Halkeginia, Romalia, three weeks later

Henrietta sighed as she exited the conference room and went directly into the gardens.

The Tristanian princess sat down on the edge of the fountain and closed her eyes as she tried to make heads or tails of the situation.

After weeks of negotiations, Halkeginia's rulers have finally managed to reach a decision, and she wasn't sure how she felt about it.

They will unite against Louise and free Tristain, but they will also allow Albion to annex her kingdom...

She was furious that the Reconquista would take away her birthright as they did to Wales, but she was also relieved to be done with it. All the responsibilities that tormented her were now gone, and though she didn't have anything but the clothes on her back it didn't bother her in the least...she was free.

Then there was the whole ordeal with Louise...

The princess sighed...Nothing I can do about it now...thought the woman as she listened to the sound of the fountain behind her No matter who wins this, my kingdom and Louise are lost to me...

Unbeknownst to her, someone was watching her from the window on the second floor.

"She is rather lovely" mused Julio Chesare as he observed Tristain's princess.

"Truly, she was blessed by Brimir'" agreed Vittorio as he signed the documents that would cement the new alliance between the Halkeginian nations

"I was rather surprised that Joseph brought her here, she is a rather powerful political tool" said the Vindalfr as he left the window and took a seat in the comfy chair that the Romalian Inquisition liked to use.

The Pope frowned "Probably as bait, the Tristanian Void mage will be nothing more than an usurper as long as princess Henrietta is free. It is more than likely that the Valliere girl will march her armies against us as soon as she is done reorganizing the kingdom."

Julio scowled "Yes, I heard about what she is doing there...very strange" mused the blond as he took the pitcher and poured himself a glass of water.

Vittorio chuckled "The title she chose for herself is rather fitting though."

"Dread Tyraness" smirked the familiar "I wonder how she even came up with that one. Then again she is commanding an army of undead monsters so..."

"Perhaps..." said the Pope as he stood up from his desk and took a signet ring from a strongbox "but apparently the masses are better off under her dictatorship than they were under the care of the aristocrats, or so I was told. Even though she has held real power in the country for a relatively short time, much has already been put into motion."

As Vittorio applied the item onto the wax, he continued with his explanation "Normally a country relies on their nobles to give the royals power in exchange for certain rights both social and monetary, Louise Valliere has completely shattered such a system in Tristain. Understandable since she doesn't depend on their magic, the girl has all the loyal military and administrative power she needs in her undead."

"The problems become even more apparent when you delve deeper into the socioeconomic structure that governs Halkeginia" mused the Pope out loud, just in case his familiar didn't really grasp all the implications of the shift. It wasn't simply the usurpation of a kingdom's throne, it was the exclusion of the nation's entire population from any sort of governance. Even in an absolute monarchy the ruler couldn't do as he pleased, since he still depended on the support of his troops and bureaucrats to maintain those troops. But Louise had actually managed to make her will supreme, even if every single person in Tristain rose in revolt it would still fail against her. The girl is certainly not playing around mused Vittorio "Was there any resistance from the mages when she striped them of their noble privileges?"

"Some, a few rebellions that were quickly crushed" responded Julio "most did nothing though, since she didn't touch upon their property they are content to simply keep quiet until they are liberated. Some as a sign of protest fled to other nations but those are few. In the end even if she did leave them their lands and empty titles, the girl has taken over the whole judiciary and monetary system of the country. Normally a noble could tax and punish on his whim, but now both institutions are centralized in her hands."

"Not only that" continued the blond familiar "the overall taxes were greatly reduced since the crown doesn't need money to sustain their armies or maintaining the high living standards of the nobles. Also because there is a new 'progressive' property tax, nobles were forced to rent out most of their surrounding lands. That, and the cheap loans from her own personal bank have had a positive effect on Tristain. The commoners have more wealth in their pockets and are investing more in expanding their production, what were once empty grasslands and forests unused by their noble owners are now being quickly converted into farmlands. And that isn't even the end of it, she has given the towns, cities and even villages the right to elect their own governors, that way she prevents herself from falling into the trap of micromanaging everything. The only things she keeps firmly in her hands besides the tax collectors and judges are the silver, iron and salt production."

"I see..." mussed the other man "It is most unfortunate that it took so long for our armies to muster, allowing her to consolidate her hold on the kingdom. I fear that if we leave her too long to her own devices she will cause turmoil over Halkeginia even without any aggressive moves."

Julio nodded "The commoners are protected by a strong army that doesn't cost them anything, especially not risking their lives like under the other nations. And their wealth and living standard will soon overshadow that of the masses in other kingdoms. I can see greed and envy causing even our peasants, pious as they are, to rebel in favor of Tristain's rule."

"That means we have to strike first, and strike hard" said the Pope as he took the key to the secret vault "We will need more power to combat the heretic, and the Galian madman. I was hoping to use the gathered wonder weapons against the elves, but it seems we have no other choice."

The Vindalfr nodded and followed his master out.

XXX

Tristain, Tristania, same time

Louise frowned as she gazed into the water, its surface showing her not a reflection, but the discussion between the two blond men in Romalia.

"Another Void mage that can't keep his nose out of other people's business...as if Joseph wasn't enough" mused the sorceress as she broke off the scrying. She then took the small booklet from the nearby table "The Founder's Prayer Book...if only I had this thing years ago..." said the frustrated pinkette as she observed the magic item the two other Void users wanted to get their hands on.

"You can always use time magic and go back to fix it" added the necromancer as he observed the girl "naturally the Inevitables and the Time Lords wouldn't be too happy with people altering the past and would probably kill you. There is a reason that demons don't go anywhere near the plain of Mechanus, they know that getting their talons stuck into those grinding gears will be a very painful and bloody affair."

