The Second Half of Holy War Season 3

                                

 *** Quick Note: So by this point nearly the entire second generation has been born. Well everyone except for Nanna.***

Chapter 5 Adaptation

                                 We start the second half of the season off with Duke Langobalt issuing an order to Queen Rahna: “Give up the traitor Sigurd or suffer the wrath of the Grandbell military”. Even if Silesia didn’t have a civil war they still probably wouldn’t have the necessary military power needed to defend themselves from Grandbell. Sigurd makes preparations to attack Langobalt’s forces. Unfortunately there’s a bit of a dilemma: Some of the troops in his army don’t believe that they can beat Langobalt’s forces at Lubeck. Moreover, most of them now have children that have to be looked after and taken care of. Some of the cast would rather hide and look after their children than fight against Grandbell. So a debate rages about whether the group should stay behind and look after their children or whether they should fight Grandbell.

                                 Levin suggests that the children be kept in Silesia while they go off to fight Langobalt. Some of the other characters point out that if they fall in battle Silesia will be the first place where Grandbell will come knocking. Shannan suggests that they hide in Issach. It’s not far from Lubeck and Grandbell will never think to look there. Plus Shannan can accompany them and since he’s the prince of Issach they’ll welcome him and do whatever it takes to protect both him and the children. While Ayra and Lex are on board many of the other characters say that raising a child in enemy territory is too risky. They’d rather keep them in Silesia where they know that Rahna will keep them safe than risk hiding them inside enemy territory.

                                    

    Sigurd says that time is of the essence. Each couple must decide what they’re going to do and they need to make that decision quickly. Here’s what each couple decides to do:

• Ayra and Lex: Both of them will fight alongside Sigurd. Lex has an axe to grind against his dad and Ayra wants to take out Reptor for assassinating her father. Both of them are on board with entrusting their kids to Shannan and having them hide in Issach.

• Aideen and Mideel: Aideen is still wounded from Andre’s assassination attempt so she’s going to stay behind and look after the kids while she’s recovering. Mideel plans to help Sigurd fight.

• Briggid and Dew: Dew sucks at fighting so he wants to stay behind and look after Faval and Patty. Briggid’s off to the battlefield. She wants to finish off Andre for trying to kill Aideen. They both like the idea of having their kids stay with Shannan in Issach.

• Fury and Levin: Both of them will fight alongside Sigurd while leaving their kids with Rahna.

• Azel and Tiltyu: They decide to leave their kids in Silesia. Both of them are planning on fighting alongside Sigurd. Tiltyu’s got a bone to pick with her father while Azel wants to support both her and Lex.

• Sylvia and Claude: Claude and Sylvia will stay behind. Claude wants to oversee Aideen’s recovery plus any of the wounded can come back to him. They both want to leave their children in Silesia under Rahna’s care.

• Lachesis and Beowulf: Beowulf isn’t even trying to be a father here. All the parenting goes to Lachesis. She decides to have Delmud go with Oifey and Shannan to Issach. Both of them will fight alongside Sigurd.

                                Any of the troops who don’t have kids will fight alongside Sigurd. Holyn volunteers to help escort Oifey and Shannan to Issach when the time comes. After all, he does have the blood of Odo running through his veins.

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                          *** Note to the reader: I actually got this idea from Ronaldo who had an entire thread on Facebook about the parents either choosing to stay with the kids, or choosing to fight. I think this is an interesting dilemma that’s worthy of being explored. Plus, it helps to build up Grandbell’s army when some of Sigurd’s soldiers don’t even believe that they can beat them. Okay, now back to the story.***

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                                  Meanwhile Byron overhears one of Langobalt’s soldiers talking about Sigurd’s forces being stationed in Zaxon. Byron decides to pull a hail mary toward Sigurd. His wounds are only getting worse and if he doesn’t reach Sigurd he’ll never be able to deliver the Tyrfing to him. One of Andre’s men spots Byron and shoots at him. The arrow misses and the chase is on!

