There was something to be said of the conflict that waged. Talaz Lagaar had been a land in which was being plagued by the constant fighting taking place amongst its people, and yet despite this the people were showing no a single bit of fatigue or exhaustion. Despite there becoming larger and larger numbers of fatalities being felt upon every single side, every faction that was involving themselves, even those who wanted nothing at all to do with the conflict, there were no discrimination in how the brutality was felt. Nor was there any concern towards the cost that it was taking upon everyone, everything. Resources, currency, public trust, whatever the sort of resource in which the people may have put towards this effort, it was being drained at a rate that nearly outpaced it. It was horrific, and there were no signs that it was going to slow down either.

It was simply the brutality of the conflict, the determination that the people had towards trying to reverse fortunes and win the cause, but it was an enduing effort, one that for as much progress may have been made towards one of the factions securing power, just as quickly did it appear that the progress was stiffened to the point of nonexistence. No clear sign of victory, no clear sign of defeat. The likely scenario was actually less that there was going to have become a clear factor or anything to the extent. Rather, the most likely situation was appearing that the factions were going to have drained the entirety of the resources of the nation itself along with that of those who were invested in it. Barring some sort of progress being made, that was the route that it was inevitably going to take.

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Even Astrid could see it from the vantage that she was facing, having been involved in the conflict long enough to at least appreciate and realize that the war was moving slowly. Hardly progress in the sense of actual victory, but for the people that she was fighting, the people who were loyal to the war effort, they were more than happy to take everything and anything that they accomplished without any sort of dread. With each enemy killed, it gave them the sense that they were one step closer to returning home as victors. With each night that passed, everything that they accomplished, there was a sense of glory within them. Many of these people, many whom had never picked up a weapon prior to this conflict, never had killed a man, let alone their once fellow countrymen, they were becoming more and more respondent killers, devoted to their cause and willing to do anything and everything in their power to accomplish the goal.

Yet, for as much as they took pride within it, it did not change the fact that in fact that they were going to be fighting for much longer, and with the seasons changing, it was becoming more and more clear that the fighting was going to be more difficult. Resources were beginning to wane, drain slowly to the point where rations were becoming things that were far more precious, even more than that of salvaged ammo and weapons that were being found. It was being shown too, that when attacks were proving to be successful, one of the resources that were least available were that of food, water, and medical supplies, exactly what would be needed to engage in a long term campaign. It was the strategy carried out by all sides at this point, trying to preserve and survive in hopes that if the fighting would not go their way, then at the very least they would be able to outlast them.

After all, a gun would mean little if the one holding it was too hungry and thirsty to be able to aim. A sword would mean nothing if the fighter were unable to stand upright.

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But apathy too would end up being an inevitable factor, especially if people lost motivation, lost belief that what they were doing would translate to success for the conflict. It pushed a sense of obligation towards them finding value and success within the fights, those which were seldom there that they could afford to simply let pass up on having. It was a cruel cycle, but to not engage, though it had the value of not wasting resources, it too would result in them being less effective. In a way, not fighting would lead to there being more loss of life and resources in the long term than if they were to just fight and maintain that level of composure throughout.

She figured that they would want to be fighting more as the time went, especially with the changing of the seasons. Winter was moving close at hand, the likelihood that the fighting styles that they were utilizing, lengthy camping in waiting for enemies to arrive only to be ambushed shortly thereafter, it was going to lose it’s value soon enough. Without further progress, or hinderance on the part of those that were fighting them, it was going to be a lengthy and rough winter. Winter was coming and the sad reality was that at the rate things were moving, the slow progress that was being taken, it was more likely that the people were going to be wiped out by much of the elements than that of the fighting itself. They had to fight, but they had to win. And at the rate things were moving, it was not likely that that was going to have happened.

Fortunately too, the situation was one that was moving in the right direction, albeit something that was hardly reassuring when recognizing that there was going to have been a greater amount of work put forth in such a short time in order to beat the ticking clock that was now facing them like a cloud overhead that was moving closer and closer towards suffocating them all. Though she saw it before them, whether or not the others within their service and unit would also come to appreciate how preciously short time was to them.

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After a short time through the latest skirmish, a fight that took out much of the enemy force within the immediate force around the area, it was a fortunate success that they came away with seldom few losses. Astrid did little on her own, more serving in the means of an advisor, her insight into the battle being a far greater asset to the forces around them than that of fighting on the field like that of the rest of the soldiers. They weren’t tactically trained, they were not familiar or used to the styles of combat and military practices that Astrid had grown up learning as a child. Further, how would any of them know or otherwise even be able to appreciate the nature that came with Fiore combat styles, ones that emphasized and made a mockery of those that sought to fight them from more traditional means. Instead, they would likely find themselves fighting with the means and methods of strategies that were exhausted multiple times before, to the point of being something that was hardly new or unpredictable, but rather instead that of something that was simple and expected.

No, what Astrid brought was unpredictable success. Something that seldom any of the forces opposing them were able to accurately predict. As well, she possessed a level of insight and intelligence into other means, beyond just that of combat. She had a stronger sense of political acumen, the ability to figure when to attack based on what she knew of Fiore’s tendencies, when resources would arrive, when the opponents would be weakest. Even aspects that were more insidious than that of typical warfare; hostage tactics, combative styles that bordered on the sense of terrorism, they were the means that would help them secure further victory. They were also the tactics that could only have come from a non-Talaz Lagaar individual. One would hardly be able to consider putting their fellow man up in such horrid situations, but to win a war like this were there was a growing threat of the weather tightening the window of victory, there were no choice in the matter. It had to be done. If not, they were going to risk losing it all.

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It saw results, albeit slow and tedious. As the wind started to more heavily and viciously brush against the skin, so too did the idea that they were actually winning, but at what cost? Some were growing concerned with the reliance on Astrid’s more ruthless approach, the loss of life always being one in which the numbers would lean heavier towards those they opposed, but not always towards those that they were fighting. Civilians were a risk that existed and one that Astrid’s focus did not factor into, or at least did not seem to. Pushing out of the combat focused areas and into more residential, it enabled her allies to gain further ground, either forcing the enemies to split up or otherwise abandon areas in favor of further protecting their people. It was a cold approach, cruel even, but it was effective nonetheless.

It was not heavily favored among the people and there were those who saw it as selling their soul. Despite their wanting to win this conflict, there were plenty who did not feel that going to this sort of route was worth it, that it could have been justified and there were plenty who believed that strongly enough to not further assist. Some abandoned their post in protest. Others took their own lives out of guilt, and there were even some who turned rogue and joined the opposing factions. Always a risk that came with this, but whatever their motivations for leaving, it seldom had an averse effect on the outcome. Astrid was winning their way, giving them the means of fighting one that would deploy absolute victory. Under her assisted directive, one of two things would happen. Either they would win the war outright or they would have made enough progress that they would be able to outpace the incoming winter and watch as those whom they had been unrelenting towards instead froze to death. Either scenario worked fine for her, as she knew that even in the worst case that they failed to secure more meaningful ground, she would be gone, to the safety of Fiore. However, that was still premature to assume, and there was hope yet that the battle would be won.

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