"Fascinating..." said the girl in disinterest as she threw the booklet back on the table "seems we will need to fight on multiple fronts again, and this time the enemy had a chance to prepare accordingly. The Albion fleet will be late since their defeat has made them cautious and are more than willing to let others take the brunt. The Germanian Emperor isn't going to send any forces at all even after he promised he would, there is simply no benefit in it for him. Albrecht will stay on the sidelines like a vulture and take what scraps he can. That leaves Romalia with the Tristanian remnants and Galia supported by an elvish army" she mused "The elves will be the biggest problem..."

She then glanced at the wizard "I will have you deal with the pointy ears."

"Too much work" yawned the assassin.

"You broke your promise not to permanently harm my parents, you owe me one" she countered. Personally she really didn't wish to speak about her family at the moment but Aeron had to be persuaded to lend a hand again...

"I only promised not to permanently harm your mother" defended the necromancer "besides nothing of that was permanent, the Heal spell worked didn't it?"

"Even death is not permanent with your magic, but generally being killed is not a simple inconvenience" argued the girl "so anything that is normally permanent should be avoided. There's also the emotional pain..."

"Not the way I see it..." mused the wizard but before she opened her mouth he raise his hand "Very well, I'm not in the mood to debate the fine print, I will do you this one favor."

Louise nodded "Excellent, then all that is left is Galia and Romalia..." said the girl as she walked to the necromancer and started to rummage through his Bag of Holding.

"What are you doing?"

"I need that proteum crystal" explained the girl as she started to throw magical items over her shoulder...she only stopped momentarily when she grabbed something strange.

The pinkette could only stare blankly as she pulled out a rubber chicken.

"Here is some advice" said the wizard as he saw her perplexed stare "don't dual wield them against a dwarf, they don't do any damage...though the dwarf's pride will probably never heal completely."

"Why me..." groaned the pinkette as she tossed the useless thing aside.

Halkeginia, Galian eastern border, two days later

The Galian guards walked over the castle's walls, a cool wind forcing the men to wrap themselves tightly in their cloaks. So far the night has been peaceful but the men were restless.

They were informed that a large elven army will pass through the region in a few days and they were supposed to simply let them through without any resistance.

To the soldiers it was absurd, elves were humanity's ancient enemy!

Then again nobody was really keen in fighting to Firstborn, so the commander and the garrison kept discretely quiet...only a fool would have objected to the orders given to them.

But not everyone in the castle thought the same, for among the soldiers a snake had its own agendas.

Aeron easily moved through Al Hambra's shadows, the torches providing shadows aplenty for him to use. As soon as he found the suitable location he emerged from the Shadowfell, and silently finished a spell.

In front of him two Crypt Chanters appeared, their incorporeal forms wavering in the dark. A person without good night vision would be completely blind to their presence, just as the necromancer liked it.

"Go and entertain the people here" smiled the wizard "a good lullaby will help them sleep better."

The two monsters nodded and disappeared through the walls.

Aeron chuckled as he hid himself into the shadows and floated up to the highest bastion.

When finally the undead started to play their haunting melody Aeron couldn't help but quietly sing the song 'Lord of Shadows/Herr der Schatten' from E Nomine.

He could feel as the human lives started to extinguish, their souls joining those of the Crypt Chanters in their eternal unlife. In what appeared to be mere moments two and a half thousand soldiers joined his army of the dead...

Now all i have to do is ambush the elves smiled the wizard as he gazed up to the stars. The elven spirit magic was certainly potent against the attacks of Halkeginian mages since most of their combat spells are intended to do bodily harm onto the opponent, that made it easy for the elven spell 'Counter' to reflect it back at the attacker.

Necromancy wasn't that straight forward. The tools at a necromancer's disposal are numerous and diverse, and the longer a necromancer has time to prepare the more potent he is...as the elves will soon learn.

At first he thought about summoning a Banshee to eliminate the elven force, but the Crypt Chanters with their lethal music and ability to create spawn from the dead were a better choice.

XXX

Halkeginia, Galian western border, same time.

A single ethereal figure moved through the forest of tents that were set up in the valley, her eyes drifting over the people as they did their own things.

The pinkette has never actually seen a military camp up close, so this was a good opportunity to broaden her knowledge...not to mention that she was curious if seeing the people in person will change her mind.

But even after she examined the whole encampment, she still didn't feel any sympathy for the men gathered here.

The sorceress snorted apathetically at her own foolishness and made her way to the nearby hill. With every step she took, her goal became clearer, her thoughts more focused.

Once she reached the top, Louise gazed down upon the Galian army camping under the hill she was standing on.

Lead by the famous Charles de Anjou this host was a serious thorn in her side. Almost sixty thousand, most of them mages and excellently armed commoners. Hailed for their many battles against the 'accursed' elves the Galian soldiers showed discipline and a keen tactical mind in all their armed engagements.

An army far more potent than even the whole Tristanian army if you multiplied them by ten, and she was going to utterly destroy it .

The sorceress reached into her pocket and pulled out a few items that will help her in accomplishing that. The four precious stones in her palm reflected the moonlight, her eyes narrowing as she observed the precious emeralds. Every single gem had a soul trapped inside it and she was about to use them as fuel to power a ritual that will remove this obstacle in her way. She had no idea who exactly she was sacrificing...it could be practically anyone. Perhaps someone like Mott? Or rather someone similar to Zanven? She didn't know, and the bastard only grinned when asked, opting to keep the proteum crystal for himself, leaving her with this choice...

Hence the reason she went down into the camp to see if this was the right thing to do. The Galian army was certainly powerful but there were other ways to deal with them, perhaps even allowing most of them to surrender and be sparred the inevitable, until it came for them naturally. It would require more work, casualties on her side and the all too real danger of being hit in the back by some other enemy, but it was still possible to pull it off...

