"Courage is like love;

it must have hope for nourishment."



Daemon stared with enviable calm at the smoke rising from the bonfires lit in the enemy camp behind the highest hill of Alois, staining the red color of the sunset.

The scouts' latest report had estimated an enemy force of at least sixty-five thousand soldiers, ten thousand more than initially assumed.

Even considering the reinforcements that had recently arrived from the Free State, the balance was dangerously in favor of Eirinn's army, which could also have counted on a better position.

Artillery was a weapon capable of turning the tide of a battle on its own, but carrying it with you was problematic to say the least, especially with a road network made at times impassable by the rain of the last few days which had covered the roads in mud.

The same reason had made the march slower than expected, and as Daemon had predicted, by the time the army had arrived in sight of Alois Lefde had already occupied the best position on the battlefield.

As if that wasn't enough, the road to Faria passed right behind that hill, which meant that even in the event of a retreat the enemy could count on an excellent escape route.

But it was as if all this was nothing more than a nuisance for Daemon to take care of without too many worries; or perhaps it was just a way for their commander to try to reassure them, thought Scalia and the Generals gathered in the living room of the farm they had occupied to make it their headquarters.

"He couldn't have chosen a better location. He can keep everything under eye from up there, and moreover that hill is bleaker than your head, Oldrick."

"Which means that this time we will necessarily have to play with an opened hand." said the old bald man

"So, no pincer maneuvers to attack the weak flank or sneaking into the woods." Adrian said

"Unfortunately, until they take a position, we have no way to know what tactics they will adopt, but we can try to make some predictions. Does anyone have any idea?"

It was the first time Daemon had specifically asked his generals to formulate theories, but by now almost all of them had spent so much time in his company that they had begun to see things almost the same way he did.

"He will probably deploy his troops to try to keep an escape route open." Septimus hypothesized "So we can expect that his left flank will be more numerous than his right, so as to protect the road."

"Plausible enough. That's what I would do, after all. Other ideas?"

"One of my scouts told me about carpenters and joiners, as well as several engineers." said Jack "Maybe they want to build siege weapons."

"Or maybe they already built them and just need to assemble them." said Richard. "And if they place them behind the hill, it could cause us a lot of problems."

"The new formations on which we have trained should limit the damage, but we should still consider this case."

"What worries me most is this promontory on the left looking south." said Oldrick "It's isolated, but well protected on three sides by very steep slopes. Fortifying it wouldn't be a problem."

"Knowing Lefde I expect him to do exactly that."

"And if they place their siege weapons right there," Jack said darkly. "They can rain fire, bolts, and who knows what else on anyone who tries to climb the hill."

"In other words, that single promontory alone will be enough to ensure the enemy's control of that flank. As long as they hold it, they will have the reins of the fight in their hands. On the other hand, however, its fall would ensure us control of this entire part of the hill, and we could even turn the enemy's siege weapons against them."

"Can't we try to flush them out with those weapons of yours that go beyond the walls?" Natuli asked

"They're not powerful enough to hit that high. We can try to wear them down with cannons, but given the difference in altitude I doubt they will be of much help."

"Which means taking that promontory will almost certainly result in a bloodbath." Adrian observed.

The thought made everyone a little sad, but then going to war also meant this; and no one doubted anymore that they were doing the right thing, even at the price of painful sacrifices.

And that wasn't the only thing everyone in that room agreed on by now.

"Whatever awaits us tomorrow," Daemon said, "I think it's clear to everyone that this battle is destined to change many things. Lying to ourselves is useless. We all know it won't end here. Even if we defeat Eirinn tomorrow, there will be more wars. The foundations we have built will allow the Free State to survive storms even worse than this, but for it to continue to exist we must be ready to fight. This means it's time to reconsider how the Free State will conduct its wars from now on."

"What do you mean?"

"It's very simple, Septimus. Until now the National Guard has always fought cohesively, as a single army. But we cannot exclude that one day we will find ourselves having to fight at the same time on fronts that are very distant from each other, not to mention that this army has now become too large to move it easily in the usual way."

"So what do you suggest?" Adrian asked

"A complete reorganization. Immediately, starting tomorrow. The words you have spoken here this evening have convinced me once and for all that I was right to choose all of you. You have no shortage of analysis of the situation and judgment skills, on several occasions you have proven yourself as reliable commanders, and you have surrounded yourself with capable officers in whom you have the utmost trust. The truth is that any of you could lead this army as well as I do. So it's time to totally rethink how you manage it. From this moment on, all generals present here are promoted to Army Corps General. Which obviously means that each of you will be assigned a different Corp made up of light and heavy infantry, archers, skirmishers, artillery, and when we have brought their production up to speed you will also obtain musketeer units. It goes without saying that you will have to obey the orders that I give you, but if the circumstances require it or I am not in a position to command you, you will become in effect the commanders of your Corps, and you will be able to use them as you see fit. Do everything I tell you, and I give you my word that no army or nation will be able to stop us."

