Chương 12: Chapter 11

Talanas hummed quietly as he gazed through the looking glass. No trolls in sight. He wasn't entirely sure if he should be happy or worried about it.

"Why the long face?" The Grand Magister asked, making his way up to the wall.

"There are no trolls coming from the south. We have rangers out scouting, but they're reporting no sightings either. Even the nearby villages seemed abandoned." Eastweald was core Amani territory, even if it wasn't the most heavily populated area. The area was lightly forested, and the Amani were forest trolls. That didn't mean the Amani couldn't live in the area, just that they congregated elsewhere when given the choice.

"What about Northeast and Zul'Aman?" Sapphiron inquired.

"Not a single troll since we arrived at the pass. Selessa is handling her job well. What's the status with the wall?" Talanas asked. Obviously, the wall was already built, seeing as he was standing on it. It had been a magnificent sight, seeing hundreds of magisters working together to create a massive edifice of stone from practically nothing.

"The magisters are hard at work magically reinforcing it. We believe it has reached a point where it can stand an ordinary siege. Not so sure about my daughter's new weapons or the Loa yet." Sapphiron made a tired sound and sat down on one of the nearby crates.

"This one won't have the magic of the Ban'dinoriel for hundreds of years, despite the proximity of the mother tree, Thas'alah." The wall was an impressive construction, mirroring all Quel'dorei architecture. White stone with red and gold accents. It was built between the mountains on both sides, high enough that even their archers would have trouble firing over it. It was thick as well, easily able to accommodate dozens of siege weapons on top, once those arrived.

Several towering spires gave a perfect view for defending magisters, while the narrow pass would force any invaders to bunch up and attack from a limited front.

"We'll have to make do with what we have. If your magisters have the time, we could prepare some magical traps for the trolls, but even with what we have now, I think we can hold the pass for a while." Talanas was pleased with their progress.

"I'm more worried about the absence of the trolls, not their presence. If they're not here, where are they?"

"The human lands?" Sapphiron suggested.

"I wish we were that lucky," Talanas grunted.

"I got a message from the king. The negotiations with the humans are proceeding, but they know the Amani in particular hate us more, and they're not being very accommodating."

"We knew the price of their help might be high." Sapphiron pointed out.

"We did. But if the trolls were to attack them first for some reason…" He left the rest unsaid. He noted another ranger scout returning, but he could tell just by the scout's bearing that there was no news.

"Obviously." Sapphiron nodded in agreement.

"Have you heard from my daughter?"

"Not since the last official communique, but that's a good thing. She's busy, but they're pushing the trolls hard. My rear scouts have been finding Amani corpses all over the forest. Whatever they're doing, it's working, and they're exacting a bloody toll on the Amani." He fingered the new bow he had been given. It was a magnificent weapon, forged from the branch of the mother tree. He'd named it Thas'dorah, and it was to become the symbol of the office of Ranger-General. Assuming they lived through the war.

"I'm slightly concerned because her communique hinted at something having changed for her." Secretly, Sapphiron hoped it was something draconic.

"I didn't get any details either. Just that we shouldn't be too surprised when we see her." He chuckled.

"Some of my scouts ran into her Farstriders and asked. Apparently, they just smirked and said something about a miracle. Not sure what that's about. It's Selessa, though. I'm not worried."

"Fair enough. Let's enjoy the calm before the storm, then." Sapphiron couldn't quite quell his curiosity. He would otherwise use scrying magic, but Selessa would sense it due to her Spellbreaker abilities.

Knight-Commander Starsunder recited a small prayer while giving the small golden sun medallion hanging from her neck a gentle kiss.

"I see you're finding use for the medallion." A familiar voice brought her out of her thoughts. The same voice that preached to them about the Light every time they camped. Usually, at the same time as the owner of the voice was healing their injuries, which gave the words extra weight.

"Paladin Seraphina." She nodded in greeting.

"It certainly doesn't hurt to give a small prayer before a battle like this." She noted many other knights doing the same with their own amulets. The paladin had commissioned them on one of their rare visits back at Tranquilien and handed them out to those willing. The paladin smiled, clearly pleased.

"Indeed. Speaking of…" The paladin grabbed her own amulet and recited a small prayer, and suddenly the Knight-Commander felt herself become stronger, while a protective curtain of power settled over her skin. Blessing of Might and Aura of Protection, the stable abilities of the paladins. Starsunder nodded gratefully, already well aware of how useful such boons could be. One of the reasons she now wore the amulet. She looked at the gathered riders on their hawkstriders.

"You know the drill. You've done this a hundred times already. No one dies tonight. We don't want the Saint disappointed in us, do we?" That brought out smiles in the gathered knights. They kept silent though. They'd learned the value of silence in the last several weeks. Ninety-five knights, out of the original hundred, plus the paladin. Their hunting pack. Four of the five that were no longer with them had been lost in the first two weeks, as they were still learning.

One had been lost to a troll witch doctor last week. They were among the better-off hunting packs. She'd heard of one that had ridden into an Amani ambush and lost a third of their number. A group that was now used as a warning for the others. The knights didn't need instructions either. They had already learned how to fight with these new tactics. Quietly, their mounts proceeded forward until Starsunder could see their prey in the target area, a clearing not far from their current position.

Another group of knights was riding away from the large force of trolls, several thousand strong, while shooting arrows behind them at the pursuing trolls. Starsunder knew the escaping group could've gotten away if they wanted to, but that was not the plan. As the troll force was in the middle of the clearing, a rain of arrows fell among them from the trees. Starsunder estimated at least three packs of Farstriders, the magical arrows of the much more skilled specialists finding their targets.

They were specifically aiming for the biggest and most dangerous trolls, the leaders, as well as the casters among them. Taking the leadership out first was the basics of what had become their everyday fighting style by now. Another hunting pack of knights appeared from the other side of the clearing, purposefully making noise and making a very convincing-looking charge towards the trolls, causing the trolls to turn towards the incoming danger.

