The Newlyweds

Their wedding night had been a strange one, it had been like stepping with one foot into his visions, seeing all the parts of their shared future that had already been revealed to him, he had seen their sons, their time together in what would become their home, it had been like he had already spent all that time with her.
Even so, Naea stayed on his mind, he did not have the heart to throw her aside, but this woman was his wife now, he had made her a promise, and he could not just ignore that.
They had connected that night like he had done with no other before, not just in the act, be after too. She had shown him passion like he had known from only one woman before her.
Naea had disappeared sometime during the party, everyone had assumed she had gone to sleep, but Marcus didn’t know her as one who went to bed early, she usually stayed up late into the night, doing whatever it is that witches do.
He hadn’t had time to think about it though, because he had been plenty busy with a great many things himself, everyone present had wanted to meet him and his bride, and his bride had wanted to dance, and try all the food that had been conjured up for the occasion, and they had.
Arthur had remained stone cold sober the whole night, insisting on staying on guard, and never leaving their side. He had even escorted them to their rooms at the end of the party.

Marcus woke at the break of dawn, as he did usually, and now he was getting dressed, his wife was still asleep under the many layers of blankets.
She looked so peaceful, her gentle breathing, a slight smile on her face, her hair falling over her cheek.
It was strange how peaceful people could be on the brink of war. Whether it was out of sheer unawareness, in his wifes case. She must think they would succeed in diplomacy, or simply threaten their enemies into submission, but he knew better. If Claith had been famous for his madness, the twins, who were up next, would be worse, everyone knew how they had gotten their two tribes, and it wasn’t pretty.
His peace was one of certainty, resignation, there would be war, and he would have to win.
There was a knock on the door.
“Who is it?” Marcus asked. “It’s me!” Arthur responded, “Brandon has returned from the twin tribes.”
Ahh, Marcus thought, finally, now the planning could really begin. “I’ll be right there, thank you brother.”
Marcus’ wife stirred, and she looked up to him, sleep still in her eyes. “Everything alright dear?” She asked.
“Worry not, Izzy. Brandon is here, my chief information collector, its time for your first war meeting,” he said, with a grand smile on his face.
She smiled back, sweetly, “What makes you think I’ve never been in a war meeting before?” she said, as she pulled on her morning gown, “I was always present at my fathers meetings, even if I was just a girl.”
Hmm, Marcus thought, so she may not be as inexperienced as he thought, he would have to make sure not to underestimate her again in the future, lest she take offense.
“Well, my lady, then I’m sure we can use your expertise”

