One of the first things Prince Adair made Raoul do was to take a bath, the farm boy smelling of animal muck and mud, and his clothes burned, replaced with the opulent spares of Adair's as well as armour, fortunately not as heavy as the guards though Raoul still found it clunky to move around in.

"We are going to war, you ought to be prepared to be stabbed," explained Adair, before covering Raoul's face with a mask of similar design to one the prince wore.

"I thought only royalty wore masks?" said Raoul.

"Yes, exactly."

"But I am not royalty?"

"No, you are not, but I need a doppelgänger for protection and fortunately we are a similar height, very convenient."

"So I am to pretend to be you? So I am a target?"

"You catch on quick! Yes, as I said before, assassination is likely. Goodness your posture is terrible!" Adair whacked Raoul's back with a sheathed sword until it was perfectly straight. "Also, mind manipulation magic is very exhausting. We will switch with each other on the battlefield to keep going, to appear even more formidable, and all the more impressive to the king, and he will choose me for the throne."

"Why not his children? Why choosing his grandchildren?"

"My father was assassinated by his siblings. He was the only biological child of grandfather's that made it into adulthood, the rest are adopted in. They do not possess the magical gifts of mind manipulation that Queen Violette had, their talents lie elsewhere, though, do not think they will not be a threat, some of them studied ways to deter against mind manipulation, however are not remotely close to being picked. No, the king wants someone to pass on the gift, like myself and biological siblings."

"And ending the war will help you get the throne?"

"None of my family dare go on the frontlines, despite all their power, they are too scared to get hurt, or feel that it is beneath them whilst they send other people to do their dirty work."

"And you are... sending someone else to do your dirty work so you don't have to get hurt?"

Adair scoffed. "I said we would switch places when the other needs rest! It is not the same thing. We scare the enemy enough for them to surrender and end this war faster.

End the war. The war had been going on for as long as Raoul had lived, though he was fortunate to live so far, to not feel its impacts as much as others would, he still lost his father and so many others in the village because of it. If these royals with so much power had acted sooner, had done their part, could the war have been over already?

"We will win," Raoul said firmly with newfound determination. "We will end this war."

"Slow down there farm-boy, you have not seen war; you were overwhelmed with seeing a town earlier, wait until you see the ocean by the way. No war is..." Adair paused. "War will change you. Even when we win it, the war is never truly over, it will follow you."

Raoul swallowed. "Have you fought before?"

"I have trained for it, done a few skirmishes here and there but nothing this important as we are about to do now. But I have seen what it can do to people. Both of my parents returned from war changed, though I suppose I am more fortunate than most; not everyone gets both of their parents back. Well... my father ended up dying anyway..."

"I am sorry for your loss," Raoul said gently.

"I made a promise to him that I will take the throne, after him, which... did not happen..."

"Do you know who assassinated him?"

"I know who, but I am not yet powerful enough to take them on just yet." Adair adjusted Raoul's clothes one last time. "Now, you need to practise your best impression of me, you need to be convincing."

Raoul adjusted his posture, copying Adair's mannerisms though more in exaggerated mockery.

"A bit too smug." Adair flicked Raoul's forehead. "We have time to get you good enough, and I shall teach you about magic and sword fighting and what not. It is quite the long journey to the front lines. We shall first go further to the back, small jobs first to work out the system before making our grand debut and take that throne!"

*

It was indeed a long journey to the battlefield where Raoul and Adair's home country were contesting control over another territory, aided by another neighbouring allied country. Along the way, Raoul was able to send letters to his mother through Adair's resources though receiving any correspond would be difficult whilst they were constantly travelling.

Adair taught him more mind manipulation magic, ones that were more suited to combat that did not require such close quarters. Adair himself was able to control someone a meter away without an established link beforehand, a rare and impressive feat as it could rarely be taught but rather a born talent, and Adair was certain that in time Raoul would capable too and not just with animals. Raoul also learned how to access someone's mindscape and their memories, altering and erasing them entirely for interrogation and spying purposes should it be needed. And then there was armed combat. Raoul was already relatively strong from working on farmland, however he was unversed with swordplay but picked it up quickly with his eidetic memory, which he learned was something he had accidentally cast on himself, something that happened to Adair too. It was odd meeting someone just like him, to feel not so isolated in the gifts, and instead of someone scared it was someone who embraced him of what he was capable of, teaching him how to do more instead of telling him to stop something which came so natural to him.

