...Terrence's PoV...
"And we're done with that hellhole," I mutter after receiving the last report on the Green One's purge. This campaign was nerve-wracking, and there were a few close calls. But I am proud to say that there weren't any casualties. There was a few wounded, but nothing that a few healing spells cannot fix.
However, our campaign isn't a complete success. The Green Ones' despicable strategy significantly reduced the number of slaves available for recruitment. And, as if it wasn't enough, killing so many of their own made some of the slaves angry, and some tried to attack us.
We knocked them out for now, but this situation is difficult to handle. On the one hand, we could kill them and be done with it. But it will probably make the other slaves angry, and it will repeat the vicious cycle.
...Yeah, I'm giving them to the Inquisition. They'll handle the re-education of the angry slaves.
The creation of all those new branches was an excellent idea. I don't have to handle as much as before, so I can focus on leading the Legion properly.
This campaign was a resounding success, and I can't wait to wipe out the remnants.
...Steve's PoV...
"So... are we striking today?" I ask the others and their floating image nod in unison.
"We received your weapons, and we are ready to take the Families down. Are you? Do you have what it takes to handle your mother?" one of them asks.
I nod, "I already told you countless times, I'm one of the founding members of the cause, and I won't waver."
"If you say so. I don't want all our efforts to be wasted because you let your emotions cloud your judgment." The image snorts before vanishing.
"We are not expecting you to betray us. But you have to understand; the Wolfheart holdings are crucial for our revolt. It's better that it goes to us rather than the Stonecrushers, right?"
"Of course," I reply and turn the communication artifact off.
"So how did it go?" one of my trusted soldiers asks.
"Considering everything, it went better than I expected. We decided that we are going to strike today, so ready the men." I replay, and the thin Werewolf nods before disappearing into the shadows.
I look at the dark ceiling of the warehouse we are using as a base and take a deep breath. I worked hard for this moment, but I realize how hard it's going to be. My mother is a powerhouse on her own, and some heavy-hitters are remaining in the Loyalist camp.
Not to mention that fighting a potential battle to the death with my mother, and maybe my brother, isn't something that I want to do. Despite our disagreements, she is still my mother.
But I have to do it. The Freedom Movement is too important. The Families have killed too much of their men for petty disputes. The Rules should prevent such conflicts, but they are conveniently ignored when it suits them.
All those conflicts over nothing, all the pain I had to go through in those countless wars, and all the comrades I lost...
Sometimes the faces of my dead friends appear in my dreams, along with all the gruesome things I saw during my career as an Enforcer. I was never given a choice, I've been an Enforcer as soon as I was born.
I don't want anyone else to experience such a thing again, and it is one of the main reason behind the start the Freedom Movement. Family leaders are effectively enslaving their relatives and own children. They are forcing them to fight and mold them into bloodthirsty killing machines.
The worst thing is that, in the end, all those wars accomplished absolutely nothing of value. The borders of the local Families remained mostly unchanged for decades despite the increasingly large number of conflicts.
Something like the Stonecrusher Empire is an exception, and the changes they want to make to the current system are worse than what we currently have. So I'm convinced that we'll clash at some point.
I hope that the Freedom Movement will be ready when the time comes, or we'll be wiped out. Of course, we could request support from other Councils. But they are bogged down with problems of their own. Not to mention that our neighbors must monitor the situation in our Council. We gained their attention with the Incident, and John's declaration only made it even worse.
The emergence of a new power whose objective is to replace the current system also mustn't have been unnoticed. I just hope that they won't intervene. But I doubt it; the Families are the same everywhere: They are greedy, opportunistic, and are unable to understand the consequences of their actions.
So the Stonecrushers are bound to face at least one Coalition. The outcome of this inevitable war will decide the future of the area, and maybe even the continent. If the Stonecrushers win, then they'll absorb the survivors and territories of their enemies, thus making them an unstoppable powerhouse. But if the Empire lose, then it's back to square one. The winners will argue over the Stonecrusher's territory, and they'll either take it for themselves or establish puppet Families that will inevitably break free in the future.
But it doesn't have to be this way. There's a third way, and it's the Freedom Movement.
