Supreme Commander Jenkins of Reconquista's Eastern Army eyed Saxe-Gotha from a distance, pursing his lips as he studied its defenses through a spyglass.
They were fairly impressive, given that only several years ago, the city had been the site of a grand atrocity, when the royal family had razed it to the ground, killing everyone within to make an example of a powerful noble and any sign of defiance to the crown.
'If we capture it, this will cripple the morale of the royals in a way only matched by the capture of Londonium...'
The meeting point of the main road and an important metropolis, whoever controlled this city would control a great strategic point in eastern Albion.
And so it was time to move., with a force 30,000 strong.
High over Albion on board the Leopard, mid-Evening
Akira mused over her piece of bread and mug of some unknown alcoholic beverage. It was good to finally get some food into her stomach but she was a bit worried about all the alcohol she had been drinking. Shouldn't a magical society have some way of keeping the water clean? Would they call her crazy if she tried to explain bacteria to them?
They were still en route to Innsworth, the town she had seen in her vision. Bowood had told her that he had managed to convince the other captains to take a more cautious approach and everyone on the ship seemed to be a bit more tense but she really wasn't sure about this.
She wasn't sure where Kent was. He had found her food and then wandered off mentioning something about 'rigs', whatever those might be. Mr. Wich had stayed behind and seemed incapable of refraining from asking about her head. He reminded her a bit of Yukari-sensei, a teacher from Akira's childhood. When Nanjou-kun had fallen out of a tree and hurt his leg in the mountains Yukari-sensei had picked him up and ran down the mountain in record time. Of course she had been lightly reprimanded for moving a hurt child, but Yukari-sensei was always a bit flighty.
Akira sneaked another glance at the sky. It was still brighter than the time in her vision and they were going more carefully, which meant more slowly. She just hoped it had been enough.
High over Albion on board the Leopard, Late Night.
The tension had risen greatly since the evening. Barely anyone spoke and one of the men was pulling a rope so tight she was worried he would accidentally rip it free of the net.
Bowood had sent Akira to her room with strict instructions to remain inside no matter what happened. According to a brief conversation with Mr. Wich they were very close to Innsworth by now. She couldn't see it but it was probably some seaman (airman perhaps?) instinct that let him know.
She was fairly sure the other ships were nearby, but it was so dark she couldn't see them anymore. The Innsworth in her vision had been much brighter than this. What was different? Had the attack been called off?
As if to answer her question, a bright light flashed through the sky, blinding everyone under it. Moments later balls of fire followed.
Ugh. Last night... was not fun. Actually, no. This morning is not fun. Last night was fun when it was the present. Now that it's the past, I have a massive headache, and the entire guard seems to love me for a half-assed rap. I've already had to turn down a few requests to do another one, and I'm sure I'll get far more as time goes on. I never wanted to be famous, least of all a rap star! I have got to find a way to-
"---------------"
A massive roar splits the sky. I look up to see... the fuck? Is that a dragon?! flying over the city. One of the more experienced guards starts yelling for the gates to be shut. It takes a few moments for it to sink into my head. Invasion. Shit. I quickly grab a bow and full quiver from the nearest guard depot and mount the walls, waiting for the coming battle.
Every morning, the streets were filled with the din of merchants and ne'er-do-wells bustling about, selling their wares or moving to and from their humble jobs. It was a sound of prosperity, a reassuring cacophony in that where there was noise, there was life, with trade thriving and the lifeblood of cold hard cash flowing through the city.
Unfortunately, that wasn't the case now, as the first scouts of Reconquista's Eastern Army swooped low over the walls, surveying the battlements from the backs of Albion's famed fire dragons.
Mighty thrums and whooshs rent the air as iron quarrels were released from crossbows and arbalests, shrieking towards the overflying drakes but falling short as the enemy mages retaliated with great balls of fire, burning two men to cinders, and reducing a third to a flaming wreck.
Still, they didn't want to stick around for long when the small cannons on the walls were armed and fired, and so wheeled off towards the banners of the armies in the distance.
But behind that army and steadily advancing through the ranks, to be the first to the gates.
"By the Founder - trolls, they have trolls!"