“I’m sorry I missed your wedding, we got back a few hours ago, we have been waiting for you to wake up, you’re right on schedule, as usual, my liege.” Brandon said with chuckle, he knew Marcus’ standard wakeup time, one he never deviated from, no matter how late he went to bed, a remnant of his time at war, where every soldier had to be ready to go at first light, often even before that.
“Don’t worry about it Bran,” Marcus assured him, eager to get down to business, “What do you have for me, and how was the road?”
Besides them two, his now standard war council was there. His chiefs, Arthur, Naea, and of course his wife, as was tradition, there were also some of the higher ranking officers of each of the chiefs, as each of them liked bringing their seconds, the only exception being Brandon, he would relay all the important details to his men himself when the meeting was over. Eredan had not only brought is second, the large forgeigner who had been there the day they met, but also a gruff, bearded man, who Izzy had told him was her older brother, and the heir to Eredan’s chiefdom, if there still was such a thing.
Marcus hadn’t denied his title it’s hereditary status, but he suspected that such things would eventually have to come to an end, as what his visions had show didn’t look like a standard kingdom, with standard inheritance rules.
Alas, this wasn’t the time for that just yet.
“The snow thickened as we headed north,” Brandon said, “As does the forest, we got as far as the middle forest, which was very dense. We also encountered many fortifications and watch posts, some of which were very well hidden. They are going to know we are coming, and they are going to be well defended.” 
Brandon was using a charcoal map as a guide, it was a pretty good map which even included the mountains and its passes, but still, Marcus marked all the watchpoints and defensive structures on his bigger, more detailed map of the region.
Arthur pointed to the map, “The land between the mountains and the sea is narrow the whole way, and therefore easily defensible, if they are expecting us, it will be a bloodbath.”
As was often the case now, Arthur was leading the meeting, while Marcus watched and listened. Naea rarely said much, and Izzy, his wife, was following his lead, and observing.
“What about the mountain passes?” Borgh asked, “how well are they guarded?”
Brandon nodded, “We checked out the passes, they are not well guarded, but they are mostly snowed over.”
“Home-field advantage, that could work!” Arthur said.
“It’s not going to be an easy road, there is a reason they aren’t guarding those.” Claith said in an unusually serious tone. 
“It’s going to work,” Arthur said, “We can just make a bunch of snow shoes, cross the mountains, and attack them from behind.”
Marcus nodded, “Borgh, any suggestions?” If this was going to work, the plan needed to be airtight, their troops would be tired from climbing a mountain, and if they walked into an ambush, they might lose the whole war.
“We will need a diversion, we should still send a force to attack from where they expect, this will lul them into a false sense of security, we can even make them feel like they are pushing as back, and then when they least expect it, the mountain troops show up and attack them from the rear.” The old commander replied.
“What about supply lines?” Arthur pointed out. Good, Marcus thought, his little brother was really starting to get good at this.
“The mountain troops will have to live of the land for a few days, probably up to a week or two, the horses will stay with the remainder of the army.”
“What about task divisions, who does what?” Claith wanted to know, “My troops certainly won’t make it over a bloody mountain.”
“Worry not Claith,” Marcus interjected, your troops won’t be among the mountain forces.
“Alright then,” Arthur clapped his hands together, “Sounds like a plan, shall we give out orders then?”
“Yes, lets do that.” Marcus said, and with that, the plan had been made. He talked with Borgh and Arthur a bit about what Claith had said, but they were all in agreement. The three mountain tribes would make up the mountain forces, and they would be led by Borgh and Arthur. Brandon would take his spies and stay ahead, acting as scouts, and the lowland troops would make up the diversion forces, attacking from the forest side.

“I’m staying home,” Eredan said. He had approached him after the main meeting, or rather, the people carrying his smaller, more mobile palanquin had done so.
“Are you sure you don’t want to lead your men in person?” Marcus asked.
The old man shook his head, “No, I am not axactly known as the mobile type, and in a retreat, I’ll slow everyone down, and besides, I need to stay here to protect my home town, who knows what might happen.”
Marcus nodded, understanding. “Alright then, as you wish, so who will lead your troops?”
“I’m leaving you with my second in command, you’ve met him, the exceptionally large man, he will lead my troops, and aid you with whatever you need.” 
“I find it curious that you put so much faith in a foreigner, he is obviously not from around here.”
“Neither is that witch of yours, but you still listen to her, and besides, Bob is one of the finest men ive ever met, and an extraordinary warrior, I’m still not sure where he is from, or where he got some of those skills of his, but he is one of the best, trust me.”
Marcus nodded, “Alright, I will.” He said.

Eredan had also insisted on keeping a modest garrison with him, but he had sent most of his troops with Marcus, and these troops would make up the core of the diversion army, While Claith would be in charge of the reinforcements, as well as setting up fallback lines, and supporting the main troops.
Marcus would have to be at the diversion, as the enemy would expect him to lead his troops there, his absence would raise concerns, and might give away the plan.

