Chapter 7

Major Battles

Very many battles were fought in this war, and even if one had all the time in the world, they could not name them all, let alone describe them to their full detail. But included in this chapter are stories of the most important battles in the war.

                * * *

The Battle of Ammius

The first battle fought in the war began with a young Laeurelian demigod named Ammius wandering into Tamentine territory.

He was a son of Tamentus and a beautiful Laeurelian woman named Cyndeliana. He inherited from his father the power to shoot lightning bolts from his fingertips. His mother and father, however, were split when the war came, for she remained loyal to Luthius. He was the youngest person to fight in the war, and would have not been allowed to fight at all if he had not the power of lightning.

Perhaps an army of gods and demigods could have held him back, but, fortunately for him, the part of the army he had stumbled upon was entirely composed of humans, and there were only fifteen of them.

It was in the middle of the night when he crossed the line into Tamentine territory. He found himself unable to sleep for anticipation of the oncoming war, so he took a walk in the midnight air to calm himself.

Lost in his own thoughts, he wandered into the presence of the Tamentine army. With a start, he checked his surroundings. To his relief, the entire army was asleep. He began to sneak back to his own camp, trying to be as quiet as he possibly could.

But he could not see where he was going and accidentally stepped on the toe of the Tamentine sentry, who sprang to her feet with a yell.

Instantly, the fourteen other humans woke from their sleep, and in their sleepy panic, came on him with swords and daggers. In surprise, he shot a monstrous bolt of lightning from his fingertips, striking some of the Tamentines where they stood. Seven of the Tamentines lay dead, and the others fled in terror. All the Tamentinans and Lauerlians heard the commotion and ran to the spot.

What followed was a very bloody battle. It was a Laeurelian victory, but it was a heavy price to pay. Ten of their humans and two of their demigods were killed, one of whom was Ammius himself. It was a great loss, for no other god or demigod in the Laeurelian army had the power of shooting lightning.

 The Battle of Sonatinus

                An important battle fought in the war centered around Sonatinus, the Laeurelian god of music. He was the son of Algebria and Luthius (who were married in the year after the war had begun). When he was two years old, he invented music and spread it throughout the Laeurelian army when they were in need of hope.

                When he was grown, he married a young demigoddess named Faeleia. Now, she was as almost as beautiful as Amoria, and what’s more, fought on the side of the Laeurelian army. The two met on the battlefield when Sonatinus saved her life.

                At least, that’s what Sonatinus believed.

                Faelia, in all her beauty, was really a spy from the Tamentine army. She was sent to gain information about the Laeurelian army’s weaknesses and report them to Tamentus. Her mission was to gain the trust of the Laeurelian army and betray them when they were at their weakest.

                She had one major weakness, though. The god who had “saved” her life - it had all been staged - was the most handsome person that she’d ever met. He was kind, too - kinder than anyone in the Tamentine army had ever been to her. And, she knew, he loved her.

                So they were married. And they lived happily for quite some time. At night, though, Faelia would sneak back into the Tamentine army to report. She sent for another spy to run her messages to Tamentus. This spy would pose as their servant boy, and relay messages at night.

                But one day, they were discovered.

                Sonatinus had written and performed a song for his wife one day about the battle in which many innocent maidens had been slaughtered, but the loveliest one had been saved. It was one of the most beautiful pieces of music to have ever been heard. And the servant boy, who’d heard it, was instantly stricken by it. He had been forced to leave his wife to come over to this army, and though he would sometimes be able to speak to her at night, he missed her very much. He learned the song, and, that night, snuck back to her and sang her the song.

                It caught on in the Tamentine armies.  Soldiers would sing the bittersweet love song to their sweethearts. And one day, it reached the ears of Sonatinus. He instantly went to his wife.

                “Faelia, dear, Tamentine soldiers have been singing the song I wrote you the other day,” he said, worriedly.

                “What’s wrong with that?” she asked, concerned.

                “The only ears that song should have ever fallen upon are yours and the servant boy’s,” he said, grimly. “And I’ve not heard our armies singing it yet. It seems to be popular in the Tamentine army, which means someone must have spread it there.”

                Faelia paled, although she hoped her husband wouldn’t notice. “Ask the servant boy, then,” she said. “I have not heard the song since you sang it to me.”

                Sonatinus instantly went to the servant boy. “Who have you sung my song to?” he demanded.

                “M-my wife, master,” replied the servant boy, nervously.

                “Oh? And who is your wife, pray tell?”

                At this, the servant boy could do nothing except stand there with his mouth hanging open. He could not bring himself to lie about his wife, and he knew he would be killed if he was discovered.

                “Is she a Tamentine woman?” asked Sonatinus, quietly.

                The servant boy nodded, shaking. “I’m sorry, m’lord.”

                Sonatinus rushed upon him and killed him instantly.

                Faelia heard this and came running into the room. She instantly went pale with rage upon the sight of the dead servant boy. “What have you done?!”

                “I have killed the servant boy,” said Sonatinus. “He was a Tamentine spy.”

                “He has been my friend since childhood,” said Faelia, coldly.

                Sonatinus, in realization of what this meant, stood there, jaw dropped. “You are….You’re a Tamentine spy too?”

                “Yes,” said Faelia, “and if there’s one mistake I’ve ever made, it was marrying you. Though I’ve betrayed your army, I have betrayed myself even more!”

                And Sonatinus would have killed her just then, but he knew that he’d never be able to live with himself.

                So he locked himself up in his tower, writing the most beautiful, and yet the most lonely piece of music ever to be written. And he sang it for his wife.

                It was a song of everything good in the world - of the bright blue sky, the warm sun shining down, happy children screeching with laughter. A young couple holding hands by a fireplaces. And then - their own wedding. That part was so lovely, Faelia could have listened to it again and again.

