Chương 26: Training

—Aelia Twilix— Aelia knelt before her king, head down.

"I'll take full responsibility for this blunder." She spoke of Princess Roslain Escar's death. She was in charge of protecting the princess—and she failed. Trinov closed his eyes slowly.

"There was nothing you could do about it. It was foretold."

"Margravine Reece is not an oracle," Aelia retorted.

"Yes, but she has lived this life before. She wrote that she didn't know how, but she was quite certain that her death was imminent."

"You don't think she would have done it? Whoever wrote her that letter had teleportation magic. And then there was the ring—""I know who wrote that letter. It was one of the Chosens. A man by the name of Daniel Winters. She wrote us this morning, stating that he might have had the teleportation power to switch Mikha Hikan and his guard, and warned against starting a war."

"And she didn't mention that before?" Aelia screamed, forcing her head up and then back down.

"She didn't think it was possible. It would require him to have had access to the carriage. If he was involved, someone within the Hikan Empire had to have been involved." Aelia fell still again.

"Then what do we do?" Trinov sighed and leaned into his throne tiredly.

"We declare war." Aelia nodded solemnly.

"There's no other way?"

"None that I know of."

"Or Sara?"

"I died of tyrexis in her last life. She said that my daughter's… my only daughter's…" —his voice turned emotionally tired and solemn—"death was a pretext to quell violence after a coup. But even now, if we back down, our allies will attack us." If the Escaran Kingdom didn't declare war against the Hikan Empire after what happened, it would signal to every ally of the kingdom that if they were attacked, the Escaran Kingdom could not and would not help protect them.

It would also signal to trade partners that the kingdom could not protect its supply lines, mines, and other economic advantages. In short, it would create a crisis of confidence. After an assassination of this scale, war was the only option.

"What of her warning of Jason?" Aelia asked.

"Jason is still a child," Trinov said.

"It's my firm belief that if we give him a position of power and integrate him, it will be enough to quell the ambition burning within him."

"He's a narcissist."

"Which only makes him more controllable." Aelia looked up just in time to see Trinov rub both tear ducts with one hand. He looked older than he did last month, and he was suffering from tyrexis at that time.

"I see…" she said.

"I will personally groom him," he said.

"But I want you to do the same."

"And of Lord Martinez and Lady Claire?"

"We'll leave them to Margravine Reece. Unlike Newborn, I don't think she can be controlled. We can only hope that Martinez's reasonableness and Emma's kindness can keep her on the right track. Some mornings I regret giving her the southern march." Aelia nodded gravely. Sara asked for the territory that would be directly involved in the subjugation of the Hikan Empire, should they attack.

"It must be frustrating."

"It is. Thankfully, Edico will be watching over her. Do the same for Newborn."

"As you wish." Trinov stood.

"Summon Newborn and the fourth company." —Jason Newborn— Jason stood before a brigade of two hundred soldiers, a true company, speaking with Trinov as he walked.

"To be a great leader, you must earn their respect," Trinov lectured, acting as if Jason—Jason Newborn—needed a lesson from an idiot who sat in an audience chamber during a summoning despite having Tyrexis. The man was too soft. Too "wise." Too fucking stupid to look out of the goddamn window and see what was happening in his own streets, yet he had the gall to tell Jason what to do. Despite that, he listened, doing his best to sound enraptured that the king himself was giving him an army.

"You must earn your authority. Listen, boy. You're this kingdom's Hero. Just as Sara is out in the southernlands"— (Always Sara!) —"taking part in the governance of the kingdom, so shall you. We need you to take up the mantle and fight for this kingdom. Do you think that you have what it takes?" Jason eyed the man strangely. There was something wrong about what the man was saying. The two stood before two hundred soldiers Trinov had given him direct command over, but something felt wrong.

"My apologies, but… are you saying that you want us… in politics?"

"Lord Newborn, I should make my position clear: your strength is a double edged sword. It can protect this kingdom and help it thrive. Or, it can bring it to ruin. It's my position that rather than viewing you Chosens as a tool, I'll view you as leaders and integral parts of this kingdom. That's why I stand before you, offering you a direct route into the military. My question is: are you up to take up the mantle?" This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author's consent.

Report any appearances on Amazon. Maybe he's not as foolish as I thought, but… There was something wrong. Jason and the others were obviously living out some alternate universe, and he felt like the Escars didn't ask Jason to take part in politics in his last life. Is this Sara's doing? (Sara) Every time her name was brought up, it felt like someone stabbed another pin in Jason's voodoo doll—a sharp pierce, straight to the fucking brain. But still. This seemed too good.

Why would Sara give him access to the military? She hated his guts.

"Well, Lord Newborn?" Trinov asked.

"Are you up to the challenge?" Jason's lips curved into a smug smile.

"Of course."

Sara and Edico stood before four hundred soldiers whom she would be training to fight a brigade of Mikaro's soldiers.

"For those who have not met me, my name is Margravine Reece of the Escaran Kingdom," she said.

"I am your leader, your commander, and your greatest nightmare." A group in the crowd snickered.

"You three!" She pointed at the others.

"Move to the far right. You've lost your privileges."

"What privileges?"

