The Equestrian Foreign Legion

So fall in lads behind the drum,
with colors blazing like the sun!

~

The wind lashed Samuel’s unkempt hair wildly, obscuring his vision with it’s rough force and masking all other sound. The taste of salted moisture in his mouth and feel of light mist on his skin refreshed his mind, even as his brothers in arms slept he himself could not find the power to do the same with such enriching conditions.

The ocean calmly lapped in small waves against the side of the ship, back and forth the vessel gently rocked. Up above the drawn in sails fluttered in the early morning sky, the stars and half moon were still visible.

From the human’s position on the port side rail he could see the sun coming up on the horizon, it’s light reflecting on the wispy clouds that moved above the large port town he found himself floating outside of.

The bay around them was a bustle with other like ships, troops from the legion stuffed like sardines in each to accommodate the slight logistical issue of having to few ships to transport so many soldiers. Only a little more than a third of their actual strength was able to be ferried over in the end.

The town around them was active already, hours ago fishing ships had begun to trickle by the expeditionary force and out of the bay into the wider ocean where those aboard would earn a living. Salmon, cod, crab, lobster, Samuel didn’t know what they were fishing for but he knew the sea was a major provider for the Gryphon Kingdom’s population.

The locals that passed eyed the foreign ships with their cargo of soldiers suspiciously, they knew what it all meant. More pain, more suffering. Samuel figured most of them either remembered or knew somebody who was there for the last war on their soil. The one that placed their now dead king on the throne.

Major shortages, an influx of refugees, disease and pestilence and worst of all the possibility of being sacked and slaughtered if whatever side they happened to be under loses.

Samuel had read much about that war since it was the context of what they were heading into and much about the gryphons in general, they were a merciless bunch when at war. By all means, an unfortunate piece of their culture and their philosophy was the thought that mercy in battle sowed the seeds of weakness.

The explosive and unexpected sound of a trumpet calling to attention the snoozing legion harshly interjected its way through Sam’s thoughts and across the bay.

Fucking great.

With an annoyed grunt he reached down and grabbed his pack, the chain mail hood about his neck clinking all the while.

~

Two Months Earlier, June Sixteenth Two Hundred Sixty Three S.L.R.

“You have... smartened up I suppose.” The familiar look of disgust in the searching eyes of the legion’s general shown clearly.

His name, as Samuel had learned, was Thorne. General Thorne, as sergeant Hammer had sated Samuel’s curiosity, was from a declining noble family that had once been prominent. Prominent enough that they occupied a seat in Canterlot’s court and was even a member of the legislative council.

They were in fact a driving force in establishing the legal body, so as to make up for the loss of Princess Twilight in the interregnum between her death and the return of the princesses. The council had proved very influential and pivotal to the kingdom’s well-being following that crisis and over time they were recognized by the princesses as fully legitimate. With lawful establishment the legislative council had gained the power to vote or veto laws through the court, have a say in appointing officials and even decided on war. Not that they had done that very often.

But it had been a long hundred and sixty three years since his family’s glory days as a member of the founding families.

They had fallen on hard times and out of favor recently, according to Hammer, Thorne’s father’s mismanagement of their large fiefs was to blame for the families current fortune. His father had apparently been a terrible drunkard and gambler as well as an arbitrary spender, his habits built debts and his debts drove up taxes for his subjects. Rumor had it he would even extort the wealthier common folk to no end to pay what he owed.

For understandable reasons a bout of violence had broken out within their fiefdoms, an organized bout at that, the main goal of the common ponies involved being to remove this stallion from power. Given the situation that came about from his gross incompetence almost all of his lands were confiscated by the state and split between other noble lines in order to avoid outright rebellion.

As a result of all this they were removed from their seat in court of which only those families that hold the favor of the rulers are allowed to be in and they were expelled from the legislative council altogether despite being part of the founders. Power and influence was required if you were to understand and have a say in the future of the kingdom after all.

With little to their name left the Thorne family had been forced to take drastic measures and so here the oldest son of the late duke was. His father having died decades ago left him to move from venture to venture with the objective of making money and now he found himself here. His other family members had helped pay for his commission after the untimely death of the legion’s last general in the recent northern conflict and the stallion was given a crash course on the art of warfare before assuming the position. Word was he intended to make as much wealth as he could, at the expense of his soldiers of course, then leave.

