Synthetic Survivor: Machine Age

50 Years Ago, a group of knights led by a veteran captain crossed the border and trespassed into the Theocracy. 50 years ago these men would be the last to venture through and the last of the Dioz Kingdon's efforts in saving as many demihumans as they could.

During this time, the entire situation both politically and on the ground were heating up to the breaking point. The Dioz Kingdom's pro demihuman policies and sentiments went against the Theocracy's cleansing mission. With tensions nearing their highest and war looming in the horizon, both states have amassed their forces.

Their forces were gathered near their borders with one another. The Dioz Kingdom mobilized five armies. The first army was the main army lead by the great general Fendor, Lord of Farfax and father of Fedrix. The army consisted of roughly 40,000 men. The second to fourth armies were all composed of 20,000 men each totalling 120,000 in the side of Dioz. Most of their soldiers were knights, cavalrymen and archers supported by small contingents of mages.

The Theocracy at their side of the border sported three armies, each with 30,000 men and some women totalling 90,000 strong. They were a force of knights and archers while they had little cavalry. Their lack of cavalry was overshadowed by their mages which numbered 30,000 strong, already a quarter of their forces.

These two opposing sides were about to meet in a few days once the declaration of war from both sides had been signed and announced. And as they waited, they prepared themselves and set up camp.

In the camp of the Dioz First Army, Fendor was sat inside his tent. He was alone and in front of him was a table. Over the table was a map of the surrounding lands where they shall fight. The land was mostly plains, the southern meadows as they referred to it.

Fendor was brilliant strategist when it came to open army combat but he was anxious of the Theocracy's magical might. He only had 5000 mages compared to the Theocracy's estimated 10,000 to 35,000. Giving credit to his past experiences with battling against well-trained mages, he knew that such a frightening force would easily stomp them if he were not to be careful.

The younger officers did not bat an eye. They viewed mages as weak and only relied on their magic to do any good. They also believed that such a number of spell casters would drain each other's magic and result in them collapsing. The young officers under Fendor's command looked down on their enemies while their superior did not.

"We need to secure victory by means of strategy" he told himself as he surveyed the map.

The plains were mostly flat with some Woodlands here and there. There were also some hills that could be used as grounds for them to retreat if all else failed or they were forced to make a tactical retreat.

He then turned his attention to the enemy side of the map. The terrain was almost exactly the same as theirs minus a few unclear definitions with the map. There was a road that lead through a few villages and then north to the nearest city.

Fendor planned his favorite move, an encirclement. He had used this strategy of his to completely decimate his foes even if they were outnumbered five to one. He would always say "No matter how big the enemy is against us, just surround its leg, pull it down and it will fall"

It was true and his strategy earned him praise from military commanders from all around who have heard of his genius. Even the generals of his enemies would praise him.

A messenger entered his tent and read to him out loud information from their spies.

"Lord Fendor, it seems like the enemy has already positioned their camps adjacent to us. Our spies report that they have something between 80-100,000 men and 25 to 35,000 of which are possibly mages"

Fendor stroked his beard.

"Anything else?" He asked.

"We have received word that a rescue group had into the Theocracy a few days prior"

Fendor stopped stroking his beard and stood.

"Where are they now?" He asked the messenger.

The messenger could only look up to his general. The messenger was not short but Lord Fendor was a tall, muscular man who intimidated anyone with his sheer size alone.

"We don't know exactly but they were last seen trekking the dirt path that lead to a few villages to the east"

Fendor thought for a second before sending the messenger away. He sat down again on his chair and covered the map on the table with a piece of cloth.

"What is the king doing sending another rescue group even though we are about to go to war? I can never truly understand his intentions" he told himself.

And while he thought on how to rescue the group if possible, a young officer entered his tent.

The young officer was Crawford, a young man who had so far made a name for himself for being a valiant warrior who was always on the frontlines. He was undoubtedly one of the best junior officers under Fendor and rightly so.

"Ah, Crawford. What brings you here at such a late hour?" Fendor asked.

Crawford saluted and said.

"I do not feel confident with this war, my Lord"

Fendor was surprised, to think I that the iron-willed and confident Crawford would tell him outright that he did not have confidence in the war.

"That.. is a surprise, what made you think so?" Fendor asked, curious of the young officer's opinion.

"It oddly seems that we are being lured into a trap. I am not so sure as well but I've got word inside that they were summoning something.." the young officer said.

"Summoning? Summoning a summon I assume?" Fendor said.

"The magic circle they had created was said to not be one of the summoning seals. It's actually confusing, my informant is well knowledgable of magic but he too has been dumbfounded on what he saw. He believes that it must be new type of summoning. He knew it was a summing because the way their mages were performing the spell was similar to that of a summoning"

Fendor leaned back against his chair.

"In other words, they were chanting the spell in unison around a magic circle, correct?" Fendor asked.

"Yes" Crawford replied.

"So where is this informant of yours?" Fendor said.

"I lost contact with him as soon as the magic circle had activated"

There was a silence that befell the tent. Both Fendor and Crawford stared at each other.

"If the magic circle had activated. Then whatever they have summoned must have already been summoned. We now only await the official declaration of war to be given to us."

Crawford removed the piece of cloth from the map and pointed his finger at the map.

"I suggest we retreat south and form a defensive between the Dioz Mountain range" he said.

"What!? But that would put us in a disadvantage" Fendor was confused.

"We are already in a disadvantage. Engaging them in an open field will make us easy targets for their mages and whatever they summoned. I have assumed that their summon is a magic flying beast. It is most likely since the strongest of Summons are that comparable to the ancient dragons"

Fendor was surprised of the young officer's thinking and decided to let him speak further. His plan sparked interest inside Fendor. Though he was brilliant, he did not fail to take in the ideas of the people with skill in doing so.