                             Andre, Slayder and Langobalt are all having the same conversation that they had in the game when Andre is informed about Byron’s mad dash toward Sigurd. Andre heads out to hopefully intercept Byron before Sigurd can get to him. Meanwhile Oifey tells Sigurd about Byron and now Sigurd’s forces leap into action! Langobalt had already sent an advance party to attack Zaxon Castle while Andre and Slayder would provide additional reinforcements. Sigurd’s troops clash with the advance party and manage to defeat it. Sigurd manages to reach his father just as Andre shoots him with an arrow to the back. Byron hands Sigurd the broken Tyrfing and their conversation is basically the same as it was in the game. Sigurd weeps over his fallen father, collects the Tyrfing shards and heads back toward Zaxon Castle to repair it.

                                  Lex clashes with Slayder while Andre and Briggid are having an archer duel. So let’s recap real quick the characters that Andre has either killed or tried to kill:

• Duke Ring, his father: Died because of him.
• Byron (Sigurd’s dad): Tried to kill and shot him a couple of times.  
• Mahnya (Fury’s older sister): Died because of him.
• Aideen (his sister): Tried to kill her. She’s wounded and can’t help Sigurd because of him.
• Mideel:  Mideel would have died by his hand had it not been for Briggid’s timely intervention.

                            Yeah, this dude is a real douchebag. He’s pissed off a lot of the cast. So while Lex is battling Slayder Fury and Briggid are trying to take Andre out.

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                                          Fury & Briggid vs. Andre

                                Andre circles around on his horse shooting arrows at Fury and Briggid. Briggid tries to fight back but can’t seem to hit him. Fury manages to knock Andre off his horse with a javelin but can’t celebrate her victory for long because he kills her Pegasus Knight causing her to fall to the ground. Fury’s about to get mowed down by the Beige Ritter when Levin steps in and saves her with Holsety. Levin manages to obliterate a good chunk of Andre’s forces, causing the survivors to retreat.

                                     With Andre off his horse Briggid fires a shot at him with Ichival and manages to hit him. Andre reels from the shot but manages to shoot Briggid, wounding her. They take cover between boulders and trees shooting at each other with neither one gaining any ground or hitting the other one. Mideel comes to Briggid’s aid trying to shoot Andre down. Andre flees from his hiding place and knocks Mideel off his horse with an arrow, but leaves himself open just long enough for Briggid to get a good shot in. The arrow from Ichival explodes on Andre and knocks him over. Before Briggid finishes him off he mentions to her that his son Scorpio will avenge him. Briggid shoots him in the head and finishes him.

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                              Lex kills Slayder, and things are looking well until Langobalt shows up with additional reinforcements and drives our heroes back. Lex and Ayra charge at Langobalt and another fight ensues. Langobalt is able to take hits from both of them, thanks to both his armor and his enhanced durability from the Helswath. Neither Lex nor Ayra are able to land a considerable blow on him. Langobalt knocks Ayra back and presses his attack against Lex. He calls his son a traitor and a disappointment right before slicing through Lex’s armor and severely wounding him. Ayra uses Astra on Langobalt and while she gets some good hits in he ultimately beats her as well. Langobalt’s about to finish them both off when Sigurd leaps into the fray with a reforged Tyrfing.

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Sigurd vs. Langobalt

                      Sigurd and Langobalt go at it! Sigurd thrusts at Langobalt, who blocks the attack and throws Sigurd away from him. Langobalt chucks the Helswath at Sigurd similarly to how Lurtz threw that knife at Aragorn in the Fellowship of the Ring and Sigurd deflects the attack with the Tyrfing (much like how Aragorn deflected the knife with his sword). Sigurd rushes at Langobalt while Helswath is trying to come back to him and manages to slash him. The Helswath returns and Langobalt swings at Sigurd. Sigurd’s speed is enhanced by the Tyrfing so he dodges the attack. Sigurd manages to beat Langobalt back with another attack made by the Tyrfing. It’s a clash of steel between these two. Langobalt lands a hit and wounds Sigurd. Before Langobalt can deliver the finishing blow Sigurd dodges and stabs him in the stomach. Langobalt drops the axe and Sigurd proceeds to decapitate him.