He huffed, grey eyes flicking away, “Your sergeant gave a very persuasive case as to why you should be an officer,” He looked out at the other troops, “And I must admit you took my advice to shape up to heart, your mane and beard are much more becoming of a higher rank now and while you may still be skinny I see some tone now too.”

“But.” He stopped, “I still think your height and smaller stature may get in the way of thrusting authority where it is needed.” He turned back to the human, “Do you understand what I mean?”

Samuel couldn’t help but feel sour at the comment and the overall idea that he was picking officers off their appearance rather than their merit.

“Yes sir.”

This was the long promised second inspection, where all recruits stood in full dress armor so they could be heckled and hazed one more time. This was indeed quite the ‘graduation’.

Samuel, along with the other potential officers that had been plucked from the rest of the masses, stood lined up ahead of all the other soldiers like prized pieces of a collection. Their own inspections were far less... harsh than the others were going to get.

“Good, I’m glad you do, it’s the first step to compensating for those shortcomings. I suppose I’ll endorse this promotion, you’re most definitely officer material if your sergeant’s and professor’s words hold any water, plus you have shown improvement in all fields. And if I’m not mistaken it seems your small size doesn’t quite equate to the fight in you, eh?”

Samuel cocked his eyebrow without compromising any part of his posture or gaze, “Sir?”

Thorne scoffed, “Come now, I heard about that scuffle between you and that minotaur brute, those bruises didn’t get there from a fall of that I’m certain. It is a good idea to not have a fight on your record though.” He smiled, “Can’t say it’s not impressive, you beating him, dashed my hopes for his prowess but in my opinion a good officer should have no qualms rushing towards a fight no matter the foe.”

The corner of Samuel’s mouth twitched, “So you’ve been in many fights then sir?”

The general stiffened, his eyes narrowed as he glared down his long snout, the stallions shoulders wound up as anger swelled within. Behind him the entourage of officers including the handpicked marshals, his son, daughter, and highest paying fellow noblemen, stared at the human with wide eyes. His witty comment was understood by all.

“Being a smart ass won’t get you anywhere colt.” He growled, “If it weren’t for the lack of ponies of good stock applying for your position you wouldn’t be here, so count yourself lucky and pray I don’t replace you the second I get a chance you filthy scum.” He finished his threat by flicking a hand at his followers and continuing on to the next soldier.

Sam smiled inwardly, feeling a little pride at getting that comment out.

They must really need officers...

Samuel’s resentment of his commander had grown exponentially with the interaction and following inspection.

From the beginning the boy figured the first inspection was going to be a harsh hazing purely off the idea of breaking men down to make them soldiers, but he also thought that the last time Thorne saw the troops before they became soldiers he would show appreciation or at least respect to them for hanging in there and doing what was asked of them. But his treatment of all those around him was still abhorrent.

The snobbish judging look he bore, impossible standards he held all his underlings to and most of all the sheer lack of respect pissed Sam off to no end. He didn’t even congratulate anybody and Samuel damn well knew troopers who deserved to be given acknowledgment!

From Hammer’s description of Thorne’s assumption of generalship, to the first hand experiences of others as well as himself Samuel felt no confidence at all in the stallion. He didn’t even treat the officers well, even though some of them were of higher social status than himself politically speaking.

He silently fumed as the inspection carried on behind him. Yes he should have been happy, the promotion was approved and even if it was out of the necessity of needing soldiers days he did now hold a modicum of authority, but this whole thing had left a bad taste in his mouth.

To treat those at your command so poorly was not a practical way to conduct generalship or inspire loyalty and most certainly not the moral way. From all he had ever read and seen he knew this to be true, but it didn’t matter, they were stuck into it now and everyone would have to pay the price of having such a commander eventually.

It didn’t help his temper for this rigid inspection to continue for two more hours, even as they filed off the field he had to keep from letting anymore snarky comments slip. The last thing he wanted to do was salute the bastard.

~

Mac’s nostrils flared, “Eeyup, he’s’a coming round again.”

The gryphon furrowed his brows, “Oh gods damnit, I don’t care what the hell his culture is like why can’t he leave us alone?”