"We cannot encircle them, I have studied how you won the war against Herlion Agression and you destroyed them by heavy use of cavalry and fast troop movements. They failed to notice your maneuvers until it was too late for them react and they were decimated. The same cannot be applied against the Theocracy...

...there are three main reasons, the first is that we lack enough cavalry to shock their flanks. We need a few thousand more to really make a dent. You can say that we are merely distracting them but considering that they have a lot of mages, casualties will be too severe before the cavalry get near their target...

...second, they're far too flexible. You were able to carry out entitlements because the enemy was 3 to 5 times bigger than our armies making them slow and less flexible than us. The Freetan Theocracy has most likely taken this into account because the way their army is structured right now, they are far too flexible and they seem to be protecting a center..

...lastly, the mages of the Theocracy themselves. There are far too many of these mages and they pose a significant threat. I studied the power of magic when I was being trained and a lot of the magic used by mages in the military are destructive, even more so if they are performed by a large group. If, for example, we charge our cavalry to their left and right flanks to flank them, imagine 5,000 mages from each flank throwing fireballs at them or some deadly spell. It would be a masaccre!..."

Fendor was in awe of the young officer. He had surpassed his expectations with his thinking. But Fendor was still reluctant on retreating southwards towards the Dioz Mountains. It was far too risky.

"Retreating to the southern mountain would place us on the defensive. If we even make it south without an engagement, we will be abandoning a few dozen villages and towns while opening the road for the Theocracy to lay siege upon the northern frontier. It is still best we wait for more clear information"

Crawford clutched his fists.

"But, I feel uneasy, I fear that we are walking into their trap" Crawford said.

"Fight your uneasiness, we are proud soldiers of the Dioz Kingdom. We won't let some religious radicals trample over us! We will fight and we will win. We cannot know defeat, not when the people are looking up to us"

Crawford apologized but still expressed his concerns. And after a short friendly conversation afterwards, the young officer left Fendor's tent.

Fendor took the young officer's concerns into account and formulated a backup plan. But the plan involved sacrificing an army. His backup plan went like this.

The second third and fifth armies will march around the flanks of the first army while the fourth army would be the spearhead. If Crawford's concerns came to light and they are forced into a trap, he will order the fourth army to charge blindly into the enemy to cover their retreat. The remaining armies would then run back and make haste to the Dioz Mountain range.

The retreat would exhaust the armies and they'll be forced to abandon most of their supplies. If all goes without major problems, they will reach the mountain range in a four days. Fendor then thought that the enemy would have marched into their borders by then and had laid siege to the northern frontier.

He thought that he could sequester the aid of the western armies to counter the Theocracy once they lay siege on the nearest city of Wergon. Wergon was a frontier city at best and was well-suited to withstand sieges even for 3 years time.

That night passed and the three days came with it. Inside his tent, Fendor waited for the letter from the king. A messenger arrived later that day and brought with him a letter from the king.

Fendor took the letter and went out. He gathered commanders of the army together and he walked atop of a small boulder.

There he stood and the officers looked up. He held the letter in his right hand and raised it up, showing it to the rest of those who could see him

"This letter!" He said.

"This letter is from the king, and the king has decreed..

...the vile hypocrites that is the Theocracy have declared war upon the Dioz Kingdom! They will soon realize their folly once we march into their country and burn down their villages, towns and besiege their cities! Let us amass our honor and fight!..

..for the Glory of Dioz! Long live the King! Long live the king!"

He finished his speech under the shouts and praises of his officers. Soldiers gathered around the rock when he stood there and cheered along when he finished.

The commanders got onto their horses and rode off to their respective commands. The general went inside his tent and with his soldiers, he took up his armor for battle.

His red painted iron armor was enchanted with magic from the mages and confident, he went out.

He got up his horse and he rode off along with his unit. His unit was called the General's Guard. A unit of highly skilled cavalrymen with horses plated in armor that could withstand the attack of 10 enemies. They were a small group of 50 but together they could take down 500.

The combined armies of Dioz numbering 120,000 strong began their march. They marched with discipline and pride, waving their banners high.

The knights had sharpened their blades, the archers had tweaked their bows and the cavalry had fed their horses. The drums of war sounded and 120,000 marched to war that day.

In the center of the marching armies was the first army, in its center was the general. Fendor and his General's Guard rode on their horses and as they passed through the border which was marked by a small lake, they sounded the trumpets of war.

The trumpets of war sounded and echoed across the land. It signalled the beginning of the war that would soon engulf the surrounding lands. When the villagers from both sides heard the horns, they trembled in fear.

The Dioz Villages near the frontier fled south to the nearest city. The fortress city Wergon became the center for people to flee. The city took in thousands that day when the horns were sounded.

And to signal to the rest of the frontier that war had started. The military outposts lit the fires of war and so did the cities and towns. They lit their bonfires and signalled the beginning of hostilities.

It was an organized declaration. Unbeknownst to Fendor, the king had recalled the western armies and they were well on their way to assist the northern push.

Crawford was in-charge of the western flank which consisted of the fifth army. The fifth army marched alongside the center and made sure that protecting their flanks were specialized spearman. These spearman were formed closely together and formed a phalanx.

The phalanx was a new innovation within Dioz. It made use of long spears and shields used in a tight formation of soldiers. The phalanx had made itself known to be a formidable formation that was especially effective against cavalry.

With pride they marched, and onto war they went.