#my legions are cooler than yours and you can't say a damn thing!

[asteria-daria-fere]

“That Fresh Legion”

An audible sigh can be heard over the screams of warriors shouting in the distance. The sounds of battle echo across the camp atop the hill. It overlooks the battlefield and it rings with the sound of one woman’s very disappointed sigh.

“Ugh.”

“Ma’am? What is wrong?”

The woman turned her eyes from the battle in the distance over to one of her officers. He was tall, much taller than her but it was clear he was her subordinate. He stood next to her with his hands behind his back and his eyes locked on the battle below. She replied, through gritted teeth.

“Everything. Everything is wrong.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“I mean that our legionnaires are not fighting properly. They are...cheating. Fighting dirty is not something I condone.”

“But ma’am, you recruited them to win, did you not?”

“Indeed, I did. I did not recruit you, however, to fight in a manner I found dishonorable.”

The officer furrowed his brow. He was, in that moment, confused as to her purposes. He and his compatriots were recruited a mere century ago by their Lady to fight wars in her name. They had spent the better part of that century as a reinforcement legion for more professional and veteran legions in her service. These men had never seen a real battle and still had yet to choose their specialty, but they did have one thing Asteria found valuable: Determination. They had the determination to fight, and to win. They just lacked the skill, the finesse, the discipline to fight in a manner she found proper.

“Dishonorable, ma’am?”

“Yes, dishonorable.”

She lifted her chin as she answered. A twinge of confidence, her natural aura, engulfing her words.

“These men are fresh and lacking in any real battlefield experience. I make it a point to hold that against fresh recruits, but I take it only so far.”

He turned his head, yet his eyes remained glue to the scene before him. A piqued interest resonating about him as he asked.

“How far do you take it ma’am? If you don’t mind my asking?”

Her eyes, still glued to the man at her side, noticed the sweat running down the side of his face, yet his expression remained unchanged. She reached her hand out to him and gently guided his face to meet hers with only a finger. Her aura of confidence began to pour out as she answered.

“I only nudge them. I guide them towards honor. I lead them to  where I want them and push them were I need them. If they follow then I don’t need to go all that far. But if they resist, then the farthest reaches of the universe are but a step away.”

He audibly gulped at the prospect, the very response she gave. He was left stunned by her meaning. She would do such a thing? She had the stomachs for it? She then continued, her aura engulfing the entire camp and uplifting the officers all around them, save for the legion commander at her side.

“I will wave that punishment for now, though, since they are mere recruits, but I expect a complete about-face after this campaign is through. Do you understand?”

He nodded, even with her finger still slightly digging into his chin. He looked visibly disturbed. His hair turned white in fear and by her will. He looked down at her as a sly grin crept its way across her cinnamon-hued face. She looked away, her frustration being replaced with catharsis, at the battle below. It was calming down. The only soldiers standing were the ones garbed in black plated armor adorned with sparsely placed dark red stripes.