But why risk it? Why should she bother about people that mere minutes ago boasted how they will kill her, burn her as a heretic and 'liberate' the oppressed Tristanian nobles.

I have scarified enough innocent lives, what are a few more though the girl as she gazed at the emeralds they are not the first and certainly won't be the last...that is the price of power. Either I pay it with my life, or someone else pays it with theirs...

With a sigh she went to work...the pinkette raised her hands and started to chant softly, raw arcane power turning into a carefully crafted web of magic... "Control Weather."

As soon as she uttered the name of the spell, strong winds began to blow and dark clouds began to gather overhead, and soon a thick cloud cover engulfed the moon, blocking what little light it gave.

Louise watched the soldiers retreat into their tents as the rain started to fall, thunder warning everyone that the approaching rainstorm was a strong one.

The sorceress remained motionless as she observed them, even as the wind blew her hair around and the rain washed over her face she refused to even blink.

With one hand gesture the top of the hill was hidden by an invisible dome that blocked out not only the weather but also prevented anyone from seeing or hearing anything under it. That allowed her to proceed without having to worry the enemy will see her.

"Come" commanded the girl, and dozens of concealed ghouls that awaited nearby left their hiding spots. The undead obeyed and approached her without hesitation, they didn't fear what was to come.

The ghouls then prepare a fire, with themselves as the flammable material.

As soon as the undead started to burn she took a scroll out of her bag and channeled the arcane power through the gems. A chill entered her body as she uttered the words of the foul ritual "Bonfire of Insanity!"

To a normal observer nothing apparently happened, but she knew better. The smoke that rose into the night sky was corrupted by the vile ritual, and as the rain fell down so did the unholy magic take effect.

Anyone touched by the rain will be dead by the morrow unless a Heal spell is cast on them, and regretfully for the Galian army that magic is beyond their capability.

But that was only the first step. Those that perish from the spell's effect will then rise as ghouls. Even the bones of the people who died here in the past would not be spared, their corpses will reanimate and push their way up from the ground as ghouls.

Aeron could say what ever he wanted about necromancy, but as far as she was concerned it was and still is a sickening school of magic. But one fact was undeniable...it brought results.

Now how to hasten the process mused the girl as she pointed her finger at the camp "Cloudkill."

Louise lowered her arm as her spell took effect.

She watched impassively as Galian soldiers collapsed from the lethal effect of the poisonous fog, only to rise up as ghouls moments later. The horrid undead immediately went to attack the living, to feast on their flesh and turn them into more ghouls.

Louise listened as the silence of the camp was broken with the screams of the dying. The humans rushed out of their tents and went to see what was happening, letting the rain wash over them.

The sorceress was certain that none of them will survive the night, now all she had to do is wait.

XXX

Halkeginia, Romalian-Galian border, two days later.

The army of the dead marched through the night, keeping to the forests instead of the roads so their approach would remain unnoticed. Normally an army would keep to well populated areas so they could take provisions from the settlements, but undead weren't limited by logistics.

The armored corpses effortlessly marched over the soft, forest terrain, their boots turning the ground into mud. From time to time a ghoul would slip and fall down the hill or over some rocks, but the things simply stood back up as if it didn't even happen.

After Louise disposed of the Galian army, turning them into obedient ghouls, she immediately marched them towards Romalia where her new forces would combine with those from Tristain.

The sorceress strolled beside the undead as they made their way south, her eyes focused on the last emerald in her hand. The others were consumed by the ritual together with the souls they had...except this one. Whoever is in there must be rather powerful...mused the girl even after so much of the soul's essence was taken it still remained in tact.

"All is well I see" said Aeron as he emerged from the shadows, thousands of Crypt Chanters appearing behind him.

Louise nodded as she shifted her gaze to the necromancer "Yes, our attack is proceeding nicely so far. I have dealt with the Galian army as you can see, and you?"

The necromancer shrugged and pointed over his shoulder "Four and a half thousand Crypt Chanters at the ready. The elven army won't be bothering anyone any more."

Wardes scowled "You are saying it as if it was easy..."

Aeron chuckled "Honestly I didn't do much at all, the elves were dazed and then dead as soon as they heard the undead play."

The sorceress scowled "Music?"

"Life draining music that also incapacitates enemies as soon as they hear it" corrected the assassin "The elven magic isn't infallible, the pointy ears couldn't have known that simply listening will kill them. Two and a half thousand Crypt Chanters are very hard to ignore or resist when they play together. The only bothersome part was keeping them hidden under the ground until the elves arrived."

"I see...how exactly do they function in warfare?" inquired the girl.

"They play and the living die. There is no real middle ground there" was the wizards reply.

"I though so..." mused the pinkette "that is too much collateral damage for my taste. Send them to HQ I have no use for the things."

"As you wish" responded the wizard.

XXXX

Halkeginia, Romalia, three days later

The staff fell from Vittorio's hand, breaking the silence that shrouded the room "I-impossible!" he gasped.

He wasn't the only one who was stunned by the news, every single person in the room gaped at the messenger that just arrived from Galia.

Henrietta, Wales, Julio, nobles and commoners alike were struck speechless as they heard the news.

"Regrettably it is true your Holiness" said the Galian dragoon that knelt in front of the Pope "the whole Galian army is gone, sixty thousand lost" spoke the obviously shaken man "and as I was flying over here I saw the enemy horde advancing through the forests, by luck I managed to evade the enemy vanguard but the monsters have already reached deep inside Romalia. They will be upon your city in hours perhaps a day."

"But that means-!" gasped Henrietta.

"We must immediately prepare the defenses!" shouted a noble "The enemy has made their move, we have to stop them or all is lost! Send word to Germania and Albion that we need their help immediately!"

Vittorio quickly regained his composure "Yes, that would be most prudent. Send out messengers and prepare to defend the city as we have planed...may God be with you all."

