Invasion

So, once we returned to our field headquarters we sent messages to all of our defense units on how to quell the monster stampede. By the time the sunstar was low in the sky we had reversed all the stampedes.

“We can’t just let these monsters run wild,” Kiera said.

“No, we have to invade now and stop the monsters from killing everyone, including the army and mages of Crispenwell and Sinestelos,” I said.

“We can’t send in our troops, but we can send in some, ahem, advisors to assist you,” archduke Setanna said.

“We appreciate all the advisors you can spare,” Fergus said.

“Alright, we need to coordinate this invasion.

Once we have this under control, we’re going to the Capital and remove the queen and her minions,” I said.

“We’ll wind up fighting during the night,” Darby said.

“We can’t help that. Many of those beasts and monster are nocturnal. They aren’t going to stop just because of the darkness. In fact, they might become more aggressive once the sunstar sets. Make sure every outfit is equipped properly for night battle,” I said.

“Is there anything else we need to plan for?” Setanna said.

“No we’re ready. Get your advisors onto the floating battleships, and launch them off our floating bases. Move out, and wait for the signal from Kanae. Kanae, you have command,” I said.

“Yes, my Queen!” Kanae said.

After all our bases reported ready Kanae held the Gáe Bulga up and the beam of light and lightning blasted up into the sky, and we began our flying invasion. Once our flying ships crossed the border our ground troops followed. Our thirteen floating islands and fifty-two battleships flew after the monsters.

We began catching up to the monster hordes as the sunstar began to set. We attacked once we were in range. There was complete chaos on the ground as the attacks were coming from the sky. The attack was coming from our battleships which had night vision aiming artifacts. It also came from the dragons in service to me, led by the Red King of the White Dragon Nation, my husband. It came from a legion of Dragonkin of the White Dragon Realm, led by me and my knights. Kanae was like the Whirlwind. Nothing could stand before her onslaught. Darby was leading the Ground forces. Setanna was like a tsunami, and everything fell before him. I had never seen him in battle, and couldn’t spare much time to watch him.

We swept over the battlefield, if you could even call it that. Once the fleeing Sinestelos and Crispenwell forces saw us taking out the monster swarms they turned and attacked them also. A few generals and leaders were quickly dispatched if they went against the armed forces themselves. After a few of the leaders saw the sentiment of the forces they quickly adapted.

“Are the Crispenwell and Sinestelos forces now taking our side?” Kiera asked.

“It’s the logical course. The Monsters are the common enemy. The loyal mages are gone, or turned. Some are likely just switching to avoid a certain death. This won’t be the end of things. So we still need to treat them mostly like an enemy, but one we have a truce with. Once the common threat is eliminated, that can change in a heartbeat,” I said.

“Makes sense, but I think we can use that,” Kiera said.

“We will use everything we can. But the Queen of Sinestelos, will no longer be queen. Now it’s time to finish off these hordes. Cover my warriors, Kiera. Come my dragons and dragonkin, Let us show them why we are the rulers of the sky and land!” I said, as I took off and led the dragonkin in flight at monster horde.

I unleashed my fire. The blue-white fire of a White Dragon. I tore through the line of monsters. Monsters who had not seen White Dragon fire in living memory. But the memory was there, and all that had seen my fire looked in fear. Fear of the power of a White dragon not seen in over a thousand years. My dragons and dragonkin came behind us. The land lit up across the Sinestelos Realm as my dragons and dragonkin lit up the night sky with our combined firepower. A power that had long been absent from the continent.

When I came through the line of monsters I saw the remnants of the combined forces of Crispenwell and Sinestelos. One of the soldiers spotted me and the fear in face made him freeze. Then he jumped and shot a spear at me, which bounced off my shield, and even had it not, no ordinary spear could pierce my natural scale armor. White Dragon scales were made of adamantine. There was no harder material in the world. I turned baring my belly to the entire line of soldiers and headed back for the monster and beast horde. I unleashed another stream of my dragonfire. I hadn’t felt such a rush of excitement since my first hunts as a child.

To be free, flying in my dragon form in battle unleashed a dormant hunger in me. There before me was a burning behemoth. An S ranked monster and a rare meat delicacy! I latched onto the behemoth and carried it away. I bit into it and ate it’s beating heart! I tore it open in my claws and sunk in for another bite. I am so hungry! I could eat this whole thing. But, this was a field of combat, not dinner.

