orders of Marshal Zilven and General Jatven, we have been placed under your command.’ The rider took out a sealed letter and handed it to Darius.
The mage took the document and quickly opened it. Inside were barely three lines of text.
Colonel Bleist,
in response to the report presented by General Leigher and a full assessment of the situation in the Bushtabhar region, together with the Central Staff, we have decided to send reinforcements to your unit in the form of six Guardsmen from the Ruby Guard. Until further notice, they remain under your command.
Crown Marshal Sven Zilven
Darius read between the lines that any plans for covert action had just been shelved. The heavily armed Ruby Guard specialised in frontal assaults and open combat with superior enemy forces. They were extremely effective at it. The Azure Guard was slightly different, normally engaged in intelligence gathering and combating detected threats, which made its members best suited for covert operations, ambushes, and surprise raids. It seemed that his superiors expected even greater problems than Bleist.
‘Thank you...?’ Darius looked at the heavily armoured man waiting for his reaction.
‘Guardian Harven Gurt'tan, Colonel.’
‘Thank you, Harven.’ Bleist nodded to the soldier and looked at his subordinates. He had been given an interesting mix of forces, ready for both a covert attack and a subsequent assault. Assuming the worst, it was also a great combination of heavily armoured soldiers holding back enemies and lightly armoured but more mobile mages specialising in eliminating opponents. Darius took his watch out of his pouch. It was quite late, although still earlier than he had expected. ‘Let's get the formalities over with,’ he muttered to himself. ‘I am Colonel Darius Bleist, commander of the unit. This is Corporal Rex Interdale, my deputy. I hope we will work well together.’ he said in a loud voice. ‘I assume you have received your general orders. We will go over the details during the stop. For now, march towards Alexandria,’ he commanded, and all the Guards began to line up in marching formation.
