The Lightbearer's Gift

The 10,000 strong force marched across the plains leading into Suncrest’s territory. The Baron, most of the noble commanders and officers were dressed in overly ostentatious armor. Lira interestingly enough was the first woman who I have seen wear armor with overtly feminine features. She was wearing a combination of plate and leather. The breastplate was shaped with the clear suggestion of a bust. I wasn’t sure if it would affect the effectiveness of the armor but it’s not as if she would ever be in melee combat.

The barons sent a forward force that would secure the marching route, scavenge for supplies and provide advance warning for any kind of ambush. It took well over a week before we passed into their lands and another two days before we reached an enemy village.

Myself, the baron, his mages and a few guards rode our horses into the main square of the village. I have been attached to the baron for most of the travel. Every morning, I would apply the radiant carapace to him in the evenings he would go over reports with his generals and decide on marching orders. It was a strange situation as I seemed to be largely ignored by the older and more experienced commanders. It was only after a few days that I realized I was little more than an odd curiosity at times. It was largely the same for the other mages unless knowledge or action of a magical nature was required. It was expected that we would not make many comments in the meeting. I chafed at the begrudging respect they threw at me because of my power and usefulness.

“Any problems?” The baron asked one of the scouts.

There were a few dark red circles of pooled blood on the ground, but no bodies to be seen.

“Most of the Villagers fled but there were a few……………stragglers that caused trouble……..M’Lord” he added at the end. He seemed to be slightly lying but the baron either didn’t notice or didn’t care.

“Very good then any supplies?” the baron asked.

“A few dozen bushels of hay, flour, barley, a dozen pigs, 4 goats, two cows and even a few sacks of rice” the scout said as he read off a list.

“Continue on. It will take some time for our supply train to catch up and I don’t want to reduce speed.”

The 20 men saluted, got on their horses, and left to continue scouting forward. The baron had been running them ragged the last few weeks, but from what I knew they were paid well. There was still a few more hours of traveling to be done so we continued on leaving the looted village behind. I glanced at the drying pools of blood for a moment and wondered what actually happened to the citizens. This continued for weeks as we passed village after village the baron’s forces, consuming every scrap of food we could gather from the villages and surrounding land.

The day was finally ending, and the baron’s entire army was resting for the night. Hundreds of tents were being erected in concentric rings with the barons and his top commanders in the center. Cookfires, lanterns and torches provided just enough light for me to navigate through the maze of tents. I, of course, walked around with a glowing ball of light in my hand.

What was left of the bronze spears and 40 other men were corralled around a set of cookfires. A few looked up as I approached since my light orb was far brighter than any torch.

Sten could have bedded down in the innermost ring where there was better food and greater safety, but he wasn’t the type of man to enjoy luxuries his men didn’t. There were suspicious glances as I entered their small encampment, but the magical light was enough to tell them that I was a mage and not to be trifled with.

“Moon.” Sten said as I approached, lacking the jovial tone he usually had.

“Hello Sten, how are you?” I asked. I was a bit starved for conversation since the baron’s men, while cordial and respectful, didn't seem to want to be around me. I didn’t know if it was because I was an elf or if I was a mage.

Even his mages seemed to be distant, usually too occupied with some tasks to have an extended conversation with me. My work was almost unending, constantly healing the men as they practiced hard and organizing a medical force to efficiently evacuate injured soldiers from the battlefield. I was earning thousands of gelding from the work since the baron and I had a second agreement for the upcoming battle .

“Good enough. The travel has been hard, but we have scavenged quite a bit of food from the land.” He said.

The cookpots seemed to have some kind of stew going and knowing the culinary skill of the typical soldier I decided not to partake in it.

“The pace is impressive. Apparently, there is to be a battle either tomorrow or the day after.” I said.

Sten gestured towards an empty place on the grass, and I took a seat.

“Surprised to see you down here with the rest of us. Tired of the nobles already?” Bast said, giving me an inscrutable stare.

“They make for poor conversation.” I said.

“Their endless flattery ran out rather quickly didn’t it.” Brandons said. I glanced over at him observing the lines of exhaustion that framed his usually handsome face. I didn’t answer but in reality, that was what it felt like.

“What are your plans after the war?” I asked everyone.

“I’m opening a tavern and got more than enough coin for it.” Mikah said excitedly.

“You already know my plans.” Sten said. starting to eat from a bowl sitting next to him.

