The War of the Magi
 

On the eve of battle, soldiers from both sides came to bury the dead, ignoring each other as they id'd the boddies and carried them away. At both camps, casualties were counted. There was no decicive victor, as both lost roughly the same numbers, but the retainers had a smaller army and their numbers were more difficult to replace. Funerals were held and the armies widthdrew, leaving a useless charred battle ground which was no longer worth fighting for.

The shadow of magic rolled across the scorched plains, telling the story of what happened there. Undead would forever roam that field, fighting one another among the echoes of conflicting white and black magic spells. The retainers caused a mountain to crumble over the battle field, but caves still remained, where the magic was simply too powerful to be contained. The place came to be known as Narshe er Shellsha, or Path of the Dead. Later, when its history was forgoten, it would simply be called Narshe and it's meaning would be different.

The Imperials escaped by river, returning to the port to return to their capitol. They had collected little magicite and lost many soldiers. Their superiors would not be pleased.

This is a day that shall be recognized as a failed mission of the Imperials,Though Kaze as he commanded what little troops he had left back to the Capitol.

The men spoke of how there commander might be demoted because of his failure to do his job. Kaze sighed hearing his troops talk of this travesty.

ooc:very short post for me, but im waiting for a good beginning.

Berrin sighed bitterly, helping one of the Retainer knights carry a dead comrade to be identified, and put with the others. The plan was to inter all of their dead in one mass grave, with a monument inscribed with all of their names.

I can't call this a victory, but at least we drove off those Imperial scum... he thought as he placed the body reverently beside the other corpses, brushing a strand of golden hair out of his eyes as he stood up.

Adjusting his hat, he looked around at the scene of devastation where the two armies had met, and at the temporary camp the Retainers had fallen back to. We can't stay here...they will be back.

Still thinking of the battle, Kaze thought of Berrins face. A thought ran through his mind,The next battle shall be our last.

He looked on as he reached the capitol. Obviously news had traveled fast, Kaze felt the dissapointment of the people as he crossed through.

He looked on at his troops and said,"The king will not be pleased, lets hope he doesn't decide to get rid of you", knowing that he will most likely be on the recieving end of his superiors wrath.

In his mind he was pulling a sword out of a dead Berrin, the feel of it all when he could finally crush the Retainer army.
Final Thoughts: "They said this day would never come.....what a day to say now."

ooc:sorry sorta stole quote from Halo 2.

Rebecca was silent as she stayed with the survivors under Kaze's command. What looked like it would start out with such promise ended an utter disaster, and not a good way to start her fledgling record of honor, which couldn't have been called that right yet. She didn't know who to blame it on, or if the blame should fall on anyone's shoulders at all, and when she had mixed feelings like this, she found it often in her best interest to shut up and do as she was told.

OOC: Out of curiousity, why exactly is a general obsessed with a single, simple soldier?

IC:

Several animated trees were gathering the dead bodies. Anima had brought them to life to quicken the gathering, so they could be done with this place sooner. Masses of dead attracted monsters, undead would rise, and the Imperials would soon be back with more troops. Along with the massive devisation of Retainers' forces, Anima wanted to be move on as soon as possible.

OOC: I have absolutely no idea. It could be that Berrin was the only Retainer mentioned by name at that point.

IC: Berrin could see that the other crews were doing well, most of the bodies had already been gathered...their work made much easier by the help of the Espers.

Turning away from the battlefield, he walked off to find his commanding officers and report to them. Maybe I'll even learn where we go from here... he thought, a bitter smile creeping over his face. Mages I had known since I first joined the Retainers, slaughtered. The lives of my friends, snuffed out by Imperial swords and spells...one more thing they have taken from me.

Next time, things will be different.

Kaze looked over to Rebecca,"I'll need your status report once we reach the castle."

Better be a good reason why we lost.

He commanded three of his soldiers to go look out for any survivors or those injured. He looked back at Rebecca's face and turned quickly away hoping she didn't see him look at her. He thought to himself,No its not possible, love can't happen during a war, its just not possible.

He then kept his composure and walked ahead.

Before Rebecca could could give him the report he rold her,"I'll make sure this doesn't go on your record."

Rebecca smiled at Kaze. "Don't worry too much, sir. It's not much of a record to begin with, and a lot of great people these days started from rather unsightly foundations, I hear."

Rebecca produced a status report quickly, her neat handwriting that her mother encouraged detailing the placement of the soldiers that didn't go well with the flank attack. Whether the scouts didn't scout out far enough for possible ambushers, or the troops were simply careless and not thinking about their defenses on the side, what would have been a smooth day turned into a bloodbath of screams and war cries. Rebecca was surprised she made it back alive herself. She was mentally tired and felt she had cast more spells than she thought capable, and her arms ached both from her slashing attacks to deflecting blows. Hopefully, it would just be written off as a major fluke and a spanking on the hand.

Kaze knew that Rebecca had more then the required intelligence to complete her job. Knowing she would have more of a chance to be promoted to second in command. "Rebecca, your the best soldier i have, you've never let me down. There should be some supplies by your quarters, call them a gift from me. The superiors will be pleased with the status report, go ahead of us and inform the superiors." He thanked his lucky stars it wan't him going out to scout for an ambush.