The Fight For Rislandia

The Fight For Rislandia

The Fight For Rislandia is the third volume of The Adventures of Baron Von Monocle series by Jon Del Arroz, published in 2018 by Superversive Press. The novel is narrated in first person by Zaira von Monocle, picking up immediately after the events of The Blood of Giants. The story is set primarily in Rislandia, including Rislandia City, the countryside around Plainsroad Village, and Cliffside Castle, during the dead of winter in the 24th year of King Malaky XV's reign.

Plot Summary

Part One: The Wyranth Advance

Zaira and the crew of the Liliana return from their mission across the Golgmarsh Ocean to find the Wyranth Empire's army marching on Rislandia City. Leave is immediately cancelled. Dr. Estrella du Clockhand and the Zenwey scientist Rhys disembark to work on a replicable cure for the Wyranth soldiers' serum-withdrawal madness, while Marina du Willet rejoins the crew as cannoneer. James Gentry and Ethan von Lantern, both injured from the prior mission, depart to report to the Knights of the Crystal Spire.

The Liliana takes off and engages the Wyranth advance force in the foothills south of the city, using newly supplied explosive shells to destroy the enemy's artillery and siege engines. Major Edwin Ral pilots the ship through evasive maneuvers while Lieutenant Colwell coordinates the cannoneers. After the main bombardment, Zaira orders First Sergeant Bartholomew Wright to lead a commando team to the surface to capture a prisoner. The commandos succeed without casualties and bring back a Wyranth soldier carrying vials of the Giant's Blood Serum, confirming the Wyranth have found a new supply source.

The Liliana returns to Rislandia City, where Zaira reports to her father, Baron Theodore von Monocle, now serving as general of the Grand Rislandian Army, and Captain Talyen von Cravat. The war room map reveals the Wyranth are attacking on three fronts. General von Monocle assigns the Liliana a non-combat mission: escort King Malaky XV, Princess Reina, and Matthias du Gearsmith to a retreat near the Oler Mountains. James Gentry accompanies the royal party as a guard.

Part Two: Evacuation and Espionage

As the Liliana lifts off with the royal party aboard, Wyranth infiltrators hidden in the city fire on the ship from rooftops, attempting to assassinate King Malaky. Ethan von Lantern, also aboard, returns fire and drives off the attackers. A warehouse—the kingdom's primary explosive-shell fabrication facility—is destroyed by saboteurs below. Zaira orders a lone commando dropped to warn General von Monocle of the spies.

During the flight, Zaira discovers James and Princess Reina kissing in the mess. After a tense confrontation, James and Zaira reach an honest understanding: they love each other as siblings, not as romantic partners, and James is free to court the princess. King Malaky nearly overhears the conversation but is deflected by James.

The Liliana sets down near Lake Avily in the bowl of the Oler Mountains. King Malaky addresses the crew, and Zaira rallies them with a "For steam and country" cry. The king departs with his entourage, including James, who is claimed by Princess Reina as her personal guard. Zaira convenes a strategy meeting with Marina, Ethan, Wright, and Colwell, deciding to return to Rislandia City, drop commandos inside to root out spies, bombard the Wyranth with cannons, and then search for the new giant supplying the serum.

Part Three: The Fall of Rislandia City

Approaching Rislandia City from the north, the Liliana drops Wright's commando team inside the walls before looping around to the south, where Zaira sees through the telescope a massive Wyranth army breaching the city's front gate. The ship makes multiple cannon runs, destroying Wyranth artillery, but the enemy breaks through the first barricade. Zaira descends into the city by rope ladder with Marina and Ethan to find a large bomb stored in a secondary weapons warehouse.

On the ground, the group fights through Wyranth snipers and street patrols alongside Corporal Tyson and Sergeant Lansing's soldiers. Ethan shoots a rooftop sniper who grazes Zaira's ear. The group locates the bomb in the storehouse and uses a steam-powered lift to move it. Ethan fires a flare to summon the Liliana. General von Monocle, who has joined the ground party, orders Talyen von Cravat—heavily pregnant—to evacuate by horseless carriage with the High Knight as escort. Dr. du Clockhand and Marina locate Rhys, who announces he has produced a prototype counter-serum. The group climbs rope ladders back to the Liliana under Wyranth fire; Zaira is grazed on the ear by a bullet.

