I decided to mark my return with a small excerpt from a fiction book I'm writing. It was very fun to write, and I may post more of it as I edit the rest. Please tell me what you think.

The Tactician
Prolougue: Meeting Lyn


Strategist by trade. It sounds odd, but that’s me. At the head of every battle, the one who advises the charge isn’t the lazy generals, nor is it the captain. It’s the tactician. That’s what I do. My job is to study strategy, research previous campaigns, analyze possible openings, and exploit them. Or, that’s what I would do if anyone hired me. While I do detest war, I still need food. In fact, I hadn’t seen a town or a decent meal in about a week. “I’m starving!” I moaned, lying on the grass. I picked up a handful and ate it, but it didn’t affect the hunger. At some point, I must have passed out; I woke up hours later in a small house I’d never seen before. That’s where I met Lyn, and my life changed forever.

“What the-?” Okay, I’ll admit it; the first thing I noticed about my surroundings was…the smell of food. Edible food, not the grass I’d been eating for the past week and a half. “Food?” A girl living in the hut was stooped over a pot boiling on a fire. “Oh, you’re awake! I found you out on the plains while I was looking for food, so I dragged you back here.” The girl had long brown hair pulled back in a ponytail falling down her back. “Ah. You have my sincerest thanks. My name is-“ grrwwwllll….. “Oh.” The girl looked alarmed. “How long has it been since you ate!?” “About four hours? I ate some grass and a few weeds today. I can’t go buy food, and my lance broke, and my spare one’s gone, so I can’t get food myself.” The girl looked wary at “lance”. “You’re a mercenary?” Awkward silence ensued.

“Huh!? No, I’m well…a strategist. An apprentice tactician, if you will.” “And you can’t afford food?” I looked at my pathetically whimpering belly. “No. Everyone thinks that chess in the best way to determine how good of a strategist I am…” Chess and I have a, well, strained relationship. I try to win at chess, I lose. I always try to minimize casualties, and lose to the ruthless guys who throw every piece they can at you. “What’s wrong with that? You’re a strategist, so aren’t you good at chess?” “Nope.” The girl looked confused. “Why not?” “For starters, I don’t like sacrificing people. Two, there’s no emotion involved, and there’s a finite number of things you can do. I keep telling people that you’ll never be that limited in a fight, and the elder tacticians believe me, but the employers don’t. It’s really frustrating.” There was a crash outside. “Ah! I’ll go see what that was, erm… What was your name?” “Lyn.” “Ah. My name’s Terry. Do you happen to have a lance?” “There’s an old one in the back.” “Thanks again.”

I went to the back, and guess what I saw? My old spare! I grabbed it and ran outside, only to be confronted by bandits. With axes. And big muscles. And did I mention the axes? “Yipe! Erm… Hi?” The biggest one stepped forward. “We’re looking for a girl, about your age. Brown long hair? She’s supposed to live around here, and we need to talk to her.” They wanted Lyn… There was one thing I could do in the face of such big people. Lie through my teeth! “Huh? Not here. I moved here since a bunch of thieves robbed the place blind, and the Lutherian Army trashed the place. From what I heard, there were no survivors.” Luckily, I keep myself in the know on the tyrants in power around the continent. “Okay, but we may be back soon.” “Got it.” I strolled inside, and grabbed Lyn. “There’s a bunch of bandits after you, why?” “Oh, there’s a bounty from the Lutherian Army on my head.” Huh? How unfair! I just used them for an excuse! Oh carp… WHAM! “We know you lied, kid! Get your butt out here!” Uh-oh. Lyn grabbed a sword and headed out the back, and I followed.

Once outside, I took stock of the situation. “There’re three of them. Lyn. Get in that tree, and wait until I run by. We’re going to ambush them.” A small skirmish. My specialty. I wandered over with my lance. “Eh?” I feigned surprised at being seen, and took off behind the hut. As the first one rounded the tree, he ran into the flat edge of a sword. I can’t lift a sword, but I’m not so bad with a lance. The next bandit came the other way around, and was met by the back end of my lance. After a quick fight, those two were dispatched, both by Lyn, (Lances can’t do anything around an axe) and we moved in on the leader’s side, hidden from view. I picked up a rock and tossed it so it grazed the back of his neck. As expected, he turned backwards, and scanned the plains away from us. “Now. You’ve got thirteen seconds to end it. Fourteen if you’re lucky. Go!” Lyn burst out from the bushes we hid in, and the fight was over within seven seconds. I walked over, where she held the bandit leader’s bruised body. “Nice. Don’t kill him unless he swings that meat can of a fist he has. Now, who sent you?” “King Luther.” Damn, that tyrant carp? “Why? What does he want?” He lifted a finger, and pointed at Lyn. “Just her…” He swung a fist, caught Lyn in the side of the head, and was rewarded with the front end of my lance.

