Phew! This chapter took the life out of me (literally). I bet you will enjoy the last part. 

Note: War takes place in this chapter. Like a full description of war, the battle formations, etc. 

I am from India, and according to our legends and myths, battles have formations and they fight according to that rule. I tried to bring that in here. If you have no interest in war and blah blah blah skip to the last part. It reveals who Dawn is. That being said, we have only six more (including epilogue) chapters to go! Whoops! I plan on hitting the complete button on my birthday. Hope I will be able to accomplish that. :)

Also, thank you for the 1k votes on this book! I love you all so much. Let's jump into the chapter.

Warrior

************

For the first few days of the battle, no formation was formed by either of them. They just clashed like two prides of lions fighting for their territory. It was not until the fifth day, Romplain whispered the how he knew the vyuhashashtra, the study off battle formation.

Caelin had given him a passive look and commanded him to get started. The other Commanders opposed to the notion, but his word was final. They could have voiced against him, but that would have been useless. They knew it.

The first formation had been a heron on the sixth day. From the place where he stood, it appeared like a bird gliding with its wings half open, sort of bent. The body was streamlined and the tail was with cavalry. The beak of the formation appeared weak. The wings had cavalry too, but the body had mainly all the men strong on their feet.

The war call was near to their side. It took place close enough to their base. The pass of Osryn and Daydra was completely blocked. The war took place at the crown of Than. They were at even more at advantage than Yerinah. The Fields of Than was surrounded by Tantalia in the south and Samariya in the north. The aid from both the countries came pretty quick. But Icathus's army never attacked them, despite Mika giving him enough information.

The cavalrymen who had stood in the formation or Vyuha had heavy protection. Holia had taken the tail of the bird, Lephar the right wing and Kraine the other wing. Lyette was in the centre of the body and as much as Caelin hated, Lyho had led the front. They had taken their respective parts of the army under them and had waited. The Guardians had merged among the men. They knew about these formations better than anyone. Not to mention Gideon was the Guardian of the war. But they refused to open their mouth in these matters.

Vritra had given Romplain and himself special orders so not to enter the battlefield. He could not simply lose two of his Immortals. The beak of the formation had slightly opened as they had waited.

Caelin did not expect Yerinah to come with a formation of its own. His earlier calculations had failed him. When he had raised this question, it was Dawn who answered him. She had replied, "Commander Maahes."

As if that name answered everything.

Yerinah's formation had been a crocodile. It came with its mouth open, teeth like the diamond cutting edges. Seeing their vyuha, Romplain had gone pale. Caelin could not understand what had caused it.

Romplain had replied grimly, "Crocodile's power is in its tail. We must not allow it to grow."

At the beginning, the tide had turned against them. Yerinah was winning. The currents abruptly changed. The crocodile's centre vacancy had proved to be its greatest disadvantage. The bird had gone head on and destroyed everything in its way. Before they could let the tail of the crocodile grow, Lephar and Kraine unfolded the wings completely at the same time. The heron was ready to fly.

He could say that they had been close to victory. The loss was heavy on either side, but Yerinah's was much worse compared to theirs.

Yesterday they had not brought any formation, allowing both sides to clash again. Dawn was relentless in that way. For her, until they caught General Cahira, they had not won.

Today, the ninth day of the battle began with great fervour. He did not care what his master would say, he was getting down there to see it all for himself.

"Master will kill us if we go, Caelin," Romplain warned.

"He is not letting us go because he does not want us dead." He cocked his head. "He might punish us, but he will never kill us. I am going, Romplain. I don't give a fuck whether you come or not."

The other Immortal's face turned grim. "I will go if you go."

"That is all fine," Lyette intervened. "What are we going to do today? I heard that they are going for a vyuha today."

The tent was glowing black inside. The lamp on the centre of the map that was pinned glowed dimly. The winter mist curled and froze most things on its way. He still wore his thin boots. Dawn shivered but she held her ground and engaged herself in the discussion.