Starsunder could see several spears being thrown at the knights once the distance became short enough, but she could also see those knights protecting their vitals and their mounts with their shields. Their armor turned any glancing blows harmless, and any hit to anything non-vital was quickly healed by their accompanying paladin. The knights had not been the only ones learning.

The paladins, the armored fist of the new church, had also become much better at triaging their patients and casting their healing spells pre-emptively, landing the spells almost as soon as someone was wounded. The paladins also knew to cast only enough healing to keep everyone from dying. Even grievous wounds and lost limbs could be recovered from with the power of the Saint, and the few High Priestesses who had gained the ability to restore limbs.

The paladins only had to keep their patients alive long enough to benefit from the Saint's powers. Nearly every knight in every unit owed their lives to both the paladins and the Saint. She silently gave the signal, and her group, as well as three others, silently rode out of the forest before crashing into the rear of the thoroughly disoriented and distracted trolls.

There were no leaders to give orders, even when their approach was finally noticed, and the scattered few trolls that managed to turn to face them were quickly ridden down. That's why the Farstriders had taken the leaders out after all. Starsunder grinned as her large glaive cleaved the neck of another troll. Another change, where she'd turned in her beloved sword for something heavier and something with better reach.

The blessing allowed her to easily wield the weapon in one hand, while she deflected a troll's axe with the shield in her other hand. Without the added strength from the blessing, blocking that blow with her shield would've been much harder. She didn't stay still long enough to duel any single enemy, and neither did any of the knights. They rode through the troll formation, punching to the other side, before riding off.

The troll force was devastated, as all the elves quickly made their escape and silently disappeared into the shadowy forest. Of the three thousand trolls, about half were dead. They probably could've defeated the remaining trolls with the combined forces they had here, but that's not how they fought. They were not here to win battles. They weren't here to capture ground. That wasn't their job. They were here to kill trolls, without taking losses of their own in return. Nothing more, and nothing less.

And that's what they did. Long pitched battles were not conducive to their goals, while quick strikes and skirmishes were. Especially when there were thirty such hunting packs of knights, and almost as many smaller groups of Farstriders in these forests. Sometimes the packs worked together, like tonight, while other times they worked alone. Either way, hundreds, sometimes thousands, of trolls died every night. They did not give the trolls the dignity of dying in a proper battle.

The trolls were vermin, and the knights were here to exterminate them. The trolls already knew that moving through the forest in small groups was suicide. Tonight was to show that moving in a large warparty wasn't safe either. More and more, the trolls were being forced into their accursed capital. The forest now belonged to the Quel'dorei, and the trolls were learning that fact the hard way.

"Wounded?" She asked the paladin.

"Three wounded knights, already taken care of. One of the hawkstriders was hurt bad enough that the rider will have to take her to Tranquilien to recover." Paladin Seraphina reported.

"You can't take care of it?" She asked a potentially stupid question. That was one of their weaknesses. Apparently, the paladins had a harder time healing their mounts for some reason. She had not understood the explanation that she'd gotten the one time she'd made the mistake of asking.

"I'm getting better at it, but no. Not this level of injury. Not unless we want to spend the entire tomorrow at camp while I handle it." Seraphina confirmed. She fingered the amulet at her neck in consideration, a habit she'd developed recently.

"No. We have more trolls to slay. Let the knight return with their mount. The clerics in Tranquilien can handle it, and we can function short-manned for a while. We'll pick them up the next time we return for re-supply." She finally decided. Of course, the injured mount and the rider would not be returning alone. Even if the forests belonged to them, some wild animals still disagreed, and she counted the trolls into that group. She'd have to send two more knights as an escort.

Admiral Goldleaf couldn't help smirking as the ballista bolt plunged straight through the giant water elemental and into the totem binding it on the troll flagship. Not that the bolt stopped there. It plunged straight through the ship, leaving a gaping hole in the bottom of the ship.

"Return!" Called out the officer in charge of the ballista, causing the just-launched bolt to suddenly appear on the designated place on the rack beside the ballista. There were half a dozen other bolts on the rack, and the officer knelt right away to check the bolt for any damage. Light, he loved magic! The magisters had always been brilliant at coming up with ways to use their magic. They'd simply been lazy and focused on aesthetically pleasing purposes instead of practical applications.

Now that a fire had been lit under their asses and their creativity was directed towards warfare, new ideas for using magic to make your enemy's day miserable came up almost daily.

"Load the exploding round!" He ordered with a calm voice that managed to carry over the din of the battle.

"Let's put the Amani out of their misery." The ballista crew obeyed right away, loading a very particular bolt marked with a small red ribbon from the rack, before the officer checked the aim. As the bolt was launched, it sailed in a gorgeous arc over the derelict troll vessel the enemy flagship was trying to hide behind, hit the target, and exploded in a rain of fire and arcane energy, splitting the enemy ship in two.

As the two halves started sinking, the magisters and archers picked off any survivors that tried to swim to the shore.

"Still need to replace those." He muttered. Maybe they'd come up with a way for the exploding bolts to also return? Would likely require chronomancy of some sort, and he'd heard that field of magic had become fiddly lately. A glance at the shore brought another smirk to his face. The harbor of Zul'Aman was burning. The Quel'dorei navy couldn't approach too close just yet, but they could sink the troll ships, as few as they were, and form a naval blockade of the city.

No reinforcements or supplies to the city over the sea, and no word of the city's troubles going out either. The Amani were hardly a naval power in the first place, so the battle had been short and sweet. He had heard the Gurubashi and the Zandalari had more naval assets, but that was as of yet unconfirmed. Besides, they were fighting the Amani, not the other two troll empires. And unlike the Amani, the Gurubashi hated the Amani more than they hated other races.

