Chapter 72

Chapter 72

A/N: I'm too ill and tired to do a proper pr, so you'll have to make due. It shouldn't be too bad as I was writing slowly, but there will be errors.

A/N redux: The song I had in mind for the chapter in case some people are interested. The last one went over well, so...:

https://youtu.be/b96rrbo-_Ik?t=2m16s

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Two weeks after the battle with Caledorian forces the Order had finished taking over the county that had allowed the enemy entry into JaoeTinukai. This process had been helped immensely by the fact that the current ruler of the county wasnt actually all that liked by the populace. He wasnt a bad man, but he was self-centered and cared fairly little for his subjects. As such, Neleh faced very little resistance when taking over the county, as she herself was wildly popular among the masses and the prosperity she had brought to JaoeTinukai during her rule was obvious to everyone that paid even a little attention to matters outside their own home.

The Caledorians had also been active during this time. The loss their previous force had suffered had been absolute, and the attacks conducted by the fifth Order had lit a fire under them. The fact that their treasuries were also emptied left them in a bind if they didnt manage to gain access to the riches of JaoeTinukai to compensate. Waging war was expensive, and unlike JaoeTinukai Caledor didnt have a huge amount of wealth to draw upon. They were a militarily focused faction after all. Hence their only option was to rely on that military.

They drew upon forces from all the provinces that belonged to their faction, in order to create a force that could overrun the Order forces. Showing their shrewdness, the other provinces that made up the faction saw that the Caledorians were getting a little desperate. They also realized the risk of failing. As such, they only sent token forces that they could afford to lose, should the worst happen, just enough to keep up the bare remains of appearances. Their actions were almost an open judgement on the ability of the Caledorians, but veiled enough that they could not be accused of rebelling. They realized that they would have to change factions if JaoeTinukai ended up winning, as even if the Caledor duchy remained free of control, its power would be gone.

Nevertheless, the Caledorians were a military faction and managed to gather almost half a million soldiers under their banner, which was exceptional for a provincial army. Most of this was due to the fact that the Caledorian heavy cavalry was the best in the empire, and was almost an official part of the imperial army. As such, the duchy retained a much larger standing army than most other factions. Only the royal forces of each kingdom were larger. Even the next largest factions of Saphery and Avelorn were left far behind, as Sapherys might was tied in mages and Avelorn favored more free-form groups similar to the Hunters guild, due to the pioneering nature of the area.

The might of provincial armies was of course dwarfed by the imperial army, but they would always remain neutral, unless matters turned into a full blown civil war like what had happened few years ago. Even then the army was ostensibly supposed to remain neutral. Most Great Silvers were also either part of the imperial army or had a high position within the management of the three major clans, and as such very rarely took part in any struggles between provinces directly. Neleh was something of an exception as she was one of the rare Great Silvers who held a rank of provincial nobility.

The Caledorians will most likely try to draw our forces into the plains, where their cavalry has free range of movement. They will most likely try to surround our forces to try and avoid any chicanery from us. Elendil explained. He, Estelar and Neleh had gathered to make their plans for the battle they planned to be final against the Caledorian forces.

Let us oblige them. The more advantageous the situation is for our enemies, the more striking example we can make of them. The other duchies should be shown what happens when they stand against us. We are not yet even at full strength, and can do this to one of the militarily strongest factions. Let them imagine what we will be able to do once we are at full strength. Estelar said with unusual fervor. He was getting into this little war a little more than he had expected.

His mention of their less than full power was a reference to the fact that a majority of the Order were still in training, especially the faeries that had joined in later. It took several years to complete the training, and despite their current strength of about two hundred thousand Order brothers and sisters, majority of their future forces were still in training. The powerful economy of the duchy allowed a higher portion of their population to be part of the Order, their population density was off the charts and Neleh had ran a focused effort to get as many trainees to join the Order as possible. All this combined would leave the duchy with a force capable of rivaling the three kingdoms once her plans were finished. Her plans also accounted for the expansion of their territory. Most of that was in the future, so their current forces were limited, and they had to leave enough garrisons behind to maintain order and safeguard the duchy. As such, they could use only about one hundred and fifty thousand members of the Order.

