STAY OF EXECUTION: 1254 (5-8)
Benarion
The war against Gorassos was finally underway, and Benarion watched his siblings leave with Innokentios and the army of the Despex. While he had also been in agreement with the war, he was still worried that this might be a bad idea. He had met the Skull-Taker and knew what kind of monster he was, how cruel and insane the self-proclaimed Aautokratir could be. This was the man who led a bloodied perversion of the Aversarinas Aagiokrata that was mostly focused on shedding blood and inflicting destruction. And his brothers were now on their way to fight this monster. He hoped that they knew what they were doing, or this might result in disastrous consequences for House Lekares. But it was not like he could do anything at the moment. He simply had to calmly wait and be patient.
But one opportunity did present itself with the resignation of the Despex’s Chancellor. This ally of Cornelia had been opposed to joining the revolt, which she perceived to be suicide. While Benarion couldn’t exactly criticize her opinion, considering his previous experience with Gorassos, he was not going to support her when her resignation was such a boon for him. Now his father needed a Chancellor to help him handle the diplomatic affairs of the Despex. And considering the current situation, filling this vacancy was a priority. Of course, Cornelia would be swift to find another stooge to do her biding, which was something that he could not allow.
Benarion was in an excellent position to become Chancellor. First of all, he had managed to present himself as an acceptable candidate to both sides of the family during the planning of a marriage with Viviana of Philippaeras. He was seen as a docile and inoffensive man that could be promoted to greater heights without posing a threat to anyone’s ambitions. He could also claim (much to his regret) that he had diplomatic experience, as he had been his father’s envoy to Gerassos and had stayed in the Skull-Taker’s court for a month. Benarion had made sure to use this time in the den of the beast to get closer to his father, knowing that while his father could easily change his mind with a simple push, it was still useful to have his sympathies.
But the issue was still Cornelia. His mother-in-law would certainly try to block his appointment in favor of someone else if he proved too willing to have it. She would never let him get in a position from which he would be able get in the way of her wasteful lifestyle and greedy embezzlement. This put him in a difficult situation, one that was solved with the involvement of Zoe. This was noticeable (and worrisome) as Zoe had also expressed an interest for the position on a previous occasion. So why was she surrendering her chance to help him?
His shrewd sister pushed hard for him to be made the Chancellor, to which Benarion simply agreed. Their father was all too willing to let Benarion handle the diplomacy of the Despex, and Zoe made sure that the appointment was confirmed before Cornelia could convince Gregorios to change his mind. Zoe’s help had been greatly welcomed, which is why it made Benarion uncomfortable. He didn’t like being in his sister’s dept. When he asked her why she helped him, Zoe simply smiled and said:
“Us siblings have to help each other when we can.” Benarion could only sigh, wondering what favor she was going to ask him for this.
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Damianos
Damianos stood tall among the other officers. This was particularly noticeable next to the small sized Innokentios, who stood at the center of their room, overseeing the map of the region that was laid on the table. Damianos stood next to the wall of the cabin, looking at the way everyone was moving with the ship. They were on the open sea now, transporting their ships wherever Innokentios decided. And finally, the Marshal was going to tell them his plan for this campaign. Finally! Damianos was getting so impatient that he would probably have asked for them soon had if the man not assembled them today.
“We will move to the Despex of Hellane.” Innokentios declared, pointing at the territories just south of the islands that composed the Despex of Eryras.
“There we will be able to join force with Kothexir Hyppolitos and Despexir Philotheos.
“It will be as simple as that?” Plinios asked.
Innokentios looked at the heir with a frown on his face. Damianos had noticed how Plinios often tried to but in the decision making of the campaign, as if to assert himself. It was obvious to everyone that Innokentios did not appreciate.
“Lord Plinios, this is the best strategy. Surely the same suggested to our allies by their Marshals, who they WILL listen to.”
“Why not just attack Alympia?” Plinios asked.
“The polis is the capital of the Skull-Taker, is it not?”
“That would mean forcing a siege on a well defended city with our meager troops, which would take months to achieve in the best of circumstances.”
“I think we can wait such siege.” Corvus suggested.
“We should not!” Damianos declared.
“I cannot believe we would waste time like this. We need a clear victory, and we need it now!”
“How?” Corvus asked.
“We need to fight and defeat Gorassos now!”
“With the meager forces we have?” Demetrios asked, clearly finding the proposal dubious.
“Is this not why we need to link up with our allies?”