Chakris simply shrugged, “I’m uh, I’m just glad he’s on our side now even if it doesn’t make much sense to me.”

Samuel sighed.

Since the incident between the human and the minotaur, word had spread quickly. Officially the pair had run into each other and taken a nasty stumble, unofficially the whole unit knew about the fight.

The wounds they inflicted on each other were unmistakably intentional, and the outcome was decisive. Samuel had won, Andrik hid his pain well and pushed through it with masculine might, but the broken ribs, swelling on his head and inflamed shoulder spoke for themselves.

Yes he had just barely come out on top, but that didn’t matter. Samuel had done more than just win the fight, he had won respect and admiration from all his comrades, he demonstrated to them that books are often more than their cover. The other soldiers now looked at him with slight awe when he entered a room or appeared on the training field, after all he had done over the past months, his displays of intelligence, martial skill and surprisingly decent leadership coupled with this most recent unexpected event made him into an anomaly among the common soldier.

All facts considered he was a perfect choice for the position of sergeant despite his own personal qualms.

The need of the many as they say...

His friends had been more then concerned when they heard of it. Mac and Gwindor were ready to find the bull and beat him to death, but Chakris was simply happy Sam was okay. Now though they too looked at him a differently, that same respect present in their eyes too. Such was the result of defeating an opponent like Andrik Samuel supposed.

But it was Andrik’s reaction to losing that Samuel had been surprised by.

In the days following their clash the two had no interaction whatsoever, the bull wouldn’t even look in the human’s direction. Until one evening on the way back to the fort after one of the usual marches, the minotaur pulled him aside.

Samuel had a brief moment of panic, the memory of being jumped at the forefront of his mind and then Andrik began to speak.

“You… shamed me. You have taken my place as an officer and destroyed the fear I once made those around me feel. But worst of all you have taken my reputation as a warrior.”

“Where I was born it might have been better to have just been killed. Reputation is everything, that is what my father and mother taught me. It’s what gives a king the right to rule, his ability is only so much, the reputation he gets from what he accomplishes is what makes him powerful.”

“But you didn’t kill me, I’ve thought about why for many hours now, in my land most would have. When I decided that it must be because you are not of my land I wondered what I should do now that I’ve lost all that made me who I was.”

“That is why I have decided I will follow you. My ancestors will want me to, to fight for someone with a reputation like your’s would be a worthy thing and I think whatever happens in the coming moons will build me an even better reputation than before. It may even wipe away my shame.”

“Together we may have more amazing fights and deeds to our name than any others in this army. It would please not just my family, but the gods too.”

Then he did something even more unexpected, he bent down to one knee and lowered his horned head.

“I will, like everyone else, tell the sergeant that you are suited for duty. I will request to march under your orders if you do become an officer. Please forgive my actions in the past, I didn’t know the kind of bull you were, I am now here to fight for you.”

The change in composure, thought out speech and complete one eighty in attitude made Samuel’s head spin. He had simply stared at the bowing beast with a hanging jaw.

In the end all he could do was stammer out an, “Okay.” in response and since then it was exactly as Andrik had promised.

The bull accompanied the man everywhere, showing him the utmost respect and keeping more quiet than he had ever been before in the three months of training. He even disregarded the perplexed yet hostile attitude of Gwindor with a surprising amount of grace.

In the end his presence was somewhat annoying but tolerable, the friends were all somewhat confused by the whole thing but agreed with Mac when he said, “Ah guess it’s just the way them minotaurs are.”

Samuel was still unable to really comprehend just how bizarre it all was, so he went with it too.

“Well whatever, we just got through all that inspection bullshit, I’m not letting him kill the mood.” Reaching back to the table the gryphon grabbed hold of the deck of cards and took them out of their case.

“Ah agree, so then how much we betting?”

“As much as you’re willing to lose buddy.”

Mac gave a grin, “Yer on.”

The gryphon wore a focused gaze as his claws expertly split the deck and spliced it back together, with satisfying sharp flaps he flicked card after card out to each of them at the table. Then, as though for show, stopped to shuffle them again, the clapping of the cards still retaining its aesthetic nature as he shot them together.

