Rise Against Tyranny Chapter 11

Kaoru

4th of the Month of Relaxing

Part of Kaoru's duties in United Drodon required her to split her duties between two cities. Sometimes she was living the dream life sipping from a golden goblet in Peridopolis, but today she was a stern warlord in the defense of Polaris. Her wager with Julian dictated she be present at his ascension. 

Breaking through to even claim the City on Top of the World would be no easy feat. First, Julian had to scale the Wall by himself with toothpicks. Then, it was a three hundred yard dash to be within city limits and be within striking distance of Stonecollar Castle. And if he was really, really lucky and managed to survive all that, he'd have to face a white mage with more power than he could possibly conceive. The odds looked good for Kaoru, and she knew it. 

As she paced atop the Wall, she saw 1200 Ice Warrior Girtablilu ready to face the incoming fighters. Eschaton had no trouble swaying them to his side as they were desperate to avenge the land they had lost in the Third and Fourth Drodon Wars. At present a splinter group, they were ready to become an empire once more with Eschaton's help. There were other fighters of all races also present providing backup though. One of those fighters was Mathew, a private in the armies of Eschaton afflicted with lycanthropy. Despite the disease being a result of a failed experiment, Mathew was able to transform well, becoming a true wolf at the full moon rather than some grotesque in-between creature as was the norm. 

The full moon was not for another week, and even still they were fighting at dawn rather than dusk, so Mathew just had his claymore as his weapon of choice this night. Kaoru looked to her finest fighter and closest confidant--except maybe for Mairead--to make small talk before the battle. "You ready for this?" 

Mathew stood and laughed. "That lowly straggler doesn't stand a chance. 'Ship build for land AND Water?' You sure got him!" He slapped her on the back almost knocking her over. 

"Yeah," Kaoru grumbled at him. She looked across the Wall at the woods and the night. The bushes rustled and the archers readied their stance for the attack. Kaoru gave a smug grin to the night as she waited for the great pretender to arrive. It wouldn't be long now before she would quash her last serious opposition. 

***

3rd Person Observer--Flips between Julian, Kaoru, Binaq, and Kelly  

Same Day; Different perspective for Battle of Polaris 

Julian stood at the bow of the Snowbreaker, a ship he and his new friends had crafted from ember oak and pine. The former of which was considered the lightest wood in the universe, and was perfect for a ship sailing on land of all things. And Snowbreaker really was sailing on land--without the aid of any wheels or pulling. Looking at the Wall from where he stood, Julian felt sorry for the Draugar Guard. Uyon, who was of the guard but aligned with Julian, said most of them hated Eschaton but were forced to serve him due to their lifelong obligation to the post. They had no say, but he was still forced to face them on his own if he wanted to claim his father's kingdom. 

With Kelly at the helm, she stared away at the wall. "Man, this is a good thing we found that ember forest right outside the Jarl's castle." 

"Yeah," Julian added. "Quite surprised that ember oak was in ready supply here."  

"Of course," Kelly returned. "We should thank our little tag-along helper for knowing the best place to find that floating wood. Thanks, Giovanni!" 

"Hey, I may be a minor character in this story, but I still know what to do in a tight situation," Giovanni retorted. Kelly just shrugged at this remark and kept steering. 

Right beside them was Binaq. He rode in upon a 24k sledge towed by two Woolly-Toothed Tyrants. They grunted and heaved at multi-decibel pitches to strike fear into the combatant's hearts above. "You got this, Julian. I believe in you!" 

"Thanks," Julian acknowledged. "But belief alone cannot win wars. Action has to compliment belief." 

Also seated on Snowbreaker was a fourth figure--not of the adventuring party initially. The Demigoddess Arcana had taken the form of an old babushka, with a satchel at her waist sprinkling Aura on the field for stronger fighting power. "And I will provide the action," she called to the prince in exile. "If you need me, I'll be there in battle no matter what." 