XXXX

The Romalian army prepared themselves as good as they could against the approaching enemy. Water and earth mages turned the land around the capitol into mud, while the wind and fire mages conserved their willpower for the battle.

Citizens left the city in droves leaving only the stubborn and zealous behind. Though commoners, those who stayed volunteered to defend their city from the heretic and her monsters.

The wonder weapons gathered over the centuries were pulled out of the vaults and given to those that were the most knowledgeable about their use. Vittorio regretted deeply that it had to come to this, but he had no other choice. He will need to find another way to remove the elves from the Holy Lands.

During the day the Romalian dragoons did strafing runs against the enemy infantry since their flying counterpart were nowhere to be seen, and though they had achieved success by raining down fire on them it was nothing but a drop in an ocean.

Then, when the last rays of sunlight disappeared behind the horizon they came...

"Brimir protect us..." gasped Wales as he saw the monstrous horde approaching under the moonlight. Rows upon rows of undead marched tirelessly towards the city, the sound of their armor and weapons sending chills down everyone's spines.

"How many are there?" inquired Henrietta, her voice trembling slightly at the sight in front of her.

Julio frowned "From what I could see close to hundred thousand if not more. Who would have thought that the Valliere girl had such power at her command...:"

And we only have thirty thousand, ninety percent of that being commoners...mused Julio as he shifted his gaze to the city's walls and bastions. He could easily see the fear in their body language, voices and eyes. The only thing preventing them from routing now was pure faith...

As they watched the monsters the beating of wings drew their eyes to a griffin that flew directly towards them. Seeing how nearby mages pointed their wands at it, the beast stopped and landed on the wall, its riders fluidly dismounting from the creature.

"Your Highness" said a female voice as the woman dropped her hood, her pink hair flowing freely on the wind. The blond man beside her did so as well revealing his bearded face.

The Pope scowled "You are the Duke and Duchess Valliere or am I mistaken?" inquired the blond youth.

"We were striped of our noble ranks so on that part you are mistaken" responded the man as he and his wife approached the princess and knelt in front of her.

"Why are you here? Did Louise send you?" asked the surprised girl.

"No, we came to offer aid against our foolish daughter" said the pink haired woman.

"Why?" asked Wales skeptically.

Karin looked at the prince with a cold gaze "Because honor demands it, Louise has shamed our family greatly by her treason and it is on us to stop her." The woman then returned her gaze to the princess "Our lives belong to you your Highness."

Henrietta felt such devotion warm her heart, to have such loyalty...she then started to cry as she remembered that Louise showed the same loyalty to her before the trial. Was I wrong? Should I have sided with Louise? Henrietta closed her eyes as she stopped that way of thinking. That was history, debating about what could have been is pointless. Opening her eyes again she smiled warmly at the couple "I can't reward your loyalty or give you back what was unjustly taken from your family through my own ineptitude..." she said.

"We don't need any rewards, Louise brought this upon our House" answered the man "we as parents need to take responsibility for our daughters misdeeds."

"Thank you..." said the girl softly, truly touched by their words "Then I, Henrietta de Tristain, accept you into my service."

"Thank you, your Highness" they both exclaimed "We pledge that we shall not rest until our daughter is defeated and punished for her transgressions" the couple said in unison.

"It is hearth warming to see such displays of devotion" interjected the Pope as he approached the two. He then looked at the woman's face "I have heard much about you, even now the name of Karin the Heavy Wind strikes fear into the hearts of Germanians. I'm sure that with you on our side, we cannot lose."

"K-K-Karin the Heavy Wind?!" gasped Henrietta even as Wales allowed his jaw to hit the ground.

"Thank you, your Holiness" said the woman as she bowed respectfully "but unlike the Germanians this foe won't be easy to defeat."

Vittorio nodded "True, the abominable undead feel nothing, a relentless foe that will fight to the last. But with your powerful magic it shouldn't be that difficult to defeat the monsters."

The expressions of the couple instantly darkened "I'm afraid not. Though the army is formidable in itself, it is the ones leading it that are the most dangerous. My daughter it seems has fallen under the influence of a malevolent mage who is manipulating her for his own ends. My husband and I have tried to battle the monster but his power eclipses ours as we eclipse those of a common peasant."

"B-but that's not possible..." stuttered the princess "even as a child I was told of your exploits and how you single handedly destroyed a whole Germanian army."

"And I'm telling you that this mage has defeated us with utter ease" responded Karin "he played with me as if I was a mere toddler with a stick."

"What is his name?" inquired Julio.

"He called himself Aeron Blackheart, apparently he was summoned by Louise. In the guise of a snake he took it upon himself to teach my daughter his corrupt magic and turn her against everything decent in this world."

"That is troubling" said the Pope as he shifted his focus to the enemy army "though I would have loved to hear more about it we don't have any more time..."

All eyes turned to the undead army and the gargantuan dracolich that appeared in the sky.

The monster opened its jaws and roared, making the world shake and windows shatter across the city.

"It has begun.."

XXX

The undead horde broke into a sprint towards the city, ghouls with or without armor raced to feed on the living. The ground vibrated under their charge and even when fireballs and wind blades started to rain down upon them they did not stop. For the dead feel no fear nor do they know mercy...

The city's walls were regrettably enchanted and reached deep underground so Louise was forced to send her wraiths to attack through the air instead. Because of the moonlight the incorporeal undead didn't enjoy the concealment of darkness to its fullest so the mages managed to spot them and unleash their magic on them. Thanks to the experience with the undead, the Tristanian nobles in exile advised a simple strategy against them. Most of the city was left empty, deciding that defending only certain key locations was better than stretching their forces thin by preventing the incorporeal undead from entering from above.

XXX

The pinkette scowled when suddenly the advance of her ghouls was halted "What is happening down there?" she inquired.