The Zandalari were a bit of a mystery, but it was unlikely for them to interfere as long as the war was decided quickly enough. And even if they did interfere, it was a long way for either of the troll empires to sail to make any difference. His job was done. All he had left to do was to maintain the blockade and attack the harbor if the Amani showed an obvious opening. The rest was up to the Saint and the King.

Sunalan Brightwing veered her dragonhawk to the left to avoid the Amani bat rider's thrown spear before channeling her magic through her lance and sending a bolt of arcane energy to bring the offending flyer down, hitting the bat on the wing, ripping it off entirely. The bat and the rider both plummeted towards the mountains below, and there was no way for them to survive the fall.

She and her compatriots had been based all over the mountains separating Quel'thalas from the lands to the south, just to make sure no bat riders like the one before would make it across to warn the main Amani host about the attack on their temple city and home. Normally, the sky was a big place, and spotting every single flyer trying to stay hidden was impossible, but magic could accomplish great things.

She pulled out a small magical compass and noticed that the closest bat rider was within Zul'Aman, meaning the skies were clear. Sooner or later, one would slip through, but the longer they could delay that, the more time they had to take the city itself. It was quite ambitious of the Saint to try to take the city without the rest of the Amani Empire realizing it, but so far it seemed to be working.

She guided her mount closer to outer Quel'thalas, and she was afforded a perfect view over the dozens of burning troll villages, smoke rising high enough to be a bother for her. She could also spot the roaming groups of elven knights and Farstriders hunting the trolls, almost reaching the walls of Zul'Aman itself. The Saint had done her job well. The King's army was just leaving Tranquilien, while another army was marching down from Lake Elrendar.

By the time they arrived, the city would already be under siege, and the trolls locked inside. She veered her mount back towards the mountains. Time focus on her own job.

Lirath smiled in cruel satisfaction as his mana-infused arrow pierced the scout's eye, the arrowhead poking out the back of the troll's skull. It was the thirtieth such shot tonight. Thirtieth kill. He was in rare form. Before, he would've struggled to fire more than a dozen such arrows in a night, but now he was pushing his limits every night. And he wasn't even feeling tired.

"That's the last of them." Dath'ron quietly muttered from the branch of a nearby tree.

"Should be. Signal the knights. The village is free game now." Lirath concurred before pulling back towards where the rest of their squad was.

"You're getting good at that." Dath'ron suddenly said as they were making their way through the sparse undergrowth in the dim of early night.

"Few years ago, you couldn't even use arcane shot, and now you're shooting them off like it's nothing. You're going to catch up to your brother if you keep that up." Lirath hummed quietly.

"I don't know what it is. Everything has started coming to me more easily ever since this operation started. And I don't just mean with the bow." Dath'ron nodded in agreement.

"I've noticed the same. It started when we were put under her command. These tactics of hers. They shouldn't have been this easy to understand and implement. It's almost as if I already knew them, and she reminded me."

"I know the feeling. It also seems like making decisions is easier. Choices clearer, with no hesitation or second-guessing. I also get ideas. On how to do things better. You know me. I was always good, but not someone who strived to improve things. And now…" Lirath shrugged, barely visible in the dim light.

"She's clearly done something, but I can't imagine what." Dath'ron voiced a suspicion shared by many.

"I don't care as long as it works. As I said, I've never felt this good. This…competent." Lirath argued, not wanting to go back now that he'd gotten a taste of whatever this was.

"I'm not saying it is something we should undo." Dath'ron hastened to clarify.

"I'm just saying. I'd like to know where this comes from, is all."

"Well, even without these odd effects, she's doing a great job. I'd say hard to imagine from someone we babysat on patrol only a handful of years ago, but then, I remember Noonstar." Lirath felt oddly protective.

"She has changed since then, hasn't she?" Dath'ron grinned a bit. Lirath joined in on the grin.

"Oh yeah. She grew up nicely, as much as she tries to hide it. Another perk of working under her." The two disappeared into the forest while laughing.

"And whose brilliant idea was it to include a member of the House Luminaris in the delegation?" Anasterian asked, practically seething with rage. He had to stop himself from cracking the communications crystal he was holding.

"It was decided that all the houses of the Convocation would be represented." The Queen explained.

"We couldn't leave Luminaris out in that situation."

"And now they've successfully sabotaged the negotiations with their plotting," Anasterian growled.

"Not sabotaged precisely. They introduced an alternative bargaining chip, which in normal circumstances wouldn't be too bad. Just that in this case, we have no intention of playing that chip. It was just something mentioned in passing, and I don't think they meant for it to become such a big deal. Only problem is that King Thoradin seems to have latched onto that idea. Now we're forced to play keep away." Queen Elessine tried to smooth things over.

"I don't care. Recall the representative of House Luminaris, have him imprisoned and stripped of his name, status, and all holdings for intentionally sabotaging the war effort. Let House Luminaris know that unless I see significant efforts from their part in the next few months, their position as a member of the Convocation, and perhaps even a noble house will be revoked.

"That's harsh. It's not going to land well." Elessine cautioned.

"I don't care. Selessa was right when she took a hard stance against selfish power plays at the expense of the kingdom. We're not going to tolerate any such behavior, and if House Luminaris wants to become the example for all, then we'll let them. We'll make them an example no one will forget. Zero tolerance for traitors. Make it clear we're going to brand them as such!" Anasterian shouted loudly enough that everyone nearby would've heard, if not for the privacy ward surrounding his mount.

Even as it was, his outburst was visible to his bodyguards and was garnering some looks.

"I'll make sure they understand." He could tell Elessine wasn't as reluctant as she appeared, mostly just making sure he was certain of his chosen path. In fact, she'd advised having much of House Luminaris assassinated a long time ago.

