Specific demon princes shall be covered in their own sections. Treat them as you would treat enemy Divines and with Divines tactics. Whereas we have no confirmation from the One-Seventeenth in Arika or from the Arikan theatre, there is no reason as to why should be immune to mass rifle fire or artillery barrages. If the airforce comes back online, we will initiate tactics of mass precision bombings into their ranks. Engage as you would a Divine, hold for Counter-Divinity units or retreat if they start tearing through organised ranks. Cowardice shall not be looked upon favourably however orders to retreat and fall back are acceptable once standard fall-back conditions are met.

Greater is the threat of Archdemons. These are the Titans of Tartarus. Whereas they range in size, some will pierce through Ashen Skies. The presence of these is to be reported immediately. No heroics are to be undertaken. During the Great War, they required several major Divines to be deployed. Over the hundred year conflict, only six were felled and all of these situations required the full attention and deployment of Goddesses Olephia, Irinika, Baalka and Anassa along with massed sorcery brigades.

In the case of Archdemons, do not engage unless no other choice is presented. Lights are to be cut out once they cross the horizon. Some possess magic, some do not. Until photographed and confirmed, assume the former. Their greatest strength is their size, however this is also their weakness. Get underground, the deeper the better. Avoid subways and bunkers in the middle of cities, for they will collapse under the weight. Natural caves that have no reason to be investigated and forests with thick canopies have been proven to be better sources of stealth.

If not an Archdemon or Royalty, then engage upon your own terms. Treat the larger demons as enemy armour, units that are not in possession of chemical HEAT shells should test the effectiveness of HE over pure AT shells. Divisions that possess anti-air should consult their field engineers and remove any incline-blockers. Whereas unconfirmed, there is good reason to expect that FLAK and rapid fire high-calibre fire seen in AA will prove effective.

- Excerpt from “Tartarian Strategies and Tactics, First Edition”, written by Iliyal Tremali, Current Hand of the Emperor and Commander of the Epan Theatre

“Drones cannot fly in there.” Captain Henek answered and the Goddess of Lubska raised an eyebrow so white it could have been snow. They had been pushed back another dozen miles over the course of two hours. The other units of the one-seventeenth were congregating upon. At this rate, they would reach the Ibyan coastline in less than two days. And then... Olonia blinked, only just realising the mess they were in.

“Either way, we have images already.” Lieutenant MacDonald said. Normally Olonia would not have non-Lubskans in her army, the language barrier simply made things too difficult to manage. But the man spoke well and he had volunteered for Arika.

“Nothing good.” Henek said. “It’s just images from outside.” Olonia looked over the maps. There was no point even settings tents up. A fold-out table had been brought out and maps thrown hastily over it. All of them were covered with scribbles and lines. Setting up all the strings and counters was simply unfeasible at this point. Olonia looked at the position of the One-Seventeenth and then at the various ports. Orripoli was too far away. Two weeks drive, they would run out of fuel without even crossing half the distance. And without fuel…

“Better that than nothing.” MacDonald said. Anghzai was too far too to the east. Same issue. Olonia narrowed her eyes as she only half-listened in to the conversation her men were having. Another had crossed across a dune. Three trucks surrounded by thirty small off-road dirtbikes left a cloud in the sky. From the south, thunder rumbled.

“Either way, it looks like we are going to have to call it.” Mieszko, The captain in charge of communications said. Turt then? But even that was a week away. They would be pushing the vehicles and they would still have to go along the coast. Staying ahead of ashen skies was not difficult as long as they kept on escaping straight north. Deviation at such an angle.

“What’s the closest active Imperial port?” Olonia asked. “How long would it take to get two thousand of us aboard?” And Olonia blinked as she realised something. She looked to Tanit, to the captains, then to the rest of the One-Seventeenth. The whole division would congregate within the next few days. “Well?”

The men looked over the map again. “Turt.” Captain Gustlik said. “Isn’t that evacuated though?”

Mieszko nodded. “We could redirect a vessel.”

“Multiple vessels.” Olonia said. “Unless you want to leave men behind here.” The man sighed as he stared at the map. He looked at one of the dashed green lines that was running from the north to Anghazi.

“I’d have to check.” He said.

