Frost Warning. (Finished)

[Clair Feldsky]

Clair stood silently and looked out over the lowlands around her, waiting for something. It was still early, the red rim of the sun just beginning to climb over the edge of the earth before her. Sunrise: when the night creatures settled for the night, and when the day walkers began their toils. It was quiet, but a different kind of quiet than the rest of the day could match. The morning was the time when people wondered what would become of their. More and more, those questions had started to weigh on her.

Now however it wasn't just the struggle that came with losing mastery over Bern. She asked herself what would become of her nation, since they'd started to slip. What would she have to do this day? Early on, the morality lines had greyed for her. Fighting to maintain control over Bern wasn't something that she would have considered a righteous goal. This whole war shouldn't have been necessary in the first place. Even so, she'd continued it, and continued it well. Below, she could see the roads through the hilly valleys all around her. It was ruined now. More of war's handiwork, but also her own. On being pushed out of the east, she'd picked a defensible position atop a hill, and smashed the nearby bridges on the road. The woods and valleys around them hamper cavalry and armor if they tried to pass through, as well as supply lines. That left aerial cavalry and light infantry. There were plenty of both, that this Bernese revolution could throw at her and her Mistral Knights. These were forces that she could match and outmaneuver though, as many had learned, to their detriment in the past. It wasn't worth the troops to push against someone like her when there were other alternatives available.

The truth was, part of her success was due to the fact that the area the Mistral Knights protected carried no significance on its own. It was a good approach to another hotly contested location, but the Bernese Rebels would need to rebuild the bridges to make use of it. And to do that, they'd need to evict it's current occupants. From her watch post atop the hill, Clair could see down the roads in both directions. The rest of her small but determined cadre had a triangle of wagons set up behind the hill she was on. It supported them well enough, but only as long as supplies were delivered to them frequently, and the supplies had been growing thinner, as of late.

The blond haired sky knight looked out over the skies in front of her, still just beginning to lighten in the early morning sun. She saw a pair of her riders taking flight out in front to maintain the watch, a constant necessity in what they were doing. Her night hawks would be coming back soon. No word of trouble sounded this night. That made a week since the last push. Rebels had tried sneaking up the rivers in the valleys at night. They'd almost made it into the camp without warning. If she hadn't been restless that night, and taken a walk halfway up the hill, that might have been the end of her. Instead, the dark of night had yielded to the brilliant flashes of lightning from Stormlight, the thunderlance she'd found on Sacae. The attack had failed, as bolts of lightning had dropped on the rebels from overhead. It had been a vicious night, even so, and had demanded yet more care in their security. Her limited numbers were beginning to wear thin.

Turning away from the enemy's lands, Clair began heading down the hill, back to camp. She spotted Corona in the dim morning light. He was idly watching her from a distance, nibbling on grass to content himself. The massive pegasus had always done right by her, and continued to do so. Always at her side when she needed him.... He couldn't fill all needs though.

Shaking her head to clear it of difficult thoughts, Clair ran her hands through her hair, and tucked a lock of soft blond back behind he ear. Ahead, she could see the Mistral camp, a few of her soldiers up. One of her riders was looking back the other way though. Back to the west. After a moment, the girl turned quickly, and pointed back towards west.

"Commander! There's a lone aircav coming this way!"

Clair looked up, catching sight of the speck in the distance after a moment. A dispatch from headquarters, perhaps? What were they planning on doing now? Pushing an attack? Word was that even part of the eastern front was suffering from uprisings these days.

"I'll handle this, Julie. Go find Delia, and let her know." The Ilian Falcoknight's voice was clear as she spoke up to her rider. As Julie ran off to find the the other senior rider Clair headed towards the landing ground at the center of camp, feeling the shield on her back shifting as she walked. The lance in her hand crackled periodically. Something she was nearly used to now, after all this time carrying it. She waited at the center of camp for the rider to arrive. She hoped... she wasn't sure what she hoped for anymore. Nothing here carried hope anymore.

[Clair Feldsky]

The lone rider rode in, circling low a couple of times in an easy descent as she came down. A pegasus knight coming from the East. They were often used as messenger's for their speed when flying solo like this, but Clair didn't recognize any specific heraldry on this one. She looked irregular though. Hired on, like Clair and the Mistrals. Mercenaries were a major portion of Ilia's army and forces, but they seemed to be looking more rugged and worn every time she saw them now. It was a testament to how thin things were getting across some areas of the Bernese front.