When they finally reached the shore and landed on their occupied territory, the soldiers welcomed them both and gave the honours of introducing the prisoners of war that had been proven difficult to interrogate, stubborn and loyal. Adair offered them to Raoul, to put what he had learned into practise. It was so easy, to slip into their mind, to unravel their memories, to tell when they were lying and find what the enemy's next move was.

With the information that Raoul uncovered, Adair led an attack on the enemy, catching them off guard, controlling the captured soldiers to trick them and sow discord and confusion and taking over their new formed base and all their supplies.

Adair was about to make the order for all the remaining enemy soldiers to be executed when Raoul stopped him.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"What are you doing?" Adair asked him. "I know we are very thinly linked to be family, but please remember, cousin, that I am a prince, the future king as well to add. Do not step over the line with how familiar you are with me." He shook him off. "If you believe that there is a better alternative, then speak your opinion with respect and add a 'your highness' or even a 'yes your majesty' just to practise."

Raoul swallowed, disliking that option but remembered what Adair was capable of, how much he had yet to be taught. "We can still use them... your highness. Just like before but on a larger scale."

"Controlling that many people will be draining."

Raoul frowned. "Is it?" He thought back to what he was able to in the village and realised. "If we just give simple commands, not fully control, it could work... your majesty."

Adair considered a moment, then sighed. "Fine."

Working together, Raoul and Adair gave simple commands to mark the destination of a camp, another one that their own army was unable to track the whereabouts, however that was as far as the extent of their knowledge, only able to guess the locations of the others as intel was not given to everyone as a precaution.

Regardless, two camps in one day was far more progress than before they had arrived. They waited no longer and make another ambush, with Raoul posing as an ordinary soldier incapable of magic and relying on his eidetic memory to fight. It was just as Adair had said, the more experience, the more opponents he fought, the better he got, the more he could predict the next move, the next strategy. What was difficult however was fighting against other mages who could hurl fire or caused the earth to shake, or the monsters the enemy possessed. If it wasn't for Adair breaking into his mind and snapping him out of fear paralysis, then Raoul would have for certain been eaten.

Once the battle was over, the location secured, Raoul approached the dead monster cautiously, then jolted back when he saw it change, the fur and teeth and claws shrinking down into... into a human wearing a mask, only this human's limbs were in all the wrong places, some of their teeth outside of their mouth, their eyes too far apart, their back curved impossibly. And he heard the person breathing, barely, stagnant, croaking up blood.

"What is..." Raoul reeled back, trying to hold the nausea at the sight.

"Monster masks," Adair explained. "New magic, though transformation is arguably the most difficult of all magic, not to cast, but to control fully. Returning back to human... very few succeed, all of the parts in the wrong places. He will die soon like that. Would you like to give the man mercy? Or do you plan on using this one like the others?"

Raoul crouched down and the suffering person's eyes followed him, unable to blink. He reached out a hand, connecting their minds and felt the man's pain. He concentrated and gave the man some peace in his last moments, feelings of happiness and soothing away the pain before slicing the throat.

"Are they desperate, to do that to themselves?" Raoul asked in barely a whisper.

Adair swallowed, placing a hand on Raoul's shoulder. "Very few people wear those masks willingly, Raoul."

"We don't do that, do we? Have those monster masks?"

"No, they are still prototypes those ones. It would require more time and develop for it to be worth using in war. Such a waste of a soldier. Only good for a last resort."

Before Raoul could properly process anything, Adair ordered everyone to continue, using what clues they uncovered at this camp to find the next one, claiming more territory and pushing their border more. Those from the previous camp moved forwards and took over.

Any enemy soldiers remaining were once again used to gain intel then controlled for ambushes, getting close and unawares to their side before killing as many as they could before being taken down. By then, it was too late for the enemy, their formations broken out of surprise and more of them joining the ranks of puppets under Adair and Raoul's control. The next camp had captives from the allied country's forces, their arms and legs bound, mouths gagged, and their weapons and armour stripped. Whilst everyone else was occupied, Raoul rushed over to help free them when an enemy soldier appeared, having been hiding nearby. Her hand shook as her sword was aimed at a nearby prisoner's throat, threatening to cut it should Raoul get closer.