"Glad I could count on you," Julian saluted her. He and Arcana had been very close these fifteen years in exile. Julian was only a toddler when Polaris was sacked, but Arcana was right there to pick him up and deliver him to the Urmaak when all was said and done. Julian now hoped to return her favor by claiming Polaris in her name and that of his father also. 

This being the summer, the snow on the ground was only just now melting. However, it was still just cold enough to make the ground damp as the royalist forces marched along the grasses. Binaq had brought the aide of about two hundred Urmaak warriors and his father's famous five hundred mammoths. Also aiding them were three dozen vikings from the nearby Northern Isles displaced during the Reign of Eschaton and about 3,200 infantry soldiers who lived in the wilds of the Frozen North, not bound to any major city. Many of these allies were displaced from the city of Permafrost, which witnesses said was overrun by Draugar. Julian kept this in mind as he sailed onward, at least wanting to have a Polaris to save from the Draugar when the time came. Most of the new combatants were human, but also included creatures like snow leopards, beavers, bears, and the odd Smilodon hanging around with nothing better to do. A few Kamaitachi hung around in the fur of the mammoths and Urmaak, waiting to use subterfuge to break the Wall.  

Arcana produced from her satchel a bullhorn to call out to the Wall. Julian shouted as loud as he could to make his presence known. "Princess Kaoru," Julian almost gagged at calling Kaoru by her formal title. "We have you surrounded. Do not take this attack lightly. I have the ship and I'm ready to climb the Wall."

Kaoru herself stared out with her piercing dark eyes. Her Banshee Scream made her voice known even from where Julian's forces stood. "I see," her voice projected. "I'm impressed. I knew the first challenge was not impossible; but I also knew it would be quite difficult. So congratulations! One down, two to go!"

"So now, the question is...are you ready?" 

Kaoru snapped her fingers. "Quite." This one word sent a flaming arrow inches from starboard of Snowbreaker. The flames barely missed searing the ship and caused a few of the prince's allies to scatter. 

This was enough for Julian to unsheathe his sword and give the call to battle. "CHARGE!"  

After fifteen years of buildup, the Battle for the North had begun at last. The throng of refugees and giants stormed the Wall armed mostly with daggers and spears. A few were plowed down by the deathly-accurate Ice Warrior arrows, but the larger fighters among them stood tall. Since most of the allies were covered in thick fur, they had built-in armor at their disposal. It would take about twenty arrows to bring down just one Urmaak, mammoth, or Woolly-Toothed Tyrant. So their looming presence provided a sort of shield for the smaller races. 

Leaping from a large mammoth, ten Kamaitachi dug their scythe hands into the wall and began climbing. That's when Julian remembered he was supposed to climb as well. Digging his toothpick pikes into the wall, he was surprised to find they held fast and were strong enough to support his weight. "Here's where that upper-body strength starts to pay off," Julian muttered as he mounted the pikes one in front of the other and began the ten-story climb using only those pitons and the pointy end of his boots to make contact with the Wall.

Down below, the Urmaak tried some creativity to break through the Wall. They saw the blocked entry gate and were ready to try and unblock it. Binaq Took his sledge and rode it all the way to the end, receiving only the most minimal of injuries. He saw the portcullis and locked grates barring his entry, so he thought outside the box. He unhitched his Tyrants and then reapplied their bonds to the wall. "Pull!" he shouted to them as the giant beasts tugged at the grate. It was solid steel and held fast, but after a time, the first layer at least started to give way.

Staring across the battlefield, he saw Julian's red panda friend holding her own well. For a ranger with a bow staff, she was quite the archer, taking out about three Ice Warriors on her own. Then, the Urmaak Aalut took his oversized bow and wiped out an entire section of fighters to one-up her. They fist-bumped in congratulations of one another. Binaq's confidence grew, but he had no idea of what was coming next. 

