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Tyrael removed his weapon belt and sighed. It had been a long day. First an appointment with Ringo and Korrin and then battle plans with Lord Torrcainan at the palace. Tomorrow he had to meet up with Korrin again to coordinate the timing.
He would have tried to do it right away, but the newly appointed king of Safehaven didn’t have time. The cavalier removed his heavy plate mail. Now he was just in a simple tunic and leather breeches. He examined his blue silk shirt and it was soaked in sweat. With a sigh he removed it as well and threw it off to the side, on the floor next to his bed.
A quiet footstep and cautious voice grabbed his attention. He turned his head to the doorway and saw Cylvannia Winterstorm slowly approach him. She closed the door softly behind her.
She was wearing a simple dress, her dark hair cascaded down her back and contrasted nicely with the red dress. Her brown eyes twinkled as she noticed he was half naked. Her eyes trailed down his muscled body, much more built than a traditional elf.
Tyrael looked at her in confusion. “Greetings,” he said finally, feeling slightly exposed.
“I heard you just got back. Busy day my king?” she asked, approaching him. Her bare feet made almost no noise at all as she walked on the extravagant padded red carpet.
The king looked down at her dainty feet and took a deep breath. “Yes, I was all over the region today. It was tiring,” he answered.
She stopped in front of him and gazed into his blue orbs. Tyrael rolled his shoulder muscles and smiled as she spoke, “Then perhaps you need to relax?”
The king felt torn between his morals and his urges. Do I really love her? Should I be encouraging this behavior, if I do not intend to make her my queen? Should I-
Cylvannia interrupted his contemplation by putting her arms around his neck and kissing him fiercely. They moaned together as they fell into bed.
A knock at his chamber door made them both bolt upright. Her brown eyes met his and her face asked a question without saying anything: who was it?
The knock came again. “My king, are you still awake?”
Tyrael chuckled as he got up from the bed and moved across the room to an elaborate oak dresser. He retrieved a green cotton shirt and quickly pulled it over his head. Cylvannia smiled and got up from the bed, heading to the door.
The knock came again and the elven king looked to his friend; with an approving nod he opened the door.
They saw a surprised Eliwood awaiting them, his brown eyes lit up in amusement. He was wearing a green leather tunic and blue mage’s robes. “I am sorry to bother you my king, I didn’t know you had such lovely company,” the ranger mage smirked.
Tyrael smiled and shook his head in embarrassment, making his golden hair more ruffled than it already was. Cylvannia grabbed his hand and blushed.
“Greetings High Priestess Cylvannia. I just have to deliver this scroll tube to our king and then I am gone,” Eliwood bowed causing Tyrael to laugh and Cylvannia blushed even more fiercely.
The ranger mage removed a scroll tube from his belt and presented it to his king. Tyrael took it and grinned, somewhat happy Eliwood had interrupted them.
“Oh, and I just remembered I have another for you. The first one is from the elven council,” Eliwood motioned to the seal on the tube. Tyrael nodded as Eliwood produced another scroll tube, this one from the inside of his robe. “This one is from King Kel of Thann. I have no idea what this is regarding but I can guess the elven council is requesting an audience.”
Tyrael rolled his eyes and adjusted his hair. “And do you have any idea what Kelanen wants?”
“I can only assume it is about our current situation with the war. I am going to take another guess and say it will probably complicate things even more.”
Tyrael’s mind struggled as Cylvannia snuggled into his side and put her arms around him. He was tongue tied by the time her hands started roaming and it was Eliwood’s turn to be embarrassed. The ranger chuckled as his king stumbled and failed to do anything but stand there with two scroll tubes in his hand.
The king managed a nod and Eliwood bowed deeply, “Then I beg your leave. Enjoy your night.” Eliwood smiled and closed the door.
