The Greatest Sin

Fortia looked over at the ruins of Melukal. Her men and the mages who survived were scouring the city for any of the wounded. Her phone rang suddenly, it was Elassa. With an accusatory tone. “What did you do?”

“What are you talking about?” Fortia snapped back, she wasn’t in the mood for that sort of talk right nw.

Elassa fell silent for a moment. “You don’t know?”

“I have just lost some forty thousand soldiers Elassa, I’m no-“ Elassa interrupted her again.

“Check the news.” Fortia opened the news on her phone. The blood drained from her face as her eyes widened. Every station was reporting the same thing: an image of Melukal ablaze. Fortia read the first title: ‘Peace comes to Melukal’.

Kassandora hummed a tune to herself as she moved pieces of wood representing her armies on sprawling map of Kirinyaa. The natives had finished crafting all the models for her, the understood the logic behind the hexagons bearing initials to represent Gods, they did not understand the logic of mere rectangles with a single line through them to represent armies though. Although they didn’t ask questions, Kassandora had wanted the blocks and they felt thoroughly indebted.

Arascus walked in. He sat down, formal dress, suit and cape, that meant someone would be coming. “How are you feeling today?”

“As if I’ve been reborn.” Kassandora replied quickly as she leaned back from the map. She hated breaks, but Arascus knew that. If he interrupted her, then it wouldn’t be like Fer just coming around to annoy Kassandora just because Of Beasthood got bored.

“Did you watch the news?” Arascus asked.

“I was organising the send-offs.” Yesterday, Zalewski and the men under his command had been sent off with Fer, her beastmen and Anassa to the eastern front. Ekkerson, his troops, reinforced by Olephia were sent to the western Badlands. To secure a frontline between the mountains and creeping Jungle and stop any sort of White Pantheon push in that direction. Arascus looked Kassandora up and down and sighed. He pulled out his phone and quickly brought up a video.

“This is the important part.” He said as he played it to her. The very ending. Mwai at the United Ardan League: ‘I now address the people of Kirinyaa. We will stand, we will not bow before the Pantheon. Any soldier who deigns to step over the border will find that our nation will become their grave. Kirinyaa is in a state of war. I repeat. Kirinyaa is in a state of war right now. Kirinyaa will not fall to the Jungle, and Kirinyaa will not fall to the Mountain.’ Mwai took a pause. ‘Goddess Kassandora is granted full command of war proceedings.’

Kassandora blinked as she stared at that. She looked up at Arascus. She looked down at the phone. She looked up at Arascus again. “Excuse me?” She asked slowly. This was… This was far better than she even hoped for. Sandfire had been meant to rally Kirinyaa and cause chaos and riots and protests in Epa.

“It’s not good.” Arascus said flatly. “It sounds good, but it’s not.”

“Why?”

“Because before the responsibility was with them. Any of our failings could be attributed to the Kirinyaan government under the claims we were a semi-independent military force and didn’t have enough support. This closes that route off.” Kassandora leaned back as Arascus’ words washed over her like a cold shower. She leaned back and crossed her arms.

“So what are we going to do?”

“Change of plans.” Arascus said. “We actually have to save Kirinyaa now, not just destroy the White Pantheon. Victory cannot be pyrrhic anymore.” Kassandora looked down at the map. Plans could be changed, and it was still so early in the war that it wouldn’t be too hard to send new orders. “I like the lure-them-in strategy though, we can stick with that.”

Kassandora nodded quickly. “I wasn’t going to change it anyway.” The White Pantheon could not be defeated in a grand engagement in the first place. Arascus nodded as he looked down at the map.

“This is your field, I know you won’t throw it away. Today, the entire Kirinyaa parliament is coming here.”

“Are they?” Kassandora asked.

“The plane is in the air already, thank Helenna for the warning.” Arascus said. He looked at Kassandora again. “There might be a news crew, you should get changed.” Kassandora looked down at herself. She was sitting in a huge dark-green t-shirt looted from Fer’s compound. Neneria and Anassa would be touchy about stealing their clothes, but Fer would only find it funny when she eventually found out. And Kassandora preferred to be comfortable when she was organizing a war. She stood up with a groan and went to her wardrobe.

“Uniform?” Kassandora asked.

“Uniform.” Arascus confirmed, he looked down to the map as Kassandora pulled the black HAUPT suit out of her wardrobe. The shirt came off. “When they arrive, I want you to force a war economy.” Kassandora put some socks and undergarments on.

“Easy enough.” She said.

“I’ll head to Nanbasa to manage it.” Arascus said as Kassandora turned around and started buttoning her white shirt. “This could be good actually.”

“We’re facing the White Pantheon.” Kassandora said as she did the final button and started pulling her trousers up.

“Unemployment here is what? Eight percent? Ten now with the embargoes and bankruptcies? There’s people to work factories.”

“I was planning on conscripting them.” Kassandora said, Arascus shook his head.

“Not anymore. I’ll send you volunteers, but hold for another…” He shook his head from side to side and looked up from the map at Kassandora. She was looping her belt. Sword emblazoned on it. “Four months?”

“That’s possible.”

“There’s one noticeable change here than there is from the past.” Arascus said. “We’ve never had such a technological gap between the nations. Even in the past with the dwarves, it was just extreme machinery to rival Theosius, but it couldn’t be mass produced. The Epan countries, Rancais especially, will most likely share designs for engines and so on.” Kassandora nodded. This exited her domain at this point. “I can have the first plan of forceful industrialisation in this country ready in four months, give me that. I’ll want Iniri too.”

“I’ll take her off the battleplans.”