“Moron. He could have just gave us the info and left.” I yawned. I looked at Lyn, then at the small house on the plains. “We can’t stay here. Well, I guess this is where we part ways. I’ll probably never see you again, so it was nice meeting you, Lyn.” I had gone a few meters when I heard Lyn yell. “Wait!” I turned. “Huh?” Lyn caught up. “You’re a tactician, right?” “Well, yeah.” “Then I’m coming with you. I want to become stronger so I can protect myself. You’ll be my master strategist, and I’ll be your unmatched soldier!” I had to grin at that one. “My tactics are kind of complex, are you ready for that?” She slung her sword’s scabbard onto her back. “Of course, let’s go!” “I was hoping you’d say that. Well, that’s it. I guess we’re sticking together.” “Yup!” My stomach growled again. “Okay, we can leave… After I eat!” Lyn laughed. I picked up five handfuls of grass, and stuffed it in a pouch. I then grabbed another handful and ate it. “I’m getting used to eating grass. It almost tastes decent!”


Chapter 1: Yau


The next town, called Yau, was closer that I thought. In fact, it was only about a three hour walk away. We arrived in Yau just as the sun was beginning to set. Amazingly, my luck had begun to change. We managed to sell off the axes the bandits used, and had some money to last a few days. A bunch of people were surprised to see two kids selling weapons and buying food on their own, but the citizens got over it in about an hour. In fact, someone noticed my robe, and identified me as a tactician, and challenged me to play chess. I shot a distressed look over at Lyn, and she nodded. Damn. “Sure, might as well.” It didn’t turn out so bad. After about half an hour, I made the final move. “Checkmate. Ah, well. Looks like I lost my little bet.” The citizen was confused, so I pointed at the pieces he had captured. “See? You took two pawns and a knight. A failure on my part.” The citizen looked astonished. “B-but… Look at everything you took!” “Eh?” I hadn’t noticed, but he only had his king left, and it was backed into a corner. Literally. “Oh. Well, it’s still not fair that the pawns and knight had to die for that to happen. Oh, well.” I got up. An old man stood too. “Hey, young man! What name do you go by?” Name? I decided on an alias. “Edwin.” “Hmm… Edwin, I’ll remember that name. Have you been hired yet?” Eh? “Erm… Yeah, my employer’s right here.” I pointed at Lyn. I whispered to her after seeing her puzzled look. “Just go with it.” The old man hobbled over. “Take this. I think you can use it better than I can.” He handed over a ring with a powder blue stone set in it. How cliché. “Hm? Thanks.” “I don’t know what it is, but I’m sure you can find out.” Lyn tapped my shoulder, and waved me over to a fountain.

“Hey, I’ve heard that the Lutherian Army is making good progress over here. If this town falls into Luther’s hands, it’s over for the civilians.” I looked over my shoulder, and what do you know, I could make out five or six figures making way over here. I’d bought a new lance, and Lyn had her sword repaired earlier that week before I met her. “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” “Depends. Are you thinking about taking on those soldiers?” “Well, let’s go!” We were about to leave our stuff with a storage merchant, when some guy with a bow and some arrows offered to pay for us. “Who the heck are you?” The guy smirked. “I’m an archer. My name’s Edwin, funny; it seems we have the same name.” “That it does.” I looked at Lyn. “Well, let’s go.” We prepared to leave, but the actual Edwin followed. “I’m going too. Those soldiers killed my parents, and I want some sweet revenge.” “Well, quit talking, and let’s go!” In order to get to town, the soldiers would have to pass through some plains. There were sparse collections of trees and foliage, but most of the field was clear and flat. Not good. “Okay, let’s go. There’re only six soldiers, and there’s three of us. This should be easy. Edwin, stay behind the tree about seventy meters from the edge of town. Slow them down, and we’ll take care of the rest.” This way, I won’t have to deal with the numbers, and the arrows should really limit the soldiers’ effectiveness in an open field. Plus, Edwin stays hidden, and the soldiers can’t find who is firing arrows. “Now, move!” I whipped out my lance, and studied the foliage.

It took about forty-five seconds to set up our positions, and after that it was too easy to beat them off. Unfortunately, the soldiers were persistent, so Lyn and I had to spend a few extra minutes mopping up the remaining soldiers. About twenty minutes after we had left, there were no soldiers advancing on Yau anymore, so Lyn and I prepared to leave, now with one extra group member. “So! What’s your name, pretty lady?” Eh? Okay, this guy annoys me. Lyn probably felt the same way, and Edwin’s remark earned him a nice blow to the stomach. “Ow.” She turned and took a bow, brightly smiling. She’s pissed. “My name’s Lyn. Oh, and make another comment like that, and you’ll die.” “Got it. Laying off the remarks.” I laughed in the back. Lyn turned around, indignant. “What’s so funny?” “Eh? Nothing.” That didn’t really work, since I was still snickering. Lyn pulled me over, and threw me into a headlock. At this point, we were all laughing. A few hours later, the sun was gone, and we pitched tents to sleep in.

