I rode hard through the fields of grain around Novakrayu, skirting the battle. Men screamed and shouted and cried out as the Dead worked their silent death, charging into lines of militiamen without a shred of fear, rushing into speartips among the fall of arrows with only slaughter on their minds. Even when the warriors I now recognized as the devout of the White Order rode forth with leveled lances atop warhorses, the Reavers still charged. Many were pierced through, crushed, battered aside, and yet they attacked. Men pulled from saddles, horses lacerated and torn down, tripped up, gutted. It was gory and horrid, as all battles were. And Maecia was losing.

She was vastly outnumbered, her human contingent small and undisciplined, wavering under the harassing fire from the Targul, shirking from clashing shield walls. That, combined with the large but ultimately insufficient number of Dead, it was only a matter of time until her forces crumpled. Hence, the ambushing Sorcerers. I scanned the fields for them, but battles were messy and impossible to follow on the ground like this.

The others could handle the temple's bone room below the city, Maecia's eventual target. This was my charge.

But first, I had to locate the New Pethans. I could direct them like a scalpel toward Maecia. Their entire army would crumble without her. Their entire purpose forfeit. Whatever my reservations, I had no choice now. It was her or tens of thousands of innocents in Novakrayu and many more after as a result of her Spell.

I rode behind the allied lines, ignoring calls for me to hail and explain myself. All they saw was a lone rider, a stranger at a distance. Perhaps an enemy Sorcerer. No time for that.

A few times, I almost fell from the horse, saddleless as it was, though I gripped it tight with my legs and held onto its mane with panicked fists. Eventually, I spotted tall Soulbornes in armor in a tight column before a small group of New Pethan Sorcerers and warriors. They were not at the front as I suspected, but held in reserve. Why the hesitancy? Were they cautious in the face of enemy Sorcerers? Expecting a counter-attack? Eudoxia was no commander, so perhaps she was not here and had a soldier come instead, like Desirdus. Or both?

As I rode closer, my last guess proved correct as both Eudoxia and Desirdus stood atop a small chariot as a viewing platform, observing the field. Eudoxia turned, likely noticing my Sorcerous presence, and gave a broad smile of relief.

She shouted in Pethyan, "You see? The High Magistros has returned!"

I was met with cheers and good spirits. Do they really see me as more than a conqueror? I thought, taken aback by the joy in their expressions. The relief. Well, I would try to live up to their expectations, then. "Status?" I asked, riding forth to sit beside them, roughly equal in height to observe the field.

Desirdus bowed to me. "Thirty strates, twenty of the best sorceii with two Soulborne each, outfitted in iron armor with longaxes, per your direction. We await your orders."

I hummed to myself in consideration. That was no mean force. Forty Soulborne with such equipment could handle twice their number of Reavers. "Maecia fields twenty Sorcerers on horseback. They revealed themselves recently but seem to be holding off for an opportune moment. I want to force them to act."

Desirdus nodded. "We held in reserve for such an event, High Magistros."

"Good. Press the center. Let's threaten a collapse of her line and hunt her down."

Waiting for Maecia to spring her trap to react gave up the initiative, weakening our position. It was better to force her to use it early, diminishing the effect. That was the logic, anyway. Though she had decades more of experience now, this should still be a problem she couldn't ignore.

Novakrayuan men retreated back from their Reaver opposition as my Soulborne marched forward, breaking into a springing charge when ten paces away, and no allies stood between us and the enemy. Massive two-handed axes made quick work of the fleshy Dead before them, splitting bones and bodies with wide arcs. The New Pethan Sorcerers hung behind, controlling them, well under their limit, which likely stood around ten Soulborne on average, meaning they could still cast Sorcery as necessary. Thus, I advised Desirdus to keep a few back with the regular soldiers called strates alongside Eudoxia and me. We would wait and watch for Maecia's trap. After all, the best way to counter Sorcerers was stronger Sorcerers.

Keep the objective in mind, I told myself as the Soulborne chopped their way into the Reaver wall, splitting it, opening up the vulnerable interior. Maecia would be there with a few of her closest, poised to run. Her objective is not victory on the field; it is reaching the city and buying time once inside. I sat as tall as I could upon my horse and scanned the battlefield, searching for those mounted Sorcerers…

"There!" Eudoxia called out, pointing.

It was hard to tell through our own side's horsemen, the clash of men, and kicking-up of dust, but a contingent of mounted individuals was held deep in Maecia's lines in reserve. So, what was her plan then? Use them to punch a hole for her escape to Novakrayu? Why bring it to a battle if only to run away into the city? That made no sense.

"Advance the sorceii," I shouted to Desirdus. "Nullify their Sorcerers, but do not force Maecia to commit herself to the fight yet."

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Surely, I had the overall advantage in Sorcerous talent, considering the New Pethans had institutionalized training and knowledge available, while Maecia's were, what, scavenged from all over Merkenia? I wanted to send forward Eudoxia and the semi-professional strates but held, frowning.

