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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Emperor Valerian" data-source="post: 1467535" data-attributes="member: 15043">Difficult Generals, and a Rapidly Approaching Foe”My dearest Lucius,Aeron, the wizard your godfather assigned to us is an arrogant ass!  I cannot believe what he pulled today!  He cast silence on Grumki!  And burned Grumki’s hand!  The party says I was out of line to put my katana to his throat, but I’ll be damned if he is going to sit here and shoot spells at us!I’m afraid you were right, our escorting wizard was nothing like you.  Of course, he wasn’t as handsome, charming, and downright... delicious... mm... can’t wait for you to come back hon... for when you do...”Luke leaned back and smiled to himself as he finished the letter, likely written during the night while he slept.  After a long discourse about her plans for him, Siabrey had went on to describe their day.  Annoying... chiefly because of the court wizard Aeron.“Letter from the missus?” Quin’s voice asked slyly from behind Lucius, and the young man jumped from his seat, before quickly slamming the book shut.“Uh, yes... a letter you can’t read,” he said, turning to look at Quin over his shoulder.  Inwardly, Lucius breathed a sigh of relief at seeing that his bodyguard was standing in the tent’s doorway...far away enough that there was no way he could’ve read any of the more ‘personal’ things that Siabrey wrote to him.“And... why not?” Quin edged forward, hands behind his back but his eyes looking expectant.  “Secret plans... plots?  Secret... methods?” he grinned, before backing away a split second before Lucius took a swing.“Nosy man!” Lucius laughed, putting the books back into his desk.  It’s good to have Quin around... keep the humor going to relieve my nerves some...“Well, that is my job as a bodyguard,” Quin smiled.  “Speaking of which, there’s a small line of people outside the tent wanting to see you.”  Lucius waved for Quin to bring the first in, as he set his chair in the desk properly and stood.  He was technically the commanding officer, but he preferred being polite.“Come right in, miss,” Quin said with a grin... a grin that made Luke a little apprehensive.  What is he grinning abou... Lucius wondered, until he saw the top of a familiar head of raven black hair peek through the tent, and as the young woman’s face rose, a set of green eyes smiled at him mischeviously.“Elenya!  What are you doing here?  How’s the baby?” Lucius as he went up and shook her hand.  “Baby’s fine,” Elenya said, her smiling face changing suddenly to business... with a little apprehension.  “I’m here to ask a favor,” she began slowly, running a hand nervously through her hair. “Of course... state what it is.” Lucius smiled, going over to his chest to pull out a map to examine later.  I bet someone in Irulas is getting saucy with her over living arrangements.  I guess I’ll have to talk to Alexander about that...”I want to join the hospital outfit with this army,” Elenya said finally.  “They won’t let me join... they say its too dangerous for a pregnant woman, as if I don’t know how to take care of my own body!” she grumbled.  “I have healing powers!  I want to...””Elenya,” Lucius interrupted her, dropping the map to give her the sternest, most fatherly look he could muster (despite the fact he was two years her junior), “they have those regulations for a reason.  It is dangerous... and you have two...”“I know!  But Lucius,” she darted up to him and grabbed his shoulder, “I want to do something to help!  Shauny is off to find that totem or whatever!  I want to help in some way... not sit on my ass in Irulas twiddling my thumbs and knitting!”“In all honesty, Shaun would like it more if you did that...” Lucius began, before Elenya’s darkening countenance caused him to backtrack. “Lucius!” her own matronly tone came loud and clear, “if they won’t allow me officially to go, I will just follow the army, and help out anyway!  Don’t tempt me to be difficult... I will!”  Her hands darted to her hips, and Lucius sighed.“Fine.  Fine... but you’ll have to deal with a worried Shaun.  I’ll let you in on one condition though..”“What’s that?” she crossed her arms, looking at him with one eye narrowed.“You cannot go to the front lines, run around with a sword, or in general act reckless.  That’s my job.  Stay with the healer’s in the rear... and if an order comes for you to retreat, do so.  Those are the conditions.”“Siabrey would so kill you if she heard you saying your job was to be reckless, you know that?” she gave a grin.  “She’s not here to know that,” Lucius gave a small one of his own, even as Elenya nodded she’d accept those terms and gave Luke a grateful hug.  He was about to speak again when he heard the raised voices of a tussle occuring outside, and Xanadu shoved into the tent, past a Quin that kept shouting he needed to wait his turn.Something major is happening... its not like Xanadu to breach protocol or cause a major public scene...“Lucius!  The mongrel army is in Cherabis... barely a week’s march from Irulas, coming hard!” Xanadu fumbled in the pockets of his coat, before pulling out a dispatch, sealed with the wax marking of the dragon... from the Imperial family.  “Empress’ orders... we march out tonight!”Lucius grabbed the paper from him, opened it and scanned.... before folding it back up and handing it to Xanadu.   “57,000 mongrels marching this way, with some backup of some kind... they don’t know.  