I reluctantly let go of my snack, and continued killing the monsters and beasts. I watched my snack fall to the ground and a huge cloud of dust flew up and covered that sweet meat. I shed a few tears over the waste, and spoilage. Even my tears were flames now.

I noticed my slip of grabbing a bite to eat on the fly had not gone unnoticed. My entire Dragonkind forces were helping themselves to snacks as well. Ah, but who can blame them? All this delicious food just wasting away in flames. I began my next pass toward the fleeing soldiers. This time no one was shooting at us, having realized we were only attacking the monsters and beasts. Our attack had caused the monsters and beasts to focus all their efforts on us. Some of the soldiers were taking this opportunity to actually run away. I couldn’t allow that to happen.

Kiera! Some of the soldiers are beginning to flee. Use our forward patrols to corral them in, I spoke through our bond, made at the gate of the Darkling ruins of Chrystallia.

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A moment later, Kiera responded, “Yes, my Queen!”

That matter was now in the very capable hands of our Flying Mage Brigade in the warships Aoi had so brilliantly developed, and Queen Matilde had used her vast resources to help us build. When the other realms, and the Empire, eventually find out, it will be too late. No one is going to attack Dargon again.

We made a few more passes over the monsters and beasts. By then our ground troops were ready to approach.

Return to me my brothers and sisters. Let the other forces clean up the battle. Now let us corral these foolish soldiers so they cannot run off and hide. Flann, take command of my platoon and this flank. I must return and coordinate the next phase, I said.

Yes, my Queen, Flann replied.

When I landed back on our floating command center. Kiera and Fergus were standing there waiting for me with angry faces,

“That was not part of the battle plan!” Kiera said.

“You are the Queen, you can’t just go off in front of everyone and attack!” Fergus said.

“Of course I can! This is what it means to be the Queen! I lead and my forces follow. What dragon queen hides in the rear of her army?” I said.

“Well, I can certainly understand that philosophy,” Setanna said.

“Now, we have our forces surrounding the soldiers. Some of these units took out their own commanding officers. Some kind of mutiny. We may be able to use that to our advantage, but we need to first get them all to surrender and be disarmed. Since you don’t want me at the front, who are they going to surrender to?” I said.

“Ok, fine! You can go and order them to surrender, as long as you take you full guard with you,” Kiera said. Fergus was still steaming, and didn’t say anything.

“Alright, then let’s do this,” I said.

“All floating bases to the front. Battle stations!” I transmitted to all island bases.

Every island replied with a transmission, “Order acknowledged, Our Queen!”

I flew in front of our floating base with my Dragon guard. When we reached main army, I said,

“I am Deirdre Ní Qin, the White Dragon Queen. You have attacked and invaded our realm. Surrender, and you will not be harmed.”

“How do we know we will not be harmed? Did you tell the soldiers of Wallachia the same thing before you wiped them out? Or to soldiers of Crispenwell when you invaded and wiped them out?” yelled a soldier.

“Oh, are you implying that Wallachia no longer has any soldiers? The realm is completely defenseless, and no one has invaded them? Has such a thing ever happened? I think not. We did not invade Crispenwell, we stopped an invasion of Dargon by the army of Crispenwell, and reclaimed the lands Crispenwell invaded over eighty years ago. Then Crispenwell attacked again, and we took some land to prevent them from attacking yet one more time. But if we had killed all of Crispenwell’s soldiers why are there clearly Crispenwell soldiers in your midst? Do you think those thin disguises are fooling anyone?

But if you would rather all die, we can surely assist you in that desire. Surrender and perchance live, or fight and die. Do you think you have a better chance of beating us than you did the Monster and beast horde we just wiped out? You all saw what we just did, and that was only with the vanguard of our forces? Do you really think mere humans can kill the White Dragon Queen?” I said.

I drew up a spell of maximum lightning storm, and the spell circle in the sky grew, and grew, until it spread over the entire battlefield. Ten thousand would likely be struck were I to release such a monstrous spell.

“Yield. Or die! Choose wisely. We do not have unlimited patience,” I said.

