“It’s fine.”

Dys glared speculatively at her mentor, one eyebrow raised and with her head turned askance. 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

“Really?”

“Yes,” Noll grumped before tearing a chunk out of the slightly burnt meat he had in one hand. “No problems.”

Jadis continued to stare at the old wolf, her suspicion raised. It wasn’t that she thought Noll was lying to her; the veteran had never been anything but honest and upfront with her, even when he had been ordered to spy on her. If he said that there were no issues for her to deal with at the staging point, then she believed him. However, nothing seemed to go smoothly and without issues for Jadis… ever. She just couldn’t wrap her head around the idea that she didn’t have any fires to put out or enemies to repel or handle whatever other thing that was about to blow up in her face.

There was just no way there wasn’t something wrong.

“The Savage One is correct,” Vadim stated in his heavily accented way. “We have handled the issues. Vse khorosho. Take your ease.”

“Alright,” Dys rocked back on her heels as she regarded the two therions. “That’s… great news. I’m also getting a report from General Salvius and General Ovinius on what’s been going on. Do either of you have any details you want to give me?”

Vadim looked to Noll with deference, but the old wolf merely gestured for the younger to speak. Nodding, Kerr’s brother motioned towards the wall that stood only twenty yards from their campsite.

“We have scouted the surroundings. As many Demons as we could find are dead. Stoni. Very many. But the way is clear for… Kakoye slovo?”

“Properly cleared for forty miles east in a line ten miles wide,” Noll filled in when Vadim’s Imperial failed him. “And another sixty miles beyond moderately scouted. All as of yesterday evening.”

“That’s really great news,” Dys said, her tone showing her surprise and appreciation for the information. “I thought for sure there would be hordes of Demons knocking down the walls by now with how many soldiers we have gathered here.”

“No,” Noll shook his head, his expression sharp as he chewed on his meal. “They’re not acting like dumb animals anymore. They’re waiting for us to come out of the walls. Then we’ll see blood.”

While Jadis didn’t find comfort in Noll’s dire prediction, she didn’t shy away from it either. The Demons knew they were coming. The fight wasn’t going to be a simple sweep and clear; she had never thought that it would be. Jadis just had to do everything she could to make sure the enemy’s preparations were no match for her own.

The army encampment of the staging site was well fortified. A small river gully had been expanded upon to create a wide canyon and moat with a high dirt embankment on the camp’s side. Huge bonfires were constantly burning all around the edges of the site in an effort to keep the air clean of the demonic miasma that was emanating from the captured territory, and several mages who were capable of casting wind magic were working on a constant rotation to keep a breeze blowing eastward.

As Jadis had seen when flying into the camp with Alex and Wilhelm, hundreds of wagons were already loaded and ready for transportation. No animals would be used to pull the supply wagons; mules or oxen would just serve as fuel for the Demons who would seek to possess them or use their bodies in the creation of twisted horrors. The soldiers themselves would be serving as beasts of burden. Such hard labor probably wouldn’t have been possible on Earth, Jadis mused, not if the soldiers were meant to be fighting fit by the end of the march. But with the power of a system that gave enhancements to a person’s strength and stamina, the soldiers would be able to handle the loads. The only animals that would be present were the cavalry horses, which numbered around fifteen hundred mounted soldiers. The men and women who were trained in mounted combat had classes geared around empowering themselves while mounted, so they would be severely handicapped if they went into battle without their horses. The cavalry would be acting as couriers along the trail the army left behind rather than scouts and skirmishers, though. The terrain ahead was no place for horses.

Nor was the land in any condition for people, for that matter.

“The road from Septa to Scala is far worse than we had hoped,” General Salvius explained as his finger traced the map on the table in front of him. “Whether by accident or design, the Demons have dug up the area for approximately ten miles. The wagons will not be able to pass, not without significant effort on the part of the soldiers or earth mages.”

“Our mages will be able smooth out several miles,” General Ovinius added, his back straight and his mouth firm. “But without magic replenishment potions they will run out of their reserves quickly. We can detour to the north, but—”

“Don’t worry,” Wilhelm interrupted the general. “We’ll be able to handle clearing the way. My Arch Mage has spells prepared specifically for the roads. Let us worry about those details. You two just need to focus on your men.”

