Sunday, bloody Sunday. It was the first Sunday of the new moon. A day that promised suffering, treason and death. Again, K32 was facing another kingdom, forced to fight for their castles, their resources and overall, their honor. But fighting was never the category K32 was good in and long ago the warriors stopped risking the lives of their soldiers to hold and defend any big cities either in their own, nor in the opposing kingdom. Westeros was holding too many overpowering fighters, who could easily kick them out with single attacks, even when fully reinforced. And one thing TgL and their members had learned: Know your power and pick your battle accordingly.

But this never meant, that they gave up easily. Single attacks on low reinforced castles, speed attacks on unbubbled warriors, small fighters, keeping time going for the kingdom and an overwhelming gathering power had still brought success in the past. But today was not looking good when Jul finally reached the battlefield. The sun was about to set, coloring the sky into gold and red, calling the early spring day to an end. There was not much time left and K32 was laying behind too much to turn the points again. But Jul was in a foul mood. This day went totally not as she had planned and the reports that reached her were like oil to fire to make her even more angry.

“Calm down my queen” Hugh, her loyal and most trusted hand said to her, after she shared the reports with him. But he was totally aware, that there was only one thing, that would help Jul to overcome her inner trouble, her doubts raised by the treason she had to face. Jul had been queen on K32 for over a year now and she worked hard to make it a good home in the war driven Westeros. But since a few months the cooperation with BrN, the oldest alliance in the kingdom became harder and harder. More and more rule breaking up to attacks. As her hand it should be Hugh doing the diplomacy here, but this was a matter of the heart for Jul and only she had the power to hold her own warriors back to not go wild on that little alliance. He saw the effort, he saw the undermining, he saw her divided mind. As duchess she wanted to give her warriors the retaliation they needed and deserved. But as queen she needed to hold the kingdom together and as long as she was reigning no innocent would suffer for an insult someone else did. That spirit was one of the reasons Hugh joined TgL a few months ago. But today he was not sure if Jul was able to hold herself and with that the kingdom together. BrN attacked one of the castles TgL was holding and not even putting troops in to keep the timer going for the kingdom. And even worse, FTp, the alliance Jul just recently gave a home after they had to leave a kingdom ruled by a tyrant.

Jul was pacing down her study. Going out in a mood like this would most likely harm herself the most. Ruled by emotions, she was not able to think reasonable. And in not even one hour she called her officers in to plan their next big battle: All out war. But what help will she be if she is not able to control her anger, if the only thought going around in her mind how to handle this treason, when the little voice in her head, telling her that she will never be a good queen and was unable to rule grew louder and louder. She did not feel the tears that started filling her eyes, her emotions totally rolling over her. “I go and fight!” with that simple sentence, she left the room, throwing the door shut, so the glass of water in front of Hugh shuttered. He sighed and all he could do was hoping that she will be back safe.

Jul arrived at the opposing kingdom. Her scouts have been out gathering information on the occupied castles. She needed to focus now, leaving all the emotions behind. She had learned a lot in the last month. She was vulnerable, but not weak anymore. She knew, if she was careful, they could not stop her. She did not want to take over the castles. All she wanted was to kill. Her first target …. She took up position in the woods, not easy to spot. Her army raced over the field, tearing up the ground, leaving a trail of black earth behind. The defenders had no chance, her army fell in, killed and was gone again. Instantly she left her position. She was a ghost. Her second target …. Again, she took a hiding spot, her army dashed off again. The thundering hooves must have been heard all over the kingdom, but again they found the defenders unprepared, leaving a trail of blood when heading back. Again, Jul was gone before anyone would even recognize the direction she came from. But she was not unwatched. The enemy seemed scared. Her scout announced that troops have been changed in King’s Landing, the only castle Jul did not dare to attack so far, as it was full spear including matching commanders. But now, with her bloodthirst, the mixed troops without commanders were not a challenge at all.

Above the city the first stars appeared when the horses bolted back to her position and again, she vanished and with that also her rage. She needed to keep moving, she was sure that the enemy was looking for her. She thought of moving back to her own kingdom, but that would lock her for too long, so she risked being spotted, but keeping the jump for emergency. She used the darkness, hiding in the shadows, staying away from the big castles, her scouts riding up and down restlessly to keep her save. Finally, she was able to put up her protection shield, calling the day and moving to her meeting, now much more in the mood to focus on the upcoming event.

Hugh was already waiting with the other officers when Jul entered, covered in blood, her armor dented, her hair sticking to her forehead. But with a big smile on her face. Hugh was relieved to see her in that mood. She will not make the kingdom suffer, she will stick to her values and let diplomacy do the work. But only tomorrow, now the topic was the upcoming All out war. But before they really could look into it, a scout broke into the room. Breathless he spoke: “Nodes, attacked, at KL” Everyone looked at Jul. She took the report.

She never attacked a warrior of such a strength. Hasn’t she challenged her luck enough already today? Neither the resources nor any kills, she would be able to do, would change the outcome of this war. But the adrenaline was still pumping through her blood. She needed to try, not for the kingdom, not for her lions, just for herself, to see what all the training of the last month had done, if she was ready for the open battlefield of Westeros. Her strategy has worked, just one hit. Hiding, racing, fighting, racing, hiding. No risk. She grabbed her helmet, girthed her sword and left.

AndreasStars was unnerved. It was clear K32 was not able to win anymore, why are they still stealing their resources? He did not think twice, he just started to attack all the gatherers around their capital, he did not want to allow any more points, and his warriors wanted to fight. He did not think that anyone would dare to attack him solo. He did not see the scout, he was too much focus on sending his armies in and out. He also did not see the riders, approaching from the treeline. Soldiers clad in black to blend into the darkness. The horses all black, the swords hidden. When the army arrived at the castle AndreasStars was just clearing a node. When he turned, he saw the fire, soldiers falling from the wall the dragon sitting at the tower. He rushed back, but all he found was his inner yard filled with corpses, blood covering the ground, the maesters moving from soldier to soldier, trying to heal as many as possible. He was furious. How could someone dare! But he also blamed himself, why did he leave his castle unprotected, just to attack gatherers. He should have been home, he should have faced that attacker himself and not let his soldiers unguided. Shall he look for retaliation? He wanted to, but there was no trace of the attacker. So all he could do was changing position to not risk another attack and taking care of his wounded soldiers. Angrily he had to leave the gatherers alone, but it was not worth risking anymore attacks.

When Jul joined back to her meeting, she was welcomed with a big sheer of her officers. They already saw the battle report, knowing how much Jul always struggled with her personal power. She barely dared to attack outside the events and if, she always avoided fighters of that power, as she had experienced devastating defeats in the past when trying to defend her kingdom. As expected, this battle did not change the outcome of the war, but for Jul it changed a lot. She realized that power is not everything. That she herself has grown a lot over the last months and she had found a way to test her strength with quite a low risk. She knows her limits, but she also knows that now she was able to better protect her kingdom and she could teach her alliance. And not only her alliance. She will have to start working with the other alliances in the kingdom too and after working her frustration off, she now saw that the attacks today only happened because of ignorance. Her approach of leading a kingdom was special and many were not used to it. Many come from kingdoms, where they have been bullied and out of fear they do not think twice. Punishment would just fuel this fear, so her usual approach was still the best and she will stick to it. Overall this KvK was a defeat for the kingdom, but a personal win for Jul, not only in the rankings.