* *
Tyrael lay there with his arms around a lovely elven women. She was beautiful, clever, and she was the High Priestess of the temple of Corellon Larethian. On top of that, she had deep feelings for him. It was a perfect match, wasn’t it?
He looked to his right and watched her as she fell deep into reverie, the elven equivalent of sleep. Her dark hair was everywhere and her breathing was light. Her pale skin shined in the moonlight that came in through the window
behind him.
She was beautiful, but was this right? Could he so rashly make a decision like making her his queen?
“I don’t even know what I’m doing,” he muttered to himself.
Tyrael ran a hand through his golden mane. With the dexterity most elves could only dream of, he gracefully removed himself from the women and got out of the bed without causing her to stir. The elven king dressed into the pair of simple clothes he had been wearing earlier.
He moved across the room quietly to the wooden dresser. He grabbed one of the scroll tubes and opened it. Out popped a rolled up parchment and he bit his lip realizing he couldn’t read it in such light.
The elven warrior glanced back at Cylvannia who slept soundly. With a deep breath, he started casting the first spell he had ever learned. Tyrael kept his voice down and wiggled his fingers. Instantly, a dim ball of light appeared in his right hand. The warrior willed it to dim even more and he examined the scroll.
It seemed he had grabbed Kelanen’s scroll first. He skimmed the message and sighed. It was a request for information about the alliance and how the elves and Safehaven were faring in the war.
Tyrael scrunched up his face in thought. I have no problem with letting Kelanen know how we are doing in the war, but the alliance is still in question. The meeting is set in a tenday, can I really unite the others?
* *
Tyrael marched through Safehaven with battalions of elven archers. They were the elite, the Bronzewood’s First Expeditionary Force. More piled through the gate and soldiers of Safehaven escorted them through the city. Korrin Moonblade himself watched the progression and shouted orders, though most of the civilians had already been cleared out of the market.
On through the city they moved, towards the outer walls where the Great Kingdom’s four armies waited. The sun was high in the sky but Tyrael felt good as a breeze hit him. They reached the west gate shortly and he instructed his finest archers to climb up the ramp and position themselves on the wall. Korrin nodded as the battalion of Safehaven soldiers looked to him to confirm the action.
More and more elven soldiers piled up behind the west gate as his foot soldiers and cavalry arrived. Tyrael climbed the wall to assess the situation. He gave reassuring nods and even a pat on the back to the elite warriors. Though they didn’t need such a simple motivational gesture, he felt it was appreciated.
Korrin Moonblade floated up to the city wall and landed beside Tyrael. His baby blue mage’s robe flapped in the wind and his angular pale face smiled. “With the best of the Bronzewood to reinforce us, we can eradicate all four of these armies in one battle. I’ll precog ahead as much as I can and tell you how to proceed.”
“I’ve been thinking about your tactics. I cannot foresee the battle as you can. Why don’t you take control of the elven forces as well? It is the best idea I can think of,” Tyrael said.
“I suppose it is only prudent. Are you sure?”
“I trust you dear friend. I only hope I will be able to take the battlefield myself,” Tyrael grinned mischievously.
Korrin smiled, “That is just like you.” He put a hand on Tyrael’s shoulder. “I will do as you ask.”
Tyrael looked around and nodded as his elite warriors looked to him for confirmation. “You all will follow the orders of Korrin and his generals in this battle. My elite battalion will stay with me and will join the battle on my order,” he spoke loudly making sure even the soldiers down below heard him.
He noticed Eliwood among the soldiers organizing them into their troops and Janice arriving with a few more battalions. Tyrael looked down the whole entire area around the west gate was crowded. He nodded to Korrin and jumped down from the wall, activating his boots on the way down and came to a slow stop.
The king whistled and Janice and Eliwood approached him. “I have decided to give command to Korrin,” Tyrael informed them.
Both of them started to protest but Tyrael held up his hand to silence the two generals. “This is my will, and as my generals you obey. The will of the Seldarine and Corellon are the same as my own. Korrin has a way of knowing exactly what to do, I fear even my battle expertise would not mesh well.”