The two generals looked immediately mollified by the Hero’s confident reassurances. Jay couldn’t help but be a little envious of the man’s ability to take command without triggering a defensive reaction from people in leadership positions. If she was feeling petty, she could have attributed the ease of his interactions to the general “hero worship” that people had towards Wilhelm. He was a deeply powerful cultural icon, after all. However, Jadis knew that was only part of the reason. The truth was, Wilhelm had a naturally calming and appealing personality. People liked him and so, they wanted to listen to him. His charm certainly worked on her, she had to admit.

If only she had the same effect on the princes, then maybe Jadis would have had an easier time in the empire’s political scene.

“We are prepared,” General Ovinius stated with his eyes firmly on Wilhelm. “I have every confidence that, with your help, the Demons will fall before us like wheat before the sickle.”

“Together, we will take back Kastoria,” Wilhelm nodded confidently. Then, turning to look up at Jay, he raised his fist and forearm towards her. “Right, Jadis?”

“Absolutely,” Jay agreed without hesitation as she knocked her own forearm against the Hero’s in a noisy salute. “Those bitches won’t stand a chance.”

“Indeed,” Ovinius echoed, though his gaze seemed to slide away from Jay. “Then I will attend to the last-minute needs of my troops. Good day to you.”

Jay did her best to keep the displeasure out of her attitude as she watched the general go. He was one of the two men in charge of the Voltonian side of the march which meant she had to work with him. He wasn’t some unqualified noble who had gained the position out of nepotism or some other irrelevant qualifier, either. Ovinius was a high CLR soldier with decades of experience under his belt who had earned his position as a general thanks to his personal power and battlefield acumen. He was absolutely the right man for the job. He was also one of the only people available for said job, as there weren’t many generals left in Volto to take the position. The only problem was, it was pretty clear that Ovinius didn’t like Jadis. More specifically, he hated Alex, which carried over to everyone associated with her.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

General Ovinius was a shorter man than Salvius, but only by a couple of inches, which put him in the range of slightly below average in height. Unlike his curly-haired cohort, Ovinius shaved bald, with the only sign of hair on his head a light stubble that salted his chin. He had the solid body-type of a laborer and his skin was the same dark tan as Sabina, though the general had far more wrinkles. When he spoke, his voice came out in a heavy rasp that sounded nearly painful, which had Jadis wondering if Ovinius was a smoker. Otherwise, his appearance was unremarkable, except that he was missing the first knuckles on the ring and pinky fingers of his right hand. Jadis had heard Noll call that condition “soldier’s bane” as it was common for fighting men to lose pieces of their hands and fingers in battle. The missing digits were just another sign of an experienced warrior, which made her next question all the more frustrating to ask.

“Is he going to be a problem?” Jay quietly asked Salvius as the second general left the central command tent.

“No,” Salvius shook his head, not needing to ask for clarification. “Ovinius puts his duty to Volto over all else. He would not risk the success of this venture for the sake of his own complaint.”

“I can speak with him,” Wilhelm offered with a small frown tugging at his lips. “I could try to convince him—”

“No, don’t worry about it,” Jay shook her head at the Hero’s offer. “As long as he minds his manners, I don’t care what he thinks. Alex doesn’t either, for that matter. Not everyone in the world has to agree with us and what we are. Just so long as we can work together against our common enemy, it’s fine.”

Wilhelm nodded along to Jay’s words without further comment. Instead, he turned his eyes down to the map and pointed out the location that had been marked for their second night’s camp.

“Given the speed that you and I can move across the battlefield, I think that we should scout out to the next point. If there’s nothing nearby for us to address, we should be proactive about further targets.”

“Agreed,” Jay picked up her helmet and moved to strap it on. “Salvius, do you have anything else to add before we head out?”

“Only that the rest of the Gods’ Children are hoping to meet with both of you and your parties tonight. Shall I let them know you will be available? I can move your designated campsites away from them, if that is your wish.”

Jadis was confused by the phrase at first, but when Wilhelm responded, she caught on to what the general meant.

“So long as nothing unusual delays us, then yes, I believe we would all be pleased to meet with the avatars who have been so valiantly defending Volto from the invasion.”

“Right,” Jay agreed as she patted Wilhelm on his shoulder. “We’ll be there. It should be… interesting.”

Jay’s voice faltered before she could say “fun” as part of her response. She hoped that a meeting between the many various avatars who had been fighting against Demons for literally years would go well, but she couldn’t help but harbor a few doubts. Mostly those uncertainties revolved around any Valbjorn who would be present, as Jadis hadn’t had a stellar record with the bear-like people. Plus, their god apparently hated her guts for some reason. Who knew how that would translate down to his avatars.

