System Change

Border of Cydaria…

Indria-Astrus Alliance Base Camp…

“Dammit!” Ryven Elras crushed the goblet in his hand and threw it with enough force that it ripped through the tent wall and continued on. “It’s been a whole year, and this is what we have to show for it? Are the both of you this inept?”

Ryven had been made commander of the alliance between Indria and Astrus. He gladly accepted the position, as the war was planned to be a very short, sure thing. But then, he had been embarrassed around every corner.

First, he had chosen his nephew, Orion, as one of the army’s captains. Orion Elras was the second prince, and the one who would most likely take command of the kingdom’s military once his brother took to the throne. Ryven had figured that this would be a great learning experience for the young prince. Before the war, other than practice and sparring, he’d yet to have any real battle experience. This year, the boy would be in his mid-30s, so it was more than time for him to step up.

As for the second captain, that wasn’t his choice. The crown prince of Astrus, Titus Sinclair, took it upon himself to ‘volunteer’ for the position, and as both countries supposedly had an equal stake in the war, Ryven had to accept him. The man had been even more useless than his nephew.

The two boys seemed to take pride in one-upping each other’s incompetence. Just looking at the two sent a burning rage through Ryven’s body.

“Don’t answer that!” he hushed his two ‘captains’ when they tried to speak. “It was rhetorical. Of course you are. If not, then you would have been able to capture more than one city in the entire year I gave the two of you control. A single city, and five sub-cities all in the same area. Are you not ashamed? No, no, you’re not. The two of you stand there proud. Proud because you’ve destroyed countless backwater villages…” Ryven shook his head. “If your fathers could see you right now…”

“Uncle…” Orion began, but Ryven quickly cut him off.

“Commander! I am not your uncle on the battlefield, and you will not refer to me as such. You’ve already had enough special treatment. You will have no more.”

“Commander…” Orion said. “There was no way we could have known that Cydaria would put up such a resistance. And that woman… just how much money does she have?”

The woman his nephew was referring to was Natalie Savannah. When Ryven first declared war on Cydaria, he reached out to two people. The first, Alanah Swan, and the second, was Natalie Savannah. Negotiations with Alanah Swan had gone well enough.

She seemed to care deeply for her own, so she hadn’t made a move since learning that their army had captured three of Cydaria’s sub-cities, each housing one of her lesser Crown Restaurants. The woman was reluctant to have her own people slaughtered along with other Cydarian leadership. So, since the beginning of the war, Ms. Swan had been quiet.

However, the same could not be said for Natalie Savannah. His communication with the woman had been brief, but he learned all he needed to know. That woman refused to bow down to anyone. She would serve nobody but herself. And she had the funds to do so.

Just going by elite forces, she controlled at least half of what Cydaria had been able to muster in defense. If not for her, they surely would have already taken over the capital. But every battle, every skirmish, elites would show up, bearing her symbol. It was mind blowing. Still, even with her cooperation, there was no way Cydaria should have still been putting up a struggle after an entire year.

What Ryven was most worked up about was the batch of elites who had entered a raid dungeon, one which he and his army had yet to find the entrance to. Edgar Cydaria was leading the raid, and through some means, they had found out that neither Edwin, nor Edward, could be considered the strongest of the Cydaria family. No, that title went to Crown Prince Edward’s youngest brother, Edgar.

If they could take over the country before the raid dungeon finished, they would have more than enough time to prepare for the prince. But, if he were to appear as it was now, things could get dicey. With control of only one city and a handful of sub-cities, that wasn’t near enough to feel confident if twenty-five elites joined the fight against them.

He had given his nephew and the Astrus crown prince a year to play. But now it was time for him to take over. He felt uneasy about how Cydaria and Natalie Savannah had been able to defend against them, even if it was against his inept captains.

“The two of you are now captains only in name. From now on, you follow my orders. You will not sway from my orders. Is that understood?”

“I’m the crown…” Titus began, but was interrupted by Ryven.

“I don’t care if you’re the king of this entire continent. You will follow my orders, or you will be sent home. I’m sure your father would be proud of your return,” Ryven said. “Now, have I made myself clear?”

“Yes, sir!” Both men shouted at the same time.

“Good!” Ryven waved the boys away. “You are dismissed.”