"What are we going to do about the humans though?"

"Make it clear to them that what their king is asking is not on the table. Tell them why. We'll have to give some concessions in exchange for them dropping the issue, but don't let them gouge us either. We're not coming to them in supplication. This is an alliance, and we're striking the first blow. Zul'Aman will fall within a few weeks. Less than a week if I can have my way. We've already struck the first blow while the humans are picking their noses. Make them see we're already being accommodating.

If they don't want to work together, then they won't be able to enjoy the spoils of this war." Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. As he cut the connection and dispelled the privacy ward, one of his elite bodyguards approached.

"My king. We're approaching Zul'Aman, and there's a group of our advance forces waiting." The stern-faced guard reported.

"Still no sign of the trolls?" He asked in confirmation.

"None. We've seen nothing but corpses, burnt villages, and piles of troll skulls so far. Even those advance forces have managed to stay out of our sight until now." The guard told him what he already knew. Seven weeks of mustering and marching, without a single sign of either the enemy or their allies, had made both Anasterian and his forces a little jumpy. They were practically at the doorstep of Zul'Aman, so you would think they would've run into some trolls by now. But no.

Apparently, Selessa had been extremely thorough. As they rode closer, he could spot the group of mounted Quel'dorei waiting for them at the top of a small hill. A dozen knights and a quartet of paladins in golden armor, all surrounding a single rider at the center of their loose formation. All of the knights and paladins kept a sharp watchful eye on the surroundings, even seemingly evaluating the approaching army as a potential threat.

The one at the center was wearing a heavy Farstrider cloak and leather armor that blended into the surroundings, yet she seemed to carry herself in a way that demanded attention. She had a presence about her, one that, despite the drab clothing and surroundings, grabbed you and demanded you be in awe and pay attention to every move she made. And despite the rather obscuring attire, the rider was very obviously a she. And a very, very attractive woman at that.

Once he got close enough to see her eyes though, Anasterian almost swallowed his tongue. Had he just given admiring looks to his niece? Yes, he had. Her face was obscured by a veil, but he would never confuse those eyes with anyone else. Oh, Light, he had been ogling Selessa. How had she suddenly grown that much?! Both of their bodyguards made space for them to get close enough to comfortably converse.

"Selessa. I thought it's only been a little under two months, but looking at you now, it seems I took longer than I intended." He tried to joke a bit. Thankfully, she laughed a bit in response.

"Ways of the Light are mysterious." She responded simply, her tone a little playful.

"You don't really expect me to believe that." He pointed out with a raised eyebrow.

"You'll have to settle for that for now." She shrugged.

"Welcome to Zul'Aman!" She made a grandiose gesture behind her. The hill had been chosen well, as it overlooked the area cut clear of trees in front of the troll capital, as well as the walls of the city itself. The ground in front of the city already held thousands of troll corpses, some of which seemed to be crucified into the wall itself with elven arrows.

"I see you have done an admirable job clearing the way." He commented. He could see the reinforcements from Lake Elrendar having already arrived and making camp to the north of his position.

"Nothing but the best for the king." She was obviously smirking behind that veil.

"We have devastated the troll forces outside the city with minimal losses to our forces. Still no sign of civilians, which worries me. Someone knew we were coming, and I wouldn't be surprised if there was a trap awaiting us."

"We'll need to exercise some caution then. If they've somehow rigged the city to be destroyed in a sea of spellfire, we don't want to have our whole army fall victim. That said, you aren't the only one who has some surprises in store." He and the magisters and engineers had been busy.

"Oh?" She asked questioningly.

"You'll have to wait until we're set up with the siege weapons." He wanted to catch her by surprise for a change.

"On that note, we scouted a few choice locations for you to peruse. Let me explain some of the ideas we've had." She pulled out a map, and the two began to plot the downfall of a city.

Selessa watched as the army prepared for the siege. Much of their supplies and numbers were obscured inside the forest, but the trolls had been smart enough to clear a large swathe of the trees surrounding the walls, making it impossible to approach under their cover. Any attacker would be visible long before getting in range of the walls. The walls themselves were not very sturdy by her reckoning. That was understandable as they weren't really built to withstand prolonged sieges or to stand against siege weapons.

Sure, they were high, but not very thick, and very simple in their construction. Half of the wall was made of wood, and loose stones piled on top of each other. Things that would turn into shrapnel the first time a proper siege weapon struck them. Speaking of, the Quel'dorei engineers were setting up on the same hill overlooking the city that she'd used to meet Anasterian. It offered the perfect view over the city, while being out of range of most magic and any spear throwers or troll archers, few as they may be.

The engineers had clearly been practicing as two dozen trebuchets had been assembled in less than three hours, forming a long line on the hill. The engineers hadn't stopped there though. There were another dozen catapults set up at the bottom of the hill, and both positions were surrounded by sharpened stakes driven into the ground to hinder any attempts at charging the siege weapons. The foot soldiers had also been busy.

Half of them were setting up fortified camps surrounded by wooden palisades and moats in the forest, while the other half was digging several long ditches in front of the positions where they would likely be stationed during the siege. Any sallying force from the city would have to cross those ditches to get at their forces. It seemed Talanas had taken her advice about the ditches seriously. She was quite pleased by the performance of the troops under Anasterian.

They didn't have the benefits of her new perks, and they were still performing at a decent level, showing that their training had not been wasted. Sure, there was a lot of room for improvement, and they were far from a professional army, but it was a lot better than it would've been without her interference. They also couldn't match the forces under her command though. At first, she hadn't been too convinced about the utility of the Charisma attribute.

That had been before she'd taken a good look at the higher-level perks, specifically those related to ruling and leadership in the Politics skill. The perks were mostly designed for use when ruling a nation or territory, but they applied to all of her subordinates, and the effects were widely applicable and boosted by her sky-high Charisma and Politics. And seeing as she'd been leading this front of the war for almost two months, she had plenty of subordinates and time to test those perks on.