"Seems they got stuck in the mud" responded Aeron "the ghouls with armor can't free themselves from the suction of the soft earth that is binding them in place. Very similar what happened to Agincourt."

"We still have the unarmored ghouls" mussed the girl as the newly made Galian undead continued the charge. But unlike their armored counterparts the commoners at the city fortifications held firm against the tide, their swords disarming or beheading the ghouls with resolve.

But even with that, her army was inflicting casualties on the enemy, gradually pushing them back.

From behind the undead lines Kirche rained down fireballs upon the defenders, forcing them to hide even as the ghouls advanced. Tabitha and Siesta were also busy by strafing the walls with deadly magic, killing the defenders in droves from above.

Aeron turned his head as something impacted into his left wing.

"The Romalian navy" mused the necromancer as he opened his jaws and released his acid breath at the closest vessel.

The ship couldn't turn fast enough to evade the attack so it got hit and started to fall, the dragoons and griffin riders around it wisely rushing out of its way.

Louise scowled when she spotted two powerful tornadoes appear over the battlefield and decimate her entire left flank.

The air blades of the first twister easily slashed through the armored ghouls, sending thousands of shredded corpses flying over the battlefield.

The other was more bizarre since it was more a pillar of flame that raced over her army, melting their armor and burning the ghouls to ash.

Though the flaming tornado was certainly a peculiarity, the pinkette was more concerned about the first one.

"Seems my dear mother still didn't learn her lesson" glared the sorceress as she spotted Karin's face among the enemy air units "fly towards them, it's time to clear out the sky."

The dracolich hissed gleefully as he turned its massive body around and went directly at the enemy fleet.

"Do you need some assistance?" inquired Wardes as his wind dragon moved closer to the pinkette.

Louise glared at him with her cold stare and he felt a chill run down his spine.

"Destroy them" was all she said before she shifted her gaze back on the enemy.

He nodded and rose higher into the air, and in the last second as well since the Romalian cannons and mages unleashed a barrage on Aeron.

Cannon balls, grapeshot, spells...all bounced harmlessly off his undead hide and spell resistance. Releasing another breath of acid three more ships fell, at the same time Louise went through the Lesser Missile Storm wands as fire goes through combustibles.

"Louise!" shouted Karin as she landed on the dracolich, her griffin falling down to the ground, its body mangled by the girl's spell.

"Mother" responded the sorceress as she lowered her wand "seems you have a penchant for getting in my way."

"I'm here to punish you for your treason, prepare yourself!"

Louise snorted and started to gather the arcane energy from the last emerald "We shall see..."

Karin used the opportunity to launch a spell at her daughter but the attack was foiled by Aeron tilting his head a bit to the side, causing the wind bullet to hit him in the eye...and disperse against his magic resistance.

As soon as Louise finished her spell her body was engulfed in white light. Instead of her petite form she now stood as a mighty balor, sword and flaming whip in hand.

"Let us see how good you really are mother!" growled the demon as it charged at the mage.

Karin quickly got over her shock and pointed her wand at the demon, but to her surprise the spell bounced harmlessly of her target, she barely had enough time to evade the monster's blade as it cut at her.

"Flam!" said the former duchess as her spell took effect and she stopped her free fall.

"You can't run away from me!" growled the monster as it unfurled its wings and jumped of the dracolich, flying after the levitating mage. As it came down it bisected a dragoon that was peppering Aeron with lightning bolts, without achieving anything before he died...

As Louise was going after her mother, Julio used the opportunity to come near the undead dragon and attempted to use his Windalfr ability on the thing.

The monster chuckled "Really?" said the thing in a deep, amused voice "You honestly think you can control me?"

"It was worth a shot" responded the blond youth "so you are the Gandalfr, you're not what I expected."

"And what did you expect?" inquired the thing "a fighter most likely, those runes do lean to that."

"True, I take it I can't persuade you to defect to our side?"

The dragon tilted its head, after a few minutes it snorted "Nah, I'm entertained for now. But I wouldn't mind skipping this fight, I'm making things too easy for her once again."

In front of Julio's eyes the undead dragon lost its sickening green energies that burned inside it and the body turned to ash, all that was left was a tall, white haired man, levitating in the air.

The necromancer turned to the familiar and waved "Until next time." And with a flash of light he was gone.

"Interesting" mused the Windalfr as he turned his wind dragon towards the the next target. The Gandalfr seems to be a far greater wild card than we have anticipated...

XXX

Wales felt his will power drop rapidly from maintaining the fire tornado. But looking over the charred area he smiled...a whole flank of the enemy army was tuned to ash through it.

"W-we did it!" gasped one of the dozen fire mages that helped him create a spell that far exceeded the square level magic. His assumption was that only those of royal blood could combine their spells into pentagram magic or beyond. But some thought and a lot of desperation had made him test a bizarre theory and it worked...

Royal blood didn't exist in a vacuum, and over the centuries royals and high nobility intermarried, the same way high and low nobility intermarried.

And the dozens of gasping mages that helped him create the flaming tornado had that drop of royal blood in their veins.

The defenders cheered at their success, their moral rising with the victory.

Wales also smiled but he was also worried. The spell took a lot of willpower to cast and he was certain that the mages behind him wouldn't be able to do it more than twice.

And at the same time the enemy simply kept coming...unfeeling, unrelenting.

A flash of light made him instinctively move back, that saved his life as the lightning bolt killed a group of mages on his left, disabling a dozen more.

The prince turned around and glared at the one who attacked them.

"You?!" growled the blond royal.

"Seems we meet again your Highness" smirked Wardes as he looked down on his opponent "If I remember correctly I was supposed to kill you until Louise foiled that plan...perhaps I should give it another try?"

Wales glared at the traitor "I though you worked for the Reconquista?"

