further up and further in [FLASHBACK // Zenethil]

[alicia]

x x

Alicia had been called to the War Room, and she wasn't exactly sure why. She had an inkling that it would be a private visit, based on the missive she'd received from Commander Zenethil, and was worried that she'd done something to jeopardize her position in the Knights. And she'd just managed to achieve the rank of Sergeant, after all her hard work ... maybe it was her obsession over the archives that had done it? She knew she spent a lot of time there, but it was really only on her own time, when she was free....

You're worrying about nothing. Commander Zenethil may only want to offer a minor reprimand or something. Maybe even a compliment! She found herself wishing too much for the latter, so she stopped herself. Whatever she was walking into, be it praise or punishment, she would accept it with a straight face and honest heart. That was all she had ever done, and it had served her up until this point.

Be strong, Alicia. You've been strong before.

She didn't exactly know many of the other knights all that well. She was too ... withdrawn, too quiet, too willing to listen to what others would say rather than speak herself. But she liked to think that she was reasonably well liked. No one seemed to have anything bad to say about her, which among the Knights was depressingly rare, and they all respected her prowess in battle. Those few who had been with her on a mission that actually involved some significant injury had witnessed her unique, double-edged power, and were either envious or pitied her, or both. But the Knight-Commander? She had only spoken to him once or twice, and then only briefly. He was a large, powerful man.

She just hoped she hadn't made a mess of things, somehow. Not when she was so close.

[Zenethil]

Today, whether she knew it or not, was a momentous day for Alicia. It actually almost pained him to think about it, so young was she to be receiving such an honour as he was to bestow upon her. Just twenty-one... They got younger each promotion. Almost freshly minted as a Sergeant. Scant months. Perhaps even weeks. And yet she was about to be made up to Lieutenant, ahead of many others, several considerably senior to her. It was an unusual turn of events, but the Knights needed leaders, and moreover, the Knights needed fresh blood doing the leading. To bring them forward into a newer era. The regular army was starting to outmode them in several aspects. And Zenethil alone could not shape a group of nobleman's sons and daughters, children of the priesthood and dewy-eyed aspirants into what was the most elite fighting force in Hyrule. No. He needed help. And Alicia was to be the first of this new breed.

It was a huge step on the part of Zenethil. The first non-Hylian to take command of an entire company. The youngest Lieutenant of the Knights of Hyrule. He sat in the War Room, waiting, unusually, not clad in his vast suit of armour. It was in the armourers, being repaired, following a skirmish with a particularly troublesome alchemist. His corrosive toxins had eaten large facings of his armour into nothingness, barely able to hold their own weight, let alone that of a strike. An almost unrecognisable figure now mused over the map on the table. He had but one final test for Alicia, prior to her promotion. Strategy. He wanted to know what she would do in the situation he had presented. He looked up as Alicia entered the room.

He revealed nothing in his tone, his fingers lacing together as he looked at her. Sergeant. Punctual as always. Take a seat. His gaze was unwavering, flourishing across her entire physique to get the measure of how she had turned herself out. He approved of her immaculate, if unorthodox appearance. Gone were the days of the Knights being a uniform group of armour clad, shield toting warriors, driven by religious zeal. Taric had changed that. Each Knight was now unique, except on parade, where they were expected to appear in the colours of the Knights. In golds and reds. They were, on face value, a disorganised rabble. In actual fact, they were a highly drilled and cohesive unit, capable of feats of battle far beyond what their motley appearance revealed. He exhaled, appraising her again.

I take it you do not know why you are here? Again, he revealed nothing. He would keep her thinking on her feet. Making her choose a path. Make decisions. Take matters into her own hands. Lead where others did not. He gestured to the map in front of him. Alicia, what is it that you see here? What it was, was a battle-plan. A pitched engagement between the Knights and a vast army of Mublins, Bublins, supported by various more nefarious cohorts, Darknuts, Stalfos and a few reanimated constructs. Set against them, three companies of Knights of Hyrule, supported by one company of true mounted Knights. A truly formidable army, despite barely numbering five hundred, set against thousands.

