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The Last Campaign

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For :iconysa: historical pokemon contest.
Didn't think I was going to get it done on time, and low and behold I've finished early. XD I think I'll enter again, if I have the time, since this was so much fun to do .

I chose to do Genghis Khan, mostly because he's freakin' sweet what with his amazing empire of amazingness. His pokemon was a Sableye, and a very tricksy one at that. It was the pokemon that laid out the battle plans and assigned placement to the troops, and ultimately won this last war by gaining the assitance of none other than the ice-god Articuno (who, as all who've played pokemon know, is almost impossible to actually catch).
As a bit of background info, the campaign in which this picture takes place was the last Khan completed, shortly after which he died (in 1227 at age 65), being buried in an unmarked grave somewhere within the Mongol empire.

Absolutely gigantic semi-fanfic follows. I HIGHLY suggest that you read it because, well, I rarely write and I think it's interesting. XD
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Cold wind buffeted the man’s back, stabbing sharply between the heavy iron scales of his armor. He shivered in both fear and anticipation, knowing, with every fiber of his being, that this would be his last campaign one way or another. The wind howled promisingly about his head, only to die down, again filling the mountain path he traveled with hopeless silence. Letting out a silent prayer that the beast would show, his solitude was interrupted by the sharp mental prod of his diminutive companion.
“Do not call the cold one a ‘beast’,” it crooned, velvety voice dripping with disgust. “I have not come so far from the homecaves, to the tippy-top of this despicable wasteland, only to be frozen for ignorance not my own.”
The man sighed, rolling his eyes slightly at the reprimand. He knew the small hobgoblin beside him was just as nervous as he was, and just as tired. For nearly forty years the two had worked, side by side, to raze and conquer, the cruel claws of their empire grasping hungrily at all before them. While it had been by no means an easy path, his leadership - the ability to instill purpose and bloodlust within his people – along with the Sableye’s brilliant battle tactics and mental prowess had forged an empire the likes of which had rarely before been seen, uniting the countryside under one rule as never before. No small accomplishment, considering the vast opposition they had faced.
Taking a long look at his temperamental friend, the man felt a pang of sadness at how harsh the years had been. The creature’s once glistening indigo hide was now riddled with deep scars, its jewellike iridescence fading with age. Its calculating gemstone eyes, before so huge and innocent, had been reduced to mere slits of electric blue as vision had become a secondary sense, and the stones on its back and chest no longer possessed the crystalline color and razor sharp edges they once had. He promised himself once again that, after this one last fight for supremacy, this poor creature would never again be placed in harm’s way.
“Oh, quiet your mind’s blubbering. It’s making me stomach-sick. And you know as well as I that I am the true brains behind this whole operation anyway. Puny human such as yourself would never have made it this far without my brilliant plans. I knew the trials and tribulations my body would face when first we began this journey.”
Grinning sheepishly to himself, the man shifted his focus back to the oncoming battle, and the two continued up the increasingly rugged path in silence, finally reaching the unsettlingly empty mountain’s crest after many hours of traveling.
“Are you sure –“the man began.
“Yes, for Onix’s sake I’m sure! After so many years of pleading the cold one has finally agreed to end this glorious war. And end it he shall, mark my words; the cold one does not take lightly promises of this magnitude, even if said promise was made to the likes of you and your blood-hungry army.”
“If you say so. You’ve always been much better at negotiations than me. But how did you get this monstrosity to agree to help us? I thought you said it hated humans, and had pledged to never serve under one.”
“He does. Hate humans, I mean. But he hates senseless bloodletting even more. Being the peaceful god that he is, I persuaded him that the most logical decision would be to end this war as quickly as possible, and thus enlisted his aid in defeating those of the Jin dynasty. Oh,” he added in a clipped tone, “please do remember to be a bit more polite. The cold one can read your thoughts just as well as I, and I do not believe he would take lightly to the brutish beast you have portrayed him to your men as.”
“I will remember that, thank you,” the man answered curtly, still thinking to himself that a beast possessing complete dominion over the vicious cold of these lands could not possibly be the epitome of elegance and beauty his companion often expressed it as. His thoughts were interrupted by a stirring of his troops in the valley below.
“Ahhh, seems the Jin have made the first move. Launched a preemptive attack, they did they did. Best let your men know they are free to attack, lest they break rank and allow hysteria to consume them completely.”
“But the creature has not yet arrived! We will never be able to overcome them without its help!”
Panic setting in the man scrambled for his flag, the raising of which would signal his men to begin their attack.
“Wait,” his companion whispered, cocking its head towards the rocky crags behind them.
Clambering swiftly onto the man’s shoulder, it let out an unusually gleeful purr, painfully curling and uncurling its clawed fingers in excitement.
“Your men may begin their attack now,” it said, just as a great and terrible cold hit the two like a sledgehammer, forcing the man to brace heavily against the rock beneath him.
Forcing himself upright against the ferocious wind raging behind him, he slowly raised the worn and tattered flag into the air, screaming for all he was worth. His booming battle cry was taken up by his companion, who raised its broken-nails-on-glass voice into a fearsome howl. Their cry was suddenly drowned out by a single beautiful note, high and clear and all-encompassing. For an instant time stood still, and to their side hung a creature of pure and utter beauty, glistening the pale azure of cave-ice. It gazed at the two with unfathomably deep magenta eyes ringed with tiny icicles, piercing its vast mind-voice into their very souls.
“I do this because I gave my word, but never again will I be bound by the whims of the fragile being that is mankind.”
Extracting its painfully powerful mind from them in one swift tug, the cold one was gone, leaving the two encompassed in a gently swirling snow drift, outside of which howled a vicious blizzard.
“M-my men,” the man stammered, teeth chattering from the frigid cold. He sat abruptly on the ground, body no longer able to hold him after being invaded by a god.
“They will be fine,” his friend sighed, curling affectionately against the man’s back.
“The cold one will protect them as he has protected us, and we will win this war. Now let us rest, my friend, for I am tired.”
"As am I," replied the man, slowly closing his eyes.
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Pokemon (c) to Nintendo
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