For Glory: Lucas Blackwood - Knights Chapter 3

Chapter 3 - The 7 Day Siege

On the outside of the fort Lucas and Damain had taken back, a lone Viking atop a white horse looked on with interest at Lucas's success. Impressed, he smiled and said to himself, "Not bad, Lucas. Not bad." Without another word, he turns his horse and rode off before he was spotted. 

An hour later and already the mess from the battle was being cleaned up. Countless Viking AI corpses were thrown to the pile while in the courtyard, a man dressed as an executioner was doing just that. A handful of Viking players were captured and now being executed. With this, they would be sent back to Valkenhime, which the nearest village there was many miles away. Too far for them to get back into the fight. Alice and Lucas stood atop the wall, looking on as it was being done. "Seems a little unfair if you ask me." Lucas said as they watched. Alice didn't say anything. Her back was resting against the wall, leaning against it as she looked up to the sky. "That's war, Lucas." She simply said. "What do you mean?" He asked. 

"At the end of the day, it is just a game. But when you look closely at it, it is a form of war. Each season opens up with promises of prizes to the winner. Each faction wants to win, weather for the prize, for the glory, or just to say they did. That's what makes it war, sport. And war is an ugly thing." Alice explained. Luca slistened as another player was executed and sighed.

There was an awkward silence between the two before an AI soldier went to them. "Message for Lucas Blackwood! Ancalagon requests a meeting in the main hall!" The soldier said. "Better go see what he wants, sport. You don't wanna keep Damian waiting." Alice said to him with a pat on the shoulder. "Sure." He said before going off to the main hall of the fort. 

After a short walk, he entered the hall and went up to office where the commander was me at to work. Opening the door, he found Damian looking through some papers on a desk, which seemed to be a mess. "These Vikings. You would think they would at least clean up after themselves." Damian said. "You wanted to see me, boss?" Lucas asked him. Smiling at him, Damian said, "Yes I did, lad. Come on in." He seemed to be in a chipper mood. Entering the office and closing the door behind him, Lucas asked, "So what's up?" 

"Well with the fort taken and the players being executed, we'll need to move fast if we want to flank the Viking horde." Damian replied. "Sadly, most of the mercenary players that joined on for the fight have already left. About half of them remain." Lucas was a little surprised. They didn't want to stay to fight back against the Vikings? "In any case, our legionaries are still at full strength and we still have a few mercenaries, but we're gonna need more men." Damian explained. "What needs to be done?" Lucas asked. "Nothing you need to worry about, lad. I've sent out a call to our nearest outposts, asking them to send more men and resources so we can repair the damages. Once they arrive, we'll launch our flanking maneuver." Damian explained. 

"But what about the main battle in the valley?" Lucas asked, concerned about wasting precious time. "The outposts I sent calls are nearby. They shouldn't take very long." Damian replied. "Let's just hope the man power we get will be enough to defeat the Viking horde." Lucas smiled and said, "I'm sure we'll win. We have all that we need. We just need to push them back." Damian smiled as well in response to that. "You have quite a lot of faith. I like that. We need both skill and will if we wanna win the war. You've got both, Lucas." Damian complimented. 

Remembering those words never ceases to make me smile. I always wanted to be as amazing as Eric and Mathew. For Glory was my chance to get it. And I was not gonna waste that chance, no matter how hard it will be to reach that goal.

As Damian straightened himself up, he was about to say something to Lucas, but was interrupted by a Dragon Legionnaire busting through the door in a huge hurry. "Lord Ancalagon!" He yelled, panting as he was in a rush. "What is it soldier? Can't you see I'm in the middle of something?" Damian asked, rather pissed at the interruption. "M-My apologies, but a legionnaire of the Centurion Legion has just arrived. He has very bad news." The soldier said. Damian and Lucas looked with slight confusion before following the soldier out. 

In the courtyard, after the executions were finished, all the memebers of the Dragon Legion and the mercenary players were there. At the inside of the gate was a man from the Centurion Legion. He didn't seem to be of any particular class, but had a "Watch" color scheme, consisting of green, white, and black. Damian, armored up and poleaxe in hand, walked out and met with this man. "Legionnaire?" Damian asked, directed to him. "Aye. That is me, Ancalagon. A pleasure to meet you." The man said in response. "No time for formalities. One of my men said that you come with bad news. What is it?" Damian said. He sounded a little stressed. Maybe even worried. The centurion sighed and said, "Straight to the point? Aye a good idea. There is little time." He said. "To be blunt, the Battle or Saratosh was lost. The Lion and Centurion Legions are falling back to the Citidel of Mandal along with the men you had with us out there." 