No one else said anything for a few minutes either unwilling to share or just unwilling to share with me. Why is that? Even Mikah looked around with curious glances as no one responded. I suppose they wanted their plans to remain a secret then. None met my gaze and no one seemed interested in conversation with me.

“Very well then have a good rest.” I said.

If I wasn’t wanted around, then I would leave. I got up and turned away, deciding to leave the entire area for some time alone with my thoughts. As I cleared the last ring of tents I noticed heavy footfalls behind me. I turned around to see Breala following me.

“Hello Breala.” I said.

“Moon” she said in acknowledgement. It only took a few strides for her to catch up to me.

“Why are you following me?” I asked.

“I wished to speak. It has been some time since we have exchanged words.” I thought back to the last time I had actually sat down and had a conversation with her. It was only after the drake which was months ago.

“You aren’t upset with me like the rest of the company?” I asked.

“They are not upset but I believe they blame you for the company disbanding.” Breala said. I had to raise an eyebrow at that. How in the world was I to blame?

“Explain.” I asked.

“They believed that without you the baron would have never taken notice of us, and we could have continued on as a company for much longer. The swiftness with which you chose to serve the baron soured their opinion of you.” Breala explained.

“Do you share this opinion?” I asked.

“Yes, though I hold no contempt for you within my heart. You made a choice to increase your strength and position. The pursuit of greater strength is always preferable to stagnation.”

Perhaps her orcish upbringing is why her opinion differed.

“It’s nice to know someone understands.” I said.

We left the encirclement and made our way to the edge of a nearby forest. The wandering scouts came over but left as soon as they saw my face. Most people in the army knew who I was at this point. We sat down at the base of a tree enjoying the cool wind for a moment until I spoke again.

“You didn’t answer my question, what will you do after the war.”

Breala thought for a moment and said. “I will return to my clan.”

“Why?”

“The orc clans near the border feud constantly. We do nothing but war against each other for scraps of land and coin. It is my dream to unite my people.”

“Would the clans unite under a half orc?” I asked. In most spaces half-bloods are usually looked down upon. In elven society they are downright hated.

“We are not like humans or elves, the only thing that really matters is strength, the weak die and the strong live.” Breala said.

I was for a moment considering hiring her as a personal guard or something but based on the faraway look she had when talking about her dreams of uniting the clans. I doubt she would accept.

“What about you?” Breala asked.

“I do not know. Serving the baron has been underwhelming and I have more coin than I know what to do with. My magical ability has been growing but has plateaued.”

“It seems you lack direction.” She said,

“Without memories I have no real goal beyond continued survival.”

“Have you no hope of returning your memories?”

“Yes, but the problem is how, the greatest healers are in the imperial capital, and I have no means of introduction. The elven clans have healing techniques that might work. but according to Lilian the elven matriarchs would view me as little more than a tool to breed with or a threat to their power..”

“Why? Your beauty and power?” she asked.

I’ve never actually mentioned me being a royal elf to anyone and all the humans I had met at this point had no clue what my coloring meant.

“Essentially yes.”

I paused for a moment as one of the sentries who were one watch rode past us.

“I’m barely an adult by elven standards and my current strength is no match for them.”

“I see the problem.”

She paused for a moment and then continued.

“Why not try to heal yourself of whatever binds your memories?”

“I’ve already tried but I lack the power to even detect what’s wrong with me. So, I’m stuck with the eternal question of what to do?”

She looked at me as if the answer was obvious.

“What would human nobles be willing to sacrifice to have your power?”

“Much.” I said thinking of the thousands of gold I would earn from this war.

“How much could you force out of them?”

If I forced the issue with the baron how much could I have earned double? triple? If my unique ability to grant power to people was known, what would they pay for even the smallest taste?

“Much more. But therein lies the problem. I am only one elf, and I don’t have the power to repel every attack from a noble if they don't want to pay my price. They have armies and I do not.”

“Then you need to be able to kill armies. Or build an army of your own” Breala said, again as if the answer was obvious.

She continued “You wish to walk among them and gain access to power and influence. But you are an elf not a human, they will never tolerate your rise. So, you must kick down the door, not wait for someone to open it for you.”

I thought about her words for a moment. They were simplistic but there was some resonance with my own feelings as of late.

“You have given me something to think about.”

Even if I had the power to kill armies I still needed to rest and at that point I would be vulnerable. Against someone like Lilian I fear I would be at a major disadvantage. I would need to find allies.

Allies that I could mold in a way that suited my needs. They couldn’t just be tools, however. Their loyalty would have to be real and deeper than mutual benefit.

