Another chapter drop. Two more chapters will be up later today :)
'Everything will be okay, Calixa. Just keep it together. Get with Kharon to see what can be done. In the anti, just deal with the situation at hand. I took a deep breath and stared at the massive man who knelt before . His hand was crossed over his heart, and his face averted towards the ground.
"Need you ask?" The words left my mouth, and ntally I was taken aback by the words that left my mouth. A part of felt like I was losing control of my life and body, and I wasn't okay with it.
"I failed you, I failed your father, and above all else, I failed Asteria." His voice bood in my ear like thunder as he hung his head even lower. The sha of actions that were never even true hung heavy on his form, pressing him onto the ground.
I stared at him as I tried to steady my mind. Judging from what I knew of him, it would insult him if I told him that everything would be okay, so instead, I needed to take a different approach. "Things didn't go as planned. However, I have awakened you once more, for I find myself in dire need of your skills. Consider it a chance to redeem yourself." The words sat on my tongue like a bar of lead as I spoke. They were cold, but sothing gnawed at my mind that this would be the right way to go.
He stared at the ground, and for a few tense heartbeats, we spared no words between us. "I understand, Empress. What do you require of ?" He stood up, and the heaviness that pressed down on him seed to lt away and be replaced by fiery passion.
"Asteria is in disarray, my legions are fractured, and above all else, we are in unfamiliar territory. I require your assistance in sifting through the ash of my fallen empire and restoring it back to what it once was." I crossed my legs and stared up at the hulking mass of a man, who overshadowed with ease, mustering all the strength I could to project any sense of power towards the man.
His gray eyes lit anew as if a fla had been sparked once more. "I understand. How many troops do we have at our disposal?" His voice bood once more, but this ti with a sense of purpose. Good, I'm glad he chose to drop this, for now at least.
"The first legion, and my guard, is all I can spare at the mont, plus whatever reinforcent that I can muster." In all reality, it wasn't that bad. I could summon however many troops that I needed, but he didn't need to know that sort of information. We all had a role to play, and I wanted to keep it as such.
"What about the current territorial expanse? Fortress? Towns?" He asked once more as he seed to greedily drink all the information I gave him.
"We are down to only one stronghold on the outskirts of White Ridge. Town wise, we have nothing." I rattled off my response, and for once, I felt how small my domain was. I was still in the midst of an expansion after all, yet I couldn't help but feel a little cramped in here.
He bobbed his head as his eyes flickered with the etheric flas. "There is much work to be done then. Do you have an overview of our current territory?"
"I do. I have a copy here and another in the stronghold. However, I have recently been negotiating with so of the new countries that have moved in. So at the mont, I want to keep any advancents of our military quiet. The less we give them to worry about, the more we can sway things into our favor." I bobbed my foot slightly as I spoke to Octavian. A lot of the panic that I had felt earlier had faded, yet I still had a nagging thought over it, yet with each passing second, it only seed to grow more and more muted.
"That would be wise. I will still need to see for myself the current state of the legions to make a proper assessnt." The giant mused quietly to himself, though his words were still as loud as ever.
"I agree. If you would accompany to the stronghold, then we can make a plan further." I stood up, brushed off my cloak, and grabbed the sword that I had sitting by my desk.
"What of Lady Alessia? Does she still live?" Octavian asked as I strapped on my sword.
Ah, yes, she will more than likely be very irate if I left by myself with only the Warmaster to accompany . "She is taking care of the princess at the mont." I should probably take a few of the honor guards to help reduce her irritation at leaving. Usually, I would drag her along, but she is taking care of Nyx. I walked over to the office doors, pushed them out gently, and peeked outside.
Standing next to the doors were two spirits. The one on my right looked to be a male with a soft face; in a way, I would describe him as angelic. Though he was still a bit obscured. The other was a dium build female and had a sharp, stern face, but just like the other, her face was still a bit hidden.
Both had a pair of spears attached to their back, along with a single sword that rested on their hip. Much to my shock, they both seed a lot more solid than the other spirits here. These must be the palatine guard Alessia ntioned earlier. These two would do since there wasn't really a point in taking out the entire praetorian guard for a small excursion.
"Ah yes, the princess. How does she fare?" My Warmaster's voice bood behind as I gestured for the two guards to join in my office.
"She is well. A bit of a handful at tis. She can be rather strong-willed." I replied as I did one last equipnt check to ensure that I had everything I may need. Let's see. I have my sports bag, pens, notebook, and everything else.
"I would expect nothing else. It all runs in the family."
I eyed Octavian curiously as I flung my bag across my shoulder. It made curious how much of it all was imagined or if what he said was actually true or not.
The world around morphed and shifted as my teleportation skill finished. I landed softly on the ground, as did the two palatine guards accompanying . On the other hand, Octavian hit the ground hard enough that I swore it trembled as he landed. He indeed was a monster of a man.
He stood up and straightened himself out, and then glanced around the stronghold. His fiery eyes dimd slightly, and sadness seed to wrap around him like a cloak. "How far we have fallen. Were your father still alive, he would have my head."
No, my father may be an ass, but I doubt he would do that. Though we may be on two different wavelengths here. I reached up and tried to give him a pat on the shoulder, but alas, he was far too tall for that. I stepped away, glanced around the compound, and saw that it was as busy as usual, with troops running drills and patrols coming in and out.
To , it looked alright, yet from his words alone, I gathered he was disappointed. I knew it wasn't good enough, but to , I was pretty proud of it. I worked hard to make sure that everything was as efficient as possible. Though I knew that I also had to practice so humility. We would only get through all of this to ensure that everyone got along. If I was gonna be a bitch about things, then nothing would progress. So I was careful to choose my words. "There is much work to be done, Octavian. Co, let show you to the stronghold." I gestured towards the massive building that served as the center of operations.
The Palatines kept close to , with one in front of , and the other fell a few steps behind , keeping as close as possible as we walked through the courtyard. The various undead that spotted us all around slowly began dropping to their knees, placing their hands over their chests above their hearts. I pushed on, ignoring the displays of fealty. After all of this ti, I was still very uncomfortable with it. Being seen as soone worthy of taking a knee was sothing I wasn't quite fond of, but I would allow it to persist, if anything, for morale.
The praetorian in front of rushed forward and wholly ignored the two guards that stood at their post and pushed open the door for , which, thankfully, the two undead that stood there didn't seem all that annoyed by the action. Though even if they could say anything, I doubt they would.
However, as I strode up the stairs, I noticed a strange feeling that seed to make it's ho deep within . It was a feeling of confidence and strength that seed to eat away at my doubts and fears, little by little. It was as if nothing truly mattered. Then the task at hand. Even the fear I felt earlier seed to pale compared to the confidence that was possessing , and honestly, I think I was starting to not care about anything else.
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