"Sir?" a question takes me out of my thoughts, and I open my eyes. I see that our men are geared up. They don't look like a regular force since we are equipped with whatever we could steal from the warehouses of various Families. But it doesn't matter as long as the artifacts do their jobs.
Now I need to rally the men and order a strike on the Wolfheart main base. By now, they must already know that something is going to happen, so I don't expect to walk in and take over without facing any resistance.
The Loyalists are going to fight, and there are going to be casualties on both sides.
*It feels a bit hypocritical to kill each other because we killed each other too much. But it's a necessary step to make sure that those useless wars never happen again.*
"Dear members of the Freedom Movement!" I shout as I stand up. "Today is the day we have been waiting for!"
A loud war cry reaches my ears, and I take a moment to survey our ranks. We are mostly veterans who have seen too many battles, but there's also a few inexperienced soldiers who were convinced by our ideals.
I memorize every single one of their faces. It's the least I can do for those who will never come back home.
*Thank you for trusting me, and I'm sorry for what I'm going to make you endure...*
I promise that your sacrifice won't be in vain.
"We are going to take down one of the biggest oppressors we know of, so get ready and DEPLOY!" I slam my foot on the ground as I transform. My father's armor shifts with my body and flawlessly adapts to my large frame.
The men roar and vanish from my sight.
Soon enough, I emerge in front of our base of operation, which is just a couple of yards away from the Wolfheart barrier. We somehow snagged a barrier-breaking device, so we're going to use it to pierce their shield and attack from there.
Of course, the ones who belonged to the Wolfheart Family should still be able to teleport inside. But we aren't enough to do any meaningful damage, and the device is too large and powerful to be safely brought in with a Shadow Walk.
So we're going to assault the barrier the old-fashioned way.
I hope it won't be a repeat of the Incident.
"Ready the Cover!" I shout, and the men deploy a massive gray blanket covered in various artifacts and many runes. We named it the Cover; it's a highly resistant sheet of silk-like metal which has been enhanced with all the spare shielding artifacts we could find. We then hooked them all together as a sort of large shield which should protect everyone from whatever the Family will throw at us.
Or at least I hope it does. Some mages will supplant the Cover with barriers of their own, but I don't know how they'll fare against the Wolfheart defenses.
I go at the front of the Cover and slam my foot on the ground. The men roar and the Cover slowly inches towards the unwavering Wolfheart barrier.
...Alice's PoV...
"Ma'am, they are moving!" an agent declares. I sigh, and my sore shoulders crack as I get up. My body has been in bad shape ever since the Incident, and I feel like I don't have a lot of time left.
I wanted my final moments to be peaceful, I wanted to be surrounded by my loved ones... but reality had other plans for me.
Instead, my Family is in shambles, and my sons are going to try to kill each other. I glance towards Riley, who grits his teeth as the large metal mass slowly approaches our defenses. He finally came to his senses and didn't join Steve and his misguided rebellion, and I'm a bit glad for that.
But I'm also saddened by the fact that my only close family is now enemies in a fratricidal war. In a certain way, I would have almost preferred it if they joined forces against me. At least, this situation would be easy to resolve.
I would have surrendered, or I would have killed myself on the spot. If my sons truly believed that my death would be the only way to make the world a better place, then who am I to deny their wishes?
But now I have to make a choice. Fighting means potentially killing Steve, and surrendering could kill Riley. I doubt those bloodthirsty rebels are going to be merciful with the ones they view as the ultimate evil.
Either way, I'm going to lose a child today.
I realize that I've been a terrible mother for both of them. And I've been a terrible leader for the Family. This situation could have been avoided if I did the right thing at the right time, but I was too bogged down in Council politics to see the world for what it indeed was.
But now it's too late for regrets.
"Ma'am, they are approaching! What should we do?" the agent brings me back to reality, and I observe him for a brief moment. He has been loyal to the Family ever since I became the Matriarch. He's one of the rare members of the Family who haven't either deserted or joined a rebellious group. And how did I reward this loyalty?
By forcing him to fight his friends and family.
I need to fight; I owe it to the soldiers who are putting their lives in my hands. If we can capture the rebels, then maybe I'll be able to make them realize the foolishness of their actions, and we'll reunite as one Family again.
*As if it was that simple!*
I resist the urge to slam my desk and take a deep breath to calm my anger. Getting angry now won't change a damn thing, so I need to focus and find a solution before it's too late. But looking at the brave Werewolf leading the charge tells me that I might already be too late.
