by Shinko Hisada (身固之妥)

(mirors http://s2b2.livejournal.com/112689.html)

Weariness was pretty much a constant state of being on the battlefield. Kale was used to that after a year in the army, and he’d learned to work through it for the most part. But a week’s hard riding through the worst part of the mountains had left him completely exhausted, not just tired. He was still an indifferent rider at best, having only learned the skill a few months before, and keeping up with a unit of Elite warrior-mages would have taxed even an expert.

Continue reading “Ignorance Can Be Remedied” »

by Shinko Hisada (身固之妥)

(mirrors http://s2b2.livejournal.com/103185.html)

“Can you see anything at all, private?”

Kale strained until his eyes hurt, and thought maybe he could see the barest hint of movement. “I… I think… flickering, like a candle behind a thick curtain at the end of a long, dark hall.” There was a dismayed noise from somewhere behind him, and he sighed. “It’s really bright and you’re shining it right into my eyes, aren’t you?”

Continue reading “Love Is Blind” »

by Shinko Hisada (身固之妥)

(mirrors http://s2b2.livejournal.com/75200.html)

To say that the chaos and noise of the capital city was a little overwhelming to a provincial farm boy was rather like saying that the war with Semaska had gone on a bit too long. Even inside one of the buildings, Kale still felt stifled and half-crushed by the sheer number of people crowded around him. He was fairly certain there were more people in this one tavern than in his entire home village.

Continue reading “Somewhere To Belong” »

by Shinko Hisada (身固之妥)

(mirrors http://s2b2.livejournal.com/61705.html)

To say that the morale of the Istrion Army was at an all-time low would have been a severe understatement. Rumour flew with the speed of wings, and everyone at field headquarters knew that the Semaskans had destroyed every fort and camp from there to the border. And now they were heading for the Istrion field headquarters, where the bulk of the remaining army waited for them.

Continue reading “The Ultimate Sacrifice” »

by Shinko Hisada (身固之妥)

(mirrors http://s2b2.livejournal.com/58939.html)

The atmosphere in the field headquarters of the Istrion Army was one of barely-controlled chaos. Units drilled on the outskirts, the shouted commands of the sergeants mixing with the dull thud of weapons impacting. Dogs barked and horses whinnied, couriers ran in all directions, and even an entire squad of Elite hardly drew a blink from the surrounding men. The closer they got to the centre of the camp, the more gold and silver ornamentation they saw on the uniforms around them, until the bright metal almost overwhelmed the dark green and pale blue of the cloth.

Continue reading “Uneven Odds” »

by Shinko Hisada (身固之妥)

(mirrors http://s2b2.livejournal.com/42773.html)

There were, Kale reflected, a few things the recruiting officers failed to mention when they were making their pitches to the young men of the towns and villages. They spoke a great deal of honour and glory, heroics and bravery, triumph and victory. Kale had been far from the only young man in his village to march to the capital with stars in his eyes and dreams in his heart.

Continue reading “Behind Enemy Lines” »

by Shinko Hisada (身固之妥)

(mirrors http://s2b2.livejournal.com/39814.html)

Sitting beneath a tree and grateful for its shade, Kale took another sip from his water canteen. Unfortunately the road between the port and the capital didn’t follow a river, so they had to ration their water between towns. Playing honour guard was supposed to be a cushy assignment, and certainly it had been a high honour for the 64th Elite unit to be chosen for the duty, but Kale was starting to wish the king had picked someone else.

Oh, it was wonderful to be away from the front lines and the fighting, no mistake about that. And the mission itself was of utmost importance. The envoy from the Kotei Empire, Lord Fujiwara Hiroyuki, had come to discuss the possibility of a marriage between the king of Istria and a princess of the Kotei imperial family. If the negotiations were successfully concluded, it would mean an influx of resources from the powerful Empire across the sea, maybe even enough to end the war with Semaska for good. Of course the Semaskans would do anything to prevent the marriage from happening, which was why the emphasis on this honour guard mission was less on ‘honour’ and more on ‘guard’.

Continue reading “A Matter of Honour” »