The Azure Elite (Ch.9)

~The bravest are surely those who have the clearest vision of what is before them, glory and danger alike, and yet notwithstanding go out to meet it~

-Thucydides.

I steered Reo to a halt before my men, my army of 5000 excellent elite warriors stood in neat rows before me, I didn't wear an armor like the rest of them, my combat leather suit was more comfortable for me. The 5000 warriors were all calvary warriors, each owning a beast not below level 6, it was part of the qualifications to join the azure elite, along with possessing exceptional fighting skills and power markings above the normal, usually spreading beyond their coloured wrist band to perhaps their whole right arm or even covering a larger area than that.

Each person was born with a power marking, it began from the coloured wrist band around your right wrist and could spread out to cover as much ground as it could, the larger and more unique a power marking was the more gifted it made it's bearer.

A power marking could take the form of swirls or different patterns, sometimes they formed an image and other times they couldn't be deciphered, each person was born with their own unique marking imprinted on their skin, the bearer knew best the meaning of his or her marking and your markings determined the kind of skills you would excel at, although markings didn't necessarily determine your fate, it was still a matter of choice, for instance a person born with warrior markings could decide he wanted a peaceful life instead and use his abilities for other things, like farming, fishing, mining etc.

The markings gave you the ability to be an excellent warrior, abilities like increased speed, strength, agility, stamina, flexibility, weapon mastery and high level internal energy, however one could decide to put all this gifts to use in other ways that didn't apply to war, the same could be said for other types of power markings, those that gave heightened intelligence, critical thinking etc could also be put to use in war, a person like this only had to hone his fighting skills and would qualify perfectly as a warrior.

As I gazed upon my warriors, a comforting feeling of familiarity came over me and my heart filled up with pride and loyalty for the well disciplined warriors before me, my army of 5000 was divided into units of a thousand, each led by a General and each thousand had their area of specialization, there was also a further division of each 1000 to 500 men each led by a captain.

The first 1000 specialized in long distance warfare, they were skilled archers and was led by General Aquila my third in command, the further division was into the cross bow unit and the long bow unit, each led by a captain that worked under Aquila, the captain of the long bow unit was Captain Lox and the captain of the the cross bow unit was Captain Jeanine.

The second 1000 specialized in close distance warfare, they were excellent swordsmen and saber masters, General Ryuu was in charge of this unit but considering he was my Kaitsja, he had a second in command, General Falco who took charge in his frequent absence, this unit was further divided into the swordsmen and saber masters, 500 in number and those who wielded other weapons like axe, maces, boomerangs, war hammers, scythes etc.

The swordsmen were led by Falco who also acted as a captain and the other unit was led by Captain Bjorn, a hulk of a man with unparalleled strength, he wielded a double bladed axe that I had to admit was terrifying, he was one of my favorite warriors though.

The third 1000 were spear wielders, this unit had no division and was headed by General Erik and General Frida, both were masters of the spear.

The fourth 1000 possessed high level internal energy and specialized in manipulating elements and destructive internal energy, beyond even their power markings they possessed an affinity for natural magic, most were beast tamers and others could even be called mages. They were led by Lord Svend, a man who had been known to bear the most unique power markings...until my birth that is.

The final 1000 were men from the forest tribe, a strange tribe with the unexplainable ability to manipulate nature, they were one of the numerous independent tribes of the continent, and one of the few who had sworn loyalty to Dalagh ages ago, they had been considered one of our own for eons, but we still gave them their freedom and right to govern themselves, they were led by a young prince of their tribe, Lord Leif, he was one of my closest confidants and the representative of the forest tribe in the royal court.

I smiled slightly as all heads lowered before me in greeting.

I turned to face royal uncle, my father, the princes and all the members of the royal court as they stood atop the palace gates, I lowered my head in respect before turning back to my army to address them.

"It aches my heart that I have to once again take you away from your families and loved ones... leading you to certain danger, however our people have called upon us in their time of need, as protectors of Dalagh, it is our duty to answer the call of battle. I once again stand before you, just as I have through every bloody battle and near death experience, with the same resolve as I had when I first picked up my sword, the resolve to live and die amongst you all, to lay down my honor and my life for my family, for my loved ones, for my people, and for my kingdom, because this is the path we chose, a bloody but glorious path to ensure the safety of Dalagh...once again our beloved kingdom is threatened by scoundrels, uncouth bandits, shall we allow our audacious enemies to violate the territory of Dalagh?

Shall we permit the bandits who have rained terror on our people to escape scot free?, I ask you my warriors, shall we?" I asked in a cold and authoritative voice.

"No General!!" They boomed in unison, voices filled with rage and passion, I nodded in approval.

"Good. We march out to face them, we shall tear them to shreds, we shall teach them a lesson the whole world already knows... That death is the only thing that awaits the enemies of Dalagh, that whoever dares violate the territories of Dalagh shall fall by our sword, not even one shall be left to live... complete annihilation." I said with an evil grin, my warriors returned my grin, each eager to rain their terror on the Invaders.

"For Dalagh!!" I said, lifting my sword into the air as my warriors all fell to a knee, right fist on their hearts, a show of their allegiance to our kingdom.

"For Dalagh!!!" Their voices boomed, overflowing with loyalty, I turned to royal uncle again and bowed, his gaze was filled with pride at the loyalty of his warriors.

"It does my heart good to know our beloved kingdom is in your safe hands, my faith and trust is in you...as it has always been...Go and bring Dalagh victory...as you always have." Royal uncle commanded.

"We will obey your orders, Your Majesty." My warriors replied in unison.

"Rest assured My King... Victory is all we know." I replied with a bow, the azure elite roared in pride and agreement to my words.

I dismounted from Reo as I noticed Jalan approaching, I hadn't even noticed he had left his place beside his father, he walked up to me, Arauth, Daerev and Caius by his side, Arauth passed him a beautiful white fur coat. He covered the distance between us and placed it gently over my shoulders, securing the strings at the front before taking a step back.

"The roads are dangerous and the journey is a long and tiring one, the never ending winters of the southern borders are unforgiving, this prince worries for you My Princess, Do take care of yourself, I shall await your victorious return." He said in a caring tone that baffled me for a little bit until I noticed the presence of some envoys, at the palace gates, I nodded in understanding, giving him a grateful

smile and a bow of thanks.

"I will keep your words in mind, Your Highness, forgive me for leaving your side so abruptly, Please take care of yourself in my absence." I replied with an equally caring tone, he gave me a beautiful smile that had me almost believing it was genuine, I mentally cautioned myself as he stepped back to let Daerev take his place.

"To think you would be leaving so soon after your return, I haven't even been able to spend much time with you." He said regretfully and I smiled.

"Such is the path we have chosen minu tugevus, such is the fate of a soldier, it cannot be helped, I will miss you immensely Dae." I replied sincerely and he sighed before pulling me into a hug.

"Promise me....that no harm shall come to you." He asked in a pleading tone and I sighed but nodded in affirmation.

"No harm shall come to me... I shall return alive and in good health, you have my word." I replied and he let out a relieved sigh.

"Protect yourself... We cannot afford to lose you, I will think of you often while awaiting your victorious return." He said before pulling away and stepping back, I mounted Reo and gave him one last smile, before looking up to my royal uncle and then my father, we didn't have to speak for me to understand the message conveyed in my father's worried eyes.

"You are my life line My Jewel... make sure to return to me hale and hearty, this father cannot bear to loose you." His gaze said, I smiled nodding in agreement, as I made a promise to myself once again, as I did before leaving for every battle...my life meant so much to so many people, I could not afford to loose my life, I had to return alive...no matter what.