When do I meet the other Imperial commanders?”“Now,” Xanadu grabbed him by the arm and began pulling him out of the tent.  “Quin... tell these other interlopers that they’ll have to wait!  Luke,” he turned back to the young man, now commander, “immediately after the meeting, we go to the marshalling fields.  There, you’ll announce to the troops that we’re marching out, and I’ll reveal my true form.  We’ll need to be fast,” Xanadu continued as her pulled Luke past innumerable tents and stabled horses, “as we need to march out quickly.  We could see battle in as little as five days.”The camps were already chaos as Xanadu and Lucius approached a massive white and orange striped tent which had the banner of the Empire flying above it; a golden dragon on a white background.  Orderlies were running in and out of the tent hurriedly, while aides held nervous horses whose fine plumage and feathers indicated they were the mounts of Imperial generals.“Lord Lucius Caladron!” some unseen orderly barked as Lucius opened the tent flap, and there was a scrunching noise as eleven people collectively scooted their wooden chairs across the wooden planks thrown down above the soggy ground.  Lucius stopped, and took in the sight.Directly facing him were eleven men... the chief officers of the army... his army he kept reminding himself.  Of them, he only recognized one... a man with a long mane of a beard that was edging more towards grey and white than salt and pepper.  The man was a giant, though he now had an eyepatch over his left eye that Lucius did not remember him having.   A smile crossed his face at seeing Luke, and Luke gave Sir Santac a warm smile in return.  Too bad I can’t give him a hug... he’s going to be trusted friend in this sea of... pompousness?Sir Santac sat on the closest end of a long, ornately carved wooden table laid in the middle of the tent; the position for the most junior officer.  The five people sitting to the left of where Lucius came in were decked out in various fine armors that had family crests on them... a riot of reds, blues, silvers, whites, all commanding various parts of his forces... usually their family levies in addition to smaller holdings.On the opposite side of the table were five men whose uniforms were exactly the same... white armor with a golden dragon emblazoned on its shoulder pieces.... generals of the Imperial Army.  They were in charge not of feudal levies, masses of peasants given spears coupled with private armies that fought for money, but of professional, lifelong soldiers... the core of Lucius’ fighting troops.  And the closest influence Zoe or any of her minions would have on Lucius from now on.  While four of the men clad in Imperial colors regarded Lucius with curiosity, one noticeably scowled... Luke made note of his face, to match it with a name later on.“Please, gentlemen, be seated,” he said, walking to the opposite end of the table and taking his seat.  I... said that?  To Imperial generals?  I ordered them? part of his mind questioned, still not believing fully that not only he had given orders to professionals, but that he gave the orders calmly, without any fear or anxiety.  The rest of his mind paused for a few moments while he gathered his thoughts, and then he cleared his throat.“Ahem... well.  It appears you all are... aware of what intelligence has arrived...” Lucius spoke calmly, and then his mind went blank.What next?!  Ask for their opinions?  Issue orders?  What orders?  March now?  Echelon... what? his mind began to panic, and silence dripped from the room as small beads of sweat formed on his forehead.“Gentlemen,” Xanadu’s voice rose from the corner, where the dragon still stood.  “We march out tonight, and as Lord Lucius’ chief of staff, I am curious as to the dispositions of your troops.”Thank you Xanadu, Lucius thought, and not for the first time.“Hmm, well...” began a gruffy noble, who Lucius finally recognized as Lord Holgren, “my levies are ready for a brawl.  Especially since that bard came around yesterday with her fighting songs about you,” the noble pointed at Lucius, who smiled uneasily.Tess? his mind asked.“Yessir.  All five thousand of my men are ready and prepared, horse and foot.  And let me say, by the words that were spoken of your skills yesterday, I am pleased and honored to serve under a man so capable in combat!”  Holgren had a smile on his face that didn’t look entirely genuine, and Lucius smiled back nervously.He’s kissing my ass for something... likely down the road...  Lucius’ mind thought before a gruff, “Hmph,” came from the scowly Imperial general.“I myself still have reservations, no offense m’lord, if I may speak candidly,” the man, a greying beard around his aging face and yet another scowl on his face, said roughly.  “I have served and fought for some 30 years,” he started up, his voice aquiring more and more vigor and distaste, “and never have I served under a commander with such lack of experience!  I do not question Lord Lucius’ desire, but he does not have a background in command!”If my hide didn’t rest on this, I would agree with you, Lucius thought as the general continued to disagree, slightly less than respectfully but still fully within decorum.  As is though, I need to rein you in.Before Xanadu could open his mouth, Lucius cleared his throat.  “As much as General?” he asked politely, having not gotten the man’s name.“Diogenes, m’lord.  General Pieatris Diogenes.”