Anvil (Afina)

[Anastasia]

Doesn't look like it on a glance. As much as insectile horrors look different from one another, anyway.

[Ebiris]

"Just two devils isn't much. They're probably stragglers but it could be a trick," Afina says, watching approvingly as Jaela deploys her forces, shifting the view to focus on that. "Jaela's not taking any chances at least."

[Anastasia]

Yet no battle breaks out. As if they're talking and waiting, despite the devils scurrying away as Jaela approaches them.

[Ebiris]

They're keeping a healthy distance at least, so Afina has no reason to complain about what she sees so far.

[Anastasia]

Soon enough, Cresiel gives the devils a death glare, which makes them panic and flee. Dana snorts at that, "Fucking cowards."

[Ebiris]

"At least they didn't get to cause any trouble," Afina says, panning the view around as she sees Canderella coming back, the storm seeming a bit diminished even if still present.

[Anastasia]

"Yeah, well," Dana just mutters a bit.

[Anastasia]

Time passes as the armies go on. Soon, you see them approach a black mass of buildings, extending everywhere. Dana perks up as this happens, until Ithea cracks them open with her anarch powers. Suddenly, armies of undead gush out like an infected wound, the battle joined.

"Well here we fucking go," Dana says.

[Ebiris]

That wakes Afina up and she leans forward to watch, zooming the view out to take I'm the whole battle.

[Anastasia]

You can see that Jaela's forces are moving forward to aid, as Ithea's hold the line. On the good side, it looks to be a straight frontal assault. You don't see any signs of a flank or ambush from behind. The undead are trying to flank, though.

"Hm," Dana watches it, "They're moving the mages forward to support. Good. Get Balyss and those types to bless the shit out of those undead, just like that."

[Ebiris]

"No," Afina shakes her head, seeing the flaws in the strategy employed. "They're not controlling the battlefield, letting themselves be enveloped. A fog cloud at the opening, three walls arranged around it like a funnel," she gestures at the gap in the obsidian from which undead boil forth to demonstrate what she means. "Keep them hemmed in and tripping over each other, easy prey for area attacks. They've got a fight when it could have been a slaughter on our terms."

[Anastasia]

Dana considers and then nods, "Yeah, I can see it. I think they managed to surprise themselves a bit, or maybe Ithea didn't think of that. Say, does Ithea have any experience commanding before this? I know your pixie ass is self taught."

[Ebiris]

"I don't think so," Afina admits. "She's still very young, isn't she? I think she was some sort of prodigy among her people back home, with great things expected but not yet tested. For all of our big battles so far she's either been the tip of the spear or alongside Jaela and I running field command. The attack on Lixer's Earth outpost was probably the largest operation she had sole command over up till now. How did she handle herself there?"

[Anastasia]

"She did alright," Dana says, "Was more like a bunch of adventurers fucking around than an army. Rosa stuck her cock in too far, but the rest of us made it out fine. She's not really the military type, she wasn't raised with it. Doesn't think like it."

This gets Dana to kick back as she watches the action, "Easiest fucking thing in the world is to say how well someone did after the fact. It's a hell of a lot harder when you're doing it, may not realize you fucked up or did something stupid with all the pressure."

[Ebiris]

"I've replayed my attempted assassination of that Sundered Sun in my head a few times," Afina admits, hindsight being what it is. "Lets hope they manage to hold the line at least - I expect the undead here are nothing but chaff, there to make us expend resources before facing the demons and yugoloths behind them."