Before long all of them were transfixed on the raptor’s long thin claws and their expert ministrations. When he’d finally dealt them all a hand, none of the others had wanted him to stop.

“All right, we’re good to go, you all got enough cards?”

Chakris was the first to respond, “Yes but uh, where did you get so good at that?” He pointed at the remainder of the deck.

“Yeah I will admit that was a pretty impressive little card show you gave us.” The human followed up.

“Where I learned it?” The gryphon paused eyes moving down to the cards and brow raising, “Well I mean, I guess I’ve had a lot of practice.”

His clawed hands came down to rest on either side of the table and his beak twisted slightly, “Used to watch the older kids in the orphanages I was moved through play with em’ and you know, I picked it up.”

A slight smile formed on his face, “None of them ever liked me or tried to be friends with me, probably cause I kicked their ass in every scrap we had. Which was a lot. But when I learned to do the card thing that made even the ones that hated me the most wanted to watch.”

“Before long I dealt the cards for most of the games we played whether I was in or not because they wanted to watch me. It gave me the time and extra practice to add some of the fancy little tricks.”

Gwindor looked back up out of his memory and shrugged, “Just a little thing.” He held up a card, flicked it up in the air before catching it in his claws and flexing it back and forth.

Samuel nodded, “Yeah I get it’s not big, but it’s a cool little talent.”

“Eeyup, n’fact Ah’d say ya got a lotta slight’a hand talent, I should know after all the times Ah played and got cheated.” Mac laughed with a hearty smile.

Gwindor raised an eyebrow, “You’ve played a lot of Appleoosa hold em?”

Mac’s toothy smiled died down a little, “Yep, Ah have, but not by choice if Ah gotta be honest.”

His demeanor darkened slightly, “In prison, they had’ta let us out once a day er so, give us time ta’ see the sun and move.”

“So we got let out’ta our little underground dungeon cells and they would let us sit in the courtyard of the castle we was kept in.” He laughed darkly, “Not much to do ta’ pass the time other than sit and go insane, work out with those death trap machines they had or play cards. If somepony could get ahold of em’ we’d wear the deck out fore’ they was confiscated.”

He absentmindedly reached up with a hand and placed it over his defining scar, “That's what we did between all the fights at least.”

Lowering the hand he continued, “But yeah, Ah played a lot, got cheated outta mah rations a lot too, till I figured out which of em’ was cheating bastards. A few good head thumpings later an’ I didn’t need ta’ worry bout’ any more cheating.” His smile returned completely and his green eyes brightened.

“Yeah, I know how that is, I was one of those cheating bastards myself most of the time.” The gryphon laughed and his comment drew a little chuckle out of Mac as well.

Chakris stared down as the others laughter died down and they began to look over their hands, in the momentary quiet between conversation he suddenly spoke up, his light wavering voice catching attention, “Each of you guys have such tough backgrounds, I... I feel like I’m useless next to stallions that can walk the walk and talk the talk.”

Mac lowered his hand, looking over he raised an eyebrow and shrugged, “Ah don’t see why you’d feel that way, y’all aren’t exactly as big as me n’ feather brain here sure, but at the same time y’all could pick us off fore’ we even had a chance to git’ ya.”

Gwindor nodded with a sigh, “He’s right, I hate to admit it but I couldn’t use that bow for shit and from what it looks like even the other archers aren’t nearly as good as you.”

“I,” The zebra hesitated, “Suppose that’s true. But I just...” He sighed, “You guys are all the right type to be a soldier and me, well, I can’t even say no to my parents.”

Now Samuel looked up too, “What exactly are you getting at?”

He shook his head, “Nothing, nothing, I’m just anxious, I’ll be fine.”

They watched as he lifted up his cards and hid his face behind them, each shared a glance with one another and shrugged it off. Must be a sore spot.

So they began.

Andrik sat on a nearby bench as the group played, quietly watching and waiting. No attention was given to him but there he stayed all the same.

Before long, as the games continued and money was bet only to be lost, a distinct pattern of Gwindor winning and everyone else losing emerged.

It culminated after a particularly good hand failed to defeat the raptor’s own and Mac exploded.

“Celestia’s sake, yer cheating ya feathered shithead!”

The gryphon’s beak turned upwards in a slick smile, “Of course I am, you would be too if you were any good at it.”

