Undying Love (On Hiatus)

Foreign Matters

  The sea was quiet tonight. The sails furled gently in the soft wind, and the waves lapped meekly against the wooden hulls of the ships. Their prows, all of them adorned with a carving of Trolka, the Adai goddess of victory. Adai marines stood guard aboard their ships, while the Onotoths and Nomonarions slept below decks. Smaller raider and privateer boats circled around the transports, in case of a pre-emptive strike from Kaida. But even then the Kaida navy wasn't that great either.

But on the biggest ship, a discussion was taking place in the captain's cabin.

On a table, lay maps of Kaida and specific cities and terrain. Five men stood at the table. Theodoric, Emelrich, Eutropius, the Adai tyrant (which is what they call their kings), Hilarion, and his advisor, Yettar.

"The assault on Xinma will be easy. But the rest will be tough. Kaida's Fire Clan controls much of the Eastern plains, and my spies tell me that an alliance will be forged soon with the imperial court and the Fire Clan, which means that they will gain the support of imperial troops. That makes them incredibly formidable enemies," Emelrich pointed to Xinpo, the stronghold of the Fire Clan.

"The Erudians are making their way into Igarashi lands. That will cut off most of the possible roads that connect Xinma to the imperial court," Hilarion said.

"And then what? On their own, the Fire Clan is more than a match for us. Even if we do defeat them, our losses will be too great to continue the conquest," Theodoric said.

"Nomonarion spies are already in Xinpo. They will incite the people to rebellion. My emperor Valentinian has also negotiated with the Paksumites for them to take a north-easterly direction so that the entire Kaida West will be isolated from the imperial court. In the east, the Juni are coming for them, so they will complete half of the work for us," Eutropius analyzed. "All we have to do is keep the Fire Clan busy till the Paksumites come."

"Really, comes (count)? From what I've heard, the Kaida princess has a bodyguard who happens to have rooted out both Paksumite and Erudian spies. How will your spies fare against him?" Hilarion snapped, his tired eyes closing.

Eutropius's stone face turned ugly. "It's an inside agent, working with one of my men, Pulcherius. I have complete faith in both of them, one because he's paid well, and the other because I have his family hostage."

Theodoric cringed.

"But how long will that hold up?" Hilarion murmured, mostly to himself, but loud enough for everyone to hear.

"The Salia States will also supply us with food and equipment once we have taken Xinma. And Valentinian is sending another army as reinforcements, consisting of the more solid Nomonarion infantry," Theodoric said. "Maybe we should just take things as they come."

"Maybe it should have been the other way around," Hilarion muttered. Then he rose, making it clear that he wanted to leave. "I'm old and dying. I don't feel like doing this. I leave it up to all of you."

***

Sigiswulf stood at the prow of his flagship, and watched as the artillery bombarded the seaside fort. Flaming rocks smashed through the old fortifications, as the defenders attempted to fire back. But it was hopeless.

Soon, the first landing party, consisting of light troops, reached the beaches and disembarked from their rowboats. They were protected by thick sheets of iron that they placed at the front of their boats. Then they unloaded those sheets and placed them in front of their boats, shielding them from the defenders' arrows.

On the sea, five ships unleashed volley after volley of arrows on the fort, suppressing the archers on the battlements and giving the landing party some space to breathe.