Chapter 95: Royal Decree

Book 2, Chapter 57 - Royal Decree

It was odd, waking to the sound of chirping birds. They'd been scarce in the winter. Elizia stretched and yawned. She gathered her hair and tied it back. Her stomach growled. She let out a sigh, knowing there wouldn't be much to feed it besides water mixed with a spoon or two of oats.

She folded her sheets neatly so that others wouldn't have to. Then she washed her face from a bucket of ice water left inside her tent. She took scoopfuls in her hand and sipped from it, shivering as it went down her esophagus and chilled her empty belly. Elizia armed herself and checked over her belts and straps. She crinkled her nose. Her unit was camped in Caranel territory, across the Blackridge River, a handful of leagues from the Black Marshes. She preferred keeping a water source near when travelling, but the harsher weathers of the north made cleaning oneself something the soldiers were wanting to avoid. Especially now that supply numbers, medicine included, dwindled and her weakened soldiers feared catching colds.

Elizia herself had slept in the same attire for half a dozen nights. Her clothes hadn't been washed for nearly a month. It was hard making time for such things when constantly on the move. That and she only had two pairs of clothes just as most of her soldiers.

The men seemed stretched by the day, eyes sunken and shoulders slumped. It was high time she returned home. But small rebel forces popped up out of nowhere, terrorizing villages here and there. It was obvious that these were trained soldiers hiding in towns and cities, and gathering in small groups to continue the fight. Elizia knew she was being stalled, but the threat to Xenarian people were very real. She couldn't consciously abandon them.

She stepped out of her tent, raising a hand to shade her eyes. The two guards at the entrance saluted —one more poorly than the other as he was yawning. The camp was already cleaning up and folding tents. Elizia squinted up at the sky. The sun was higher than she expected. It was at least midway through morning.

“Good morning, Lady Elizia,” the guard to her right said. “Did you sleep well?”

A well-meaning question with another hidden behind it. That that she'd woken up late implied she'd slept late as well. But that wasn't the case. Every night saw her exhausted as much as any other soldier. As the commander, she had the privilege of sleeping all night long and not having to stay awake for guard duty. But she'd collapsed and slept fast as she did most nights nowadays. Her body was compensating for the lack of food with extra rest. A dangerous precedent if what was happening to her was happening to her men as well. Naturally, the men awake on guard duty would awake the rest, but that meant her soldiers were even weaker than her.

“I did, thank you,” she responded. “Have my belongings packed and prepare Valor for riding.” The guard to her right bowed before leaving. The one that had yawned followed after her as she sought out Faren and Azurus. She found them conversing beneath a tree in hushed tones and away from others.

“She will be the one to decide our course of action,” Azurus was saying.

“That's why I'm saying you should convince her,” Faren said. “Yet you're taking the opposite side.”

“You would have us abandon the people, Lieutenant?”

“We've little choice. We won't be helping anyone if soldiers start—”

“Start collapsing?” Elizia said, walking into the barely existing shade of budding branches.

“Lady Elizia, good morning,” Faren bowed. She nodded his way.

“Lieutenant Faren thinks we should return to Arcaeus,” Azurus began. His voice was crackling like he hadn't had much sleep. His sharp jawline stood out more with how his cheeks had hollowed and the dark spots beneath his pale blue eyes gave him a somewhat ominous and ruining look. Not at all the dauntless and dashing knight she knew him as, even though he had his resplendent black armor on. “Or at least return to the capital and restock on supplies. I'm against it. These rebel groups keep popping up. If villagers and farmers are not relieved of them now during sowing season, Xenaria's economy and food stores will be hampered for the next winter.”

“What of Vineroot or whatever village over there,” Elizia asked, nodding her head to a cluster of houses a little north of the camp. “Did they spare us anything?”

“Three sacks of oats,” Faren snorted. “It's Pineroot village, I believe. Vineroot was the one we passed five days ago. Three sacks are more than anything. They gave it in charity, seeing as how they're hopeful for a good harvest this year, judging from last year's size. I think they gave it for the horses rather than us. Three sacks will feed a mere three hundred of us for this morning only. Or this day. My lady, we've hardly been eating one portion a day. We need to leave before our horses collapse and we're left stranded here in the north. Even with sowing season, warmer weather will take a little longer to get here.”

Elizia nodded. “Three sacks might feed around a thousand if we eat a spoon of oats each. How much more of our supplies do we have left?”

“Maybe near a few hundred bags worth of grains? A few cycles worth for the forty-five hundred men we have still,” Faren said.

“And this is not counting the horses, yes?” Elizia said.

“We stopped feeding the horses a fortnight ago,” Azurus grumbled. He had his head turned. He had little compelling arguments for staying it seemed.

Elizia frowned. “We stopped feeding the horses and I wasn't informed?”

“That's why we had a few dozen soldiers watch them as they grazed about, nibbling on shoots poking out of snow,” Faren muttered, scratching the back of his head. He did that often when feeling ashamed. “I assumed you'd already guessed, my lady. Forgive me for not reporting.”