Eliwood bowed and Janice nodded. “As you wish,” the both said in unison.
“You will do as Korrin instructs, I trust him with my life as should you. Take your battalions and be quick about giving orders to the commanders. Where is Silverleaf?” Tyrael asked, noticing one of his generals missing.
Janice bowed and motioned for Eliwood to speak. The ranger mage nodded and spoke, “He is rounding up the last of the soldiers. We asked him to secure the rear and make sure there were no stragglers as we went through the town. He should be arriving shortly.”
“Alright, brief him when he shows up. I am taking the elite guard of the First Expeditionary Force, I need them to be fresh when I take the field,” Tyrael smiled.
With confident nods, his generals trotted off to give orders to their commanders. Tyrael took a deep breath to steady himself. He looked out from the wall into the land beyond. On the horizon he saw the armies of the Great Kingdom. The cavalier concentrated and could almost see the figures moving.
Korrin approached him with a slight smile, “They will attack in a few hours. I hope everyone is prepared.”
“How do you know? As I can recall, you could only precog a few minutes into the future,” Tyrael asked with a curious expression.
“You are mistaken dear friend. My ability to see into the likely future has not increased, only my understanding of the magic. I only look to the next few minutes to insure accuracy. The further I go, the less possible the outcome is,” Korrin said as he too, looked outwards towards their mutual enemy.
“Ah, so that is how it works? You know, keeping your little secret about precog is harder than I thought,” Tyrael chuckled as he turned back seeing Eliwood and Janice organize the troops.
“You promised-“
“Peace dear friend. Your secret is safe with me,” Tyrael put his hand up and
smiled.
Korrin grinned and the two friends shared a quiet laugh without words. “I am ready for some combat, how about you?” Tyrael winked.
His companion rolled his eyes but smirked knowingly. “Of course. But I must brief my generals as well. Feel free to eat or ask for anything.”
Tyrael shook his golden mane and chuckled as Korrin waved and floated away.
* *
The elven cavalier spent the next few hours talking with the soldiers and his generals. He took the time to speak to a common soldier. They were his people and he would treat them as such. Tyrael was in the middle of doing some warm up exercises when the shout came from a human high on the turreted wall.
“The enemy is on the move! Positions!”
The cry was echoed throughout the makeshift camp and then the whole city. Tyrael stood up and rolled his shoulder muscles, feeling loose and alert. It was time. The king retrieved his helmet and stood up, reaching for the sky. Tyrael held a grin of determination despite the massive forces moving towards them.
More shouts of alarm and orders rang out. Among them, he placed Korrin’s voice and the commanders began to echo it. He jogged to the west wall and jumped, activating his boots and propelling himself upwards.
He floated up to the stone wall and touched the ground, moving to see the enemy. Sure enough, the Great Kingdom’s armies were marching. Tyrael jumped back down and slowly floated to the ground, in front of his elite force, getting into position.
Tyrael motioned for them to follow him and he moved them to the rear of the forces, passing Janice Sureshot who gave him a confident nod.
Not being in the battle is one of the hardest things I have to do. How I wish I was a soldier again, Tyrael thought to himself. I must keep myself and this elite battalion for when we reinforce Safehaven’s men. Father, grant me the strength to see this one through!
Tyrael remained with his troop as he heard Safehaven’s commanders yell out orders for all mages to position themselves along the wall. He watched as most of them flew or levitated up from the ground.
“Defensive spell six!” echoed a cry from an officer and it was echoed throughout the area. The mages started casting spells in unison and Tyrael was amazed at the coordination. He looked along the west wall and all the way around. Each battle was separate, being given order by generals. Above them, Korrin was overseeing the whole thing. Incredible.
The elven king looked up at the wall to see the various human and elven mages finish their spell. He had to see what was going on!
------
Havoc
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