A sunny autumn day showed itself over the sky of the southeastern Midland plains. The sun shone brightly as if welcoming a new dawn. There was no wind or any clouds to be seen across the blue skies. A rebel banner of over six-hundred troops were marching west to reinforce their frontlines.

The lead banner consisted of over a hundred riders and at the front was Baroness Amber, the commander of this entourage. She rode a large stallion with her hair tied behind her head with a small white veil.

Her dark red armor was embroidered with gold trims that showed off her figure perfectly. On top of her head was a helmet that was shaped like a crown with a silver plume on the front.

The rest of the banners were led by their commanders with each banner having a hundred soldiers under their command. These were all the units that had been deployed to reinforce the frontlines against the King's loyalists.

"This is the last checkpoint," announced a nearby captain as they reached the edge of a meadow.

Amber nodded, "We should've made contact by now with House Urdafel."

Amber dismounted and removed her helm. She had a stern expression as she looked around. Her men knew something was definitely strange as House Urdafel was made up of military veterans. They weren't the incompetent types.

"Your orders?" asked the captain as he gripped his hilt.

"Battle formations!" commanded the baroness.

The entire banner shifted from column formations into proper combat formations. The first line had archers positioned right in front of the infantry. They were to fire and fall back if necessary.

Amber continued her orders, "Shift the second and third lines right fifty meters! The fourth line is to hold in reserve, they're to await my signal."

No one under the baroness dared to question the orders as she held years of battle experience and was rarely wrong. The only missing ingredient was that no one had spotted any enemy formations though.

"Baroness, the men are all in position," reported the captain, "But no enemy movements have been spotted. Are you sure it isn't possibly House Urdafel?"

Amber didn't answer her subordinate. Instead, enemy formations began to emerge from the meadow and the captain immediately understood the situation.

That enemy unit emerging from the meadow was none other than the Banner of the Claw. It was being led by JD. A familiar elven girl with a bow darted toward JD's position and reported, "JD, they're in battle formations already!"

"It is unexpected but won't change anything," stated JD as he drew his mithril longswords, "They likely have an experienced commander among them. We'll just need to approach this carefully."

Yanie nodded and returned to her ranged unit. Marie and Chrysta both flanked JD with spells pre-channeled in their hands.

The Embercaller spoke her mind, "I know you've been on a roll with winning the last five battles this month but we still need to be extra careful without Arlan."

Chrysta agreed, "She's right but I know you got this."

JD turned to the Banner of the Claw and blew his horn, signaling the charge. JD, Chrysta, and Marie were in the center formation while Erin and Mahari were at the left-wing pushing forth. On the right-wing were Lem, Dimitri, and Roderic. Each with their own respective units.

As they started their thunderous sprint, Amber ordered her hundred archers to fire upon the Banner of the Claw. A hundred arrows of death were rocketed into the sky and at the apex of their climb, were disintegrated. Amber cursed under her breath and shifted her archers back and closed her helmet visor. She was preparing to receive the charge with her infantry line.

JD saw that Amber was the commander; he knew he had to take her down first to gain the advantage. As both sides neared each other, fire and ice spells emerged from Chrysta and Marie which devastated the first thirty enemy swordsmen next to Amber. She emerged untouched as her teal shield had somehow blocked the spells.

The Tempest Knight saw that the enemy commander was isolated and slashed into his target, only to be met by the same teal shield. But before JD could continue his attack, five rebel swordsmen joined the fray and were third-tier red cores. They were Amber's personal guards that survived the magical attacks by hiding behind Amber.

JD was now on the defensive as the battle around them started. An all-out melee broke out as the two forces clashed with the sound of metal clashing on metal ringing through the air.

The Banner of the Claw's vanguard held its ground and slowly pushed through while the Hatchets obliterated the enemy on the right-wing. As the Tempest Knight engaged with Amber's personal guard, the Embercaller was squaring off with Amber herself. Ever since Marie had absorbed the demon core, her strength had elevated allowing her to fight head-on.

It was obvious that Amber was an aspirant, but the difference in strength was apparent as well. Marie was much stronger. Her spells and attacks were slowly melting Amber's teal-enchanted shield.

The rebel captain saw this and tried to run over to assist his commander but his feet were frozen in place by Chrysta. Horror overtook his heart as he saw a spear of ice had penetrated through his chest armor. Blood splattered out as he regretted not being strong enough to assist Baroness Amber. Memories of his life played back in slow motion until they were interrupted. Chrysta had decapitated the captain with a clean ice blade cast from afar.

Amber saw what had happened and rage consumed her heart as she watched her men get butchered and slaughtered on all fronts. "Who the hell are you people?" asked Amber.

With a fireball in her palm and a devious grin, Marie answered, "The Banner of the Claw."

