Luvi was new to the area but she had learned a little bit about who the military typically fought against. There was no open war, but there were always bandits to deal with and hostile tribes that roamed nomadically throughout some of the regions. Nobody had told her this explicitly, but the stories she heard from other soldiers all kind of sounded the same. Of course there were variations, but she got the main points. It was a strange feeling to condition herself to dislike a group of people just because it pertained to her job. Of course she hated bandits regardless, but she didn’t really see what the nomads did to deserve to be ‘dealt with.’ That was, until it was explained to her that the empire's goal was to bring the nomads into the fold. There were some that didn't want to be included, however, and while there was nothing inherently wrong with that, it was another thing for nomads to go out of their way to cause issues for the empire.
These thoughts persisted in her mind as she walked alongside several dozen soldiers in the hotlands. Supposedly a large group of hostile nomads had been active in the area, and while Luvi had no clue why anyone would want to live out where it was this hot. Why the military thought it important to keep this area under control was also something she would have liked to know, though she never asked. She assumed that there must be some reason if the empire was willing to throw bodies at the problem. A job was a job and if someone was paying her to eliminate some ‘bad guys’ then she wasn’t going to question it.
“Hold!” came a command from the front of the formation. The man hopped down from his mount and started conversing with his peers for a few minutes before addressing the privates. “The enemy is in sight which means that they’ve probably seen us as well. No doubt those damned nomads picked a flat area so they could see trouble coming at a distance. Anyways, the plan is simple. We’ll keep the melee combatants up front and have archers in the rear, with a couple of us keeping the flanks secure. There’s two ways this can go down – either they come out to fight or they’ll run. If they flee, do not chase them. Our goal is primarily to recover supplies that they have stolen from us. Our secondary goal is to set their camp on fire and send a scout to follow them to see where they’re headed next. Questions?”
There was a long pause, then an infantryman held up a hand, then another. They worked out specifics but Illuvia’s mind was focused on figuring out the reasoning behind her superior’s plan. She wanted to lead someday and she knew that she would never get the chance unless she was able to make similar plans. She thought to herself, “there is likely no threat of being ambushed or flanked in such a wide open area where one could see for miles. That’s why a simple march on the camp is likely good enough to do the trick. Also, keeping someone at the flanks would deter the enemy from breaking our formation with minimal effort... It’s a good plan.”
“Private Illuvia!” shouted her superior whose voice snapped her out of her thoughts.
“Sir!” she shouted back.
“I hear you’re quite the swordsman, but be careful. It won’t be long before our enemies are aware of your abilities and they’ll be sure to single you out. I suggest you stick with the group and don’t try to be a hero. Alright, everyone gear up, we’ll set out in a half hour!”
Illuvia considered his words and inclined her head. She wasn’t exactly hard to spot with her long white hair. She hoped that if her reputation spread, then it would come with pros as well as cons. She didn’t argue, instead taking her armor off of one of the mounts and putting it on with some assistance from a fellow private. She applied runes to her body, enhancing her strength more than she normally would since she only planned on using runes for a couple hours tops. She had a feeling that she would need the help.
Soon enough they were ready and that was good news because the enemy had a formation of their own and was approaching. The enemy had decided to approach quickly, Luvi assumed due to their apparent lack of archers. It was a good idea, because the archers were still not fully prepared. The enemy also adopted a very spread out formation so that the archers that were ready couldn’t land a single hit.
“Change of plan, we’re going to tighten up the formation a little. Archers, draw your swords!” He paused then waited for the right moment before he shouted, “Charge!”
Illuvia’s fellow soldiers shouted in unison as they started forwards. The enemy formation tightened up as well once they got within several dozen yards of them and then the fighting began. Luvi found the fight quite chaotic, even more so than the last one she’d been in. Soldiers clashed and fell only to be replaced by the ones behind them. She had every urge to break formation, to leap out of the fray and cause a distraction that would break the enemy’s focus… that being said, she recalled her leadership’s order to stay put. It was only after the soldier in front of her fell did she look her enemy in the eye and finally get to start fighting.
It quickly became apparent as to why she’d been told to keep put. She was right in the middle of the action and able to put her skills to good use. The first nomad came at her with an axe which she blocked with one of her swords. They’d put their full strength into the attack so it came as a surprise when Illuvia’s arm barely moved when their weapons collided. They more or less fell into her second blade which pierced through their stomach.
The next nomad came at her more cautiously than the last. He was armed with a shield and a short sword that he was hesitant to use. Luvi went on the offensive, swinging a sword into it which pushed him back a little but didn’t pierce his defenses. He countered with a thrust of his sword but Luvi was able to knock it to the side with her other sword. She knew that the man stood no chance simply due to the length of his weapon. It was incredibly difficult for someone with a shorter weapon to win a matchup if they didn’t have some way of closing the distance. Their weapons connected a few more times, all the while Illuvia kept her distance until one of her fellow privates stabbed the nomad in the side.
Luvi inclined her head and smiled before turning her attention to those who were struggling around her. There was an ally several feet to her left that had just gotten knocked back and she could see the enemy closing in to deliver a killing blow. Luvi didn’t hesitate – she lunged with a blade outstretched to deflect the strike at the last moment. The nomad snarled at her and tried to strike her instead only to realize that her other blade had already sunk into his side.
A simple glance back revealed that the nomads outnumbered them. They’d already circled around and the flank’s defenses hadn’t been enough. The archers were engaged in close quarters combat as well which couldn’t have been a good sign. It was saddening because Luvi didn’t think that she alone could do to win the battle – she had to trust that they would pull through even if she could kill any number of the nomads if they kept coming at her one at a time.
Seven nomads. That’s how many Illuvia had killed by the time they started retreating. The archers had proved capable of defending themselves so the remaining enemy forces had started to lessen their pressure. Before long, they’d started sprinting back to their camp, presumably so they could prepare for a second round of fighting.
“Chase them down!” cried a familiar, authoritative voice as the empire’s soldiers started to finally think it was over. “If they make it back to camp we’ll have to deal with their arrows and it’ll give them more time to prepare a proper retreat!”
Illuvia panted and looked around. The privates didn’t look all too happy about the order but they started moving forwards, albeit at a much slower pace than the enemy. They didn’t have the fear of being killed to spur them on. Luvi had the advantage of not being that tired, given her movements were fairly easy to perform with bolstered strength. She might as well have been wearing nothing at all – that’s how light the armor felt when she was this strong. So, she took off after the nomads.
Though she wasn’t a particularly fast runner, it was easy for her to catch up and stab a few of the nomads in the back before they made it back to camp. She couldn’t get all of them – there were far too many for that… but some was better than none. She came to a halt behind a large tent where she had to kneel to catch her breath. She thought she could rest, but a rustling sound told her otherwise.
Read Part 2 here