Aboard the ship, Zaira orders the bomb dropped over the Wyranth forces massed at the city gates. Lieutenant Ral hovers the Liliana at altitude and the deckhands cut the ropes, releasing the bomb directly into the heart of the Wyranth army. The explosion causes massive casualties and disruption, but the Wyranth have already flooded through the gates in sufficient numbers that the city cannot be held. Zaira accepts that Rislandia City will fall and sets a new course: find and destroy the Wyranth's new giant to cut off their serum supply. General von Monocle's interrogation of the captured Wyranth soldier has yielded a clue—the new supply originates near Plainsroad Village.

Part Four: Plainsroad Village and the Iron Emperor

The Liliana flies south by night and lands in the overgrown fields of Plainsroad Village, now largely razed. Zaira and Ethan visit her childhood home, which has been ransacked. Inside, Ethan kisses Zaira for the first time. They discover a hidden floor compartment containing a porcelain mask and a leather-bound journal of airship schematics. Ethan takes both.

Outside, Ivan, the Iron Emperor appears alone in Zaira's fields, warning her that his snipers are positioned to kill Ethan if she acts against him. He again proposes marriage and peace, claiming his empire needs Rislandia's land for its growing population. Zaira refuses but cannot act against him. Ivan departs into the fields. Zaira resolves to stop whatever plan he has in motion but does not tell Ethan of the encounter.

Wright's scouts tail a Wyranth steam vehicle to an iron mine set between two hills, where barrels of the blue serum are being produced from a second giant blob creature. Zaira plans a night infiltration. The team ambushes a Wyranth vehicle on a forest trail, kills three soldiers, and captures the driver. Rhys administers his prototype counter-serum to the driver; the man calms completely and is released. The team dresses in Wyranth uniforms and drives the captured vehicle to the mine, bluffing their way past the guards.

Inside the cavern, the team engages the Wyranth workers and guards in a firefight. Marina and Zaira flank the last two soldiers and shoot them. Rhys examines the serum-production machinery and determines he can mass-produce a counter-serum using the giant's blood supply. Ethan runs back to the Liliana to summon Harkerpal and the ship. The Liliana arrives, Harkerpal's engineers modify the production device, and Rhys begins producing the counter-serum. Major Ral partially deciphers a coded Wyranth document, reading the phrase "Project Walking Monster." Wright rigs the mine to explode as a precaution.

A Wyranth relief force approaches. The Liliana makes a cannon run to slow them, then evacuates all personnel. Wright detonates the mine, destroying the giant and the facility. The team returns to the Liliana with the counter-serum supply.

Part Five: Cliffside Castle and the Plan

Zaira flies the Liliana to Cliffside Castle, where the Grand Rislandian Army has regrouped along with thousands of civilian refugees. The city is overcrowded and food supplies are critically low. General von Monocle informs Zaira that Talyen has given birth to a daughter, Lilly—Zaira's half-sister.

Zaira confesses to her father that she met privately with the Iron Emperor twice: once in her Rislandia City apartment before the Zenwey mission, and once in Plainsroad Village. General von Monocle is furious but ultimately accepts her account and forgives her, acknowledging the outcome might not have differed. Zaira shares Rhys's counter-serum and Harkerpal's crop-dusting delivery concept. Together, father and daughter devise a plan: spread false rumors of a food shipment on the road between Rislandia City and Cliffside Castle to lure the Wyranth into the open, then hit them with the full Grand Rislandian Army and the Liliana's crop-dusting anti-serum.

Harkerpal and Rhys complete the crop-dusting mechanism aboard the Liliana. Zaira promotes Wright to Sergeant Major, Ral to Lieutenant, and Colwell to Lieutenant Commander, lifting crew morale. Ethan says goodbye to Zaira before departing with the knights for the ground assault; they share a second kiss.

Part Six: The Battle and the Walking Monster

The Liliana launches from Cliffside Castle. The Wyranth have advanced faster than expected and the battle is already joined when the ship arrives. A scout, Private Hudson, is pulled aboard by rope ladder and reports something in the Old Forest is driving the Wyranth into a frenzy beyond even their normal serum-fueled rage. Zaira realizes the Wyranth have a third giant—and that "Project Walking Monster" referred not to troop movements but to a giant that has been partially restored to a mobile, bipedal form by Wyranth scientists.