At present, it was a simple battle line. The vast horde was in front of Zenethil. The Knights were in front of Alicia. Reading into what was before her, he hoped she would understand quite where he was aiming to push this meeting. And where exactly he had intended for her to end up, should she prove capable. His slender fingers turned the various 'regiments', or more aptly named, rabbles, cast from clay to give a tangible, mobile representation of a battle, to face in a more disorderly fashion, better representing what would likely happen should such a battle occur.

[alicia]

x x

When Alicia first made her way into the War Room, she almost didn't recognized the Captain. His armour, she realized, was what contributed a great deal to his huge size; the man was still freakishly tall, so that Alicia could barely make eye contact without straining her neck, but he wasn't much more broad than she was. Forgetting herself, she hastily made a salute when she entered the room, then tentatively walked over to where the Captain was. He didn't seem displeased, at least. She nodded and took a seat, as commanded.

"Thank you, sir," she said quietly, though she did not sound nervous. Just curious. She brushed a bang out of her eyes, trying to make the action seem casual, rather than a sort of self-calming gesture. She wasn't sure how successful she was. She shook her head when he asked her if she had any idea what was going on. "No, sir. I was just told you meet you in the War Room. That's all." Her eyes drifted down from the formidable Hylian Knight Captain to the map, dotted by a number of small, semi-realistic figurines. She recognized most of them, in particular the mounted knights. She smiled. She'd had a small toy as a child that resembled the mounted knights. She decided not to reveal that to the Captain. She blinked when he asked what she saw.

"Um, a map. With figurines on it. A model of a siege," she continued, more accurately, reaching out and touching one of the mounted knights gently. She looked at the map, wondering if she was allowed to move the figurines, or if they needed to stay where they were. She looked at the vast army of monsters, and noticed that most of those monsters were fairly weak rabble that most knights would be able to handle with ease. Particularly the mounted ones. "May I, ah ... reorganize them?" she asked timidly, not wanting to admit that she'd played with sets like these with uncomfortable frequency as a child. It had been one of her small pleasures, and as a corollary of that, she knew at least a little bit about how to organize the figurines, how to position them for an upcoming battle. Against such a fearsome horde, each and every knight would need to be used with extreme care, to maximize their effectiveness, and try as bring as many home.

She wasn't sure if it was a test or something, though it certainly fit the bill. All she knew was what was in front of her, and what could be done with it.

[Zenethil]

He nodded lightly at her explanation. Good, nobody had told her about what she was being brought here for. Though he suspected this was more so she couldn't compose herself. While none meant true harm, she was incredibly young to be made up to Lieutenant. A lot of the senior Sergeants were also preparing for possible selection for the vaunted position. He had reasons for each one being passed over in favour of Alicia. Kaelen was too brash. Daeleth too reserved. Lothian tactically inept. Only Alicia displayed what he wanted. A balance of everything. He listened as she gave first a very sparse description of the obvious. Then expanded it to what it represented. He nodded lightly. She at least noticed the obvious first. Some would have simply seen the representation. Sometimes, the obvious was overlooked.

He nodded to Alicia, gesturing for her to do what she wished. He began to throw questions out occasionally. Why was she positioning her cavalry as she did? How would she best maximise her spellcasters field of view without over-exposing them? How would you combat the superior numbers? In what situations would cavalry be required to be used defensively, and how would you do so? He wanted a picture of how she thought. How she reacted. How she handled these questions while arranging her battle-lines. He was subtly moving a few rabbles around, out of the even battle line, as though they were roaming, further exemplifying the chaos of the battle-line he was commanding. We will be simulating a battle. I want you show me how you would react as I attack your lines.

He waited for her to finish setting her battle lines up, before moving the leading edge of the horde forward in a staggered, disorganised shambolic attempt at a frontal charge. He stopped them a quarter of the way down the fictitious battlefield, moving the more well drilled Darknuts and Stalfos into a much more regimented formation, that moved down the flank, outpacing the ragged movements of the main horde.

