Marked Ones: Advent of the Demon Prince

As the sun rose over the horizon, the armies supporting Princess Lethaya gathered at the bridge. Lucius and Kalliope had once again inspected the troops, though this time was prior to battle. Kalliope found herself wondering why he was so concerned with ensuring the troops were outfitted appropriately.

Though it was confusing at first, it turned out to not be entirely a waste of time. Lucius ended up finding several men and women with damaged blades or armor that had yet to be replaced. Much to the chagrin of the warriors at the main camp, he ordered that the front liners exchange faulty equipment with those at the rear.

He argued that since they were the first line of defense, they should have higher-quality equipment.

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Several of the nobles who were assisting in the campaign attempted to complain but were quickly silenced by Fayril, who seemed to have a strange fascination with how Lucius was handling things. Kalliope was unsure why this elven general was helping them so much, but she also realized that he was the serious type and likely took his orders extremely seriously.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

A few hours after daybreak, Kalliope's ears twitched, and she turned her head to the bridge. It was hard to see due to the distance and the rise and fall of the bridge, but the enemy army seemed to be mobilizing. Lucius caught on as well and nodded in confirmation of their plans. She knew he had not told her every part of his plan, but despite that, she trusted him completely.

Kalliope ran to a spot front and center of their advancing forces and began to walk in time with them, holding herself a few dozen feet ahead of them. She started to gather mana for a large-scale spell Lucius asked her to prepare. She initially wished to fight on the front, but he forbade such actions.

Part of her wished she had kept her mouth shut about the probabilities since they likely weren't accurate given his half-blooded biology. If she had, maybe he would not have been acting so overprotective of her.

Kalliope cleared her head and focused her attention on the front two rows of troops. Each row stood twenty men, side by side. Focusing on those forty men, she cast her spell, "[Lux: Mass Enhance Strength]!"

A golden light erupted from her hands as she turned around and spread them outward toward their troops. All forty soldiers she had targeted received a small mote of light that settled in their chests. Visually, their muscles tensed and seemed to swell with additional power. Veins bulged slightly in their necks and arms. For her part, Kalliope barely kept herself standing.

This had been the first time she cast such a spell and due to the number of targets, she was nearly wiped of mana. She growled to herself after realizing that this was likely part of Lucius's plan to keep her from sneaking away to fight. She was bloodthirsty and enjoyed fighting, but she was not stupid.

As if summoned by her frustration, Lucius ran forward and swept her off her feet before carrying her back behind the lines. He smiled smugly at her as he set her down back at the forward camp. From where they were, they could observe the pending battle with impunity.

Since they were slightly uphill from the bridge itself, Kalliope could now see the enemy forces advancing on their position. She could also see the discoloration of the stone along the entire central third of the bridge. Blood from past battles seeped into the stone and tinged it red, while soot and ash from the burning of bodies served to darken the reddish hues.

Whatever battles had occurred prior to their arrival had clearly been harsh and numerous. It was fortunate that they managed to hold the bridge because if not, then that carnage would have occurred much closer to the capital.

"Will you not be joining them?" General Fayril asked. He stepped up from behind them with an inquisitive look on his face. Kalliope was curious what Lucius's answer would be because as Fayril had seemed to deduce, Lucius preferred to lead from within the battle.

Lucius smiled wryly. "It's not time to make my appearance yet. Also, I'm unsure if I would be helpful at the moment."

Fayril looked at both of them closely. His face showed a look of understanding at Kalliope's own condition. Her mana reserves were completely tapped and even with a recovery potion or food, she would not have enough mana restored to participate in the battle. On Lucius's side, his face was slightly paler than before.

This had originally escaped her notice, but seeing the pause it gave their elf general, she found herself concerned.

She attempted to ask what was going on, but she was cut off with the wave of a hand and the shaking of a head. Lucius advised her to simply watch the battle. He made no special plans for this fight other than a mass enhancement for a handful of their troops. This fight would go just like the previous ones, and both she and Fayril understood that fact.

*****

Desmond and Snow led a contingent of mages and archers up the river towards the first bridge. The camp there was much smaller and matched the size of the enemy force on the other side. They also experienced a number of skirmishes, but they were on a much smaller scale than those at the primary battlefield.

Most of the troops they traveled with were from the magic corps and of them, most of them were earth magic specialists. Snow was unsure how she felt about the plan they were told to implement. Lucius wanted them to use the earth mages to construct a dam early tomorrow morning. They would be responsible for holding off the enemy forces long enough to dam up the river.

Snow was concerned that doing so would make it easy for the enemy to cross the riverbed once the water hand vanished. Lucius assured them that the make-up of the soil would prevent them from being successful and that any attempts to cross in that manner would result in them becoming easy targets to archer fire.

This was the reason he outfitted them with additional support from the main camp's regiment of archers. Snow was impressed with Lucius's foresight and also understood why Lethaya wished to recruit him. A decent man would never have used the tactics that he had cooked up for this battle.

"Everything alright?" Desmond asked.

"I feel uncomfortable with these methods." Snow admitted with a quiet sigh. The two of them kept their volume low to prevent any of the troops they led from overhearing them.

"They would not be my first choice either. However, you have to admit there is a genius to it." Desmond sighed.

"Sure, but how will he handle…"

"I have only known Lucius for a scant few months. However, I have quickly learned that he can find a way to 'handle' most things. I can guarantee that he only told us the portion of his plan that pertained to us. Likely, after we left, he shared more with Kalliope. Even then I am sure that he has other parts that she doesn't even know."

Snow shook her head in disbelief. Her cohort made these claims with such conviction that it left little doubt in her mind that he spoke anything other than the truth. That in and of itself was also concerning. How could he place such trust in someone who did not seem to even trust his lover with his secrets?

"Don't worry too much." Desmond advised. "He is willing to sacrifice a lot. However, he will not sacrifice us."

"How can you be so sure?"

Desmond laughed. "Well, I could claim that because we consider ourselves friends now, he would be unlikely to betray me. Barring even that, there is a certain amount of calculated risk that Lucius lets himself take on. If something happens to us, then he has to replace us with someone else.

"We are a known quantity. At the very least he has an idea of who we are and how we think. When it comes time to make more decisions and plans, he prefers to rely on people he understands. Though, I prefer to think it's the 'friends' thing."

Snow began to rub her temples in frustration. She had no idea what it was that brought Desmond to have such faith in the man known as Lucius. It was entirely possible she simply held a bias against the man from her own preconceived notions based on how her mark interacted with him.

"You truly have such confidence in him?"

"If I didn't, then I would not have left my sister in his care back at the main camp. I would rather have her on the field of battle and beside me if I am otherwise unable to guarantee her safety."

"Would she not be a liability here? She has no Compatibilities, only a mark."

Desmond laughed again. "Sure, but in this environment she…" Desmond paused for a moment. His face showed a confused expression, but then his eyes widened as if coming to a sudden and surprising realization. "That clever bastard…"

"Is something wrong?" Snow asked. Her voice clearly held a bit of panic. Even she was able to recognize it, so it was clear that Desmond would as well.

"Not at all. In fact, I am beginning to think I had still underestimated him. He really is able and willing to use everything at his disposal to win. To think he realized the potential as well."