The results didn't disappoint. They had managed to push the trolls into the city, using a force much smaller than the enemy had at their disposal. She'd estimated the Amani numbers outside the city at around 40 thousand fighters, and they'd used a force only a tenth of the size to defeat the trolls. At least a good half of the 40 thousand were now dead, while the Quel'dorei had lost less than 7% of their forces to do it. Even by Aeldari standards, that was a good ratio.

And considering they'd started with a force that clearly didn't have the expertise to pull the whole thing off, the perk had really done some heavy lifting, especially in combination with her tactics. She'd sunk all eight Politics perk points into those perks. Competent Underlings was the basic perk that improved the performance of anyone under her command or rule and opened the whole perk group. Superior Subordinates was a direct upgrade.

Shared Vision made it so anyone serving her would better understand what she was trying to achieve, and what it took to get there. They became better at making that vision a reality, or in this case, executing the tactics she set out. Intelligent Improvisation made sure those serving as commanders under her became better at making decisions on the fly. The really juicy perks came later.

Unleashed Potential ensured her subordinates kept improving the whole time they were working under her command, while Unlimited Potential allowed them to grow beyond their previous limitations. It was hard to imagine the impact of allowing people to improve beyond their previous natural limits, but the benefits were incalculable. Above and Beyond ensured her subordinates gave their best effort and made the extra steps to ensure success, and Inspiring Loyalty made sure they stayed loyal. Mostly.

A perk wouldn't stop someone who was actively working against her or just had the character of a traitor. It wasn't mind control after all. All combined, the perks turned the inexperienced commanders of each hunting pack of knights or Farstriders into competent leaders. It didn't happen right away; the effects of all the perks were gradual, but each day that passed and each battle they fought made them better. Smarter. More competent.

They still couldn't match seasoned Aeldari Autarchs, and likely never would, but they were now much more competent than they had been before. And it would only get better as time passed. As she considered all the potential future applications, she could see how the Politics perks might be considered borderline overpowered. Although… perhaps that was appropriate considering the level of the skill required to take those perks.

As the System had helpfully informed her, if she had a Magic attribute that high and Arcane skill to match, then she would've been able to destroy the trolls all by herself, without any need to rely on others to do it for her. She had realized something at the beginning of this war. Despite the System unlocking for her, she was not going to be able to sway the result of the war one way or another with her personal power.

Yes, she could make a difference, and she'd spent most of these weeks getting used to her new body, but her contributions would mostly come as a general, not as a warrior or magister. Her knowledge of tactics, experience of war, and now her new perks would be her major contribution. The others would have to do most of the fighting. The sudden sight of journeyman magisters conjuring ammunition for the various siege weapons caught her by surprise.

She knew Anasterian had sent out patrols with miners to scrounge up suitable stones, but apparently, they were not waiting. It made sense. The conjured ammo needed to exist only until used, and this way, they would be the optimal size. The magisters weren't horribly taxed yet either, as the battle had not yet begun. The trolls were already taking positions on the wall, expecting an imminent assault. They would be disappointed.

Another thing that caught her by surprise was the more experienced magisters setting up some kind of stationary magical formations in the air in front of the trebuchets. She had never seen a formation like the ones being used. A quick glance at the runes implied it had to do with vectors and velocities, but it wasn't until the first trebuchet fired that she understood the purpose. The stone flew straight through the formation, suddenly gaining a lot more speed. Speed meant more power.

It seemed the magisters and engineers had been busy. The results were spectacular despite obviously being a test shot. The stone didn't just impact the wall; it went straight through, tearing a huge hole in the wall as it went. As she'd expected, the loose stones and wood used in the construction turned into shrapnel, tearing into the trolls hiding behind the wall.

"That's… even more effective than I could've hoped for." As if satisfied with the result, the magisters finished with the other trebuchets, and soon stones were thrown at the outer wall at a pace of about one stone every few minutes per trebuchet. The wall was being torn down at an alarming rate, while the catapults joined the effort, but instead of aiming at the walls, the catapults threw their payload over the wall and into the city, setting it alight.

Fires started burning in the city, and if Selessa guessed right, these flames were not susceptible to being put out with water. That had been her original plan after all. Instead of a standard siege, turn Zul'Aman into a hellscape the trolls would prefer to try and escape out of. Except the trebuchets were being a little too effective. It took less than half an hour for most of the wall to be scattered through their own city, the trolls that had been stationed on top all dying horribly.

The Amani also had trouble dealing with the fires, so they only had two options. Withdraw into the inner city, behind the magical walls and the protection of the temples, or sally out and attack the Quel'dorei. The Amani, unfortunately for them, chose both options. Some of the Amani that decided to attack, clearly lacking any kind of proper organization, were slowly climbing over what remained of their fortifications, which left them as easy targets.

Though they did catch the elves by surprise Most of the elven forces had been busy building camps and digging ditches when the first trolls, driven into berserker fury, sallied out towards them. A series of horns called out, pulling the still working elves to the battle lines and their half-finished fortifications.

Luckily, the first trolls out were quickly taken down by the elven rangers, giving the rest time to get into position, but the Quel'dorei were clearly not at their best, having spent half of the day marching or working. She grimaced.

"This could've been executed better."

"Agreed." Anasterian, who'd come to stand next to her to observe the unfolding situation, echoed her sentiments.

"Our plan relied on the trolls utilizing the advantage of their city. Only, we were a little too effective at destroying that city and turning that advantage into a detriment."

"Well, live and learn. On the positive side, their attack seems scattered at best. They're just rushing out without proper orders." She pointed at the few places where some larger troll warriors tried to organize things, but those trolls were always targeted by the Farstriders. Most likely the ones she'd been commanding, as they already knew the usefulness of chaos and disorder among the enemy.