[alicia]

x x

Alicia nodded. That was what she'd thought, when she'd seen all the figurines laid out on the map, but she didn't want to assume anything when dealing with her Captain. She licked her lips and got to work, first moving her cavalry to a rearward position, where they could survey the battlefield while staying close to the keep. She wondered if there were any figurines that stood in for commander or lieutenant units. That didn't seem to be the case. As Zenethil asked her questions, she replied evenly.

"I want my cavalry in the rear so that they can charge and break the enemy ranks if need be. I want them in the reserve. You only get one really good charge off of mounted knights," she said idly, almost to herself, as she continued to examine the troops. There was a large section of melee units--units like herself, she thought with a smile--and she started arranging them in defensive formations, relatively close together, positioned between the encroaching enemies and the city. Fortunately, there was a small hill nearby, where she positioned together mixed units of archers and mages, ensuring that they could both shoot down onto the battle with impunity, and also guide the enemy ranks into the trap of her melee fighters, who would be waiting for the enemy hordes to wash harmlessly on their pikes and shields. When asked to explain the archers and mages, she said,

"They both have roughly the same function; they can attack from range. I also want the mages alongside the archers so that the archers can protect the mages if it comes to close quarters. The archers usually carry at least a dirk, and I'm hoping only the lighter, faster monsters would manage to make it up the hill; the sort of monsters that could be easily handled with a dagger. The archers are meant to keep the mages from spooking." She didn't like to generalize, but it was generally assumed that for every four mages in your army, at least one had never had any real intention of actually fighting anyone with all the magic they'd learned. Archers were different. Thankfully, her ranks were all knights, which meant that nearly every man was invaluable, but the basic tenets of strategy remained important.

Alicia nodded when he said he'd be essentially playing the monsters against her knights. She would wait. That was what you had to do with knights; they were armoured, well-trained, and individually valuable, but if you wasted them on open terrain or long journeys, all that armour would only be a detriment. She would keep their formations rigid, keep her archers and mages pummelling the monsters and hemming them into the waiting hands of her melee knights, and her cavalry would wait, for the moment when the enemy ranks needed to be scattered. Her best idea was that, as the Darknuts and Stalfos moved forward, she would have her cavalry charge into their side, scattering their ranks and slaughtering as many as possible, before getting them to form up again and try and scatter the general horde.

At least, that was her plan. She hoped it would work.

[Zenethil]

So far, sound tactical judgment. Reserve held cavalry was a sound strategy both offensively and defensively, allowing reactive strategies, which with such a cohesive body of men as the Knights, was efficient and quite often devastating. He nodded, observing how she amassed her ranged troops atop the hill. This interested him. He would personally have mixed them in with the regular foot troops for the most part, with a select few upon the hill, in order to maximise the capabilities of each mage and archer, meaning that no front would bear the brunt of a physical assault without ranged cover. There were merits to concentrating all her firepower in one location. Morale was the main one. Such a volume of destructive power in one spot was a formidable sight to witness. And Mublins and Bublins were not renowned for incredible courage.

He nodded again, moving his forces again, a couple of rabbles breaking off, moving wider, others dropping back to allow their allies to take the brunt of the onslaught and for them to take the glory. The remainder of the force, slightly more disciplined began to move forward in a more even line, still a little ragged, but at least appearing uniform as the gap close, the gap down to a third of what it was at the leading edge. The more elite units continued their inexorable surge on the flank, a few Darknuts and a regiment of Stalfos taking it upon themselves to close down the gap to the ranged troops. The rest continued their relentless advance.

His tone remained level and serious. Why did you choose to not make the first move? It wasn't a condemnation. Merely a question. He shuffled the rearmost regiments of more veteran Mublins and Bublins into a more cohesive line, marching at a slower pace than the rest. The second wave, the one that would aim to sledgehammer their way through a tiring battle line.

