The Battle of Astri
The Battle Of Astri was the worst battle of the Pax War. The world went to ruins on that fateful day. Most of Flammae called it their greatest loss. Most of Solis called it their greatest victory. But, here in Commetes, we called it the greatest disaster.
A lot of bad things happened that day. Friends died. Innocents died. Even royalty died. But it didn't stop. It wouldn't stop. Flammae was convinced the would win, Solis was convinced the could beat them. My name is Capricorn Capernicus. For me, this battle was the end of the line.
Ursa And Capricorn hung out in the soldiers barracks. Suddenly, an alarm blared throughout the castle. There was an attack on Commetes. Every soldier rushed to get ready. Capricorn quickly put on his armor. He had soldiers to lead.
Ursa glanced at Capricorn as they marched out. "Til the end of the line?"
Capricorn gave him a coy grin. "And longer."
"That's good," said Ursa, looking forward. "Because if I don't make it, then you better throw me a good funeral."
"It'll be awesome, your ghost will love it," Capricorn assured him. "But, seriously, I promise you'll make it out."
"I fucking hate empty promises," Ursa muttered under his breath.
We marched out into the battlefield like good soldiers. Good pawns on a chess board. We seemed dispensable. I had Leo at my side. Together, we were going to kick ass.
The eyes of our soldiers were watching us as we marched through the fields. There had been attacks on the village. Children walked around us, fighting for Flammae. Most looked scared. Others looked terrified.
"Don't hurt the kids if possible!" I shouted to my men. "This is a capture, not kill mission!"
"Capricorn, What are you doing?" Leo hissed at me. "We're under attack. It's okay to have casualties."
"These are just children," Capricorn snapped at her. "Most of them aren't even fighting willingly."
Leo rolled her eyes. "This isn't the time to be a good man."
"No," Capricorn agreed, "it's time to be a right one."
There were a couple handfuls of adults running around. While the children terrorized the shops and streets, the adults handled most of the fighting. Leo's army took care of them. Meanwhile, mine was trying to take the kids.
I saw Ursa grab a child no older than eight. On my right we're a group no older than ten. We couldn't fight these children. It would be wrong.
"To your right!" Leo shouted, dodging in and saving Capricorn. She was forced to stab a kid in order to save him. Capricorn looked at her in horror.
Leo ignored him. "Yell at me later, we have a battle to fight."
The child dropped down in pain as a Commetes soldier grabbed them and got them to the cart, where they kept them.
"Behind you!" Capricorn yelled, pushing Leo out of the way. One of the adults had flung themselves on her. Capricorn stabbed him through the gut.
"Thanks for the save," Leo said, glancing at their surroundings.
"Call it even," Capricorn responded.
Around us raged bloodshed. Most of the shop windows were broken in. There was a clothing shop with families huddling inside. Every once in a while, I would see a Flammae child sneak in their to escape the war.
Down the street I saw a bakery. Inside of it, a girl held a sword. No one dared go near it. Behind that girl was a man who seemed oddly familiar, another one who looked more average, and a small boy.
"Leo, you recognizing that guy in the bakery too?" I asked her, surveying the chaos.
Leo stared for a second before her eyes widened. "Fuck."
"Context, please?" I asked her, ducking as an arrow flew over head.
"That's Aqua," Leo told me. "This must be where he's been hiding out."
"Fuck."
Together, Leo and I decided to attempt to push back the war to Flammae. It took so much fighting, but we got them a good distance away from that bakery. The little kids were gradually getting arrested as we fought the adults. There were soldier dying on the streets. That's when the world stopped for a moment.
I could see Leo looking at me. She had the most beautiful eyes. Her lips formed an 'O.' She wasn't saying anything. She was screaming. Screaming for me or at me, I wasn't sure. But then I saw a small child from Commetes with his little sister. I saw Leo standing over them. I saw blood gushing through her armor.
This is the part where I blacked out. Everything during this part went blank. The doctors say it's a defense mechanism. I think it's just a cowardly mind.
"Leo!" Capricorn shrieked, rushing to her side. He stabbed the man stabbing her. Capricorn leaped on him and tackled him to the ground. He stabbed the man with his sword and kept punching him. The man was long dead before Capricorn stopped. Ursa watched in horror.
That's when Ursa was crying out too. He had gotten too distracted by Capricorn's sudden fit of rage. He had only turned back around in time to be shot by an arrow. Capricorn watched and let out a shriek.
Soldiers stepped back as Capricorn started to fight. He single handedly slaughtered every man there. Suddenly, Flammae's men were running instead of fighting. Suddenly, Capricorn was the last man standing in a pile of blood.
"Sir?" The mans voice got distorted in Capricorn's ear. "Are you feeling okay?"
The last words Capricorn said before he fainted were: "Save Ursa and Leo."
I'm not totally sure what happened after that. Leo tells me that once I passed out, my men ignored my orders. They had started to kill any children remaining in the streets. Little boys, little girls, dead corpses. Leo said it was the worst sight she ever watched.