That news caused a chilled silence to befal the fort. They took the fort, but lost the battle. With Saratosh lost, the Viking horde will undoubtably retake the base and move into Ashfeld. "Damn....that is bad news." Damian said as he turned around, clearly moved by this. "The Warlord of the Lion wants you to call for whatever reinforcements possible and take them to Mandal as soon as possible. With how fast the Spartain Clan is moving fast and will undoubtably reach Mandal soon." Damian nodded before looking back at the centurion and said, "Go back to your leaders and tell them I'm on my way." The warrior nodded and said, "Thank you sir. I'll be on my way." He said before leaving. Damian continued thinking to himself as Alice went up to him and said, "Well that isn't good." Damian grunted in response. "No time for jokes, sweetheart." He said. After getting himself together, he said, "Alright lads, listen up! You all heard that. Saratosh is lost and the neckbeards are moving in by the hundred. We need to fall back and prepar a counter attack with the rest of our brothers. So who's with me?" After shouting that, the men and women all shouted out, "ORAAAAH!" As usual, that meant they were with him. "And for you remaining mercenaries, we need all hands for the upcoming battle. If you wanna opt out of it, now's your chance to do it." Damian added. What few random players remained all looked to each other and nodded. "We're with you, Ancalagon. Can't let you dragons have all the fun." Said the same Conqueror Lucas met during the battle. "Very well. Let's do it then." Damian said. "We'd going to Mandal!" Upon that proclamation, the players began cheering. 

Damian turned to Alice and said, "Alice, I want you to go to nearest of our outposts, warn them about the Vikings, get them to spread the word, and send whatever troops they can to Mandal. We'll need them." Alice nodded in response and walked off as she was going to disembark. "Lucas, a word?" Damian asked, pulling the young Warden to the side. "Mandal is a very important citadel in Ashfeld. If we lose that city, the Vikings will be able to move through Ashfeld, almost completely unchecked. We can't have that." Lucas then asked, "What would you have me do?" Putting his hand on his shoulder, Damian replied, "I need you by my side out there. This Spartain Clan is clearly no joke. To defeat one of my best men, the Lion Legion, and Centurion Legions alone. That's no small feat. I fear the battle coming up will be one hell of a fight. That's where you come in. You've proven to be very skilled for a low level, common mercenary. That's why I need you. We need warriors like you if we'll have a chance to win the fight. So will you stand with me? Because this may be your only chance to opt out." 

Lucas took time to think about what he said but then replied with, "I've come this far. So why the hell not? Whatever you need, I am yours to command. My sword is yours." Damian nodded and said, "Then I accept it, young warden. And before I forget, what I wanted to talk to you about earlier was that I have a close friend in the Iron Legion. A commander. Once we get this cleared up, I'll be happy to send him a recommendation to dub you a knight of the Iron Legion." Lucas's eyes lit up with joy upon hearing that. "Y-you mean it? Thank you, boss." He said with a childish joy in his voice. "Now now. I don't hand out favors like this lightly. You still need to do a good job. We have a long and hard battle ahead of us. You ready?" Damian asked, reaching out his hand for a handshake. Nodding, Lucas accepted it, shaking his hand.

---City of Mandal---

The men of the Dragon Legion marched for a while before they finally came upon it. Mandal, one of the last Iron Legion sanctuaries of Ashfeld. It was the same citadel as seen in the previous For Honor game. The main gate at the center with an archers' point to its left and a barracks at the right. It looked rather peaceful what without all the chaos at the front of it. Marching through the forest, the group saw the mighty citadel in all its glory. "We're in luck. We're ahead of the Vikings." Damian said as he made his way with his men to the front gates. "But where's Alice? Shouldn't she be here with our reinforcements?" Lucas asked with concern. "I dunno. She's probably delayed. But we can't worry about her right now. We need to meet up with the rest of our allies and ready the defenses." Damian replied to him as they marched together. The small army finally reached main gate and Damian let out his call. "Open the gates! We are Dragon Legion and company! We're here to aid you!" He yelled as loud as he could. 

From the top of the wall, a player yelled out, "Open the gate! Dragon Legion!" Upon that command, the great gate began to move inwards, opening up for legion's men. The group began walking through the corador and making their way inside. And once they were in, they saw the city. It was massive with many building made in knightly architecture and design. It was truly a wonder to behold. 

I've never been to Mandal before that battle. I was told it was the same city that served as the citadel map in For Honor so I felt no need. Mathew claimed to have led a siege against it at one point and failing. Now I get to stand in it's defense.