“There’s the Al-Ranuf port.” Captain Gustlik said as he pointed to one of the small towns on the map. “It’s an oil port but I know it gets shipments.”

“Today is the last one.” Mieszko said absentmindedly, not even bothering looking to up from his little notebook and the map. Olonia looked to Tanit on the other side of the table. The Goddess of Ibya crossed eyes with Olonia and then lowered them. She blew some of the dark hair out of her face. “The Al-Ranuf refineries have already blown up.” He said dryly and Tanit’s eyes grew wide.

“They were attacked?”

Mieszko shook his head. “The ashcover reached them. Al-Ranuf port reported a drop in pipeline pressure already.” Nothing else to say. Nothing else to add.

“So there’s nothing?” Henek asked. Olonia already knew that. She was just letting the men reach their own conclusion. A single ship could be redirected in a matter of hours but the fleets were scattered. It would cause trouble for the Anghazi evacuation efforts too and set them back. Air-pickup was impossible. Whereas Epa was closing down its airspace already, that was simply a stress-test of the logistics and in case of evacuations. Today, the hard no-fly zone had crossed into the desert when some private plane had dropped out of the sky.

“We could arc hard west and hope to get to Orripoli.” Mieszko said. “Pre-emptive coastal fuel-drop-offs by ships could be organised.”

“We’d reach Orripoli in time to serve as its garrison.” Captain Gustlik said and looked at the table who turned to stare at him. “What? I’m being honest here. We’d be the garrison. We know that.”

“Better to make a last stand there than here.” Tanit said. And now, the entire table turned to look at her as Olonia realised something. Ashen Skies, as terrible and devouring they were, could not be like that for the whole distance. Tartarus still needed to deploy armies. She had seen them in fact. Lights that had very obviously been pyres deep under the cloud cover.

She had seen firestorms and winds and lightning and tornadoes and twisters. An army could not march through that. It was simply impossible. Unless every demon was like a divine and could just exist without any food and water, then they needed supply lines. In the Sassara, they would need roads. They… And Olonia realised what thought she was racing towards. “Apologies Goddess.” Captain Gustlik said. “But our mission is to be forward scouts.”

“So you want to die in the middle of nowhere compared to protecting my capital?” Tanit asked back.

The men all looked to each other. Out here was a death sentence, in Orripoli, it would be a death sentence. Eyes settled on Olonia. “Do the drones need to fly to be turned on?” Olonia suddenly asked. And she was met with a series of confused and oddly satisfied gazes.

All of them apart from Tanit. Another unit crossed to regroup with the main force of the One-Seventeenth. From the south-east this time. Two trucks and only a dozen dirtbikes, most of them charred. Looks like they had strayed too close to the ashcover. “What are you talking about Olonia?” Tanit barked.

“Gentlemen, my question.” Olonia did not even bother with politeness. Tanit would grow to like her eventually once they fought in battle. With how things were going here, then engaging could only make things worse.

“They don’t.” Captain Henek said. “Why?”

“What about their radars and sensors?”

“No.” Henek replied.

“What’s the range on them?” Henek did not this. He looked around the table. All the men in their desert fatigues shook their heads. They had pistols on their belts, a few had not even bothered unslinging their rifles from their shoulders. This meeting was only happening because the trucks needed to be given time to cool down and to refuel. Empty canisters would just be left on the ground, they weren’t guarded technology, nothing here was, not even Olonia’s new rifle. The less weight they had, the better. “Then approximate gentlemen, to the closest ten miles.”

“Eighty I think.” Henek said and Olonia stared at the man. Eighty miles? And here she was worried it would be eight! Eighty was more than enough!

“Bury them.” Olonia said. “Tanit, you assist. Use your power to create holes. How deep in the sand to withstand lightning strikes? Does anyone know?” And every scratched their heads again. Olonia did not bother rolling her eyes. She herself did not know the conductivity of sand either. But it was sand, wasn’t it? Sand wasn’t conductive!

“Underground?” Henek asked.

“No! bury them in the fucking sky man.” Olonia snapped back. She tapped her forehead. “Puk-Puk-Puk-Puk. Is it empty in there? Where the fuck do you bury things?”

“Understood.” Henek replied. Tanit looked at the reactions of the men in stunned surprise. Most of them, Henek included, were trying to hold in laughter.

