Blade(Part 1): Dawn

Chapter 45: Anorae

Zabaia led Anorae, Atreus, and the rest of Acran's warriors to Noglidas, past a small Skaolan camp that had been destroyed by the rebels. Noglidas was almost as big as Eleus, with walls that stood strong and high to protect it. The city might have had more of an effective defense if its defenders were more properly trained, equipped, and had more discipline. Anorae remembered seeing the rebels fight in the fields the day before. They shouted and cursed, as if they were more like brawlers than warriors or soldiers, but that victory was theirs, not Acran's. The leader of the rebels seemed to be a former Centurion of Astros, named Decimus Zeno. He was as hardened by battle as even King Atreus, which is what both leaders seemed to have in common with each other. They were both battlefield geniuses.

"Thank you for helping those rebels to the north, Your Grace," said Decimus. They had gathered in the great hall of the keep of Noglidas, with the draconians of Acran sitting on one side, and the former veterans of the Colonial War sitting on the other. Zabaia sat with his friends, two other Guardian Knights named Shala and Alexius, and also a Huntress named Zoya, and the assassin that Atreus met in the night, Dameon.

"We were happy to lend assistance," King Atreus assured. "But if I may be honest, it would seem the rebels in those fields to the north lacked discipline, training, and proper armor and weapons."

"You're right, sir," Decimus admitted. "Not to mention the fact that we are hopelessly outnumbered."

"With your forces fighting alongside mine, you will not be as outnumbered as you already are," Atreus offered. "I offer Acran's assistance. We would fight for your freedom as well as our own."

"You would?" asked Decimus.

"I would," King Atreus promised. "Skaola has plagued Northern Orathan for long enough. The time has come to cut the strings that Aziz pulls on our lands."

"I couldn't agree more, Your Grace," said Decimus, offering his hand to the King. King Atreus took the Centurion's hand, and they shook on an agreement that both the Colonial League, which is what the rebel army was soon called, and the draconians of Acran had formed an alliance with each other. Anorae couldn't have been more relieved. Acran had lived in isolation for thousands of years, and now it was in an ally of the League. Over the next few weeks, the rebels were trained from untrained, underequipped, and undisciplined brawlers, to soldiers of their country. Some were equipped with heavy armor made from mithril and painted green to camouflage themselves against the foliage of the jungles. The helmets had wide visors with round curves for their eyes, and crests on the tops. They were armed with long, winged spears that had mithril tips, along with forged by blacksmiths and Sorcerers of Acran. Their shields were large and round, big enough to protect the soldiers, but light enough for them to be used as weapons themselves. They were painted with an autumn tree sigil, with orange, brown, and red leaves, the sigil of the League. The spearmen with round shields were called Hoplites. The other soldiers were called Marines. They wore lighter armor, with helmets that had no crests, and "v" shaped visors that their eyes could see through. They were armed with beam rifles that had modifications, courtesy of a League engineer named Vitruvius. The Marines' beam rifles had two barrels, one over another, but took the same time to recharge as the Skaolan models. The Hoplites were the main infantry, and the Marines were their battlefield support troops. Decimus had also advised combining both the League's tactics and Acran's. As far as Anorae could tell, it would be a formidable strategy against Skaola's army. If there were more Guardians that remained in the colonies, then this allied army would be unstoppable. Whatever assassin's guild that Dameon belonged to would also be a formidable ally.

"Thrust!" Atreus shouted, and the Hoplites raised their shields above their heads and thrust their spears forward.

"Tuck!" Atreus ordered, and the soldiers in the front of their formation put their shields in front of them, while the others kept their shields above themselves.