Fularis, the city of wealth.
Fularis housed many of the royal families of Rampiel, which has yet to ever change.
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.....
The day was cloudy and rain was set to pour within the hour, yet even still, Cassiel marched forward, leading his army from the front as they were only a mile's way travel from Fularis.
After leaving Kotor, the army, which amassed nearly a thousand, had walked a distance of over twenty thousand miles in just one month.
Having to carry battering rams, ladders, and much more for the siege, the travel time had been extended by a week, much longer than what Daein had planned out for the war, which in turn gave Nahka more time to prepare.
However, with this being the final battle to claim Rampiel in its entirety, Cassiel had no choice but to advance, as retreating now would only cause more destruction and meaningless bloodshed.
.....
Finally encroaching on the road of Fularis, rain began falling down as if it was waiting for the moment.
Outside the city, the walls were lined in heaps of scrap metal, furniture, and rubbish.
The entrance itself was a large, sturdy, wooden door studded with dots of iron.
It was as if they had prepared for the day thoroughly, however, even then there was something off.
There stood not a single archer on the walls, not even one for lookout.
Standing still momentarily, Cassiel turns to Albus, smiling.
"It's your call, Albus."
Staring at Cassiel hesitantly, Albus turns to face the army behind him, before setting his eyes on Elysia.
"Elysia, are you confident to climb up over the walls to make sure it's clear on the other side?" Albus questions, his voice solid as if he had been practicing orders.
"Of course, general Albus." Elysia responds, smirking as she takes off.
In a single jump, Elysia launches herself up onto the wall, scouting out the surrounding road, before hopping back down to Cassiel and Albus.
"Sir, there's... nothing over the wall... the streets are empty, lights are off, and houses seem barricaded shut." Elysia notes, confused in their strategy.
Silent, Albus ponders to himself for a moment, doing his best to think of what Nahka's strategy could possibly be, before Kislev walks up to him.
"Albus- I mean general, sir." Kislev would say, catching himself from embarrassment.
"Ah right, you guys can call me by name, my position does not make me superior to my friends. And what is it, Kislev?" Albus responds, a soft smile on his face.
"I see, well, Albus, Nahka Aion has someone from the Tenebris family working under him, or perhaps over him, I'm not entirely sure myself on that matter." Kislev announces, looking between Albus and Cassiel both.
"The Tenebris family? Aren't they-"
"The family known for intelligence." Cassiel chimes in, cutting Albus off.
"I suppose it's plausible, they weren't too keen on fighting, however there were many in the family that were useful during war tactics. Whoever is working under Nahka must be one gifted in such tactics." Cassiel continues.
"He is a man named Gazardiel, he... has a sort of god complex, I suppose you'd call it." Kislev says, catching everyone off guard.
Staring at him, Cassiel, Albus, and Elysia all let out a small chuckle, believing the situation to be ridiculous.
.....
After discussing amongst themselves for a while, it's clear some of the soldiers are getting frustrated and confused, some worrying if they'll die, while others afraid they won't get to enjoy their first war.
However, not much more time would pass until Albus turns around, facing his army to command.
"Forgive me, warriors, for having you await orders for so long. Those of you carrying the battering ram, please advance to break open Fularis' gate!" Albus orders, yelling out so that all can hear.
Marching forward, ram in hand, eight vampires stop at the gate, before with all their might, they swing the battering ram once, twice, thrice, and multiple more times, until finally the gate begins giving way.
Finally, with one more strike, a huge hole is caved in through the gate, allowing the vampires to advance forward into the city.
.....
Dropping the ram and getting back in position, Cassiel, Albus, and Elysia advanced forward, leading the army inside the city walls.
Kislev, who followed just behind them, was leading the former Sanguine Blade troupe, which now just consisted of Esk, Thern, Ophelia, Pam, Yuon, and now Mihr, the new royal who's shown much promise.
Behind Kislev was the army, positioned from strongest to weakest, with the weakest being in the of the line.
