Valia Hendell's Story

(For ye old speech.)

Aldric Valens' eyes snapped open, blinded momentarily by the light from the lamp stands in the corners of the room, three of them to be exact. Gilt affairs, the lamps stood as high as a man, the cage containing the candle wick lined with mirrors to reflect the light in multiple directions, increasing the brightness of the room without increasing the size of the flame. A rather old trick that had been used for hundreds of years by his reckoning. Someone would have thought of it at some point; it really was quite useful. Sighing softly as he thought of the day ahead, Aldric stood up slowly so as to not wake the Queen; no sense in disturbing rest that didn't need to end.

Making his way to the dressing room, he scanned the array of clothes available to him. It really was too much for any one person, especially him. He preferred items to be elegant yet simple. Despite resolving to do so multiple times, he had never converted the clothes to more usable materials. Memories of his parents were attached to many of the garments, ones that were not pleasant. Maybe that stayed his hand as much as the lack of time.

Supple leather boots of various colors and thickness lay arranged along the wall closest to the door. The differences were minimal as well would serve well in court yet be serviceable in battle, albeit for a short time. Selecting a pair of knee-height boots of light brown leather, he continued on with a tunic of green silk with scroll-work running along the seams, brown-dyed cotton pants that extended into his boots, and a cloak of ruddy-brown secured by a thing gold chain. Donning the attire, he retrieved the King's Crown from it's position in the dressing room. The frame was a simple gold circlet, made unique by the platinum-secured sapphires and rubies set into the crown. For whatever reason regalia seemed to inspire people.

Stepping through the door leading to the hall outside his chamber, Aldric nodded to Vyri Veyer, captain of the Royal Guard and one of his most trusted companions. Looking through one of the arrow slits to the outside sky, he was pleasantly surprised to find a clear blue with a scattering of clouds. "A fine day for a speech, I would say. Or a battle. Or peace. Peace is what we seek," Aldric muttered to himself, trying to convince himself of that statement.

Striding through the hallways, he greeted the various servants and guardsmen that were awake at the moment. When he had first done so, many had been shocked by his association with those not of rank. By this point all took it as normal from him. Approaching a door that would open out to the main courtyard of Castle Valens, Aldric took a deep breath and steeled himself for the coming moments. The people needed inspiration and it was up to him to give it to them. But could he provide it? The war was tiring him, aging him beyond his years, sapping his will to fight. Every day was a struggle to survive, encroached upon on all sides by the forces of the Demon Lord. Yet he had a duty to the people and he must fulfill it.

As he stepped onto the balcony, he was greeted by the sight of hundreds of people looking up at him, milling about. Upon seeing him both cheers and insults roared from the crowd. Aldric looked on wearily before steeling his mind and voice.

"Citizen's of Enri, dark times are upon us, have been upon us for the past twelve years. In the 840th year of the Rift, armies of Demon's poured forth from the Moors, aided by humans that would destroy the sacred peace that had been built by the blood of our forefathers, blood spilt so that we would not have to spill our own. But such measures were not effective. Somehow, someway, the Wall was breached by the forces of Evil. Meot Acer, blessed be his name, was one of the first to give his life to ensure the safety of the people of Enri. His sacrifice, along with those of his knights, allowed the survival of countless people, providing the time needed for them to escape. But as many as we saved, we lost more. In their desire to wipe from the face of this planet, the Demonic forces pillaged and massacred as they advanced through the continent. Families were butchered in front of each other, whole companies of soldiers tortured for the amusement of demons, prisoners hunted and then cooked alive for sport and hunger. Our soldiers have valiantly given their lives to stem the flow but yet again it was not enough. We are surrounded in Acatia with our forces, those in Inae are similarly trapped." Aldric stood quiet for a few moments, the rage of countless losses spilling over, driving him to more. "You see what they do to us, treat us like animals. Are we animals? No, we are not! We are human, fey, castanic, we are brothers and sisters bonded in the fires of war and suffering. They think that they have made us weak as they push us back, our numbers dwindling. Some say that those with nothing to lose will fight the hardest in war, giving their all in battle. I would like to challenge that claim. It is those that have family at home, friends waiting for your return, patrons and customers that admire you; those are the people that will fight the hardest! Do we not have a home around us? Do we not have friends and family gathered here and Inae? Do not those that we have known look upon us from the heavens, willing us to avenge them? I say we do! The night always seems blackest before the dawn. Well I tell you, people of Enri, our dawn has come! No longer will we hide behind our stone walls, cowering in hopes that they will deter the force of the Demon Lord! No longer shall we bend knee to those that would treat us as slaves, kill us as cattle! No, we are free men, women! No longer! From this day forth we shall drive back the darkness! We shall bring the light forth! We are the dawn that we have been waiting for! Our cause is just, our intentions true, our morals noble. So I call to you, unite! Unite and push back this darkness! Our victory awaits us! Our time has come!"