"The ability to talk, for one. Second, to learn magic. As of this moment, you're arrow fodder for our duel with Baron Mikaro. If you ever want your privileges back you'll remain silent. For everyone else…" Four soldiers lifted stacks of leather-bound journals.

"As of today, I will train you as lower sycounts." Sara always complained about her position in her last life, but she couldn't deny the thrill she obtained when soldiers won battles—obtained titles—became anointed. The atmosphere was electric. Her arms flickered with gooseflesh.

"These notebooks are from the scribes. As of today, you will all start learning the runic alphabet. You will not only learn these spells, but you will master them. You will see the chant, write the chant, and once you prove competent, I'll teach you how to use it.

"The first is a Rank 5 haste spell that includes an aura shield. This is the chant: Mia zefýra perásando skírize tis rízes ton dendra, anaferóntas tis mistikés tis fýseos kai ta apókrita tis." Sara's body glowed a shimmering gold. She then barreled forward at a speed no one was prepared for. Those in the center threw up the kite shields she ordered them to use. They didn't make a difference. Sara smashed through the whole line of them, sending them tumbling like bowling pins. She stopped fifty yards from the back.

Not a speck on them. The soldiers turned with choppy fluidity as they moved their gazes from the knights she had just tumbled to her.

"Everyone but the three, who shall still remain silent if they ever want to learn the spell"—she looked at the snickering group that was ready to protest—"will learn this spell. It's the first of three you will be learning. Now meet with the scribes. You will write and chant this a hundred times before you even dare to use it. Anyone who tries in secret will have their core shattered. Now get to work." —Jason Newborn— Jason stood before his troops and spoke clearly.

"The strongest will be training the weakest for the next month. If the strong refuse to teach those underneath them, they will be demoted. If the weak do not make significant progress, they'll be meat shields during our battles. Your groups will be shaped accordingly.

"I suggest that you work hard. Your position in the military will be determined in this one month." —Sara Reece— Sara stood with Edico, overlooking the group the next week.

"Those who have mastered the chant will start duels. Fists only. Perform the chant aloud and don't use chant compression. I want the full thing." Those who had completed their training chanted, and their bodies glowed.

"Sakin against Ricon. Go." Sara watched the two laugh as they rocketed across the battlefield, trading blows. Sakin, a normal soldier, was sent flying fifty meters, but immediately got up, unharmed aside from the vertigo. He then charged and exchanged more blows."

"If you have a red wrist band, find someone with a blue wrist band and start fighting. I want a full slug fest between everyone. Make it messy." Baron Mikaro heard of the battle playing out and rushed to the scene by horseback. There, he watched soldiers clobbering each other in the messiest display of magic he had ever seen. One punched soldier flew into two other fighters. Then he got up, grabbed someone else, and threw them across the battlefield before charging back into battle.

Almost three hundred people were involved in this mess.

"What do you think you're doing?" he yelled.

"Training," Sara said colorlessly, watching her people fight.

"This? This is training?"

"Yes. They need to know how messy things get. That way, when they're using ranged magic, they'll know how many of their own people they'll hit."

"Ranged magic. They're using mag…" It only hit him then that the people on the battlefield were all using haste spells.

"You're teaching them magic?"

"Of course."

"Of course! It's illegal to teach military magic to anyone without proper protocol."

"No, it's not. Under Trinov Escar's 37th edict, margraves and other border territory nobles have flexibility to train troops and raise sycounts to properly fight against the war. The edict was made, specifically, after the last margrave lost southern territory to the Hikan Empire due to a shortage of mages." Lestin narrowed his eyes.

"That law wasn't designed for something like this." Sara turned to him for the first time.

"Yes, it was."

"This is cheating."

"No. It's good leadership. Now unless you want to concede here and now, you'll teach your soldiers the same magic. She crouched and lifted a leatherbound tome.

"There's three spells. Rushing Strike. Wind Sickle. And Golden Javelin. Feel free to teach them more if you're so inspired." He snorted.

"Well in that case, I might as well teach them Raging fucking Flood."

"If you so desire. It won't make a difference." Mikaro trembled with anger.

"I'm writing the king."

"Please do. Mention that I'll be the Grand General of the southernlands in seven weeks." Mikaro released a frustrated grunt that was halfway to a scream. Then he stormed away. —Jason Newborn—"Mages, it's your time to shine," Jason said to his soldiers the following week.

"I want each of you to teach all your spells to the most talented in your groups." Aelia whispered to him.

"You can't just teach magic to anyone."

"If Sara can, so can I," Jason said.

"Or do you want Sara to have a full bastardized military while we wallow in paperwork." Aelia pursed her lips.

"I'll talk to the king."

"Well, do it fast. These soldiers are learning magic whether he agrees or not."

"This sounds like treason."

"It sounds politically savvy." Jason turned to her.

"Or do you think he made me a commander just because I'm skilled?" Aelia chuckled bitterly, turned, and stormed off. Jason ignored her and turned back to his soldiers.

"What are you doing?" he barked.

"I just gave you an order!" The mages separated and met with the leaders who had separated for him. Good leadership allowed people to make decisions for themselves. The fact that the mages went to the group leaders on their own was a sign that things were on track.