It's difficult to understand what kind of reaction Daemon thought he would arouse with these words, but his smile suggested that silence was what he probably expected most.

"I left you speechless, didn't I?"

"Mister Daemon" Athreia stammered "I believe I speak for everyone when I say that we are honored by the trust you seem to have in us, but..."

"... but we ask ourselves why something like this would happen, especially on the threshold of such an important battle." Natuli cut her short

"Actually, I've been mulling it over for some time now, and the weeks I've spent away from here have helped me clear my head. You entrusted me with the leadership of this army and this country to bring you prosperity and peace, but I cannot do it without your help. So I ask you honestly: do you want to help me make our dream come true?"

The Generals looked at each other, while a sense of awareness helped them to assimilate and better understand the extent of the responsibility that Daemon had decided to place on their shoulders, as proof of his unshakable trust in them.

"Okay Daemon." said Septimus speaking for everyone "We are with you."

"Very good." he replied with a smile, then taking a scroll out of his pocket. "In that case, I'll assign you your new commands immediately. General Ypsilanti, Ney Heavy Cavalry Brigade. General Natuli, Murat Horse Hunters Brigade. General Richard, 5th Corp Berthier. General Jack, 4th Corp Soult. General Oldrick, 3rd Corp Macdonald. General Septimus, 2nd Corp Lannes. General Longinus, 1st Corp Davout. Scalia's Great Guard and Xylla's elite unit remain under my direct command. All the officers and deputy commanders have already been notified, by tomorrow morning every soldier will know where he has to go and who he will have to obey to from now on."

"Did you warn them before talking to us?" Adrian asked almost in surprise

"Of course." Daemon smiled. "Because I knew you would agree."

The general laughter had the effect of easing the tension and bringing back serenity. There was just one last thing to clarify.

"But where exactly did these strange names come from?" Septimus asked

Daemon shrugged and winked: "They seemed captivating to me."



That night everyone slept strangely well; some, remembering that day many years later, would even say that they had the best sleep of their life.

There was a strange sense of inevitability that at the same time disturbed and reassured the hearts of the few who were really capable to understand the importance of the moment, given by their being perfectly aware that there was no turning back now.

One way or another, the next day the history of the entire world would change forever. With their actions they would have affirmed the strength of their nation and defended the ideals of the Revolution, or the Free State and everything it represented would have emerged defeated, humiliated, and ready to be swallowed up by the quickest to seize the right opportunity.

The next morning the sun rose in all its splendor, extending its rays over the hills and chasing away the fog, thus allowing the two armies to admire each other from the top of their respective hills.

Daemon showed up for breakfast much later than usual, when Septimus and the other generals were almost tired of waiting for him; obviously, however, no one had dreamed of starting without him.

"Good morning, everyone!" he exclaimed smiling. "Please have a seat."

The meal was very frugal, not much more substantial than that of the troops, but at least there was tea, bread, coffee and eggs.

"What is the ground situation?"

"The night was humid, but there are no clouds and the temperature is rising." Adrian replied "Just a few hours and we won't have any mud problems."

"No surprise attacks during the night?"

"They tried." said Natuli "Small incursions to keep us awake and nervous. But we kept them at bay. Everyone slept like babies in the camp."

"Very good. We will begin the maneuvers at nine o'clock. By that time the soil should have dried completely. And one more thing, I want this to be clear to you."

"We listen to you." Jack said

"This battle may be decisive, but the truth is that Lefde is the kind of opponent capable of posing a threat with his mere presence. As long as he is there, Eirinn can continue to fight. Which is why, dead or alive, I expect him not to leave these plains on his own two feet. I want him prisoner or in a pit by this evening, is it clear?"

"Yes sir." Septimus answered

"If you can, however, try to take him alive. It would be a shame to have such a fine commander on our conscience. And now come on, eat your fill. We have a long day ahead of us."



There were few things that moved me more than an army maneuvering to take position on the battlefield.

The divine thing about having an army composed overwhelmingly of former slaves was that they were adaptable and able to absorb change with almost shocking ease. My old army would have needed days to reorganize into single independent armies, with them it had only taken a few hours.

