"Orro explained it to me in terms of water," offered Winona. "The Talent within you is like a cup of water surrounded by a towel, the towel being your body. The Talent resides within you, but the towel never gets wet. You have no access to the Talent, and you cannot use it. For a normal wisper, there is no cup. The water merely resides within the towel, and the fabric is always damp."
"So for a wisper, the Talent is always available?" asked the prince.
"Unless the towel becomes dried up," nodded Winona. "If you constantly wring out the towel, you drain the Talent from your body. You must wait a while for it to saturate again. In rare cases, one can lose the absorbent quality of the towel by wringing it so tightly that it never again absorbs the Talent. In those rare cases, the wisper would never be able to wield the Talent again."
"Even if they were able to dip into my cup?" asked the prince.
"Even then," nodded Winona. "It takes a small amount of Talent to accomplish that. If you have none to start with, it is impossible. You must understand that you are a rare creature. Cups of Talent do not normally exist. The Talent has filled you to fulfill its own needs and that is to provide a reservoir for Jared to use in the fight against his evil brother."
"But how does that make Jared immune from physical harm?" inquired Prince Antion.
"Jared, and I suppose, Zinan as well," explained Winona, "are not towels. They are giant sponges. They each hold enormous quantities of the Talent, so much of it that it makes their bodies impervious to physical harm. When a sword strikes one of them, that sword is actually striking the Talent itself. The blade will crumble before it harms Jared."
"Is this similar to the spell you cast on me in Hyrem?" asked the Arin prince.
"Similar," replied Winona, "but also different. The protection I cast upon you is a temporary thing, and it is not impervious to harm. It hardens your skin for a period of time, but the sword is still striking your body, not the Talent. Should an arrow enter your eye, it would do the same damage as before. It is only your skin that is toughened like steel, and I do not know how long it lasts."
"How much Talent do I have?" asked the prince, "and how much does Jared have?"
"For an ordinary wisper," mused Winona, "I would say that you carry ten times the amount of Talent. I cannot begin to fathom the depth of Jared's Talent. He could drain you completely in a matter of seconds. That is why Orro spent so much time training him on the control he needs to beat Zinan. He will draw slowly from your cup, striving to maintain a level just high enough to overcome Zinan's attacks."
"Is there a way that we can help Jared when the time comes?" asked Prince Antion.
"It will be a tremendous battle," Winona shook her head, "but we will not see anything. The battle will take place within their minds. There will be nothing that we can do."
Prince Antion stared blankly at the rest of the group preparing to depart. Finally, he turned and looked Winona in the eyes.
"I want you to protect each of our group just before the battle," he instructed. "Do not use your own Talent, but instead draw upon mine. Without the need to protect Jared and Monte, I should have plenty of Talent to spare."
"And if Zinan is within the host across the river?" frowned Winona. "What then? You will be empty."
"King Zinan is not nearby," stated the prince. "He is far to the southwest. Jared informed me earlier today. I will make sure that my cup is replenished before we go near him."
* * *
Heavy clouds rolled across the face of the moon bringing the blackness of night over the land. King Rihad looked skyward and nodded appreciatively.
"Give the signal, Kanior," he said softly.
"Are you sure?" asked the Odessian warrior. "This will be a blatant act of war."
"Only a fool would believe that war is not already upon us," answered the Odessian king. "We must act to save Caroom or another one of our allies will be lost. Are you afraid of this action that we are taking?"
"Not at all," answered the warrior. "I believe it is the right thing to do, but I feel that it is necessary for someone to challenge you. I want to make sure that you realize the possible repercussions of this decision."
"I have thought of little else," smiled the king. "I thank you for your efforts, but we are attacking. Give the order before the moon reappears."
"It will be my pleasure," grinned the warrior.
Kanior raced over the summit of the dune and hurried down the other side. He sped across the barren sand and slid into a long trench that had been dug the night before. Forty Odessian warriors sat in the trench waiting for word to attack. They had no horses or boots. Dressed only in their undergarments, the men slid their sheaths over their heads and positioned them on their dark-stained bodies.
"It is time to go to war," Kanior announced quietly. "Let the enemy's blood warm your chilled bodies."
Without a word the forty men crawled out of the trench and headed towards the Vine River. Silently they slipped into the frigid waters of the river and began swimming across. Kanior watched until he could no longer see his warriors, which was not very long under the moonless sky. The warrior slid out of the trench and quickly crept over the sand dune where King Rihad waited with the rest of the army.
When Kanior returned, the king raised his hand high and signaled for the horsemen to prepare. His signal could not be seen farther than a few paces, but each Odessian warrior relayed the message to those around him. The warriors mounted their Odessian beauties and moved into formation, the long sand dune screening their presence from the Vinelanders. King Rihad mounted his horse and stared into the darkness where he knew the bridge over the river sat. He could not see the bridge or the soldiers guarding it, but he waited for a signal to charge.
