Rebellion - 12 (Patreon)

"Sodding honourless nobs," I swore under my breath, keeping my eyes fixed on the grains of the wood above us and away from what was happening in my chest right now, "arrogant bastards and their–"

"Quiet!" The surgeon ordered abruptly, perfectly punctuated by the thud of a cannon crashing into the wall. "You are the one who chose to remain awake. If you keep moving I will sedate you for your own good!" As I gritted my teeth and obeyed, however unhappily, she resumed the work of cutting me open and digging the bullet out of me. "I don't understand how but you successfully lodged the shot inside your ribcage; it's practically fused to the bone..."

There was a tug that I could feel through the Astral magic deadening my nerves, one hard enough that I was fractionally lifted from the bed.

Must've happened when I was shapeshifting. My clothes were handled simply enough so there had to be something I could do to prevent this in the future... but that was the future.

"Just get it out. I can heal anything else after," I hissed.

I didn't have time to faff around with finding a better way to resolve things. We were under attack, Godfrey not wasting his little betrayal by waiting any length of time before starting an assault. Even back here, I could feel the occasional burst of Arcane magic fly towards us; burning flames, like Alana's, as the mage tried to set the fortress on fire.

Things had already been a mess, scrambling to handle the unexpected attack and handle the fact that three members of the command staff were missing, from the moment we crossed the river back to the fortress. And I rather doubted things had gotten better over the course of the last hour.

Meeting my gaze the surgeon frowned. "This goes against all good practice." She said, then shook her head. "Hold her down firmly." She told the assistants, who took up position to hold down my arms, legs, and head.

It wasn't painful, but the sound as she levered the bullet out from between my ribs made me faintly nauseous. Squelching flesh and ripping bone, ending only as there was a soft plink, the bullet dropped onto a tray beside the bed.

"Done. Now–"

I flushed the wound with magic, feeling the damage done just to get it out; a gaping hole on the underside of my breast cut open for her to remove it. Bone started to stretch, filling in the gaps; flesh knitted back together and blood vessels reconnected; fluids were reabsorbed and cleansed of whatever shit had gotten into them.

"Right." I sat up and pulled my shirt closed, buttoning it back up. "Are there any emergency cases? Anyone that needs immediate healing?"

My chest was still numb for the moment and I was going to keep it that way. The ghostly sensations of feeling someone dig around inside me had not quite faded, and left me deeply discomforted.

"There has been a significant amount of head trauma alongside the expected bullet wounds," a nurse said quickly, "but at last checking there wasn't–"

As I hopped off the bed, I cut her off. "I'll handle them after the assault is over." Prevention was better than a cure. The sooner we got things under control the better. Looking at the surgeon again, I gave her the best smile I could manage at the moment. "Thank you."

She hesitated in cleaning her implements. "A pleasure." She returned quietly. "Nice that some of you magic types respect our profession. Now get out there and keep us safe while we work!"

-oOoOo-

The cracking of gunfire was deafening outside of the medical bunker, a constant stream of fire being sent over the parapets by men and women who would peek out, fire, and then duck behind to reload. Beyond the heavy thunder of the cannon, adding a deep booming bass to the cacophony, there was also the clashing of steel on steel; blades meeting blades, the clashing of weapons against armour.

Vivi was atop the wall in the thick of it, battling alongside her brother against a squad of royal guards who had formed the beachhead of the assault. Her hair danced in a breeze all of her own as she wove between their strikes.

She was bleeding. Too many, too skilled, for her to simply ignore. Godfrey was determined to get past us quickly and avoid Tulvan entirely.

But if he thought I was going to stay out of the fight for long, he was sorely mistaken.

Planning for the inevitable frustration I was going to face, I reached for the stars hidden by the light of day, opening myself to their indifference, and began to coalesce their power into a weapon to strike the guards on the wall.

Seconds passed, a soft murmuring song without meaning flowing from my lips, and I raised my hand and let loose.

Astral light poured from the sky and unleashed its fury upon the royal guards; one, blasted from the wall by the strike entirely, started to tumble down the reinforcing embankment. The other three fared better, but didn't come out unscathed – though they still didn't fall, merely being slowed and disoriented from the blow.