Once the two useless princes were gone, Ryven walked forward and looked over a table that housed a very detailed map of Cydaria. The map included locations of troops, both elite and other, of both sides of the war. With his index finger, he traced a line out on the map.

“Here,” he said to nobody. “This is where I start the attack.” When he removed his finger from the map, his eyes fell on the city of Clayton. It was a city that would not be expecting an attack so soon after the fall of Wilmette. It was where his war would begin.

***

Savannah…

Natalie’s Residence…

Alanah moved the cup from her lips and gently placed it back down on the table. She had come to very much enjoy experimenting with coffee. Unfortunately, there wasn’t much joy in her current mood. She had been boiling with rage for months, and if not for the loyalty shown by the members of her restaurant, and not wanting to put them in harm’s way, she would have already taken to the battlefield and shown those assholes who they were really messing with.

But she calmed down. She was currently doing everything she could, short of fighting herself. Of course, only a few people in the kingdom knew what she was doing, and one was sitting in front of her.

“Your Deathsworn have really helped over the last few months,” Natalie said as she eyed Alanah.

“It’s easy enough to hide them among your mercenaries,” Alanah said. She might not be able to take to the battlefield, but that didn’t mean she was helpless. She had many Deathsworn, each an elite in their own right.

With mercenaries, it wasn’t hard to slip a few Deathsworn into their ranks without them knowing what was happening. All Natalie had to do was suggest that she’d paid another elite to join them and that was that. With that nature of mercenaries, that was enough. So, with the combined efforts of Alanah and Natalie, they had been able to weather the war for a little over a year. But something was bound to give. She just didn’t know which side it would be on.

“Giving up Wilmette was the best course of action,” Natalie said. “We minimized damages before breaking off the teleporter.”

“I wish we could have evacuated more of the surrounding sub-cities before they got hit. The best I could do was direct some important or loyal families to my restaurants in the sub-cities.” Alanah sighed. “I’m worried that something big is going to happen soon.”

“I agree. It’s been five months since we gave the Wilmette. It’s about time for them to show their true colors. I’m surprised Ryven has let those two play at war for this long. He’ll take over soon, that’s to be sure,” Natalie said.

Of course, Natalie had many people on her payroll, including spies in the enemy’s camp. She had learned long ago that two princes had been directing their army since Ryven’s initial communication with her. The man was known as a fierce warrior, and an adept strategist when needed. Though strategy was seldom needed when you had overwhelming strength.

But, fortunately, Cydaria, Natalie, and Alanah’s reserves were enough to counter, albeit barely, the combined army’s ‘overwhelming’ strength. Which is why after the sub-cities fell, Edwin, Edward, Natalie, and Alanah all agreed to slowly lose control of Wilmette while maintaining as few casualties as possible to allow the prince duo a win. They wanted to keep those two in control for as long as possible. And so far, it had worked.

“We’re both playing at the same game,” Alanah said. “We’re waiting for Edgar, Avery, and Derek to return to tip the scales, or at least even them out, and Ryven will soon push forward. He’ll want to finish things before they get out.”

“They have to know something is happening by now. A portion of their army finally pushed forward and captured Torith, or Searidge.”

“Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to save all of Walter Searidge’s family. Our building in Torith wasn’t big enough for everyone, so they had to choose, and most of the elders of the family chose the younger generation. It was a good thing some were already in the capital when the invasion started.” Alanah closed her eyes and sighed again.

“We’re able to keep everyone fed and healthy through our material teleporters, but those in the restaurants around Wilmette are getting restless. The enemy army has been pretty restrained with non-combatants so far, but we don’t know when that’s going to change,” Alanah said.

“If the situation changes, you may have to step in, you know. We’ve been able to evacuate most of your employees and their families, leaving only those in the captured sub-cities and Wilmette. I hate to say it, but you are the most deadly weapon in the kingdom, currently. At least until Mr. Hunt gets back, that is. I think he’s going to surprise us,” Natalie said before taking a sip of her own coffee.

Alanah balled her fists, then loosened them. “You don’t have to tell me. Though, if I am forced to attack, they better pray to the Great System they are able to escape before I get my hands on them.”

“For now, Ryven thinks he has you contained. I know it will be hard to lose your own. But if you do have to act, I don’t envy Ryven and his army.”

Alanah finished her coffee and stood. “It’s been a pleasure.” She smirked. “And I agree. Derek had yet to reach his full potential when last I seen him.”

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