All the people who took to chariots, acting like King Taimore's Commanders were present. But, Kraine and Lephar were indeed King Taimore's Commanders. Kraine was their general.

Only the Field of Than was visible on the map. This was the exact Field where many significant battles took place. When King Nymoin of Ir'ris'iak attacked Ruthen, this was where the final battle took place. The king had taken his daughter back home.

"We need to do something that will wipe them with our numbers," Holia said. "We have that advantage."

"Not to mention, Gideon and Kacela are fighting for us," Dawn said.

"I wonder how they are able to hold their ground for so long," Kraine mused. "They should have been crushed long ago."

"You have not seen the way Yerinah trains its army." Dawn's fingers circled around a mountain in the north of Yerinah, about fifty miles away from where they were. "When they train, they train like hell, Kraine. And they have a Rafela. She can heal and mend things in a second. You have no idea."

The early sunlight broke through the filters of the black canvas. The call of the birds announced the start of another day.

"That could explain why," Lephar said.

"I was thinking of cannonball flower formation," Romplain said, rubbing his growing stubble.

"A flower?" Holia asked. "What is the use?"

"A feminine mind," Lephar spat.

Caelin sighed. That man had many things to learn with Lyette and Holia.

"What did you say?" Lyette asked. "A female mind? Get your head out of the fact that women don't fight. Look at me and then talk."

Lephar glowered but said nothing.

"This formation is complex and not to mention very effectively," Romplain said quickly. "Four petals are small and come in the front. The fifth and the biggest petal is hidden in the rear. When the outer two petals enclose the Yerinah's army, the hidden petal will strike with a force that they cannot survive."

Silence washed over the place. Caelin smirked. That was Romplain's power. He could get any weapon or soldier under his spell within few minutes. Not a great power to be feared, but strong enough to not to mess with.

"Might work," Kraine commented. "I will inform the Colonels to get their unit under this. How are we going to split?"

"Myself, Caelin and Lyette will be at the rear," Romplain said, drawing the formation he had explained. "Lyho will take the inner right petal, Holia the inner left. Lephar take the left wing and Kraine take the right wing. You both are good at offensive."

Outside the men had woken up and the noise of metals scraping against each other filled the air.

"The day has begun," Kraine said. "I will inform the Colonels."

They dispersed except for Dawn who was staring at the parchment with unshed tears in her eyes.

**********

Though his breakfast consisted of scrambled eggs, the food churned in his stomach. His father had trained him for war until he was eight, but his master had trained him to be an assassin for as long as he could remember. His methods allied with the darkness and night. The day was his biggest enemy in his line of profession. Taking a man's life secretly at the night differed in thousand shades than hurting a man in broad daylight.

Sitting on his stallion, he realised the bravery of a soldier compared to an assassin. His Master did want to teach him the methods of war, but he was the one who refused it. Trystan, Aeron, Diryn and Leilah all knew it.

Thoughts about Diryn made him lurch. He had sold his friend because he thought he was doing the right thing by saying it to his master. Vritra had not been kind. It was even worse to think that Lyho had killed him and he made Izarre watch it. She did not deserve it, any of it. This added more reasons for him to kill Lyho. But he lost his brother. That was enough for Caelin. For now.

The winter was leaving its bitterness behind. Being above the desert, they were the first to witness the departure of winter. By far, this was the worst recorded in the history.

Romplain shifted uncomfortably on his stallion. Immortality was new for him and he was treating himself differently and distantly. Caelin tried to help him, but he always shied away. After a point, Caelin left him be.

Just as the sunrise was complete, Yerinah's army came forward. Even with his enhanced vision, he could see only seven people in the frontline. What a kind of formation was it? They advanced steadily according to the drum beats, some were beating.

"I seriously wonder how!" Romplain roared. "How could they know what I am about to set?"

"What formation is that?" Caelin asked, tightening his grip on the reins.

"Needle hole." Romplain came near him and answered. "Sharp at the tip."

"Why does it matter?" Lyette asked, from her chariot.

"Each formation or Vyuha is studied by the lock and key mechanism in nature. If I am going to use the snake formation, the opponent will use the eagle formation. Each formation counter attacks the other."

