Chương 396: 11.5

The Hungry summer, It had taken four seasons for the armies to gather in the fields beyond the Vahstrehgin's wall after she'd called for the muster of war last winter. Four seasons and even a quarter of the mustered levy of the realm were only just barely arrived at the start of the season. Stores all across Viznove had been emptied to resupply the men as they passed into her lands from every passage on the west of the Ridgetails vault.

Over a hundred days of daily marches from all the corners of the world that had sworn support to High King Mathias. It should have been an astounding force. Twice and Twice over again the muster that had utterly humbled her in its size and scope. Forty-three thousand men. Beasts of burden and herds of animals more than twice that number were added to the sprawling mass of the camps. Thousands upon thousands of foreign peddlers followed them into Viznove.

Entire villages, whole cities which made her original entourage and its trailing followers seem miniscule. The only reason the fields were not trampled before the harvest is because no one dared to grow crops south of the wall of the Vahstrehgin. Forty-three thousand men, most of them levies, and then there was the Weird of Farms, or as he preferred to be called "The Hewer of Wheat". Compared to most weirds he seemed almost ordinary, a figure in simple peasant's clothes, all the color of straw.

A wide hat keeping the sun from his shoulders and head. Hands covered in gloves of soft lambskin and boots the same. He held peasant's implements and tools in one hand or another but she'd never seen him pick one up or put it down. He simply had whatever he needed at the moment. Shovels, hoes, walking sticks, short bladed instruments for cutting the heads for the harvest or a crook to guide sheep. She'd also seen him with buckets and rough cloth bags of seed as well.

He was tall, but not as tall as a lord and you'd easily have lost him among any crowd of peasants working in the field. Especially in the fields of wheat he claimed as his name. But if you leaned down low to peer under that wide brimmed straw hat there was no face beneath it. Only a dark shadow framed by blond locks of hair cut just long enough that they flowed over the shoulders.

The Hewer of Wheat for all appearances was definitely a Weird, he spoke to the world with every step of those soft leather boots, he whispered to the wind, he sang with the sunrise. And unlike every other wizard or weird that she had ever met, the Hewer of Wheat could produce edible food with his magic! He offered a fresh baked and buttered round to anyone who approached him with a hungry belly.

He was as often in the cooking tents as out in the fields, working with Dariusz and the equally vast numbers of men and women at the stew pots for the army's meals. And he was the only reason Jewel could even consider waiting as long as she had before deploying. The Wheat Hewer was a boon to the army. But his generosity was not without costs." When I've finished with these lands this earth will be unable to bear any life for four generations of men.

But for now it will yield to you thrice the bounty of a year in days." Jewel did not know what the Hewer would be able to do for her on the battlefield. But the support in keeping the army and its beasts fed was already an astounding piece of sorcery, if a dangerous one. She could not dare direct the hewer to use his sorcery on anywhere her people wished to grow crops for lifetimes to come. Thankfully no one grew anything in the no man's land between Magarska and Viznove anyway.

The earth left unable to bear life would be no consequence. If anything, having fewer trees and grass would improve the safety of the roads from the unending banditry between realms. It was all around a pleasant surprise, although she still had no idea why the Farm Weird had volunteered. His reply to her inquiry was vague and obstinate, and she could feel his complete lack of interest to speak further on the matter with every syllable." You've done a solid wrong on those I owed a lashing.

So I'll do you a solid right in passing." Well at least his service had made the start of the war easier, if only everything with the effort could be going so well, such as her Father's concerns.

"It's not right to bring children to war Jewel!" She sighed with all four of her throats.

"Gem is hardly a child despite her size Father, and the twins are a foot taller than her and twice as strong!" The appetite of her latest spawn had seemed intent on making up for lost time. After slumbering for so long in their eggs they now had hungers that had only become worse with the seasons, and growth to match that intake. Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Agonized bones, aching muscles, every morning feeling twice over like her stomach was trying to chew into itself. Twice over feeling pulled and pushed from all directions as limbs were constantly ever so slightly out of place with where she expected them to be. And yet for all the constant change and agonizing distortion in their limbs? They also had none of the awkwardness Jewel had struggled with in Gem's body.