Looking at the Vikings in their shield formation and the advancing Urmaak, the white mage princess of the North began to panic. She paced around and tried to clap a beat for her subjects to make up for her lack of a backup plan. Kaoru cursed under her breath after she realized she had no Everflare. One keg of that would be enough to wipe out the Urmaak race here and now. Fortunately for her, the Girtablilu were handy with gunpowder. A few barrels were put in place and ready to be launched on a dropping machine. One step ahead of Kaoru, the Girtablilu dropped their powder kegs on the Tyrants near the grate.  

The Tyrants panicked and began to run away as their ties loosened. Though the beasts themselves sustained no damage, their harnesses were broken and they continued to run off despite still pulling the chains. Binaq tried to call for them to return, but could not get them to come back. Thinking outside the box, he used his lengthy digits now to pick away at the metal grating and one by one slide open the protection to the inside. It would be at least an hour, but he would eventually open it. 

Kaoru only now remembered she had a trump card. She remembered something in the Wall that would put this invasion on ice in her favor. She shouted out the exact words no ice climber ever wanted to hear: "Deploy the Scythe!" 

"Shoot!" Julian called out to the heavens. He had forgotten about the giant pendulum scythe hidden in the Wall for moments like this. He heard the clanking of metal and watched in horror as his Kamaitachi friends were pulverized. He had to think fast because he had exactly five seconds before he met their fate. 

It was a gamble, Julian knew, but he remembered something about the properties of Borean Steel. Nothing could cut like it, but could it cut through standard iron like the Scythe? He had to test it or else he'd be destroyed. Using what little time he had, Julian unsheathed Frostbite, the Sword of his Ancestors, and swung as hard as he could with his sword hand while holding himself upright with the other. In one of the strangest displays in Drodon history, the prince was able to strike the hold of the chain, just above the scythe blade, and severed the ties of the scythe sending the blade careening downward off the Wall, with his armor grazed but body still intact. "Heads up!" He shouted to the masses as they dispersed, allowing for the Scythe to fall at the center of the field. Heaving a sigh in triumph, Julian resumed his climb. 

Binaq was startled by this sudden collapse, but was able to break the last lock in spite of this. Throwing aside the metal bars, he charged into the grate and heard some other fighters coming too. Inside, he saw about thirty watchmen present. Binaq was able to carve up most of them with his claws, but a chance spearhead took to his underarm, felling the giant as well as the spear carrier. Though Binaq fell, the pathway was cleared for all other fighters, including the mammoths. 

It took Julian more than six hours to climb all ten stories of the wall. He cut and sliced his way up there once he got to the top and faced all the fighters there. Now, all arrows were targeted at him but the prince's armor was enough to deflect everything. He came up next in a showdown with a tough man in white hair brandishing a two handed claymore. Swinging the huge weapon around, Julian avoided conflict. He ducked and slid beneath the attacker and ran as fast as he could for the nearest dumbwaiter alongside the Wall. 

Getting up the Wall was hard, but going down was much easier. All Julian had to do was push a lever and down he went. Once he got to the bottom, he leaped from the box and sliced his way through more watchmen. A large number of his own fighters had managed to break through the Wall also, giving him some aid on his dash to Kaoru. He saw the mage flying into the city, living up to her end of the bargain. Making the best use of his adrenaline, Julian rushed and ran across the frosty grass to live up to his. 

The Urmaak and the Vikings did most of the work, as was to be expected. The Urmaak took large segments of the wall and chucked them at the attackers, leaving bits of debris raining down on the whole battlefield. Though there was another specialized force in wait. From out of the shadows, the short-faced bear ran on all fours to combat them. The black predators were packed with muscle and could run as fast as a human. 

The bears' tight jaw clench and the general idea of a surprise attack took a few vikings out. But the ones that did not die fought valiantly against the attacking horde. Though two combatants in particular decided the fate of the fight. First was Uyon, who with her broadsword and knowledge accrued from life as a polar bear was already prepared to fight them head-on. Second was Strange-Elephant. Strange-E's surprise not only kickstarted his heart but sent him into the stupor of war that left him crashing and slashing for his life. The Bears themselves were surprised at this new type of warrior beating their brains in with a hammer. Though Strange-Elephant himself was unfocused, he stood with poise and confidence as he lobbed them all away. As the procession continued, not a single short-faced bear was left on the field. Any further dissent from the boundaries of Polaris had to contend with the mammoths, and nobody wanted that. 

