Chapter 9: Falmer's Ahas
The sun was up, bathing the lands in all its glory and warmth. The birds were singing in unison as they soared gracefully, the wind was brushing against the leaves of the forest, creating a soothing rustling sound. It would have been a peaceful afternoon if it wasn't for the pile of corpses rotting around the walls of the city of Premer, nor the cries and screams coming from the aftermath of the recent skirmish as black birds were picking bits of flesh that they ate with their horrid laugh. The Ahas camp was still standing and defying the defenders by its mere presence, reminding them of their presence and their constant threat. The flaps of the commander's tent opened and a tall man came out, wearing a full plate of armour covered with green cloth over his helmet and chest. Those who saw him exit, quickly stepped aside while saluting him with the utmost respect in their eyes. Some outsiders might think it was because he was a two metre tall bulky warrior who was surrounded by people 50 centimetres shorter in average. He was carrying a sword on his hip and a mace in his hands, despite being well taken care of, it still bore marks of use with small dents on its end. The man was in the middle of the besieging Ahas camp which had three distinct sections, clearly distinguishable by the wide dirt path separating them.
The first one was the small fortifications mainly composed of wooden palisades made from logs of the forest nearby. Ditches had been dug to deter any direct assault on the wooden defences. It was constantly being guarded and fortified.
The second section was more focused around the aspects of waging war, from packed barracks of soldiers to a field hospital which was basically a big tent with beds and a vast array of saws, pliers and scissors, some were still covered with blood. There was also a canteen area with cooks constantly running around, either to fetch ingredients or delivering the meals to a dispatch squad in charge of the food logistics. There was also an armourer tent which was constantly producing or repairing tools of war but there were also engineers who were fixing or building the next siege machine. In the centre of the district stood a small stall with an abacus next to slate board, there were numerous family names written on it and next to each one of them, there was a small vertical line of chalk, one for every fallen member who had that name. And as the number of deceased rose, the quantity of chalk diminishes.
The last section was filled with moans and cries, it was heavily guarded with patrols and soldiers wielding polearms and maces. It was the most important part of the camp for it was their sinews of war, their lifeline. There were small individual tents, most of them had cries and screams coming out of them, some even had the stench of urine. There was one big building made of planks and stone bricks in the middle of the third section. There were a lot of feminine grunts as women were either giving birth or being impregnated, some of the women had long silky hair while others lacked any hairy attributes. Despite its sexual focus, it was also occupied by dozens of scribes who scrupulously registered every birth with all the details about the newborns, from their parental lineage and direct family members to their future position in this ever growing army. The Ahas people had that particularity to be able birth two to three children at the same time, though it was through laying eggs the size of a small melon.
The ancestors of the Ahas were named Sakha, snakefolk who hunted big prays for food, they usually ensnared through seducing their target with the promises of sexual intercourse which led to crossbreeding with other sapient races. At that time, the most dominant race that lived around the Sakha was one of the ancestors of humans who were more vulnerable to the literal booby trap. Those human ancestors were slowly assimilated or simply coexisted alongside the ancestors of the Ahas. But due to the dangerous surroundings, Sakha people developed a fast ageing metabolism when a parent died, the stressful environment meant that a caretaker was required to survive. If left unattended for more than a day, the baby or child would grow to full maturity though the older they were, the longer it took them before the accelerated growth happened. It was still a matter of days, though the maximum was five for a ten year-old. Some people noticed that children with both living parents had an average magic potential unlike those who were forced to maturity, which was almost non-existent.
"Lord Ahs Falmer! We received words of a naval fleet heading to Premer, they should arrive in less than a day and a half." A man wearing a hood said, following the ruler to the third section of the camp.
"Ah, mister the messenger, Wo. Do you know its purpose and its size? Is it an ally or an enemy?" Falmer asked, idly looking at the individual tents where cries could be heard.
The messenger in question was draped in layers of green cloth, underneath the hood, he was wearing a tuque and a veil that hid the Ahas' face. Wo was the personal courier of Falmer as he also managed the communication network of the entire army.
"They bear the insignia of a water dragon and there's another one with a land dragon." The messenger told his lord. "Neither have wings. The water one is a cross between a fish and a lizard. The land one is red and breathes fire."
