Elden Ring:After the end

"Here they all are, my lord"

"The reports don't stand up to the situation."

Making it clear that a couple of numbers on a sheet can't describe the current situation, Aldrich, who has returned to his dirty blond hair and brown eyes form, looks around the room. 

It is a wide room made of raw stone, the kind that if you look closely you can see the joints between the rocks, the floor of the place is made of the same material and it is completely empty, with the exception of the soldiers. 

"It has always been like this. One death is a tragedy, but a hundred, a thousand, millions... that just makes them a number."

Shaking his head as he finishes his words, Lhutel who seems to take the subject of the soldiers seriously, fixes his black hair that has been disheveled by his movements and remains silent. 

"That's how wars are, at some point the man who fights in it simply disappears and there remains only the ultimate end."

The two seem to share the same tune for a few moments, but Aldrich, calling it a day, moves to the front of the entire group of wounded and mysteriously makes a talisman appear in his hand. 

"Blessing of the Golden Tree."

Aldrich's voice was not loud, but still it seemed to reach everywhere in the room and as if in reaction to those very words, the whole place was bathed in gold. 

From the golden light bathing the whole place, golden flowers of different sizes and shapes begin to emerge, filling the room with nature. The most amazing thing was not that, but the quick recovery of the wounded soldiers, who no matter what wound they have, are back to their best under this light. 

"My leg!"

"Thank you, thank you!"

"My eye is back!"

They may have been captivated by all the beauty of the enchantment, but the instant they felt the changes in their bodies, none of them could remain silent in the face of such a great miracle. 

Aldrich clearly felt the gratitude in their words, causing his stoic face to disappear, only to give way to a smile and then he walked off to another location. 

...Aldrich pov…

"We already have the men and considering the materials you brought, we will be able to start the operation tomorrow at the latest."

Turning my head to look at Lhutel who has again expressed himself with some gestures, but still maintaining his in-charge countenance, he let out what's on my mind. 

"Won't they need more time to get used to their new limbs?"

"I've already thought about that. Those who had minor injuries will be put to training immediately and thus regain their abilities. Those who were severely wounded, will have today to adapt and tomorrow they will be changed to serve as crossbowmen. 

Despite his harsh words, one can sense the concern Lhutel has for his men in charge. Otherwise why would he move the previously disabled to the rear?". 

"No rest huh?"

"Rest will only soften them up. The Midlands don't know what they used to be, you must have the power, the feelings and the desire, if you want to survive in the now."

Reason is not lacking in the harsh words spoken by Lhutel. The Midlands are no longer under a stable, powerful and slightly orderly government.

All things considered, the midlands are now a heap of scattered sand. It's normal for people to learn to fend for themselves and now it's all about survival of the fittest. 

"It really was a bad choice from Marika, the breakup of the Elden Circle. No, if the situation had stayed the same, it most likely would have been worse in the long run."

If we were to put ourselves in place, the gods of the Midlands are more similar to the Greek than to that of Christianity. Not by appearance or anything like that, but because the gods here are human-like with great power, i.e. they still maintain the six desires and the 10 virtues. 

All that leads to the gods doing whatever they want, even more so if we consider that Marika was the only truly divine one. That absolute and unquestioned authority she carried allowed her to do whatever she wanted in the Elden Circle setting. 

"Everything happens for a reason, my lord. Without the demise of the previous order, we would never have you."

"Was it really worth it?"

"To me, yes. It will always be worth it."

His steady brown eyes let no trace of doubt be seen in them, making me feel that every word he says is laden with enormous conviction and his powerful atmosphere only delivers more weight to his statement.

Letting out a sigh to lighten the mood, since we have been talking seriously since the beginning, he looked up at the sky and there I could see a big spot. 

"Lansseax is already arriving, let's get your report."

"Yes, my lord"

...Some time later... 

We had moved back to the command room belonging to Lhutel, which we used at the beginning and it looks like we will also at the end of the plan. 

"Troll? Those creatures can be a big problem depending on how they are used, even more so considering they are under unified command and equipped with those old weapons!"

Lhutel looks surprised at the mention of trolls, letting on that it is new even to them and that they have recently joined the enemy ranks. 

Her surprise doesn't stop her hands, which place a wooden troll-shaped token on the enemy camp, before looking at the entire battle map and nodding to herself. 

"Do you have their exact number and composition?"

As Lhutel says those trolls can be a problem, but the problem can be increased or decreased depending on their number and type of racial variant they are.

"There were about four of the normal ones, those idiots that are used to move carts and two of the ones that work in the mine. The first still carry their old weapons and the second, carry a bag on their back to carry large stones."

From Lansseax's description you can deduce that the former are no trouble at all, but the latter can certainly generate a lot of trouble. Just imagine being in the middle of the battlefield and being passed over by a stone the size of a horse, anyone would have a drop in morale. 

"Normal trolls can be countered by troops if they work in a group, but for diggers who have had their skin toughened by the environment, the really good thing would be to have gunpowder... Which we don't have."

"Something very understandable. Large numbers of supply lines came from Leyndell, making it so that when the city fell into disarray such products could not be replenished."

Blurting out a fact so Lhutel doesn't think I just want to make her feel better, she accepts my words, though she still seems to be searching for a solution for those armored trolls. 

"I'll take care of those trolls."

"You Aldrich?"

"What's the surprise? I don't plan on throwing them against something they obviously can't beat, besides they can be an interesting addition if I can get those trolls to switch sides."

As I spoke Lhutel gave me a look of thanks, as thanks to this they won't have to throw soldiers at an impossible mission. On the other hand Lansseax finds my change of strategy strange, but the instant I say about making them switch sides, his body has a small tremor. 

"Are you serious, Aldrich? Those madmen have cast aside their god, plus they still hate the Golden Order for going back on their word!"

"Not the Golden Order, but Marika who had promised them a new beginning after they betrayed the giants."

The trolls, like many races in the Midlands, were and are currently oppressed by other stronger races. Do I see it wrong? Not at all, it's the law of the jungle here and on top of that I can profit from this situation. 

"That doesn't change that they are half crazy because of the remaining influence of their old god, they have spent so much time as animals that they probably already believe that."

"Merely a remaining influence of a god with no followers, have you forgotten who I am... I am the Lord of the Circle and gods have fallen under my sword!"

As I finished my words with an aura that left no room for doubt, for a few moments I thought I saw Lhutel's fanatical gaze and a small blush on Lansseax, causing him to retract that commanding atmosphere. 

"Let us continue speaking."

"Yes, my lord!" x2