✎...征服和殺死

❝  EMPIRES ❞

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The snows had come early.
Even for Narnia, the first of the autumnal flare-ups had barreled in far ahead of their usual arrival . Jeon Jeongguk wasn’t entirely sure it was a blessing. But if it kept Dangshin's armies from their doorstep just a little longer, he’d get on his knees to thank the gods.

Even if those same gods threatened everything he loved. If beings from another world could be considered gods at all. Jeongguk supposed he had more important things to contemplate, anyway. In the two weeks since he’d been reunited with his Bane's, they’d seen no sign of  Mapo's forces, either terrestrial or airborne.

The thick snow had begun falling barely three days after his return, hindering the already- slow process of transporting the troops from their assembled squadron to the Bane’s sweeping camp on the Plain of Myeong- du.

The ships had sailed up the Havannah's right to Kee's doorstep, banners of every color flapping in the brisk wind off the Hwaine's: the cobalt and gold of Kuroki, the black and crimson of Anhar, the shimmering silver of the Malabar royals and their many cousins.

The Silent Assassins, scattered throughout the fleet, had no banner, though none was needed to identify them, not with their pale clothes and an assortment of beautiful, vicious weapons. The ships would soon rejoin the rearguard left at the Havannah's mouth and patrol the coast from Diamond to Khilra, but the footsoldiers— most hailing from Crown Prince Prince Jeongguk's forces would go to the front.

A front that now lay buried under several feet of snow. With more coming. Hidden above a narrow mountain pass in the Hwaines behind Zephyr, Jeongguk scowled at the heavy sky. His pale furs blended him into the gray and white of the rocky outcropping, a hood concealing his golden hair.

And keeping him warm. Many of Jimin's troops had never seen snow, thanks to Fu's temperate climate. The Malabar royals and their smaller force were hardly better off. So Jeongguk had left Soobin, his most trusted commander, in charge of ensuring that they were as warm as could be managed.

They were far from home, fighting for a queen they did not know or perhaps even believe in. That frigid cold would sap spirits and sprout dissent faster than the howling wind charging between these peaks. A flicker of movement on the other side of the pass caught Jeongguk's eye, visible only because he knew where to look.

She’d camouflaged herself better than he had. But Lisa had the advantage of wearing a coat that had been bred for these mountains. Not that he’d said that to her. Or so much as glanced at her when they’d departed on this scouting mission.

Aerim had secret business in Elstrin and had left a note with Jimin and his new allies to account for her disappearance. Which allowed Lisa to accompany them on this task. No one had noticed, in the nearly two months they’d been maintaining this ruse, that the Queen of Wrath had not an ember to show for it.

Or that she and the shape-shifter never appeared in the same place. And no one, not the Silent Assassins of the Red Desert, or Jeon Jimin, or the troops that Anhar of Black cliff had sent with the armada ahead of the bulk of her army, had picked up the slight tells that did not belong to Aerim at all.

Nor had they noted the brand on the queen’s wrist that no matter what skin she wore, Lisa could not change.
She did a fine job of hiding the brand with gloves or long sleeves. And if a glimmer of scarred skin ever showed, it could be excused as part of the manacle markings that remained.

The fake scars she’d also added, right where Aerim, had them. Along with the laugh and wicked grin. The swagger and stillness. Jeongguk could barely stand to look at her. Talk to her. He only did so because he had to uphold this ruse, too.

To pretend that he was her faithful cousin, her fearless commander who would lead her and Narnia to victory, however unlikely. So he played the part. One of many he’d donned in his life. Yet the moment Lisa changed her golden hair for dark tresses, Jeon eyes for emerald, he stopped acknowledging her existence.

Some days, the Narnia knot tattooed on his chest, the names of his queen and fledgling court woven amongst it, felt like a brand. Her name especially. He’d only brought her on this mission to make it easier. Safer.

There were other lives beyond his at risk, and though he could have unloaded this scouting task to a unit within the Bane, he’d needed the action. It had taken over a month to sail from Eyle with their newfound allies, dodging Dangshin’s fleet around Sydonia, and then these
last two weeks to move inland.

They had seen little to no combat. Only a few roving bands of Adrian soldiers, no Demi's amongst them, that had been dealt with quickly. Jeongguk doubted Mapo was waiting until spring. Doubted the quiet had anything to do with the weather. He’d discussed it with his men and with Deyu and the other lords a
a few days ago.

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➷Endure it with me yeah? I'm tryna twist in ideas so that this makes sense lmao. Also, Chp's will vary, it could be 1k, it could be 5k. Impulsiveness at it's finest mi amor☝;)