White Ravens: Advent of War

Battle For Mirea: Part 1

The squad had been riding for a couple of hours since their brief skirmish with the bandits earlier. They had already crossed the Bandit's Pass and made their way through the valley, but the sun was already setting.

The persimmon skies of the Queendom of Wisteria would look picturesque if it weren't for the black smoke rising in the distance. Beneath the hill, around two farsangs ahead, was the town of Mirea. The border town's gates were raised. Atop the garrison, archers lay in wait for any man foolish enough to scale the town's walls.

Even from their distance, Sigil's rune knight squad could hear the cries of battle. Sigil glanced at Rune, and noticed that look in his eyes, indicating that he was raring for a fight.

"What are your orders, Cap?" Gust asked, eager to follow a command; his hands were resting atop the daggers he had on both sides of his waist.

Sigil closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and said, "Yelena, Gust, I want you to ride ahead of us and into the town. Make it known only to the commander that we are their reinforcements."

"Yes, captain!" Yelena and Gust responded while doing the knight's salute. Having said that, the duo rode towards the town. While they were galloping, Gust drew symbols in the air. All of a sudden, gusts of wind formed beneath the legs of his and Yelena's steed, causing the horses to go faster.

'Wind spellcasters sure are impressive,' Yelena thought to herself.

"Don't you think I should've went with them, Sigil?" asked Tatiana, steering her steed towards Sigil's. "I'm no use when I'm not out there aiding our allies."

Zeke dismounted his horse and walked towards Tatiana. "That's precisely why we can't afford to deploy you right away. Your presence in the battlefield could change the tides, and the captain probably doesn't want to let the enemy know that there's a healer among us. They might come after you first, or worse, take you hostage."

At this time, Rune chuckled. "Look who's suddenly being talkative. Nobody likes a know-it-all, Berserker."

"If the situation dictates that I speak, I do so at my discretion. In times of battle, words should not be left unsaid. I don't care if you dislike that I speak my mind, Rune," Zeke rebutted.

Sigil noticed the change in Zeke's personality as well. 'Is this why Rune dislikes Zeke? But Zeke does have a point.'

"That's enough. We don't have time for your petty squabbles!" Tatiana rebuked both of them.

Meanwhile, Sigil was scribbling shapes and lines on the ground using a dagger. He had drawn a large square, a few small circles a few centimeters away from the square, and a large line just beyond the circles.

"The squares represent Mirea," said Sigil. He then pointed at the circles. "These are the enemies, and that line behind them are the source of reinforcements. From this image, what can you infer?"

"That you're a terrible artist?" Rune bantered.

Tatiana smacked that back of his head and said, "Be serious, you fool! Lives are at stake here."

Zeke scoffed at Rune's demise. 'A fool to his very core, I see.'

Rune cleared his throat, and put on a stern expression. "If I recall correctly, one of the textbooks I read in the library mentioned that Mirea has underground passages which were used by merchants and the military to transport supplies and commodities. However, the Queendom's military advisors deemed them as a hazard more than an advantage, considering that all the tunnels lead to Regalia's roads. And so, they sealed every tunnel leading into Mirea. But are we really certain that we've sealed off every tunnel that exists within the vicinity of this town?"

Everyone else looked at him with shock. Rune noticed the way they were staring at him. "What? I read books, too, you know!"

He clicked his tongue and cleared his throat once more. "Judging by the size of their army here, I'm fairly certain that there's another tunnel out there. And if that's the case, they'll be able to mobilize a seemingly infinite number of troops. It could take us up to four days to mobilize that many soldiers, but it won't take them longer than a fortnight."

This time, Sigil acknowledged Rune's contribution to the discussion. "Surprisingly, that's sound insight. I had my hunch that they had a hidden road somewhere, but your theory is much more feasible than mine."

"Gee, thanks for the compliment," Rune replied with sarcasm.

Sigil just looked at him listlessly and continued discussing his stratagem. "Zeke, I'll need you to storm the frontlines and make it known to our allies that you're a rune knight. This will spurn some of the Mirean soldiers to follow your lead with renewed morale. Wreak as much havoc as you can, and don't hold back..." Sigil suddenly trailed off. "Just make sure to survive," he added.

"Consider it done, captain," Zeke responded proudly. He then mounted his horse and raised his broadsword in the air, roaring at the top of his lungs. The sound of his voice was so loud that his peers covered their ears, and even those from miles away heard him.

"I can't believe he's the same Zeke I just met last night," Tatiana commented. "Quite the energy, that one."

"Too much energy for me," Rune said. "Siege, what's our job?"

"Our mission banks on how much chaos Zeke will create before we finish strategizing. The reason I delayed us this much is so that enough of their soldiers join the fray. You, me, and Tatiana will look for the tunnel that you mentioned, and seal it," Sigil replied.

"Hold on, why are we taking Tatiana?" asked Rune.

Sigil pointed at the battlefield and said, "Out there, the safest place for our healer would be to stay with the strongest combatants. Tatiana, herself, is a powerful knight in her own right, but with you and me around, we'll be able to protect her. Besides, something worries me. I don't see any notable commanders among the soldiers in the fray right now." Worry appeared in Sigil's face when those words came out of his mouth.

"With luck, Zeke might lure one of the empire's top dogs with the chaos he creates," Sigil added as he crossed his arms. "But if worse comes to worst, you and I will have to face off with Regalia's finest. A battle of this scale should at least have one of the empire's strongest men."

"And if that happens, you'll need me to back you up, yes?" Tatiana chimed in. "Don't worry, I'll hang back as much as possible. At the very least, I'll try to conserve my mana for healing spells."

Sigil smiled at that. "I'm glad to have you around. I never worry with you on my side." Right after he said that he turned to Rune.

Unbeknownst to Sigil, his words made Tatiana blush.

"Siege, that forest beyond Mirea is fairly vast. With luck, we may be able to find the tunnel within a half hour, but even then, it's gonna be laden with soldiers," Rune responded. "These men aren't the same as the ones we fought in the Bandit's Pass. They're trained soldiers. We may be able to pave our way through some of them, but I doubt we can just bash them all into oblivion. You better have an idea where to start looking."

Upon hearing Rune's concern, Sigil chuckled. "Take a careful look at their position. They're all coming from the left side of the forest, away from the river. They're making it seem like their position is on the left, when in fact it's the opposite. I'm willing to bet you five ducats that the tunnel is there."

"You're right—" Rune didn't even finish his sentence when Sigil cut him off. "But that's not our immediate goal. We'll need to locate their supply tent. As convenient as that tunnel sounds, besieging a well-fortified town like Mirea could still last weeks. Without that supply tent, they'll be forced to withdraw from this battle and escape through the tunnel. Alternatively, if we seal their tunnel before we burn their supplies, they will cut their losses and retreat."

"But you don't want to let them do either of that, do you?" Rune could tell what his best friend was thinking right away. Upon hearing him say that, a sinister smile appeared on Sigil's face. Rune noticed his smile and said, "Why do I always have to do the dirty job?"

"You're the only one with enough mana to burn an entire supply camp to the ground. As much as it pains me to say this, you're the only one I can count on," Sigil said, making it sound like an insult.

"I don't like this color on you, Sigil," Tatiana said with a chuckle. "But I refuse to come with this i***t. I'd feel safer with you around."

"Bah! I didn't want to ask you to come with me anyway! Just meet me at the damn tunnel, assholes!" Rune shouted as he galloped away.

Sigil stared at the battlefield ahead of him. There must be hundreds if not thousands of men on that field, ready to shed their own blood and their foe's for their beloved homelands. For a second, hesitation could be seen in his eyes.