Leo said the Only sight worse was thinking I was dead.
As the slaughter raced on, Leo told me, Commetes' commoners stood with them. A baker girl fought off warriors of all three kingdoms to save a group of kids. A local hospital housed any children on the streets. A clothing store set up a shelter for kids in need.
At that moment our country was united as one. They were fighting for the people worth fighting for. They did what no other living or able-bodies soldier had the guts to do. They did what they knew was right. Over 600 kids were saved that day. But that was out of the 2,000 they marched in with.
The people of Solis believed that they had won a glorious battle. After all, casualties don't exist if you win, right? Flammae knew they suffered a great loss. Despite the children being dispensable, it was still bad for their reputation. The people of Commetes, who watched children's blood be splattered in the sidewalks and roads of the street, screamed in agony. It didn't matter who won the battle, because to them nobody did.
"Someone, get these three to the infirmary!" A medic yelled. Leo, Capricorn, And Ursa we're being rushed down.
Nebula looked down at Capricorn and gagged. If he wasn't leading his people... who were? She looked outside the window and saw the chaos on the streets. The children dying. The citizens protecting them. And suddenly, her decisions didn't seem so hard anymore.
Nebula snuck downstairs and grabbed a suit of armor. She struggled to put it on for a moment, but eventually managed to figure it out. She grabbed a sword and walked outside. It was her turn to protect her people.
While Nebula snuck downstairs, Leo, Ursa, And I were in the infirmity. I had just regained consciousness to find Leo hovering over me. She smiled at me with a wince. I asked her why the hell she was awake. She had gotten stabbed. She shrugged and told me that she wasn't good at sleeping.
She said there were rumors that I slaughtered many men. She said they were calling me 'Capricorn the Compassionate.' I didn't understand it. A man with compassion would not murder out of anger. A man with compassion would show mercy.
Nebula stood at the battlefield and looked at her surroundings. Fuck. Aquarius was in a nearby bakery. That wasn't good. Kids were dying in the streets. That was worse. The best general in all three kingdoms was down for the count. That was genuinely terrifying.
And here she was. Standing in the middle of a battle. With no military training whatsoever.
"Soldiers! Surround the adults!" Nebula shouted. "Let the children roam free! The sooner we end this battle, the less blood we have to shed!"
The men looked at her in confusion, but carried out the orders. This was no longer time to kill, but capture. It was easiest. It would work. It had to work.
The soldiers slowly surrounded the adults. At this point in the battle, there were only about thirty left. Out of the hundred that came, only thirty remained. So few adults and so many children. The numbers simply didn't add up.
I sat up in my bed. Where was Ursa? I asked myself that. Where was he? I asked Leo that. Leo batted her eyelashes in attempt to keep away the tears. He had been shot in the neck, she said. He had been shot in the neck. They don't know if they can revive him.
I heard a strangled scream from the other room. I tried to get up, but Leo only pushed me down. Why? I screamed at her. Why couldn't I see my best friend? Leo put her hand on my shoulder. It wasn't his scream, she said. It was his mother's scream.
That wasn't good. She said Ursa died hours ago. That was worse. She said that he wanted me to know something. He said it was the end of our line. That was genuinely terrifying.
Why were there so few adults? Nebula knew it couldn't make sense. Unless...
"Brace yourselves! Reinforcements are coming!" Nebula cried, pointing to the distance.
Arrows started to rain upon them. More adults cane into play. About a thousand. Commetes was outgunned and outmanned. They were outnumbered and out-planned. They had to make an all out stand. And they did.
With Nebula's leadership, the soldiers fought bravely. In the end, most of the Flammians were dead, retreating, or captured. Except one.
His name is Edward Caspio. You may remember him from your history textbook: The History of the World. Chapter 13, page 394. He was the man who assassinated Nebula. He was her undoing.
As Nebula was directing her troops back to the castle, one man remained. He had a bow in his hand. He had arrows on his back. He took one out. He drew the bow back and he shot. His aim was dead on. And so was Nebula. She collapsed in the street. Hit in the neck. Just like Ursa.
Some soldiers came to check on her. One pulled off her helmet. A collective gasp ran through the crowd. The man they had been following was no man at all. In fact, it wasn't even a general. It was a Princess.
A commeten archer fired a fatal shot to Caspio and he died upon a rooftop. The men sang a drinking song as they hauled the princess back home. Soon, they'd form a knew song in her honor.
Many were reported dead today. Among other casualties were John Panin, Mickey Smith, Jack Harkness, Ursa Major, And Princess Nebula. This is my report on the Battle of Astri.
Signed, Capricorn Capernicus.
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Haha sorry if this seemed confusing. If you didn't catch on, the italics was from Cappys Point of view in his report and the normal font was what was happening. Anyways, sorry it's a bit late. Enjoy your day :) and I'll see you on the Flip side!
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