"I did" responded the other mage "but the brat showed me that working for her was better than working against her...perks aplenty and personally I like to be on the winning side. As for you...well, let's say that your luck is abysmal!" he shouted and cast a wind bullet at the other man.

Wales deflected the spell with his own sword-wand, the wind barrier around him fading a moment later, but he manged to fire a lightning bolt of his own against the former Tristanian noble.

Wardes jumped down from the wind dragon as the spell killed the unfortunate beast, its corpse falling over the city wall.

Though he lost his mount Wardes now had the benefit of having an easier time defending himself, he hastened his movement with his wind magic and appeared before the prince, their blades clashing as the royal managed to parry the attack and deflect the enemy's sword wand before Wardes could unleash another wind bullet.

Sweat ran down their foreheads, both were experienced fighters and were more than aware that one single mistake would be their last.

As it so happens Wales did the first mistake, the prince glanced to the side as a ghoul tried to get over the wall.

Curses! Though the blond youth even as he dodged the spell he knew that was coming. He grimaced as pain shot through his arm, the wind bullet piercing his flesh.

"You got distracted" smiled Wardes as he unleashed another wind bullet, this one hitting his opponent into the leg.

Seeing the defeated boy collapse on the wall Wardes was very tempted to finish it here and now, but after Louise went through all that trouble rescuing him he supposed that taking him alive would be more beneficial.

"Sleep!"

As soon as the spell took effect Wardes removed the sword-wand from his opponents hand. This way the ghouls won't target him as they were ordered not to engage none combatants.

"So where do I get a new dragon?" mused the Viscount as he observed the undead take the southern wall.

XXXX

Duke Orsini watched in amazement as the steel chariot taken from the Pope's weapon vault crushed the abominations in the street.

The threads that the steel machine used instead of wheels easily plowed through the undead, armored or not.

A grin spread over his face as he looked through the machines small window that allowed him to look in front of himself. Undead fell under the machine, its treads flattening them and their armor as if it was made out of paper.

A few tried to bash against it with their poleaxes but it was useless...

"Marvelous!" exclaimed the noble. Truly from all the amazing weapons in the vaults this one was the most impressive. Apparently the tube in front of the chariot was also a powerful cannon that would put any other to shame, but like its strange repeating musket the Pope decided to use it only when the situation demanded it.

The noble could understand that, using a cannon to swat flies was absolutely unnecessary, the machine crushed the enemy easily without its weapons. What few monsters survived it, were quickly dispatched by the Romalian knights that followed behind the machine.

While the pollaxe was dangerous even to the armored knights, mostly the armed undead were the first to fall against the machine. The unarmored monsters that managed to run over it found their claws and fangs useless against steel armor and shields, leaving the soldiers to safely smash their heads in with the outdated warhammers.

Then a wraith passed through the tank's armor right inside it...

Even as the incorporeal undead feasted on the humans, so did the Tiger tank grind to a halt. The Romalian knights that came behind it stopped and waited patiently for the machine to move again, but instead the ghouls started to swarm over it.

"Stop them!" shouted a knight as they braced the shield wall against the charge.

The undead slammed into the humans, and while the wall did hold the ghouls with the polearms gradually broke through. Ghoul claws and bite couldn't get through steel, but a pollaxe was a completely other story.

The knights were dead moments later, their helmets bashed in or pierced by the melee weapons.

XXXX

"Things aren't looking good" commented Vittorio as he observed the battlefield. His fleet was reduced to five battle ships, and the outer walls were already overrun by the undead.

Henrietta lowered her wand, exhausted from using too many spells "We have to endure" she said grimly "our only hope is that reinforcements arrive soon."

The Pope wasn't so sure about that. Even if the Albion fleet rushed to them immediately after receiving the message it would still arrive too late it seemed...the city simply couldn't hold against such an onslaught ... "I'm sure they will come" he lied.

Suddenly the ground under their feet shook as a section of the inner wall was buried under a landslide, the soil providing the undead with an easy way over the defenses.

Henrietta's eyes widened when she spotted a familiar green haired mage disappear behind a building.

"That was Fouquet!" said the princes.

"No time to talk! The enemy is advancing!" warned Vittotrio as he froze the closest ghouls, trapping them in ice.

Henrietta was about to help him when an earth golem formed from the ground, its size towering over the wall and its defenders.

The problem was that it was on the wrong side of the wall, the defenders cursed as they had to split their spell between the advancing ghouls and the enemy behind them.

The thing slammed its hand on the wall, and though the enchanted wall didn't suffer much damage, the impact made some defenders fall down or stumble.

"Vitriolic Eldritch Chain!"

The princess had just the time to turn around and see a dozen Romalian mages melt under the attack. Her eyes then widened when she spotted the winged monster flying overhead.

The warlock grinned and landed in front of the enemy mages "My, I'm in luck" said Siesta as she discarded her demon form "mmm. you two look very nice."

"Protect the Pope from the heathen!" shouted a Romalian noble, a dozen guards armed with halberds rushing to protect their ruler.

"Chilling Tentacles!" said the warlock. As the spell took effect and incapacitated the closest group of enemies, it also blocked the street against anyone else that would intrude on her fun so it was a double win.

The dark haired girl then sidestepped a ice javelin conjured by the princess, the Dark Foresight spell making sure that she was more than prepared for open combat with all of its chaos.

"Now, then..." grinned the girl "why don't you make this easy on yourself and drop your wands, I promise I will be...gentle."

"I'm afraid I have to decline" responded the Pope as he unleashed a barrage of icicles at his enemy, but again she easily sidestepped the attack.

Before Vittorio and Henrietta grasped what happened, they were grabbed by tentacles that appeared around them. Their hands and legs bound, the things slowly squeezing ever tighter.

