Alice Archeron

* First
* War Goddess
* Maiden

## [source]

**Alice Archeron** is the war goddess of the Archeron Family. Prior to Richard's meteoric rise to power, she was the second most competent after Gaton purely by military achievements.

She is Richard Archeron's partner after he fulfilled her criteria for a mate. From then on, she became an indispensable force in the mainland.

## Description

Beautiful red-haired young lady in her twenties was the person deemed to be a god of war among the younger Archerons. Alice Archeron, the youngest ever to become an earl through merit and not inheritance.

Alice had short fiery red and usually wore gold armour with the insignia of her fief. She had large breasts and was tall, at least 6 feet.

### **Volume 7**

The war goddess had grown more beautiful in recent years, her features now more delicate and charming as a result of her usage of the leaves of youth. In fact, some of her scars had been smoothed out as well.

## Plot

In the very beginning of the series, she is introduced with a brilliant victory against the larger forces of the Solam and Niall families.

Later, her great desire for Runeknights is shown when she mentions them as a price for a short term relationship, alliance, marriage, etc.

Richard was in need of a capable general to deal with his problems in Norland while he was in his private planes. He pays Alice a sum of rune sets, and after a lengthy process due to her irrational fear of sex, Alice becomes his partner and Ally after their relationship is consummated in the volcano containing the remains of their ancestors. At this time, Alice's city is also shown.

Seeing the fire in his new partner’s eyes, the crimson hair almost standing in the midst of her passion, Richard simply couldn’t find a reason to refute. Although still somewhat astonished by her words, he eventually hummed in agreement.

Alice straightened her body and asked coldly, “What are you waiting for? These clothes aren’t going to take themselves off, you know.”

*Why can’t you take them off yourself?* Richard opened his mouth, but decided not to vocalise that thought. Instead, he walked up to Alice’s rigid body that looked like a spear planted in the ground, somewhat bemused at the memory that she had been half a foot taller than him when he first arrived in Faust. Now that difference was the exact opposite, and he’d grown buffer to match her after the hydra egg and the various meals he was being treated to. 4;158

It was an odd first time for her, since she had ran all the way, avoiding Richard until she was tired. When the two of them walked out from the cemetery, it was early morning the next day. Their “lovemaking” had lasted an entire afternoon and night, but only ten minutes of it had been spent on actual sex. “Allies and partners for life. If you never desert me, I’ll never change either.”

When the cavalrymen that had been borrowed from Alice were returned, they were now armed to the teeth. They felt very strange; this was the greatest immediate boost to their power that they had ever felt in their lives. In the past, they had often mocked those who armed themselves greatly; the harder an enemy’s armour, the more they feared death. However, they were now mobile fortresses that were tougher than any enemies they met, armed with precious swords that were sharper, more durable.

This was Richard’s style. If he had presented them with gold directly, these proud Archerons who had won countless battles under Alice would just refuse it. Richard’s shadowspear knights and rune knights had been the driving force of most of their battles. Besides, the Mensas were enemies that had killed the previous family head. Gaton was someone who had unlocked his truename, the greatest warrior of the family who had already earned his place at the very summit of the family tombs. To kill the enemies that had destroyed such a bright star was a reward in and of itself. 5;33

However, Richard had found their weak spot. They saw gold as dirt, but they valued their equipment more highly than their families. He had thus given them a middling pay for the days they had spent at war, instead spending thousands of gold on weapons and armour that they could not reject.

With her elite soldiers outfitted by Richard, Alice’s strength was greatly enhanced. She was an Archeron who had awakened her truename; even though she wasn’t a saint, it would take great power to defeat her. He could rest assured that she would be alright.

### **Strategy**

She had passed on many strategies of governance that his followers used to build and maintain beautiful cities at minimal cost. She had never disappointed Richard before, perfectly taking care of his requests in the past and developing his territory on a primary plane like Norland.

There were great risks to engaging Alice in battle. Richard was a gifted tactician, but Alice’s troops constantly disappeared like the wind and attacked unexpected locations.

### **Declaration of War**

While Richard was off fighting Solam, Alice had shown results as well. She had found an opening in the enemy defences that allowed her to sneak through and capture an earl, and after obtaining a handsome ransom and killing quite a few enemies she managed to get away. Her army of 30,000 had faced 70,000 men, but only lost 4,000 compared to 13,000. Her battles had managed to lock up most of Duke Jasper’s forces, ensuring that Richard wasn’t flanked from all sides.

The Church’s envoy caught up right around the time Richard reached the border of the Sacred Tree Empire and the Sacred Alliance. This envoy was a powerful archbishop only a small way off from entering the legendary realm, making it obvious that this was a sincere negotiation. He had joined the army’s march as they negotiated, and everything only came to a head by the time they were already back at Blackrose.

### **Forest Plane**

Alice ignored the question completely, instead staring him in the eye, “Richard, what is our relationship?”

