Grimoires and Gunsmoke

Duchess Vyrrasha stood in the center of this castle's throne room with her eyes fixed on the small pile of severed heads at her feet. With a look of utter disdain, she tossed another onto the small grisly mound as the lifeless eyes of the once-proud noble stared up at her in mute accusation.

The Dragonkin noblewoman's feathers bristled with barely contained rage as she turned to face Tharivol, her Dark Elf spymaster. "Have the rest fallen in line?" she demanded in a low, menacing growl. "I will not tolerate any dissent, not now, not when so much hangs in the balance."

Ever the picture of calm composure, Tharivol inclined his head in a respectful bow. "Your Grace," he began in a measured and even tone, "the vast majority have indeed capitulated to your demands. The display of... decisive action against Count Harmswid and his ilk has sent a powerful message."

Vyrrasha's sneer deepened, her eyes narrowing to slits of barely contained fury. “So they have chosen to bend the knee? Are there any that are foolish enough to harbor thoughts of defiance?"

Tharivol's expression remained impassive, but there was a glint of something dark in his eyes, a hint of the ruthless efficiency that had made him such a valuable asset to the Duchess. "A few harbor resentment… But I shall see they never come to fruition, Your Grace. My agents have eyes and ears everywhere."

The Duchess's tail lashed behind her as a physical manifestation of her simmering anger. "See that they are, Tharivol. I want not a shred of disobedience among the lords and ladies. If any dare to defy me, you know what must be done."

Bowing his head once more, Tharivol gave a solemn vow. "It will be as you command, Your Grace. Any who stand against you will be made to see the error of their ways... or they will be removed, root and stem."

Vyrrasha huffed, a plume of angry fire jetting from her nostrils as she turned away, her ornate cloak fluttering in the air with the abruptness of her movement. She stalked across the room, her eyes darting from one side to another, from advisor to attendant, as if daring any of them to voice even a hint of protest.

But none did. They stood silent and still with their gazes averted and their postures subservient. They knew, all too well, the price of drawing their mistress's ire.

With a flick of Vyrrasha's wrist and a snap of her finger and summoned Anke Ans Sestri to her side. The first to approach was the pale-skinned, blonde-haired High Elven man who stepped forward with his long and droopy 12-inch ears. His delicate features remained impassive as he fell in step and cleared his throat.

Just behind him, Sestri, the Tauri commander, limped to her mistress’ other side. The Duchess's eyes immediately snapped to Sestri, taking in her uneven gait and the tension in her posture. "How have you been dealing with these incursions?" Vyrrasha demanded in a low, menacing rumble. “How fare my dragons and wyverns?”

Sestri flinched at the question. Fear was evident in her eyes as she carefully considered her response. "Y-Your Grace," she began with a trembling voice, "we’ve implemented new tactics to combat the raiders b-by staging dragons and wyverns in the forests near known problem areas and potential targets."

She swallowed hard, her tail twitching nervously behind her. "At worst, we've managed to scare off a few raids. At best, we've wiped out a band or two. But... these otherworlders, they travel in small packs, and their coordination is uncanny.” Sestri’s voice then became quiet as she looked down nervously “They seem to communicate in ways that are alien to us, and it's proving… problematic."

Vyrrasha's eyes narrowed, and her feathers bristled with growing anger. "That is indeed worrying… but how fare my dragons and wyverns?" She repeated herself slowly as she glared at the trembling Sestri.

Hesitation seemed to overcome the Tauri as her eyes started to swim wildly, and her shoulders hunched as if to ward off a blow. "They... they have weapons, Your Grace. Strange, magical devices a-and… And they’re proving deadly…"

Another silence came over the throne room before the Duchess's tail lashed like a crack of the whip, chipping the floor. "You fool!" she hissed, her voice dripping with disdain. "Why not simply fly high, out of reach of their weapons!? You have command of the very skies, do you not!?"

Sestri seemed to shrink under Vyrrasha's verbal onslaught as the Tauri’s body language screamed submission. "We... we tried, Your Grace! But if they fly anywhere higher than a few hundred meters, then spears from unseen places hurtle through the sky, felling our anything and everything before we even know they're there!"

She shuddered, her voice dropping to a haunted whisper. "T-the dragons also describe something like an all-seeing eye that stabs at their hides…” Sestri threw up her hands infront of herself and started backing up while Vyrrasha slowly approached. “It’s omnipotent and everywhere, and only when its too late do the dragons know which of them is being targeted!”

Vyrrasha's face contorted with rage, the claws of her feet digging into the stone floors as she hissed and snapped her head away. “Foul things! Of course, that wasn’t exaggerated as well!!” She snarled before slamming her hand into her face. She had read those reports and didn’t want to believe it. The very idea that these otherworlders possessed a spear capable of homing in on their aerial force and slamming into them at speed unheard of was galling. It struck at the very heart of her military might, the core of her strategic advantage.