The prisoner remained ever so still, strangely calm despite everything whilst the others squirmed and mumbled through their gags, begging and pleading.

Raoul raised his arms in the air, dropping his sword, knowing he did not particularly need it.

Adair had said that it was dangerous to allow anyone to escape, it would get rid of their advantage and surprise should the enemy realise that Prince Adair was on the battlefield himself and with his magical abilities. The enemy soldier was slowly backing away, still threatening with her sword, Raoul didn't need to know the language to work out that she was wanting to flee, having realised that they were about to lose.

Raoul waited patiently, acting as if he was at her mercy, that he dared not follow her if she left the prisoners intact. And then just when she thought she had gotten to safety, Raoul reached out his hand, finding the connection even from such a distance, commanding her to freeze. The woman was paralysed, struggling to breathe as she could not move.

Using the opportunity, Raoul untied the prisoners nearby who helped the others. When the female allied soldier who had been threatened was free, she did not hesitate and picked up Raoul's sword, stabbing the paralysed enemy soldier in the chest. The opponent remained still for a moment, still barely alive before collapsing to the ground in death.

The freed captives grabbed whatever weapons they could find and joined the fight or hid for safety as they were without armour. And it was not long before the camp was taken too.

"Thank you, Sir," said the woman, bowing her head to Raoul before approaching Prince Adair and kneeling before him, the others joining. "Your Highness, we received word that we would be receiving reinforcements but we did not assume your presence, it is a blessing and an embarrassment to see us like this."

"What happened?" Adair asked, noting the insignias on all of the soldiers' shoulders. "You are the highest rank?"

The woman was only just in a leadership role. "Yes, Your Highness. Corporeal Safiya Zaman. The other high ranking officers were taken somewhere else." She pointed in the direction, explaining what had happened and how long ago it was.

"Good thing we got here when we did," said Raoul. "We can probably still find them, the trail won't be too cold."

Adair took Raoul aside away from everyone else. "You speak too freely, cousin."

"Freely?"

"Yes, you wait until royalty allows you to speak. But I will allow it to slide since you know nothing apart from the village."

"Did I say something wrong?"

Adair sighed. "No, just it's all for appearances that I am the one who declares what we are doing, understood?"

"Understood."

"We'll work on your telepathy. Next time, tell me your ideas and I will decide if they should be said aloud."

Raoul reluctantly agreed, so unused to being told off after so many years in the village where everyone did as he said, agreeing that he was right.

After regrouping and everyone sorting out their equipment and any injuries, the group split up into smaller squads to scout out the potential locations of where the soldiers had been taken.

Raoul and Adair split up in the search, but close enough to keep a telepathic connection that did not require too much magic to sustain. Whilst Adair was still posing as himself, Raoul kept his magic hidden, only using it subletting when no one was there to witness of if they were they were dying soon. Corporeal Safiya Zaman noted his battle prowess at anticipating enemies moves but gave him advice on how to conserve his energy as war was a marathon and not a sprint. Raoul was grateful for her aid and liked that she treated him more casually yet still formally for a soldier, compared to the other soldiers that were grovelled in their respect, more so out of fear when they witnessed what Raoul was capable of and his connections to Adair, even more so when they switched roles. Though when posing as the prince, he was a big target, it meant Raoul could use his magic to its fullest, taking control of enemy soldiers and adding to his army of peons, invading the enemy ranks for information on the headquarters and the higher ups. Eventually, they found where the general was located, cowardly near the back, believing himself to be safe so far away from the front and did not question or fear when so many of his soldiers arrived at the camp who were supposed to be at the front before it was too late and he was detained. Adair had the general on his knees, sniffling at how quickly he had lost, how so much terrain had been conquered in a single day by so few. The general made a futile attempt at mind control when Adair came into physical contact; the battle in their mindscapes lasted only a few seconds before they returned to the real world and the general's nose burst into blood, and he slumped to the ground unconscious on the brink of death.

Adair chuckled in victory, declaring that he found the other locations for the headquarters and generals. "Like I promised, dear cousin. This war will be over in a blink of any eye and that crown will soon be mine."