5 years, 11 months, and 6 days after exile

About a week and a half later (and several apologies to her officers), Rainbow had become well aquatinted with them. It was still a pain in the ass to keep track of all thirteen of them, but she was able to keep track of a few. Mostly the three that stuck out: her second-in-command Vexillum Plaudit, the artillery officer Domitianus, and the Velites commander Cato. Still, she was learning, and she had no doubt that, if she gave it a little bit more time, she could do it.

She also became acquainted with her new Regiment. At the Battle of Pryha, despite being one of the regiments to be surrounded, they didn't take as many casualties when compared to the fifteenth and the thirteenth. Despite this, they still took massive losses and had been retrained from the ground up regardless.

Rainbow had come down to the field where the battle had taken place, christened the 'Ager Talionis', or 'Field of Retaliation' by the city. She had overseen the training of her regiment in smaller bits, watching as the officers drilled them over and over again over the course of weeks, and eventually months. It reminded her somewhat of her own training under Dorus, what with the tall wooden poles, the constant physical exercise, and the lack of sparring initially. At the same time, it was rather different, with the lack of wings and the different equipment used.

Still, after about five months of training, the regiment was coming along well. With similar progress being made by the other two regiments on the island, and the rest of the Pryhan regiments if the reports were correct, the Caesar declared that a series of Wargames would be held; a final exam, if you will. It they could beat one another, it was reasoned, then they should be able to beat anything that came their way. And so, here Rainbow was, watching the fortified trench line that was being erected on the opposite side of the Ager Talionis.

She had been told about how this scenario would play out. It was a battle between her and the thirteenth, also from the battle here. Each side had a silver vase with roses in it as an objective, and the mechanics were similar to 'capture the flag'. Each side had to recover the vase in a few hours, or at least hold onto their own. If either side completed their objective, either by holding onto their vase or capturing the vase or their opponent, they would win. If none of them captured the vase of the other, a draw would be declared. The reward was special; double rations for a year, along with the simple honor of victory. Naturally, both sides wanted to win.

Each side had assembled on one side of the field early in the morning, and each of the regiments had been given until noon to dig fortifications. Both sides had gone with the standard layout, accounting for the fact they were unable to use artillery, of course. Several rows of trenches were constructed, a ditch lined with wooden stakes just in front of it. A small mud-brick shack was erected on either side to hold the objective, as well as act as a planning room.

She had spent most of this time as her men constructed the fortifications to come up with a plan. She ordered Vexillum to feign an attack on the thirteenths line. When the thirteenth launched their counter, Cato would lead his velites around the line, through the forest, to come out behind the trench line. They should be able to overwhelm the few defenders left, take the objective, and retreat. Or, well, that was the plan.

Around noon, a brazier was lit on the city walls, indicating to the two regiments that the game had begun. Almost immediately, the thirteenth sent out three of their maniples, along with accompanying velite support, toward her position. She gave the signal for nine of her maniples to push forward while having her velites start going through the woods. A barrage of horn blows later, and the whole of her force stepped off, making a loud, thundering advance.

However, even when the two units got in close, the thirteenth didn't take the bait. The two sides exchanged a volley of blunted plumbata, then charged in close. The two sides got in close, smashing shields together and thrusting with poles and wooden swords over the formed wall. Due to her massive numbers though, she was able to push past them relatively quickly. The remaining enemies, either those who hadn't been hit really hard or hadn't fallen over from an impact, retreated back toward the line, while her own advanced. Those that been wounded or had been simply knocked over from blunt impact were immediately taken away by a massive team of stretcher-bearers, medics, and civilians hired to help out.

Soaring over her line, she saw that casualties weren't all too heavy, all things considered. However, the remaining maniples of the thirteenth were holding back, waiting for her to come to them. A massive wall of spikes greeted her men as they closed in, both form the sharpened stakes and their own lances. She yelled down to hold position, and her order was repeated up the line as it ground to a halt like a train.

An awkward pause formed while she flew up and down the line, taking in the enemy position. Paranoid about the thirteenth trying to perform what she had planned, she darted back to the maniple she left to guard the vase. Checking that nothing was wrong, she then rocketed back to her line. Still not wanting to take chances, she ordered back three of her maniples to watch the vase.

She then had the horns sound out an advance, watching the weighted darts into the defensives. She darted around the back of the advance, sliding into the woods to her velites. The cloaked, lightly armored skirmishers were stalking through the woods, coming in on the flank of the enemy army. She ordered an advance, and they raced out of the woods, hucking javelins at the enemy flanks.

It was a route. They had tried to hold position, waiting for them to come to them. It had failed, and now the line had come to this position. The two sides slammed into them, projectiles and blunted weapons flying across the trenches. While the maniples slammed into each other, she slipped past the guards, whacking whoever got in her way as she made her way to the hut. She slammed into the wall at full force, literally bucking the wall down. The guard inside was beaned by one of the bricks as she swooped down to get the vase.

She had been told to check inside the vase for something that would end the game. Fishing around inside, she found a large whistle, which had a note attached to it saying 'blow'. Doing so, a loud, well, whistling came out, and the two sides stopped fighting. When they saw her with that vase, her men began to cheer while the thirteenths lowered their heads in defeat.

It isn't that bad, right? I feel this was kinda bad. What do you think?