“As much as General Diogenes has the right to his opinion, I am currently in command.  Likely I will come to you all for advice, and I look forward to your good counsel.  Nonetheless...”“It is truly a sad day when a veteran of Her Imperial Majesty’s service is ordered around by a beardless boy,” the one known as Diogenes muttered under his breath.  Lucius’ nostrils flared, and the general was greatly surprised when the ‘beardless boy’ brought a fist down hard on the table, causing it to shake.“General!” Lucius snapped,  fury mounting within him.  “Such talk borders on insubordination!” Lucius warned through teeth gritted.  He almost had what he’d refer to as a ‘Siabrey moment,’ where a string of profanities was on the tip of his tongue, ready to launch at the object of his fury, but he managed to keep himself in check.  I need to ACT commander-like... to earn their respect!Diogenes nodded abruptly, though his eyes betrayed that he had far more to say.  Even as Xanadu began staring the man down, a growl curling on the dragon’s lips, Lucius scanned the rest of the commanders;  All were looking at him, waiting, as opposed to Diogenes... a good sign.I need to REALLY thank Tess if... no.. when!  When Luke... be an optimist!After a brief status report from the other commanders, they finally settled down to the business of devising marching orders... which was mostly handled by Xanadu, in his self proclaimed capacity as “Chief of Staff.”  Lucius wasn’t sure what that position formally encompassed, though he was willing to let Xanadu guide as much as the dragon felt he could handle.“They are marching in force!  60,000 mongrels at least!” one of the Imperials, a fellow named Autokratis snapped.  “Now, for some reason, we don’t know what else is with them....  beasts, demons, or whatnot!  For all we know, this dragon that the Crown Prince speaks of could be in their midst!”“If they split their larger army up,” Holgren groaned, “we would be forced to split ours to cover their attack routes... we could be cut to piecemeal...”  he gestured towards the map, pointing to the fields on the banks of the Inerman, just two day’s march and across the river from where they army now sat.  “If they get here... they could split... int three or four... and dart every which way, keeping each one large enough to maul us until the others arrive to finish us off.””Now lets not get paranoid over ‘ifs,’ ‘buts,’ and unknowns,” Santac grumbled, a pipe already in his mouth.  “True, the Empress has given us scarcely more information that where the enemy is... I do not know why...”I know perfectly well why, Lucius thought, she still wants me to be defeated... so she can claim all the glory... perfect sense... of course, I can never publically say that... dammit!“We march by this road... through Chandriol, onto their location,” Lucius said, tired of the debate about information he already knew they would never recieve.  It was the quickest route to the threatened areas of the realm, just across the Inerman river... and the route that would bring them into battle fastest.“With all due respect, m’lord,” Diogenes opened his mouth again, his courtesy belying distrust, and now, anger, “marching by that route takes us through the woods near Chandriol, a place where the mongrel scouts could bushwack us.  It would be...””...more advisable to march north of the woods near Chandriol?” Lucius asked, finishing Diogenes’ sentence.  “Normally I would agree, but time is of the essence.  If we take the time to march north, they can find and deploy on ground of their own choosing.  If march quickly, we can choose where the fight will happen.”  I might not be a seasoned veteran of war, but I do know that speed wins!“M’lord... unless we march with undue haste through that wood, we invite disaster!”Diogenes said, more animated now.  “And then what?!  We march across the Inerman, and fight them with the river at our backs?”“If we don’t move quickly, they will realize they can split their forces, as General Holgren said,” Lucius nodded to the commander, “We have to strike before they get that idea, and get into a place where they can implement it.  The large plains just on the other side of the Inerman are the ideal place for them to split their army into... three? Four units even.  We’d have to cover who knows...”  Lucius looked around, and saw the other commanders nodding with his logic.“Am I deaf, or are you actively proposing to fight with the river at your back!?” Diogenes stood, and leaned over the table, his eyes wide.  “Madness!  And you all listen to this whelp?” Diogenes close to snarled.  Lucius rose from the table himself, a growl rising in his own throat.“Diogenes, if you would...” Lucius said, doing well to keep his voice under control.  “Utter stupidity!” Diogenes continued.“... please return to your... DAMMIT SIT DOWN!” Lucius finally roared, and Diogenes plopped back into his seat.  None in the room save Xanadu had seem him lose his temper, and the commander’s all shrank away as Lucius continued, his voice once again eerily quiet and normal in tone.”Now,” an icy pleasantness rose in the air, “We march through Chandriol.  We make ourselves look vulnerable by having the river at our back... lure them into engaging where we have a trap set up.  Now, I’m planning on riding ahead to scout out the terrain...”No further outbursts came from Diogenes or the other Imperial generals as Lucius explained his plan...</blockquote>

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