“Go fuck yerself.” Mac grumbled with a death glare.

The zebra to their side chimed in, “Yeah even I figured that out a while ago Mac, nobody wins that many games in a row, it’s just not probable.”

Mac raised an eyebrow and looked at him with a sneer, “Y’all better shut the fuck up, I don’t have ta try as hard ta kick yer ass as I do him.”

Chakris lowered his head and shoulders, “Jeez.”

Mac looked back to Gwindor, “Well come on, deal me in, Ah didn’t say we were done.”

“Gladly, you still in Sam?”

The man shook his head, “No, I don’t think so, I’m not big on losing more money.”

He pushed himself away from the table and stood up, “I’m gonna go get something to drink, you guys go ahead and keep playing I’ll be back soon.”

“Alright, sounds good.” Gwindor went back to shuffling the deck.

The recently promoted sergeant’s footsteps echoed through the empty barracks as he walked, they stopped, then came the sound of the door opening and closing. Only the flapping of the deck and steady breathing of those remaining was left to be heard.

“Chakris?”

“Y-yeah?”

“Ah’m sorry for getting mad at ya, just... got frustrated.”

“It’s okay, I get it. Gwindor is kind of an asshole for cheating.”

He ignored the look of indignation.

“Heh, he is, but... just so ya know Ah understand fighting with yer family and all if’n thats what was bugging ya. Ah got a big ol’ demanding one mahself, so Ah really get it.”

“...Thanks Mac.”

“Course.”

The next round was slow, quiet, Mac silently kicked at Gwindor’s knees the whole time making him jump and each time he jumped the grin on Mac’s face grew. Soon the door opened and closed again as the human returned.

His steps, more staggered this time approached the table and with a grunt followed by a heavy thud he interrupted the ongoing competition as their table shook.

They looked up about to protest when their eyes landed on what he had set down between them all.

Gwindor’s eyes grew nearly as wide as the joy gracing his features, “How in Equis did you get ahold of that?!”

Sam smiled back, “Got Hammer to set one aside for me in case I got promoted, officers privilege and all, figured we could use it to celebrate getting through.”

“Damn straight we can! Come one Chaky my friend help me grab some mugs!” It wasn’t long before enough mugs were gathered and the keg of beer Samuel had “requisitioned” released its precious golden fluid.

Handing out the foam topped mugs Samuel gave an appreciative smile and held up a hand, signaling them to keep on their feet until each had a serving.

When all was ready he stood at one side of the table and took a mug even for himself, then began to speak, “You guys are my friends, even if some of us started out as enemies.” He shot a playfully accusatory glance at the stallion, “We are friends.”

“Gwindor you’re the first creature on this goddamn planet to show me any sort of friendship and I’ll be honest I might of deserted if you hadn’t of kept me on my feet in those first weeks.”

The gryphon smiled and raised his mug accepting the words.

“And Chakris, you’ve also been by my side since I got here, I appreciate how sincere and decent you are, especially next to the Gryphon here.” He laughed, “You’ll be a good soldier, trust me, I wouldn’t want anyone else at my back. You’ve got more loyalty and brains than even me.”

Finally his eyes landed on Mac, who looked at him with a raised eyebrow, “And you, farm boy, no idea why you’re here but I’m damn glad you’re on my side!”

They shared a laugh and with a clunk of their mugs they toasted and Samuel’s voice rang out, “To my friends, may we fight side by side and not a one be wounded!”

He tipped his beer back and promptly choked the alcohol back up.

With a shake of his head and wave of his hand he dismissed the others antagonizing laughter, “I-I don’t really have any other way to pay you back for all you guys have done for me, so I hope this will do.”

And it was true, without them he wouldn’t be a sergeant, probably not even a soldier. Each of them had been instrumental in his accomplishments and he wanted them to have their credit, their recognition.

It’s what they deserved.

He felt real happiness for the first time in a long time as they gulped away, their faces alight and eyes shining. For a moment worry for the future crept in, flashes of imagined battles, but he quickly banished them.

Then another altogether different thought occurred to him. Lowering the mug of alcohol he wouldn’t be able to down no matter how hard he tried he turned around and looked at the only other being in the room.

“Hey, you!”