How had Reconquista recruited the savage nomads of the northern highlands? And was there hope of victory, when such monstrosities stood as tall as five men and possessed a lust for battle unmatched by any man, joining human battles only for the opportunity to kill, using great war hammers to smash any resistance they faced, tearing through castle walls, armored humans, or fire drakes with equal ease.
There were only ten of them of these trolls, but their rock hard hides were nearly impervious to standard human weaponry, allowing them to savage the ranks of whatever human forces they encountered, unless there were enough fire and wind mages in attendance to repel them. With roars like tsunamis bellowing from their thick, rough throats, their breathing like a gigantic bellows moving up and down, they arrogantly challenged the puny humans who dared to bar their advance and impede their slaughter.
Like a black tide of men, the enemies marched, implacable as the sea.
Trolls? How the hell did that happen? We're dead. Unless... One of the cannon operators next to me takes an arrow straight through the throat. How else to stop a troll? Dropping the bow, I run to the cannon, hauling it about to aim at the advancing trolls. Here goes nothing. I light the cannon and duck, covering my ears.
A thunderous BOOM, louder than anything Ayako had ever imagined, went off as the cannon fired, discharging 16 pounds of iron that hurtled out towards the advancing line of trolls.
Miraculously, it hit something, blowing off the arm of one of the great beasts - causing the others to pause for a moment, glancing at their injured comrade.
"--------------!"
And then a bellow of outraged fury echoed into the morning air as the trolls charged, with dragons swooping in to take out the cannon emplacements before any more of the mobile siege engines could be stopped.
Oh hell. "Rally!" I scream. "All cannons, target the leader!" Surprisingly, they seem to be listening to me. What happened to the commander in the area? Not wanting to dwell on that too much, I scramble for my dropped bow, knocking an arrow, and letting it fly, aiming at the only point where I can do damage, the head of the beast.
Originally Posted by asterism42
That time they checked out that hot guy they were just admiring his watch, yeah?
It was said that occasionally, million to one chances came true, that in the darkest hours, a hero could arise. Most disregarded that as fallacy, as something that would never happen - but then, they didn't manage to beat the odds. In all the histories of commoners fighting against mage armies - and being violently crushed - none of them had been able to truly strike a blow for freedom, and so many had grown complacent, or just fallen into despair, because there was no use resisting.
Those who fought the nobles simply died.
That was all they knew.
That was all there was to know.
Until now, as a stray arrow plunged into a fire dragon's eye, causing the squadron leader to swerve right violently...carrying him and his drake right into the path of a salvo of cannonballs.
'Hmm, there seems to be various ways to cast water levitation spells; however, I don't seem to have a good control over the spells.', thought Himuro Kane as she was reading from a tome.
'The text is suggesting that I'm not using enough will power to effectively levitate water. Perhaps I should supplement some more will power exercises into my regiment so that I can give out more will power.'
The girl then stands up and looks for some tomes for strengthening ones will power output.
A few hours later
'So it seems that most of the exercises are similar to the eastern meditations of my world. In fact, a good portion of them are almost exactly like the ones Buddhists would do.'
Kane then took her notes, left the library, and departed to her estate intending on using some of her new knowledge.
Himuro Estate
As the carriage is going through the gate of Himuro's estate, rows upon rows of statues can be seen along a path which leads toward a Victorian-looking house. After the carriage was parked, Kane got off of it and entered her house to be greeted by its caretaker, a middle-aged women with brown hair and a hearty frame. After greeting the caretaker, Himuro goes to her study in order to translate some more texts.
As she translates, a thought enters her head.
'Perhaps I should travel to one of the other lands.'
Spoiler:
Originally Posted by Mcjon01
Originally Posted by Tangerang
Gilgamesh has A Lck.
wut bout that
His fate as the most powerful Servant is to steamroll every war he takes part in.
Somehow, he manages to defy all odds and deny this fate.
Originally Posted by anonymous
If only I could be respected without having to be respectable.
What Fate/Stay Night character are you?
Kotomine Kirei
You are Kirei. You've always been a little different from the rest. You probably have low social skills. Whatever, it's not like what they think matters anyway. Ever searching for something missing within you, you probably don't experience the same happiness as everyone else. Good and evil are just labels, you are who you are.
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Originally Posted by asterism42