The two people arrived at the breeding building, the hooded man ceremoniously opened the door to the armoured lord. The people inside went silent when the important man entered, only the creaking sound of the wooden floor resonated inside. Some newborns began crying but were ignored by the nurses and even their mothers. All stared silently at the towering Lord, waiting for his commands.
"So they are from Valiamer and also serve the King Hedi. That means they aren't just a relief for the city but are actually warships. They might be a game changer." Falmer continued to say after showing the occupants to act as if he wasn't there.
The moans and grunts resumed but were quieter. Lord Falmer walked to an Ahas who was sitting behind a desk, a scribe who was talking to him quickly left. The worker was wearing a breastplate and pauldron the colour of blood.
"We'll stop the reproduction as of today. Make sure that the eggs are all gathered." The Lord demanded before turning to his messenger. "Send scouts and make sure that we'll have an escape route."
The person behind the desk instantly got up, angrily slamming his fist on the table. The Ahas nearby got startled, one even dropped some pieces of paper. The man was fuming but showed some restraint, trying to not yell at his master who could see him shake.
"Lord Falmer, we've lost five generations on their walls. Leaving now will go against the very meaning of our army's doctrine and motto. Leaving now will mean that our time and energy was for naught. Leaving now will render the sacrifice of the childhood of hundreds Ahas." The desk person protested, looking around for approval.
"Captain Brigart, I hear your plea, but if we don't make any progress soon, we will be wiped out to oblivion. I prefer saving face now than annihilating my army. The city of Premer will get naval reinforcements with probably enough fire power to nullify the only advantage we have."
"And what about our mission? What about your own children? What about your position as lord?"
Lord Falmer flinched, he knew it was all his fault. He knew that it was because of his pride. His only goal was to avenge his family under the cover of retribution which was over the death of the Ahas delegation, a small group of diplomats who had been sent to the city of Premer to negotiate a trade route between some Ahas cities and humans ones. But once the negotiators entered the city, they gave no sign of life since then. It was clear that they had died since their children started ageing faster. Falmer's wife was one of those who had been killed, she was supposed to be the translator between these two races. On top of all that, being an Ahas with an average magic potential was considered very rare and was a status of nobility to those who lead armies. Ahs wasn't one of those but intended for his children to be what he couldn't.
"Know your place Brigart. I will deal with it my way." The lord replied, weighing the mace in his hand.
"As you wish, my lord." Brigart grudgingly said as he sat down.
Chapter 10: Afarin
A 200-strong naval fleet had departed from the small harbour of Himer, it was composed of fifty transporting ships, fifty boarding ships noticeable by their boarding bridge with a spike to anchor themselves to the enemy floor. The other hundred of ships had mages and archers with some vessels having ballista. Among the offensive boats, there were a handful which carried two lance shaped tubes that acted as giant flamethrowers, being able to launch flaming streams of tar at three hundred metres away. To operate such machinery, mages had to constantly blow pressurised air in the funnel while normal crewmen were consistently refuelling the machine with the hot black substance that was stocked in the hull of the ship under the water level. Another magic user had to light the projectile on fire as it exited the pipe, the person had to do it once as it was an ongoing stream coming out. Each lance had ten spell casters operating it since it required a lot of power and rotation to avoid magical burnout. Those incendiary weapons and the ships holding them were called laufer, basically calling them fire launchers.
The admiral of the fleet was standing on one of those laufer boats as it was the admiral ship, distinguishable by its golden ornaments on the sides and its red and purple sails. The high ranking officer wore a red cape coming down to the middle of her back. She wore pauldrons and a breastplate painted in clear blue, the bulk making her look imposing. She wore a red tunic underneath and a pair of green pants, often worn by the royalty of Valiamer. Every officer had to wear colourful clothes to be easily distinguishable from the rest of the crew who had to wear dark blue clothes. In a form of irony, red capes were shorter the higher the rank of the officer was, the lowest rank that could wear one was of a lieutenant, then commander or master, then captain, and finally admiral.