He sewed his mouth shut. This was something he did not know.

"Not to mention, it would take ages to enclose this formation," Romplain grumbled.

The Yerinah's army assembled. The needle going even inside the pass. Somewhere at the top, he saw General Cahira standing with her protectors close by. That was the first time he was seeing her, yet he had a feeling of seeing that face elsewhere. Her face was hard and her hair was pinned in a tight bun. If he had seen her somewhere apart from war, he would have pledged himself to her. Her love and passion for her country were burning brightly in her green eyes.

The charioteer of general Cahira took a conch and blew it all her might. The sound reverberated and stung his soul deep. The horses neighed and the resting birds flew away. Holia's conch responded the battle call.

Both the armies advanced, with neither of them breaking their frontline. As the Yerinah's army neared them, Kraine and Lephar began their part of the work. The outer layers unfolded and began to enclose the incomers. The task was not easy. The shields they held on their sides made the arrows and spears go waste. Hand to hand combat was the only way.

As much as he wanted to go front and cause havoc, he stayed behind, close to Romplain. The inner petal too opened, the needle piercing into the stalk Romplain was talking about. Directly into the fifth petal. The needle kept twisting and turning like a tornado.

Lyette tensed beside him. Her scent of fear was thick in the air. Was it for Holia? But Lyette had never feared for her wife's life.

Then he saw the reason. Commander Fadeyka was marching alongside with Colonel Liris. Lyette's brother's face had a determination his master would praise. His blue eyes moved crazily over the war and then he plunged into the war himself. Each of the Yerinah's men fought with patriotism and love. From where they got it, he would never know.

Soon, Yerinah's army reached the fifth and the rear petal. The sides of their formation still fought the petals. Both had equal contenders. As much as he wanted the war to be a fair war, his master had prevented it. It was only because of Vritra's deal with darkness, they were winning and he knew it.

Two more lines of defence they would near him. Caelin slowly drew his scimitar from his back, savouring the music of the blade scraping against the scabbard. The pommel had a green stone and the body of the scimitar had engravings in the ancient language.

Before the first line could near them, Romplain let his arrows fly. Not a single missile missed its mark. But he could not contain everyone with his archery. Lyette got off her chariot and pulled her katanas. If Yerinah's army were surprised to see her fighting against them, they did not show it.

"Charge!" Romplain commanded, pointing his bow front.

The cavalry behind him, attacked them, with their own battle cry.

If not for Yerinah's symbol on their breast plate, he could not have differentiated between who was who. Within seconds he was fully engaged in the battle.

When he had heard Krain talk about the battle spirit and pulse, he had scoffed at it. Now he understood what that man was talking about. Assassination dealt with the exhilaration and the feeling of dominance over the prey, but the war could never be mistaken for it. War had peace in the midst and as much as he hated to admit it held respect for the enemy too, in its own way.

The sands shifted and curled. His power wanted to execute everything that stood in its way without mercy, but he could not let it get the best of him. The admiration he had for Yerinah prevented him from doing so. Seeing Gideon and Kacela, his heart reached out for the torment they were undergoing.

Time ran and shadows shied away. His scimitar was painted and was dripping red. His own skin, despite having accelerated healing bore many marks and cuts. It was his mistake to not wear an armour.

"No!"

"Die!"

"Leave me!"

"Let me go!"

"Never!"

"I swear by Fia's name, release him."

The screams from the vicinity tore his sensitive ears. Blocking them, he strained to hear even more. But the shouts were so worse that he could not achieve what he tried. The racing heartbeats and the scent of fear were heavy in the dying atmosphere.

Dark clouds hid the sun from their blazing eye. His skin was cool against the wind. Screams of people and soldiers rang in his head. His throat begged and his stomach howled, but it was not a time to pay attention to them.

Cahira was a lioness in the middle. No one survived her. She was truly an heir worthy of the title. Why would Dawn hate this woman? It was no doubt that she would die defending her country even in this state. She would put her family behind.