“Those things must be operating on the edge of the periphery, near the rift itself,” Sestri added after finally putting her hands down once she realized her liege’s anger was no longer oriented towards her. “And when our dragons venture close, they feel the gaze of an innumerable amount of more focused eyes upon them before meeting a barrage of these... these spears."

A sigh left Vyrrasha’s mouth as she stood there for a while. If this were the case, then she had to assume the worst-case scenario: they’d lose air superiority, and it fast. The only advantage she could possibly conceive of was now going to be used against her, and if she didn’t err on the side of caution, then her most mighty assets would be lost before even putting up a fight.

Turning to Anke, Vyrrasha looked at him with exhausted eyes. "Tell me you have something," she beckoned with a voice that said she was on the edge of insanity. "Tell me any SEMBLANCE of good news…."

When he stepped forward, Anke’s expression remained cool and emotionless. "Your Grace," he began bowing deeply and speaking in a steadfast and even tone. “I do indeed have good news. The mages you have placed under my command are already in the process of learning the fundamentals of illusion magic, while those who already possess such knowledge are being taught to amplify their abilities with the strengths of others."

Vyrrasha's eyes relaxed as a flicker of hope sparked in their depths. But it was quickly tempered as her tail lashed behind her. "At least something isn't going straight to the infinite hells," she grumbled, shooting her hand up to rub at her snout in an attempt to dispel the pounding headache that threatened to split her skull. She began to walk again with Sestri, Anke, and an entourage of guards following close behind. Her guards spread out to form a protective barrier around their Duchess, scanning for any sign of an assassin after her display of authority over the Nobles of the Empire.

For a long moment, Vyrrasha was silent, her eyes closed as she walked, lost in thought. Her mind kept wandering back to the partly allotment of dragons and wyverns Varian had oh so gracious bestowed upon her. She would make good use of them, of course, but the bulk of her forces still came from her own house. Vyrrsha couldn’t help but thank the heavens she had the wisdom and foresight to realize those conniving bastards that belonged to the royal family were going to try to screw her over.

But still… the possibility of losing air superiority greatly disturbed her.

Finally, the Duchess spoke with a voice heavy with weariness and worry. "The leaders of this 'great' Empire have ordained that I die here…” She said with disdain in her voice. “I bet they thought I was a fool just like they are and would consider this report of what they encountered on the other side and what they managed to learn from captured enemy soldiers and equipment."

She shook her head, a mirthless laugh escaping her lips. "At first, I thought they were, but no force capable of making a celestial and an elder horde of dragons run with its tail between its legs should be taken lightly…” Vyrrsha’s monologue causes a few guards to send a worried glance toward their mistresses before returning to their vigil. “Tell me, Anke, should I also believe those otherworld prisoner's words of flying contraptions that fly higher than any of even the skyborne?”

The question seemed to catch her subordinate by surprise as she turned to face him with a grim expression. “What of the fanciful tales of eyes in the void itself? Ever watching and ever listening?”

Anke thought the question rhetorical for a moment, but the Duchess's eyes remained fixated on him, expecting an answer. “Ahem…” The high-elven man cleared his throat. “It is not my place to dictate any strategy to one as great as yourself, mistress…” He said, seeing the irritation grow on his mistress's face, and immediately followed up with, “However… I would deem it… ill-advised to ignore these rumors, regardless of how far-fetched…”

A fiery snort left Vyrrashas nostrils as she flipped around and started walking again. “Then I shall take it as fact.” She declared as her brain started to turn. “We must assume those… THINGS are capable of gathering intelligence and acting on it in near real-time, a feat I've only seen matched by the druids under the cover of their accursed forest.”

Vyrrasha's claws clenched, digging into her scales and threatening to pierce it. "Intelligence and actionable intelligence will be the driving factors in this war. And as it stands, I put our chances of success at very low.” She started in a dark tone as her head bowed. “But we have little choice."

She straightened, her posture to be more regal and determined even as the weight of her words hung heavy in the air. "We must adapt, and we must do so quickly. These otherworlders, they operate in ways we've never encountered. Their tactics, their weapons, their very way of thinking - it's all alien to us."

As Vyrrasha retreated into her thoughts, she and her entourage finally found themselves on the balcony overlooking the sprawling city below. The sight was breathtaking as a sea of glowing, and sometimes even floating buildings stretched out to the horizon where it met the glittering expanse of the ocean. But as Vyrrasha turned her head, her gaze was drawn to the other direction, to the vast forests that bordered the city.

And it was there, staring out at those ancient trees, that a thought struck her. A realization that cut through her frustration and worry like a beam of clarity. "Sestri," The Duchess narrowed her eyes as her voice suddenly became calm and even. "Your methods for deterring these raider’s attacks... Keep it up.” She said, snapping her head towards her.