Aside from the unknown number of Valbjorn that Jadis knew would be present, there would also be Seraphim at the camp. House Ferrum, the Seraphim Jadis had met in Thracina, had several members already at the staging point, along with several more Seraphim from other houses that had been fighting on the battlelines ever since Kastoria had fallen. There would also be any number of Lares who had largely been acting as mobile healers, though Jadis had been told that there were a few combatant Lares as well. What those fiery cat people would be like, Jadis couldn’t begin to imagine. Aside from those groups, Jadis guessed that there might be a few Golems, though she didn’t know for certain. While she doubted there would be any Dryads from the local area, the Leviathan would be arriving with all of the Dryads from Soteria’s grove later that night, so the Children of Villthyrial would be represented as well.

Jadis didn’t think she had ever even heard of such a large gathering of avatars in one place before. While she hoped that everything would go alright, she still felt enough apprehension regarding the coming meeting that she fully believed her estimation was correct. The collection of Avatars would be, in a word, interesting.

“We are… Departing…?”

Syd nodded absently in response to Alex’s question. Her eyes were on the ruined horizon, but her attention was on her closer surroundings.

“Yeah, we’ll be doing a quick run about sixty miles east to see what enemies might be along the way. We’ll be back here in time to see the airships arrive.”

While her other two selves were gathering information from Noll and the generals, her Syd self had stayed along the bulwark wall, walking the perimeter with Alex. While her stated purpose had been to get a direct look at the land surrounding the staging grounds so she could have a better idea of what the army would be dealing with, her true goal had been more subtle. Jadis wanted to see how the soldiers would react to having Alex walking among them. This wasn’t the first time the Demon had been around the Voltonian military, but the last time had been during a major battle when there had been little time for the individual men to do anything other than fight for their lives, much less think about the fact that a Demon was standing at their side as an ally. Their reactions were not guaranteed to be positive, even if Alex had the protection of an agreement made between Jadis and the Voltonian government for her safety.

Thus far, Jadis had been, if not pleased, at least satisfied that no major incident appeared to be in the works. Most of the soldiers had politely saluted Syd and Alex before going about their business without comment. Some had given Alex lingering glares and there were certainly whispered words. However, those instances were in the minority, as the majority of the men and women kept their attention on their tasks. Maybe they weren’t happy to see Alex, but at least they had their priorities straight. Jadis could appreciate that much.

And maybe, when the soldiers saw Alex fighting on their side, they might forget their hatred of Demons and welcome Alex as a comrade and friend.

And maybe Hraustrekr would realize he was being a giant prick and dedicate his life to world peace.

“Noll and I are coming this way now,” Syd stopped her slow walk and gestured towards the inner camp. “Wilhelm and I won’t be far behind. We can get moving in a couple of minutes.”

“Do you… Wish for me… To speak with… Enemies…?” Alex asked as she turned to look in the direction Syd had pointed.

“I guess if we come across any Demons, we could try that,” Syd shrugged as she watched her Dys self and Noll crest one of the inner earthworks that divided the interior of the camp into sections in case of a wall breach. “Realistically, I don’t think we’ll be able to convince any Demons who have been fighting in Volto for a long time to speak peacefully with us, but it’s still good to try. The more we can pull away from Samleos, the better—”

Syd reacted instantly as her Dys self noticed a flash of light on the horizon. Moving at lightning speed, she interposed herself between the light and Alex, wrapping her arms around her lover as she moved to one side. Less than a second later, a black and gold light struck Syd’s back, glancing off of her armor with a loud pinging sound.

“Wha—”

Jadis was going to shout out a curse of confusion, asking what had just happened. However, before the first syllable had even left any of her lips, the black and gold bolt of magic that had ricochetted off of Syd’s back struck the side of the earthen berm between where Syd and Dys stood. A blast of energy radiated outward for ten feet on impact, creating a shimmering golden sphere that partially caught two soldiers in its radius. When the sphere disappeared a moment later, the man and woman collapsed to the ground, screaming in agony. The parts of their bodies that had been touched by the magic had shredded their armor, skin, and flesh, leaving behind a bloody mess that splattered across the ground.

“We’re under attack!” all three of Jadis screamed as loudly as she could.