farewell. 

When I noticed that she was slightly shaking, I put my arms around her body and rested my chin on her shoulder. 

“It’ll be fine Minerva. I’ll come back, so don’t worry.”

Despite my assurance, Minerva looked down and averted her eyes from me. Trying to rectify this, I started to run my hand through her flowing silver hair.

Yet as I was indulging myself, I suddenly felt both of Minerva’s hands cup my cheek and pull me towards her. I knew that she was trying to kiss me and I could have reacted against it. But why would I stop a development like this?

Inching ever closer, Minerva planted her lips onto mine, a soft and delicate feeling now covering my mouth. However, I was soon even more surprised when her tongue slid right into my mouth, shyly probing around. 

Minerva had reached an unprecedented level of boldness, which I had to admit was really arousing. Continuing to stroke her head with my hand, I leaned forward and began to eagerly kiss back, wrapping my tongue around hers in an almost aggressive manner. 

Despite squirming a bit, Minerva gave in and pressed herself closer against me. For a while, the two of us were locked in passion, only breaking off when Minerva began to gasp for air. 

“Azel, please stay safe and come back, okay?”

Smiling warmly, I hugged Minerva once more. 

“Yeah, I promise. There’s not a single reason that I wouldn’t want to come back.”

When Minerva was finally finished with hugging me, I left the room and headed downstairs where everyone else was waiting. Apparently Sekh knew that something had happened, since she teasingly winked at Minerva and I when we came down the stairs. 

So after giving our farewells, Zeph, Sekh, and I headed towards the citadel to rendezvous with the assembled forces. There, Gallus and I inspected our supplies and staff once again before gathering the troops and leaving the city. 

Our forces moved in a fairly standard fashion. Mount scouts patrolled the front and the flanks while our vanguard of light infantry followed to support. In the center was the heavier infantry and the rear was occupied by the rest of the cavalry and the camp followers. 

As for myself, I rode in the back with the heavy cavalrymen, Zeph and Sekh serving as my personal attendants. Although Zeph was very much suited to being my personal battlemage, I kept Sekh by me in order to keep her safe. Sekh might be most suited to serving as a scout, but the benefits of having her there were far less than the potential cost. 

The trip through the countryside was remarkably calm and peaceful, considering the situation that we were in. Each day we were able to cover around 20 miles while having ample time to eat, rest, and scout. 

However, as we came ever closer to the estates of the Mizrael family, we saw more and more abandoned farms. And although our forces were the ones that had evacuated the inhabitants, the sight still gave a foreboding air. 

As we were traveling by yet another empty farm, I felt Sekh nudge me from the side. 

“Really brings back some memories.”

When I looked at her, Sekh had a forlorn expression, her tail slightly drooping. 

“Are you scared?” I asked her, trying to keep the concern from leaking into my voice. 

“No, just reminiscing,” she answered. “I really thought that things would have ended after that war. But I guess I was just being hopeful.”

“Yeah, the political landscape still hasn’t stabilized,” I told her. “And far too much of Stygia's future depends on the relationship between the two old emperors.”

“It’s really unfortunate,” Sekh remarked. “But I believe that we can make things better.”

“We already are,” I replied with an easy grin. “All we have to do is persevere.”

While Sekh and I were having our conversation, Zeph was riding in front of me as a sort of guard. Although I would have to protect her in melee, she would block missiles, both magical and physical, for me. And apart from her, I also had Gregorius, Gaius, and a dozen heavy cavalrymen serving as my personal guard. Well, their job wasn’t so much guarding me as it was to serve as an elite strike force. 

During our travels, we also received news from the scouts that were keeping watch on the rebel forces. While their entire forces were not moving from the vicinity of the estates, they did send frequent raiding parties, some of which had already clashed with our own patrols. The result was a dozen slain on the enemy side and 3 dead on our side. In addition to our successful skirmishes, our patrols were able to rescue a few captured civilians as well as some stolen supplies. And on top of that, the substantial amount of supplies we brought from Damask made it unnecessary to pillage the countryside.  