“So we've been just barely getting by, begging villages.” Azurus mumbled something in response. Elizia shot a glance his way, wondering if she'd really heard what he had said. “Repeat that, Sir Azurus,” she demanded, fixing him with a glare.

“We could force villagers for food. We are fighting for their protection.”

“And stoop down to Lord Galadin's level?” Elizia said, raising her voice. It turned out that the one thousand man contingent he'd sent out from Torsdale were going about demanding iron and food from villages in Lord Caranel's territories. All while Lord Caranel himself did little to prevent it. According to rumors, Lord Agrienne Caranel had gone missing after a summons to the capital sometime late harvest of last year. Probably out womanizing in some city. “This isn't the first time you've said things betraying your character, Azurus. I doubt this is part of your moral code too.” He looked at his feet, chewing on his lip. He really did seem ghastly with shoulders slumped and drained features.

Flames, why am I blaming him? I'd probably demand food from villages too if we were near harvest season.

Elizia took in a deep breath. “We're riding south. We will return to Exaltyron and report to her majesty before setting out again. I can send a detailed missive to my father as well that way. We ride hard today. With any luck, we'll avoid enemies and find ourselves in a slightly warmer place with decent enough pastures for the mounts to feed on.”

Faren nodded, stepping out from beneath the tree to relay orders. His weary face bore an expression of relief.

Elizia turned to Azurus and crossed her arms. “You need rest. You didn't sleep well.” He nodded. “You feel guilty about returning without completing the task at hand.” Another nod. “But you really want to see Emeria.” A slower nod this time. “You want to do things with her.” He was in the middle of raising his head to nod again before his brows furrowed and color appeared on his pale and sunken cheeks.

“El,” he complained.

She shrugged. “You needed a jibe, I felt. Please refrain from saying scary things again.”

“I was merely making a suggestion. We have to consider all options. Our foremost duty is securing the safety of the people.”

“Safety from all kinds of threats, including famine. We can't just rob them, Azurus.” Elizia felt her mouth dry from hypocrisy. She denied it in her own head. I'd have only demanded food if it was harvest season, she tried convincing herself again. “I don't want to leave the field with enemies still showing up every dozen or so days. But we really are out of options this time. I hope you understand.”

“I do, El. And even if I didn't, you could always order me.”

“I'd prefer not to,” Elizia said, turning away. “It feels… wrong to not be aligned in thought with a friend.”

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Luck was not with Elizia this day. She wanted to push through till near nightfall, but a foreign armed force was spotted late into the afternoon. Her soldiers were in too poor a condition to fight. She had greater numbers and mounts, but she feared how many she might lose in this state. She held up a hand to bring her unit to a halt. “Ashes! I didn't think many more enemies would stray this close to the Black Marshes.”

“Me neither,” Faren said, riding to her right. “That there are farmlands here is really surprising. The land must be really fertile for ordinary people to come this near to those accursed grounds.”

Accursed grounds. The Black Marshes were as the name implied. A vast expanse of soggy land housing the ruins of an ancient city. Historians unanimously agreed that it was the site of a battle during the War of Ashes. Though how hundreds of square miles worth of land became eternally blackened and damp, there weren't any proper records. The natural conclusion was blaming the Flame Bearers and their magics.

Not many that ventured into the bog returned sane. Many didn't return at all. Though, nothing strange was ever reported to have left the plains. Or been sighted within it from afar. The only people these days brave enough to enter the city were desperate folk turned treasure hunters seeking to gain riches from an unexplored ruined city.

“I'd be willing to bet that the people living on this side of the river are extremely superstitious,” Azurus said from Elizia's left.

“They are,” Faren answered. “From what conversation I had with a few villagers, they frequently took the name of the Goddess Trillia. Doubt it took much convincing to convert these people from following the Laws of the Eternal Flame to the Trillian faith.”

Azurus grunted in agreement. “Faith gives them something to believe in and cling on to. Xenaria isn't much of a religious land. Or hasn't been since the deposing of the Flame Bearers five centuries ago. The people still held on to a vague belief in the Creator and loosely followed the Laws of the Eternal Flame. The Trillians provided a more grounded faith with a clearer set of rules rather than the Laws which there aren't any records of except within Temples of Eternal Flame. Which, might I add, no sane person dares visit these days.”

“Knowledge from your excursion in Heira?” Elizia asked, peering through a spyglass at the enemy encampment. Azurus grunted again. He was saying something about meeting a historian but she wasn't paying attention. This rebel army had proper banners with an emblem she didn't quite recognize. “Is that… a three pointed flower?” She nudged Valor and he trotted forward.

“Hm?” Azurus asked.

“It is,” Elizia confirmed on her own. “It's the trillium flower. They aren't even trying to disguise themselves anymore. Is the Astral Union really just going to claim Xenaria with a 'holy army' of Trillians?”

“Could just be local men recruited to join them,” Faren said. “I doubt that would be hard to pull off. Troubling that they use those banners now. If they start labelling us as enemies, common folk would believe it all too easily.”