Not that Vivi was slow to capitalise on that, a vicious flaming swipe setting one's cloak ablaze as she stepped past them to assist her brother who was struggling to face his singular opponent.

Nor were others failing to take part. Bullets rained down on them, blocked by their armour but threatening injury should they ever find a weak point – or simply strike enough to compound the bruising they no doubt delivered.

My second spell, to remove the tumbling guard before he could return to the fight, was far less successful.

Namely because the goddamn mage did what I expected and counterspelled me.

Ignoring the buzzing connection with the Astral magic I was trying to use I switched gears, ignoring the itching of my gums and eyes to raise the roots of the wall's foundations to trap them instead. He wasn't down yet, struggling against the roots as best he could, but he hadn't avoided them entirely.

"Trent, secure the guard!" Isobel yelled out an order. "While he's down! Move while we have him!"

A squad broke off from guarding the gate to surround the now-downed guard.

Satisfied, I moved on, turning my attention back to Vivi's fight. She needed healing and I supplied it – along with a reinforcing boost of magic, giving her another small edge over her opponents.

"Gwyneth!" Isolde called to me, waving her pistols down the wall to where a fire blazed, burning unnaturally against the living wood of the fort. "We need to break off their attack and put out the fires!"

"On it!" I answered, moving towards one of the cannon emplacements.

This would be easier from a vantage point – and I needed to make sure the mage wasn't just going to counter it. As I ran to my destination I threw out smaller spells, the same I had given to Vivi, trying to bait out the mage again. He didn't bite, but at least more of our soldiers would have an easier time of things – and, with a boost of energy and their wounds staunched, they returned to the fight with a renewed vigor.

"Traitorous bastards!" A woman roared as she brought a halberd down onto a man climbing over the battlements. "For the Dales! For House Merringale!"

"Drive them back! For the Dales!"

"Mantled in Mist!"

"Defend the Northgate!"

Morale was furiously high, a simmering rage against Godfrey's actions that wasn't going to be easily quenched. Nor did I see much reason for it to be; I had no reason to hold back like I had against Lord Permont.

Not against Godfrey. Not after what he'd done.

Taking a place behind the battlements I got a good look at the sheer throng of people pressing themselves against the wall, literally thousands of people trying to push through before we could throw them back. Patches here and there showed where the cannon had performed their deadly work; entire lines of broken bodies, injured and dead, and not a small number of them.

But outnumbered as much as six to one without something more, there was only one way this was going. "Gale," I asked, and the wind answered, throwing back not just a woman climbing a ladder but the ladder itself.

They fell back down into the army below, likely to live, but giving me the space I needed. Reaching down I tapped into the roots once more, the vibrant living thing that was our fort, and spurred new growth – branches crept up, catching those outside the wall, twisting and clinging to ladders and–

My teeth buzzed harder as the mages took the bait. A dark grin spreading across my lips I returned to the Astral above, where the damage had faded.

The Blue Child didn't hang in the sky today, my watchful friend wasn't here, but their presence never truly faded.

"Seven degrees left!" Commander Smith barked loudly at the cannon crew. "Explosive round, hit 'em hard! And keep your bleeding heads down!"

Astral light started to shine around me, my hair defying gravity to fall to the east – towards where the Blue Child drifted behind the horizon, something I simply knew – and my clothes followed suit. Power built over the seconds, bullets whizzing overhead distantly and the cannon beside me boomed like it was muffled in silk. Looking beyond the crenellations I saw where he had aimed his fire.

The mage, wearing his robes atop a horse, protected by a barrier of Ice that shrugged off the bullets thrown his way. His eyes were turned my way, wide open in alarm and concern – the cannon had missed, striking near, but I wouldn't.

All went quiet for a single moment as the stars fell and men died, a shining lance obscuring the mage from s–

And then my head rang like a shrieking bell.

Falling to my knees, the magic cut off in an abrupt burst of Arcane disruption again, coming from a different angle as the furious waves of magic I had assembled fell in disjointed and rapidly dissipating bursts. A mere fraction of what they should have been.

"Good hit!" Commander Smith congratulated me as I gritted my teeth and clutched at my head.

"That. Hurt." I grunted. Counterspell was the most obnoxious bullshit imaginable! I was going to figure out a way to prevent it. I was. "But fine, if that didn't work..."