“You’re… my partner,” Richard replied after some hesitation.

“Then what is the duty partners share?”

This made him frown. He knew very well what it meant for the two of them to be partners, and it made him glance at her flat abdomen. They had only been intimate once in their lives, and while that day in the cemetery had truly been unique, it certainly wasn’t a guarantee of pregnancy. However, he considered their relationship to be more of an alliance; the obligations to family traditions were only a way to secure this primary relationship. Given her fear of sex, he had no intention of forcing her to do things she was uncomfortable with.

Alice took a step back when he looked at her, but she immediately stood upright once more. Her ramrod posture only served to accentuate the beauty of her strength.

“You’re sure?” he asked meaningfully.

“Of course I am!” She was just like a general on the battlefield, bold and decisive.

“Do you need some time to prepare yourself? Maybe find a way to relax?”

“Bah, it’s just a small matter, why do you need to make it so complicated? Let’s go!” She pulled off all of her clothing and laid down on his bed at once, placing her hands behind her head and opening her legs wide. It really seemed simple to her on the outside, but Richard could already see her muscles stiffening into blocks of wood.

He didn’t know whether to be amused or upset with her— how was she not nervous? This was clearly the same as before. Still, Richard sighed and nodded before walking over, his hand reaching down to get her ready.

Just as his fingers made contact with skin, she shot out of his bed like an arrow. Sex with Alice remained as difficult as ever, but eventually Richard won the battle. He lay on his back and stared at the ceiling, gasping hard at the exhaustion, while she lay about an arm’s length away doing the same. It didn’t seem like much, but the distance was enormous when on the same bed. Book 6, Chapter 122

### **Defense**

When Richard was away in his wars, Alice acted as the guardian goddess of their fiefs and domains. Most of the time, she was the spiritual leader of Blackrose Castle's knights. With her at the helm, as long as Richard supplied her with resources and reinforcements, she would win everytime.

During the reaper invasion in Faelor, she was the wall that the Sacred Tree Empire was unable to break. Alice truly showcased her excellent ability as a commander, making do with her limited forces with creativity. While she didn’t have Richard’s ability to micromanage nearly every soldier, she had outmanoeuvred the enemy repeatedly and turned the tides every time the Archerons were about to collapse. While the defence had only lasted a little more than two days, her reputation skyrocketed once more.
While it was unknown if the Archerons could last another hour, it was the generals of the Sacred Tree Empire who were the most nervous of the lot. They had planned a blitz of an invasion that would capture Blackrose Castle in mere hours, sealing Richard within Faelor. While an epic being couldn’t simply be trapped in a legendary plane, they hoped to use this as an opportunity for negotiation that could grant them some concessions from him. Of course, many wanted to just kill him, but without any epic being stepping forth there was simply no way to accomplish such a task.
These generals knew that they didn’t have much time remaining. Every few hours that passed was a day in Faelor, and the war between the Archerons and the reapers would soon draw to a close. Whether it be in victory or defeat, Richard would eventually recall all of his forces and bolster Blackrose’s defences once more.

Starting the third day, these generals started supervising the battle themselves, going all out to advance inch after inch as they removed the obstacles in their path. Blackrose Castle was proving its reputation as an unassailable fortress, the layered defences making it near impossible to capitalise on any one opening and rush in.

However, the slow advance of these troops was starting to choke Alice out. She was left with nowhere to go, with the defence soon reaching a critical point. Even the famed ancestral castle of the Archerons couldn’t hold on against such a superior opponent forever.

## War Achievements

Everyone knew that it was best not to threaten the Archerons with war, especially the goddess of war. They were a bunch of maniacs, and if they would respond to that threat. Marquess Niall was a prime example of that.

### **Sacred Tree Empire**

* As a viscount, her territory was at the border between the Sacred Alliance and the Sacred Tree Empire. This meant that she was in direct confrontation with Marquess Niall. As a result, she was in constant war with the Nialls and the Solams whom they partnered with through marriage.
* If it had been Gaton, then the allied armies of Solam and Niall would long since have been destroyed. The fight wouldn’t have drawn out so long. Of course, the other nobles of the Sacred Tree Empire wouldn’t have just watched as Gaton strolled up into the battle. A small bandit like Alice was just a gust of wind to them, but someone of that sort of power would be an invader. Politics was very complicated.
* Ignoring that, however, the results had been quite simple. It was an ironclad fact that a second tier viscount of the Archeron Family had brutally destroyed an army made of Marquess Niall’s entire forces and soldiers from Duke Solam.

## Levels

 Level 18

With all of the resources at his disposal, Richard hadn’t found it difficult to bring Alice to sainthood. She already had ample experience on the battlefield, so even with a short tenure in the realm she was starting to show great power.

## Background

He was an ancestor of mine, about 300 years ago. You could say he’s the source of my bloodline. He was an intellectual amongst the group of demons, the only source of order in the chaos. However, that made him an eyesore for many other Archerons. If not for the fact that he was strong enough to unlock his truename, he never would have been buried in these tombs.