After four days of travel, our forces had reached the outskirts of the Mizrael estates. Taking the safer approach, Gallus and I directed our men to create a fortified camp while we waited for the enemy to make a move. 

That night, I went to Varius’ tent to converse with him and Gaius. As for Zeph and Sekh, those two were busy resting in my tent while keeping a good distance from Varius. 

“Have the scouts already told you about the estates?” Varius asked me while the three of us were sipping on wine. 

“Yeah, the only safe approach is the road that enters the farmland from the north, right?” I said to confirm with him.

“It is,” he replied. “The farmland surrounding the area doesn’t allow for a large movement of troops, only small groups.”

“It’s a shame that we can’t just smash them in one blow now,” Gaius remarked, his hand brushing his silver hair from his eyes. “And I assume that you don’t want to burn the whole estate.”

“It’s too big to reliably use fire,” I pointed out. “And the wind isn’t favorable so that we can smoke them out.”

Although we could use a wind mage to create favorable winds, the enemy would just deploy their own battlemage to counter. That’s why we needed an advantage from nature. 

“Well we already determined that our plan is to starve them out and pick off foraging parties,” I told both of them. “With some skirmishing, we should be able to soften them up enough to just launch a full assault.”

“Let’s toast to that then,” Gaius suggested, raising his glass of wine in the air. 

Perhaps we had managed to procure some good fortune from that toast, because later that night, we heard the blast of a horn from one of our night patrols. 

After scrambling out of my bed, I quickly donned my armor and gathered a small group of horsemen to ride out and meet the enemy. During that time, Gallus got to work organizing our infantry in case the enemy brought reinforcements.

Despite being somewhat groggy from sleep, my men and I swiftly arrived at the location where the sound of the horn originated. There, the sound of steel rang out and men clashed beneath the light of torches. 

Seeing that the enemy shieldwall was exposed on the side, I immediately ordered my horsemen to smash into their flank. And with the help of Zeph, we had a slight tailwind behind us, providing some protection against arrows and a boost to our charge.

Since I was fully clad in armor, my horse as well, I led from the charge from the front. When we made contact with the enemy ranks, a thudding impact ran through my arm as my lance skewered one of the enemy footmen. 

Without time to retrieve my spear, I took out my mace and started to swing down violently at the opponents in front of me. Sitting atop my horse, I rained blow after blow down on the soldiers below, a man falling down periodically. And because they were pressed from both the front and the flank, the group of enemy soldiers quickly collapsed, our troops giving chase as they retreated. 

However, this was only a small skirmish as of now. The initial forces numbering a few dozen on both sides while the reinforcing horsemen I brought numbered around 15. 

But as we gave chase, I heard the sound of horns blaring from the direction of the estates. Worse, it sounded as though there were multiple horns, indicating that a fairly considerable force of enemies was coming. 

“Pull back and reform!” I yelled at the top of my lungs while waving my mace to signal the troops. 

“Azel, should I use my magic to stall the enemy?” Zeph asked me from the side.

“Don’t, I need you to save your energy,” I replied firmly. “But I want the lightning mage with us to start blasting when the enemy is in sight.”

As we retreated towards some trees for cover, I managed to retrieve my lance from the aftermath of the previous skirmish. And because the enemy was not approaching quickly, my troops were also able to retrieve ammunition and arms that had been left on the ground. 

Upon further inspection, the enemy group that had made the night time foray consisted almost solely of light infantry. Clearly they were sent to either sabotage us, gather information, or acquire supplies. 

Shockingly, a large number of enemies flooded out from the farmland between us and the main estate. Under the moonlight, I could make out almost a hundred enemies. But due to the farmland separating us, neither the horsemen nor light infantry could quickly advance on our position. 

