Border of Lumeris
The first rays of morning sunlight spread across the horizon.
The camp was only beginning to wake.
Soldiers emerged from tents.
Campfires smoldered.
The cold air carried the scent of steel and earth.
Inside the command tent, King Cedric and Ebruhan stood over a map.
Discussing troop placements.
Supply routes.
Possible enemy movements.
Then suddenly—
BOOOOOOM!
A horn echoed across the entire camp.
Immediately followed by another.
And another.
"ALARM!"
"ENEMY CONTACT!"
"TO POSITIONS!"
Both men looked up instantly.
Ebruhan was already moving.
King Cedric right behind him.
They burst out of the tent.
The sky was filled with shadows.
Arrows.
Hundreds of them.
Perhaps thousands.
Massive stones followed.
Launched from distant siege engines.
"SHIELDS!"
Magic barriers erupted across the battlefield.
Lumeris mages raised their staffs.
Mana surged.
The first wave slammed into the magical defenses.
BOOM!
CRACK!
The ground shook.
Dust filled the air.
Yet the shields held.
Soldiers tightened their grips on weapons.
Archers moved into position.
Knights mounted their horses.
Nearby, Vinson fastened his helmet.
His sword slid from its scabbard.
Emma stood among the battle mages.
Staff already glowing with mana.
Her expression was tense.
Focused.
Then a familiar blue light exploded across the battlefield.
Ebruhan transformed.
The young man vanished.
A colossal blue dragon appeared in his place.
His wings unfolded.
His eyes narrowed.
The dragon gazed toward the horizon.
Toward the source of the attack.
And there they were.
The army of Norvoss.
An ocean of soldiers.
Crimson banners.
Siege weapons.
Cavalry.
Infantry.
Shield walls.
The entire horizon seemed covered by them.
Even experienced veterans felt their hearts tighten.
Then something unexpected happened.
The army stopped.
No advance.
No charge.
A path opened near the center of the formation.
A single figure rode forward.
Princess Selene.
Beside her walked General Aerys.
The famous commander moved calmly despite standing within sight of a dragon.
The battlefield slowly grew quiet.
Even the siege fire ceased.
Thousands of soldiers watched.
Waiting.
Selene rode forward until both armies could clearly see her.
Golden eyes swept across the defenders of Lumeris.
Then she spoke.
Her voice carried through the battlefield with the aid of magic.
"Hear me, people of Lumeris."
Silence answered.
Selene remained calm.
Composed.
Confident.
"You have prepared."
"You have stood beside your king."
Her gaze drifted across the defending army.
"And for that, you have my respect."
Several soldiers exchanged uneasy glances.
They had expected threats.
Not respect.
The princess continued.
"I stand before you today to offer one final choice."
Aerys remained silent beside her.
Watching everything.
Watching everyone.
Selene raised her hand.
"Surrender."
The word echoed across the battlefield.
"Join Norvoss."
"You may keep your homes."
"You may keep your families."
"You may keep your lives."
The wind blew across the field.
Carrying her words.
"I offer this not from weakness."
Her gaze moved toward Ebruhan.
Toward the massive blue dragon towering above the defenders.
"And not from fear."
The dragon's eyes narrowed.
Selene's voice remained unwavering.
"I offer it because once this battle begins..."
A pause.
"...blood will be spilled."
She looked toward King Cedric.
"Your soldiers will die."
Then toward her own army.
"My soldiers will die."
For a brief moment, genuine sadness flashed through her eyes.
"And no victory is worth celebrating when purchased entirely through graves."
The battlefield remained silent.
Thousands listened.
Some angry.
Some uncertain.
Some thoughtful.
Then Selene's voice rang out one final time.
"This is my final offer."
Her golden eyes met Cedric's.
"Surrender."
"Or let history decide whose kingdom survives."
The wind swept across the battlefield.
Banners fluttered.
Armor glinted beneath the morning sun.
And between two armies...
Silence settled once more.
Waiting for King Cedric's answer.
Thousands of soldiers waited.
Neither side moved.
Neither side spoke.
Princess Selene sat calmly upon her horse.
Her eyes fixed upon the defenders.
Waiting.
Then King Cedric stepped forward.
He nodded toward one of the royal mages.
Immediately, the mage raised his staff.
Mana surged.
A spell circle formed beneath his feet.
Moments later, Cedric's voice echoed across the entire battlefield.
Clear enough for both armies to hear.
The king stood tall.
His cloak dancing in the wind.
"Princess Selene."
A pause.
"I refuse your offer."
No hesitation.
No uncertainty.
Only conviction.
The words rolled across the plains.
Reaching every soldier present.
Selene's expression didn't change.
She had expected that answer.
Cedric continued.
"This kingdom existed long before either of us were born."
His voice carried the weight of history itself.
"Long before your reign."
"Long before mine."
"Long before the banners we carry today."