The Liliana makes two low-altitude crop-dusting passes over the Wyranth forces, spraying the counter-serum. The anti-serum causes large numbers of Wyranth soldiers to lose their will to fight and flee. However, a Wyranth artillery round blows a large hole through the rear of the ship, destroying most of the crop-dusting apparatus. Rhys estimates eighty percent of the anti-serum was delivered. Colwell is knocked unconscious by the blast.

The mobilized giant emerges from the Old Forest and rampages through both armies. Standard weapons have no effect. Marina and Zaira coat the remaining cannonballs in counter-serum and fire them at the creature; it slows but does not stop. Rhys proposes dumping the last of the anti-serum barrel directly onto the giant. Lieutenant Ral maneuvers the damaged Liliana over the creature and the crew pours the remaining liquid onto it. The giant, maddened by the anti-serum, leaps and smashes into the bottom of the Liliana, breaching the hull further. Ral loses control. Zaira orders him to aim the crash into the giant. The Liliana's forward turbine blades shred the giant as the ship crashes nose-first into the ground, killing the creature. The bridge collapses on Zaira, burying her under debris.

Part Seven: Reclaiming Rislandia City

Ethan, Cid, and Dr. du Clockhand dig Zaira out of the wreckage hours later. Cid reports at least fifteen crew members dead or unaccounted for. The Wyranth are in disarray from the anti-serum and the destruction of the giant, and the Grand Rislandian Army is pressing toward Rislandia City. Despite her injuries, Zaira refuses to remain behind. She gives an impromptu speech to the assembled soldiers and crew, rallying over a hundred fighters to march on the city. Ethan provides a horseless carriage for the journey.

The force links up with General von Monocle's regrouped army emerging from the Old Forest. As the combined force approaches the city gates at nightfall, Wyranth cannons on the city walls open fire, scattering the Rislandians into the forest. General von Monocle reorganizes the troops into two columns: one through the north gate, one through the west gate, converging on King Malaky's palace.

Zaira and Ethan enter through the western gate and fight through Wyranth street patrols and snipers in the industrial district. Ethan saves Zaira's life when a Wyranth soldier disarms her and is about to execute her. The two reach the palace war room, where General von Monocle's forces have cornered the Wyranth garrison under General Swift. A firefight breaks out. Swift seizes Zaira as a hostage at knifepoint. Zaira stomps on his foot, breaks free, and shouts for the Rislandians to fire. Swift is shot dead. The palace is cleared. General von Monocle declares Rislandia City reclaimed.

Epilogue

Zaira spends several days recovering under doctors' orders in the palace. Ethan visits and kisses her forehead before returning to his duties with the knights. When Zaira recovers, King Malaky XV, General von Monocle, Talyen, baby Lilly, James, Princess Reina, and Matthias du Gearsmith gather in her room. King Malaky presents Zaira with the Rislandia Kingdom's Medal of Valor—a gold and brass sword pendant—for her role in saving the kingdom. General von Monocle confirms he has told the king of Zaira's secret meetings with the Iron Emperor, and both men agree she acted in good faith. The Wyranth have been expelled from northern Rislandia and are retreating in the south. Zaira asks only that the Liliana be repaired and returned to the skies. King Malaky agrees, and Harkerpal confirms the ship's frame is intact and repairs are feasible. The journal of airship schematics has not yet been recovered from the wreck but a search is underway. Zaira awaits further orders.

Connection to The Steam Knight

Part of the companion novel The Steam Knight happens at the same time as this book. According to its timeline notes, Part II ("Guard Training") takes place during The Fight for Rislandia, beginning after Chapter Nine, and Part III ("Hazing") takes place after The Fight for Rislandia. Those chapters retell the Wyranth advance on Rislandia City from the perspective of James Gentry and the Knights of Rislandia.