Thinking about the drastic increase in magical ability that happened after my overexposure to Life Ether and large amount of physiological enhancements that occurred over the proceeding weeks; That gift is likely priceless.

How do I even go about finding someone trustworthy enough to receive it? None of my current allies have any real loyalty to me, just what I can offer them.

We sat in silence for a few minutes. It was a nice companionable silence that didn’t require conversation. Looking up at the sky I realized it was night now. I didn't really need any kind of rest at the moment, but it would be prudent to meditate for a few hours so I’m fresh in the morning.

“We’ll likely see battle tomorrow. If any of the company needs healing afterwards, be sure to send someone to find me.”

I got up, strapped my useless sword to my waist as she taught me, and prepared to return to my tent.

“Moon,” Breala said, grabbing my attention.

“Would you be willing to share a tent with me tonight?” She asked with a tone so casual that it took me a second to realize what she meant.

“I would, though I never thought you had any interest.” I said as she got to her feet.

“You are a bit too pretty for my tastes but if I should die tomorrow or in the coming weeks, I would like to have at least one less regret.”

“That is a sentiment I can understand.” I said with a chuckle.

“Your tent then?” I asked.

“Yes”

We returned to the encampment where Breala had a tent to herself. Most of the cookfires were out at this point and only a few stragglers were still sitting about or bedding down for the night. Breala and I got some curious glances as we entered the same tent. It was only tall enough that she could stand crouched. She closed the flap and immediately started undressing, I followed suit.

Hours later I rose from my meditation. Breala had one arm and a leg draped over me as I ended up staying the rest of the night in her tent. It was a strange experience sleeping with a woman so much larger than me. I didn’t know what I expected but she was rather gentle during the entire process given the massive strength difference. It was much different from my time with Clarissa, there was no foreplay nor any heated teasing.

The sex was almost mechanical as she desired release before the upcoming battle, as much as I did. She was clear about what she wanted and had no issue in asking me to speed up or slow down. She even seemed excited when I asked her to ride me. The only thing that was odd was her desire for constant eye contact, especially when she peaked. That was certainly a sight I won’t soon forget.

Now I was playing the little spoon with her body pressed against my back. The heat of her skin was higher than a human, so I was comfortably warm. With her body draped over me and her laying on my hair I would have to wake her up to leave.

“Breala” I said as I tapped her arm.

She grumbled as she began to wake from her sleep. She sat up unstrapping my hair and rubbed at her face.

“Is it Morning?” She said as she glanced through a crack in the tent’s opening. It wasn’t but we were marching early, and the baron wanted me to attend another early morning strategy meeting.

“No, but I have some duties to perform for the baron.” I said.

“Ah ok.” She said, sounding disappointed.

I awkwardly dressed with Breala watching me the entire time.

“I will be leaving as soon as the war has ended.” She said,

“I suppose there is a chance we will not see each other again or we may die. If that’s the case it has been a pleasure knowing you.” I said.

“It has been a pleasure Moon.” She said as she held out a green hand for me to shake. That seemed a little formal after all we did from last night. I knelt down, so I was the same height as her sitting position. She raised an eyebrow as I started to move my face towards her.

She leaned into the kiss; it only lasted a few seconds before we moved apart. Oddly enough she was blushing, the cheeks of her face a slightly darker green. That was rather strange considering all we did last night. With one last appreciative look at her still nude body, I left the tent so I wouldn’t be late for the barons meeting.

Only a few miles out from the capital of Suncrest, we were on a hill with a slight incline, the sun to our left. Suncrest’s forces were a little over a thousand feet in front of us. 14,000 enemy soldiers were in neat rows as they started to get into position. I was in the front line with the baron, He, Lira, and I had the most powerful radiant carapace I could muster to protect us from any arrows, spells or blades. Her job for this battle was to decimate their left flank while we maintained the center.

Slowly the two armies started approaching each other, commanders were barking at their soldiers to maintain formation. As we closed the distance, I could see that the commander’s prediction that they would try to soften up our middle by using conscripts was correct.

Their armor was of a far lower quality, eventually both armies stopped marching and soldiers began to assume formations. For a few moments there was an early silence. Then there was the sound of a loud horn and the armies charged.

I was on the front line with the baron, but it wouldn’t be for long. At a signal from one of the commanders, the front line halted. And I with 30 men to guard me continued for another 30 feet. The enemy army seeing us slow down apparently took that as weakness, it spurred them on even faster.