"This is why proper discipline is important. Half of them are retreating, which means this attack has no hope of succeeding." Anasterian estimated the strength of the Amani forces that were attacking.

"We could pick off all of them on the way to our lines if I order the magisters to attack." He pointed out.

"Don't," Selessa said right away.

"We both know most of the magisters went to Thalassian Pass, so let's save those that we have here for more important things. This is as low-stakes of a battle as we're going to get. We should give the soldiers the chance to get themselves bloodied. Experience combat in a relatively safe environment. Better they get that first taste now than when the situation is actually dire. Some will die, but we'll save more in the long run, and any injuries that aren't directly lethal can be dealt with.

Especially now that you brought along a handful of the High Priestesses." The priests and priestesses were also benefiting from her perks as she was the leader of the church, so it wasn't too shocking for some of them to have finally figured out how to heal severe injuries like lost limbs. Anasterian nodded in understanding.

"We'll likely want the magisters to stay ready in case there are any surprises anyway." The troll charge thinned out as they ran through the rain of arrows, even their ferocity and regeneration failing under the relentless assault, and almost stopped completely at the ditches. As the troll attack had become early, the ditches were not completed however, and the surviving trolls streamed into the paths around the ditches.

The troll ferocity was well on display, as even with the numerical superiority and discipline of the elves, the front lines almost seemed to buckle at places, as the elves, for the first time, came face to face with the berserker regenerating warriors. The shock was palpable, and for a moment seemed to throw the Quel'dorei off, before their training kicked in and they pushed the trolls back. This was the reason Selessa had wanted them to experience hand-to-hand fighting like this.

Hopefully, next time they wouldn't be momentarily paralyzed by the experience, though she had limited hope of that. It was the same thing with all armies, as well as the reason why so many young and new soldiers didn't survive their first battle. No one could really know how they would react when coming in contact with someone or something that really wanted you dead for the first time. Not just a wild animal defending their nest, but a real warrior desiring your death.

Seeing the bloodlust and desire for murder in their eyes was not an experience one could really prepare for. Some people rose to the challenge, finding the soldier and fighter inside them and facing the threat head-on. Most froze, not sure how to deal with it. Some threw down their weapons and ran. The issue was, while it would be easier the second time, knowing what to expect to an extent, the effect didn't just go away after the first battle or two. You just had to learn to deal with it.

And only a part of their army came face to face with that situation. Truly face-to-face, and not just from a distance. The number of trolls that made it to their lines was a small fraction, and most of them were wounded and were relatively quickly dealt with. Taking a life was also difficult to some, and something that you had to get used to.

"Well, that was a relatively good result for our first attempt at a siege," Anasterian commented.

"Now we have to do the same to the better-protected inner city, while dealing with any nasty surprises they might've left behind."

"Keep our forces out of the city and just move our siege equipment and fortifications closer. Let's not attack the inner city today. We can let the fires in the outer city burn out before sending a few scouts to see what sort of surprises they might've left behind." Selessa recommended.

"Agreed. We'll get the troops fed and watered before we move things forward." Anasterian nodded in agreement.

"By the way, did you notice anything odd about the outer city?" Selessa suddenly asked.

"Yes. No civilians. Judging by your earlier reports, you haven't run into any so far." Anasterian showed he wasn't stupid either.

"Exactly. The only explanation is that someone knew we were coming, and the civilians were evacuated. The Queen's spies and the rangers did report seeing them move out over the last couple of years." Selessa speculated.

"If they knew we were coming, why not do a better job preparing and defending?" Anasterian asked the important question.

"Why indeed…" Selessa didn't know. And she had people to heal. Better leave this for tomorrow's Selessa to deal with.

"In short, the troll activity at the wall is increasing, indicating that they're noticing something is wrong, but no real attacks so far. The Grand Magister managed to locate the Zandalari ambassadors with a scrying spell, and apparently, there seems to be some friction between the troll clans about the leadership, which is likely the reason they seem so distracted." Talanas reported through the communications crystal.

"That's what Elessine's spies also reported. They can't get into the actual meetings, but from what she could gather, the Vilebranch tribe is contesting the Amani for the leadership. The Shadowglen tribe has just walked out of the negotiations and is harassing the humans in the area called Silverpine. Makes sense, since the two share land." Anasterian recalled the earlier report. The disunity of the trolls was their biggest advantage at the moment.

If the trolls had managed to unify before they acted, then the situation would be much, much worse.

"How long are you expecting the siege to last? I'm not going to lie, I'd feel much better if our forces were all congregated at the Thalassian Pass when the trolls finally decide to strike back." Talanas asked.

"Judging by today, a few days at most. It'll take us longer to march to the wall. The outer defenses of Zul'Aman fell much faster than we anticipated. It, of course, helps that the elites of the Amani are down south. Still, the defenses were more of a detriment for the trolls than an advantage. I don't think even Selessa expected this result." He chuckled. His niece always seemed so on top of things, but she also seemed to be somewhat flummoxed when things went to plan or better.

As if she couldn't believe something could go right.

"Well, even she can't always be right," Talanas commented, although Anasterian was distracted from his comment by the tent flap opening. One of the guards outside pointed at two Farstriders wishing for a meeting.

"Your brother is here and wishes to talk to me." He told Talanas.

"Lirath? What could he want?" Talanas seemed genuinely shocked.

"I'll let you get to him, but I'd like to hear what he wanted, if that's alright."

"I'll see what he has to say," Anasterian responded, without promising anything. With a wave of his hand, the crystal dimmed and soon Lirath and another Farstrider that Anasterian recognized as Dath'ron Drathir, a rather promising member of the Farstriders. Also a member of House Drathir, which was part of the Convocation.