On the far bank of the river the Odessian warriors crept out of the river. Their bodies shivered from the cold, and they fought to control their chattering teeth. The Odessians split into four groups and moved stealthily towards the bridge. The Vinelanders had posted sentries, but only on the bridge itself. The rest of the encampment was sound asleep. Two groups of Odessians converged on the bridge, each group crouching along one of the sides of the bridge. A third group crept through the sleeping bodies to infiltrate the engineers' camp. The fourth group moved away from the river to the farthest reaches of the Vinelander encampment.
As the third group began to assassinate the engineers, the fourth group stirred the cook fire to life, feeding it fresh logs until the fire blazed into a raging inferno. As the two Odessian groups killed the sleeping soldiers, others awoke and shouted in alarm. Within moments the entire camp was awake and rushing to the aid of their fellow soldiers. The sentries on the bridge also reacted to the attack. They raced towards the encampment with their swords drawn. The two groups of Odessians who had hidden alongside the bridge attacked when the sentries reached the end of the bridge.
As the battle in the encampment raged in three different areas, the first of the Odessian horsemen surged across the bridge. There were no engineers alive to begin the dismantling. Within moments the Vinelander camp was overrun by the Odessians. Over the next four hours, thousands of Odessians crossed the bridge and began moving northward on the Laborg-Caxon Road.
* * *
The sun was rising in a cloudless sky when General Vanatay reached the summit of the hill. His entourage spread out and flanked the general as he sat on his horse gazing down on the Vine River valley and the city of Caxon in the distance. The Caroomites had hundreds of troops stationed near the only bridge over the river, but the general smiled broadly as he gazed at the iced covered river. He turned his head and gazed southward and peered at the thousands of Vinelanders camped on the Laborg-Caxon Road. His troops were positioned so that they were just out of sight of the city of Caxon.
"When we plunder the city of Caxon," Tabansi broke the silence, "I trust the general will remember the words of King Zinan?"
The general turned and stared at the spy who had been offered rule over Caroom. He did
not care for the man, but he would be happy to see him left in Caxon so that the general would not have to look over his shoulder when he returned to Laborg.
"I would never forget the instructions of King Zinan," the general replied tartly. "Once the city is subdued, you will have free reign, but not before. As long as we are fighting, you will have no authority. That is something that you must remember. If your people cause chaos within my troops, I will have you executed. I suggest you keep them under control."
"Shall we give the order to attack?" asked an officer.
"See to it," nodded General Vanatay. "I will watch from here for a while. I want to see the reactions of the Caroomites when our army comes into view."
The officer unfurled a large red flag and attached it to a long stick. He held the flag high over his head and waved it vigorously. Far below the Vinelander encampment came alive. Thousands of marching soldiers surged forward and the general nodded in appreciation.
As the Laborg Caxon Road approached the bridge outside of Caxon, it rose over a forested hill and then dropped across a broad open plain. The vanguard of the Vinelanders had been camped just before the hill and now they were surging over it and spreading out along the plain. While the general could not hear the cries of the Caroomites, he could practically imagine them. He watched as soldiers and civilians raced through the city. Civilians tried to find refuge behind the towering wall of the city, while the soldiers streamed out to meet the Vinelanders.
"I would have thought the soldiers would have retreated to the walls to defend the city," commented one of the officers.
"The city is old," General Vanatay shook his head. "Over two thirds of the population now lives outside the wall. If they want to put the civilians inside, they must bring the soldiers out. There is not room for both."
"Then I would close the gates to the civilians," retorted the officer. "It is far better to use the walls for defense than to expose your soldiers to the enemy."
The general turned and looked the officer in the eye. He shook his head and returned his attention to the city. "You have much to learn," General Vanatay said. "If you allowed two thirds of your people to be slaughtered by your enemy, what do you suppose the other third would do to you? The whole purpose of a fortification is for the protection of your civilians. The Caroomites should have built another wall, but they were too lazy. Now they will pay the penalty."
Hundreds of Caroomite archers spread out along the banks of the Vine River while the Vinelanders continue to march across the plain. The general was watching the preparations with a strange detachment when he saw a column of smoke start rising from the hill north of the city. He frowned as the column of smoke grew thicker and thicker. An uneasy feeling grew in the pit of his stomach.
"Order the attack now," he commanded.
"The troops haven't assembled yet," replied an officer. "Most of them are still beyond the hill."
"Their troops haven't assembled yet either," retorted the general. "I have a sick feeling that the Caroomites have been waiting for us to attack. Give the signal."
The officer ripped the red flag from the stick and started tying a green flag in its place. "How could they possibly know about our plans?" he asked. "We made sure that no one carried our plans north."
"I do not know," admitted the general, "but that smoke is meant to signal someone. Perhaps Tarent has a leak somewhere, but how they discovered our plan is no longer important. What is important is that we strike hard and fast before they can react to our attack."
The officer raised the green flag high over his head and started waving it back and forth. The signal caused confusion among the Vinelanders, as they were not yet assembled. The first disorganized wave rushed the river and was met with a hail of arrows. The soldiers turned and retreated as other Vinelanders were still surging onto the plain.
"Something is wrong to the south," an officer announced anxiously. "The tail end of our army is not moving forward."
The general turned to gaze southward along the Laborg-Caxon Road. While a steady stream of soldiers continued northward, the group farthest south appeared to be fighting with an unknown enemy in the forests lining the road. The Vinelanders were being attacked from both sides of the road.
