Preparations for War Pt.1

Lenard Geldstein, Month 11, Day 14, Year A.F 652. The city of Ivern, Kingdom of Rosalia.

Soldiers ran around in preparation the sound of which vibrate the chair I sat in, the sounds of shouting echoing through the room drowned it out, deep in my thought as the various nobles around bicker and debate our next moves.

"We should strike now!" The green demon shouts as he slams his hand down the table, the minor nobility stops in their bickers as his scarred expression contorts in irritation, shows his military experience.

Lord Belford, a military man situated at the northwest of the country, raised in military values and has fought in a few battles and skirmishes on the Iridian Principalities.

A man trustworthy, someone that hold principles and stubborn enough to fight for who he believes to be the rightful heir to the throne.

"And risk it? We already have soldiers coming from Arasel. If anything, we should wait till we have enough force to completely crush them." A red demon replied calmly, as he pointed towards the map. His gold jewelry, a sign of his prominent wealth.

Lord Allister, lord of the richest city in the north, The city of Aster. His city holds most of foreign trade going to the North, his influence was vast and his money plenty. Most recent rumors, include him paying off bandits to avoid his caravans.

A pragmatic man, as long as I promise him with the rewards he desire, he'll be able to invest and empty his coffers for to support me through this war.

"Won't that give them the upper hand?" A question was asked by a blue demon, a sign of his lineage to the Rivider household. He looks around unconfident of his question as the men direct their eyes to him.

Lord Ivid, the lord of the small city of Avern, a minerally-rich city which was surpressed by its main house of Rivider, due to undisclosed reasons. Though most rumors believe it to be a dispute between the former lords.

One which resulted to House Ivid falling by the wayside and developing a generational enmity, resulting to their current opposition to House Rivider and in turn, allegiance to me.

Now the current Lord Ivid, a young man inheriting his father's estate in such a crucial time. He will be a staunch ally, due to the enmity he inherited.

"The boy is quite right. The strenght we have now, might not be overwhelming but it is enough to push back the rebels occupying the capital." A voice cuts in before any could reply, a red demon spoke as he nodded with his greying hair.

Lord Mirs, lord of Ivern, a medium sized city, mostly primed for Agriculture and trade with the capital.

One of the oldest Lord of Rosalia, a proficient magician and a staunch supporter of my Father. He remains as the few loyal to my father due to the familial connection formed under his guardianship.

He also holds one of the largest army in the north, about six thousand men a considerable size when I have with me a total of twenty thousand men.

Then three thousand men under lord Irvid, six thousand under Lord Allister and the five thousand under Lord Belford.

These four lords along with the minor nobility below them, make up my powerbase here in the north.

"Why bother? The way things stand, the capital remains in chaos. The economy imploded once our Prince here evacuated the industries built inside of it." Allister spoke in a smile.

He takes the small squares and spreading them through the south, "So, I say that we let them take hold of the capital while we raid the small nobility and take down their armies before they could merge with the others."

He points to the mountain, "And once the reinforcements arrive from Arasel, we could take the capital back with minimal casualties."

Lord Belford thinks on his proposition, he taps his chin in thought, "That could work, but it would require a great deal of care to avoid the counter attack Lord Rivider will be throwing at us. But I believe that the faster we strike, the easier this war will end."

He points to the capital, "And the closest military target we have is the Capital. Base on recent intelligence, the closest army to is a force of ten thousand soldiers. One which we outnumber two to one."

Lord Mirs spoke, "I agree, holding the capital is a great boon for us, not only will we rob legitimacy from the rebellion, we could also use its vast manpower to conscript men."

"With all due respect Lord Mirs." Lord Allister interjects, "Wars aren't won by the amount of peasants you throw at them, they are won by how we use the knights that we have at our disposal."

"B-but aren't they at an advantage in regards to that." Lord Ivid murmurs at him.

"That may be so, but the knights we have greatly outnumber any other Lord could muster by themselves."

"With the speed and power our knights could muster, we could destroy them by detail and run as we wait for the upcoming reinforcements."

"Do you not understand my words?" Lord Belford massages his forehead, "That still comes with inherent risks, Lord Rivider is not a man to be underestimated, you'll be putting our most valuable men at risk."

He points to the south, "The south might be already be prepared as it is and are moving out to strike at this very moment."

"I agree, that's possible, but the distance from these lords vary and we weren't able to see any signs of them gathering, that's why this action was such a shock. If we can take out the closest ones then we can remove a sizeable force before they turn into a problem."

A smile comes from Lord Belford "I understand what you mean, but that doesn't remove the boons of taking back our capital and the advantage of winning a major battle, the hit on morale on those lord that shall be branded a traitor and the vanquished."

"Hmm, I understand. How about you Lord Mirs?"

Lord Mirs listened in their conversation, deep in thought. Before looking up, "I would rather hear of what, My Prince plans."

The lord looks to me in shock, their faces as if slapped, as they realize something important. In their heated argument they forgot to consult me.

"My Prince, Apologies." The both consequently spoke.

I wave my hand with a smile, easing their concerns, "It is of no problem, I have taken in your opinions and understand as to where you stand."

"As much as desirable raiding the enemy lords are, we cannot risk so much of our firepower in a gamble." I take the troops they've scattered through the cities.

"Instead, I would like to follow Lord Belford." I concentrate all the forces towards the capital.

"If we can take a major victory so early in the war, we could capitalize on it to gather supporters on our cause, then we shall use the capital as a base of sorts."

I scatter each army, "As the distance lessens, we can minimize the risk on these raids."

Lord Ivid whispers carefully, "But, how can we take the capital so quickly."

The words make me wince, as the realization of all this planning hangs on how quick we could take back the capital.

Lord Mirs chuckle at the simple fact the three of us forgot, "That's quite correct, the capital is now under House Rivider, even if we march to it now, the best we can expect is to catch the ten thousand men men before they could enter the capital and reinforce the walls

He looks down, his expression grim, "While the worst is that their twenty thousand reinforcement comes crashing down on us."

Lord Allister then interject, "Then should we start raiding?"

I shake my head, "No, Lord Rivider will be more than happy to take the losses."

The map was filled with troops as I think quickly, "The way things are now, their army of ten thousand from the nearest lords will reinforce the capital."

I take those and move it to the capital, "As they do so, their armies from the back will reinforce the cities the ten thousand left, effectively creating a wall."

The sight of their armies makes me think, "How much knights do they have?"

The four lords look at each other, finding the answer from the others.

Lord Mirs responded, "We do not know, My Prince."

I furrow my brows, "That's a problem, we cant decide to raid or not if we cannot gouge the amount of knights they have."

"What is the number of our knights?"

Lord Ivid responds quickly, "Five thousand sir, one thousand five hundred from Lord Belford, one thousand each from you, Lord Allister and Lord Mirs then the remaining five hundred from me. "

I look to Lord Belford, "Can you lead them to retake the capital."

"I am confident in doing so." His nod was reassuring.

"Good. Tell the men we'll be moving out." I spoke as I stood and the officers at the door ran outside, hollering our orders.

"Let's hope we win."