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Chapter 103 - Stormfronts

Altan stood atop the high platform of the Citadel's inner hall, its walls still echoing with the silence left by the Circle's meeting. Now, commands would move from word to war.

He turned to the gathered wardens who had not yet departed.

"To the South," Altan began, "you march first."

The Warden of the South stepped forward.

"You will lead your legion beyond the parched hills and scorched flats. Five forts will be raised, each positioned to watch the trade routes, desert passes, and known crossings. They are not walls. They are spears. They will bleed any who test us."

He glanced at the map.

"There is no sign yet of the Dazhum Empire forming pacts with the southern kingdoms, but I will not be complacent. You will act as if war comes tomorrow. Take your veterans first, then your new legion from the Chasm. And when you march, speak with the southern tribes. Many still fly the Gale banner. They will help build the forts if you show them purpose."

The Warden of the South bowed once.

"You will also patrol beyond the borders. Leave no shadow to grow unchecked. The Hospitaliers will send a cohort to support you. They will set up triage centers and forge supply chains from Gale."

Altan turned next to Chaghan.

"You will march to the east coast. The Zhong remnants are most likely to strike by sea. Your command will stretch across the coastline. The port cities must be fortified."

Chaghan gave a nod, already calculating supply lines in his mind.

"The largest port, Tidescar, will become our bulwark. You will oversee its transformation. Walls reinforced, harbor barricades set, the cliff batteries brought back into use. But more than that, we will build a secondary fort, a Citadel mirror, half a day's march inland. It will sit upon the Stoneback Ridge, overlooking the city and the sea. If Tidescar falls, this fortress will not. And from there, we can strike back."

Altan's voice sharpened.

"No coastal town or village will be left unspoken for. If they cannot be defended, they will be relocated. Compensate their loss. Protect their dignity. This is still their home."

The Warden of the East stepped forward.

"You will assist Chaghan. Send your cohorts to the Free Cities and towns. Begin training their militias. Embed Stormguard veterans to lead them. The people must not only see us, they must become us."

The Warden of the North stood next.

"You will reinforce the border walls and mountain passes. The Zhong allies in the northern cities must be held at bay. Build new forts on the high spines. Watch every trail. Use the highland tribes where you can. The first strike will come from the cold."

Altan's gaze turned to Kael.

"Your path is darker. You will go to the Free Cities and speak to the assassin guilds."

Kael's eyes narrowed.

"Recruit them," Altan said. "Offer them place. If they accept, they come under you. If not, dismantle them. No blades in the dark unless they serve the Storm."

Kael nodded once.

"You will coordinate with the Warden of the Hospitaliers. Their records hold intelligence on every guild's movements and contracts. You have one month to unify them."

He turned to Stormwake, standing silently at the hall's edge.

"Stormwake. The Bondclan Integration. You will deploy selected divisions of the Qorjin-Ke Bondclans, swampborn specialists, insect-bound sects. Their ancestral magicks and venom craft will become part of Kael's force."

Altan looked to Stormwake and spoke for the first time.

"From them, I will forge the Stormblade Legion, Ferrum Noctis. They will strike without warning. Operate beyond borders. Erase threats before they fester. Their purpose is not war, it is silence. Control. Finality."

Stormwake stepped forward, his hand clenched over his heart in salute.

"The Bondclans are prepared. The Scale-Wardens and Whispershell Sect await my word. They will obey. They have long waited to serve openly."

Kael nodded slowly, approving.

Stormwake met Kael's gaze and added, "Then I will give you the deadliest of them. The poisoners. The unseen. The oathbound."

Altan gave one last look between them.

"Let this be the blade they never see coming."

Altan surveyed them all.

"Go now. Fortify our frontiers. Build what must stand. Burn what must fall."

The new age had begun.

And above them, the storm gathered not with fury, but with purpose.

Across the realm, war mages deployed alongside Stormguard battalions, no longer relegated to the rear lines. They moved with discipline and purpose, integrated into every tier of the military structure. Their function was no longer support; it was infrastructure, terrain control, and frontline engineering.

In the southern deserts, advance units of geomancers raised fortifications directly from the sand. Using sub-surface stone veins as anchors, they drove columns upward to form hardened redoubts. Dunes were fused into obsidian barriers, heat-tempered to deflect siege artillery. Rainfall was conjured in targeted bursts to harden clay into brick and mortar. Supply lines were secured with elemental timber, reinforced at the molecular level, resilient to fire, rot, and weather. Every fortress rose faster than any army could march to destroy it.

Along the western coastline, units stationed near Tidescar restructured the shoreline itself. Coastal geomancers rechanneled the tides, carving out kill zones along the beaches and raising natural sea walls from basalt cliffs. Where enemy ships might land, the shore was reshaped into serrated outcroppings, natural obstacles optimized for defense. Artillery nests were embedded into newly cut terraces on Stoneback Ridge, stabilized deep within the bedrock to resist bombardment.

In the northern reaches, fire mages executed controlled burns through frost-covered terrain, clearing pathways for troop movement and destroying potential cover for enemy forces. Forestry units bent living trees into reinforced observation towers, merging organic and inorganic materials for maximum resilience. Forward trenches were carved directly into permafrost, laced with incendiary glyphs primed to ignite on enemy contact.

Behind the lines, in cities and training hubs, war mages overhauled civilian districts into combat-ready infrastructure. Drill squares were compacted and leveled with precision. Training dummies were raised from reinforced earth and metal, designed to simulate battlefield resistance. Strategic wards were embedded beneath key intersections and approaches, serving as early-warning systems and first-strike mechanisms hidden beneath civilian ground.

Every spell cast served a function. Terrain manipulation replaced traditional engineering. Weather, earth, and flame became tools of logistics and deterrence. Mages no longer reacted to threats. They shaped the battlefield before the enemy arrived.

The land itself was conscripted. It no longer resisted their will. Under their command, it became fortress, weapon, and trap.

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