“We may have a problem with that.” Miesko said. “Too deep and we block their sensors.” Olonia looked around at the camp. She saw the answer immediately, on the back of the truck. The flagpole that held up the Imperial Tricolour of red-white-black. How tall was that? At least twice the height of Olonia, at least twenty feet then.

And immediately, Olonia did what no soldier would think of, yet what she knew Iliyal and Kassandora would raise a drink to. With the flag still on the pole, she crossed the distance to the vehicle as men turned around to watch her. Some of the soldiers had not even bothered dismounting from the trucks. Others had walked a short distance away to go about their business and take a leak. Others were crouched down and sharing cigarettes. And everyone watched their Goddess put her hands on the base of the flagpole and listened to the single twist as she broke it.

Olonia looked inside. Hollow. And she dropped it just before her captains. “Solved. Airflow.”

Mieszko found another issue. Tanit narrowed her eyes at him. The woman simply did not know how the Empire operated. These issues were welcomed whether they came from a general or a private. “That’s conductive steel.”

“How many flagpoles?” Olonia asked as her eyes scanned the trucks. “Five.” She answered her own question. “How many drones.” She knew the answer to this too. “Seventeen left. Twelve-five split. We’ll take what we can get.”

Olonia clapped her hands and raised her voice. “Gentlemen! Get to work! Now! Bury them! Spread them out! Mieszko, you’re in charge of monitoring! Tanit, you’re digging and burying! Gustlik, can you set the drones up!”

“Yes Goddess!”

“That’s your job! Henek! Rally the men! Ten minutes! Seventeen drones! Ten minutes!” And she watched them scurry off like ants. Angle grind were brought out, flag poles were cut. Flags were folded. Gustlik unpacked the drones. The few engineers and operators made their final adjustments on them. Two were fuelled up. The trucks turned on their engines. Another team returned over a dune. The thunder in the distance grew louder. Winds were picking up. But Olonia’s eyes went to Tanit. She had to see what the Goddess was capable of. Training without a reliance on power was something Kavaa had taught her. It stunted growth, it was easy to add reliance on the supernatural once skills were developed, it was a hundred times as difficult to go the other way around.

And Tanit did not disappoint. The men picked a spot. The Goddess walked to them wrapped in her orange shawls, her sleeves pulled up. Her arms almost copper, like the desert sand in dusk. And then, without show or fanfare or incantation, she merely, clapped her hands together, spread them apart and the ground followed. Not even ten seconds and men were staring at a hole. The first, the lowered the drone into on ropes. The second, Tanit sent them away and simply lowered the machine into the ground. By the time she returned to her own truck, next to Olonia’s, she wasn’t even sweating or looked exerted in the slightest. Instead, the woman was flexing her fingers in surprise. “How are you feeling?” Olonia asked.

“You’re asking me that?” Tanit replied and sighed. She rolled her brown eyes, one step, not even a hope, was all it took for her to get onto her vehicle. “Whatever, sorry. I’m good. I didn’t know it was that easy.”

Mascot Goddess through and through. Olonia knew the feeling exactly. “I know what you mean.” Olonia said with a smile as she got onto her own.

“Do you?”

“Trust me.” Olonia said. “They say we can’t understand humanity but only a Divine can understand Divinity. It feels good, doesn’t it?”

“It does. I hardened the stone around them, the ceiling I mean, into stone I think. To keep them from breaking down I hope.” Tanit said. She sat down and leaned back on her the cabin of the truck. “We should get moving.” Olonia clapped her cabin. That did not need to be said twice.

The One-Seventeenth got moving. Trucks one again started to kick up sand. Dirtbikes with a pair of soldiers on them left a single trail, quads and small buggies, with pairs or trios or small teams of four men, depending on how many could fit, kept a loose formation although no one, certainly not Olonia, cared. The men could speed and feel the wind in their ears as much as they liked as long as the vehicles did not break down, it was the trucks that were the worst. She put on her headset. “I’m on the line, keep me informed if anything happens. Over.” They had even stopped with declaring their names. As garbled as the sound was, one could get used to it and recognise people by just voice.

Mieszko replied back over the commander comms-line. “Understood Goddess, over.”