Vyri stood solemnly by the king from the moment he left his chambers only returning the greeting he was given by the admirable warrior that had aged so terribly from these trying times. He had walked and served this King since being sent here by his parents whose trust in him had been formidable. Now he was placed in high esteem by a king as the captain of his personal guard, serving well before this in the Imminatis Regiment now taken over by his predecessor Rowan Vescis with the lost of his eye.

He continued with his solemn expression expression never breaking the stoic appearance he held, a lack of discipline it would be to him and on his parents. Now they finally made it to the balcony leading into the courtyard. The same courtyard that hosted more than refugee camps and the forlorn faces of feeble families torn by loss, strife and utter despair. Vyri had encountered his own amount just like these folks but he refused to show it at all with his only visible scar being the silver eye patch he wore covering the empty socket. This was the kings attempt at rallying the people giving them hope for the future a very bleak future that did not contain much by current appearances.

Vyri sat and listened as the speech began listening thoughtfully carefully ensuring he absorbed every word. This wasn't some lesson by his parents on the dangers of the wilderness or a school lesson he did not wish to learn. No this was much more than any of that. This was the leader of the faithful country standing on the doorstep of hell staring down a rancid beast that was knocking viciously at a gate it could not budge. That gate was not only a physical one as much as it was a metaphor for the resilience the people continued to show by living on.

The speech came to an end Vyri taking the moment with the words resounding through the courtyard to walk forward his hand already on his sword hilt his other fist striking into the air in a pose of victory.

"All hail the Aldric Valens, King of Enri, and the one who will lead us to victory against the darkness! Witness now the judgement of the righteous!" The elves words rang loud through the courtyard his own tone harsh and clear no melodic tone just the strong words ringing from his mouth as he led the war cry.

Aldric smiled as Vyri walked in front of him on the balcony, pumping a fist in the air and pronouncing a call. A deep sense of satisfaction filled him as he scanned the courtyard, taking note of all the faces, exultant and inspired by his speech, seeing renewed hope that the inhabitants of the Moors would finally be pushed back to their original home and vanquished by the people of Enri. Vyri was a faithful guard and a good friend. Various times Aldric's life had been saved by the elf, a traveler from a distant land. Few could match his abilities and almost none could do better. Trust was an important thing to have these days but so was caution. However, there were times when caution would only inhibit and now was one of those times.

As Azuriel joined Vyri on the balcony, Aldric laughed. The man was special in a way many could not match. Leader of the Impetus Battalion, he was renowned for his brutality in combat yet that was exactly what people wanted at this moment. They wanted a man that could garner victories in the face of superior forces or inflict such casualties on an enemy force so as to cause the battle to be a Pyrrhic victory for the Demonic forces. Someone that could most certainly be relied on in the coming times. Not to mention a terrifyingly inspirational figure in battle.

In the crowd stood a girl who he did not recognize, young with flowing hair of a golden color. He knew most of the people in the safe area by sight if not by name. She must have been recently arrived from somewhere. A small pack lay slung over her shoulder and a movement seemed to come from inside. Most likely a small animal of sorts. Whoever could help would be appreciated. He would send someone to find who he was later, once other business had been dealt with.

Hearing the soft sound of clapping from behind, he turned to find his wife, Sashi Valens, Queen of Enri, standing there. His smile only grew wider, splitting his beard as lines creased along his eyes, a sparkle of joy reflecting of them.

"Wonderful Speech, my love. They believe in you, as I do. I would have liked to hear it in it's entirety, though. Why didn't you wake me?" she teased. Returning her tender kiss, he laughed and hugged her resting his head against hers, breathing in and taking in her unique smell, savoring the melody of her voice.

"Thank you, my love. What you missed was not of import, simply a recounting of how we arrived in our current. I find a repetition seems to remind people that have forgotten something despite having lived through it." Stepping out of the embrace softly, his eyes maintained their glitter. As to why I did not wake you, I wished to spare you from politicking. I promise to wake you tomorrow with me." Hadn't he made that same promise for years now and almost never upheld it? It brought a small chuckle to him. "If I remember that is."