"Your majesty." Lirath made a rather clumsy bow, which Anasterian waved away. A tent at night was not the place for such formalities.

"None of that. What brings you here?" He asked.

"Are we private?" Lirath asked carefully.

"Do we need to be?" Anasterian asked with a raised eyebrow.

"What we have to discuss with you is something that should not be shared with anyone that you don't have absolute trust in," Dath'ron said seriously.

"This is of vital importance. More important than the whole siege of Zul'Aman." That was a serious thing to claim. Anasterian gave a small whistle, prompting his bodyguard to look inside. Anasterian gestured for him to come inside, just for protection, and then cast the most powerful isolation ward he could manage around his tent.

"We are now." He said simply.

"What's this about?"

"This is about your niece." Lirath clearly struggled with how to address Selessa. Anasterian could see the words commander, princess, and saint, all war on the man's mind, before he settled on what he did.

"You've no doubt noticed her sudden change in appearance." That caused Anasterian to get quite curious.

"I have." He replied without giving anything away.

"We have reasons to believe that changes to her appearance are the least of what has changed," Dath'ron revealed. Anasterian lifted a hand to stop the two.

"Just to be clear, are you accusing her of something? Because if you are, she should be here to defend herself."

"No!" Lirath exclaimed hastily.

"Just the opposite, in fact."

"Explain." Anasterian lowered his hand and allowed them to continue.

"We started noticing things after we began the campaign. At first, we just chalked it up to good tactics and the benefits of having paladins with us. Their magic could obviously improve us physically, only not all the benefits were physical. It's not too much of a stretch to think the paladins could help mentally as well, but we've since confirmed things that go against that theory.

The effects were gradual at first, but at this point they're undeniable, and they extend to everyone under her command, not just those working with the paladins. Importantly, we confirmed things with others not under her command, and they don't seem to be affected." Lirath explained, his explanation leaving some rather important details out.

"Affected how?" Anasterian asked the most important question.

"Everyone working under her seems better. Better rangers, better soldiers, better leaders, better thinkers. I'm the first to admit that I haven't always been the most hard-working or skilled leader, but I've never made as many good decisions as in the two months under her command. The tactics she's taught us; we shouldn't be so good at implementing them, but I seem to know what to do almost on an instinctual level. Every decision I've made as a leader of my group of Farstriders has been the correct one.

I'd even go as far as to say the optimal one." Lirath spoke as if floodgates had opened.

"If it was just us, we'd gloss over it," Dath'ron added.

"However, as he said, we've been making discreet inquiries. Everyone under her command seems to be affected to some extent. One or two people growing stronger under pressure is one thing, but everyone under her command? That seems unlikely to be a coincidence. And if true, it has massive implications." Anasterian leaned back, steepling his hands in front of his face partially to hide his impressions.

"To be exact, what do you believe to be behind this?"

"Well, it's the Light, ain't it?" Lirath stated as if that was obvious.

"As said earlier, if the paladins can improve us physically, why couldn't the foremost user of the Light have larger and more impressive powers? She's supposed to be the saint or something. Either way…well, I think you can imagine the benefits. Putting her in charge of the whole army might win us the war. Or, if this gets out…" His implications were clear. The trolls were not the only ones who might wish to hurt Selessa.

"Thank you, you've given me a lot to think about." The dismissal in his tone was clear, and the two Farstriders made a hasty exit. The bodyguard stayed, not having been excused.

"What's your impression?" Anasterian asked the stoic old elf. The bodyguard had a lot more experience than his king after all.

"Never heard of anything quite like it, though it wouldn't shock me too badly either. I've heard of many weird powers. One thing they did get right though. If she does have an effect, like they said, or even something half as good, her presence could change things in a major way. If word gets out, the Amani are the least of her worries." The man confirmed Anasterian's suspicions.

"It seems I'm going to have to have a word with my niece. In private." Anasterian decided. The conversation would've been inevitable anyway due to the physical changes. Now there was even more reason.

As usual, the guards in front of Anasterian's tent were the only ones that inspired any confidence in Selessa. These two would likely be able to put up a good fight, not because of their magic, but because they actually knew how to use those large blades of theirs effectively. Notably, these two were not Spellbreakers. As far as she could tell, they were simply highly skilled warriors. Armed to the teeth with magical weapons and armor, perhaps, but warriors.

If they had any magic or anti-magic abilities, they hid that fact well. They always wore closed-off helmets and armor that blurred most features, so it was impossible for her to tell how many of them there truly were. She always saw two, but that didn't mean much. They might not be the same two. One of the guards wordlessly lifted the tent flap for her without prompting, and as soon as she stepped inside, she could tell there was a privacy ward in place. None of the sounds from outside could be heard inside.

"Uncle." She gave a simple greeting, looking at the King working on something at his desk.

"Selessa." Anasterian returned the greeting while finishing something, before putting his quill away and looking up.

"We need to address a couple of things."

"I can imagine." She replied simply.

"Just to warn you, I'm not operating with full knowledge either. I can speculate, but there are things I simply don't know."

"I would assume nothing less. Let's start with something simple. I'm guessing you're still you? The physical changes are just that, physical." Anasterian brought up the most obvious concern.

"Correct. There are some other changes, which I assume this discussion is also about, but those changes don't affect my mind or personality, if that's your concern. I'm still me, in good and bad." She could guess that Anasterian had caught a whiff of her new perks at work. It would've been odd if no one noticed.

"We'll get to them. Can you explain the physical changes first?" He gestured towards her obviously altered appearance. He could see she carried a resemblance to her mother, his sister, enough to make the relationship obvious, but in many ways looked very different as well.

"You'll remember that my development in that area seemed rather sluggish?" She asked, getting a raised eyebrow and a contemplative nod in response.

"From what I gather, whatever force brought me here is responsible for the changes. My initial development was delayed, and then it was all applied at once overnight. It's taken me a long time to get used to the changes. Before you ask, I don't know who or why."