“The young one got it right.” Innokentios said while pointing at Demetrios for emphasis.
Damianos frowned at his younger brother. At this moment, he really wished that it was Arthoris and not Demetrios who was by their side.
“Is a direct battle really the best path?” Plinios questioned.
“I must admit to some reticence, considering the man we are facing.”
“Lord Plinios, it is better not to be cowardly before battle.” Innokentios mumbled before turning to the other officers.
“No, we move to our ally’s territories. As long as we all cooperate on this, we will come out on top.”
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Demetrios
Demetrios cursed once again at the lack of coordination in this rebellion. Instead of waiting for them, their allies had instead made separate plans to go besieges lands or islands in the western part of Gorassos’s territories. But then Despexir Philotheos of Hellane was caught by the forces of the Skull-Taker before he could reach his ships to embark, cutting them off at the city of Ankysthenes. This left the strongest ally of their coalition in a dire situation. Thankfully, Innokentios had planned to go to the Despex of Hellane, which meant that by the time the battle started in early Tyrgade (7), the forces of Eryras were ready to jump in to assist their ally. The situation wasn’t ideal, as this battle had been forced on them instead of being careful prepared and organized by the rebels. But at the very least they had the forces of Kothexir Hyppolitos also close. Once he joined in, things should go perfectly.
So why was this battle turning so badly? Where were the forces of Kothexir Hyppolitos? Reports said that he was extremely close to Ankysthenes! Just as annoying, he did not have enough magic stored in his body to launch any spell (not that he had learned many so far). He fought with a sword in hand, slashing as he could and pushing his enemies away. Even if the two sides had the same number of troops, Demetrios could see that they were the one being pushed back. In the middle of the action, Demetrios noticed a man in armor, one of the enemy commanders. The young Lekares recognized him as the man who had served as Gorassos’s envoy earlier this year, the infamous Black Braxos. It seemed that the man also remembered him, as Black Braxos smiled at the sight of Demetrios.
“A Lekares has come to die!” the man sang cheerfully as he made his way toward Demetrios.
Demetrios gritted his teeth and prepared himself to fight.
“Kothexir Braxos.” was his only answer.
“What a well behaved noble.” Black Braxos the former peasant said with a gleeful expression.
“I will enjoy making you bleed.”
And then Black Braxos charged at him.
Demetrios had to keep his cool, playing it defensive against this brute. He was just a violent peasant that had been promoted because he believed in Gorassos’s nonsense.
Black Braxos proved him right by launching a series of hits directed at his arm. The bastard was trying to hurt him before killing him. While he didn’t have his magic, Demetrios was skilled enough with his sword to defend himself against these attacks. Instead of discouraging Black Braxos, Demetrios’s parrying seemed to only embolden his enemy.
“Come on, boy!” the man taunted.
“Attack! Attack!”
Black Braxos tried to punch him, which Demetrios barely avoided. He needed to put some distance between them. He needed space, time to think, work out a strategy. Black Braxos simply chuckled at this, walking around as if this was just a training session. Demetrios still kept his guard up. Black Braxos simply smiled and ran at him, making wild strikes that were easy to read. Demetrios kept his defense up for a while, always making sure to never give him an opening. But if things continued like this, enemy troops might come to Black Braxos’s help. He needed an opportunity.
Eventually, Black Braxos made a strike too wide, too open. Just the chance Demetrios had been looking for. He moved his sword, readying himself for a horizontal slash against his enemy. As he pulled his weapon back to strike, he felt a fist connecting with his stomach.
“Finally!” Black Braxos shouted.
“I’ve been waiting for that opening for ages!”
Demetrios coughed as he tried to catch his breath. He was stumbling on his feet, trying his best to keep his focus on the fight. He firmed his grip on his sword as he saw Black Braxos approaching with a gleeful expression. Demetrios swung his sword at his enemy, who easily dodged it. He himself did not dodge Black Braxos’s attack.
“GAAAH!” he screamed as the iron of the sword cut through his face in one diagonal slash.
The pain was difficult to bear. He had never felt anything like this. He fell to his knees out of shock, his hand immediately moving to his injured face. Blood was leaking from the large cut, slowly dripping into his eyes. His obscured vision could still see Black Braxos, who was cheerfully walking his way.
“This was fun, little Lekares.” the man said with gleeful satisfaction.
“But I am a busy man. Your end has come.”