Why force a battle instead of taking a subtle route? I asked myself, yet again. Maecia could have schemed to slip inside the city, committed her spell, then escaped. Most of the city would be dead with enemies broken, now that I truly considered it. All her precautions were unnecessary. Is she thinking about what comes after? Does she hope to subjugate them to New Petha? No, that doesn't align with her philosophy on rule so far. She kept them isolationist without a hint of change. I was supposed to be the one to bring a change. Had she planned to hand over control to me, marking a new era for New Petha? Maybe destroying a coalition force here was to make way for that? Or simply to ensure no vengeful counterattack came soon, giving her time to rebuild as needed on the isle? Both were good arguments I'd already partially considered, though I doubted she ever expected me to go along with her plans. Therefore, she likely planned on my rejoining the fight, likely bearing news of the Sorcerers, forcing a central push to keep her off-balance. But her army, as it was, would not be enough to defeat the coalition.

That meant there was more going on here than I saw. Another trap.

I started and looked all around. Fields of unharvested grain due to the recent local unrest and death meant possible approaches from both north and south. I couldn't make anything out from my position, nor did I wish to ride out recklessly, so I had two of the New Pethan soldiers take horses and scout. The southern one reported back, sighting nothing, but the northern scout didn't return. I waited for a few more minutes before calling it.

"Maecia has some force in the north, outside the White Order's scouting radius," I said to Eudoxia and Desirdus, both of whom were near enough.

"We cannot redeploy, High Magistros," Desirdus said, frowning at the engagement with experienced, cautious eyes. He was not only a strong Sorcerer but a veteran leader, having been in a position of authority over the fleet that initially intercepted me. "Doing so would mean significant casualties."

"Understood. I would prefer a more mobile force to engage this new threat."

"It could be a trap to lure away forces."

"A large commitment." But knowing my sister… No, she would be practical in her deployments, wasting no one. Whatever this threat was, it was meant to hit our rear, crushing us into Sorcerers and Dead. "Hold for now, both of you. Keep picking off their numbers, but don't take new ground."

That will have to do, I thought. Now to take a risk. I reared about, rode hard to the south, and found the Targul commander, who happened to be Taraz, the Black Han, silver mask and all.

"Taraz," I said after finally matching his mount's speed with some difficulty. "Our north is being threatened—"

"Daecinus Aspartes in the flesh? He lives!" the han boomed, no doubt grinning like a fool beneath his mask. For his intimidating appearance and people's warlike reputation, he was almost excessively agreeable. He lowered his bow, arrow nocked and ready to loose. "The north, you say?"

"Yes. You should redirect your forces to head them off. I can handle this side." Maecia's southern flank was mostly human and half-broken, with most of the Reavers there dead or scattered into manageable numbers.

"Let the northerners handle it. We almost have this side turned! Then it's the open underbelly."

"She has Sorcerers inside. Dozens. Your men would die horribly. Leave them to me."

That seemed to reach him. Taraz blew air out of his nose and nodded, loosing one last arrow into the enemy's disjointed shieldwall. "When you have your men here, I shall depart. To the north, then!"

I rode back as he gathered his band. It would take some time to rally them to head off the ambush Maecia had in store. I guessed she had mercenaries or more loyal men lying in wait, for even she couldn't manage more Dead. Unless she trusts to delegate her Sorcerers to do so… Doubtful. As I rejoined the Pethyan core, I ordered the relieved groups of militiamen from Novakrayu to round about and form up against the south wing. They did as commanded, even though I was hardly a leader among them. I was glad for the mount and sense of authority in my voice, for surely it could have gone differently.

"Take to the center," I said to Eudoxia. "I will support the south."

"And Maecia?"

"Do not engage. Not until I'm there." Maecia had all my Artifacts, which was enough on its own to make me nervous, let alone her growth in Sorcery alone.

"High Magistros," she said in confirmation, committing with the strates and last of the sorceii. That would endanger Maecia's center enough to force her Sorcerers into action. And now that she had an opening with our weakened southern flank, I hoped she might take her chance to push there.

Where I would be.

I rode up behind the militiamen of Novakrayu and dismounted, handing off the horse to a boy who must have served as some sort of messenger. The horse gave me height and maneuverability, but it also posed a risk as a target of Sorcery—something I could no longer bear. Some of the men turned to me, eying me uncertainly as I stepped into the rear file of their shield wall. Given my height, I stood almost a head taller than most and could see the front. They faced numbers equaling their own, perhaps, dotted with Dead that had already battered them hard. It would be a difficult fight. A good leader would support them, killing the enemy, enabling them to take ground… But I couldn't be the good leader here. I only helped as necessary to avoid collapse while watching for Maecia. Unfortunately, in the press of bodies, chaotic and messy as it was, I could catch no glimpse of my sister.

The battle raged on without me. Spears and bludgeons and hooked implements against the enemy's armor, shields, spears, and Dead. We held, but barely. Once or twice, if I spotted a Reaver taking too much ground, posting too great a threat, I hit it with a Corruptive Curse, giving the men an opening to strike it down. My influence was not significant, but we managed to hold in part because of it.

They should have rallied more townspeople to this fight, I thought, watching for Maecia, trying to catch glimpses of how the center was faring. Well enough, it seemed. Untrained masses could make for an easy route, of course. Fear and shock tactics work best against the poorly disciplined. It was already a risk bringing militia out to the field for battle, considering the likelihood of their breaking, but then, what choice did they have?

In fact, the more I thought about it, the Targul should have also fielded more troops. They should have had five hundred horsemen ready by now, but I counted half that number on the field. Were they really only deploying a portion of their troops? Did they think reserving some for Novakrayu was wise? I hoped not, considering Maecia's main hope of victory in defeating a larger enemy was in detail, piece by piece.

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