But I can't give up now, I need to fight the rebels, and I must try to capture them.
"All right, then fire the first salvo!" I order. I grit my teeth as I watch the fireballs aimed straight towards the metallic cover. Various shields pop up as an attempt to stop the spells, but most of them crack, and the fireballs scorch the surface of their giant sheet of metal.
*Their defenses are stronger than I expected. I can't recall what this metal is, but I'm confident that it's coming from one of our warehouses.*
I can identify several of the artifacts they have attached to their shield, and they are unmistakably from our warehouses.
The situation is even worse than I first thought, and the influence of Steve's rebellion has already reached the high-ranking officers responsible for the warehouses. I'm somewhat glad that they didn't reach the main warehouse, or they might have found the secrets of our Strategic spells and the reagents for our most powerful rituals.
If the rebels had access to such power, then there would be no end to the destruction they would bring. But most importantly, they would have attracted the attention of other Councils.
It's evident that the other Councils must be preparing something to deal with the Stonecrusher Empire. I didn't talk a great deal with the Families outside our Council, but I noticed during our few interactions that their mentality was almost identical to our own.
And it isn't a compliment.
So that's why I'm sure that those greedy bastards already have dismantlement plans for the fledgling Empire, and it's only a matter of time before they make their move. I doubt the Stonecrusher Empire will be able to endure the assault of a Coalition, so at least things will be back to normal in due time.
But Steve's rebellion would have no chance against an opponent like a Coalition, and they would be slaughtered to the last soldier.
I glance towards the displayed battlefield, the rebels, who are still holding onto their scorched cover, slowly approach our barrier and I think I can spot some jury-rigged version of the barrier-breaker we sometimes use.
*So they somehow broke through the safety protocols.*
I believe this rebellion calls itself the Freedom Movement, and I can't help but be impressed by their resourcefulness. They somehow modified a highly advanced and complex mechanism that the Stonecrusher Family built for us a long time ago. So they must have access to good enchanters, but I don't know anyone in our Family that has such capabilities.
*Maybe the rumors were true.*
Rumors about the Freedom Movement being a sort of inter-Family organization did reach my ears, but I dismissed it as mere rumors. Even century-long alliances between Families are fragile, so something like the Freedom Movement could not possibly have such a reach.
But it looks like I'm wrong again. I narrow my eyes and take a peek behind Steve, and I do not just see Werewolves.
At least this rebellion did something right. It transcended the often inescapable grasp of the hatred running between every Family.
I bet this bond isn't going to last.
"Fire again!" I order, and this time the salvos have some effect. Pained shrieks echo as the flames engulf certain portions of the rebels' defenses. I'm glad that it didn't reach Steve, but now they reached our barrier.
*So I didn't stop them in time...*
I was hoping that they would stop with the first casualties, but the death of their comrades only enraged them even more, and they are now slamming the barrier-breaking device against our shield. It isn't how you are supposed to use it, but the device still provides a brief burst of power when it comes in contact with the barrier, so I guess they must have changed the way it functions.
The dreaded moment is finally here, and my long sigh is lost amongst the shockwave spreading through the residence each time the device hits the barrier.
I get up and transform, and my son does the same before sinking in the shadows. I also teleport away and emerge near the future entry point o the rebels. Steve, who is wearing his father's armor, leads the attacks with fury in his eyes as he waves my dead husband's weapon around.
Steve always was similar to his father, but now it's almost like I'm looking at a copy of my husband during his youth. Riley was always more calm and reserved, but Steve is as impulsive as his father.
My son and I lock our gaze on each other. The battlefield is silent except for the rhythmic beat of the barrier-breaking device. A gust of wind sweep across the grassy flats as my soldiers line up, and the rebels are readying themselves while signs of weakness appear over the barrier.
*And now, we wait.*
This silent staring contest goes on for a couple of minutes; nobody says anything and the tension keeps increasing. I generate a few lightning bursts in my hands and weave them around my finger while Steve tightens his grip on his sword.
My heartbeat keeps increasing. I take a deep breath while the world seems to slow down.
Everything grinds to a halt when a large hole appears in the barrier, and the battle truly begins.