As the present chieftains left the room to give orders to their troops, Marcus walked over to Naea, and his wife followed him. Naea hadn’t said anything of course, she had just looked thoughtful, and honestly, kind of distracted.
“What do you think?” he asked her.
“Your highness,” she made a slight bow to him, and then to Izzy. “It’s a good plan, I’m just surprised you aren’t planning to do any diplomacy this time.” She said.
“The twins aren’t known for their willingness to make deals or to bargain with invaders, you weren’t here for the war, but those two, they will do anything to stay in power, I will still try, if one of them even shows up at the front.” Naea let no sign of understanding show, but she must have read up on cloud history either before or after coming here, he thought.
“So, where do you want me, your highness?” she asked instead.
“You are coming with me, to the forest front,” he said matter of factly, “And stop highnessing me, it’s unsettling.” She gave him a faint smile, one of those that Izzy would have trouble picking up on. 
Everyone had left now, only Arthur was still there, just having seen Borgh out. But he too now looked at them, and left.
“I heard Eredan isn’t comming?” she asked, and Marcus shook his head.
“No, he left his second in command, the big foreign guy, who is apparently named Bob.”
She frowned, “I’m not sure about that one,” she said, “I’m getting a strange energy from him, one I’ve never felt before.”
Marcus shrugged, but did not ignore her words, “We will see, Eredan assures me he is one of the best.” And Naea only nodded.
“What about our new queen,” She asked, while making a respectful head gesture towards Izzy. “Where will she be?”
“My wife,” he started, “is coming with me.”
Izzy looked at him, surprised, she probably wasn’t used to being included in military affairs, but in the proper cloud central tradition, no kingly spouse would be left to rot at home, not while Marcus was king.
Naea just smiled, and nodded towards them. Izzy grabbed his arm, and squeezed it.
“It looks like we will be spending a lot of time together,” Izzy said, “Naea, was it?” She smiled, not faintly, or semi-secretly, like Naea like to do, but widely, and sweetly.
“I look forward to getting to know you better,” Naea replied, with more visible smile for Izzy. “Your highness.” And with those words, she left.

Now alone, they sat down on one of the benches on the side of the room. There were no chairs here, only the large oval table, where the maps and battle plans had been displayed.
“She’s rather stern an official, why do you bring her everywhere with you?” Izzy asked.
Marcus furrowed his brow, “Shes not that stern, she just likes to seem intimidating, and I bring her because she is my most trusted adviser.”
“Most trusted?” Izzy tilted her head, “Even though she is a foreigner,” she said sarcastically.
“You’re right, I shouldn’t look up at other peoples employment of foreigners aslong as I’m walking around with a witch from Malishai, but I’m telling you, people underestimate her, she likes to use that against them, I assure you her services have proven themselves.” Izzy was playing with his hair, while they sat.
“What kind of services does she provide?” she pried further, “I heard, that Malishai witches do nothing but comb their hair, drink root juice, and scowl at people.”
To that comment, Marcus let out a laugh, “I guess that is part of what she does, but its hardly all of it. She saved my life you know, and her wisdom has led me in the right direction every time.”
Izzy smiled at him, looking curiously, “Well, I’ll have to decide on this wisdom for myself, who knows, maybe you are right.”
“Well, now that we are married, you get to use your royal status to get whatever you want from whoever you want, it truly is one of the perks.” She laughed, with a clear, almost sparkling laugh, that matched her clear voice. 
“I’ll be sure to do just that, maybe ill even be able to get that Claith personality to do one of his performances for me, he really is a pleasure to talk to, do you remember his tirade during our wedding?” Marcus did remember, he had gone on for a good half hour about the secret to a well baked apple pie, and had then continued about how this far north, people simply didn’t know how to bake properly, and that Marcus should have asked his personal cooks to bake the wedding cake for him.
“Yeah, he certainly is one hell of a personality, but he is smarter than he lets on, and really good at making golems, did I tell you how I recruited him?” Marcus asked, looking into her clear blue eyes, matched by the blue of her the sapphires, she still wore in her ears.
“No, you didn’t,” She said, snuggling up to him on their bench, “But I would love to hear it.”

By the time they left, it was already well into the day, and they had to ask the cooks to reheat lunch for them.