Sestri looked up, surprised, and a flicker of pride in her eyes. "Your Grace?"

“It seems you are the only one holding the wolves at bay…” Vyrrasha replied quietly before turning to her guard captain. "I am recalling the dragons and wyverns from everyone except Sestri's command. Have them regroup and prepare for new orders."

The guard captain bowed deeply and his feathered helmet nearly touched the ground. "As you command, Your Grace." He responded before quickly marking within the castle.

The Duchess then turned back to Sestri, fixing the Tauri with an intense stare. "You’re doing good work, Commander. Keep on with your mission and do your best to keep these menaces at bay." Vyrrasha ordered before jerking her head towards the Castle. “Now, go!

Sestri bowed deeply, her tail curling behind her in a gesture of respect. "I will not fail you, Your Grace!" She replied while running off to carry out her Duchess’s order, albeit with a limp.

Once the Tauri disappeared into the confines of the citadel, Vyrrasha turned to Anke as her mind raced with the beginnings of a plan. "We must use our magic to counter their alien advantages," she declared, crossing her arms and looking back out towards the forest. “Across the entirety of the savage lands want a cold mist deployed, thick enough to prevent their eyes in the sky from penetrating, from seeing any figure and even the heat of our forces."

Anke nodded as his expression became thoughtful. "A simple enough task, Your Grace. Our mages can maintain such a mist indefinitely."

"Good," Vyrrasha said, her tail flicking behind her. "But that's just the start. In the very forests, I want dragons and wyverns stationed everywhere and hidden away. They will serve as our reaction force, intercepting any flying threats that dare to venture into our airspace."

Vyrrasha began to hum in interest, her mind whirling with possibilities. “We will need to refine this further… There may be a possibility of utilizing illusions for this as well.” She pointed at Anke as she paced back and forth "Maybe when they react to any intrusion… they could manifest a horde of illusions…"

An even look remained on Anke’s face as his eyes followed the Duchess. "A brilliant strategy, Your Grace."

“We’ll also need to worry about these… high flying contraptions…” The dragonkin grumbled as she turned back to the balcony, her gaze sweeping over the city, only to see the beams of light from the entertainment district and the projections of the merchant district.

Suddenly, Vyrrasha clapped her hands together, her eyes widening with a sudden burst of inspiration. "Magic Missile!" she exclaimed, her voice ringing with excitement and determination.

Anke blinked, taken aback by the Duchess's outburst. "Your Grace?" he asked, confusion and curiosity warring in his tone.

Vyrrasha spun to face him, her features alight with the fire of newfound purpose. "The younger dragons, Anke. We'll pull them back, station them in the skies above our forces."

Trying to follow the Duchess's train of thought, the high-elf’s brow furrowed in trepidation. This was his realm of expertise and he had read those reports himself. If these otherworlders indeed possess the ability to go so high, some mage casting a magic missile on the back of a dragon would be impossible.

However, he decided to humor the woman lest she take her ire out on him. "And when they spot something?" he asked in a cautious tone.

The Duchess snorted plumes of lames out of her nostrils as wore an almost feral glint in her eye. "That's where the mages come in. We'll assign them in teams of twenty, linked to each dragon through the Leporinae Mystics." She gestured wildly as if her hands painted a picture of the strategy unfolding in her mind. "When a dragon spots a target, the mages will focus their power and launch a concentrated magic missile!”

“That would be guided… by the dragon…” Anke said slowly as his eyes widened and comprehension dawned. It was an absolutely ridiculous and unwieldy solution to an equally ridiculous problem… but it was still a tenable solution. “Guided magic missiles," he breathed as awe and appreciation colored his words. "Shamanistically linked and dragon-directed guided magic missiles."

As Anke contemplated the Duchess's proposed strategy, a glimmer of hope bloomed within Vyrrasha's heart. She wasn't entirely convinced that they would emerge victorious from this conflict, but the idea of a stalemate, or at least delaying her demise, suddenly seemed within reach.

While Vyrrasha's mind raced with possibilities, Anke remained standing before her, his own thoughts whirling with the intricacies and implications of such a complex system of magic and linked casters. It would require extensive testing, refinement, and coordination, but it was a start.

Calming down her excitement, Vyrrasha turned to him and her other aides and continued to lay the groundwork for their new strategy and directives. "The smaller dragons will serve as our early warning system," she declared, her voice ringing with authority. "They will scan the heavens, high and low, providing us with the intelligence we need to respond to any aerial threats."

She then turned her attention to one of her advisors, who had been waiting patiently while his mistress spoke to the high elf. The general was a human named Maldro, and as Vyrrasha's focus shifted to him, he straightened up to make himself seem more presentable.