[alicia]

x x

"I'm defending from a position of power," Alicia explained, her voice somewhat less soft than normal, though no less gentle. "If I leave now, I'm only exposing the knights to fatigue and less beneficial terrain. That's the advantage of being under siege, if there is one," she said, half smiling at her own half joke. She supposed it was sort of her usual, strategy, though: watch, wait, be patient, stick to a plan, and wait for your foe to make a mistake. She signalled that her archers and mages were now going to begin raining death down onto the approaching line of attackers, though her cavalry and melee knights remained in place. She directed the shots such that they would herd the troops into the wall of carefully arranged, disciplined knights, who would be able to take care of the attacking army fairly easily, particularly the first, disorganized wave.

Her archers and mages were, so far, doing exactly what she hoped. On the ridge, they were safe from enemy combatants, and the fact that they were shooting down onto their enemy, who had to try and shoot back up at them if they even could, made them fairly safe. Watching the Darknuts and Stalfos, she directed most of the heavy fire from the mages onto them, hopefully keeping them at bay before they'd come in close. If they got much closer, she'd dispatch the cavalry to break them, but she hoped it wouldn't come to that.

"I guess I just want to try and make sure that none of the knights die. Even if that's unrealistic." She smiled a little, feeling somewhat embarrassed. "Even if they're only made of clay."

[Zenethil]

He watched as she motioned her intent, and explained her actions. Defending from a position of strength was a good strategy. Particularly in this situation. He nodded, moving the edge of the first wave closest to the ranged troops at an angle to screen them a little, charging headlong towards the shield wall of Knights. A few Stalfos were slain before moving inexorably onwards, slower now, under such fierce bombardment. He thought for a moment, before deciding to wait to spring his surprise. The second wave continued to advance, moving around away from the hill, aiming to force Alicia to commit to one flank, or to divide her forces. The first wave crashed into the wall of steel, and many of the horde were removed. Not that it would matter, that wave was simply there to pin the wall in place. Prevent it from reacting properly.

A sound strategy. But, had you contemplated keeping some of the other Knights in reserve? To act as a counterpunch for this wave? He suggested this as he moved the second wave to the opposite flank, dividing his more elite Stalfos and Darknuts into three groups, one headed for the cavalry, one headed for the exposed flank of the infantry, and one more, the larger, headed for the hill. More of the first wave died, before he moved away from the table, gesturing for her to continue. One major problem with defensive strategies is that you hand tactical initiative to your opponent. It is, however, one of the few weaknesses to a defence, easily countered, should you have the foresight to see your opponents plans.

[alicia]

x x

Alicia contemplated the moving pieces of the board, still confident in her plan. Commander Zenethil was, of course, an unparalleled strategist, but Alicia had the advantage of organized, disciplined troops. Those would offer a huge advantage every time, as long as one knew how to handle them. Fortunately, she was able to respond to the onslaught of the monstrous army, letting her shield-wall take care of many of the first wave, before she ordered her archers and mages to decimate the ranks. Forced as they were onto either the unforgiving shields, swords, and pikes of the shield wall, and exposed to the torrent of arrows and spells that were descending on them, the first wave was reduced to rubble.

"I think I can handle this," Alicia said, with even confidence. "Divided as they are, the Stalfos and Darknuts won't be as much of a threat. With the first wave handled, the melee knights can handle the more elite units in combat, though with some losses. The mages and archers can bombard them as they mount the hill, and I'll also have the mages drench the hillside, turning it to mud. In conditions like that, their heavy armour will make them vulnerable to the lighter archers with their dirks, if any are left. And now my knights charge," she said, moving her pieces into position, "And there is very little that can handle a full cavalry charge of mounted knights, in full armour and power. The mud on the hill will fall towards your troops, but away from the trap I've laid with my melee and cavalry. The monsters should fall pretty easily, with those disadvantages," Alicia said, directing her cavalry to move through the Darknuts and Stalfos that were attacking them, then to rout the elite monsters that were attacking the melee. However, she kept an eye on her archers and mages. Nothing was so important to her battle plan as they were.

She was hoping she was doing well at Zenethil's test, but in truth she was just having a very great deal of fun. A part of her enjoyed thinking about these sorts of things, and romantic tales of knights and monsters had fascinated her as a child. She remembered playing with her little figurines, staging grand fights between nameless heroes ... they had been her friends when she had had no others.