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                             The battle is won and Sigurd’s forces rejoice over their hard earned victory at Lubeck. They celebrate that night. The following morning all the parents who wanted to send their children off to Issach with Oifey and Shannan do so. Sigurd looks at Seliph longingly and then says good-bye, for the last time. Holyn makes good on his word and escorts Oifey and Shannan to Issach. Sigurd and Ayra have the conversation that they do in the game with Ayra mentioning that she’s kept her promise to her brother. Shannan’s old enough to look after himself now. He doesn’t need her protection anymore. She says that she’ll return to Isaach once the war is over, just like how Sigurd will be able to return to his homeland.

                              We see Shannan, Oifey and Holyn depart for Issach. They make their way toward Tirnanog when they take a wrong turn and bump into Dannan’s forces. Dannan, Langobalt’s son, recognizes Shannan as the young prince of Isaach and orders his men to seize them. Holyn says he’ll hold them off while Shannan and Oifey escape. Holyn does a pretty decent job fighting off some of Dannan’s troops but realizes that he’s desperately outnumbered so he retreats. He manages to outrun Dannan’s troops and catch up with Oifey and Shannan, who are burdened down with having to carry so many kids. Holyn takes Patty and Faval and they make their way towards Tirnanog.

                             Unfortunately Dannan’s troops catch up with him. Holyn once again fights off the soldiers buying Shannan and Oifey time. Holyn manages to take on Dannan himself. Holyn thinks he’s doing pretty well when an axe finds its way into his head. Holyn falls into the river. Dannan’s troops find Patty and Faval and rather than kill them off they toss the two into the river and decide to let the river take its course. Shannan and Oifey manage to outrun Dannan’s troops and hide, eventually making their way to Tirnanog. Shannan feels guilty about Holyn’s death and the possible deaths of Patty and Faval.

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*** Note to the reader: In case you’re wondering why I made that scene I’ll explain why. We never learn how Patty and Faval wound up in the orphanage that they did. Despite being born around the same time as everyone else they somehow end up in a different orphanage. This scene is designed to explain how Patty and Faval ended up somewhere different than the rest of the second generation. Also, this gives Holyn a chance to make a contribution to the plot. If he’s going to be in here he might as well do something. Now back to the story. ***

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                          The next scene cuts over to Alvis and Azmur having the same conversation that they had in the game. Alvis lies about Sigurd being a traitor and informs the king about his plans to marry Diadora. Azmur tells Alvis that he will be a “provisional king” until his son comes of age like he did in the game. After their conversation Alvis withdraws to a private room where Manfroy appears. Alvis and Manroy have the same conversation here that they did in the game. The conversation ends with Manfroy taunting Alvis, telling him that Alvis is afraid of Diadora’s memories returning. Unlike the game Alvis asks what Manfroy means, but Manfroy departs.

                          We cut back toward Lubeck Castle where many of our characters have similar conversations to the ones that they had in the game. There’s a general anxiety looming over them. They’ve won an important battle but they still have Duke Reptor to deal with. Sigurd sent spies to ascertain the size and strength of Duke Reptor’s army. They report that Reptor’s army is pretty strong. Sigurd also receives a letter from Cuan who says that he’ll be arriving with a sizeable army. Sigurd decides to wait for Cuan and his reinforcements to show up before marching on Reptor.

                          The camera moves to Cuan and Ethlin. Cuan mentions that they’ve left Melgen and are now in the Yied Desert. He tells Ethlin that she needs to leave and head back home. Ethlin reminds Cuan that she hadn’t planned on entering a war zone with a three year old child. She even mentions how she left her Light Sword back with Leif and Finn. Cuan mentions that he left Fin behind in Lenster with half of their army in case Thracia decides to launch a surprise attack on Lenster while he’s gone. Ethlin tells him that it’s hard for her to leave him. Cuan says that he knows how she feels but she just gave birth to Leif. They kiss and say good bye with Ethlin leaving with a few knights to head back to Lenster.  

