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The Pale King stood in a large, ornate hall, overlooking a map of Hallownest on a massive marble table while sipping from a chalice. The map depicted the kingdom split into two sections, one coloured white, and the other coloured orange. The white section encompassed a majority of the kingdom, but Crystal Peak, the Resting Grounds, and parts of the Crossroads were coloured orange. The king scrutinized the map, tracing out possible flanking routes and weak points in the defense, all the while planning out his army’s next big move.
The king and his kingdom had been at war for the last few months, all against the Radiance. After having been forgotten for so long, she mustered an army of brainwashed soldiers at the kingdom’s peak to wage war on the Pale King for taking away her influence. The battle against the disgraced goddess was quite tricky, as not only did she have the advantage of higher ground, but her numbers expanded and expanded by the hundreds every day. In spite of this challenge, the king fought back as hard as he could, and had managed to hold his ground for a long period of time. In turn however, he struggled to make any headway in taking any land back from the Radiance, which greatly vexed him. No matter how strong his soldiers were, the Radiance’s army matched the strength of his.
The war had caused many casualties, day after day soldiers lost their lives in an attempt to protect the kingdom, and many families were torn apart by the horrors of war. While the loss of life was a certainty in war, the Pale King couldn’t help but feel sorrow for the valiant soldiers who paid the ultimate price in the name of his kingdom. When all was said and done, he would have to honour them properly, they deserved as much. He couldn’t think about it now though, there was too much riding on the line for him to get sentimental right now. He had to plan an attack, one that would guarantee him progress in taking down the Radiance.
Staring intently at the map, an idea struck him. He would send his army back through the Pilgrim’s Way, up into the Howling Cliffs, where they would attack through Dirtmouth. This would ideally split the enemy into two areas, backing one half into Crystal Peak while the other half would be stranded in the Resting Grounds, easily defeated by the nails of his soldiers. He would have to ask General Herrah for additional reinforcements for this attack, and also gain permission from Unn to let his soldiers trespass on her lands, but it would be the perfect attack if all went according to plan. The City of Tears would have to shore up defenses while the sneak attack commences, but other than that there wouldn’t need to be too many preparations elsewhere.
Just as he was about to start organizing this attack, a retainer came bursting through the doorway to the hall he was in, shouting frantically.
“Y-your highness! I have news from the City of Tears!” he shouted as loud as he could, and the king could feel a pit of dread forming in his stomach.
“What is it?” he replied, doing his best to sound calm.
“The City was assaulted in the night! We are already reporting hundreds of dead, and General Lurien has been captured! The eastern side of the city has been fully taken over by the enemy!” the retainer hurriedly spoke.
The Pale King stood there in shock at the retainer’s words, lightly shaking, the grip on his chalice getting tighter and tighter. His jittering continued as the retainer shifted nervously at what the king was about to say. The silence persisted for a moment, the Pale King’s rage being barely contained by his formality. He imagined his most loyal general imprisoned, about to get executed, and at that moment he snapped, crushing the chalice with his bare claws. The liquid that it contained splashed everywhere, and he could feel hemolymph dripping from cuts in his claws. Turning around and looking at the massive stained glass window behind him, he spoke gravely towards the retainer.
“Prepare my armour. I’m going into the battlefield.”