As we steadily pulled back towards our camp, both sides engaged in long range combat. Although both sides were loosing arrows, the most notable part of the fighting was the battlemages. On our side we had Zeph and a lighting mage, while the enemy had a flame mage. And because fire magic normally only worked at close to medium range, the enemy was unable to blast us. As such, the opposing mage focused on trying to repel our own magic by forcibly creating an equilibrium in the magical currents by blasting the magical lightning with magical fire. 

As we retreated, one of our horsemen went back to call for reinforcements. And soon after, a contingent of around 80 men from our camp came out to bolster us. 

With our new forces, I quickly organized a new formation to hold while we waited for support. And although we continued to trade projectiles with the enemy, we could make out even more sound in the distance. Clearly, the enemy was making a gamble tonight. 

Standing beside me, Zeph began to breathe raggedly, the strain of repelling arrows now wearing her down considerably. 

“Get some rest now,” I told her. “The real fighting will start soon and we’ll need you more at that point.”

Despite looking back and forth with hesitation, Zeph soon obeyed and retreated towards the rear for a breather. 

For the next half hour or so, both sides engaged in minor skirmishes, mostly an exchange of projectiles, though the enemy would  send small groups to probe our defenses. 

However, when the sun began to rear its head and the enemy forces had gathered around 250 men, they began to swiftly advance on our position. And because our men were still somewhat tired from constructing the camp, our current forces only numbered around 200. 

Still, the constant exchange of magic and missiles had enabled us to decrease the gap in numbers during the time the enemy spent gathering men. 

Ordering my men to take the defensive, I split my cavalry forces into two wings. The left wing, which stood by the forest, consisted of mostly lighter horsemen supported by infantry. In contrast, the right wing, which stood on open plains, consisted of heavier horsemen. Naturally I placed myself on the right wing in order to guide our decisive blow. 

As our frontline of light infantrymen went forward to skirmish and slow down the enemy, the infantry in the center moved into a shieldwall, readying themselves for the upcoming combat. 

Soon, the enemy forces neared our own and both sides crashed into one another. While the left and center simply needed to hold, I had to smash through their left with my own forces. 

Our right wing formed up in a wedge, with me at the front. Roaring at the top of our lungs, the 40 or so horsemen accompanying me slammed head first into the enemy cavalry wing. 

Once again, my lance pierced through an opponent on impact, his back bending crookedly as he fell from his horse. As both formations of horsemen clashed, riders began to disperse about, riding around and attacking those that looked to be enemies. I myself was not an exception and rode fluidly through the crowd, smashing my mace against anyone that didn’t bear an allied emblem. 

For a while, this cavalry battle persisted, our side being bolstered by occasional bursts of Zeph’s wind magic. But as the enemy began to quickly dwindle in numbers, they turned tail and fled. Based on a quick glance at the battlefield, the enemy left wing must have lost around 10 men while we might have had a single wounded soldier.

Taking advantage of this, I reorganized my riders and charged at the exposed enemy center’s flank. An almost exact repeat of the previous skirmish, the enemy center began to buckle heavily under pressure, giving ground as time went on.

Despite their leader trying to rally them, the enemy soon began to panic and break. Even the slight trickle of their reinforcements was unable to prevent their defeat. 

At some point, enough of the enemy panicked, and they all broke out in a mass rout. Fleeing into the wet farmland, the enemy dispersed into small groups as they tried to escape. 

Following right after them, I led our horsemen and lighter forces as we gave chase. Typical of a rout, it was bloody. Soldiers screamed in pain as they were struck down from behind, while some trampled over their comrades in an effort to reach safety. Still, there were those that tossed aside their weapons and surrendered. 

“Halt, don’t chase any further into the farmland!” I roared as we were pursuing the fleeing enemy. 

Despite our staggering success, chasing into the marshy farmland and separating from our main forces could easily spell a disaster. 

As the battle died down, the morning sun revealed the now bloody battlefield. Dozens of bodies littered the ground, weapons were strewn about, and the cries of the dying could be heard. And as I looked closer, I could tell that our losses were far less than that of the enemy. However, this was to be expected because the enemy forces were clearly of inferior quality. 