Once they were roughly 100 feet in front of me, I held my arms out to my side and dual casted radiant lances. Two 300-foot beams of light extended out from my hands.

I hesitated for a second as I truly realized I was about to kill hundreds. But at this point I couldn’t stop the oceans of men coming towards me. Then I brought my hands together.

In a massive arch the two beams cut men to pieces. I couldn’t hear their screams of terror as the lance made its way towards them, but the great rush of bodies made it impossible to retreat. So, I ended up killing even more than I had initially expected.

I crossed one hand over the other and brought them back to my sides. The entire process took no more than 15 seconds but, in that time, the field was littered with severed bodies. One of the guards to the left of me muttered “hells” as he saw the field of corpses.

The rest of the charge managed to stop and as soon as I dissipated the beams. Our army continued their charge. Stepping over the mostly dead bodies once the baron caught up, I continued along behind the frontline. Projecting a 50-foot shield over the baron and his personal soldiers. Once the two lines started to clash both outside and inside my shield, I realized we were finally in range of their mages and archers. Arrows bounce off the shield easily and occasionally a large spike of earth or a ball of fire would collide with the shield. After about a dozen, someone realized that trying to bring it down was pointless. And they decided to aim for the edges instead.

A large pulse from the left flank alerted me to a magic. A massive bloom of fire erupted in the distance. No doubt that was one of Lira’s fire spells. All around me men screamed and cursed as they fought to the death. Since my shield was safe from the constant rain of spells and arrows many started to crowd around it hoping for safety.

Since I was near the front it partially intersected with the enemy line. Resulting in a strange safe zone where the baron could fight to his heart’s content, killing peasant after peasant with his mithrite sword. Their pathetic armor and weapons could do almost nothing to him.The combination of the radiant carapace and his plate armor made him practically invulnerable.

20 minutes later after we had pushed considerably deep into the enemy line. I shouted so that the baron could hear me.

“TIME”

It was a signal to the baron that I could only maintain the shield for 5 more minutes. I had at least 10 more minutes left in me, but I didn’t want to risk the baron becoming overzealous and completely depleting my strength. The baron looked back at me and nodded and shouted.

“BACK TO OUR LINES” the baron shouted.

We had pushed deep into the enemy’s lines and were starting to take heavy losses from the constant arrows and spells though those were now relatively few since their mages were no doubt depleted.

As the two lines broke apart it was apparent that we had taken losses. Horns sounded coded alarms across the army to retreat back to our lines. As we returned the Suncrest’s forces followed trying to kill any stragglers. It wasn’t until they were in range of our own archers that they stopped. It took almost an hour for the two armies to properly break apart.

The baron, the generals, commanders and I were currently in a large tent discussing the reports from the last battle.

Martin Announced, “Lira’s attack was devastating to their right flank. We estimate enemy casualties to be 800 and 1000 we lost about 300 in the melee.”

Brennon, a large stoneface man who didn’t seem to like me said. “We were essentially even in terms of losses on the left. Their additional mage caused problems; the casualties were between 400 and 500 on either side.”

The Baron nodded. “That much we expected to do a good job keeping the bleeding to a minimum.” He had a deep drink of wine and continued.

“We have wiped out most of their conscript horde. Almost a thousand died to Moon’s spell, the rest fell to our blades. According to reports we only lost 300 in fighting where they lost over 2000 conscripts.”

The men cheered at that number since the armies were at relatively even strength.

Martin said. “According to reports they plan to move the mages closer to the front so Moon can’t repeat what he did. Their main center force has also not seen combat so they will be fresh.” That slightly soured the mood.

They argued back and forth on how to handle the next battle reports constantly streamed in about troop movements. But in truth I cared little about what was happening, my mind was focused on my kill count.

‘Almost a thousand?’ I thought to myself. I wasn’t sure how I should feel about it but there was to be a second battle today, so I’ll have to save soul searching for later.

I was assigned to the left flank with Lira. I was replaced with Denerim to keep the baron safe. My task now was making Lira do as much damage as possible, exhausting her stamina. Then use an overcharged energize to restore her. This should be enough firepower to turn their flank, allowing us to surround their force.

The charge was sounded, and the second battle of the day began. There were a few rows of people between Lira and I so she started casting. I casted a shield just large enough to encompass myself and our guards.

The power of the spell she was about to cast was immense as she continued to feed power into the spell circuit. Over a minute passed before she was complete. During this our position was bombarded with spells trying to stop whatever she was casting. The power was so immense that I was sure even normal humans could feel the ripples in the Ether.