Remember that this battle is different from the previous ones. The previous two battles were for us, so we can test our tactics and strategies. The next battle is for others, so they can see an example. In the next battle we will show the enemy an army at full strength, led by their duchess. We dont need to kill all enemies this time, in fact it is better if they run away and carry the word to others. What we are here to do is to destroy their army in as flashy and convincing way as possible. Neleh gave a small chuckle. I can already feel the familiars and monitoring magic of other factions gathering in the area. Gentlemen, we have the eyes of every elven faction, on most likely some other races as well, gathered on us. Lets give them a show!

Initiate the operation Golden Goddess! The two men yelled together, as if they had practiced it. They had in fact practiced it, just to annoy Neleh.

Really?! You went with that name? Neleh asked a little exasperated.

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The grand magus of Saphery had gathered many of the most powerful mages in his faction to a room that had multiple chairs surrounding a large crystal ball. The crystal ball was connected to several familiars that had been sent out a few days ago, and it was currently showing a vision of a large plain with two armies gathered on opposite sides. The familiars had spread themselves around the area to guarantee the best possible coverage of the battlefield.

The gathered mages were currently discussing what the crystal was showing them and the odds they were each giving for the two sides for winning. They could all see the numerical advantage of Caledorian forces, but strangely they all felt that the larger army was the one disadvantaged. The JaoeTinukai forces had been victorious so far and they had all learned the hard way not to underestimate the new and young Chosen of Elune. So far everything she had done had been a raging success, and they were unwilling to bet against her any longer.

The duke of Saphery had advocated joining forces with Caledor when the duchy of knights had decided to wage war on the Chosen. His reasons had been sound, as their economy had suffered from the rise of JaoeTinukai and together with Caledor they wouldve held a huge advantage over the upstart duchy. Despite this the gathered mages had stopped the duke, and had adamantly refused to make war on the Chosen if the duke went against their wishes. Unlike the duke, the mages understood the significance of all the advances the young Chosen had made in such a short time. Someone who made those kinds of advances was bound to also make advances when it came to the battlefield. The mages really didnt want to pick a fight with a threat like that. Let sleeping dragons lie, and all that.

Didnt our information say that JaoeTinukai almost a million people in training over a year ago? So why is their army so small? One of the mages vocalized the question that many of them were considering.

Theyre still in training. Ive heard some of the details of their training, and theyre not half-assing it. Their training takes even longer than the imperial army. Most of that million are still not ready in her opinion, I guess. One of the other mages replied.

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Neleh was rather gleefully waiting her plans to fall in place, while attending the gathering of the imperial court. The duke of Caledor had been all too eager to call for the gathering after they had lost the battle, and the forces of JaoeTinukai had started taking ownership of chunks of his duchy. Neleh had also gotten other good news from another source just a while ago. Saphery had tried to hide the events in their capitol, but the fifth Order had managed to get word of the events anyway. Neleh looked meaningfully at Yunalesca while listening to the duke of Caledor talk himself into a frenzy, trying to paint Neleh as a tyrant, terrorist and a usurper.

Nimue, bored with the rant waved the duke into a silence and looked Neleh a little tiredly. Duchess Neleh, how do you answer to these allegations?

Well, the duke painted a rather glum picture, but Im afraid very little of it is true. We are all aware that Caledor was the side that declared a war on us with an excuse that is hardly even worth mentioning. Its only fair that we reply to that aggression. As to his charges of terrorism, those accusations are simply false. How could I possibly organize covert attacks on several major cities within his duchy, when I have my hands full with so many other matters? It must be some other party taking advantage of the situation. I heard the treasuries of Caledor were plundered, so theres the motivation for such a move. Neleh explained with obviously feigned innocence.