Their grace despite daily confusion each morning, soon equaled her first spawn and then exceeded it as their muscles grew stronger, their limbs more flexible, their balance even more assured. It was another overwhelming constant press of time upon her senses. How was it that so much could keep happening at once and yet the days kept slipping away from her!

"Jewel?" She snapped to focus with all eight of her eyes to stare at her father, his face looking concerned up at her.

"What?!" He opened his mouth, then closed it and nodded for some reason.

"You are the Countess of Viznove, but you are also my daughter... a-all of you are my daughters." She sighed and offered him a smile from each of her snouts. The twin's feeling that much more natural then the shorter snub of Gem's. Even after all these years he still struggled with her and Gem's nature. But despite knowing he didn't really understand it at all he tried.

"Yes father, and as they are me they are not unbloodied children. We all know what is coming and to be apart from them for the whole campaign would be a pain to us greater than the risk. So please don't worry I will keep them in the camp. We won't have them march to the field of battle." He sighed and then saluted her as his Countess before leaving to see to Zephyrvamp.

"Well then, how do you find your second war so far Smithson?" He huffed and shrugged.

"Not all that much different from the first one, more running, talking and ordering then last time. How are you finding it, Lady Jewel?" Jewel sighed and stared out over the hillocks of tents and forest of banners from all over the realm of Cantor Reborn. A riotous scattering of hues mingling whatever the commoner's dye was for each levy's homeland or village. Dull hues against the Noble's declaration. A black and yellow brightly contrasting the other colors. Mathias' support over all others.

The next most common noble dyes among the banners and tents were the black and red of Viznove. Then were the blue and white of Arva and then last the scattered heraldic dye of the Northwest Ridgetail's independent counts. The smell of the animal and men's sweat, the stink of latrines and other waste already building in the heat of the day. All of it at Jewel's command to direct south.

"It's so much more than the first time." Smithson for his part only nodded as Jewel contemplated the path to war before them. For their first push into Magarska it would be all as one army, marching south to take the fortress outposts and then securing the twin cities of Bledaten and Pyrenean.

After that bounty was secured then the majority would split off to take and hold cities under the twin command of her Father as general in the air for forty of the Gryphon riders and Mathias's chosen general on land for the troops. Jewel would take the remaining Gryphons as scouts and guardians for the march while she acted as the spear to push south into Magarska, securing villages and cities until they could meet up with their supposed 'allies' from the Vlach Lands.

If all went well that would leave them with a secured front against the rest of Magarska and the ability to respond and repel Murad's efforts to break through and ravage Viznove or Count Tepes' people. Jewel was not sure how well she and her father could hold that line. If it was a simple matter of numbers Magarska would be the clear winner. Even with a thousand vampyres in his army Count tepes had only been able to secure his homeland. And that was when most of Magarska turned away to other matters.

Only three principalities were raised to combat him during the troubles before the cost of engaging vampyres became clear. Murad was certainly raising all eleven of the principalities still loyal to him for this. Word was sparse out of Magarska now but what rumor made its way to her there were at least twice as many men as Jewel was fielding in the muster south. Eighty-Thousand men, perhaps even a Hundred-Thousand by some rumors. With at least half that number in gryphon warbeasts.

Most of those in the smaller variety, but Jewel could expect to be seeing over a hundred Gryphon Riders if Murad chose to bring all he could muster upon her. Against such numbers Viznove and the Realm would normally reinforce a vault pass and fortify it with wizardry. At least two. But Jewel had accepted an alliance with Count Tepes. And the Vlach lands had no vault passes between them and Murad at which they could weather Magarska's numbers in security.

Mathias's general said she would have to secure the fortress cities along the southwestern border. Even if Jewel could rout or slay thousands of men in a battle the sheer numbers of a full Magarskan offensive would wipe her armies away and then envelope her in warbeasts on open ground. Her armies needed those cities and walls to stand a chance against the full might of Magarska. With any luck Evren's rebellion in the south would force Murad to split his forces somewhat.

The vanaand principality was close to the capital wasn't it? Surely he could not afford to send all of his armies north. Just as Mathias claimed he could not leave the western territories of the Realm undefended. The smells of the camp surrounded Jewel as she looked south towards where she knew lay the twin cities of Bledaten and Pyrenean. She hoped the baths would not suffer in the siege.