Demetrios saw the sword being raised, and he tried his best to pick his sword to protect himself. He also felt the heat as the flames that passed over him. Black Braxos rolled away just in time. Soon enough, the grass between the two opponents was burning, a wall of flames stopping them from reaching each other. Demetrios turned to look what had happened. The blood in his eyes made it difficult to see, but through the red he noticed a paled skin man in armor with reddish eyes, his hands still burning with the magical fire he had just thrown out.
Plinios looked at him for a moment, clearly hesitating about something. His older brother still had his sword in hand. After a few tense seconds of hesitation, Plinios shed back his sword and offered Demetrios a hand.
“Get up!” Plinios ordered him
“But the battle…” Demetrios asked as he took his brother’s hand.
“This is a lost cause. Now get moving before they get through the fire.”
Demetrios put his weight on his brother, with Plinios helping him advance. As Plinios served as support for his brother, the albino simply whispered three words.
“You owe me.”
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Corvus
Corvus was in the middle of the melee. He wasn’t as skilled as Damianos when it came to fighting, but he was still able to fight with his sword. And in more difficult situations, he still had some magic stored in his body. The fighting around him was pure chaos, and he had difficulties getting away from his enemies. And then, in the middle of it all, he saw him. It wasn’t hard, considering his size. Corvus had always considered Damianos tall, but his brother paled in comparison to the Skull-Taker. Gorassos simply walked his way, getting closer and closer to him. Nothing stood in his way, as if the monster was barely bothered by the men he dispatched.
Innokentios seemed to have noticed it too, as he rushed to protect Corvus.
“Lord Corvus, get awa…”
Innokentios didn’t have time to end his sentence as Gorassos’s mace struck his head. It shred the helmet, as well as the half of the head that was hit with it. The remains of Innokentios went flying away as blood splattered in the air. Some of it landed in Gorassos’s mouth. From the way he was moving his tong, Corvus could only guess that the Skull-Taker was… tasting it? Confused and in shock, he had little time to prepare before the monster stood in front of his, a menacing presence looking down on him with a devious smile.
“Lord Corvus, heh?”
Corvus instinctively took a step back, but he didn’t have much room to move with the chaotic fighting going on around him. Gorassos raised his mace and struck down. While Corvus blocked it, a second blow simply went through the blade, breaking it in two. What kind of monster had such strength?
“I will not die here!” he declared defiantly.
Corvus decided to use what magic he had against the Skull-Taker. But as he prepared his hands to launch a spell, Gorassos’s massive hand went around his neck. He hesitated between trying to remove the hand or using his remaining breath to work out a spell. This hesitation cost him his window of opportunity, and soon enough everything went dark.
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Theophana
Theophana hated the fact that she had to live with people who might be using magic against her. She had hoped that with her Magi brothers gone she would finally be free of those strange actions of hers, but now she found herself with new Magi. Hermon now resided with them, even though he was probably the Magi who was tormenting her! Even worst, Anabasia was clearly colluding with him. Why else would she have married this man? And now his great-grandfather was part of the court too? Married to Zoe? Outside of her father, she started to wonder who she could trust in this polis of theirs. She found it more and more difficult to attend family meetings now that their numbers were growing. While she was good at putting a face and being “social”, her mother still harassed her to try “harder”.
Thankfully, she was soon offered a reprieve from this when her father came to her asking for assistance. Her father wanted her to help him gain a better acknowledgement of living magic. While Gregorios showed little interest for most affairs, magic was one of the few things that got his attention. After seeing all these new Magis enter his household, including one who studied in an ancient imperial academy, he felt the need to improve as a Magi. With her brothers absent, he had decided to turn to her.
“I hope you do not mind helping your old man with books and studies?” She quickly agreed to the offer, rejoicing that she had an opportunity to get away from Hermon and her mother.
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Anabasia
The news they had received from Damianos had left their mother in shamble, and he understood why. The forces of Kotherix Hyppolitos never came to Ankysthenes. The battle was a complete defeat because of this, with Hyppolitos only later realizing his mistake and charging (now alone) against the forces of Gorassos. This left the Skull-Taker with two victories and the rebels weakened, according to Damianos. Meanwhile, Demetrios was wounded to the head and Corvus was nowhere to be found. With Innokentios dead, Plinios was now leading a retreat up the coast. What a mess they were in. Her mother was certainly shocked by this news. While she made no effort to hide the fact that Damianos was her favorite, the fact that her two Magi sons were at a risk of death. Anabasa wisely decided to leave her alone after she heard the news.