Firmly setting her impatience to the side, Clair rested a hand on the fine-wrought sword at her hip to give her something to do while the rider landed. It wasn't long to wait, but to someone like her who preferred to actively be doing instead of sitting back and commanding, any time could seem like a long time.

"Are you Mistral Knights? I've been looking for them for three days now."

Initially, the casual attitude annoyed the Ilian commander. She'd established herself on principles of duty and honor. Formality had gone right along with that in the early years. Now she wasn't sure what the point of the formality was anymore. What did it actually achieve for her out here? Maybe she could afford to relax a little. Certainly, it would make getting along with people that didn't share her rigid form easier.

"Yes. You've found us. I'm Commander Feldsky of the Mistral Knights. Did you have a safe journey?"

The rider breathed a sigh of relief for a moment, then snapped up a quick salute. Clair's critical eye caught the sloppy nature of it.

"Thank Elimine I've finally found you all. Eh, it was safe enough, but I didn't take my time or risks. The soldiers south of you pointed me up to your position here."

Ok. That was relaxed enough. Clair realized that she'd barely given the traveler time to settle, but... baby steps. "Name and rank, Rider. You did have a purpose in coming out here, yes?" The young commander's voice cracked like a whip, eliciting a yelp of surprise as the lone rider instinctively snapped to attention. Or, at least the best approximation she could manage.

"Yes Ma'am. Rider Ellis of Davek's Swords. I have a package for you." Ellis seemed to be returning to focus. She seemed you young and... inept wasn't the right word, but she clearly had her mind on other things than keeping up with her duties.

"I think you'd better get it for me then, Ellis." Clair spoke calmly, but had a bite of insistency filtering through her voice. Just enough to give a bit of urgency to the rider. There was a quiet "Yes Ma'am" as Ellis twisted and reached down to a satchel she was carrying. A package wrapped in cloth came up and out of the bag a moment later, and Clair took it before turning away. She unwrapped it quickly, and inspected the seal. It looked in good shape, but it was clearly a distant communique. She raised an eyebrow at the seal: It belonged to the ruling council of Ilia.

She glanced back at Rider Ellis, looking at her with an appraising expression. "Ilian generals let you carry this?" The emphasis was obvious. She wasn't trying to hide it. This came straight from Ilia's head Council Lords. What would it have to say?

"My entire unit is back at Fort Eyrien along the ocean, Ma'am. I wouldn't do anything to put them in danger, which means I made for you as quickly and safely as I could...."

Clair understood what wasn't being said there. Ellis' unit was being used as collateral while they rested or resupplied at the fort. Clair kept her face impassive with an effort as she turned and strolled a few steps away to read the message, but it was hard to contain the disgust such actions spurred in her. She wasn't sure what was worse. The fact that her people would resort to things like that, or that they hadn't had anyone trustworthy at their disposal to send.

She broke the seal as she stood ten paces from the messenger, and started to go over what was being sent to her.

[Clair Feldsky]

Clair scanned the words on the letter. It wasn't large. Simple and to the point. Elegance in its own manner.

To Clarise Feldsky, Mistral Knights Commander
From....

They'd used her full name.... She rarely used that name. It had sounded too soft to her for years. It was a foolish sentiment really, but the name still felt alien to her. She read through the rest of the formalities until she arrived with where the message truly seemed to start.

"Congratulations on the formation and handling of the Mistral Knights. Your services to Ilia's interests have been noted." She wasn't sure what they were talking about specifically. They'd been a thorn in the rebellion's side wherever they'd been placed, but no one had put them in anything too major while she'd been down here. It had been both a dissapointment and a blessing for her conscience over the months.

"With this in mind, we wish to recall you and your company back to Edessa in Ilia, for special assignment...."