“Ready” she shouted.

I dropped the shield and instantly raised a second one. A large orb of fire about 5 feet across rose out of her hands and rocketed straight upwards. It continued for at least 2000 feet before stopping. It was so bright it was almost as if there were two suns in the sky. I immediately cast energize on Lira since I knew this spell had to be casted in two parts. Her back arched as she was spiked with energy. Then she began casting the second part of the spell. The orb of fire grew in size until it was at least 100 feet across and rocketed down towards the enemy army.

It fell leaving a trail of fire behind, detonating in the backline of the enemy. The shockwave was enough that all around me men were knocked from their feet. The blast kicked up a massive amount of dirt and debris as well as producing a large bang that rang my ears. In the distance I could see the mushroom cloud of fire hundreds of feet across slowly rising. There was a pregnant pause as we watched the effect of her spell. Now I truly understood why it was called ‘meteor.’

Their left flank was completely destroyed, and some panicky sounding horns signaled a retreat. That could do little for the ones who remained engaged with us since they had an expanding ball of fire to their back and an energized Lira at their front. She gleefully tossed fireballs and fireblasts into the enemy line arcing it over our soldiers. I found the joy she took in killing rather distasteful.

Most of the army retreated as we proceeded to kill the remainder of their right flack to the last. Many surrendered but the baron had no interest in keeping prisoners. There were standing orders to simply kill and move on.

When the fire cleared our forces began to encircle the enemy force. If this continued then their entire force would be routed in a single day. The enemy sounded a retreat before we could complete the encirclement. The baron, not wanting to lose out on a chance at swift victory, ordered us to chase the army back to their lines.

Once we chased the army all the way back to our lines when we faced a problem. They had a significant amount of defensive fortifications that made our advancement slow. I could see that Lira was starting to feel the effects of the energize spell as her output significantly decreased. I was still close to maximum strength, but I had to conserve it for the healing efforts. I settled on throwing the occasional radiant bold or air blast over our lines to help Lira destroy some fortifications.

There were hundreds of outward face spikes and rows upon rows of trenches that slowed our advance. These were definitely prepared in advance so we would have difficulty. While we struggled with the terrain this gave their archers and mages excellent targets. Fortunately, we finally heard the horns that signaled our retreat to our own lines.

I was among the sick tents healing soldier after soldier. Our charge into the enemy’s fortification to secure victory was costly and my assistance to heal the wounded was needed. Lira would be out of commission for at least 2 days. Her attack was estimated to have killed most of their right flank, which was over 1800 men. These were not simple conscripts. They were well armored and armed soldiers, but such was the power of a mage. She was in a private tent of her own with 20 soldiers and her brother guarding her while she rested. We had taken heavy losses but that was nothing compared to the enemy army.

If finished with the last soldier and walked into the commander's tent just as Martin announced.

“Reports state that Baron Suncrest has managed to flee with much of his force. Apparently, they prepared for the possibility that we were able to turn their flank. They had incredibly well-prepared lines of retreat that we couldn’t follow without significant losses.”

The baron in an angry tone said. “Damn coward, now we will have to siege him down.” That brought sour expressions on everyone’s face as no one wanted to spend months sieging a well defended city.

“A message my Lord.” One of the guards outside the command tent shouted. He brought in a letter with Suncrest’s seal. The baron ripped it open and began reading. His face reddened in anger as he finished.

“The fool thinks coin and a few tracks of useless land will save him from what is coming.” The baron said.

“He offered terms?” Martin asked. He has an amused expression on his face.

“Yes. 100,000 Gelding and some land barely worth shite in return for the end of hostilities. If we don’t accept he is willing to fight to the end regardless of the cost in lives.” The baron had a furious expression on his face. Though there was a small amount of eagerness that I didn’t expect. I couldn’t imagine how much time and effort it would take to siege the city.

“So it will be a siege then?” I asked. Since this would change how much the baron would owe me. He only paid for two months of my time in advance after we left the city in a few weeks we would have to renegotiate.

“Of course there will be a siege.” He said as if I was an idiot.

He locked eyes with me, his fury meeting my cold gaze. He calmed himself down with a force of will and broke eye contact with me.Doubt began to creep into me that he would honor an extension of my price.If that occurred, I would abandon him in a moment if he didn’t pay me what I’m owed. He turned his attention back to the map on the table and said.

“I don’t know why the fool decided to pick a fight, but I will end it even if I have to burn that city to the ground.”

I could barely hold back a groan as I imagined how much effor this was going to take.