                     That’s when Trabant strikes. Ethlin and her knights flee toward Cuan’s troops in terror when see the Wyvern Knights. Ethlin’s bodyguards raise their lances and try to shield Ethlin but the Thracian Wyvern Knights skewer them all alive. The Lenster Knights drop dead without having even put him a fight. Trabant gives a sly look at Ethlin and says that she should have married him instead of that “uptight princeling”. Now she’ll pay the price for her actions. Trabant stabs the unarmed Ethlin through the heart. She falls to the ground dead still clutching Altenna. Trabant notices the mark of Noba on Altenna’s brow and takes her along with him as they fly to meet Cuan.

                        It’s not long before Cuan and his troops see the Thracian Dragon Knights and recoil in terror. Cuan instantly thinks about Ethlin and his jaw drops to the ground. The Lenster Knights try to fight off the Thracian Wyvern Knights, but it’s no use. The Thracian Wyvern Knights proceed to massacre half of Lenster’s forces. Cuan manages to kill a few of them but he’s the only Lenster knight left alive. Trabant holds up Altenna to Cuan’s eye level and says that if he continues to resist he’ll kill the 3 year old right here. Cuan brings up the fact that if he drops his weapon there’s still no guarantee that Trabant will keep his word. Trabant could still kill Altenna even after Cuan drops his weapon. Trabant mentions how he’s surprised that Cuan thought that one through, “unlike this joke of a military expedition”.

                        Trabant throws Altenna toward Cuan and says that if he can’t use her as leverage than she’s of no use to him. Trabant throws Altenna just a little short of Cuan’s reach so Cuan has to take a few steps to catch her. Just as he’s reunited with his daughter Trabant impales him with the Gungnir. Cuan falls to the ground and closes his eyes for the last time. Trabant and his crew shout in jubilation as Prince Cuan dies and the Gae Bolg is no longer being used against them. Trabant says that since this girl has the mark of Noba she can use the Gae Bolg which means that Thracia will have both the Gae Bolg and the Gungnir on their side. Trabant takes Altenna with him telling his general to head up toward Sigurd and deal with them while he goes back to Thracia to prepare another force to burn Lenster to the ground.

                          Sigurd tells his troops to head out toward Phinora since that’s where he said he’d meet Cuan. Sigurd’s troops make it there when Levin tells him to look up. Sigurd is surprised to see Wyvern Knights heading toward them and he tells his soldiers to prepare for battle. We get another fight as Sigurd’s forces clash with Thracia. Sigurd faces off against the general who tells him that they’ve just killed Cuan and Ethlin. He brags about how easy it was and how the Lenster knights didn’t even fight back. Sigurd flies at him in a furious rage and cuts the general down. After the fight ends Sigurd retreats to a private room where he mourns over the loss of his sister and best friend.

                              We then cut to Alvis and Reptor having the same conversation that they had in the game. Reptor expresses doubts about Alvis’s intentions. Alvis reveals his plan to Reptor about how they intend to defeat Sigurd. Reptor calms down and prepares his troops to receive the “traitors”.

                                Sigurd’s army engages Reptor’s and it’s not pretty. Alvis’s mages shoot meteors at them from above while Reptor’s army pushes Sigurd back. The battle is bloody as both sides incur massive casualties. We see Tiltyu and Ayra face off against Reptor. Tiltyu and Reptor have a similar conversation to the one that they had in the game before squaring off. Ayra also mentions that she’s been waiting a long time for this moment. Now she can have revenge on Reptor for killing her father. Reptor overpowers the two of them and while Tiltyu and Ayra get their shots in he defeats them both. Reptor sends a lightning blast to finish them off when Sigurd jumps in and absorbs the blast with the Tyrfing.

