Chapter 431: Invitations
There was some saying about nothing being as terrible as a battle won except a battle lost, or something in that vein. Regina didn’t know about that, but she was coming around to the idea that there was nothing as messy as a battle won, except maybe a battle lost.
Winning the Battle of Ariedel (she hoped they wouldn’t have to start numbering them) had certainly left her allies with quite a mess.
And by ‘her allies’, she meant the elves, the dwarves, and actually her own forces in the area, too. They were still coordinating closely, and many of the troops they’d sent to reinforce Ariedel would have to stay in the area for a while. Many of them hadn’t even gotten to see combat before the battle was won; she supposed there were worse issues to have.
The problem with a huge army like the one the Westerners had mustered to attack them from the west was that defeating it left a lot of soldiers behind. In a conventional battle — at least for this time period, she supposed — only a fraction of the soldiers in a losing army were actually killed in a pitched battle. More of them would be killed by pursuers while they fled. That still left a lot scattered. Typically, they’d probably have thrown away their arms and armor and would try to melt into the countryside, maybe try to go home. Their artillery and the general lethality of Abilities and magic did lead to high casualties, compared to what Regina would expect from a medieval army. But it didn’t change the underlying dynamics too much.
And, of course, one issue here was that the battlefield was basically bordered by a giant monster-infested forest and maybe an even worse monster-infested mountain range if you went further to the west or southwest. Deserters from the Westerner army couldn’t exactly go home. At least not easily. Some of them would probably show up in Nerlia, if they didn’t manage to get to their own country. Regina wasn’t sure how this would impact the local monster population, actually. Would it just mean more available food and thus boost their numbers? Were the scattered soldiers able enough to noticeably reduce the monster population? It might depend on where you went. But the idea of monsters eating all of the fleeing Westerners was only kind of amusing until she realized there would be a lot of what were basically civilians involved too; servants, general laborers doing tasks like driving wagons, maybe even the families of some soldiers.
Regardless, right now elves and dwarves combed the forest and ranged beyond it to find and break up any remaining pockets of resistance, while her own drones were even more active. War Drones hunted in packs throughout the area, and Winged Drones spread through the skies to scout, report back or throw rocks at enemies, commanded by a few sapient drones. Many of the human soldiers, as well as elves, were occupied with the prisoners of the battle.
That was another headache on its own. The Empire had made preparations, of course. For all the battles they had fought so far, they had had surprisingly few PoWs to deal with. Only relatively speaking, of course. But the soldiers from this army added considerably to that number, even if they should technically really be the elves’ prisoners.
For now, a series of prisoner camps were being constructed, east of Ariedel. Some were still in the forest, others on the edge of the territory the hive controlled. They used Swarm Drones to do the heavy lifting and get it done quickly. Unfortunately, it would still be a drain on manpower; and a consistent one. War Drones were surprisingly good guards, at least as long as you only needed them to patrol and raise the alarm if someone was in an area they weren’t supposed to be (like a strip of land encircling a camp), but they obviously still needed supervision. And since the System granted strength that you couldn’t just take away in the same way as a gun, even disarmed soldiers were still dangerous.
Fortunately, the elves had readily agreed to do their share of guarding.
They were apparently open to doing more than just that, as well. Regina was trying not to get her hopes up, but it did seem like the attack on their home — and everything else — had lit a fire under them. And maybe the traitors who had sabotaged their defenses getting arrested had tilted the political balance just enough to let the pro-Imperial side do what they wanted.
They had sent her an invitation, but Regina couldn’t visit personally. She was pretty sure the elves understood that, too; it was just a nice gesture. Still, she could simply listen through her drones and speak if necessary. For now, they had arranged several meetings to speak about the next steps and the future.
Ariedel looked a bit beat up, Regina mused as she mentally flipped through the eyes of Swarm Drones and sapient drones in the city. The occasional enemy artillery shell had still hit, even if most of them had been deflected. But the inhabitants had been hard at work cleaning up, and the city was still rather pretty. They had also clearly made an effort for this occasion, despite the circumstances; there were some colorful banners, flowers (some growing directly on the trees making up a lot of the city) and elven soldiers turned out in shiny gear. They saluted formally as Tia passed on a bulky Drone Mount.