And so they drove. Up the side of one dune. Down the other. Through a valley. Then up again. It felt more like sailing across an ocean rather than actually driving. Olonia untied her hair and let it wave in the wind. The last time any of them had showered was before they stepped foot on this continent. Everyone must be stinking right now. She smiled at the childish thought as the cold air whipped past her ears. There was sand under her fingernails and in her clothes. She could feel it biting now.

And she smiled and closed her eyes. The endless grain fields of Lubska crossed her mind. The castles in her country. Their tiled roofs. Their crenulations. The vodka. What would she do for a drink of plum-brew right now. Not even to get drunk but just to taste something she enjoyed. She took a breath and thought of lynxes in the Lubskan mountains and of horses trotting on the fields.

And her thoughts were broken by Mieszko’s voice. “Reporting, ashen skies have reached the drones. I repeat, ashen skies have reached the drones. Over.”

“Copy that.” Olonia answered first. “Tell me if the storm breaks. Over.”

“If it breaks?” Mieszko asked, his voice stunned even over the radio. “Over.” He added after a few moments.

“Trust it will.” Olonia said. “Report if it does or if we lose all the drones. Otherwise shut up, I’m thinking of prettier things than you. Over.”

There was laughter from multiple channels at that. And Olonia closed her eyes again. This time though, her thoughts did not stray to mountains or lynxes. Instead, they strayed to the ashen skies. Maybe the men did not understand. Maybe they just treated it as a mission set about by the Strategic Council. Maybe they thought Olonia mad. But she was not. Ashen Skies would have to be breached. The Empire would do it in Arika or it would do it in Epa. And if it failed here and there, then it would cease to exist. There would be no Lynxes or horses or plum-vodka to remember then.

Better they do it here and give Iliyal all the information he could get. Already, the basic tactics were out of date. From what the elf said, in the past Tartarian Legions would always precede Ashen Skies. Now, that had obviously changed. If that had changed, then it would be downright imbecilic to assume their frontline tactics had not evolved either. They would have to be scouted for armour. Olonia had already seen that great machine underground. Fer had destroyed it back then. And yet Fer was one Goddess. If these things were being mass-produced. If Tartarus did in fact possess artillery, they would have to be warned. If…

If anything. If anything was anything, then Iliyal had to know.

Olonia smiled as her mind finally travelled back to Lubska. She wanted to adopt a Lynx one day. The animals were impossible to domesticate but maybe Fer could help? How hard could it be? Olonia smiled to herself as they crossed another dune.

And Mieszko came over the radio once again. His voice was in awe. “Goddess.” He said.

Olonia did not even care for protocol. She clicked her own radio back. “Speak, what is it? Over.”

“You were correct. There’s silence.”

Olonia’s eyes grew wide and she almost stood up on the truck. “Excuse me?!” She screamed.

“The storm has passed. We’re still getting noise. There’s wind and I think we hear voice, unsure of that, it could just be wind. But it’s passed. It was…” He trailed off. “Twenty-one minutes, thirty-seven seconds. Round it up to half an hour maybe?”

“Send the information off.” Olonia said. “Stop the trucks. Deploy your radio. Tanit, get up. You’ll be needed. Over.”

And immediately, the One-Seventeenth got to work. The truck carrying heavy radio equipment kept its engine on to power the machinery on its rear as men started to send the information back. A perimeter was set up. The final brigade caught up. They had been trailing just a few minutes behind. These two had their vehicles discoloured to a darker shade by ash. Men went off to take a leak again. Others pulled out their celebratory cigarettes. A few of the engineers cheered together that nothing had broken down on the way.

Before meeting with the commanders. Olonia found Tanit standing by her truck, stretching her legs and arms and rubbing her rear from sitting down on the uncomfortable panels. “What is it?” Tanit asked.

“How strong are you really?” Olonia asked.

“You’re stronger than me.” Tanit asked. “I can’t defeat you in a duel. It’s not even a fight.”

“I meant your power.” And to that, Tanit shrugged. She blushed and looked away.

“I don’t know.”

“What’s the largest mound you’ve ever made.”

“I’ve made floodwalls before.” Tanit said. “And I’ve moved sand out of villages and towns when they get buried by a storm.” She shrugged. Those brown-gold eyes looked to Olonia. “Why? What do you want? I won’t be able to stand against that.” She nodded south. “If that’s what you mean.”