Their enemy showed a predatory grin to the two, an expression that was more than a bit foreboding. The dark haired woman approached the two immobilized mages and looked over their faces "Mmm, very beautiful..." she then placed her hand on Vittorio's crotch "you know there was this book about you...I wonder, can the real thing be as good as the author's imagination?" she purred.

"W-what are these things?!" asked the princess as she tried to break free of the tentacles restraining her.

Siesta chuckled "Bizarre right, when I first heard I will be able to summon tentacles I pictured something completely different in my mind...then Aeron explained to me that tentacles aren't that naughty...monsters with tentacles either crush you or eat your brains. I was truly disappointed, but..." said the girl as she came closer to Henrietta "..that doesn't mean I can't find myself some other entertainment, am I right princess?" said the warlock as she slowly glided her hand over Henrietta's thigh steadily upward.

"Stop!" shouted Vittorio "have you no shame!"

Siesta grinned "As if nobles know anything about shame" her hand's reaching the special spot, causing the princes to shudder.

"That's enough Siesta" came a stern voice from behind her.

The dark haired girl's eyes suddenly blazed with rage, though only for a moment, before they returned to normal. The warlock turned around and saw both Tabitha and Kirche watching her. The red head on her Nightmare and the Galian girl on her dragon.

"Why? It doesn't really hurt anybody" said the former maid, her gaze fixated on the Germanian "Why don't you join me? I know you wouldn't have anything against a bit of fun."

"True, I wouldn't have anything against it" responded Kirche, making the two captives glare at her "IF it is out of their own free will. Ever since Tarbas you have been rather unstable, perhaps it would be better if you returned back to Tristain."

Siesta hissed "Unstable? After what those nobles did to my village? Nah, I must be feeling splendid. I'm sure I'll laugh about it in a few years."

"And they paid for it" countered the Germanian.

"They shot unarmed commoners" was the warlock's reply "Tarbas wasn't an exception, it's the rule. Every time some noble starts a war it's the peasants that end up rotting in mass graves. I'm sick of it!"

The dark haired girl then turned and glared at the princess "And all because Louise didn't wish to trouble her!" growled the warlock as she grabbed the woman by the chin "so she could protect her useless ass! Look at her! She is dressed like she is going to a dance not a battlefield!"

In her rage Siesta ripped apart the woman's clothes, exposing her breasts "What's the point of having those pauldrons on your shoulders when you don't have any actual armor protecting your vitals!" ranted Siesta as she squeezed the girls breast, making Henrietta cry out in pain "Newsflash princess! A fashion statement like this doesn't protect against shrapnel!"

"SIESTA!"

The dark haired girl froze in her steps. Her eyes glanced down and saw that her feet were encased in ice.

"That's enough already, you made your point" reprimanded the red haired woman as she lowered her wand, though Tabitha didn't lower her staff.

Siesta clenched her teeth in anger, her thoughts were consumed by the idea of retaliating against the two arrogant nobles behind her...no, this isn't a good place for it mused the girl as she slowly released Henrietta's right breast, a bruise already appearing on her tender flesh I should have known not to trust mages.

"Fine" growled the warlock as she changed her form into that of a Cornugon/Horned Devil and rose into the air.

Kirche sighed as she watched the warlock leave the wall "That could have gone better..." said the Germanian.

Tabitha nodded and dispelled the Tentacles around the duo.

"Thank you" said the Pope while Henrietta quickly cowered herself with her cape.

Tabitha shook her head and pointed to the two "Prisoners."

Kirche chuckled "As my friends said, you shouldn't be too thankful. You are still our prisoners, though we guaranty you won't be harmed and will be treated with respect. Though we would very much appreciate it if you ordered your side to surrender, prevent all the unnecessary bloodshed and all."

"I see..." sighed the Pope.

Then the night turned to day...

"What?!" hissed Kirche as she shielded her eyes from the strong light "It can't be morning already!"

Then the light faded.

"What was that?" growled the red head as she gazed into the sky. She then spotted something approaching in the distance...

"T-The Galian navy!" gasped Henrietta, finally hope!. But unlike the princess Vittorio wasn't that thrilled by Joseph's appearance.

A single gargoyle holding a red orb flew ahead of the fleet and approached the undead lines...then it disappeared in an ever expanding orb of fire.

Kirche, Tabitha, Henrietta and Vittorio shielded their eyes from the blast.

When the light again faded, their eyes widened at the devastation unleashed on the undead army...where once tens of thousands stood now only ashes remained.

"Impossible!" shouted Kirche, her and Tabitha's eyes widening at the destruction unleashed on their forces.

To their dismay another gargoyle holding a similar orb appeared in the sky.

"Damn it! We have to stop it!" growled Kirche "Tabitha can you handle it?"

The bluenette nodded and took off.

"Seems the tables have turned" mused Vittorio, though he wasn't very happy about it..so far this seemed like a lose-lose situation to him.

As he was contemplating his next move, chains of shadow coiled around him and Henrietta.

"What?!" he gasped.

"No need to worry" assured Kirche "I'm simply going to bring you somewhere safe" she said and used the Gemjump spell to transport herself and the two prisoners away from the city.

XXXX

"Bravo, bravo!" shouted the ecstatic Aeron as he clapped from the highest tower of the Romalian cathedral "Magic nukes! Who would have though!" laughed the necromancer as even more crimson blasts erased the ghoulish army from existence.

"Truly, wonderful entertainment!" said the overjoyed wizard as Joseph's little armada rained destruction on...well, everybody. Romalian, undead, Galian...he blew them up all the same. For a split second the assassin wondered should he switch sides, but discarded the idea again. He and Joseph were too similar, it will be more fun to wage a proxy war against him than to work with him.

He watched as wraiths swarmed over one of the Galian vessels, only for the mad monarch to blow it all up. Even if wraiths had a 50/50 chance of being harmed by magic thanks to their passing in and out of this plane, having so many of them gathered in the blast radius meant that a lot of them will be destroyed.