                But then it changed. Now, it was a melancholy tune, singing remorsefully about treachery, lies, stealing. A broken-hearted girl sobbing in a lonely, cold prison cell, for a crime she did not commit. Two people plotting the slaughter of another person. And it went on, and on, and on until Faelia had to beg for mercy.

                “Stop!” she cried, tears forming in her eyes and trickling down her cheeks. “I understand now,” she said. “I have done so many horrible things to you….and I’m so sorry,” she said. And she was sorry -- she’d been sorry all along. Sonatinus’s song made her see that.

                She then joined the Laeurelian army, and became one of the war’s fiercest warriors.

The Riverbattle

                The world was not only inhabited by gods, humans, and their offspring. There were other creatures, too, some borderlining on fantastic. The Vaeivus and the Aeimi are some of these creatures. They are rumored to have existed from the beginning of time itself.

                They were small beings that resembled humans. They had very long limbs and very large eyes, with translucent insect-like wings behind their shoulders. The Vaeivus were bound to the river Destianus. The Aeimi, however, lived in the stars. It was prophesied that they would never come down until the end of time.

                Now both the Aeimi and the Vaeivus were watching the war as it was going on. The Vaeivus, though they did not fight, sided with the Tamentine army. One day, a young Vaeivus decided to take action. A Tamentine leader named Caelus was passing the Destianus river when he heard a voice in his head.

                “Hello, Caelus,” said the voice, calmly.

                “Who are you?!” demanded Caelus, looking around. He did not see who spoke, and had a strange suspicion that it was his own mind, not anyone speaking.

                “No need to speak aloud,” said the voice again. “I communicate through the mind. I am one of the Vaeivus, and I wish to help your army.”

                Caelus was skeptical for a moment. “Alright,” he thought. “Vaeivus, you say? That means you inhabit the river, right?”

                “That’s right,” said the voice.

                “I want to see you,” thought Caelus. “I want an idea of who I’m working with.”

                “I can’t leave the river, but I can show you an image of myself,” said the voice. Suddenly, Caelus had a burst of pain in his temples. His hand immediately went to massage his head. “Ow!” Swimming into focus was a mental image of a small, young man with long legs sitting with butterfly-like wings folded behind his back.

                “Fascinating,” thought Caelus. “Now, if you can’t leave the river, how can you help us?”

                “We can flood the river,” replied the voice of the Vaeivus. “Next Wednesday, we can all leap out of the river and back into it. It will cause major flooding that will damage the Laeurelian army. When they’re recovering, that’s when your army attacks. They’ll be devastated.”

                “Good idea!” cried Caelus, forgetting that he didn’t have to speak out loud. “Thank you, and all your fellow Vaeivus!”

                That night, he explained the battle plan to his army.

                The Aeimi were also watching the war down below, and as they watched these events unfold, panic broke out among the stars. From the sky, the Aeimi could see all that happened, and they knew of the kidnapping of Aerius.

                The star-borne beings had an emergency meeting that night. The nocturnal sky was abuzz with anxious chatter.

                “What shall we do?” cried the youngest and most beautiful of the Aeimi. It is said that she shared some blood with Laeurelia.

                “We have no choice but to warn the Laeurelian army of the incoming attack,” said a voice from among the stars.

                “How? We can’t come down from the sky,” replied Ceallia.

                “Child, have you forgotten your telepathy?” chided the eldest Aeimi, whose name has been lost to time.

                “But we can only use our telepathy when the time-stream has been disrupted,” replied Ceallia. “The next timeline drift shall not occur for another thousand years.”

                “This is a war, Ceallia,” said another Aeimi. “And not only a war, but the war. The gods have stopped aging. Time races by for most of the humans. A single week has become a lifetime for them. Except for those in the middle of the war.”

                “So you mean…” whispered Ceallia.

                “Yes,” replied the eldest. “The time-stream is falling apart. Soon, we shall return home.”

                There was a silence among the stars for a few moments. Then, they devised a plan. A demigod leader in the Laeurelian army would be notified of the incoming attack and remove the army from the vicinity of the river. Then, they would distract the Vaeivus and cause them to flood the Tamentine army instead.

                All worked very well according to plan. Ceallia was sent to select a leader, and the one she chose was a young demigod named Beualus. For the first time in her life, she broadcasted a telepathic message.

                “Beualus?” she said, timidly.

                “Who said my name?” said the demigod, looking around. This was, he was most certain, the most beautiful voice in the world.

                “No need to speak aloud,” said Ceallia. “I’m one of the Aeimi. I have to warn you about an incoming attack.”

                Beualus was interested now. “Aeimi?” he thought. “One of the star-people? I thought you were only a legend!”

                “We are not a legend,” replied Ceallia. “From the sky, we have seen that the Tamentine army has joined with our cousins, the Vaeivus.”

                “The Vaeivus? Aren’t they eternally bound to the river?”

                “Not for long,” sighed Ceallia. “The time-stream is disintegrating. They’re planning to flood the river onto your army.”

After some debating, Beualus agreed to warn his army of the incoming attack. However, he did not wish to drown Caelus’s army, because the Tamentine leader was his half-brother.

Some of his men, after he had warned them, started to believe that Beualus was going crazy. When the rest of the army left the vicinity of the river, they stayed there, planning on taunting the army when the river did not flood.

                On that Wednesday, the river did flood. The members of the army who had been left perished in the waves. Caelus and his army believed that they had been victorious, and there was much drinking and celebrating. However, Beualus and his men had been planning this, and after the Vaeivus had retired to the river, they attacked Caelus’s army. Caelus himself fled, and most of his men were killed. The Laeurelians won that battle.