“If you need her, then call, but she’s better used in economics than in fighting.”

“She’s not a major player anyway. I only wanted her to support be a food source in sieges.” Kassandora said as she slid her arms through the greatcoat.

“We’ll also need a victory under our belt.” Arascus said. “Something to show we’re actually capable of leading this, not another Melukal. Another Sandfire project is off the table, I’m sure Fortia will be publicizing her army now to avoid it.” Kassandora nodded. Then one of the Divines would be deployed to the frontlines, she didn’t want to this early. The Divines were powerful, but they were only Divines. Olephia was undefeatable, but Olephia was ultimately just Olephia. She could only be in one place at one time.

“I also expect Fortia to raise war efforts now and try to end it faster. Olympiada could potentially enlist a hundred thousand minor Divines of some sort. Be aware of that.”

“I am.” Kassandora said.

“If possible, prisoners would be excellent.”

“We’ll see.” Kassandora replied. Capturing armies was always harder than just wiping them out. Mages dressed in their funny ways, but there was nothing stopping a mage from donning armour and pretending to be mundane. And the last thing Kassandora wanted was to bring in a team of magicians into the centre of her camps.

“Stall the Reclamation War at this point.” Arascus said. “It’s not important compared to this, we can return to it after its done if they try to disband us.” Kassandora smiled as she finished dressing. She buttoned her coat up and gave Arascus a little spin.

“And after?”

“The Kirinyaan parliament will not exist once we are done.” Arascus said. “Leave that to me. They gave us an inch.” Arascus said and Kassandora finished for him.

“We take a mile.” Arascus looked up at Kassandora and smiled. Those blue eyes of his burning a deep blue, his grin wolfish and hungry.

“You look excellent.” Kassandora made a snort of humour, but she knew she was blushing at the compliment. She tugged at her crimson hair, it was in a sorry state.

“Helenna’s not here to do my hair.”

“It’s fine, if you looked too clean they’d be asking what you were doing.” Arascus said as he stood up. “I’ll tell Iliyal you send your regards.”

“I don’t.” Kassandora snapped and Arascus laughed.

“You have to raise morale somehow, don’t you?” Kassandora merely shook her head as she returned to the map. Fortia was taking the centre, then… what would she do? Alkom would be sent to the eastern front, that place was filled with naturals jungles that the other Gods would struggle to get through. Then Zerus would go west. To the desert where his lightning would have no cover to deal with. If Fortia had deigned to open that front up. She would have to though, if not then Ekkerson’s army had a clear route to her supply lines.

Zerus west, then Sceo west. Maisara, centre or east then. Most likely east, she would serve as the commander of that army. Melukal had revealed Fortia took the centre, so she was giving herself the hardest job of pushing through the mountains. Kassandora smiled to herself, Fortia was so predictable. A shout from outside somewhat soured her mood.

Arascus turned, eyebrow raised. A soldier introduced himself through the plain cloth barrier that made up a door. “The Kirinyaan Parliament has arrived!” He shouted. Arascus turned towards the door.

“They’re fast when they want to be.” He said. “Are we going?” Kassandora stood up with a groan and headed to the door. Some things didn’t need formalities, this was one of them. She would have preferred just receiving a letter stating the request and asking for a command.

Kassandora left the room and stopped, Arascus stopped besides her. She would not walk to meet people who were coming to greet her. They were in distance of the camp, now it was largely abandoned. The buildings that had gone up only had a few Clerics left behind, a skeleton crew to train the volunteer Kirinyaans. Kassandora’s own forces had shrunk to fifty men, the rest had been sent off with Sokolowski to hold Melukal.

But the vehicles still remained. Twenty Binturongs still remained here even after the three armies had taken their share. As did the new lemur models. With eight wheels and a similar gun, Kavaa’s idea had been fantastic. Why did Kassandora not think to just mount the gun on a truck? They would be used for training new artillery crews, the supply lines had been smoothed out, a central depot was set up south of the Central Mountains, which every factory sent products to that would then be dispersed to the front lines. If Iliyal’s job could be trusted with someone else, Iliyal would have been sent to take command of that.

And in the distance, with Clerics and Kirinyaans marching out to inspect the new guests, was a horde of men walking to Kassandora down an unadorned black tarmac road. Almost four hundred people. So they must have voted on it. And if so many agreed, then… Kassandora looked at their faces. Determined and hard, with eyes that bristled with rage and a hunger for revenge. Had she overdone herself with Sandfire?

No matter. She waited until the politicians in their blue suits got to her. They stopped and saluted. Every single man had a green armband over their right arm. One man stepped forwards. “Goddess Kassandora!” He shouted and launched into what must have been a speech that he had already practiced. The man spoke far too clearly for it to be off the top of his head. “You came to us in our time of need. You extended an arm out when Kirinyaa was kneeling on its knees. You helped us regain our footing in a time of need with the Reclamation War.” The man paused as Kassandora started to smile, well, it wasn’t half bad a speech. Although she supposed she was a rather easy woman to please.

“Now, Kirinyaa stands on its feet. We, as the leaders of nation.” He took a pause and got down on one knee. “We kneel. We kneel, we ask for your support to drive the White Pantheon out of our lands, to make sure that another Melukal will never happen again. Kirinyaa is done with half measures. There is no Reclamation War anymore. Kirinyaa begs Goddess Kassandora.” He took another pause looked up. “Kirinyaa begs for you to lead us on Total War against the entire White Pantheon.”

Kassandora smiled as she raised her hands. This sort of speech did demand a reply. She would give them a war more total and more revolutionary than anything they could imagine.