by Kyle West
“He could have killed all of you on the outside before even going in,” Samal said. “But he didn’t.”
It was something I hadn’t thought of until now. He could have done that, but hadn’t.
“Perhaps killing us on the outside would have done nothing to stop Shal from dying,” Isa said. “Or more likely, Isaru needed the opening we had created, and couldn’t kill any of us until we had exited.”
What Isa said made sense. Perhaps Isaru’s plan was to use the opening to save his master, and when things were under control again, to escape and deal the final blow.
Only Mia had felt the force of that blow, however.
Shara was the next to speak. “I’m . . . not one hundred percent sure how it works, but what Isa said rings true. You don’t need a body on the outside to exist within the Hyperfold. For one, the thousands of Hyperboreans that exist there now do not exist in the real world. Their memories do. The people inside seem just as real as people on the outside, even if they are only memories. Shal himself is such a memory, but look how he can still affect reality. The actual person . . . the soul, if you will . . . can exist on the inside.”
“Wait,” Nabea said. “So, if all of you returned, but Mia didn’t . . . is it possible that she might still be alive inside?”
I thought back to the actual moment. I could still see Isaru falling from above, blade extended downward, from where he had exited the Hyperfold, stepping from a portal of floating light. Mia had been kneeling, as if in prayer, eyes closed. Those eyes had opened in shock at that terrible moment; in death, she had made not a sound.
But the eyes had known. The eyes were there.
All of them watched me thinking and trying to make sense of it.
“She must have returned right before the blade entered her,” I said. “I saw her eyes at the end. She . . . she was there.”
And yet, something strange had happened after Mia’s death. The light of the Hyperfold seemed to consume her, until nothing was left, as if the portal were still open. Isandru had been able to reenter it in the same way.
“Her death is painful enough,” I said finally. “We shouldn’t ruin it with any wishful thinking.”
But Nabea’s insight had placed a sliver of doubt in my mind. If she were alive, then that meant we had left her behind, just as we had left Isandru behind.
And it made sense that if she were still alive, Isandru would have wanted to remain behind to rescue her.
“We shouldn’t give up hope, so long as there is some left,” Nabea said.
“Practically speaking,” Shara said, “she is gone. As is Isandru. They both may both exist inside the Hyperfold, or they may be gone completely.”
“We did all we could,” I said. “The rest of us are lucky to be alive. We were able to escape, running west through the forest. Pallos found us there. They took me to Kalear. After that, we went to go meet with King Arius in Sylva. The news from there isn’t good, I’m afraid.”
“Isaru has attacked?” Tellor asked, his eyebrows shooting up.
“It might be worse than that,” I said. “Nova is invading, and is probably working with Isaru.”
* * *
It was not the news they had been expecting.
“They must have been talking behind the scenes,” Tellor said. “Even if the Novans hate the Elekai, they may work with Isaru if it means destroying the Makai, who have long curbed their ambitions to expand northeast. So long as they strike before anyone is ready, Colonia will stand alone, completely open to attack.”
“Not unless we do something to stop them,” Shara said.
“Colonia is weak,” Tellor said. “The Sanctum estimated that as many as one in two of their fighting men are dead or no longer battle-worthy. They cannot withstand a siege for long, especially with the overwhelming number of dragons Isaru has at his command, not to mention the Annajen dragonriders which are sworn to the king of Haven. The city will surrender quickly, and seizing Colonia will give Isaru the legitimacy he seeks . . . the city is not supposed to fall to the Elekai until the return of Annara, according to prophecy.”
“He is claiming that title as well,” I said. “Impossible as it seems.”
“We’ve heard,” Tellor said. “But things are ugly here in the east, but not all the news is terrible. The Kingdom of Tenise has surrendered to our forces, and is now a client kingdom of Atlantea.”
“Meaning?” Isa asked.
“The old dynasty – the one Kachar propped up, and the one the Princess Abena was to marry into – has been removed from power. Prince Enu and his father, of the same name, have been served justice. The crown of Tenise is now held by one of the local families that have sworn their loyalties, who have some claim to it, however tenuous. It’s not much, but it’s the best we could do. With Tenise’s quick demise, the other southern kingdoms have sided with Atlantea. But Rakhim Shal’s fingers have long been at work, dividing the kingdoms rather than uniting them. So long as his threat remains, taking an army west would be leaving all the south open to attack. Not until the east is completely secured can we come to relieve the Makai and the Colonians.”
“There may not be time for that,” I said. “From what we’ve seen, the Makai won’t be able to stand long at all.”
“If what you’ve told me is true, then the Novans will be fighting in the Red Wild,” Tellor said. “In the Wild, one Makai man counts for ten Novans. They will die, and they will die harder the further they push in. The land is hopelessly forested and doesn’t have the food supplies to support a large army. Unless the Novans have support from the Annajen, their supply lines will be at the Makai’s mercy. They may have the numbers, but they will bleed, and badly. Even if the Makai were to lose Sylva, they could live off the eastern farmland in and around the southern Red Mountains, never truly dying and becoming a constant thorn in the Novans’ side. This state could very well last years.”
“And if Isaru does openly help them?” Shara asked.
Tellor’s face became grave. “That is why he must never be allowed to take Colonia. Once the Covenant is defeated, there’s nothing to prevent Isaru from using his dragons, or supplying food to the Novans through the Xenoplain.”
“We have no army,” I said. “Anyone who is resisting Isaru is gathering at Kalear, but there aren’t many of us. Perhaps a thousand fighting men, a number that would surely be crushed in open battle.”
Tellor thought quickly. “You must never give them a battle, Shanti. The Red Wild is called so for a reason. It’s filled with forests and mountains, and the land is fertile. A thousand men can exist where five thousand cannot.”