There were more words. Some of them flattering. Some of them informative. All of them needless. They wished her to return to Edessa? Never before had she been so happy to leave a fight as this one. Everything was in shades of grey here. Bern held the moral high ground though, even if losing the country meant that families like her own would go back to harder times. And the ones worse off than her family? She pitied them. At one time, these things hadn't mattered to her, but something had changed her. After she'd joined up with Richter, and started journeying the lands, she'd seen many things. She'd seen people from all over the world fighting and dying. And she'd learned that they all fought and died for the same reasons.... It made it hard to condemn the Bernese rebels for what they did, even as she fought it herself.

"Commander?" Clair looked up as Delia Collins approached from the other side of camp. She looked like she'd just woke up with touseled hair, but that wasn't really that unusual these days. Her approach served as a reminder that they weren't alone though.

"Delia, make sure Rider Ellis and her mount have a place to rest, then come and find me in my tent." Clair turned around and walked up to the messenger. "Thank you for flying all the way out here, Ellis. Carrying messages to the front comes with it's own set of dangers." Clair was appreciative, and she didn't want a hard nosed attitude to detract from that.

"Ahh... it was nothing, Ma'am. Thankyou." Ellis seemed to relax just a little bit, as if she'd been expecting to get yelled at any moment, but that moment had passed now.

"You'll have to rest up as well as you're able. We'll be departing soon, and you'll have to depart as well if you don't want to end up caught by rebels."

Clair went back to the rest of the camp, and entered her tent, resting Stormlight against the side of the tent. It seemed to stay erect on its own as it pulsed dim electric sparks along the haft. She looked around: A collapsible desk, a folding cot, a few boxes, and a few rugs across the ground. That was what she'd been living with for so long.... Easy to pack up and take with her. That was just what she'd be doing again soon. Without another thought, she started making herself ready to leave as she waited for Delia to enter and find her.

[Clair Feldsky]

Before too long the Ilian Commander heard the coarse mutterings of her Delia outside the tent. She'd found her executive officer in a bad spot in life. Turned out of the Ilian army's more proper forces, Delia had kept a spark even while sullen about losing about everything she had. No mount, since the army had taken that, and no friends in Edessa, since making an enemy of a high merchant's son was dangerous. Clair had needed someone tough and experienced that she could hand things off to now and then though, and hadn't considered the attitude a problem to be concerned with. It just needed a deft handling, which Clair had had to learn while with the Etrurian forces.

"Come in, Delia." There was silence for half a moment, and Clair could almost imagine the other pegasus knight's frown at realizing she'd been overheard. A moment later the flaps brushed aside, and Delia stood up inside, looking around. She gave a long whistle as she noticed nearly all of Clair's possessions rolled up and folded, ready to go. Remaining ready to go at a moments notice was a habit she'd formed over the years.

"You really are planning on leaving soon, eh? Where are we goin'?" Clair nodded to the letter on a small table indicating the Delia should pick it up, and then went back to tallying off a list. She gave Delia time to note the seal on it, and give it a good look through before speaking up.

"Is our guest resting?" Delia still looked to be taking in the news that they would be heading back to Ilia, but Clair pushed on anyway. "We'll be leaving as soon as we've gotten word to the army camps around us."

"Hmm?... Yeah. Left her with a bowl of camp stew and a bucket for her winged pony. Didn't look like she'd seen that much food in days. Clair, why do you think they're recalling us? Have we done something wrong? Or... Are they giving up on Bern?"

Clair put away her list of things to do, and thought for a moment, brushing an idly hanging strand of hair back over one ear. It was a question that she'd wondered at herself. You had to put aim your weapons out, if you wanted them to do something, and she was sure that that was what the Ilian Council considered her. Another weapon. So why bring them back to Ilia.

"I don't know, Del. We'll try to gather some news on the way north. For now though, send riders to the camps north and south of here, telling them we've received new orders and that they'll need to fill in here. When that's done, let the camp know to pack up light. We'll be traveling by air for as much of he journey as we can manage."

"Alright, Commander. We'll get started right away. Just Promise me Yoma doesn't have to ride with me." Clair shook her head as Delia left the tent, trusting the woman to get things moving. Clair looked down at a rough scratching in the dirt a little ways away from where the rugs stopped in her tent, considering the designs there. It was a map of Elibe. Far from exact, but more than functional for what she needed it for. She just needed to estimate what settlements lay on the way out of the country before they moved.... They wouldn't be here much longer.