The dozing minotaur jumped, his wide eyes meeting Sam’s.

“I have no idea why you’re here or why you have this weird idea of reputation but how about instead of being quiet in the corner you have a drink with us?”

A series of emotions flashed across the bull’s face, eventually settling on a cautious smile he warily stood up and made his way over.

Gwindor and Mac might have protested if they weren’t too busy chugging another round.

~

A knock came at the door.

“Come in.” The regal soothing voice called out, the powerful aura of ethereal nature that always surrounded her echoing even in her voice.

It opened and a well accustomed visitor entered. She allowed a small cordial smile.

“What brings you here at such a late hour sister?”

Her companion glanced about the room, scanning the documents she had just been examining, “I knew you’d be up, I come bearing grave news.”

Her smile faltered, the look on her sibling’s face told of misfortune.

“I believe I can guess as to what it is if our recent fears are any indication.”

“Yes, that barbarian has finally died and, of course, his sons have already declared their intention to fight for the throne.”

She hummed, “This... is indeed bad news.”

“The letter claims it was a painful passing, I take comfort in that, however I came to discuss what our course of action shall be not to celebrate the death of a monster.”

She chided, “Dear Luna we must not be happy at his death, yes he was not a being worth mourning but still. As to what we shall do...” The angelic being leaned back in her large cushioned chair and rested a hand on her desk, “What do you have in mind?”

Her warlike sister scowled, her deeper more authoritative yet still otherworldly voice bore malice, “I would suggest annexation as I have many times before but I doubt you should be of like mind.”

Celestia, a being whose magical power and political experience stood unmatched through the halls of time, giggled.

“No I am forced to agree with your assessment, I don’t believe that shall be our next action. The logistics alone are not possible to pull that off and the benefits of annexing the island would not be worth the cost.” She leaned forward, “What we will do is going to be a little more subtle than invasion.”

“Let me guess, send your pitiful foreign legion?”

“Yes, exactly. Meet our obligations and hopefully secure our interests.” Celestia smiled, “I know they are not an army that wins often, but alongside our allies I believe they may be able to place the... safer son on the throne.”

The deep blue of Luna’s fur shone sparkling in the moonlight that fell in from the window, her deep mysterious eyes looking away from Celestia, “I know that is the purpose of the legion, to preserve our best troops strength at home, but I feel our military here is badly hampered by the utter lack of experience, experience they could gain in this conflict.”

“Besides,” She continued, “We must guarantee he takes the throne, his brother... his brother has all the strength of his father alongside a brain this time. And with his view of our meddling in his lands, well, he would make a formidable foe. I would like to ensure his downfall if possible.”

Celestia’s face turned down, “You know why we can’t send anything else.”

“Goddess damnit, I know exactly why, I simply hate being so cautious, so worried over some prophecy that we no longer exercise our full potential!” She huffed, “It’s almost a worse death for our people to fade away too scared to do anything than to face the possibility of a coming storm.”

“Luna it is going to happen, you know what mother told us... we must prepare for them. Our time is almost up, we won’t be able to help, our little ponies are maturing and mothers gifts are fading. They will-“

“Need all the strength they can get I know.” She shook her head, waving the starlight of her mane with the motion, “Very well, I will send orders for the legion to move at once.”

Celestia’s face brightened again, a fine juxtaposition to Luna’s still annoyed expression, “Good! Thank you sister.”

“Yes, yes.” Luna turned about and marched her way back to the door, gripping the handle she paused and looked back, “I hope you’re sure of our course sister, I do not wish to disobey mother, our ponies need for leadership is great but so too is their need to become self reliant...”

She left without another word leaving Celestia to sit in dark silence.

”When he returns they must be ready, they must be.”

~

The news broke out nearly a month after Samuel had finished basic training. He had been with the other newly minted sergeants undergoing logistical training for their units when a runner burst into the room.

“The gryphons are at war, we’ve been ordered to their aid as soon as possible!”

Even though he had expected it and many of those that listened to him talking about his expectations weren’t surprised either, the announcement still served to shock them. The rest of their officer training over the next month was a blur, sped up by high command to rush them out in time for the upcoming campaign.

