The harmonious silence marked the end of the battle, and it was very eerie at Reynard's fortress. The proud stronghold now stood humbled, with the courtyards filled with Damien's soldiers collecting prisoners and tending to the war-injured. Smoke spiraled out into a dusky sky from scattered fires, the sweet yet bitter tang of warmer blood and ash hanging uncomfortably in the cold air around them.
Damien sat in the war room of the fortress, formerly a spectacular hall but now littered with torn maps and smashed furniture. In the center of the chamber, Reynard sat shackled into a heavy iron chair, silver hair disheveled but defiance writ clear on his sharp features.
Amara leaned lazily against the wall, arms crossed with her deadly blue eyes watching Reynard like a hawk. Next to her, General Aldric reviewed the reports from the battlefield, his grizzled visage unreadable.
"This rebellion comes to its end," Damien said, his steel-gray eyes shooting a glare at the other male. "Your forces are scattered, your supply lines cut, and your allies exposed. Surrender, and this ends here."
Reynard laughed, and the sound was contemptuous. "You think this is over, Vryce? You have only won a battle, not the war. You do not understand the very depths of this kingdom's rot."
"I understand a lot more than you think," was Damien's cold reply. "Elyas used you. He has been orchestrating this rebellion for his own gain, and you were too blinded by your ambitions to see it."
Reynard's smirk faded somewhat, and his voice held steady. "Elyas is a tool-an additional means of getting resources for my fight as a resource to fight for what I believe. I'd rather die fighting than bow to a broken crown."
"Fighting for what you believe in doesn't justify the lives you have destroyed," Damien said. "You have left innocent people to suffer for your pride."
Reynard rested his forward bated breath, nice chains clank rattling on the floor. "And you, Damien? Do you believe that the people will forget what you have done? You are no savior-you are a butcher, just like me."
It was dead silent in the room, with the weight of Reynard's words in the air.
Amara stepped up and split the tension with her words, "Because when such people like Damien try to set right the wrong things, you want to burn everything to ashed ground."
Laughter filled the ambience bitterly from Reynard. "And why do you think you are on the right side of this?"
"Because I have seen the wrong side," answered Amara with an icy tone. "And it is sitting right in front of me.""
--------------------
The next day after the interrogation, he was taken under guard to the dungeons of the fortress. Damien remained in the war room, ruminating over the documents strewn over the table. Several mentioned troop movements and supply records, while a few others bore Elyas's seal-proofs of his involvement in the rebellion.
Amara stepped into the room with soft, weighted footsteps, then dropped into one of the chairs in front of Damien, her smirk barely existent but still there.
"You handled it well", she said to him.
"I thought I didn't" said Damien rubbing his temples.
"Reynard isn't completely wrong, you know. People would not easily forget what you have done. But that doesn't mean they can't forgive." said Amara nonchalantly while leaning against the chair.
"Forgiveness doesn't wipe out the past," said Damien in a low voice.
"No, but it offers a chance to build the future," replied Amara. "And right now, you are doing more good than anyone else in this kingdom."
He looked up at her, that half smile on his lips again. "Since when did you become the voice of reason?"
"Ever since you began to hear me," she cracked cheerfully with a little bit of hilarious exaggeration.
-----
The following morning, Damien convened a meeting of his core advisors; General Aldric, Amara, and Loric were at the conference table, their expressions tense as they reviewed material that had been collected from Reynard's stronghold for them by the synthesis.
"It seems Elyas is more deeply entrenched than we supposed," Aldric said, his voice grave. "These papers show he has coordinated with a number of noble houses even beyond Falcrest and Draemir. If ever we have to get him down, then we will have to do it quick."
"Agreed," Damien said. "Reynard's capture will destabilize the rebellion, but Elyas won't stop. He'll use this as an opportunity to consolidate his power."
Loric furrowed his brow, the scarring on his face completely lost in deep thought. "If Elyas has been playing both sides, there is a good chance he's already planning his next move. We need to find out what it is."
Amara smirked. "Well, it's not like Elyas is shy about his ambitions. He is probably sitting in some dark tower, twiddling his mustache and cackling about how clever he is."
"That means we have to be smarter," Damien said, his tone firm. "We will send scouts to monitor his movements, intercept his communications. If we expose him to them for who he really is, we will turn the rest of his allies against him."
"Your Grace," he said, quickly bowing. "There has been an attack-on the southern roads. A supply convoy was ambushed, and survivors say it was not Reynard's doing."
Whose, then, was his jaw tightening? "Who did it?"
"They say by the Silent Daggers," the messenger said.
Amara cursed under her breath. "Elyas's assassins. Of course he would send them now."
Damien issued a challenge on Aldric. "We have to be quick in reinforcing the southern roads. Elyas will have targeted our supply lines; he is probably softening us right now for after."
"I will send off riders," Aldric said, going to the door.
---
That evening, in the reports of the ambush, Damien and Amara sat analyzing. Silent Daggers proved to be a small group of mercenaries but deadly. Known for precision and ruthlessness.
"They send a message," Amara said with a grave face.
"And we shall send a reply back," replied Damien.
"Is that what is in your mind?" Amara raised her brow.
"We don't wait for them to come to us," said Damien, "but rather find their base and take them out before they can strike again."
Amara's sly smile resurfaced. "Now you're speaking my language."
---
Days went by to find the base of the Silent Daggers. In the end, with the help of scouts of Damien, it was communicated down to finally narrow down to a case in the woods, hidden deep within its southern border. Damien then went on to gather a small elite team of soldiers such as Amara, Carys, and Loric whom he could get into camp with to annihilate the threat.
"It's not only about stopping the Daggers," Damien told them in the preparatory phase of their mission. "It's about sending a message to Elyas that we are not afraid of him, and we will not back down."
Amara grinned, spinning one of her daggers with her. "Let's just make sure the message is loud and clear."
---
The team moved under the cover of darkness towards the Silent Daggers camp. The trees were dense, and it was silent; the moon barely lit it in the shadow cast above by the canopy.
Damien's eyes pass from one bush to the other, while he signals the team to stop. After that small clearing, the camp was shadowed by edges and the differing colors of its invisible perimeter by figures armed with crossbows and short swords.
Amara, Carys, take the left flank." Quietly, Damien said: "Loric and I will take the right. Stay quiet, and don't engage until I give the signal."
Amara saluted. "Quiet as a mouse."
Then the troops took their position, footfall soundless within the thick carpet of forest growth. Damien and Loric along the right flank disposed of two sentries with deft strokes before creeping closer.
At the edge of the clearing, Damien raised his hand, signalling hold.
"Now," he breathed.
The assault was sudden and savage. Damien's team descended on the enemy like vultures, honed and ready to strike. The Silent Daggers were caught unawares, just managing to scramble their defenses like chickens.
Amara was a moving shadow, the reflection of her daggers catch in the moonlight as she brought another assassin crashing down. Loric, stronger than most, swung his sword with deadly accuracy, cleaving through enemies and making it look easy.
The camp was in ruins only minutes later: Silent Daggers lay dead in pink puddles or were fleeing into darkness.
As the team came together again, Damien stood at the heart of the clearing, sword still ready at hand.
"We sent our message," he said evenly. "Now, let's see how Elyas responds."
Amara came strolling up to him, her smile as sharp as her daggers. "Do you think he'll take the bait?"
"He'll have no choice," Damien said. "The game is changing, and this time, it's on our terms."
With the first light of dawn creeping through the trees, Damien felt that old resolve invigorate him again. The fight with Elyas was by no means over, but the tide slowly began to shift in Damien's favor.
And Damien Vryce was ready for whatever came next.