My dearest Drina,

  I hope this letter finds you well, though I know these last months apart have been agonizing for us both. Especially with you likely having given birth to our latest child by the time this letter reaches you. I miss you dearly and hope that our baby has been born strong and healthy. My heart sits at ease knowing that the child will be raised well with you and both our families present while I’m away. I wish I could help in his upbringing, as raising his brothers and sisters has been the most joyous of blessings to me. Made even more special by being able to do it with the love of my life as a partner.

  I know one day that I shall finally meet the child and tell them about the proud house of Roth and its great deeds of heroism. Though I am sure our sons and daughters shall have already filled their head with great fantasies. I shall bring back new and intrepid tales of adventure that shall trump all of the previous tales of glory our ancestors accomplished in years past. Maybe I shall even trump Patriarch Roth’s tale of slaying the great Swamp Dragon, Uvbryg, The Bestower of Chains.

  My journey so far is thus: I have survived the great culling in the deserts of Idaus, which served as our training grounds. The heat was unbearable and the desert creatures were a deadly menace to all. Our glorious 14th Legion accomplished great deeds there, even in our infancy. The people there shall live peacefully for years to come.

  Having made the journey to Naidenal, I must tell you that the oceans are the deadliest yet also the most beautiful sights this earth has produced. It reminds me of the poisonous Freya, which remains the most beautiful flower known to me, while also being able to bring one to reincarnation if distilled properly. The coastline of Naidenal is lined with sparkling mana crystals. I have even seen large deposits cover vast ocean floors for miles on end. It is no wonder this area is so necessary to Eusa, though its desert mines remain a mystery of deadly wonder from what I am told from veteran captains.

  I tell you this, my dearest Drina. The savages of Frima may attempt to rest these great treasures and stunning geography from us. But I assure you, my beloved, that the noble House of Roth will never allow such a fate to fall. As long as our great Elven lineage remains here to uphold the duties of our great Lord Sololyn.

  Your Completing Heart,

  Knight Elstariath Rothsire

  KRACKOOM!!!

  Lord Sololyn, Imperator of the Eusa Aristocracy’s 14th Legion, was roughly shaken out of his nightly sleep as a terrible explosion woke him. Flustered but quickly gathering his wits, the tall Elf lithely bounded from his bed and rushed to the entrance of his earthen housing after slipping on his boots.

  KRACKOOM!!!

  “TO ARMS! SQUIRES! GATHER MY ARMOR AND MEET ME AT THE OBSERVATION DECK!” Sololyn bellowed in his deep baritone as he raced through the hallway and out into the open air of Fort Lyric.

  Assuming that the fort was under attack, power flooded through him as he channeled mana causing, him to adopt a glow. That glow left a trail behind him for the aides to follow if they hadn't caught what he had called out earlier. A loud drum began to rapidly beat out a call to arms.

  “SQUIRES! MY ARMOR TO THE OBSERVATION!” Sololyn yelled out once more.

  Fort Lyric’s command quarters sat atop a large hill and overlooked the newly established fort as well as the troops of the 14th Legion housed within its walls. Fort Lyric was also the southernmost defensive point along the Eusa Aristocracy’s western coast of Naidenal.

  Sololyn burst through the entrance door of the high command structure, still currently a fairly simple building. They had only started establishing the fort a few weeks ago, after all. He sprinted to the observation deck located just outside of the command building, clad only in his trousers and night shirt.

  The observation area was a way for Imperator Sololyn to establish a place of command for his troops while seeing the entire fort. He would guide them through musical magic that let him address the entire army without need for runners or other signallers.

  This observation deck overlooked the docks and anti-ship stations on his left and the rest of the large fort to his front and right. A mirrored observation deck was on the opposite side of the high command as well so he could see the backside of the fort, should the need arise. The crashing sound had come from this side however, so he had rushed this way first on instinct.

  As the Imperator reached the stone observation stage’s parapet he swore in rage as he gazed out upon the fort. Sololyn observed that two sections of the barracks were ablaze. He then directed his gaze up to see the cause of this destruction. His eyes widened and he immediately grabbed for the large mana crystal near his position.

  It was raining fireballs.

  KRACKOOM!!!

  One of the giant balls of flame collided with another barracks building. The resulting blast sent soldiers and earthen shrapnel flying throughout the space. Many men had caught fire and were screaming as healers and other mages ran about dousing flames and attempting to rapidly heal the wounded.

  A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  Even more power began to flow through Sololyn as the giant crystallized mana battery fed him. The Imperator’s well-muscled physique strained to contain the mana as if it were a live rune wire. Thankfully, he used the contained mana immediately to shield the fort from the large fireballs that were raining down upon it. The shield shuddered from the impacts even as he strained to feed it more mana.

  The rapid call to arms being rapped out was joined by a more ominous blast of horns. He began to feel more mages join him as they collectively created a dome that soaked up and rebuked the fiery meteors falling onto them. The meteors exploded against the shield to trickle down in front of the twenty foot high stone curtain wall that stood solidly along the fort’s outside perimeter.

  As Sololyn followed the track of the fireballs he noticed large boulders that were speeding along the ground towards those sturdy walls. The walls began to look flimsy with thousands of pounds of rock barreling at them.