"Odessians?" asked Tabansi. "Could your men have failed to hold the bridges?"
"Not possible," General Vanatay shook his head. "I left detachments of engineers ready to destroy the bridges before the first horseman finished crossing. Besides, the Odessians do not hide in forests and attack. They sweep across the sands on their Odessian beauties. It is probably just some Caroomites that were posted in the woods to delay our attack. They will be overwhelmed in short order."
For all the confidence the general displayed, his eyes remained glued to the tail end of his column. His eyes narrowed in anger as the Vinelander bodies began to pile up on the road. Within minutes the rear of his column was destroyed. Some of the hidden attackers flitted across the road, and one of the officers shouted in alarm.
"Those are Lomites!" the officer exclaimed. "What are they doing in Vineland?"
General Vanatay watched in rage as part of his column turned around to engage the Lomites behind them.
"One of you get down on that road and get the column moving northward again," snapped the general. "I will not have this attack waylaid by a bunch of jungle savages."
The least-senior officer turned his horse and headed down the mountainside. Word of the Lomite attack spread rapidly along the road and soon most of the Vinelanders were looking over their shoulders as they moved northward. The pace of the attack faltered. As the general continued to watch the rear of the column, half a dozen riders appeared on the road. They rode side by side northward felling anyone in their path. Even from a great distance the general recognized the powerful gait of the Odessian beauties.
"Odessians!" shouted an officer.
"I know," snapped the general. "I am looking at them. Must you announce every little development with such hysteria?"
"He was talking about the plain to our north," Tabansi retorted snidely.
General Vanatay whipped his head around and stared northward. Flowing out of the forest to the east of the plain were hundreds of Odessian horsemen. The Odessian warriors plowed into the mass of Vinelanders, and the attack crumbled into chaos. The general's column that was still coming over the hill on the Laborg-Caxon Road halted when they saw the dreaded horsemen slicing into their comrades. Many in the column turned to retreat while others were trying to surge onto the plain to avoid the forest-dwelling attackers.
Suddenly thunder boomed in the cloudless sky. As everyone looked skyward a monstrous vision appeared overhead. A thousand times larger than life, the face that many recognized as King Zinan appeared in the sky and then the vision spoke.
"Stop the fighting," demanded the vision. "I command those who swear allegiance to King Zinan of Vineland to drop their weapons. It is not my wish that any more people should die today. All neighboring countries have united to defeat Vineland. It is a true sign that this attack has failed. Lay down your weapons and surrender."
For a moment everyone halted their fighting. The Caroomite archers stopped firing arrows, and the Odessian horsemen retreated to the edge of the plain. The Vinelanders stood staring up at the summit of the hill for a signal, but the general's staff was in shock. The first sound of a Vinelander sword hitting the ground was soon followed by thousands of others. Within moments the battle was over. The Odessian horsemen began herding the weaponless Vinelanders across the bridge where they were allowed to set up camp outside the city of Caxon.
Chapter 64 - For the Children
For the Children
King Justin stood on the roof of the palace watching the Vinelanders set up camp. The Odessian horsemen herded the prisoners onto the bridge and the Caroomite soldiers escorted them to an area to camp until their fate was decided. Other Caroomite soldiers were scattered about on the plain picking up the discarded weapons and load
ing them into wagons. The king was very pleased with what he saw.
"Your guests are assembled," stated an officer behind the king.
King Justin nodded to the officer and headed down the stairs. He entered the meeting room to find those responsible for the victory waiting for him. In addition to the group headed by the three princes, Balitardi, Kanior, and the general of the Caroomite army were present. King Justin smiled a warm welcome to each of them.
"The kingdom of Caroom owes a large debt to each of you," he declared. "I am overwhelmed that both the Odessians and the Lomites were willing to risk their people to save Caxon. I do hope that King Rihad's absence is not due to any injury on the battlefield?"
"It is not," answered Kanior. "He sends his apologies for not attending to the attack on Caxon personally, but he had other pressing business."
"Other business?" questioned the king.
"He took some of our warriors and secured the city of Laborg," grinned Kanior. "The Borundans will never again have the opportunity to use the Vinelanders as puppets."
"Excellent," smiled the king, "but Odessians are not known as city dwellers. Are they prepared to defend against the Borundan armies that will surely come when they hear of this battle? Should I send men down to aid in the defense?"
"You are welcome to," shrugged Kanior, "but I do not think it will be necessary. The bridge on the Dulga-Laborg Road has been dismantled. If the Borundans wish to return to Laborg, they will have to march through the Odessian desert to get there. I assure you that they will never reach Laborg."
"What is to become of Vineland?" asked Prince Antion. "There is no royal family left and it cannot be returned to Borunda. What options are there?"
"Vineland should be returned to the Vinelanders," declared Balitardi, "but it should be done in such a way as to not allow it to reform a massive army. We here represent three of the four countries bordering Vineland. I think we can agree that none of us seeks to expand our domain, and certainly the Hyremites are not eager to. Who then would the Vinelanders need to defend themselves from?"
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