Grist For the Mill IV
Posted: Wed Jun 01, 2022 12:00 am
ο ὐ κ • ἔ φ η • τ ὸ ν • α ὐ τ ὸ ν • ὅ π λ ω ν
κ α ὶ • ν ό μ ω ν • κ α ι ρ ὸ ν • ε ἶ ν α ι
κ α ὶ • ν ό μ ω ν • κ α ι ρ ὸ ν • ε ἶ ν α ι
Glade 78, 122 Age of Steel
War had come to Karnor, but it was a strange and quiet sort of conflict. The initial fear of Zaichaeri airships, enhanced with the same horrific stealth that had been used to slay the Shokaze, raiding and bombing the Kalzasern heartland had never come to pass. An uneasy calm had fallen across the city as it adapted to its new normal, the Sky Guard's initially fervent deployment slowing down as it became clear that the City of Brass was as slow to react to the devastation wrought at the Prince's wedding as the Jewel of the Northlands had been. There was rumors of a coup within their southern neighbor, and a new uniformed tyrant had taken the title of Grand Marshal. Perhaps that alone had saved them from the horrors of an invasion in those first chaotic days, when all felt under threat.
Respite from immediate danger may have let Avamande sleep, but it only increased mutterings from the House, regardless of their rank, and the Elder Council chafed under the tyranny of their Iron Queen. What had started as a united effort borne of fear and desperation, outrage and pain, and the certainty of another blow yet to come was already starting to dissolve as more and more began to doubt the legitimacy of Sahfri's rule. Such decisions and shifts in opinion caused changes up and down the government, but none was more visible to Avamande than the Sky Guard's magical item requisition lists.
The initial flood of orders early in the season had been calling for the most ungentlemanly of arms, Avamande having been tasked with crafting scrolls meant for desperate retreats, daring raids, and out and out assassination. Passions had cooled when it became clear that Zaichaer was in no position to bring an army to besiege Kalzasi itself, and the fruits of desperation - including the mad genius of novel magicks - now no longer seemed so sweet. War planners had shifted their priorities to fundamentals that they only recently realized that they had the time for, building out the capacity of the Sky Guard to not just engage the enemy in the field but to remain there for prolonged periods of time.
It was often said by the wise that wars were on logistics, and if that were true the Sky Guard was intent on victory. The current batch of requisitions had been devised by supply officers and focused heavily upon utility scrolls, of the sort to enable the general soldiery to endure the conditions of a long campaign and enhance mundane methods of the same. Most straightforward of these was a request for an incredible number of scrolls of Railway, to be delivered directly to the quartermaster corps instead of line units. While Kalzasi and her allies had developed an impressive system of supply depots across most of northern Karnor, they suffered a clear deficit in addressing the last mile in between those forward caches and the march routes and campsites of the army. Avamande's scrolls would, in theory, eliminate this failing and permit the Sky Guard to replenish and resupply faster than the Defense Corps, despite the latter possessing a mature fleet of supply airships.
Not to mention that a general with sufficient daring, drive, and loyal soldiers could use them to enhance the skills of his mages and conduct deep strikes beyond the reach of any mundane army. The secret of Zaichaer's stealth airships might yet be beyond Kalzasi, but there was nothing that could prepare a foe for an enemy column marching through Slipspace and appearing to their rear. Such a stratagem was only used by the boldest or the most desperate, but in light of the political events of the past month there were plenty of commanders who possessed quantities of both - be it out of vengeance or a fear that if a murder stroke was not struck soon then all the north would be overrun.
Unspoken however was the ultimate expression of what these scrolls represented. They were useful, but not vital, when defending Kalzasi and her possessions in Karnor. Supply lines were short, and judging by the lack of further attacks it seemed that Zaichaaer lacked the capability to make stealth raids a common trick. No, where these would come most in handy was the south. Ordinarily, an army could only march so far as they could be reliably supplied. Detachments had to be broken off to secure lines of communication, outlaying towns and fortifications occupied, and new depots created and filled. With enough Railways however, the limit of an army's range was its cache of dragonshards - which could be resupplied along with its food and water. In other words, they were ideal for an army tasked with a lightning conquest of the south.
These, then, required an especial care. The entire course of the war could be won or lost by a single errant stroke of Avamande's pen, and they refused to provide any but the best. Many would consider them to be meticulous to a fault even under normal circumstances, but they took it to an extreme, testing one out of every ten scrolls. Elaborate measurements were taken of the portals that were spawned as a result, from its physical dimensions to the amount of time that it remained open, and those values then compared to those already recorded in order to ensure quality and consistency. It was a time intensive and incredibly laborious process, but they deemed it worth the effort. Even if only used as intended, a delivery of food or ammunition could mean the difference between victory and defeat.
Less glamorous, but by far more beloved by the common soldier, were twin scrolls of Negation. Half of the order was tasked against the cold, and the other against heat, to be kept by the supply officers until they were deemed necessary. In truth they were also the far more elaborate work to inscribe, the glyph drawn so that the generated ward would be anchored into the fabric of any object the scroll was sewn into. These were the true signs that the Kalzasern high command expected a lengthy conflict, despite the dreams of the war planners who had ordered the Railways. Sewn into a blanket, a soldier could remain warm despite a blizzard, and sewn into a bag one could replicate the benefits of an icebox while deep in the field - for a time, at least.
It was still Glade, and Karnor had a temperate climate. While an officer might enjoy chilled wine remaining so for a full day, these were not the sort of things that decided wars. Creature comforts of the highest order in the relatively cool Searings that the Northlands enjoyed, this could not justify the expense spent on them. On the other hand however, the Frosts were cruel and cold beyond measure, and more than one army had paid a bitter price for thinking that they could out march General Winter. A great cloak which repelled cold itself would be an invaluable asset if one was forced or chose to conduct operations despite these hardships, and would certainly represent an advantage over Zaichaer and their soldiers, used as they were not only to the warmer south of the region but also the comforts of an industrialized city that could not be taken upon a march.
With Frost over half a year away, Avamande felt an understanding lodge itself inside of their mind. This would be a long war, one in which Kalzasi intended to not merely secure vengeance for their fallen Shokaze and lost Prince, but to forever end the power of the ancient capital of Karnor. What it intended to do with that power should it win such a victory was yet an open question, dependent on the vagaries of politics and struggles between the Iron Queen and her recalcitrant Elder Council. There were as many plans for the future as there were seats in that august body, but all agreed that the status quo could not be permitted to remain.
They wondered then if far to the south, in the workshop of a chained and observed servant of the Reconciliators or the halls of a machinist, they had an opposite number who also worked to create the weapons and supplies that would permit war to range across the whole of the land and extend over every season so that what they deemed righteous would emerge triumphant. Who were they to say that one vision or the other was meet for all Karnor? Who were they to serve a master that would force it upon all others?
It was an uncomfortable thought, but now was not the time for navel-gazing philosophy. They may not agree with what total victory would win Kalzasi, but they could not risk what the same for Zaichaer would mean for them and the great work they had focused themselves upon. Avamande had chosen their side, and they would do what they may to see it succeed.
All else was a question for peace.