Julian at last made it to the Gates of Polaris, and then was met with utter disappointment. "Another grate," he panted as he saw the gates barred once again. He heaved to his knees and screamed in frustration. 

Strange-Elephant though, was still confident. "I got it!" He charged over and used his strength to clamp at the grating. Letting out a bellow emulating the mammoths he fought with on the way in, He took three steps back and was able to tear the grate from the gateway. 

As Strange-E began his charge, Kelly shot an arrow at the doorway to distract him. "One-on-one, Strange-E. Remember?" 

"Yes, Kelly," Strange-E hung his head like a disappointed toddler as he walked to the back of the line. 

Julian strode into Polaris with great swagger, using a shield he borrowed from a Viking for extra protection. The first thing he heard walking through the doorway was the whistle of an arrow. Anticipating this, he raised his shield to block it. He hid beneath a whole volley of arrows before lowering his shield to meet Princess Kaoru herself. 

Julian thought to himself about the other added Borean properties. As Kaoru launched a blue spark at him, Julian was able to deflect the attack with a swipe of Frostbite. "Here I am," the prince chuckled, "I completed your challenge. You said it couldn't be done, but I proved you wrong, Your Highness." Knowing the mage's emotional weakness, he tried to dig deep into her to win without even casting a blow. "You know, Kaoru, I don't think you are deserving of royalty at all." 

"No! You're wrong!" Kaoru cast a spell back at him. 

Julian dug deep with his next taunt. "Remember, Kaoru, in the old days when Aura was first discovered, we'd burn witches at the stake." He kept batting Aura projectiles like baseballs while he spoke. "While I know all the great things they've done, I wouldn't necessarily bar the practice with you around." 

Kaoru shrieked at this dig. Her eyes began to glow with blue fire as she lobbed more attacks at Julian. He ducked just in time with little more than his hair singed. "Okay, then," Julian took his sword up once more and parried all attacks. For every magic missile Kaoru launched, Julian was able to return fire with his sword. 

Arcana seized this opportunity to draw a circle in the sand between the two. As long as Julian was inside, he could not be harmed. The prince took the memo and kept going. "

"Good, but you have no title," Kaoru tried to play Julian's game by finding the best dig at him she could think of. "So what now? Remember, I'm in charge here!" 

"You sure?" Despite having no chivalric obligation against it, Julian knew better than to strike a woman. So he decided to improvise. In one fell swoop as fast as he could, Julian reached in and swiped Kaoru's headband, which gave her status as Eschaton's appointed "princess". "Now who has no title, huh?" This flew Kaoru into a rage and she lifted off the ground to lunge at Julian. 

Julian threw his sword to pin Kaoru's cape to the walls of the city. Strange-Elephant and a few Vikings held her arms behind to subdue her. "Face it, Kaoru. I win. I built the ship. I scaled the wall. And although my comrade now holds you, you stepped outside the circle, so I won the confrontation by myself. I now hold the keys to the kingdom and you lost this day. I just need two little words from you to make it official."  

Kaoru sighed, but saw one more way out. "We will meet again, Julian. Mark my words! And this time, you will not be so lucky!" She spun out of her captors' grip and vanished in a puff of smoke, leaving only the smell of a strong perfume behind. 

With Kaoru gone and making no immediate attempt to return, Julian pronounced the Battle of Polaris over. The Banners for Eschaton at Polaris were lowered and replaced with those depicting the North Star. Kelly took it upon herself to raise the Frozen North flag from the castle once again!  
 

***

Emerald

8th of the Month of Relaxing

At last, some action! 

After weeks of ennui in the palace, Emerald was allowed to do something again related to being a princess. The trial of NegInk Cooper, a supposed defector of Eschaton, was put to trial. Her time with Eschaton would be pardoned if she could prove her allegiance was fully denounced. But she had to prove it first. 