Life was a tangle, Astral was severed. Both felt like knives in my skull to even think of touching right now.

But that still left another.

"Time to dance." I said, pushing myself back to my feet and stepping along with the wind, flowing with a drizzle that fell from the clouds. "You better not have a sodding third."

Drizzling rain turned to a downpour, grey clouds condensed and thickened to turn black, the evening light of the sun was drowned out by the crack of lightning rippling through the sky. True thunder boomed and drowned out all the sounds of battle.

A horn sounded out amongst the assaulting army, a single long note.

Then the crashing storm fell upon them. Waves of lightning falling, bringing about a chorus of screams; howling winds throwing bullets wide and men from ladders.

When I felt the pulse of Arcane magic that heralded another attempt to ruin my spell I simply... let go.

Empowered and raging with the fury of the elements, the storm continued its assault upon those beyond the walls of the form. It was indiscriminate now, uncaring for friend or foe, but there was enough direction still there that we were safe.

And piece by piece, Godfrey's army pulled back. Leaving me to cling on to the dribbling remains of my reserves as I breathed hard.

Day one of the battle was over... now to handle the rest until Tulvan got here.

-oOoOo-

"How difficult is it for you to counter the mages?" Howard asked me plainly as we sat around the much-reduced command table. Everything was illuminated by shrouded gas lamps as I was saving my magic for more important matters. "The majority of our casualties came from their assault on the left flank, more than a dozen dead and over a hundred suffering severe burns at last count."

I gave him an unimpressed look. We were all aware of how badly things had gone there before the storm I'd called put the fires out; the stench of burnt flesh still hung in the air, more than a full day later.

And I knew more than most for good reason. "I healed most of those burns, Lord Mistmantle." I reminded him. "As well as fixing the damage done to our walls."

After the rush of the first day's assault things had wound down somewhat, Godfrey refraining from a repeat of the attack on the second. He did, however, massively outgun us on the artillery front, and we only matched their range thanks to an elevation advantage. Dragging anything beyond light horse artillery through the Esting Woods simply hadn't been viable.

So our six cannon had faced up against more than twenty – Commander Smith had estimated thirty-one on the high end, but it was likely lower – over the last twelve hours of siege warfare. The roar of their bombardment had only tapered off when it came time for the Golden Cross to act.

Worse still, we were now down to five cannons thanks to a lucky hit on their part that left Commander Smith down an arm. And I didn't have the energy to spare on regrowing it just yet.

Shaking my head I focused on his actual question. "It is less of a case of me countering them and more them countering me. The moment they realised I was taking part in the battle they focused on disrupting my spells; something I can't do back to them."

"You still managed to brew up quite the storm," Isolde noted.

"She did, and it made shooting the retreating blighters harder than it should've been." Commander Smith complained grumpily. "Figure more of those light beams would've done better."

"Gwen had her reasons for casting what she did. If it wasn't for her support we would've been overwhelmed." Vivi stepped in protectively. "We took down two of Godfrey's guardsmen, both noble sons, and won't have to face them again. I can keep up with two, but not three." She glanced at her brother for a moment. "If you aren't there, brother. You... weren't helping."

"I realised that around the third time you stopped them skewering me on a pike." He smiled ruefully. "Regrettably, I'm not half the fighter father was." He shook his head before looking to me again. "We will not have to worry about the mages in the future then?"

"Shouldn't need to, no."

"Then let us move on. With the loss of Lords Merrowfall and Merringale overall command falls to my wife, Lady Mistmantle, while the left and right flanks will be held by myself and my sister, Vivianne, respectively. Commander Smith, how fares the disposition of the cannon crews..."

This should have happened yesterday in truth, and I knew it, but it had been delayed. I was too busy, my tasks too important to be ignored even for a vital meeting.

And I did need to be part of this. To know who had the full view of things, to understand the situation we were in and what was more important to handle. I couldn't leap to and fro casting spells without care or information – had I been properly informed of the goings on while having the bullet removed I would've brewed up a larger spell first.

The mages hadn't realised I was active until I acted, hadn't been able to counter my magic until they were ready for it to come. Channeling a starfall would've been interrupted either way, given the continual nature of the spell, but a storm...