Amber had heard of the name before and knew of the reputation. She contemplated surrendering but it was too late. She had to exact vengeance for her fallen soldiers and threw herself forth at Marie. The pair danced on the edge of death gracefully back and forth as Dafenne swung her sword and Marie answered with a whip conjured from fire.

When Amber overextended her footing, Marie used this opportunity to grab Amber's ankle with her [Flamewhip]. A searing pain grabbed hold of the rebel baroness and incinerated her right ankle to the bone. Marie then cast [Infernohand] and the spell enveloped Amber as she cried out in horror.

Marie had killed Amber and this was the final blow that caused the enemy banner to retreat in full. The Banner of the Claw had lost only a single soldier from the vanguard, and twelve were lightly injured. But of the six-hundred enemy soldiers, only eighty had escaped while the rest lay lifeless in the meadow before the Banner of the Claw.

After a half-hour, the Banner of the Claw was busy aiding the wounded, gathering intelligence, and figuring out the after-action reports. While JD had been placed in charge of the Banner of the Claw, Marie took up the mantle of assisting. Her leadership abilities started to shine through in moments when Arlan was absent.

Roderic was followed by Dimitri as they reported to JD and Marie who had just received Yanie's report.

"Knight JD!" saluted Roderic and Dimitri.

"Sergeant Roderic and Lieutenant Dimitri, your reports?" asked JD as he returned their salute.

"The Hatchets suffered no casualties after eliminating an entire company on the right-wing. They were mere fresh conscripts. They faltered in only a minute of combat." reported Roderic.

Dimitri followed, "With Roderic's assistance, we managed to secure forward positions quite fast but we suffered a single casualty... The first one was during this campaign. Hugh Goldan, was a recruit from the first wave of reinforcements prior to our battle with Hector's banner. He was killed by an arrow."

"Thank you Roderic and Dimitri," answered JD as he solemnly stared at the ground. He felt bad for the first loss of a soldier under his command.

The Embercaller walked up to JD and whispered, "You did well, JD."

JD gave a quick nod, "Thanks."

"Any plans on our next move, Knight JD?" inquired Marie with a smirk on her face.

JD shook his head, "We're falling back to Velena to regroup. I'll inform the higher-ups of our success."

"By your command."

The Banner of the Claw departed and headed towards Velena. This victory wasn't going unnoticed as word spread through the rebels of the Banner of the Claw's presence.

 

Velena, which was usually bustling, appeared quieter than usual. The streets were crowded with Loyal Midland Soldiers from House Stonemar, and the Banner of the Claw had arrived and were welcomed in by the guards.

"Good Afternoon, Mi'lord! You’re expected," the sentry stated as they opened the gates.

JD nodded in appreciation and replied, "Thank you, soldier."

He and his companions, Marie, Chrysta, Lem, and Dimitri, entered the city and proceeded to their assigned lodging area. Once they were settled, Marie approached JD and informed him that he had been summoned to the town hall by House Stonemar. They wanted to meet with the Banner of the Claw's current commander.

JD suggested that Marie accompany him, but advised leaving Chrysta to rest.

The duo navigated through the inn they were staying at and arrived at the town hall. Stonemar soldiers and officers were busily coming and going, tending to their duties before the evening began.

Upon reaching the door, they were granted entry by the Stonemar guards. The Tempest Knight and Embercaller made their way into the main lobby, where the Stonemar Banner's upper echelon resided. Many of them were shuffling maps and documents about, while in the center of the room, a large table with a map was laid out. Duke Cole Stonemar arched over the table, studying the map intently.

JD and Marie made their way over to the table and bowed respectfully. The duke lifted his head and welcomed them warmly, "Welcome to Velena. I presume you are the current commander of the Banner of the Claw?"

"I am Knight Jan Derva," JD replied as he stepped forward, "I have been granted temporary command by the King's Blade."

Duke Cole looked over at Marie and asked, "And you must be Lady Marie Balan?"

"Yes, my lord," answered the Embercaller.

"It is a pleasure to receive your banner," stated Duke Cole, "But where is the King's Blade?"

"Arlan deployed with his Storm Riders to the west to assist the Royal Army," replied JD, "He has sent us to the east to assist House Lansley and House Stonemar."

Duke Cole nodded and gestured for JD and Marie to take a seat at the table. "Please sit," he said, "Your efforts in destroying the last four enemy units across the frontlines were extremely helpful."

JD and Marie settled into their seats, and Duke Cole began to explain the current state of the southeastern region's frontlines. He spoke of the stalemate with the rebel forces and the strategic importance of Eisanyr, the home of House Kaiser.

The Tempest Knight listened intently, occasionally asking questions or providing insight. Marie remained quiet, observing and analyzing the situation.

As the meeting drew to a close, Duke Cole stood up and addressed JD directly. "We are honored to have the Banner of the Claw fighting alongside us," he said. "Your reputation precedes you, and I have no doubt that together we will emerge victorious."