Talking of this news, no one had told lady Viviana about it. Corvus’s wife had yet to be informed of her husband’s fate. She was currently pregnant with Corvus’s child too. It might be a good idea to tell her what had happened at Ankysthenes. Anabasia decided that she would be the one to tell her the news. She eventually found lady Viviana relaxing in a chair with view of the sea. She didn’t sit, simply standing next to her.
“Yes, lady Anabasia?” Viviana calmly asked.
“Your husband is either dead or has been captured by the Skull-Taker, which is probably no better.”
“What?” the woman asked in shock.
But Anabasia had already left.
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Zoe
Her marriage was supposed to be easy. She was supposed to have married some old senile man from the west who could be used to annoy Plinios and the others if needed. Someone to present for events and then forget in her room while she had the real fun. She was even kind enough to do it once with him, just to give him a taste as a thank you for the role she had for him. She had planned her whole thing to get married while keeping as much freedom as possible. That seemed like a great plan. Except that she had gotten pregnant with him from that one time! Now she was carrying a child in her belly from a man that was almost thrice as old as her father!
Even worse, she had to handle his bossy attitude all day long. He was stubborn and always in her way, loudly stopping her from visiting other men in private (and once he caught on, women too). He always shouted that she was his wife and should know not to humiliate him like that. He was embarrassing her publicly with his outbursts, and when she tried to tell him to keep these private, he said that he wasn’t afraid of presenting his married life to the court. No matter what she said, no matter what reasonable argument she provided, Egina never changed his mind. On anything. He was the most stubborn man she had ever met, to the point that she wondered what was wrong with him.
She eventually asked her father about her old husband, wondering if he could help her understanding Egina’s stubbornness. Gregorios simply asked her
“Zoe have you… ever heard of Ordstund?” he asked her. She had, and it soon clicked. Ordstund, the Gederða that shook the Aversarian Aautokrata in 1168, heightening the worst traits of the Magi nobility at the time. Egina was born in 1121. He had been alive for Ordstund, which made his stubbornness tenfold. This was why he never changed his mind, why he always tried to have his way and never ever changed his opinion, no matter how unreasonable he was. The old man was magically insane! Oh, why had she not thought of that? In selecting him as her husband, she simply thought of his age as a mean of gaining a weak and senile husband who wouldn’t last long. She hadn’t considered Ordstund!
She needed to get rid of the old fart, and fast. Thankfully, the death of Innokentios at Ankysthenes provided a good opportunity to do so. The Despex was in the need of a new Marshal, and Egina seemed like a good choice for a replacement. Using the favor that Benarion owed her for making him the new Chancellor, she pushed her older brother to assist her in making her husband the new Marshal. Of course, Cornelia saw this as an attempt to seize control of the Despex by her step-children and tried to get in the way. But for once, the stubbornness of Egina proved to Zoe’s advantage, as the old men continuously pestered Cornelia about this now that he decided that he wanted the job. He went as far as to wake up Cornelia (and Gregorios) in their bedroom during the night shouting
“MAKE ME MARSHAL!” Spooked and tired, Gregorios quickly agreed to the demands, with Cornelia too taken aback by the old man’s resilience to oppose it. With this, Egina would hopefully be shipped to lead the war, and Zoe would finally have her freedom back.
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Arthoris
He felt bad about the battle, considering how things had gone for his brothers. Demetrios being wounded, Corvus’s fate left unknown, Plinios and Damianos routed… Thankfully, this feeling of sympathy was quickly squashed. First, he was happy that this brat Demetrios got hurt. He deserved it for stealing his place on the battlefield. But more importantly, this awoke his ambitious nature. After all, this was a great opportunity for him. With Corvus gone and Demetrios hurt, he might find himself the last brother that Damianos could rely on. It might even make his mother value him more (though he doubted it). And who knew? Maybe his father would finally agree to let him study magic with him. After all, he was doing this exact thing with Theophana, so maybe there was a chance for him to join?
But this would be for later. Right now, he wanted to use this opportunity to finally make his way to the place he belonged: the battlefield. He wanted to see the fighting, see the action. And he was going to go see it. He knew that his mother was quite shaken by the news of the defeat at Ankysthenes. And he knew that the new Marshall (Zoe’s husband) was soon to be sent with reinforcements to take command of the war. He needed to be on that ship. He found his mother still worried, trying her best to distract herself with her duties as steward. From the tired frown on her face, this was not working.
“Mother?” he asked as he entered the room.
“What?” she answered in an annoyed voice.
“What is it now, Arthoris?”