It would've been a far more impactful opener. I had massively underestimated the effectiveness of mages when it came to countering magic thrown their way.

"–came Lady Tulvan says that she will reach us within the week, and Godfrey will only grow more desperate as that time approaches" Nodding to us all Howard stood. "So rest well, we all need to be ready for the morrow."

-oOoOo-

Three more attacks were repulsed over the next few days. The first came at the crack of dawn, when the Golden Cross came out to collect those injured and needing their care to take back to their hill – Godfrey exploiting the limits of the area by slipping a force through the trees on the side to attack us from the flank while his main force advanced.

It was decidedly unsuccessful as I turned the forests against his attacking force; one of the mages, the one whose throat I'd ripped out but apparently hadn't killed, had tried to prevent it, but found himself engaged by Vivi.

She didn't kill him either, the coward escaping by freezing her and his protectors in place and teleporting away before she could break free.

With the time bought by the diversionary attack the main assault had reached the walls, and, without Vivi to counter them, the remaining royal guardsmen under Godfrey's command had cut a bloody swathe as they made a foothold.

If they hadn't made an attempt to free their fellows rather than taking out our cannons, which had to be turned on the breach, the fort might've fallen before we got back. As it was, we ended up killing the one they did free before they could actually escape.

The third was a charge under the cover of a rolling barrage of cannon fire, imperfect but enough to force us to keep our heads down. That day the mages also found a rotation between them, showing that I hadn't killed the mage I'd hit like I'd thought, blasting our lines with alternating fire and frost between preventing me from even touching upon Astral or Elemental magic.

I was forced to spend most of the day throwing out healing, entangling those I could, and reinforcing weak points with bolstering boons. Yet I still had to weather the unpleasantness that was their counterspells just to stop them from redoubling their efforts on the attack.

"This is the last one." I said to the soldiers around me. "Our reinforcements will be here soon, Lady Tulvan will arrive soon after noon. This is the last chance he has to get past us."

Looking at the tired men and women who had fought hard to keep us all safe, beating back those who threw themselves at the wall over and over, firing round after round until our ammunition stores ran dangerously low, I saw determination not to let Godfrey win. Amongst those who took bullets, had them removed, got healed, and got back up to do it all over again, I saw the resolve to fight on and felt pride.

"We won't end the war this day. Genn still has yet to pay for what he did at the gates, for what he unleashed upon our people. For abandoning so many."

"Fucking Greymanes."

"Bastard killed my brother when he got bit."

"Just want to kick some riverlander's teeth in after what they did to my lord."

A variety of replies came back and I let them settle. "But! Winning the war or not, this will be a major victory! Godfrey, Genn's right-hand man in committing atrocities, is trapped. We take him this day and we have a free run to take his lands, to link up with Lord Crowley, and make clear that the royal cause is doomed to fail!"

Was it the greatest speech? Probably not. I never claimed to be a great orator, and when I asked to borrow Isolde's she'd looked at me funny. She was giving one elsewhere, Howard another, And Vivi yet another.

People respected us. They wanted to hear our confidence, our own words on why we would win. Whether I liked it or not, I was part of that now.

Just one more responsibility to carry.

"Now, let's show them that this forest has thorns!" The snorts of laughter I received told me that needed work too, but whatever. Tired or not we were ready for this fight.

-oOoOo-

Astral fire scorched the ground as the third wave of attacks broke against the wall, falling to find purchase as Godfrey's mages didn't counter the lesser workings I tried to bait them with. Wasting my energy on a larger spell wasn't worth it when I kept expecting them to just disrupt it.

I didn't have the energy to sling around freely after days of fighting. There wasn't anyone to rotate with so I could take breaks like we'd had at the Wall.

"Tulvan flags!" Commander Smith bellowed, his voice carrying over the din.

Not bothering to check his sighting, I immediately moved to reinforce the defences, to entrap anyone who tried to climb up and break through, but instead Godfrey's men... turned and fled.

Why became immediately apparent as I felt a wash of cold air blow out from beside the river, Arcane mixing with water to form ice and still the flow of the river. A solid bridge, half a dozen men across, offering passage to safety on the far bank.

Compared to the now familiar cacophony of battle, there was utter silence as we understood what Godfrey's plan of escape was. He couldn't break us, despite trying his damnedest, so he was just going to run a different way.