With Spongey gone, the court assigned a bishop named Cal in her defense. He was doing an okay job, but the main distraction of the event was in court himself. But having to serve as the whole jury herself, Emerald didn't know what to think either way. As this was all "he said, she said." Even Tory seemed agitated and wanted to move this whole trial forward. 

"Please, prosecution," Tori grumbled. "Please show us something, anything, that will tell us either way if she's still in Eschaton's camp." 

"Exhibit A," Aali the Girtablilu acting as prosecution presented the Great Bird on a plank once more. "The bird himself is before you, Your Highness. How do we not know if he is a superweapon>" He unchained the Bird's mouth and everyone gasped. "Try asking yourself!" 

Emerald shrugged off this sarcasm, but listened to the roars of the Great Bird. Being hogtied was misery for it, and understandably so. Though something new struck Princess Emerald's ears the more she listened. Between roars, Emerald thought she heard something else from the Great Bird. Something that almost sounded like...speech. The more she listened, the more she seemed to hear the word "Listen!" In curiosity, Emerald decided to ask the Great Bird himself what this meant. 

"Did you just talk?" She asked the Bird. 

The Bird seemed to answer "Yes" back at her, though the sound was still a bit distorted. Looking down, the princess noticed her emerald necklace still glowed at this. She thought she knew what was going on, but wondered how they would receive it in court. Calling a timeout, she tried her best to explain her findings no matter how crazy she sounded. 

"Wait a sec," she told the witnesses. "I think...I can understand him." 

"You what, m'lady?" A heckler rang out from the crowd. 

"Listen, you all know I wear the Amulet of Diplomacy, right? Well, I think it works as a translator for the Great Bird." 

"Can it translate any other languages?" Another voice asked. 

"I...think so. When I met the Girtablilu ambassador on my birthday fifteen years ago, I just assumed he spoke the common tongue. But I think it may have been this that translated." 

"Alright. So what's he saying?" Tory tried to move the trial along. 

Emerald gave the full testimony. She--or rather the Great Bird--told the story of how the Bird was captured by Neggy against his will. He was to be used in an alchemical experiment whose full purpose was unknown. But Neggy had seen the light in him and set him free. Her love of animals, no matter how big or small, kept him alive. And here he is now. 

"That's enough for me," Tory piped up. "Your Highness, I assume you're going for letting her go free?" 

"I guess," Emerald admitted. The Bird roared and Emerald's necklace glowed again. "He says, 'Very good.' And that he knew we'd come around to him." This statement got a moderate applause from the audience. 

At the end of proceedings, Tory acquitted Neggy of all charges. As the case was dismissed, Neggy hugged the snout of the Bird and cheered. "Thanks, Your Highness," she expressed gratitude. "Your amulet really came through for me. And I thank you!" 

"No problem." Emerald felt a bit of her confidence come back. Did even she know the extent of her powers? Maybe she never would, but this was a start. She extended her fist to the boxer. "Welcome to the Resistance, Champ!" 

Neggy pounded it in return. "Thanks!" 
 

***

Lightra

10th of the Month of Relaxing

Lightra sighed as he saw how much destruction was waged over all of Shaleport in the past ten days. As the gateway to the Sea as well as the largest city not in Eschaton's control, it was the most desired location for battles with his forces. 

4,000 of the 10,000 fighters under Aston had passed to the Spirit Realm. And some of the remaining 6,000 had to be revived many times by the Valkyries. Though not a single Hussar, who joined the battle late, had so much as a scratch on them. 

For Eschaton's forces, 100,000 fighters entered and about 20,000 stayed. The commander of the fight was a wyvern who negotiated peace not only with Aston and Chumm, but also the general of the Winged Hussars. A treaty was to be signed outside the city declaring Shaleport in the hands of the Order of Golden and sovereignty restored. The Winged Hussars would be taken back to Princess Emerald and introduced to the resistance. 

At the end of talks, Lightra showed himself to the commander. "Excuse me, sir? What is your name?"