Main Characters

• Zaira von Monocle — First-person narrator and captain of the Liliana; drives every major decision of the campaign against the Wyranth invasion.
• Baron Theodore von Monocle — Zaira's father; serves as General of the Grand Rislandian Army and co-architects the final plan to retake Rislandia City.
• Marina du Willet — Lieutenant Commander and cannoneer aboard the Liliana; provides tactical advice and leads the below-decks action during the crop-dusting battle.
• Ethan von Lantern — Journeyman knight who accompanies Zaira on ground missions, saves her life multiple times, and develops a romantic relationship with her.
• James Gentry — Apprentice knight and Zaira's childhood friend; resolves his ambiguous relationship with Zaira and serves as Princess Reina's personal guard.
• Matthias du Gearsmith — Advisor to King Malaky XV; escorts the royal family to safety in the Oler Mountains.
• Dr. Estrella du Clockhand — Ship's medic; tends to the wounded throughout the campaign and collaborates with Rhys on the counter-serum.
• Rhys — Scientist from the Zenwey continent; develops and mass-produces the counter-serum that neutralizes the Wyranth soldiers' giant's blood addiction.
• Lieutenant Colwell (promoted to Lieutenant Commander) — Zaira's second-in-command on the bridge; coordinates cannoneers and communications.
• Major Edwin Ral (promoted to Lieutenant) — Pilot of the Liliana; executes the crop-dusting runs and the final crash into the giant.
• First Sergeant Bartholomew Wright (promoted to Sergeant Major) — Commando leader; leads ground infiltration missions and rigs the serum mine to explode.
• Harkerpal — Chief engineer of the Liliana; keeps the ship operational and builds the crop-dusting mechanism with Rhys.
• King Malaky XV — Reigning monarch; evacuated to safety but returns to award Zaira the Medal of Valor after the city is reclaimed.
• Princess Reina — Heir to the throne; evacuated with the royal party and pursues a romance with James Gentry.
• Talyen von Cravat — General von Monocle's wife; assists in war-room planning until evacuated late in pregnancy; gives birth to Lilly during the campaign.
• Ivan, the Iron Emperor — Ruler of the Wyranth Empire; appears twice to propose marriage to Zaira and reveals his long-term strategic plans, including "Project Walking Monster."
• Toby — Zaira's pet ferret; a recurring source of comfort throughout the novel.

Settings

• Rislandia City — Capital of Rislandia; site of the Wyranth invasion, the fall of the city, and its eventual reclamation.
• The Liliana — The Rislandian airship captained by Zaira; central setting for most of the novel's action and ultimately crash-landed to destroy the mobilized giant.
• Plainsroad Village — Zaira's destroyed childhood home; site of her first kiss with Ethan, the discovery of the airship journal, and the Iron Emperor's second appearance.
• Cliffside Castle — Coastal fortress serving as the Rislandian army's rallying point and refuge for thousands of civilian refugees.
• Oler Mountains — Remote mountain region where King Malaky XV and the royal family are evacuated for safety.
• The Iron Mine near Plainsroad Village — Hidden Wyranth facility housing the second giant blob creature and serum production operation; destroyed by Wright's demolition charges.
• The Old Forest — Woodland near Rislandia City concealing the third giant, which the Wyranth partially restore to mobile form as "Project Walking Monster."
• The Crystal Spire — Landmark of Rislandia City; remains standing throughout the invasion and serves as a symbol of Rislandian resilience.
• Areth — The continent on which Rislandia is located; referenced during the Liliana's coastal flight to Cliffside Castle.

Themes

The Fight For Rislandia explores duty and sacrifice through Zaira's repeated choice to risk her life for her kingdom over personal safety or rest. The novel examines the cost of secrets and trust, as Zaira's concealment of her meetings with the Iron Emperor weighs on her conscience until she confesses to her father. Coming-of-age and earned authority run throughout, as Zaira grows from an uncertain young captain into a recognized hero who promotes her crew and rallies soldiers by example. The tension between compassion and the brutality of war is present in Zaira's reluctance to execute prisoners and her horror at close-quarters violence. Finally, the novel treats technology and innovation—the crop-dusting anti-serum, the mobilized giant, the airship journal—as the decisive factors in the conflict, suggesting that ingenuity matters as much as military strength.

In A History of Rislandia

No further detail about the battle, its participants, geography, or chronology is added by A History of Rislandia beyond what the novel itself establishes.