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Sigurd vs. Reptor

             Sigurd and Reptor exchange a few words before exchanging a few blows. Reptor proves himself to be more formidable than Langobalt was. Sigurd tries to stab Reptor who dodges and tries to blast Sigurd. Sigurd once again absorbs the blast and charges at Reptor. Dodge, attack, dodge, attack, dodge, attack. This is pretty much the fight until Reptor gets a shot in at Sigurd and knocks him back. Sigurd’s wounded from the fight and Reptor’s about to finish him off when Levin steps in and holds Reptor at bay. Lachesis tries to heal Sigurd of his wounds in the meantime.

Levin vs. Reptor

Now we get a mage battle! Levin gets in a few more attacks while Reptor tries to hit him. Reptor blocks an attack from Holsety and a giant explosion ensues. The two continue to throw magic blasts at each other until Reptor once again hits Levin with an unexpected blast and wounds him.

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                             Just as all hope seems lost a giant meteor blows a crater through a considerable portion of Reptor’s army. Aida orders Velthomer’s fire mage brigade to turn on Reptor and leave nobody alive. Velthomer’s fire mages turn on Reptor’s forces and start blasting them into oblivion. Sigurd’s bewildered, but also happy while Reptor’s pissed and tries to retreat. A now healed Sigurd returns the fight to Reptor and kicks his butt. Sigurd cuts down Reptor while his forces dispatch the remains of Reptor’s army. WIth that, Sigurd has once again reigned victorious.

                                  Sigurd talks to Aida who tells him that Alvis knew of Sigurd’s innocence all this time, but was too powerless to do anything while Reptor and Langobalt were alive. Sigurd is relieved at his sudden turn of fortune. Aida tells him that Alvis is planning a huge celebration in Sigurd’s honor. He tells Aida that he’s going to invite the rest of his friends and soldiers to join him in this celebration. Aida says “the more the merrier”.

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                   Season Finale: There’s a giant parade set up. Victorious music is played, confetti is thrown and all seems right with the world. Sigurd and his army smile. They’ve done it. They’ve killed the Grandbell conspirators and now their names will be cleared. The war is over and they’ll finally get to go home.

                              Alvis greets Sigurd. Their conversation starts off cordial and polite. Sigurd asks where the king is and Alvis informs him that King Azmur has fallen ill as of late. All of the affairs of the kingdom have fallen on Alvis’s shoulders. Sigurd mentions that even with the king being ill he’d still like to issue a formal apology to him. Alvis says it won’t be necessary. There’s still another matter that he’d like to discuss with Sigurd. Sigurd asks what that matter is and Alvis replies: “Your treason”. Sigurd is astonished and thrown off guard. “What do you mean?” he asks. Alvis says that Sigurd and his army haven’t been cleared of their treason yet. Sigurd tells Alvis that he’s not a traitor and that he was set up. Alvis replies, “Tell that to her”.

                             Diadora, escorted by one of Alvis’s guards, appears before Sigurd. Alvis tells Diadora to “tell the traitor how you feel”. Sigurd’s blown away at seeing Diadora there and the rest of his army is also completely shocked to see her there. Sigurd notices that she’s wearing a different ring than the one he gave to her and asks her what the meaning of this is. Diadora, who’s lost her memories, is confused by Sigurd’s question and tells him that she’s marrying Alvis. Tears fall down Sigurd’s face. “Why are you doing this? How could you betray me after everything we’ve done together? Was all of this a lie?” Diadora, who doesn’t remember Sigurd at all, asks him what he means. She asks Sigurd how he knows her and Sigurd brings up his wedding ring and yells at her that she’s HIS wife. Diadora looks at that wedding ring with vacant expression on her face. She says that she’s seen his ring before.