Hell only a week before Samuel left he was assigned his unit of twenty troops, as expected most of those he had trained with were in it. Including Chakris, Mac, Gwindor, Andrik, the gryphoness who had dominated the sparring field, her name was Yara, the three yaks who he came to learn were all siblings, Rayvik, Yukon and Mager. In the end only one of the soldiers placed under his command was from another batch of recruits, one he recognized as the poor changeling girl who got the shit slapped out of her.

The sudden campaign preparations were swift and disorganized. Civilian ships were requisitioned to make up for the small Equestrian naval detachment they were sent for transport, most ended up being too small and the logisticians struggled to secure not just transports but supply ships too. On top of that nightmare there were still troops that had not been assigned a unit scrambling to figure out where they were supposed to be up until the day of departure. The newer officers were routinely unsure of their orders, almost always ending up in the wrong place with the wrong unit.

Worst of all, the leadership. After giving the orders to move out and leaving it to the inexperienced to organize it did hardly anything other than look confident in their shambling corpse of an army. The utter organizational failure of this military undertaking was a disaster and should have been stopped in its tracks. But it wasn’t.

The day they departed it had been cold.

The ports of Baltimare were the jumping off point into the Celestial sea in this section of the kingdom and this was were the portion of the army that was going to be sent gathered.

Standing on the shoreline near the piers as his men waited to be given the go ahead to board a ship, Samuel couldn’t help but feel anxious. The sound of the gravel beneath his feet as he paced, the roar of the waves all about him, neither of these traditionally calming things helped to unknot his stomach.

His mind had raced beneath the calm features of his face that day, questions as to why he was here, was this all worth it, did he really have any chance of surviving considering the history of this army. Had it not been for Gwindor’s steadying hand landing upon his shoulder Samuel may have worked himself into a panic.

Nevertheless after hours of waiting their lieutenant finally showed up and with a barked order they obediently clamored onto a ship, not one of them knowing if they would ever return.

The voyage itself wasn’t particularly bad, the winds were strong and favorable, as was the water itself. It was crowded below and above deck but the soldiers seemed to remain docile despite being forced together. Samuel speculated that the realization that they were heading into combat might have brought about thoughts of their own mortality, which was a line of thinking strong enough to keep most people down.

The trip only took three days, it could have been a day faster if the ships weren’t so heavy with living cargo.

When they finally reached the port town of Talon Point, a decently sized settlement on the westernmost tip of the Gryphon Kingdom, it was almost relieving. They had at least made it that far without any disasters befalling them.

After unloading from their transports the army regrouped in the town while their commander met with a party of their allies. From there they began to march with the goal of linking up with the allied gryphons.

A cold wind bit at the legions heels as they exited the town…

~

“Hey! Get your ass in gear, last thing we need is a real officer up our ass!”

“Yes sir!” The changeling picked up her pace, catching up with the rear of the column.

Samuel smiled as she followed his orders, his unit was now all together, organized to a T and marching in a double column. Alongside the other units that constituted the expeditionary army their march under the early morning sun almost made it look like they knew what they were doing.

Himself marching with his troops the human kept them on the track, turning and maneuvering the force in the right direction when needed. One of his duties was to help ensure the unit kept up with the overall movement of the army.

He was glad for commissioning the cloak that now rested about his shoulders, it’s thick copper colored fabric kept the cold out well. The armor altogether fit perfectly, it's quality apparent in every aspect, from the fitting of the nasal helm to the tight knit chainmail, the thickly woven padding to the hefty shield, he was glad to have spent such an investment to get it.

Their forces were headed up along the coast, following a dirt road that was to take them to the capital Griffonstone where the allied Gryphons waited. The plan was to unite the armies before heading east as fast as possible with hopes to contest their enemy's landing, seemed ambitious to Sam but orders were orders.

They marched on high ground, on cliffs that overlooked the sea and ran along the entire island's western shoreline from south to north. The wind was even worse up here then out on the sea, so harsh that the soldiers were having trouble keeping their eyes open and their marching pace when it's gusts blasted by.

Samuel wondered how the few bent and wind shaped trees they passed managed to survive so long in these conditions.

Stopping for but a moment he looked to stare back along the barren wind beaten landscape and muttered to himself.

"Farewell and adieu to you fair Spanish ladies..."