JD stood up and bowed respectfully. "We are committed to fighting for Midland and its people," he replied.

With that, the meeting came to an end, and JD and Marie made their way back to their lodging.

But as they were walking out from the town hall, a familiar voice echoed out from behind, "Marie! Is that really you?"

Marie and JD turned around and Marie's eyes widened at who it was. Nicolas Stonemar was catching up to them from behind in steel plate armor. "Nicky!" yelled Marie as she ran over and hugged Nicolas tightly.

"It's been a while," said Nicolas as he let go of Marie and held out his hand, "I was expecting Arlan but this gentleman here must be Knight Jan Derva."

JD accepted Nicolas' gesture and shook, "Nice to meet you, I assume you're the son of Duke Cole?"

Nicolas smiled and replied, "That I am. It is an honor to be fighting alongside you, Knight Jan Derva. I know Marie and Arlan from our days back at Lancel High Academy. I was a second-year student there."

"I see, it must've been a great time I presume," replied JD.

"I heard the Banner of the Claw was pivotal in the northern front against the Swora," continued Nicolas.

"Most definitely, especially with Arlan around," replied JD.

"He is quite an extraordinary fellow. Especially when he bested Luther Kaiser in last year's tournament. Anyway, I heard it was the Banner of the Claw who killed Baroness Amber today," added Nicolas.

"We also destroyed the House Urdafel banner as well," gloated Marie.

"Well, what do you guys say we catch up and celebrate in my chambers?"

Marie nodded at JD with approval. Even to the Tempest Knight, it was a nice change of pace.

JD answered back, "Only if I can bring another friend."

"Of course, with pleasure!" answered Nicolas.

 

The trio picked up Chrysta and made their way to an abandoned manor on the western edge of Velena. It was being used by House Stonemar for Duke Cole and his retainers. As they entered, a few servants guided them to Nicolas' extravagant room.

Inside, the four of them enjoyed a modest dinner as they shared memories of their younger days.

Marie laughed and said, "And you remember when Arlan was sent to Lady Dafni's office for destroying the wall by accident?"

"Yes, it was the talk of the school," added Nicolas, "We all thought he was going to be expelled!"

"Arlan was like that in school?!" asked both JD and Chrysta.

"Oh yes, he was quite the troublemaker," replied Nicolas as he chuckled.

"And he only ever got reprimanded," replied Marie.

"Say... Nicolas, if you don't mind, may I ask about you and your unit?" asked JD.

"Of course," answered Nicolas, "When the war started, I was immediately summoned by my father. Seeing as how I'm the oldest and heir to House Stonemar, I was given command of a five-hundred-strong banner that was trained by my father. While you were all further north, I've been fighting down here. It hasn't been easy..."

JD, Marie, and Chrysta nodded along. They understood the fatigue of war just as much.

Nicolas continued, "We've barely managed to gain the upper hand after a few of my father's adjutants made the ultimate sacrifice. As of late, I've been sent to reinforce key positions. Lucky for us, me and my father managed to turn around a few battles that would've completely collapsed our entire defensive line. If it weren't for the Banner of the Claw arriving in our area, we would've likely seen another few months of a stalemate."

"Arlan will also arrive with the Storm Riders in a week," noted Marie.

Chrysta added, "We'll help in any way we can. We want to see the end of this war as well."

"That's good to hear," replied Nicolas, "Because we're going to need your strength in the coming battles."

"We'll win for sure," stated JD, "May I propose a toast?"

Nicolas raised his goblet of wine and happily said, "I was just thinking the same!"

The Stonemar Heir poured each of his new friends more wine and raised his own goblet.

"To old friends and new," Nicolas said warmly with a smile.

The group clinked their glasses together and drank their wine. It was rich and full-bodied, with a hint of spice.

Marie looked around the room, feeling a sense of contentment. For once, she was able to let her guard down and enjoy herself without worrying about the dangers of war.

As the night wore on, the group continued to share stories and enjoy each other's company. JD and Nicolas found common ground in their military experiences and tactics, while Marie and Chrysta enjoyed Nicolas' knowledge of magical artifacts.

They finished their last bit of wine and Nicolas suggested they retire for the night. JD and his companions were due to begin their duties at dawn, and they needed to rest.

The trio said their goodbyes and left Nicolas' room, making their way back to their assigned lodgings. As the trio reached their rooms, JD bid both his friends goodnight and retired to his own room. While he lay down on the bed, his mind was still racing with thoughts of the soldier that had died under his command that day.

JD thought to himself, "Hugh Goldan..."

Despite losing a soldier, he knew that he had done his best. He closed his eyes and focused on his breathing, letting his thoughts drift away.

While drifting off to sleep, he couldn't help but wonder what the future held for him and his companions. The war was far from over, and there were many battles yet to be fought.

But for now, he allowed himself to rest, knowing that tomorrow would bring new challenges and new opportunities.