All her Commanders fought with a coordination their army lacked. But they made it up with brute force and ruthlessness. Kraine was a pissed off storm while Lephar had managed to snap the needle in between. He had never seen Holia with such anger. Her blades disappeared and within seconds new one was in her hand. Lyette steered away from her brother.

He allowed his body to keep going. The position of the shadows changed from that in the morning its opposite direction. They had only a few more hours left. At least would they surrender tonight? Or were they going to get on their knees only after everyone's breath was gone?

He had paused many times to see people cry their wretched hearts out seeing their fallen friend or a brother. At times, a man would cry over his wife. The pain and the anguish of their cries killed him. If a weaponless woman was there, her death was the most violent. People whom he would have considered to be children fought on both sides. After all, they did not need experts; they needed numbers.

Something pricked his heart. War and assassination were two different worlds altogether. War was much worse, battles tore the souls while his work destroyed only the physical existence. Surviving a war was much worse than anything. It stood alongside truth. The one who was left was the right.

That was why a human who fought in the wars and bore the mark of battle was called a warrior. The assassin was just a fancy title for a spineless coward who refused to face the truth in the light.

Yet he pursued on. Until his hands were bathed in blood and its stench agitated something primal in him. The sun was sinking behind the ranges of Adelphine. The war could come to end at any time.

"There you are!" Holia came beside him.

He grunted. His physical form was not weak, it could never be, but his soul was snapped and was being made into something else. The heaviness was in his heart not his limbs.

"Sefine!" Cahira's voice ricocheted over all the other voices. For a second, everything went deadly silent. He could hear the movement of the air entering and leaving her lungs. Some parted and through the gap, he saw Romplain had fired an arrow at the general but her protector had taken it.

Under the dying sun rays, he had never seen fury so deadly yet beautiful on anybody. If the battle was to continue, he was sure that even an Immortal would not survive. Romplain's face was pale. Perhaps he realised the gravity of his mistake.

"No!" The general's another scream snapped everyone out of the daze that was holding them.

Cleverly, Colonel Liris blew the conch for the end of the war, as the sun cowered away from the general's fury. The first star was out, peeping to see whether it was safe to come out or not.

Lyho blew the conch from their side in response. A mastermind move by either of them. Had the horn been not blown, he could not tell what would have been the cost.

"So one more day," Holia rasped next to him.

He nodded again, unable to find the right words. Lyette edged towards them. Her eyes were frozen. "I knew of Sefine. She was what I could call a friend there."

Holia wrapped her hands around her wife as she silently shook. She was at least getting comfort. So much for freezing his heart. The loss was on both sides of the battle.

"Let me go!" Cahira roared at the woman who was trying to restrain her. "Estelle, I am warning you. Let. Me. Go!"

That woman whispered something and Cahira turned and cried in her arms. He could not find it in him to blame her. Nor could he blame his friend. It was the price both accepted before marching into this mess.

Putting his scimitar back to the place where it belonged, he turned to leave. The after the war was so worse to see than the war itself. Soldiers knelt next to their friend and family. The fallen heroes had the limbs chopped off or their life was hanging by a thread or they were already dead. The soulless militias under the sun pleaded and cried to the heavens above.

How could one day change him so much?

"Heart-breaking, is it not?" Gideon said standing next to him.

He nodded. "It is so much worse."

One soldier who was next to them, plunged a blade through his friend's heart to end his misery. He howled and laid beside him. Some hugged corpses and wailed like wraiths.

"You want to inflict all this pain upon yourself if so you could see them crack a smile, right?" the Guardian of war asked, sorrow heavily girdled in his stormy grey eyes.

"Yes," he whispered. "I would."

He cracked a smile. "Now you are learning, Caelin. You can call yourself a warrior if you want to be."

The Guardian patted on his shoulder and left to join Kacela, who was taking a deep breath standing in the middle.

The walk to his base was painful. He trained his eyes on the blood-stained ground as he weaved his way through. A short man with dark hair was sitting on a boulder patiently.