Examining all those assembled with him, he was filled with pride at being able to call these people friends and companions through the dark times of war. Nodding to Ivy, he requested, "Let us move to the War Room for now, there is business to attend to." As he walked, a servant ran up to him with a letter. Opening it and reading as he walked, Aldric saw it was from Elijin, the leader of the Ranger Corps, announcing the readiness of his troops. As they reached the room, he wrote out a quick reply and handed it to one of the guards, commanding him to take it to Icarus and send the bird back. On the letter was written this:

Eljin, my friend. I thank you for your support during these trying times. Assemble the Rangers and make your way to the enemy forces surrounding Castle Valens. Make what trouble you can for their troops. Keep me informed of any major movements. I hope to see you when they are broken.

-Aldric Valens

He wrote a similar letter to the forces in Inae, commanding them to assemble their forces and begin gathering for a push into the Acatia region. Turning back to those with him, he looked at Azuriel. "Azuriel, my friend," he commanded, "When we begin our push, take the men you have here and forge a path to Inae and assist our men there. If possible, it would be blessed if you could make your way there now, inspire the men there and lead them to us. Do as you see fit," he commanded. Upon Azuriel's response, he turned to Vyri.

"Send someone to find Xavier, my friend. Tell him to ready his forces as soon as possible to continue improving the defenses of Castle Valens. We cannot fail now." With that command given, he turned back to Ivy.

"I do not wish to place you in such danger, but if you can, make your way into the Demon camps, hiding yourself with your magic. Find out what you can and return here as soon as possible. Do not endanger yourself, flee if discovered. I wish you luck." With the final command given, he sat down in one of the chairs around the center table, already feeling the stress of the day. He would have thought that with the new inspiration he would have more energy. Apparently not.

Vyri followed the king into the room not taking a seat but a place standing back behind him to the right. The frosty eyed elf held a stoic gaze still his left hand still resting on the hilt of the sword and his shield dangling from a leather strap. He stood waiting for the others to arrive from the various commands minus those that were now far away. The leader of the Assassins had yet to show his face which was typical of a man of the shadows. Rowan Vescis has yet to appear but he was rather ill lately and may be a time before he was up. The Rangers were ready as were the Berserkers and Ivy of course. They would do what they could for now with the other units take their time to make it down here.

"My liege. If I may speak freely." Vyri said his hand balling in a fist over his heart the other leaving his sword temporarily as he gave a slight bow before beginning to talk the man he had sworn allegiance to.

Xavier Lent


"If we take the Ballista Regiment and set them higher on the mountain, then place shield mages....no that wont work. The ballistas wont be able to puncture the enemies siege towers. Maybe if we have the mages add power onto the shots. No, that would push the mages too hard." Xavier Lent was pouring his attention over a map of Castle Valens in his room, trying to find an easy solution to the defenses of said castle. He was always here, or in the War Room, always thinking.

Today, as most days, Xavier was dressed in only the lower half of his armor. Stylized gold and steel greeves with matching boots, chainmail and padding underneath. He usually went shirtless, the warm weather when compared to his home province of Inae making it uncomfortable to wear much on his torso. Because of this his tanned skin and scarred back were almost constantly exposed,showing the marks he had earned through battle. His golden hair fell down to just above his shoulders after Xavier had untied it from its usual position where it fit in his helmet.

His remaining armor as well as his weapons and other things were laying across his bed, as inspiration for future defensive strategies to come. At the moment however, Xavier was coming up short. He hung his head in his hands and tried not to flip over the table and map out the window. Every thing he thought of,every defensive strategy he could think up would not hold the demons back, let alone allow them to push the armies back. Most of the other officers did not understand his morbid thoughts of defeat. King Valen gave the people a feeling of optimism, and Xavier wished he could feel it too, but he had no way to get past the facts, they were most likely doomed.

Just as he was about to go back to the map a runner boy came into his room and bowed low before hastily speaking. "Sir Lent, our engineers are ready for your assessment of the defenses." Sighing, Xavier stood and dressed in the remainder of his styled armor, donned a basic longsword for the time being, and motioned for the runner to lead the way.

So far Xavier had reconstructed the castles manned defenses such as catapults, ballistas, trebuches, and the like. Before the demonic hordes had even arrived at Castle Valens, Xavier had begun to retrofit the walls for magical assaults using priests and paladins to place holy barriers over and around the stone structures. So far, the horde has hesitated to attack the walls or gates which have had double the reinforcements. The only problem with the defenses were, they would not hold forever. Xavier had a lot of work ahead of him still, half of the anti siege weapons were out of action, and most of his men were lacking in combat training. This morning would be, as they say in Inae, Dipped in the Wind.