He had enemies both within and without. During the last battle he ever fought, he charged forth as the sole commander of his army in what should have been a perfectly planned attack. However, he was caught off-guard by superior troops and died in the ambush with his entire army. The person who betrayed him? My grandmother.

I still remember the first time he brought me to this cemetery. Gaton just sat on top of one of these tombstones, extremely casual without a hint of wrongness. It was as though he was meant to be there, as though it was his rightful seat. I was still very young then, but I’ll never forget that day.

Alice’s territory was located in a rather sensitive region not too far from the core fiefs of both Sauron and Goliath.

## Relationships

### **Richard**

It was hard to come by someone like Alice, someone you could trust entirely to accomplish what they set out to. Richard had no lack of strong followers, but he did lack a strong general to stand guard over his lands. Gangdor only barely qualified for the role, but he wasn’t someone who could create miracles.

She was now Richard’s partner and closest ally, so anyone who made an enemy of him would be making an enemy of her as well.

### **Rosie**

Her fiery hair and faint scar were known to every Archeron in existence, and they all revered her as the goddess of war, but in her heart she felt like she couldn’t hold a candle to this weak mage that came from another family. She was a great general, there was no doubt about that, but Richard himself was much better. If in a frontal battle, she wouldn’t trust in her victory unless she had three soldiers for every two of his. Even so, the Rose Knights were a force to be reckoned with on their own. The value of hundreds of quasi-rune knights could not be understated at all. On top of that, Rosie herself was a true runemaster.

That wasn’t even the annoying part. Now that she had some access to Richard’s army, Alice had found that Rosie was the one person outside of Flowsand he regularly shared a bed with, despite numerous attempts by people of all stature to court his affections. He had even called her an Archeron in public, effectively marrying her into the family. On the other hand, she herself was supposed to be Richard’s partner but they had only been intimate once. Moreover, her own fears had stopped either side from enjoying things nearly as much as Rosie would have.

With neither side having had children with Richard yet, Alice knew that her status wasn’t much higher than Rosie’s. Still, the other woman had endured the dismissal and walked off without arguing about it. Such people were far more difficult to deal with than the arrogant ones. 6;111

### **Waterflower**

On the unicorn’s back was Waterflower, snoring against the creature’s neck with the Shepherd of Eternal Rest clutched tightly in her hands. She was the only follower who had appeared on time, but several of Alice’s generals were just staring at her with a mix of emotions. One reason was that her posture was too casual and revealing, not nearly as disciplined as a soldier’s should have been. However, the more important part was that she was on the unicorn instead of Alice. Alice had tried to mount the beast once it appeared, but it had casually kicked her away. In contrast, it went docile the moment Waterflower appeared and even moved around softly to keep things stable for her. Comparisons would naturally be drawn. 6;112

Alice’s brow was constantly furrowed in her dissatisfaction; she’d known long ago that Richard’s followers were extremely powerful, but their unruly nature was a shock. They only seemed to care about him, not considering her position at all.

Richard could understand why Alice was enraged; any good general couldn’t tolerate their subordinates not listening to them. However, that wasn’t really a worry of his; saints in Norland had a lot of freedom on the battlefield, and with his support most of his followers were amazing even for saints. Waterflower and Tiramisu even had the potential to reach the legendary realm, and Mountainsea’s talent left no room for doubt. While he could command them because of their long-term relationships, the same wouldn’t hold true for most anyone else. 6;116

## Subordinates

These generals were excellent at tactics, but their personal strength wasn’t outstanding at all, barely making sainthood. While Richard’s rune knights disdained Alice’s generals, they still respected her capability as a commander. She was still a core member of the Archeron Family

* Fuschia
* General Tiden
	+ scar-ridden man. He had watched Alice grow up from when she was only a little girl.
	+ He had been a warrior all his life, and all he knew was to kill the enemy. He didn’t understand politics, he didn’t understand deals.

## Trivia

Alice herself had some land in the Sacred Tree Empire that she paid taxes on, but because it wasn’t much she didn’t have a complete peerage there.

Earl Alice’s castle was named the Undying Volcano. The stone used to build it was a deep red, but as time flew by it had faded to black in some spots. As the sunset covered the castle and the city sprawled out underneath in a lazy crimson, it looked the walls were made of solidifying lava.

At the start of her rise and an undefeated general who had fought for many years, she had no more than thirty rune knights herself.

Alice had been just like Gaton, only inheriting a small fief from her family. In only a matter of decades she had turned that into an earldom with a hopeful populace, an aspect in which even Gaton was somewhat inferior. Gaton’s might came from his miraculous expansion, tearing down enemy after enemy on his way to the top.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Book 7, Chapter 155
2. ↑ v1ch31A
3. ↑ 6;31
4. ↑ Book 9, Chapter 71
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Book 1, Chapter 44
6. ↑ 7;24