                        Alvis gets nervous after hearing Diadora say that and orders the guard to get Diadora back inside. Diadora begs Alvis to let her speak with Sigurd for just a little longer. Alvis refuses and tells her that Sigurd is a dangerous man. Sigurd tries to reunite with Diadora when Alvis’s guard block his way. Once Diadora is forced inside Alvis tells the mages to execute the traitors. Sigurd reaches for his sword screaming “ALVIS! YOU DASTARD!”

                            

  Sigurd reaches for his sword, preparing to cut Alvis into ribbons. Too bad he never gets the chance. BOOM! Alvis incinerates Sigurd before the Tyrfing’s out of its sheath. Then the meteors fall. Meteors bombard the public square, killing several of Sigurd’s men. Alec, Noish and Arden explode instantly. Sylvia gets incinerated next. Lex gets blown in half, traumatizing Azel. Ayra gets set on fire and charges at Alvis’s guards, preparing to bring a few of them down with her. She never gets the chance. Another meteor strikes her down. Jamka and Briggid try fighting back, killing a few of the mages. Then another meteor strikes, killing Jamka and Dew in the process. Briggid’s heavily wounded and can’t move. Claude uses his Fortify staff to heal the survivors and tells everyone to jump into the river. The fire magic of Alvis’s mages won’t work there.

                          The survivors of Sigurd’s army dash toward the river in a desperate attempt to survive. A meteor heads toward Lachesis, about to finish her off when Beowulf steps in front of the meteor and sacrifices himself to save her life. Lachesis is still hurt by the blast and Claude manages to heal her. Azel and Tiltyu run toward the river as a meteor blasts Azel into several pieces. Tiltyu gets hysterical at seeing her husband blown apart into several bits and pieces. Mideel likewise gets blown apart as he says his last goodbye to Aideen. Tiltyu, Levin, Lachesis, Fury, Aideen and Briggid manage to make it to the river. Fury laments the death of her Pegasus Knight as that would make life so much easier for all of them right now.

                          Claude manages to get the survivors into the river before getting incinerated by the mages. His last act ensuring that at least someone else survived. Velthomer’s mages chase the survivors down the river. Levin tells them to split up. It’ll be harder to catch them that way. Lachesis and Briggid head down the south fork of the river, Aideen and Tiltyu head toward the north fork while Levin and Fury swim toward the center.

                 Levin and Fury reach a dark cave where they plan to hide until nightfall. Unfortunately for them Manfroy predicted that somebody might try to use these caves to hide and sneak attacks Levin from behind, blowing a hole in his chest. Levin falls to the ground dead while a horrified Fury picks up Holsety and jumps back in the river with the Loputo Sect chasing after her. Meanwhile Tiltyu gets caught while she and Aideen try to escape northward. Aideen still manages to elude the grasp of the Velthomer mage brigade. Lachesis and Briggid get caught in a major current. Lachesis barely struggles to find breath while Briggid drowns.

                      Just as Briggid’s drowning, and about to die, she sees the dragon Ulir intervene. When she asks what’s going on Ulir tells her that he’s planning on letting her live, but with two caveat: He’s erasing her memories entirely and depriving her of her ability to use bows. Ulir takes the Ichival with him while Briggid loses her memories. Ulir also says that Briggid will no longer go by that name and insteads gives her a new name to be known by: Eyvale.

                      Aideen ends up in Issach while Lachesis will eventually wind up in Manster where Finn pulls her out of the current.

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               Season 3 Epilogue: During the epilogue we see Thracia’s Wyvern Knights assault Lenster Castle, burning it to the ground. Finn manages to escape with baby Leif and a few provisions. We see Eyvale wash up on the shores of Ith, having no memory of who she is and how she got there. We see Fury make it back to a Silesia now occupied by Grandbell. We see Aideen make it to Tirnanog with Oifey and Shannan. We also see Alvis and Diadora’s wedding with Alvis now crowned Emperor of Grandbell. The Epilogue ends with a tearful Lachesis in Finn’s arms crying uncontrollably with Finn mentioning how bleak the future is and that the future lays in darkness.