The woman's face looked rather pale and a trickle of drool was coming out of her half-closed mouth. With a closer look, one could notice two very thin and small fangs in her mouth, it was a trait of her Ahas genetic heritage. She also had red irises and the flat nose of her reptile ancestors, making her slightly stand out when she visited the royal court. On her left forearm, there was some kind of scar, it resembled a snake in a circle. Other than that, the rest of her anatomy and outlook were that of generic humans of the kingdom of Heri. She had an olive skin colour and black hair with white strands, hidden under her leather hat. She was in the average height of the women of the kingdom which was around one meter and a half, every crewmen were towering over her with the average height of one meter and seventy centimetres.
"I'm gonna get sick." The female officer said to herself, leaning over the edge before throwing up her last meal.
Thankfully, her crewmen were too busy to notice their admiral who was almost dangling over the ship's railings. She quickly got up when she heard the voice of one of her captains calling her rank from the commanding room, wiping her mouth, she hastily walked there. When she entered, she could immediately feel the eyes of her dozens of captains and many other officers already standing there, around a map on the table in the centre. A faint smell of broth was still in the air and some empty plates were lying on the cabinet next to the door.
"Sorry for disturbing your busy schedule, admiral." One of the captains said with an acknowledging nod. "We know you like taking the afternoon to oversee the fleet but it's important."
The officer who spoke was the tallest in the room, his shoulders were wider than the ones of a gorilla, some compared him to an iron golem. He was also the eldest, his grey hair was already turning white and his skin looked a bit leathery. He was the senior officer of the entire fleet, both in age and in experience, having outlived three admirals during his career but he never rose in ranks since his promotion to captain of the admiral laufer boat. His former superiors all died in glorious battles, repelling invasions from faraway kingdoms and their faces were carved in the wooden frame of the bow.
"Excuse my tardiness, Artin. Let's get it over quickly." The admiral replied, trying to sound annoyed even though felt more sick than anything.
The officers nodded and turned their attention to the map, a young crewmate placed tokens to their approximate position on the paper. With a quick glance around the room, one could easily notice some interesting characters outside of the imposing senior officer, there were some captains with a peg leg or a wooden hand, some had patched up vest and pants, others had bright and shiny clothes. Their difference resulted from the different areas they came from as well as their experience as naval officers.
"But of course, admiral Afarin. Most of us have already been informed about the state of Premer. Anyway, the city has been under siege for more than two weeks, the walls are strong and held every time the enemy assaulted them." Artin explained, showing the position of the enemy camp in the map with the crew mate moving the pieces with a stick.
"Are they within the range of our ships from the sea, or should we move them in the Minr?" The woman, Afarin, asked while glancing over the map.
The Minr was the river running through the city of Premer. Some officers pondered at that suggestion while the others shook their heads with disappointment.
"From the sea, that won't be possible. And from the city, it would mean a lot of indirect fire." A captain explained. "That is, if they deactivated the magic dispelling stone for us to use our laufers."
Afarin staggered at the answer but quickly regained her composure, as usual. Thankfully for her, everyone was too focused on the map to notice anything, but she wasn’t too surprised as it happened almost all the time and it has happened all the time.
The woman wasn't going to let some minor inconvenience get the better of her. Winging it for years, she spoke up.
"Oh, then we'll bait the enemy into getting closer to the shore. Our marine infantry has seen some action, they won't go down easily." The admiral quickly said before coming up with an idea. "They'll be the anvil and we'll be the hammer!" She roared with her last sentence, hoping to rally her men.
Her enthusiasm didn't leave them indifferent and they all roared with their fist raised, sending shivers down the admiral's spine.
"We're the hammer!" The officers yelled, following her outburst.
Seeing that her distraction worked, she continued, eager for that incredible sensation of being useful.
"We will crush the enemy with the might of the Valiamer fleet! The mighty royal fleet!" She yelled, her fist in the air. "For Herik! For Premer!"
"For the Heri kingdom! For Premer!" The officers chanted.
The female officer basked in the atmosphere she created. After a while, captain Artin ordered silence when he felt that the men had calmed down a bit.
"Very well, we will prepare for the attack on the Ahas siege army. Do you have anything else to add, admiral?" The senior captain asked expectantly.
The admiral had been spacing out and quickly shook her head when she heard her rank. The officers didn't notice her behaviour as they were already staring intently again at the map. Being unprepared to actually have to come up with a strategy, she had to think fast before saying anything stupid in front of her men, first, she needed to buy time.