You dare to avoid responsibility? The duke asked in anger. Suddenly his anger vanished as if it had been completely fake, as most likely was the case. Looking triumphant he suddenly pulled out a small item and displayed it to everyone. Then how do you explain this? Plenty of people have seen the badge your so called Order uses. This was taken from one of the attackers we caught and killed. Its one of yours is it not?

No. Neleh replied confidently. None of the attackers had been caught and no badges were missing. The badge was an obvious fake.

What do you mean no? The duke asked a little surprised and confused.

Just what I said. Thats not one of our badges. As you yourself said, plenty of people have seen the badges, and could make a fake one. However, our badges are not that simple, and its easy to tell a real one from a fake. That one is an obvious fake. Neleh replied with confidence. The duke was making this easier than she had thought.

You lie! How could we trust the word of an obvious schemer like you? The duke yelled with anger.

Ah, you forget. I am an inquisitor marked by Elune as well as the Chosen. I cannot bear false witness under her gaze. By Elunes name, I swear that badge is a fake. Neleh replied with a wide grin.

Half true. Yes thats a fake, but you did order the attacks. Also, thanks to the blessings of Sydonay and Loki, you can now lie freely again. You are no longer beholden to the truth as an inquisitor. Elune laughed in Nelehs mind. Of course she was the only one to hear that voice.

Neleh pressed on before the duke could recover, wholly ignoring Elune. While we are on the subject of lies and crime though, I think theres something youve been hiding dear duke. The aforementioned third party delivered some very interesting documents to my hands concerning your ties to the Pleasure Cults, and their illicit and illegal activities in your duchy.

Lies! The duke screamed, sudden panic audible in his voice. He had hoped those documents had burnt in the fires that had been lit by the fifth Order.

Im afraid not. Our dear Grand Inquisitor had been quite busy personally investigating things in your duchy the last few weeks, and would most likely greatly enjoy detailing them to everyone present. Neleh said, stepping aside letting Yunalesca take the stage.

Yunalesca spent quite a bit of time describing the new levels of depravity the Pleasure Cults had sunk into in Caledor, and also the dukes ties with them. Most importantly, the cults activities had finally moved into overtly illegal territory, which provided the Inquisition the change to start hunting them. After she was done, no one had any doubts about the duke guilt, and they had no objections to any punishment he might receive.

At this point Neleh stepped forward again. As the Inquisition is now moving forward to hunt the cults throughout the empire, JaoeTinukai will take control of the Caledor duchy to guide them through this turbulent time, and to cleanse the cult from the duchy. We also consider the duchy adequate compensation for the hostile actions conducted against us, and tacitly approved by others. The duchy requires some strong and effective leadership in these turbulent times. The duchy needs the chance to recover and regrow, and Im sure we can all agree that I can provide that best. She finished with a grin.

This caused a disturbance among the gathered nobles, but before it could get out of hand a new voice was raised in her support. Saphery recognizes the claim and authority of Duchess Neleh Khalidor. The grand magus of Saphery proclaimed. The gathered nobles had wondered his presence and the absence of the regular duke.

On that note, why are you here, and not the duke of Saphery? Nimue asked, suddenly curious.

The mages council of Saphery has recognized that the previous ruler was a danger and wouldve led us all into our death. As such the council has assumed control of the duchy. In addition, the council recognizes that our future lies with JaoeTinukai as the duchess can lead us into great prosperity and a promising future. As such the council had decided to accept the rule of Duchess Neleh Khalidor, and cedes the control of the duchy of Saphery to her. The grand magus explained calmly.

If the previous proclamation had caused a stir among the nobles, this sent them all into uproar. This was a coup within the empire. The mages council of Saphery had removed the previous ruler and decided their new ruler themselves, usurping the authority of the empress. In addition, this crossed another dangerous line. One duchy ruled by one duke was the norm. Two duchies was already weird, even though some factions contained two duchies, in effect allowing the leader of the faction to control over two duchies in effect even if not in name. Three duchies directly controlled by one duchess was no longer within the authority of the rank. Three duchies could be considered a kingdom.

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