“Could you make a chamber underground for two thousand men?” Olonia asked directly and Tanit’s eyes grew wide.

“What?”

“We push to the coast and run out of fuel, then get obliterated. Even if we manage to delay evacuations by having fuel drop-offs, we won’t stand against that. Not from the outside.”

“What are you talking about?” Tanit asked.

“They don’t need Ashen Skies to function. They’re summoning them in some fashion. If we get rid of that, we’ll buy a better chance for your people and for mine than by having a heroic last stand. I’m asking Tanit and I’m asking seriously so I want a serious answer now. Are you and if so, how long would it take you to generate a football-field sized chamber underground. I don’t care if we’re squashed together. I’m asking if you can do it.”

That put things into perspective for the Goddess. She sighed and looked at her hands. “It’d be better if I tunnel into the ground rather than…” She picked her hands up and brought them down. “Submerge us.”

“However you wish.” Olonia said. “Can you do it? In an hour at the maximum?”

“I…” Tanit said. “I don’t know.”

“Are we leaning on you don’t know but probably yes or you don’t know but probably no?” Olonia asked.

“Are you risking it all like that?”

“I know if we keep travelling, we’ll run out of fuel. Then our fate is certain. Your probably is better than that.” Tanit took a whole minute to reply. She turned around. She held her hands out. Mieszko reported that officials had received their message. Sands stirred. The ground rumbled. It stopped rumbling. Tanit turned back to Olonia.

“Probably yes.” She said, Olonia raised a scolding eyebrow and the other Goddess stood up straighter. “Definitely yes. I’m a Divine. I can do it!”

“Then go ahead.”

And just like that, Olonia watched a tunnel formed in the ground. The captains closed in, their gazes stern and their eyes unhappy. At this point, it was obvious what they were going to do. “Should I rally the men?” Henek asked Olonia.

“You should.” Olonia said as she kept track of that dark tunnel. Sand moved by itself in a fashion Olonia had never seen. Not as if it was being swept by winds nor as if it was being excavated by a shovel. Instead, each grain simply rolled to the side or pressed deeper. The ground hardened and Olonia rolled her eyes. She should have been getting the Goddess to do this every time they made camp before.

“Are we going in there.” Captain Gustlik finally dropped the question.

“Yes.” Olonia said.

“Understood Goddess.” No humour. No joking. Nothing. Just cold Imperial acceptance. He sighed as captain Henek led the way. The man was sitting on the back of his dusty truck, painted a pale cream colour. Sand poured from its huge rubber wheels.

“Is everyone going in?” He asked.

“Everyone is going in.” Olonia said as Tanit kept on gently moving her hands through the air as if she was massaging the air. Her eyes were closed. Every now and then, one of the men would look at the Goddess and then back at Olonia. “Tanit, can they start?”

“They can enter. The chamber is still expanding but I can keep it stable.”

“You heard her.”

And so, in as lethargically hesitant a manner as was possible before it became too slow, the vehicles kept on rolling. There was still the matter of air, Henek would be smart enough to order the vehicles turned off once they were underground. There were a dozen Clerics here, it wasn’t a lot but they should be able to keep at bay the effects of poisoning. If worst came to worst, then Tanit would create a channel and a draft for them. If she was capable of this, she would be capable of that.

Ten. Fifteen minutes passed. Truck followed truck, then motorcycle. Then men simply walking in teams. Another truck. An off-road quad, the same that farmers had for herding sheep with an ammunition crate on its rear. Everyone and everything the One-Seventeenth possessed.

“Tanit, hold for one moment. I have something to say.”

“Tanit. Your lives are in our hands.” Olonia watched the One-Seventeenth enter the hole the Goddess had carved up. “You understand this.”

“I do.” Tanit said.

“Good.” Olonia held out her hand.

“What is that for?” Tanit asked.

“I’ve not said it before, but I’ll say it now.” Olonia said as Tanit reached out to shake. “Welcome to the Imperial One-Hundred and Seventeenth Motorized Light Infantry. It will be a pleasure to call you one of ours.”

It was the first time Olonia saw Tanit smile.