To be honest, managing just over forty thousand men was very different from having to manage almost two hundred thousand as at Wagram; but it had to be considered that at the moment almost none of my new generals even remotely equaled the ones I had left in my old life, which increased my responsibilities quite a bit.

I knew I had taken a risk by adopting that choice and placing so many responsibilities on the shoulders of Septimus and the others, but it was necessary if I wanted to manage more efficiently an army that was becoming increasingly larger and that soon – I was certain – would be called upon to fight on multiple fronts.

For some time, I had considered adopting the legion system of the imperial army, if only to make the work of some of my collaborators easier. But at the time I feared the anti-imperialism that was still widespread in vast sections of the population much more than inefficiency.

In any case, we were now at the showdown, and I would be lying if I said I was sure we would win that day.

Even though we had only challenged each other face to face once, I had understood Lefde's value and talent; and although the real reason why I didn't want to see him leave Alois was another one, facing him again was a prospect I didn't even want to consider.

If nothing else his tactics were predictable, at least as far as the choice of terrain and deployment was concerned.

What Septimus and the others had supposed, I had predicted before even arriving at Alois simply by looking at the map, but it was happy to see that my teachings had taken root; and I was sincere when I said that almost every one of them was now more than capable of leading an army on their own, otherwise I wouldn't have put this burden on their shoulders.

Everything was exactly as we had expected.

The north-west projection starting from the top of the hill, renamed Tourelle, had been fortified and filled with siege weapons, and as part of the right flank it represented the hard core of the enemy deployment whose lines reached up to the opposite slope, to the edges of the road to Faria.

There was no sign of the cavalry, which would certainly have been ready to pounce on the weaker front at the first opportunity from behind the hill. This would have forced me to maintain a cautious attitude at least initially.

For my part, I had deployed Adrian in the center, supported on the right by Septimus and on the left by Jack, Richard and Oldrick; the three of them would have the mission of going to flush the crows out of the nest, a task that I was already sure would cost me more than all the other battles combined in terms of men.

The artillery was positioned all in front of the center and right flank of my deployment, forty guns in total protected on the left and right respectively by Natuli's light cavalry and Athreia's heavy cavalry.

Scalia's Great Guard arranged all around my square made up of messengers, explorers and scribes completed everything.

Before reaching my position I once again reviewed my men, motivating them properly with my mere presence and without having to say a word.

I was their liberator.

They were eager to fight and die for me and the cause.

And by evening I would certainly have given a good portion of them exactly what they wanted.

"Very good, Lefde. Do your worst."



Lefde was so convinced that Daemon was an extraordinary general that he was almost not surprised to see his army on the hill on the other side of the plain arranged in squares that closely resembled the imperial legions.

Only a few weeks earlier in Mistvale the Free State army seemed like an old-school army, divided solely according to the class to which each soldier belonged.

Now, however, each square was composed at the same time of heavy infantry on the front lines, light infantry in the middle and on the flanks, and archers in the rear.

It was Saedonia many centuries earlier who introduced that particular way of fighting, and this was the secret of its military successes. Daemon, however, seemed to have taken that scheme to the next level by adding artillery, instead leaving the cavalry free to act on its own by dividing it solely into light and heavy elements.

Even though he could count on an advantageous position and numerical superiority, the General knew he could take nothing for granted. For this reason he had planned his strategy with an essentially defensive battle in mind, aiming to tire the enemy as much as possible and then surprise him with a rapid counterattack and ensure victory.

Despite his renewed awareness, Victor had not been very happy with such an approach, but once again, he had wisely decided to let his General make all his decisions by deferring to him and his judgment.

Shortly after nine o'clock, both armies were positioned and ready for battle.

Daemon appeared on the field like an actor who enters the stage to the applause of his audience, riding in front of the soldiers and proudly waving the flag of the Free State before going to take his place in a small camp on the highest point of the hill, surrounded by his Great Guard.

"How much arrogance." Victor snorted irritably.

"He knows how to motivate his men."

"Better let him enjoy it while he can."

The mercenaries and Ignes in particular were another thing that worried Lefde a lot.

A report he received during the night spoke of Jormen ships sailing up the Plonec River and dropping anchor in a nearby inlet, leaving no doubt about the Crimson Iron's intentions in the event of defeat.

He, who had never had any respect for mercenaries, would have gladly done without such unreliable elements, but circumstances did not allow him the luxury of being picky; the only thing he had been able to do was position them on the left wing, as far away as possible from the river, with some regular infantry units behind them.

As the moment of battle grew closer and closer, Lefde took his pendant with the effigy of Gaia from inside his armor, opening it and revealing a small portrait of a young woman and a lock of dried hair.

"Mother Gaia. My love. Watch over us."