As the small army moved in, they were greeted by a warden with gold material, a winged 1 ornament on his helm, and dawned in Lederic Armor and a Gilgamesh sword at his side. He had on the "Knight Neutral" colors with the "Half Cheveron" paint pattern on his cape and "Lion" engravings on both his shoulders. "Ancalagon." He spoke in a rather manly voice with an Italian accent. "Leo." Damian replied to him by his name. Lucas couldn't believe what he just heard Damian say. He actually refered to him as the famous Leo of the Lion Legion. 

Leo. The founder and current Warlord of the Lion Legion. Though that legion isn't as popular as the Dragon Legion, it's Warlord is widely known. Leo is said to be one of the contenders as king of the Knight Faction, which Damian also is able for, but refused, and is able to fight on par with Damian in any situation. However, despite the countless duels the two have had, there has never been a clear victor. Their respect for each other is what sealed the alliance between the Lions and Dragons. To see these two coming together for a battle against the enemy is more than enough to tell the seriousness and gravity of the battle that lies ahead. 

"It's been too long, dragon boy." Leo said before going in and hugging Damian. "Haha way to long, kitty cat!" Damian replied with a chuckle. "So we have to fight side-by-side for this one eh?" Leo asked. "And so early in a session. Doesn't look good." Damian replied. "Eh let's not go too crazy here. You still have the chance for that Dragon Charge you want so bad." Leo said. "So how many you got?" Damian turned to the group and said, "I got twenty of my legionaries and a few mercenary players. All are good at what they do." Leo smiled and said, "Well if they got your seal of approval, who am I to complain?" He then saw Lucas that was at Damian's side and asked, "Who's this? Your new protégé?" Lucas stood tall and answer, "A pleasure to meet you, my lord. I am Lucas. And...I guess you can say that." Leo looked back at Damian and said, "I didn't know you were taking knights under your dark wing." To which Damian said, "Only those whom I see potential in. Lucas is a fine warrior despite his average rank. He'll be of great use to us this fight." 

Leo looked back at Lucas and said, "Hear that one, lad? That mean's a lot is riding on you. Don't mess up." He was casual about that, but Lucas was gripped with slight fear of that statement. "Now where's that woman of yours, Ancalagon? I find her...oddly charming." Leo asked. That comment only led to a brief silence before Damian smacked Leo upside the head. "Don't go hitting on my woman like that! Don't you have, like, twenty girlfriends already?!" He asked. "What can I say? I'm a charmer." Leo said in reply. 

I never really forgot that statement. "Oddly charming". It sounds like a compliment....but why did I get such a horrid feeling from hearing it?

Leo turned his attention back to Lucas and seemed to show his approval. "Alright. This lad has your approval, then he has mine." Turning behind him, he called out, "Zona!" In response, a Peacekeeper came forward, dawned in rare gear of her own and her sword and dagger at her sides. "You called?" She asked. Turning back to Lucas, Leo said, "Lucas, was it? Meet Zona. She's one of my commanders and captain of the Assassin's Squad of the Lion Legion. She'll take you around and show you the battlements. Feel free to ask her anything you need to know and do as she tells you, alright?" Leo stated, to which Lucas nodded. "Good. As for you, Ancalagon, if you would, I want you to come with me. We need to discuss our battle strategies." As the two Warlords went off, Zona moved to Lucas and said, "Come along, rookie. We got work to do." 

After an hour our of a tour, Zona led Lucas to the top of the walls of the main gate. "And that's about it." She said, leaning against the wall overlooking the forest and ruin. "Seems you guys are well established here. We should be ready for the Vikings when they show." Lucas said, sounding confident. "Don't get cocky, kid. This Spartain Clan is no joke. They pushed back against three legions sent against them. That is no small feat. We need to be at your best if you wanna survive." Zona replied. Lucas looked downward and sighed. He was nervous for the fight since he wanted to impress Damian. But what worried him the most was this Viking clan. They must've been truly a force to be feared to get this far after all the resistance they were shown. "Did you fight in the battle?" Lucas asked. "Yes." Zona answered. "But not in the way you're thinking. Leo fought on the frontlines at the last push the Vikings gave us. As for me, I'm his left hand. So while he was fighting on the front, I was doing a little battle of my own on the side." She explained rather vaguely. 