The king looked toward the walls behind him.
Toward the cities beyond.
Toward the people he protected.
"Lumeris was built by countless generations."
"Farmers."
"Builders."
"Soldiers."
"Families."
"People who worked, sacrificed, and dreamed so their children could inherit a better future."
The soldiers of Lumeris listened in complete silence.
"And now you ask me to surrender it."
Cedric shook his head.
"Tell me, Selene."
His gaze met hers.
"Do you truly believe I could do that?"
A pause.
"Do you truly believe I could face my ancestors?"
"Face my people?"
"Face myself?"
The king smiled slightly.
Not mockingly.
Almost sadly.
"You are an intelligent woman."
Several commanders on both sides listened closely.
"You understand politics."
"You understand strategy."
"You understand people."
The smile faded.
"So surely..."
His voice hardened.
"...you are wise enough to know my answer before you even asked the question."
The wind swept across the battlefield.
Neither ruler looked away.
King Cedric continued.
"If I surrendered this kingdom while I still drew breath..."
His hand settled upon the hilt of his sword.
"Then I would not deserve to call myself king."
Cheers began spreading through the Lumeris ranks.
Quiet at first.
Then growing.
Cedric raised a hand.
The soldiers immediately settled.
His final words carried across the plains.
"I respect your devotion to your people, Selene."
The princess remained silent.
Listening.
"But I shall remain devoted to mine."
The king drew his sword.
The blade gleamed beneath the morning sun.
"And if fate demands we settle this matter through battle..."
His voice thundered across the field.
"Then let history bear witness."
The soldiers of Lumeris erupted.
"For Lumeris!"
"For Lumeris!"
"FOR LUMERIS!"
Thousands of voices shook the battlefield.
High above them, Ebruhan spread his wings.
The massive blue dragon released a roar so powerful that it echoed across the valleys.
A challenge.
A declaration.
A promise.
Across the battlefield, Selene listened quietly.
The cheers.
The roar.
The determination.
Then slowly...
The princess smiled.
Not because Cedric had agreed.
But because he had proven exactly the kind of king she believed him to be.
A ruler worth conquering.
Or worth losing against.
Beside her, Aerys rested a hand upon his sword.
The negotiations were over.
The final words had been spoken.
There would be no more negotiations.
No more offers.
No more chances.
Princess Selene slowly raised one hand.
Across the Norvoss army, thousands of soldiers immediately straightened.
Archers drew their bows.
Siege crews prepared their machines.
Mages began channeling mana.
The battlefield held its breath.
Then Selene drew her sword.
The steel sang as it left its scabbard.
Her blade pointed toward Lumeris.
"Advance."
The command was simple.
Cold.
Absolute.
Immediately, the battlefield erupted.
BOOOOOM!
Siege weapons fired.
Massive stones launched into the sky.
Flaming projectiles followed.
Arrows darkened the horizon.
"MAGES!"
The defenders reacted instantly.
Barrier spells exploded across the battlefield.
Blue shields.
Golden shields.
Walls of shimmering mana.
The first impacts struck.
BOOM!
CRACK!
THUNDER!
Shockwaves rolled across the plains.
Dust exploded into the air.
Then both armies moved.
"CHARGE!"
The cry came from thousands of throats.
"FOR LUMERIS!"
"FOR NORVOSS!"
The ground began trembling.
Infantry surged forward.
Cavalry lowered lances.
War banners whipped violently in the wind.
The distance between the armies vanished.
At the center of it all...
Ebruhan roared.
The sound crashed across the battlefield like a storm.
A dragon's challenge.
A dragon's fury.
Blue mana exploded around him.
With a powerful beat of his wings, the massive dragon launched into the sky.
Wind blasted across the battlefield.
Soldiers looked up.
Friend and foe alike.
Ebruhan climbed higher.
Higher.
Golden eyes locked onto the enemy formations.
Siege weapons.
Mages.
Command positions.
Everything became a target.
Below him, King Cedric rode at the front of his forces.
Sword raised.
Armor gleaming.
Unlike many kings, he wasn't hiding behind lines of soldiers.
He was leading them.
"For Lumeris!"
Thousands answered.
The armies crashed together.
Steel met steel.
The first cavalry formations collided.
Horses screamed.
Shields shattered.
Lances splintered.
Mages unleashed torrents of fire and lightning.
Archers filled the air with arrows.
Commanders shouted orders that vanished beneath the roar of battle.
The peaceful grasslands that had separated the kingdoms only hours before disappeared beneath a sea of soldiers.
Everywhere.
Movement.
Violence.
Chaos.
Norvoss banners pushed forward.
Lumeris standards pushed back.
And above them all...
A blue dragon streaked across the sky.
The first great battle of the war had begun.
No one knew who would win.
No one knew who would survive.
Only one thing was certain.
By sunset...
The field would not look the same.
And neither would the people fighting upon it.
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