Chapter Seventy: Preparing For Battle - Zarseti

“You know, I haven’t had this much fun since Qin’s war of unification,” chimes Morrtemis with a dreamy expression on her cocoa face. “There used to be an art to war. There was intelligence and even respect for your enemies. Humans don’t fight with honour anymore and it takes the fun out of it,” she sighs in disappointment.

“This isn’t meant to be fun, Morrtemis,” Oshmin chastises her.

“Well it better be something, because all this waiting is going to put me into a coma,” Merlos complains in her usual apathetic tone.

“It won’t be long now,” I calmly tell them, my eyes fixed on the tree line before us. I can sense the eyti hiding among the shadows, their malice seeping through the trees like a dense fog pushing against my serenity as they await the return of their master.

Everyone has gathered, waiting for the battle to start. Tension is high and the weight of trepidation hangs so heavily in the air it could rival gravity itself. Not even my daughters can counter each poor soul's unease