"We will arrive in less than two days, right? There's a chance that the enemy will notice a fleet our size, isn't it? I suggest that we… split it in two, we'll leave the slower moving ships… such as the boarders and transporters with the heavy machinery behind with some escort. And that would mean that… that way the attacking group will get there faster, hopefully before dawn. What do you all think?" Afarin said with lots of pauses between sentences as she seemed to be thinking.
The captains looked at each other before all turning to Artin who cleared his throat. The imposing officer was usually their representative, being the admiral’s second and a captain, he was seen as the middleman and as someone who knew how Afarin thought.
"That sounds like a good idea. We'll transfer the marine infantry to the fastest ships. Alright, you've heard the admiral. Go forth!" Artin ordered before leaning over the map to point at things. "Vaso, Censo and Reso, your squadrons will escort the transport ships. You know your role, vanguard, centre and rear, do your fathers proud. The admiral's squadron will be the spearhead with the other laufer boats in tow, three columns. Don't forget to resupply before we split into two."
The officers all hurriedly left the room to go back to their own vessel, giving their respect to the admiral on their way out. These men were the most loyal to the crown and were often trusted with the large scale naval battles especially after proving their worth for winning thousands of engagements, be it against pirates or foreigners. Thanks to their cutting edge naval technology, namely the laufers, the fleet earned the name of Herikfer, the fire of the Heri kingdom.
The admiral watched her subordinates leave, nodding to each one of them as they passed before her. As usual, the newest officers were the last ones to leave, getting more instructions from the senior captain Artin. Once she was sure that nobody else was there, she casually walked to her captain’s cabin and to her desk before collapsing on the chair with an exasperated moan.
"I can't believe they're still following me… that was the most stupidest plan I've ever made up on the spot… and we're fighting Ahas too… damn it! For Herik sake!" She ranted, with a hint of despair in her voice, rubbing her left forearm.
The admiral Afarin quickly looked around to make sure that nobody was here, then she opened her drawer and pulled out a letter with a waxed seal from lord Alm, an acquaintance of the woman. She had learnt that the lord had adopted Ahas children who he named Abfir and Ehilrt, two medicinal plants, and she went crazy over them and their stories. She was so concerned over their well being that she often wrote letters to Alm, while also talking about her own children, who she barely saw. Though these two people never met in person, only corresponding with messengers with their latest location, their relationship seemed to only concern the wellbeing of the adopted children of the lord. The pen friend ruled over a small city situated 30 km northwest to the big maritime city of Valiamer, the minor city used to be a supply depot and a medical outpost, but since he was an important mage in the nobility, his position made him travel across the kingdom to either teach spell casting or heal other nobles.
"Oh no! Ehilrt almost killed his sister!" She exclaimed as she was intensely reading. "Oh, good, there won't be any scars! Poor thing."
"Admiral, we've spotted unidentified vessels on the horizon, coming from the south. They're a flotilla size with hulls reinforced with metal plates." An officer declared loudly as he bursted into the room.
Afarin let out a startled high pitched scream before getting back into character. She looked composed, joined her hands and nodded to acknowledge the person who entered. Quickly dropping the letters on her laps, hidden from her officer’s view.
"From the order territory, right? It must be them since we're 20 km from Deltamer. If they get too close, signal them that we're not going to cause them trouble. We don't want to be delayed in rescuing Premer, do we?" She said, insisting on the last words.
The admiral had recently heard of the Order which was a fairly new power in the region, it had colonised a deserted island with a dormant volcano on it. It was situated in the south of the kingdom and had its closest harbour at roughly 30 km from the coastal town of Himer.
"Of course not! Premer is our top priority." The man replied with a trembling voice.
"Well then, why are you still standing there? Go." Afarin said in a stern face.
"Y-yes admiral! Right away!" The officer enthusiastically replied before leaving as quickly as he came.
Contently watching the man go, Afarin contained herself from screaming.
"I wanna die!" She cried when the man closed the door. "How am I still in charge of these extremely competent people? If they weren't so efficient, I'd still be a ship lieutenant who had to patrol the waters around Valiamer away from all the politics."
She remembered her letters and resumed her reading with a smile on her face.
Let's see the bright sight of this world!