  He released his hand from the crystal now that the other defensive mages appeared to have the fireballs under control. Sololyn moved his hand like an orchestra conductor and began another rapid command for the battlemages of the wall.

  A deep booming drum cut off the call to arms as he directed the outer mages to slow the boulders. The dome being created would not reach the ground in time to stop the rocks as well as keep the constant barrage of fireballs away from the rest of the troops. They had to at least slow them down.

  He watched as the mages along the outer wall erected wide stop points in front of the great boulders. Most of the boulders smashed through the quickly erected defense points but it stopped about half of them when they reached the next round of barricades.

  One mage apparently mistimed their wall as it was erected directly beneath the boulder. The large ball of stone was launched into the air and sent directly into the top of the wall, wiping out two squads of soldiers in an instant as it smashed through the parapet and into the fort itself.

  The shattered wall shot into the ranks of troops behind the wall, creating a mass of roiling soldiers screaming for help. Healers were already applying their bright light of healing upon the injured. Many stopped healing soldiers part way and moved on to the other wounded as they were in a hurry to save as many others as they could.

  The boulder itself was sent through multiple barracks before it was arrested of its momentum. Still more screams were added to this orchestral nightmare of drums, horns, and explosions.

  Sololyn, furious at being caught so unprepared by this attack, was caught by surprise again as his aides began to quickly strap his armor on. He cut himself off from lashing out at them out of surprise.

  A commander must not belittle those following his orders as instructed.

  The Imperator began to relax and truly settle into his role as commander with the familiar weight of his elven-wrought steel being strapped to his seven foot form. He took a deep breath and finished the final straps of his vambraces himself.

  Having recovered, Sololyn looked out to survey the battlefield once more. A steadying drum took over the music that had been running before. He would not let his emotions get the better of him. For that led to brash actions.

  If a leader is led to brash actions it is rarely he that suffers the worst consequences.

  The Imperator directed his troops to maintain control and adopt heavier defensive formations. Their squad mages began to throw light shielding up in case of more attacks penetrating the outer defenses.

  Sololyn now saw that the attackers were not interested in storming the fort. After the raiders first volleys of ranged attacks they appeared to be forming up for a second wave. This could merely be a test of their defenses or even a psychological raid to reduce morale after bloodying the nose of the 14th Legion. Roth knew how they must look after having blundered this first raid.

  Lighting flashed from the hilltop as he spotted ten raiding squads of the Frima Unity savages. The blue bolts smashed into the bottom of the shield dome as they attempted to drain or slow the magic that was attempting to meet with the earth. It looked as though they were attempting to keep it up just long enough to launch another barrage of boulders.

  Sure enough, Sololyn saw that there was another round of boulders rolling down the hill. He gave a blast of trumpets to signal the mages that they were authorized to draw upon their mana crystals to power through the lightning.

  The translucent dome finally met the ground. The Imperator sighed with relief, leaning against the stone parapet in front of him. The incoming boulders shattered against the now fully constructed dome. The shattered stones and large remnants of the boulders formed another barricade against anyone wishing to reach the dome.

  Rage creeped up within him again at this surprise attack. These savage people would dare to plot the ruin of his fair country's rightful claim to these lands. They had found these lands decades ago and with no one to inhabit them. The Eusa Aristocracy had planted their flag of dominion and brought order to the savage northern coasts of this continent.

  Then the Frima Unity, nothing more than a large group of savages that had banded together from another continent, challenged their claim on this continent. Greed had smoldered in the Frima and so they had sent their warbands to raid and pillage the resources that his country had mined and harvested. Now their once great trading agreement between their two countries had turned into a land grab and race to riches.

  A quick chord of notes played as if struck from a piano. Sololyn followed it up with a single violin playing a high solo.

  A piece of the dome was opened down the line away from where the raiders were located. The Imperator saw a full manipul of heavy cavalry begin to gallop out towards the enemy in a diamond formation. He would make sure that Eusa would not be the only one with a bloody nose.

  The raiders released their next volley of stones and gave up on holding their open position. None of them appeared to be mounted. They all sprinted over the hill and out towards their Frima controlled area miles to the south. Light flashed as their mages applied forms of magic to hasten their retreat.

  Large shielded battlemages, Guardians he recalled, from each raider squad turned and struck the earth violently with their large shields. The earth rippled out from the impact and a large wall of earth rose in front of them as high as fifteen feet. They then turned and sprinted to catch up with the other fleeing raiders.

  Imperator Sololyn’s rage tempered a bit as he felt unease from the full group of a hundred raiders running from a similar sized unit so easily. He had hoped to lock them down quickly with his heavy cavalry so he could smash them with his remaining force’s power. A warning trumpet blasted out and two quick notes repeated themselves.

  The Imperator watched as two manipuls of heavily armored dwarven skirmishers quick-marched from the closest entrance to the fleeing raiders. They would reinforce the quicker cavalry as they slowed and encircled the raiders. This would bog the raiders down so that the cavalry could disengage to then full charge into the raiders.

  Hammer and anvil would meet to crush the offenders of the great Eusa Aristocracy.