"Maldro," Vyrrasha began in a serious but hesitant tone. Her expertise wasn’t in the realm of ground warfare, and she needed the specialist knowledge of the man who had tamed the Tauri in the first place. “We need to develop a strategy for bogging down the otherworldly forces on the ground. A way to slow their advance, to bleed them as much as we can before they can reach our citadels and strongholds."

The general stroked his long gray beard while his mind raced with possibilities. The parameters his mistress gave him weren’t ideal, but if the goal wasn’t an outright victory but to bog down the enemy as much as possible… then he believed there were a few pages he could take from races he helped subjugate. "We could start digging tunnels and constructing fortifications between the forest lines, Your Grace," he answered finally after a few long seconds of silence. "We allow the otherworldly forces to advance uninterrupted, avoid open battles, and draw them into chokepoints and critical junctions using inferior forces."

Considering the proposal, Vyrrasha's eyes narrowed. She wasn’t keen on sacrificing resources in such an unsustaining way, but she felt her general was on to something. "Go on," she prompted, her tail flicking behind her.

With hands gesturing confidently, Maldro continued his proposal as he stepped towards the balcony facing the forests and pointed towards the treeline. "Our superior forces could use the tunnels and forests to maneuver unseen, popping out to attack the enemy's flanks and rear before melting back into cover. We hit them hard and fast, then disappear before they can mount an effective response."

Vyrrasha pondered Maldro's proposal, her mind raced with the implications and potential drawbacks of such a strategy. It was a plan that lacked honor and was unnecessarily wasteful, a far cry from the military doctrine of overwhelming force that the Empire used for centuries. But these were desperate times, and desperate measures were called for. The very survival of their way of life hung in the balance, and Vyrrasha knew that clinging to old notions of honor and integrity would only lead to their doom.

Still, a pang of regret shot through her, accompanied by a hiss of self-contempt. She had told Tharivol to disregard the levy men and focus solely on the mana users and mages. But now, faced with the grim realities of the war ahead, she realized the folly of that decision.

They were going to need every able body, every mundane soul, to stand against the otherworldly tide. For all their lack of magical prowess, the masses could still serve as a bulwark, a way to absorb the enemy's blows and buy precious time for their more skilled forces to strike.

Shaking her head, Vyrrasha pressed her hands to her face, her claws digging into her scales. It was a bitter pill to swallow, a concession to the harsh necessities of their situation. But there was no other choice.

"Maldro," she said, her voice heavy with resignation, "see to it that we have sufficient bodies to blunt the main advance. Conscript them into the auxiliaries, give them what training and equipment we can spare."

The general bowed low, his fist clenched over his heart. "As you command, Your Grace. But…” Maldro lifted himself and hesitated as concern crossed his face. "Your Grace, for this strategy to work, our forces will need to be incredibly coordinated. Lines will need to fall back as one, and our troops will need to know exactly when to pull back and when to stand and fight."

"I am aware, General. And I have a solution." The Duchess replied and waved her hand dismissively. "I will use everything, including my personal wealth to get what we need and finance this strategy.” She said, looking at every face. “We shall get every diviner, any communication tools the artificers can mass-produce to ensure that every field commander, down to the lowest ranks, can receive and relay orders.”

Silence reigned on the balcony as the aides and advisors present lowered their heads in a mix of respect and trepidation. The fact that their liege would dip into her own coffers highlighted how worried she was about the situation and the enormity of the task they were to undertake.

Vyrrasha surveyed the room, her gaze fierce and unyielding. "Go," she commanded, her voice ringing with authority. "Do not waste time. Every second counts."

In unison, the assembled officials bowed low, their fists clenched over their hearts. "Your will shall be done," they intoned, their voices a solemn chorus.

With that, they departed. Each aide and advisor hurried into the castle's depths to begin the monumental work ahead. Messengers were dispatched, orders were given, and the great machinations of the Empire's war effort began to grind into motion.

Alone on the balcony, Vyrrasha turned her gaze northward toward the endless sea of buildings and forests stretching to the horizon, where the empire resided. A scowl twisted her features, and hatred filled her heart.

And she knew, with a certainty that burned in her gut, that the insipid general Korthax and that filthy wretched of an Emperor were watching her every move. She was no fool. Vyrrasha knew they were analyzing her strategies, weighing her decisions, and looking for any insight into how to deal with the threat they themselves had brought to this realm.

They were using her, she realized with a snarl. Using her as a test subject, a guinea pig to try out their own twisted schemes. They would watch her struggle, watch her fight and bleed and die, all the while taking notes and poaching her best ideas.

Just as they had done with the Tauri.

"Damn you both to the infinite hells," Vyrrasha hissed, her claws digging into the balcony railing. "This world would have been a far better place if those two had been stillborn."