"You claimed the Light was responsible." He pointed out.

"I needed some explanation beyond just shrugging, and that seemed to fit the prevailing narrative." She offered a reason. Anasterian nodded in agreement.

"I can see why you would. It's easier to swallow than some other power or entity suddenly making such changes. You said you don't know who or why, but you have some speculations?"

"To an extent. I believe I was brought here for a reason. Who or what brought me here is a mystery, but it can only be some sort of higher power. So far, that power has seemed benevolent or at least neutral. What their purpose is, I don't know, but there are only so many reasons someone or something would bring someone like me here. There are some things that I'm good at, and many things I'm not."

"War." Anasterian guessed glumly.

"That's my assumption. My expertise matches that assumption, and my parentage does place me in a unique position to prepare our people for war." She speculated lightly. She was used to war after all.

"And I'm guessing the Amani are not the enemy we're supposed to prepare for." Anasterian guessed.

"I would assume so. Why would some higher power care? No, this is a regional war, and while the consequences for us could be far-reaching, I think it hardly warrants the intervention of a higher power. This is a practice run at best." She suspected the Quel'dorei would've won this war even without her, even if with worse results.

"Then against whom? And when?" Anasterian asked the important questions.

"There's the rub. I get the impression the problem isn't imminent, but beyond that I don't know." She shook her head. She hated not knowing, but it wasn't the first time she was working with unclear timelines.

"Your ability to influence those under you?" Anasterian suddenly asked.

"Ah, now there I have a bit more information. I was granted some power, and I'm under the impression that power will eventually grow, but I can somewhat control the direction in which that power grows. When this…" She gestured towards herself.

"happened, I was allowed to direct a portion of that power. I decided the best direction was to improve those under my command. Personal power is great and all, but I can't be everywhere, and my options were somewhat limited."

"So, this effect you have comes from the same source as your recent changes and your arrival here?" Anasterian confirmed.

"Mostly. Kind of." She prevaricated a bit.

"I mean, it mostly just improves what's already there. I was fairly good at inspiring my subordinates even before, as evidenced by the growing faith in the Light. That was all me. My new appearance makes that even easier. The new power just improves that effect. It won't turn someone who's my enemy into a loyal subordinate or someone who's incompetent into a master warrior. It's not mind control or omnipotent. It just smooths the path in front of those who choose to follow me."

"Lirath mentioned that he was never this hardworking before." Anasterian countered, mostly just to see how her argument stood under test.

"Lirath is more hard working than he thinks. He's just always been in the shadow of his brother. Now that he's seeing improvement in his abilities and success that he didn't see before, a chance to stand on his own merit, he's grabbing on to the chance with both hands. Yes, the power does encourage people to work harder, but it's mostly through the kind of methods you see with Lirath. It's easy to work hard when you can see results." She argued back.

She was partly telling herself that, as she honestly didn't know how her perks worked and how far they could go. Anasterian seemed to accept her explanation for now.

"Should we expect other sudden changes like this in the future?" She honestly didn't know.

"I'm not sure. Again, I got the impression that this was the big one. Gradual changes, yes. Not sudden large changes like this. I think part of the reason my growth was delayed was to grant this possibility for a larger effect."

"I'm not sure how comfortable I am with the idea of some higher power having such power over someone I'm seriously considering as a successor candidate," Anasterian admitted, dropping a small bomb with the succession topic.

"It makes me uncomfortable with what other things might change. Or if the changes could be mental." She shrugged in response.

"That comes with the territory, I'm afraid. And just to make you even more uncomfortable, I'm fairly sure this higher power could just as easily change things about other people. I'm simply the vessel they've chosen to act through for now. And there are other higher powers out there that could do the same, I'm sure." Anasterian shivered.

"That's…not a comforting thought."

"It wasn't meant to be. Reality isn't comforting, and sometimes we are naught but playthings of those above us. The sooner you come to terms with it, the better. We must all deal with the hand we've been dealt and do what we can. We might be pawns in some cosmic game between higher powers, but personally, I plan to be the strongest bloody pawn ever created. Maybe I can flip the board with enough effort." She didn't want to be a pawn her whole life. She'd already had enough of that in her previous life.

"I suppose I can agree with you there. And we do have the opportunity, so we'd better make the most of it." Anasterian seemed to agree.

STATUS: 3 Base Points/0 Advanced Points/0 Mastery Points Body: 5/11 (2 Unspent Perk Points) Athletics 5 (1 Unspent Perk Point) Iron Lungs Heavy Weapons 4 (1 Unspent Perk Point) Cleaving Strikes Durability 3 Immovable object Reflexes: 4/12 (1 Unspent Perk Point) Light Weapons 3 Swift Strikes Nervous System 3 Keen Eye for Hidden Subtlety 3 Arcane Shots Charisma: 17/17 (+2 Max due to Eyes) (8 Unspent Perk Points) Politics 17 Competent Underlings (NEW) Superior Subordinates (NEW) Shared Vision (NEW) Intelligent Improvisation (NEW) Unleased Potential (NEW) Unlimited Potential (NEW) Above and Beyond (NEW) Inspiring Loyalty (NEW) Social 5 (2 Unspent Perk Points) Pleasure 1 Crafting: 2/12 Magical 1 Creation 1 Nature 2 Eye for Errors Eye for Improvement Discipline: 4/12 (+2 Max due to Past Experiences) Commander 4 Battlefield Awareness Ambush Expert Cavalry Tactics Squad Leader 2 Sensei Soldier 3 One With Your Steed One With Your Steed II Magic: 5/13 Light 5 Severe healing Baptism of Light I Arcane 5 Massive Spells Master Conjurer Spellbreaker 4 Magic Sight Anti-Magic Zone Projected AMZ