[Zenethil]

Try as he might, he couldn't help but feel a small sense of satisfaction at watching the 'Knights' butcher the enemy forces. But, despite this, he had the Ace in the Hole, so to speak. As the more disciplined wave of Mublins and Bublins crashed into the flank of the infantry, and the Darknuts and Stalfos were smashed to pieces, though the troops on the hill beginning to take losses as the more elite monsters ploughed inexorably upwards, though to heavy losses, his over-arching strategy came into the fore. A pulse of dark energy flickered across the battlefield, emanating from the leader of the horde, bathing it in a sickly purple. On the living it had no effect. Upon the dying and the undead, it had a monumental effect.

The dead wave of Bublins and Mublins began to stir, twitching into unholy life, even more clumsy than before, but utterly without fear or regard for personal safety. Zombified. Utterly useless for anything but simply getting in the way. Which was exactly his intent. The Stalfos that had fallen stiched themselves together again, crawling towards their own torsos, rising up once more, suits of armour, shattered by the Knights charge, or ruptured by magic, resealed, and returned to their inexorable advance as before. It was not something that you could plan for. It was the nature of evil. Unpredictable, and utterly remorseless. All you could do was deal with the now. The renewed wave of Stalfos and Darknuts closed in on the engaged cavalry and infantry, further reinforced by those slain further upfield engaging the front of the line of Knights. Those on the hill ploughed on upwards, thought remaining slow, ungainly in the mud, simply pre-occupying the ranged troops, effectively splitting the force in two. He had both flanks engaged, and only those at the centre of the infantry lines were free to move.

He looked at Alicia, quirking an eyebrow. What is your immediate impression of the situation? I will be honest, you've sustained very low casualties up to now. Which is pleasing. But this is the real test. How do you prevail in these circumstances? He gestured for her to take her time in the planning. Realistically, she would have scant moments to actually give the orders. But also realistically, such a pitched engagement would not happen. It was merely a strategic and tactical exercise, and to see how she responded to adversity.

[alicia]

x x

Alicia watched with some satisfaction, as the--to her mind--heroic little knight figurines fought off the waves of monsters without any great difficulty. So far, her plan was working, her formations were holding strong, and best of all, very few of her knights had fallen. She turned her attention to the Darknuts and Stalfos advancing towards her archers and mages; she first thought to redirect the archers' barrage down the hill, onto the elites, but then her eyes were drawn to the strange magic that was reanimating the corpses of the enemies. Her eyes widened a little, but her surprise did not last long. A new, determined expression passed over her visage, and she was suddenly thinking very quickly of how best to deal with the corpses. They weren't moving very cleverly, and in fact they really just seemed more like a shuffling mass of bodies. Maybe she could turn that to her advantage, without disadvantaging her troops too badly. She looked up when the Commander spoke.

"Well, I guess right now I'm wondering if it's just one monster that can perform the spell, or if many of them can. But aside from that...." She looked across the battlefield, and began to organize her troops. She split her mages and archers into two groups: one group concentrated on the advancing monsters approaching them, burying them in arrows and magic. The other began to support the infantry and cavalry. She ordered her cavalry to regroup, forming their ranks again, while she put her infantry in phalanxes, slowly backing away from the monster horde, putting space between them. Then, she had her mages rain fire and lightning down on the hordes.

Predictably, they exploded into wildfire. The reanimated corpses, burning alive, were still trying to move, but they were spreading fire among their own ranks as much as they were advancing, and the flames started to disable the legs of some of the other monsters. Her infantry fought defensively, letting the monsters waste themselves and burn themselves, while she positioned her cavalry for a move that was certainly less conservative than she had been. With her cavalry re-organized, she had them charge among the monsters again, crashing into them and breaking through as well as possible, moving onto the leader. She wished she had a little figurine for herself ... she would be able to move through the ranks without worrying about being hurt too much, hopefully to kill their leader. But she didn't, so she made do.