Since Regina wouldn’t go herself, she had at least sent a princess. Tia had grumbled a bit about it, but not for long. She’d already dealt with the dwarves, and if things had gone a little differently, she could have easily been here for the battle, anyway. For now, this was a bit of unnecessary pomp, since she’d already gone and talked to Temil anyway, he’d just happened to be at a logistical outpost outside the city.
I think the Westerners might just have shot themselves in the foot here, Tia mused quietly.
Yes, having the elves angry at them is nothing to scoff at, I suppose. And then there’s our new Champion, Regina added, following her gaze.
Anuis was unsurprisingly placed in a prominent position. She evidently also got a lot of attention, from the Imperials escorting Tia, but also not-so-hidden looks from her own people. And she’d already leveled up again, it appeared. She’d gained a level during the battle, if Regina recalled correctly. It seemed the gods’ empowering effect proved its worth. Although the next level was probably still mostly due to Experience gained for the battle (she’d killed a lot of people, Regina supposed).
Enais was present as well, along with two other ministers. They stepped forward slightly and welcomed Tia to the city. Regina listened to the exchange, but she was a little distracted by trying to sense their general emotional state, as well as the proverbial atmosphere of the city. Ariedel was still chocked with grief, which was hardly suprising after a battle; quite a few families would mourn lost loved ones. Several of the gathered leaders felt the same way. Regina had sensed worse, though, and there was an underlying determination that felt almost optimistic, despite the damage.
The elven leaders invited Tia inside, and a few senior drones joined her as they entered a pavilion that seemed to grow right out of a tree. There were generally fewer of the large trees used as construction here in the center of the city, but this one was so well integrated into the building it almost didn’t look like it. Part of the open space was cradled inside its wood, but the rest let sunlight in since it lacked another roof. They had placed tables and chairs around the space, and more elven leaders as well as a few Imperial officials were already waiting. Tia nodded and smiled at Tirka and a few other dwarves.
“Your architecture keeps impressing,” she commented to her hosts.
Enais smiled. The old elf had wasted no time lowering herself into a padded seat, making the rest of her group arrange herself around her. “Thank you. Your own people are certainly no slouches in this regard, either, Your Highness. I have heard much of the new city you are building. Hopefully, I will see it with my own eyes soon.”
Tia inclined her head slightly. It looked like they would get straight to business, she mused. “Thank you for the compliment. I admit I was not heavily involved with it, although I did consult on the project. But we would love to host you in New Anberg.” She glanced at the other elves present. “Is that something you are planning on?”
“We are starting to realize that we must venture beyond our borders to a greater degree than we have of late,” another elf spoke up, an older man by the name of Desiarn. Regina recalled his last name was Erisel and told Tia so. “The capital of the Empire certainly seems as good a destination as any.”
“Certainly,” Tia agreed.
“We must also take care to meet your leaders more consistently than we have been and forge strong and stable lines of communication,” he added.
“That would be quite welcome,” she responded. “I take it that means that Ariedel will be more involved in the war going forward?”
A slight stir still ran through the group at the blunt question. But Regina couldn’t sense actual shock from them, or anything more than muted dismay that was probably aimed at the situation more than at Tia.
“We must,” Anuis spoke up. She was standing straight, her hands clasped behind her back; the only sign she was still a bit uncomfortable in this group, Regina supposed. “The war came to our door, and it will do so again if we do nothing. Besides, the Western Confederation are our enemies, as are the Esemen. I would not cower here doing nothing.”
Several of the other elves nodded and Enais smiled. “Well spoken, daughter,” she said, then switched her gaze to Tia. “So tell us, Princess, is your Empress prepared to welcome us to your war effort, or are there hurdles that must be cleared first?”
Tia smiled back briefly. She was hoping that Enais wasn’t asking whether they needed to publicly humble themselves a little, first; Regina was fairly sure the question had been layered on purpose. “Integrating our militaries to cooperate effectively will certainly not be simple, but I am confident we can manage,” she replied.