Arthoris did his best to hide his annoyance at her reaction. If it had been Damianos who had entered, she would never had been that upset.
“I have news of Damianos.” he said, trying his best to make a sad face.
“Tell me!” she demanded, jumping out of her seat.
“Brother is fine, though he is tired of walking around on the coast.” Arthoris explained.
“Plinios seems to be in charge now.”
“I do not care about this stupid albino!” she shouted.
“Do you have any news of your brothers?”
“Nothing on Corvus. And Demetrios is still hurt, with no news on his state. For all we know, he might be on the verge of death.”
“What?”
“That is all we know so far, sadly.”
“How could things have gone so wrong?” she mumbled, more to herself than to her son.
“I think it would be wise to recall Demetrios home.” Arthoris suggested.
“For his own safety.”
“What do you mean?”
“Mother, we don’t know what happened to Corvus. If you lost Demetrios too, then it would only weaken your position against Plinios and his siblings.”
“And I’m guessing you would be replacing Demetrios?” she said, seeing what he was trying to do.
Arthoris shrugged.
“Someone has to be there to support Damianos.”
“All you want is to go fight!” his mother accused him.
“You do not care about Demetrios’s wellbeing.”
“True, but it does not make me wrong. I learned my place.” he said with a grin.
“Mine is on the battlefield, while Demetrios is at home being a Magi. And between the two of us, it is better that he stay safe while I risk my life.”
“Indeed.” his mother agreed, a bit too fast for his liking.
“Very well. I will arrange this with your father. You will be going with that old Marshal when they leave the polis.”
“Thank you, mother.” Arthoris said as he exited.
He could barely wait to see his younger brother’s expression when he showed up.
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Plinios
The defeat at Ankysthenes had been a disastrous affair for everyone involved. Neither Innokentios nor Corvus were present during the retreat, which could only mean that they were dead. In the chaos that ensued, Plinios found himself in the perfect position to take command of their battered troops. Of course, there was also Despexir Philotheos, who had fled with them. He also tried to assert his dominance over the fleeing troops. However, Plinios was able to keep control over the troops of his father, in part because Damianos decided to support him against the leadership of Philotheos. Rhis led to much disputes between Plinios and the Despexir, with the two allies eventually agreeing to leave each other alone and just continue along the coast without bothering the other. C
Plinios relished in his position of leadership. For once he was the one at the top instead of the one trying to get power. For once, Cornelia wasn’t her to get in his way. He was in a position of leadership. No one was giving him orders (no matter how Despexir Philotheos wanted to). He was no military expert, but he knew enough to keep his troop moving in order, avoiding enemy cities outside of the occasional raid to resupply. Of course, there were still some challenges to his authority.
“We could attack Alympia!” Damianos complained.
“With the Skull-Taker distracted, this is our chance!”
It is true that at one point of their march, they could have simply veered south and move on Gorassos’s capital. Except that they were even weaker than they had been when Innokentios had opposed the plan. While it was true that the defenses were probably diminished due to Gorassos’s absence, chances were that the Skull-Taker would simply arrive and kill them all before they had a chance to capture the city. But Damianos was too impatient to accept that victory would take time and wanted to achieve a win as fast as possible. He even went as far as to protest Plinios’s leadership, he who had supported it against Despexir Philotheos. Demetrios was able to get his older brother under control, reminding him that such a small victory was nothing compared to their eventual triumph against the Skull-Taker, if only they waited. Plinios patted himself on the back for saving this brat’s life.
While he didn’t want to go for Alympia, attacking the lands of Gorassos was the ultimate plan. Like his siblings, Plinios was deeply interested in revenge against their enemy. The Skull-Taker would pay for what he had done, for the humiliation he had inflicted on House Lekares. They made their way in the most north-western part of Gorassos’s realm, with plans to take the polis in the area while the Skull-Taker was occupied on the other side of his territories. This was a good plan, unlike Damianos’s suicidal attack on Alympia. Even better, he had been informed that a small batch of reinforcement were on their way. Plinios thus began the siege, prepared the camps and waited. While he sometimes had to deal with an impatient Damianos every day.
At the end of Broende (8), these reinforcements finally arrived. There were less than what he would have hoped, but it still helped. Surprisingly, Arthoris was with them in full armor. Wasn’t he supposed to stay behind? Even stranger was the presence of Zoe’s old husband in full armor, who looked down on the assembled troops from atop the shit. He simply smiled and shouted:
“I have come to show you kids how we fight a war!”
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