Brin stood on the front line of a trendous army. All across the river separating Prinnash from Arcaena, the best and the boldest fighters of three nations stood in ranks, ready for the assault. Tens of thousands of armored n, plucked from the commoners, stood ready with a wide diversity of weapons. They stood in good discipline. Eyes forward, expressions stern, they didn't shift weight from foot to foot or chat among their peers. Behind them were the siege engines. Great towers, catapults and trebuchets, as well as ballistas and complex magical cannons. An entire city of towering machines of war, and that wasn't all. There were ranks of archers, pockets of mysterious [Mages], a gang of war beasts, and of course, the [Knights]. Hundreds of them.
Even though this was just one of three major armies, the forces arrayed against the enemy were so nurous and varied that it was dizzying to look at them. Literally. A hundred different Skills to disrupt or confuse enemy spies lay across different sections of the army, so it was a difficult experience to send Invisible Eyes to go around looking at everything. Brin would get hit with ntal attacks that left him in a stupor for several minutes, even with his resistances. For many, he couldn't pierce their [Hide Status] to even get their na. So defenses were more passive; they didn't block him from watching, but they'd try to figure out who he was in return. It was a risk for Brin to send Invisible Eyes out at all, with so many odd Skills flying around.
He still did, of course, and the System rewarded him for it.
Inspect leveled up! 42 -> 45
Without seeing them all together in an army, it would take a lifeti to find this many dangerous, high-level Classes.
They stood in front of the river, the walls on their side having already been heavily dismantled to make room for the assault. Brin didn't know what the plan for the water was, but the rumor going around was that when they finally did charge, they'd be doing so on dry ground.
On the other side, Arcaena had no walls though her defenses were still in place.
An army stood on Arcaena’s side of the river. It was led by a woman who displayed her na and Class openly. [Great Witch] Rawen, dressed in black with straight black hair down to her ankles. She seed unworried by the vast legion arrayed against her and every ti Brin looked in her direction he got the uncanny feeling that she was eting his eyes and staring straight back. It was a tribute to Arcaena that a woman of this much sheer nace wouldn’t even be ntioned on Aberfa’s list of notable dangers.
Rawen led two hundred human soldiers and a thousand undead. Pathetically small compared to the allied force, but Rawen stood with confidence. Those weren't the true protections.
A wall of Wyrd covered the queendom. It was invisible to most eyes, but with [Know What's Wyrd], Brin could feel it as an impregnable wall of darkness, as immovable as a mountain and as inevitable as the setting of the sun. To cross that line would be to violate the domain of Arcaena herself.
Maybe that's the reason they were still standing here. He was beginning to understand it when military people in his old life had said, "Hurry up and wait," because for all the hurry they'd been in to get here, there wasn't a lot happening.
The Lance had ridden hard around a small mountain range to get to Aberquay, rushed straight to the front line and now three days later, it was the sa. They stood watching Arcaena, waiting for the order to attack. There were breaks for als, and they were rotated out for rest but otherwise the army stood here. Ready, but waiting.
The worst part was that Brin didn't dare go into Class Selection. Without knowing how long it would take, he couldn't risk going comatose for any amount of ti, not when they might get called into action at a mont's notice. He'd eventually gotten word to his hundred-man commander to ask for a short stay of leave, but he'd so far been ignored.
They'd given him his mail, at least. First was a letter from Lumina.
My dearest Brin,
I received word that you were involved with a surprise goblin incursion against the small town of Dustrim, and that you decided to stay and defend the town despite being wildly outnumbered. While I can perhaps grant that your actions speak of a certain nobility of character, I must say that I was not at all pleased to hear of this. You are more important than a small village, or indeed any single city in Prinnash. Next ti, run away! I trust that this was a single lapse of judgnt, and that I will no longer hear tales of you throwing yourself headfirst against impossible odds.
I also find myself quite cross with the Order of the Long Sleep, not in the least because you were specifically sent there because we thought you would be safe. Rember, you are to stay in the back lines and avoid the worst of the fighting.
If you will not heed because of my concern for you, which I must emphasize is very real and sothing which I feel most keenly, then perhaps I might persuade you with a call to higher purpose. You carry more than the hopes of a single life. For all our might and bluster, we face the [Witch Queen] herself, and victory is by no ans guaranteed. The difference between success and failure may well be a very thin line. It might co down to a single feint. One deception. Let be blunt. Victory may well depend on you knowing what you know while having the Class you have. Perhaps I've already said too much; burn this letter after reading. And above all: stay safe!
I've straightened out the snag that delayed your funds. By the ti you receive this letter, the Order will have received an amount of money adequate to outfit you in suitable armor.
Write back when you can. Direct your correspondence to the Tower. I may not be here much longer, but they will be able to find .
With all my love,
Lumina.
He'd confird that the Order did indeed have his money, but he hadn't been able to arrange a eting with aty. In fact, none of his Lance had their armor repaired yet. They looked a ss next to the other [Knights] in their gleaming, pristine plate. Brin's Lance had been told not to bother fixing their armor since they were all due to have it replaced with enchanted stuff, and while that was good news, it didn't do them any good if this war actually broke out.
He'd also gotten a letter from Hogg.
Brin,
I'm not good at this stuff so don't expect a lot.
The Tower is a burning disaster. Nothing but overpowered milksops and silk-wearing vipers. They know their stuff, though. I love it here.
Great job with Dustrim. I laughed with my full belly when I heard you challenged your Lance to the Crucible. Idiot.
So listen, I don't know what Lumina put in her letter, but she was frowning a lot. Don't take anything she says too hard. She's doing the best she can, but she's worried, and not just for you. We're preparing a pretty cool
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