"Who are you?" he asked.

The man's red eyes flashed in surprise when he addressed him. "Quan, Guardian of Battle Spirits."

"A Guardian?" he frowned. "But Dawn never summoned you."

"I don't need to be summoned, child," he laughed. "War and Battle Spirits go hand in hand. No force could separate Gideon and me."

Caelin nodded. "Waiting for him, I suppose."

"Yes," he drawled. "I can understand what Gideon meant now. If you would allow me."

The man disappeared from his sight. Shrugging, he continued on.

A boy, three years younger than him stopped him. "Commander Lephar is calling you."

He turned his tracks and went towards that tent. The soldiers moved their weapon seeing who it was. Inside Lyette was staring at the map as though it was a ghost. Holia was holding her hand. King Taimore's other Commanders were too present. Romplain was hanging his head down.

"There you are!" Kraine said. "I have been meaning to talk to you."

"What is it?" he asked, reaching for a goblet of water.

"What we need tomorrow, we have already planned." Kraine pointed at the weird structure at the map. "You will take the-"

"Hold on." Caelin held his free hand up. "Who ever said I am going into that Field again?"

"What do you mean, man?" Lephar asked. "We have planned everything with you."

"I am sorry, really," Caelin said. "But I cannot just walk in there. I am an assassin, not a warrior. I am not going there."

Everyone had their eyes on him. "Yes," Caelin continued. "Both deals with killing thousands. But in an open field, I cannot. I can even bring general Cahira's head tonight, but in a battle, I cannot. I should have respected your words, Kraine. I regret it now. I might enter the battlefield again, but that day is not tomorrow. Go ahead without me."

Placing the goblet on the table, he spun around and left. That meeting was for the brave hearts and survivors in a war. He was neither. He was not a warrior; he never was one.

**********

Her room was dark except for the glowing coal in the corner of the room. In the Fields of Than, there was once a king who lived. His castle crumbled against the time when he died, leaving behind no successor.

It was one of the rooms in which Dawn was residing. Besides the coal was a huge armchair, where he knew she was sitting.

"I heard, you know," she whispered. "I heard everything."

"I might have guessed it," he replied.

She offered him a glass of wine. He sat on the bed and drank silently.

"I knew her." Dawn's voice cracked. "I never wanted Sefine to die. It was always Cahira."

The fire shivered and spat the cold coals out.

"It was always her!" Dawn flung her glass and stood up. The embers showed him the tears streak down her cheek. "It was always Cahira this and Cahira that! What was I? A chair? A wall of the castle? A needle in their hairpin?"

He emptied the glass. The war itself had sucked the life out of him. Now she was losing it.

"She loved me." Dawn mocked. "She valued me. Seriously? I never asked Cahira to do this. I never asked her to take care of me. I was no docile creature."

The understanding dawned on him. Why Lyette and she were close. How she summoned Guardians. It was not Lyette who did it. It was Dawn.

She was the one who said all the weak points of Yerinah. Everyone of it, down to the last.

Dawn's fingers shook violently. Her hair was a mess and her clothes were wrinkled like an old woman's skin.

She clawed herself and fell on the floor. The fire kindling showed him a treasure that was right before his eyes all the time. He just had to change the colour. When he replaced her brown with bright emerald, everything fell into places like the movements of a chess.

"Who are you?" he asked the question he dreaded to ask. The answer would terrify him, rattle him to his core. But he needed it. Was same blood that weak?

"You cannot understand," she breathed.

He was the only person who could understand her better than anyone. She did not need to know that. Same blood, in two veins, varied.

"Who are you?" he asked again.

She pointed a shaking finger to the burning kingdom of Yerinah. "That kingdom is mine." Dawn brought her hand over her chest. "I am Avantika Yithare and I am the queen of Yerinah!"

How was the chapter? Anybody relate with Caelin? 

I just love this character. 

Do you think what Dawn or must I say Avantika did was right? 

What do you think of Sefine's death? Any words?

Anyway, meet you all in the next update from Cahira's pov.

~Quill