I waited until Lyn and Edwin were asleep, and looked at the ring that old man gave me earlier. I decided to find out what it does later. I yawned, but couldn’t sleep, so I sat outside of Lyn’s tent. Once again, I have no idea when I fell asleep, but I woke up the next morning, just inside of Lyn’s tent with Lyn herself bending over me, staring. “Huh? When did I…?” Why am I in here? “Erm, you were sleeping outside? I pulled you in here.” “Oh. Sorry.” Edwin poked his head through the tent’s flap. “Oh… Well, I’ll leave you two alone.” Eh? Don’t tell me it looked like we… Lyn and I looked at each other. “Stuff it, Edwin.” “Whatever, oh, and I’d like to hear your real name sometime soon.” Lyn sat up. “It’s Terry, now please go jump off of a bridge.” “Ouch. Unnecessary. Terry, call off your woman, man.” I walked by and thumped Edwin on the head on my way out of the tent. “Shut it.” Hm… I turned and picked up my lance, and pulled out a small notepad and pen to make notes on the field we settled down on. Close to the forest, so that’s a plus if we need to retreat, but unremarkable otherwise. There is some foliage, and it’s enough to provide some cover for Edwin, but that’s it. If we run into a group of more than ten, we have to either retreat or die.

I wandered back into Lyn’s tent, and found her in an apron cooking. “So, we’ve got quite a bit of ground to cover today. Let’s eat, and then we’ll get moving.” I sat down, and Lyn yawned. “Okay!” I pulled a few books out of my bag, and started reading as I ate the stew Lyn cooked. Compared to the grass I normally ate, it was amazing. Sadly, I had nothing else to compare it to. After a few minutes, I noticed that Lyn was reading over my shoulder. “Hm?” Lyn looked uncharacteristically confused. “I don’t get this stuff.” Lyn sat down by my side. “Eh? These are records of successful military campaigns. Basically, I analyze their tactics, and find holes to exploit. Sadly, and coincidentally, there are none of the Lutherians’ records here. Go figure.” “Oh. I had no idea that so many wars have been fought.” “The volumes I carry date back a few hundred years, and small conflicts are well-recorded, too. Really, the only tactics that I haven’t pierced are the ones from the War of Anima fifty years ago, from the year 509 to 521. Pretty long, and there are theories that magic was used extensively. As we all know-" Lyn interrupted. “Mages are nearly extinct.”

“Correct, making an already nearly flawless approach even more obscure. I can’t figure it out without seeing the abilities of magic firsthand, and the damage done. I could just assume that it works like a ballista, but that could be a fatal mistake. Plus, there were supposed to be artifacts that hold magic power themselves, all oriented around three elements, perfectly balanced. Anima, the most common element, Flux, an element based on space, time, and the Void, and Enigma, based on healing, and countering the Void. Anima beats Enigma, Enigma beats Flux, and Flux beats Anima. I don’t know what caused the mages to be wiped out, but I’m researching that now. If I could just see it once, I could figure it out. If only I knew how magic was created…” I was lost in thought. I was snapped out of my self-induced trance when I heard what sounded like a raid. I looked at Lyn, and grabbed my lance. I waved Edwin over and explained what I had noticed about the field before. “Well? Let’s go!” It’s gonna be a long day…

Great story, dude! And welcome back! Using reason, the ring should most likely be one of those magic items, I'm guessing Enigma/Anima? Although I hope it's Flux.

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"In many ways, the work of a critic is easy. We risk very little, yet enjoy a position over those who offer up their work and their selves to our judgment. We thrive on negative criticism, which is fun to write and to read. But the bitter truth we critics must face, is that in the grand scheme of things, the average piece of junk is probably more meaningful than our criticism designating it so. But there are times when a critic truly risks something, and that is in the discovery and defense of the new. The world is often unkind to new talent, new creations. The new needs friends. Last night, I experienced something new: an extraordinary meal from a singularly unexpected source. To say that both the meal and its maker have challenged my preconceptions about fine cooking is a gross understatement. They have rocked me to my core. In the past, I have made no secret of my disdain for Chef Gusteau's famous motto, "Anyone can cook." But I realize, only now do I truly understand what he meant. Not everyone can become a great artist; but a great artist can come from anywhere."

-Anton Ego/Peter O'Toole (1932-2013)

Well, I made it kinda obvious. This is just the first few chapters. I need feedback before I post more, since I actually intend to get this published online. But as of now, I am leaning towards Flux, but that's kinda the Lutherians' thing.

This story and other works will be written and posted by Reflux Fiction, a publishing company started by me that only works on fiction, on our site, http://www.refluxbooks.webs.com. I would appreciate that you read my inagural work, Convert: Escape and Survive. Otherwise, updates on The Tactician will be posted there.