The perfect strategy against such tactics would be to use fewer incorporeal undead, regrettably the ships had enough mages to fend off any small scale attack.

XXX

Louise roared as she saw her army dwindle with every explosion. Damn it all to Hell! raged the shape-shifted girl.

Exploiting her distraction, Karin unleashed a barrage of wind blades on the sorceress.

Though the balor's spell resistance did manage to block most of the attacks, some managed to get through and cause minor injuries.

It was nothing serious, but the pain only made the girl angrier. She unleashed a lightning bolt at her mother but the duchess blocked the spell with a wind barrier.

Louise grabbed a dragoon that was pushed towards her by the last explosion and used the unfortunate mage as a living projectile, throwing him at the other woman.

Karin was about to block it when suddenly the balor teleported beside her, its blade raised to cleave her in half.

Karin narrowly evaded the slash that bisected the human projectile that fell to the earth and hastily retreated from the monster...she didn't get far.

Louise used her flaming whip and caughed Karin's leg with it. Using the demon's monstrous strength she spun her mother around before she allowed the duchess to crash into the ground.

Louise snorted and teleported down, only to see that her mother managed to cushion her fall with her magic.

Though the unnatural angle of the leg made it clear that she didn't remain uninjured.

"And to think you refused my offer to get the Valliere lands back and instead joined my enemies..." growled the demon.

Karin hissed as she tried to stand in front of the monster that was once her daughter "G-go on, finish it! I see that there's no reasoning with you, that monster has you completely under its thumb."

Louise snorted as her body started to shrink, and where once the balor stood now only the girl remained.

"It's that simple to you isn't it?" inquired the sorceress angrily "to dump all blame on Aeron, like I'm incapable of making my own decisions for good or ill" she leaned on the nearby wall and gazed upon the defeated form of her mother "Is it so natural for you to simply kill a family member?"

This time Karin snorted "You tried to kill me during our whole fight, no need to get sentimental now."

"Because you are not an enemy that is defeated lightly" countered the pink haired girl as she crossed her arms "But there! I have done it! Am I still a disappointment?!"

The duchess blinked "What?"

"All I ever wanted was that you are proud of me" said the girl. "To serve Henrietta, to protect my family and to make you proud was everything I wanted to do in my life. And when I finally did that, I was accused of heresy and sentenced to die...and you didn't even object to it..." she said coldly "...disappointment...were those supposed to be the last words you told me?...As far as I'm concerned, you utterly fail as a parent. It would have been better if I was spawned, at least I would have been spared the fact that my own parents don't care!"

Karin felt as she was slapped, she opened her mouth to respond when the ground shook and the building to the side collapsed.

"Aeron!"

An instant later the necromancer appeared from a shadow "Yes?"

"What is the situation?"

"Joseph has pulled a good one. Though his army has sustained heavy casualties they have eradicated most of our forces except those inside the capital itself."

Louise snorted "Knowing him he will reduce the city to ash along with the things."

Aeron patiently waited for her to reach a decision. While Louise contemplated what to do, the necromancer wasted his time by poking Karin with a stick he found.

"Stop it!" growled the duchess. The very presence of the white haired mage made her blood boil.

"I refuse" smiled the wizard jovially.

"Stop playing around" said Louise as she slowly rose into the air.

The shadovar shrugged and dropped the stick before levitating after the girl.

They could see Tabitha frenetically flying around the enemy ships, a dozen gargoyles in pursuit. No matter how many she destroyed more of them appeared and they really made her job of stopping the ones with the red orbs difficult.

"So Joseph is playing all the cards he has" mused the sorceress as she pulled out her wand and pointed it towards the ships.

Aeron listened as she chanted the spell she found in Brimir's prayerbook. The Shade raised an eyebrow as he sensed how much power went into the spell, though it wasn't arcane energy but rather her own willpower.

Then her chant ended and an enormous explosion enveloped the remaining Galian fleet.

Completely exhausted from the casting the spell, girl's body started to fall down, but the necromancer managed to catch the unconscious pinkette in time.

"Interesting" mused the wizard as he watched the pinkish orb of doom fade away, leaving no trace of the enemy. At least one of them...turning around he could see the Albion fleet in the distance, patiently waiting their time to strike.

Seeing that without an army they couldn't control the occupied territory, or even defend against the Albion forces he opted to retreat with what few undead they had left.

"Well, guess I will have to get her a new army" mused the necromancer Fortunately I know where to get one grinned the wizard before they both disappeared in a flash of light.

XXXX

A/N:

Damn, took me long enough.

Okay, new rule – smaller chapters more often.

These things sat on my PC for ages, every time I saw how much grammar I have to correct killed any desire to actually do it. So month after month I delayed it, doing only minor changes so they wont be deleted after ninety days.

Also I didn't wish to meddle too much with Faerun since I'm a canon purist who hates deviating too much from the original but after the newest Forgotten realms novels I made a decision.

Drizzt and Elminster are so dead in this story!

Salvatore and Greenwood have gone one step too far with their self inserts, making a mockery of Netheril and Larloch was the last straw. I wasn't happy with things like people dodging Magic Missiles, but pulling a BS 'every one is resurrected' and making wizards dumber than the local thugs is too much for my sense of disbelief. There is a reason why Faerun is in crisis every decade, the idiotic authors kill of all the previous villains and then are forced to either retcon it or invent new BS villains that get the same treatment.

As far as I'm concerned only Planescape, Dark Sun, Ebberon and Ravenloft are good. Forgotten Realms can burn in the Nine Hells.

Chosen of Mystra? Well, its time that Cyric makes one of his own chosen to finally clean house. It's time assassins buried some of those old decrepit wizards...permanently.

E Nomine - Herr der Schatten/Lord of Shadows is a rather fitting song for Aeron IMO.