Chương 59: Vaelith's Valor

Vaelith"So what will you show me this time, sister? Another battle that ends in retreat?" My brother mocked me yet again. I was only thirty-one, and he thirty. Still children, really, and yet he had won over a dozen battles while I… none. Prodigy, some would call him. I called it laziness. Too willing to sacrifice others for even the smallest gain. Our house had been vying for a piece of land for around a decade. House Malrec laid claim to it, and so did we.

Mother and Father had deemed it the perfect playground for us. The land itself was of little consequence—I don't even remember its name. A few human inhabitants. A pleasant view from a hilltop. A forest said to house some truly nasty creatures, and a calm river that wound through the valley—perfect for village life. Still, it wasn't worth the hassle. It was simply two houses being stubborn as always, wanting something because the other wanted it, just so they could say they had it. Politics, in other words.

"You lost thirty-two soldiers during the last battle," I replied.

"Thirty. Two. Would you like me to name them all?" I began to do just that— My brother held up a hand, "—No, no, I believe you. A worthy sacrifice, all of them. Or maybe they were simply weak, and we are thinning out the herd. No matter. Either way—" I ground my teeth, "—I lost none myself. They all get to go back to their families. They get to fight another day."

"And you gained no ground either," he snapped back.

"They take up space, eat food, and drain resources. They get sick. They get others sick. Honestly, I cannot understand why you do not embrace your class as I do, sister."

"I do," I replied, then weaker, "in my own way." He scoffed. This was an argument we had had many times before. Sovereign. A Special Grade class. The ability to grow stronger with the number of subjects one possessed. As for the means of acquiring said subjects, that was where my brother and I disagreed. I believed the most loyal subjects were those with whom you fought alongside. Those who would sacrifice for you, and for whom you would sacrifice in return. My brother believed the opposite.

He gained subjects through domination. Fear. Intimidation. Whatever was quickest and easiest. And, as much as it pained me to admit it, his way was more effective and yet… I still couldn't get past it. If I was a Sovereign, a natural-born leader, then I wanted to be someone worthy of leading… but then why couldn't I win even a simple battle? That night, as punishment for my loss, I was sent to my quarters with hardly a bite to eat. Luckily, Sabren, my personal attendant, snuck me in some firecracker bites.

I chewed them happily. Sweet at first… then came the snap of fire and heat that burned pleasantly across my tongue. I sat at my desk beneath the low glow of an oil lamp and studied the crude maps and notes scattered across its surface. Outside, distant voices drifted through the halls while torchlight flickered beneath my door. I mused over the battle. What had I done wrong? What could I change? After hours of contemplation, I came to only one conclusion—if I had embraced sacrifice, I could have won. Without it…

there was nothing I could have done.

"And here you are," Vaelor said, entering my room without knocking. He dragged a chair across the stone floor, sat, and leaned against my desk, studying my writing and crude sketches of the battlefield. He looked them over for only a moment before grinning, noticing my conclusion before I even spoke it.

"You see? I told you."

"Shut it," I replied, not wanting to hear it from him.

"One battle proves nothing."

"And what about the last one? And the one before that? And the one before that?" Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere." Ugh —you are an infuriating little rat. Fine, then. I challenge you to a duel. Let's see which of us is strongest." Vaelor simply shrugged and shook his head.

"You are still missing the bigger picture, dear sister. How would us fighting each other one-on-one prove anything? If anything, we should allow champions to fight on our behalf. I'd recommend no fewer than ten." Angry and not thinking straight, I agreed immediately. It wasn't until the late hours of the night that I realized my brother had baited me. Our duel would be a spectacle. Representatives from other houses would likely come to watch. My mother, father, and siblings certainly would.

I had no doubt about my ability to best Vaelor in a one-on-one bout… but we wouldn't be fighting one on one. On the day of the duel, I dressed in my finest battle vestments. Dark leather and polished metal hugged my body, every buckle tightened, every edge cleaned. I wanted to look the part for my followers. To show them what strength looked like. Vaelor hadn't even bothered. He yawned from across the makeshift battlefield, looking as if he had just crawled out of bed. But he didn't know what I had planned.

I'd knock that smile right off his stupid face. My father raised a hand. Around us, spectators lined the edge of the field. Banners from our house stirred in the breeze, their fabric snapping softly above the gathered nobles and soldiers. His hand dropped— The battle began. My warriors, following the directions I had given them beforehand, formed a V-shaped line and charged. They crashed into Vaelor's fighters with a clatter of armor and weapons. An immediate scuffle erupted. I had two healers. Vaelor had none.

I was about to question his tactics until I saw why. He had taken a different path in developing Sovereign than I had. He could force his fighters beyond their limits, draining their futures to fuel his magic. It was the ultimate form of sacrifice… and he was doing it during a mock battle simply to prove that his way of thinking was correct. He would go that far just to prove me wrong. I was mad. Pissed beyond reason. I screamed orders as my units were slowly pushed back across the churned earth.

I did what I could, transferring stats—including my own—from one unit to another, giving them the boosts they needed at the exact moments they needed them. Still, with my brother sacrificing the futures of his fighters, there was little my units could do.

"Do it!" I screamed. My one and only mage cast a spell. Thick smoke rolled across the battlefield, swallowing soldiers and turning everyone into shifting silhouettes. Now was my chance. I rushed forward through the confusion, trusting my instincts to guide me toward my one true target—my brother. I'd strike him down. Not kill him. Killing him was allowed, but I didn't hate him that much. I saw his silhouette just as the smoke began to clear. I leapt from the haze, my axe singing through the air as I swung.

It was my brother, and he… smiled. In his eyes, I saw the reflection of the battle behind me. My units faltering.

"Kill them," he commanded, and his voice echoed in the minds of his followers. One of his soldiers raised their weapon and drove it downward with killing intent. I poured all of my stats into my fallen fighter, giving them just enough Agility to twist aside before the blow struck. When I turned around, my brother was standing directly in front of me. His sword gleamed in the sunlight—ready. I felt power pour into him as he stripped everything he could from his own units.

My fighters immediately pushed back, wounding and killing several of his now-weakened soldiers, but my brother didn't care. Because he knew he had won. Before I could react, he thrust the tip of his sword forward—time froze. The battlefield fell silent. Dust hung motionless in the air. Soldiers remained suspended mid-swing, and even the banners above us stopped moving. A voice rang out from everywhere at once.

"Do you see the mistake that you've made? From my point of view, you could have won this battle."

"Yes," I replied.

"But in doing so, I would only have proven my brother right. That sacrifice, in the end, is inevitable."

"And so what will you do? If you could turn back time and do things differently, would you choose differently? Or are you content with the outcome of this battle… and with what happens afterwards?" I was standing outside myself. I was me again. Vaelith. But older. The banished Demon Princess. I looked at my younger self, knowing what hardship awaited her should the tip of that blade pierce her flesh. If I could go back and change it all… would I? Rook and I had been through so much.

Thinking back, we had overcome obstacle after obstacle, and not once had I betrayed myself or my ideals. Our partnership proved that I did not need to sacrifice others to find victory. I simply had to be better. To be stronger.

"No…" I replied.

"I wouldn't do a thing different."

"Well said, Demon Princess. Well said. For remaining true to your convictions, you pass the test. You may move beyond the mist." Suddenly, the battlefield vanished. My brother was gone. I was gone. Darkness surrounded me on every side, except for a narrow slit of light ahead. And through that light, I saw something strange. Was that… a town?