“Gallus, gather the men, we’re going to enter the estates from the north,” I told the captain as I began to assess the situation at hand. 

Looking in the direction that the enemy fled, I could make out faint movements, though it was clear that they weren’t mounting another assault. 

As I was getting ready to march with my troops into the estates, I saw the sight of Sekh approaching me from the corner of my eye. 

“I’m glad you’re safe,” I said to her with a warm smile. 

As she went over to me, Sekh began to move anxiously, her tail swaying sporadically and her ears were drooping. 

“I’m sorry I couldn’t be there for you. I wanted to join you but I didn’t want to distract you in the middle of battle.”

“It’s fine, you made the right choice,” I assured her. “Besides Sekh, I have Gaius, Gregorius, and Zeph to take care of me.”

“I know,” she said with a distant look. “I just wish I was better so I could be there as well.”

Reaching over to Sekh, I began to rub her head to console her. And although she did smile a bit, I could still see the sadness in her eyes. 

But I didn’t agree with her at all. Practically speaking, Sekh was just not at the level of the other combatants present. Gregorius and even Gaius are skilled fighters with plenty of experience while Zeph was a mage. And while Sekh was capable, she was just not at that level. So if she doesn’t improve, I just don’t see a reason for her to guard me in a normal battle. Still, her ability to see in the dark was certainly helpful and she could still perform as a competent scout. The only issue is that I don’t want to put her at risk in a situation like that. 

A while after, our forces arrived at the large collection of houses where the rebels were staying. But instead of facing serious resistance, we were greeted by the sight of abandoned buildings and belongings strewn on the ground. 

Sensing that something was wrong, we took up a close formation with our shields at the ready in anticipation of an ambush. 

Yet there was no ambush waiting for us. Instead, we soon discovered a plethora of fresh bodies laying around. The worst part was that all the bodies bore similar wounds, their throats being slit by some sort of blade.

“Gallus, tell the soldiers to prepare any mithril weapon on hand,” I told the captain, though he had already started before I spoke. “I think they might be trying to summon a shade.”

“Wait, you mean like that thing you killed in Amorium?” Sekh asked me in horror.

“Yeah, but they might summon one without using a physical vessel,” I answered. 

After a brief moment, we formed a vanguard consisting of the battlemages and the few elites that bore mithril weapons. While the rest of our forces followed in case there were regular enemies, we took the front to confront the shade if one appeared.

As we went deeper into the area, we were greeted by the sight of blood drawn on the ground in a ritualistic manner. If we could view the area from the top, it was likely that the blood formed some sort of shape for a spell. 

However, we soon reached a house that showed signs of life. Although it looked as though the survivors had barricaded themselves inside, I was soon surprised to see a man appear out the door with a white flag of surrender. 

But despite his sign of surrender, the man was grinning gleefully as though he had an ace up his sleeve. As such, I motioned for the troops to keenly observe the surroundings while standing at the ready with their weapons. 

“All these bodies, do you already have a shade prepared?” I asked the man in a calm voice. 

His smile grew wider and a maniacal laugh escaped his mouth. 

“A shade? You’re so close, sir hero. But not quite right.”

Before I could even consider what it was, the man clapped his hands together. And at that moment, I felt my chest instantly tighten, causing me to double over on the ground.

An arrow flew out at breakneck speed and immediately killed him, the sender being Zeph who stood at my side. At the same time, Sekh had bent down to support me. 

Yet I couldn’t hear a single noise, only able to see the frantic look on Sekh’s face. 

“I see, this is what he was talking about,” I remarked mentally. “Not a shade, but an actual evil god. And somehow I got designated as the vessel.”

In spite of my failing body, I desperately waved my hands at  the people around me to back off. At the very least, I should be able to prevent possession until everyone figures out what’s going on. And while I believe that I can regain my body, I might just be overly optimistic. 

But to get outsmarted at the very end. Not only was it infuriating, but potentially disastrous. I really have to work to keep my promises now.