"What do you mean? And what do you mean by 'his left hand'?" Lucas asked. In response to this, Zona drew her dagger and held his up for him to see. "What do Peacekeepers hold in their left hands?" She asked him. "A knife?" Lucas answered, but was still confused as to how she was answering. "A dagger." She corrected. "We hold swords in our right hands to do the main fighting against our foes, but we also carry a dagger in the other hand to help parry away their blows and deliver swift, dealdly strikes to them. Those strikes may not do a lot of damage as the sword will do, but their attacks can cripple the enemy, leaving them bleeding and slowed so the sword can swoop in and deal the final blow." As she explained this, Lucas slowly began to understand. "I serve as Leo's dagger. While he and his second in command, the right hand, fought the main battle, I snuck around and, with my squad, delivered crippling blows to the enemy army, doing anything we can to weaken them. Killing their generals, cutting off supply lines, anything of that nature to weaken them, just as a Peackeeper's knife would do." She explained. "Dagger." Lucas jokingly corrected, causing the young woman to laugh a little. "A wise guy, huh? You'd fit right in with Damian if you joined him." She said. 

"I already have my sights set on another legion." He replied. "But more to the point, what you just said, forgive me if this offends, but it sounds a lot like something from the Samurai philosophy on battle." He added. "That's because I took it from them. We learn things from each other. That's part of the glory in this game. We fight, but we learn from each other and from it, grow as human beings. That is what makes this VR game so great. At least to me." Zona explained. Lucas smiled at that, taking in her words. He then asked his next question, "So this Assassin's Squad. Their job is doing this left hand work?" Zona nodded in reply. "Yes. Not everyone in the squad are rogue like assassins. There are some Wardens and Lawbringers. And some unclassified classes that are more for heavy hitting combat. But our job is still just that. Sneaking into enemy territory, behind their lines, and striking deep into where it hurts most for them. That's our job in battle. Sometimes we're given those really fun missions to sneak our way into Viking or Samurai regions and kill some targets. Those are always the best. But we also conduct recons and investigations. On occasion we deliver messages. Those might not be as fun, but it can be best for us to do it since we're rather good at our job." Zona explained. "Sounds like a fun job. Are there other squadrons in your legion." Lucas asked. "A few, yes. There's a Demolition Squad, an Infantry Squadron, and even an Elite Squadron, which is led by Leo's second in command." Zona answered. "That sounds cool." Lucas said.

The two would continue to talk, but meanwhile, in the forest bellow them, beyond the citadel, the Viking hord was rallied together and ready for battle. A Warlord stood at the front, looking up at the citadel. A Viking player walked up to him and said, "Everyone's ready, Stargan. Give the word and the citadel is ours." He said. "I wouldn't be so certain of that but...yes. It will be ours." He said with a determined look, but a grin of confidence in his face. "The tin cans ain't gonna win today. We've been preparing for this for a long time. There's no way they'll get the upper hand on us." Stargan, the Warlord and commander of the Spartain Clan's attack force here in Ashfeld, he is a foe beyond questionable doubt to be one of the best fighters in that clan. His attack would leave the knights shaken for a long time to come. 

Looking over to his Viking brethren, he said, "Now's the time, brothers. He have the knights in the run so let's keep them on the run! Let's have what we came for! For honor! For glory! For Valhalla! ATTAAAAAACK!" He yelled, drawing his sword and pointing it at the citadel. With that command, a volley of catapult fire was launched at the citadel. Many flaming boulders flew through the sky like meteors falling to earth. Caught off guard, Lucas and Zona collapsed upon their fast impact against the wall  and buildings behind. "The hell?!" Lucas yelled. 

Zona stood back up and looked over the walls. "Dammit! It's the Spartain Clan! They're here!" She yelled in reply. "So soon?" Lucas asked. However, he didn't get an answer as Leo ran to them on the wall. "Lucas! Zona!" He yelled to them. "We're still in one piece." She answered in a joking way. Leo looked over the walls and saw the oncoming Viking horde. "Damn. This is too soon." He said, punching the stone in frustration. "You're orders?" Zona asked. After a second, he turned to Zona and said, "I want you to run as fast as you can to the nearest Iron Legion stronghold and tell them to send as many reinforcements as possible." Leo said to her. "A message? In the middle of a battle?" Zona asked. "That's an order, Zona! We don't know who their commander is or where he is. I can't just randomly send you and a group out without direction. Even if you found him, by then, they might have broken into the citadel. Besides, you're the fastest in getting a message out. So please, do as I say." Leo ordered. Zona took a second before nodding and running off. "Lucas." Leo then looked to the young man. "Here, my lord." Lucas answered. "Damian wants you with him and the rest of the Dragon Legion's men at the barracks on the far end. Get over there as fast as you can." Lucas nodded to him. "Understood. I'm on my way." He said before running off. "God's speed, young warrior." Leo said, then looking to the Vikings. "We're certainly gonna need it." 

With this, the Seven Day Siege had begun.