The soldiers all looked to the sky and saw the massive spell of a monstrous White Dragon Queen. They all turned pale at the sight. One by one the soldiers began to kneel and drop their heads in submission. A few remained standing, including the one who was likely a plant to stir the pot of discontent among the soldiers. I struck him down with single focused blast of dragonfire. That convinced the remaining soldiers.

I released my spellcasting. Thank the Goddess that bluff worked. Such a spell would have given me magik sickness, and lectures from everyone. I could feel the frown on Kanae’s face even from this distance. I never could bluff her, even in my best game of Fizbin. She was unbeatable. Aoi was disturbed, but laughing. Those two were monsters. Maybe I shouldn’t have trained them so well. Nah, it was totally worth it. They were absolutely amazing. Now for the hard part.

I landed on our command center, and Kanae was alone there waiting for me.

“Well that went pretty smooth…,” I began to say.

“Don’t!” Kanae said.

“Don’t you dare finish that! That was beyond reckless! Tell me. Tell me what would have happened had you cast that spell? Come on let’s hear it?”

“Lightning bolts would have struck every enemy soldier on the field. About ten thousand of them, and most would have died instantly. Some would have taken a few days, or weeks to die. Two entire armies wiped out,” I said.

“And?”

“And I’d have probably passed out, fell from the sky, my barriers fail, and I’d crash into the ground with no protection, unless someone caught me. I’d be down for days, or weeks with magik sickness,” I said.

“Or months.”

“I wasn’t going to actually cast it,” I said.

“I know you weren’t! Do you think I don’t know that? We’ve become so close, I know how you think,” Kanae said, her voice cracking, then she took a deep breath and continued.

“I watched you up there in sky, your hand raised drawing out the spell. Your hand glowing brighter than the sunstar. Your unfiltered power pouring into the spell, powering it up. I could see it. We all could see it. The full power of a fully grown White Dragon Queen. Goddess, it was terrifying! I knew you were bluffing, but it was still terrifying. But you convinced them! You convinced all of them. Everyone saw it. Everyone will remember. News of it will spread like wildfire across all of Eå.”

“Yes, but...”

“But!? No, not but! You were building the real thing there! Everyone could feel the mana flowing into it. Any slip at all and you could have released it. That was the real thing, not any kind of bluff. Anything could have triggered you to release that. Now everyone thinks you can casually wipe out entire armies on your own. That you are an army unto yourself, and of course you are. That’s not the point.” Kanae rebutted.

“It worked,” I said.

“It worked? That’s your justification!? It WORKED!? That’s the worst fucking part! It worked, now you’ll do it again, and maybe even a bigger more dangerous spell. Maybe the next time it will slip and you’ll die!”

“I’m sorry. It was the first thing I thought of.”

“I know. You lived so long alone, with no friends to lean on. Those times are over. You have us now. Your friends and partners, and we all love you Dee. You know that. You have to remember to rely on us. Let us help and share the burden. You could have reached out to us. We could have cast the spell together. Even bigger and scarier. No one would have been at risk of magik sickness if it activated,” Kanae said.

“You’re right. I should have reached out to all of you to help me cast it,” I said.

“Yes, you should have reached out to us. You don’t get to carry all the burden alone anymore. You are our Queen, and we’d follow you into the Abyss. But you’re also our friend, and we absolutely refuse to bury you because you felt like you had to do it alone!” Kanae said, the tears streaming down her face.

“I’m sorry! I’m so sorry! I won’t do it again. I promise, I’ll remember next time, and reach out to you!” I said, pulling Kanae in to me and hugging her. Our tears falling on each other.

After many moments we pulled apart and wiped our eyes. Fergus was approaching.

“If you ladies are quite done with your snuggling, we have a nation to finish invading,” Fergus.

“Hnk,” Kanae and I chortled together.

“Lead on, my king. Did I detect a little jealousy in your voice? Are you in need of a good snuggle?” I said.

“I’ll be taking more than a snuggle, tonight, my Queen,” Fergus said.

“Promise?” I said.

“An order,” Fergus.

“I hear and obey, my king,” I said.

“Stuff it you two. Remember we are in the middle of an invasion here,” Kanae said, playfully.