"Commander! Break that bridge!" Isobel screamed out an order. "Gwyneth!"

If, after all this, that bastard got away there was no sodding grace left in the world. Tulvan's riders were running down but not moving fast enough; the mob of soldiers might get mopped up, but there was no way those at the bridge already would get caught.

I jumped from the battlements, shifting into a raven and beating my wings hard.

They were slowly crossing the ice, forced to be careful due to the slippery surface. If I could get close enough I could–

"Gwyneth Arevin! Return at once!" Came another yell as I passed the left flank, Isolde once more. "Support the sally! Run down their troops!"

Hesitating I looked back at her, at the opening gate and the defenders pouring forth. I was going to stop them escaping... right where the two mages were, where they could disrupt my magic and I would be alone against the army.

Turning on the wing I dropped in front of the wall, crouching low to the ground as I turned back. The field and road were thick with mud and blood from the past days, but so very fertile.

With a flex of will roots burst forth. Not seeking to catch or entangle directly, but to trip, impede, and disrupt. The swift retreat turned into a crumbling heap as thousands found themselves tumbling to the ground.

Some turned around, a few even sighting me, and a bullet grazed my arm while others buzzed past me to set my heart beating quickly. "Lay down your arms and surrender!" I yelled, bolstering my words with a blast of wind. "Cooperate and you will be spared!"

Cannons roared behind me, one striking true against the bridge while four others merely splashed into the river. It held strong, for now, but a dozen or so of those trying to cross fell into the waters and were swept away.

With the sally coming forth, Tulvan's cavalry charging across the field, and as their hope of escape was no longer assured nor safe, hundreds upon hundreds of men listened to my demand for surrender. Guns, spears, and a motley of other weapons were thrown to the ground.

A few resisted, but they were by far the minority.

-oOoOo-

"Vicious bitch, aren't you?" The mage who had polymorphed me, who had helped Godfrey with his truce breaking, who had made and maintained the ice bridge across the river, spat. Physically spat at me. "Was ripping out my throat once not good enough so you want to do it again?" He mocked through his bruised face. "Or maybe you'll let them beat me up more. Fucking monster."

"Vixen." I corrected as I looked down at him, the most prominent of those we had captured from Godfrey's army save the royal guard from the first day, I felt something I didn't particularly like.

He was right that I was enjoying seeing him in pain. After all the shit he'd put me through, the pounding headaches and nausea I'd all but gotten used to over the last week, I wanted quite a bit to make him feel what I had. To make him pay.

"You do realise that Archmage Arugal declared neutrality, don't you?" I said instead, taking solace in the fact Vivi stood behind me.

Tulvan was arguing with Howard and Isobel right now. Merringale and Caleb had been taken across the river and she hadn't been pleased; we'd done what we were supposed to, but not how she wanted it done.

"And so did your witch of a leader!" He laughed. "Don't act like you're the moral one here."

I shrugged. "If you want to complain about me joining the rebellion, take it up with the king. He's the one that ordered my arrest. It's not like he left me much in the way of a choice in the matter." Arugal had, and I could've just left, but... I was scoring petty points. Facts were somewhat irrelevant right now. "You've got two options: You had some kind of magic restraining shackles, tell us where they were kept and we'll use them on you..."

"Or you'll kill me. Fucking bitch."

"We won't." Vivi supplied for me. "Because, unlike you, we have a shred of honour left to us. Neither truce nor surrender will be ignored."

It wasn't something I had ever focused on, not something I'd ever needed, but now I wished I'd put more practice into it. "Cooperate and it'll be a lot easier. Go to sleep and stay that way until you can be returned to your archmage's care on the condition of staying out of this war."

He spat at me. More blood than spittle.

Despite the urge to lash out, to throttle him, I held back. I was better than that. My dress was already ruined anyway – patches on tears and bullet holes, blood stains that wouldn't come out. I was better than that.

"Fine then." I said coldly and turned to the soldiers keeping their guns aimed at him this entire time. "Send someone to inform me when he falls asleep." Resisting or not, he couldn't stay awake forever. And when he did I'd put him under long enough to stay that way until he wasn't my problem anymore.

I was better than they were. So I walked away. No matter how satisfying punching him in the face would be.