Duke Valzen's Ambition

Valzen Ducal Calendar Year 10, Late June, Ducal Capital Eisenburg

[Duke Valzen's Perspective]

Days without war were unbearably tedious. Who else on this continent had the caliber to unite it under a single banner? If the gods did not will it, I would cut down even them on the battlefield. And yet the bundles of parchment my bureaucrats thrust before me carried neither the scent of blood nor the gleam of a blade. I merely waited, yearning for the flames of war to rise and set my heart ablaze once more.

Sunlight cut diagonally across the thick carpet of my office. The black-steel armor mounted by the wall reflected the light with a dull sheen. My aide broke the silence by reading aloud from a report. Every word concerned that man who rose from the common ranks, Glen von Helden.

"—That concludes the summary. Baron Glen appears to have secured a substantial loan from the merchant Dario Bolani and commenced construction of a town."

"Ho! That low-ranking soldier went and borrowed from Dario, did he? And that miser parted with his coin without even asking for collateral! Splendid, absolutely splendid!" So even that slave to gold had wagered on the man's luck. Amusing. It was the first truly satisfying news I had heard in ages.

The report continued. "Yes, my lord. Furthermore, he reportedly used those funds to hire the Silver Wolf Mercenaries in their entirety."

"Oh-ho, the Silver Wolf Mercenaries now! Skilled fighters, but notorious for their fierce tempers and being difficult to control. Hm, they'd make a fine fighting force." "…And what is he doing with the men he has gathered?"

"Sir. It is reported that he has begun digging moats in the Helden Hills, raising earthen ramparts, and constructing a provisional fortress."

Securing manpower, winning over the populace, assembling a fighting force, establishing a stronghold. How much of it was calculated, I could not say, but that common soldier was no ordinary man. It was like watching myself in the days when I possessed nothing.

The instant I heard those words, a vast map charting every corner of this realm unfolded in my mind's eye. A red line cut across it.

Marching east from the Helden Hills would allow me to easily strike the arch-enemy Caledon Territory from behind. Until now, I had lacked the foothold to do so. But place a single fortress there, and the tide of war shifts entirely. (That common soldier… Is he attempting to drive in the very wedge I could never secure, fueled by his own ambition…?)

The tedious days were over. I smiled fearlessly and rose from my throne. "Send word to all forces! Prepare to march at once! Objective: the Helden Hills! On the stage that common soldier has prepared, we shall bare our wolf's fangs once more!"

Days later, war drums thundered through Ducal Capital Eisenburg, and horns heralding the march echoed high into the sky from the castle gates. Four thousand elite soldiers led by me, Duke Valzen, advanced in disciplined ranks along the cobblestone road. From every window, women leaned out, showering the troops with flowers of every color. The skies over Eisenburg were thick with the scent of war.