As the army finally entered the city, they marched forward down the street, barely fitting in the huge, tight line that was the road, which led straight down to the city castle.
Keeping his eyes wide open, Albus made sure to check every inch of the city as he walked ahead of his army, making sure there wasn't an ambush, before stopping in place only three minutes after the entire army had walked through the gate.
"Forgive me, my king. It seems my decision was bad judgement." Albus says, his voice trembling as he draws his sword.
Just then, on the roofs of every building, the streets of every alley, and at the edges of each road, were dozens of Nahka's subjects that were waiting to catch Cassiel's army off guard.
Although there were several hundred less of them, each and every one of Nahka's warriors were all trained from birth to be loyal killing machines at his disposal, making them all a force to be reckoned with.
Before they're even able to draw their weapons, many of Cassiel's army begin to drop dead immediately.
Realizing the situation, the Sanguine Blades are sent to split up and help the army at every side, while Cassiel, Albus, and Elysia take care of the front by themselves.
.....
Jumping onto the roof of a house, Ophelia begins taking down the archers of Nahka one by one as Pam blocks any incoming arrows.
Yuon and Esk both work together to begin clearing out one of the alley ways while Thern and Kislev charge towards the back of the army, running to defend their weak.
As they split to do that, Albus and Cassiel charge forward, swinging their swords and cleaving multiple enemies in half at a time as Elysia appears behind them, slitting their throats before they even realize she's there.
.....
Second turn into minutes, and minutes into hours.
Although the numbers on both sides had diminished drastically, the fight still raged on.
Tired, panting, and worn out, most of Cassiel's remaining soldiers were on their last breath, whereas Nahka's were still fighting on strong.
Despite the fact Cassiel's army was almost triple the size of Nahka's at the start, the numbers had quickly turned just about equal, with each side only having about eighty to one hundred remaining.
Realizing how dire the situation was after clearing all the enemies in the front, Albus heads back to his army, while Cassiel and Elysia run ahead to make sure the road to the castle is free of traps and ambushes.
.....
"SOLDIERS OF KOTOR, IF YOU CAN MOVE, RUN TO THE CASTLE, THAT'S AN ORDER!" Albus yells out, dashing in front of a fight and slicing the head off of one of Nahka's warriors.
Hearing the order, all the warriors that were currently not in conflict with another would begin running down the road, charging towards the castle as their lives depended on it.
With only a couple dozen soldiers being left behind, Kislev orders the Sanguine Blades to help all remaining on their side, allowing more and more to run off.
Not wanting any of his warriors to be caught off guard, Albus ran alongside them, protecting his soldiers by killing off any under Nahka's rule that had chased after them.
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.....
The path ahead was cleared, Nahka's warriors had all been killed off, and Cassiel had finally reached the castle stairs, with his army just behind him.
Turning around to face them before walking up the stairs, Cassiel stares at them in a fit of pity, watching on as his loyal warriors were panting, bleeding, and exhausted.
'They're so pathetic... maybe I should just ki-'
Before finishing his thought, Cassiel winces in disgust.
'What is wrong with me... I curse you, father.'
Glancing back at the soldiers, Cassiel turns to face the castle again.
"Brave warriors, you will go no further. You will all stay behind, only I, alongside Albus and the royals will be entering the castle.
Hearing this, Thern's eyes darted to Cassiel, enraged.
Stepping forward, he opens his mouth to speak.
"My king, allow me to come with-"
"No." Cassiel cuts Thern off, his voice sending a strong wave of despair over Thern and the others.
"The Sanguine Blades, with the sole exceptions of Ophelia and Mihr, will stay here to guard the rest. Have I made myself clear?" Cassiel questions, glaring at Thern.
Stunned, Thern quickly bows his head, agreeing with the order.
Setting his eyes back on the castle in front of him, Cassiel takes his first step on the stairs, slowly walking up as the fate of Rampiel will finally be decided that night.