C09: The Cold Stare of Martyrdom

Greetings from the Sea of Many

A series of difficult choices have been thrust upon all of us in the course of this war but there is none more pressing and final than the ones that will be made in the coming weeks.

We have stationed troops all across the Roots, fortifying us against an initial attack. However, we would still be vulnerable deeper into the territory. I have ordered the troops to dig trenches all throughout the Roots but progress has been slow, we might not get this done before any large military action.

In addition to this, the Underworld Collective have accepted our treaty, pledging their forces to attacking Rivers End with us. This will help us dearly.

I have had whispers in my head from Dionea, begging me to save her, she is on the end of her water supply. She only has a week left at best and that is even with the majority of our troops dying of thirst.

However, we may have a solution that will buy her a few more days. I have found a chemical deep in the tunnels of the Roots that the locals call “Caver’s Grace”. Apparently, it can reduce your need for water but at the cost of your overall health. They say that cavers would take it to survive the extra few days needed to get to the surface without food or water.

The benefits end there though, the caver will experience vivid hallucinations, tremors, and a wide array of organ failures. This is a last ditch effort but it must be done. However, we have a choice of who to give it to. We can either give it to Dionea herself or we can give it to our troops.

Giving Caver’s Grace to Dionea would mean that she would survive at least two weeks. However, this could cause her many undue ailments that could potentially kill her once the effects wear off. While this gives her the most time to live and doesn’t effect the troops physically, it would threaten her life.

Giving Caver’s Grace to the troops would mean that more water can be given to Dionea. However, this would only give her a few days at most. This would require us to take and activate Rivers End the same day we’re scheduled to invade it. This would be incredibly difficult, also running the risk of the effects wearing off mid-battle and killing a majority of our troops.

In addition to this, we have another choice on the table. We need to decide how we attack Rivers End when the time comes.

We have three options: encirclement, cutting through, or full force.

Encirclement involves some coordination with the Underworld Collective. We would join forces to push their forces to the back of the dome. This will cut the troops off from any kind of resupply from Atlas and backs them against a wall. However, this is by far the slowest method as it will involve us attacking the strongest troops first head on.

Cutting through would mean us using the small patch of the Reeds that borders both Atlas and Rivers End to our advantage. We would station the bulk of our troops there, punching through the centre of Rivers End, dividing their troops into two sides. This would shake them up and allow us and the Underworld Collective to focus on our respective fronts. However, it’s putting a lot of faith into that initial assault which could go sideways if the Governed has anything up their sleeves.

Full Force dictates that we put our strongest forces on the border of the Roots and the Reeds. This would mean we would have one chance to overwhelm the Governed’s forces with sheer might. However, if this initial push fails, we would be on the back foot for the rest of the battle.

These are the choices that are laid before you, I hope for Dionea’s sake that you choose wisely.

The Teeth of Dionea