“Their equipment isn't great, but not poor either,” Elizia said. “I don't want to engage in our current state. Water the horses and allow them a quick rest. Send a messenger. See what this farce is about. If need be, we'll run past them.”

Faren nodded, saluting. He relayed the orders. A few riders strode forth toward the Trillian encampment while the rest of the unit headed towards the river bank. It wasn't long before Elizia's messengers returned, followed by two other men on horseback. They wore both wore polished pauldrons with sleeveless white robes hiding platemail beneath. The robes had a golden trillium flower sown in, and each man was built with broad shoulders and thick arms befitting experienced soldiers. The first had a bent nose and the other had scars on half his face. Either accomplished military men, or street dregs who'd failed one too many robberies and had to fight their way out.

They sit with proper posture on their mounts, firm grip on the reins and expressionless demeanor. Military men then.

Valor trotted forward at Elizia's will. Faren and Azurus flanked her from both sides, a further host of riders flanking them in turn. The messengers stopped before Elizia and nodded her way. “Princess Elizia of House Serene,” one of them announced.

The two Trillian soldiers made a show of bowing their heads from horseback. Elizia felt a slight relief, seeing as how no show of hostility was being made. Yet. “You would be?” she asked haughtily, nose to the air and chest as puffed out as a deep breath allowed. She couldn't allow them to see how tired and hungry she was. Luckily, she was taller than them. And being a woman made her chest seem more than adequate. Tight leather pressing down hid the curves enough to make her seem more full of muscle.

“I am Officer Baelor, and this is my adjutant, Croff,” the scarred man said, gesturing to the broken nosed one. “I am the lead of the holy company you see behind me. We've been fighting away rebel forces around the area. Villages surrounding have been most generous in donating supplies to us.”

Elizia ground her teeth behind closed lips. Superstitious bunch indeed. They were more likely to give to a group aligning with them in religion. Even with High House Serene's reputation, the people here in Caranel territory hadn't been very charitable to her small army. “A holy company… Under which lord's charge? Regardless of what your purpose here is, an unaffiliated fighting force cannot be ignored. I would hear your allegiance and see proof of it, or I will be forced to arrest you and ask that your force be disbanded.” Baelor shifted in his seat while Croff narrowed his eyes, bordering on an insulting glare which Elizia could accuse and arrest him for. Assuming she was as petty to accuse a man of such things as Lord Galadin would be.

She was feeling rather annoyed and petty at this moment. Disbanding this group and taking their food could allow her to prolong her campaign maybe a cycle or two longer. Perhaps even earn some good faith from the nearby farmers and villagers. That should have come free of charge with father's silver eagle banners. “I don't recommend fighting, if you are considering it, adjutant Croff,” she said, fixing the man with a glare of her own. “You won't win.”

Baelor lowered his head again. “No such thing, General Elizia.”

A sycophant? Or a good actor? General Elizia. She liked the ring of that.

“My adjutant here can be a little hot headed. I have the proof you seek which I'm certain you'll be satisfied with.” Baelor fished in his horse's pack behind him, pulling out a folded sheet of paper. “By order of the Queen, the Trillian faith, the official religion of Xenaria, has been ordered to field their holy militia to quell the rebellion once and for all to allow peace to thrive,” the scarred man finished, holding out the parchment. Its ends flapped with a passing breeze.

Elizia frowned. The queen? Queen Dahlia would never. Not while Sir Aegis was still captain of the Guard at least. Elizia took the paper and unfolded it. She read it over just loud enough for Faren and Azurus to hear.

“I hereby order Vicegerent Odain to field the holy militia of Trillia to quell the rebellion that has plagued us for a near full year. It is my firm belief that they will be most effective where others have not. The people will be more at ease when seeing an army with which they can identify, and peace will be easier to achieve. Signed Queen Emeria Lakris, Guiding Hand and Shield of Xenaria,” Elizia finished, near breathing out the last words. The air suddenly felt cold. She was sweating she realized. She turned to Azurus but found no solace there. His brows were furrowed —near touching actually. Was he confused or angry? Or scared?

“I do believe multiples of that decree was written by the new queen so that my other colleagues may carry it as proof,” Baelor said. Croff beside him was smirking.

Elizia double checked the letter. She'd recognize Emeria's handwriting anywhere. And the bottom was stamped with a royal lotus seal. An actual royal decree. She couldn't deny it. Nor did she have the courage to shred it and order a massacre. The people in the holy company could well be hapless citizens of Xenaria.

Elizia swallowed her pride and opened her mouth to say what needed to be said. “Very well. We shall leave this area to you, Officer Baelor.” She handed the decree back. He bowed again and galloped off. Croff sneered before following his superior.

“What in Eternal Flames has happened in these few months?” Faren muttered.

“Our plan hasn't changed. We still ride for Exaltyron. Let's pray that the worst has not come to pass.” Elizia glanced at Azurus again. He wasn't frowning any longer. But he didn't say anything. She couldn't make much of what he might be thinking or feeling.

She checked to ensure everyone was back on their horses. “Move out!” she ordered.