The answer seemed to calm them down a little. A few other people spoke up and they started to make some broad plans for how to organize this military integration. Tia was not necessarily the best person to speak to about that, but she also wasn’t the worst; since she was very familiar with the logistics of the Empire’s war effort, she knew what needed to be done. Logistics being the key to success in war and all that, Regina mused.
Her own attention drifted a little as the talks continued. She didn’t really need to personally be here. To be honest, she’d mostly been watching Tia because she was curious. But she trusted her to manage on her own. Instead, Regina checked on Iseis, who was currently asleep (still kinda sleeping off the hectic and demanding time around the battle), on Galatea, who was doing something hopefully ethical enough with mice in her shared lab, and on her junior students. Then she refocused her attention on the area around the city of Ariedel again.
Regina only paid more attention to the conversation once more when she felt that Tia was switching tracks. It was clear her attention wasn’t demanded, but Tia subtly invited her back in, more of an ‘if you want to listen’.
“There is one more thing we need to coordinate,” she said. “Since I’m here and we were just speaking about the prison camps, anyway. While we’ve unfortunately not managed to capture any enemy Champions, there are still high-ranking prisoners we’ve identified, and likely more we simply need to properly assess. Military officers and leaders of their religious orders alike. We still know far too little about the Western Confederation and their strategy, or their political landscape and processes. We’ll be interrogating those prisoners to learn more.”
Enais nodded, exchanging a quick look with a few other elves. “That sounds sensible. I believe we can spare some experts, to assist, as well. We have some commissars and agents skilled in interrogation who would be eager to help find more information, I’m sure. Though, if you intend to ransom any high-ranking leaders back to the Confederation …”
“We’re not going to torture them or anything like that,” Tia said drily. “We are the good guys in this conflict, friends. Keep that in mind. Anyway, my mother will be sending some of her psychic students. I would ask that you make appropriate arrangements to ensure their security wherever necessary.”
“Ah, of course,” Erisel agreed, nodding as well. “We will ensure they have everything they need. Speaking of psychic students … There are a few of our people who have some minor talent in the art, and I know others were contemplating choosing Classes that would offer psychic skills. Of course, we lack any notable psychics who could guide them to greatness. But seeing as we are allied to the Empire, and you are famously led by one of the most powerful psychics in recent history, I believe it behooves us to ask. Would Her Imperial Majesty be amenable to introducing elves into her circle of students?”
Regina was honestly a little surprised as the suggestion. From what she’d learned in the last few years, there were always a few psychics around, but they were rare. And of very variable ‘quality’. Most, statistically speaking, were largely mages with some specific psychic tricks; often, it wasn’t clear whether they could actually be called real psychics. Although there were others as well, of course. It was a big and strange world. So it didn’t surprise her that there were some, well, potential recruits in Ariedel; it was more surprising that the government was aware of them and might have specifically tracked or categorized them. But she shouldn’t expect them to work like the human kingdoms, their political system was quite different. And thinking about it for a second, this was probably a diplomatic offer, anyway — accepting and teaching students from Ariedel would foster new connections, helping to deepen the bond between their countries. If they were, indeed, still considering joining the Empire, it would probably help in that respect, too.
“Of course, my Queen would be delighted to accept them,” Tia answered for her.
Regina smiled slightly to herself. It would be a good thing, she felt.
She would have to devote more time to her students … but honestly, she should probably be doing that anyway. At least, a few of her older students were now probably ready to take on more involved, independent missions, as well. And they could increasingly help mentor the newer students.
Maybe she should ask the dwarves if they were interested in something like that as well, just to balance things out. Though Regina expected less success on that front.
And the gnomes, of course. They were her people as well, now. Honestly, it was probably a failure on Regina’s part that she hadn’t started a dedicated effort to find and recruit gnomish students.
Regina made a mental note to sit down and consider this matter further, and to bring it up to a few people. She needed an organized approach, clearly.