“Guerilla warfare,” Shara said.
“And Kalear’s position is well-placed,” Tellor said. “Hidden by mountains, where a thousand men can stand up to many in the narrow passes. The Iron Pass to the east will allow food and supplies to come in, while the Novans cannot hope to cut them off unless Sylva itself is taken and the Makai driven from the Red Mountains. Neither of these things will happen soon. At the earliest, one year.”
“Still, that is time we don’t have,” I said. “The Radaskim are returning in less than two years. Even if we were to somehow win the physical war, we would be weakened severely.”
“It’s all pointless as long as the Hyperfold is still here,” Isa said. “It has to be stopped. It’s the cancer that’s eating the Red Wild from the inside out. The Xenofold can only protect us from the Radaskim if the Hyperfold is destroyed.”
That was the thing, though. We had tried to stop it, and had failed. I was starting to run out of ideas.
“We need every soldier we can get in the Red Wild,” I said. “We don’t have the numbers, Tellor.”
“It is a very long march,” he said. “The Trade Road goes from Atlantea all the way to East Town, a journey of more than one thousand miles. The lands are so uninhabited that food supplies would need to be secured well in advance. That would broadcast our intentions to Isaru, and he would have plenty of time to
meet us, perhaps even marching his forces to block the passes at East Town and Mongar. We could come through the Iron Pass and Kalear, but food would need to be secured well in advance for ten thousand men.”
“How long of a march would that be?” Shara asked.
“As much as three months,” Tellor said. “Two would be pushing the men to the point of exhaustion.”
“And winter is on its way,” I said. “It can be very cold in the land between the Eastern Kingdoms and the Red Wild.”
“You said it yourself,” Shara said. “It’ll take more than three months for the Makai to be taken over. There’s still time.”
“Yes,” Tellor said, “but it is not the Makai I’m worried about. It’s Colonia.”
“The Colonians will fall before then,” I said.
The only question that remained, then, was exactly how to save them.
“We have to work with what we have,” I said. “There’s everyone gathered at Kalear, but that’s nowhere near enough. And the Makai are not in a position to do anything but defend themselves. The Novans are already penetrating the Wild, bypassing the fortress of Larre.”
“That is grievous news indeed,” Tellor said. He thought deeply. “In light of the situation . . . perhaps a formal alliance with Colonia is possible. If only for self-preservation.”
The Elder’s tone sounded doubtful of this, however.
“Of course,” Shara said, “Isaru might end up doing something else entirely. Remember when we thought he was going to destroy Northold with his dragons, and he ended up going to the Eastern Kingdoms?”
That, too, was a valid point.
“The Elder Dragons are the only ones with the power to stop him,” Fiona said, after a long silence. “Dragons will decimate any normal army, so meeting Isaru in the field is pointless unless we have our own dragons to match.”
“Dragonspire is our next stop after this,” I said.
“We will have to refresh ourselves on the tactics used in the first Mindless War,” Isa said. “That was the only time where dragon attacks were common enough for people to defend themselves on a regular basis.”
“How did they defend themselves?” Shara asked.
“Massed ballistae and crossbows,” Isa said. “Long steel pike formations to protect the ranged contingents.” She paused. “Unfortunately, ballistae are not very mobile. It was the reason the Mindless Wars took so long to win, and it was no true victory; eventually, the numbers of Mindless thinned due to the Xenofold repairing itself, which allowed the Elekai to push back.”
“Colonia has a large stock of ballistae and bolts,” I said.
I remembered how a few of them had shot at Isaru and I while we rode into the city on Jorla’s back, what seemed ages ago. Jorla herself had died from a mass of pikes and crossbows. But even one dragon had taken long to fall, and we were talking about an entire army of them.
“Isaru can field about thirty thousand men, according to census data conducted by the Sanctum,” Tellor said. “The dragonriders number about fifty, plus the Mindless who follow him.”
“About two hundred dragons in all,” I said, feeling my heart plummet.
“If all the dragons at Dragonspire help us, we can match those numbers,” Fiona said.
“But we are still weaker on the ground,” Nabea said. “Unless we can reinforce from here with our ten thousand. But that means leaving my people open to invasion. Something I cannot do. My lords would rebel at the news, I’m afraid. No one wants to see their lands laid waste.”
“Then what can we do?” I asked.
“We win here first,” Tellor said. “We cannot leave the Eastern Kingdoms until the threats have been removed.”
“How long will that take?” Shara asked.
Elder Tellor shook his head. “Months, if not years.”
Again, it was time we simply didn’t have.
“We cannot win on all fronts,” Shara said. “That much is becoming clear.”
“We could split our forces,” Nabea said, doubtfully.
“And we would lose on both fronts,” Shara said. “We have to commit to one or the other.”
Committing everything to the Red Wild meant leaving Atlantea completely open to attack. Too many of the Eastern lords had sided with the Isaru, while resistance forces had yet to organize themselves.
“War has unfolded and the Eastern Congress has done nothing,” Nabea said.
“The Congress is utterly powerless,” Ret said, shaking his head.
“Have they stated an official position about Isaru?” Shara asked.
“The senators are basically siding with their own countries, rather than uniting for a single purpose,” Nabea said. “The war has long been fomenting, and Isaru merely set the spark. For the most part, the southern lords want complete autonomy from the Congress, while the northern lords are in favor of more centralized power. Atlantea’s position is the former, isolating us from our neighbors.” He sighed. “Abandoning our position here means giving up Atlantea entirely. Thousands will die to invading forces, and I’d have no right to call myself king.”
“But if Isaru wins, there will be nothing we can do to stop the death of the Xenofold. That will mean everyone’s doom.”
Everyone was quiet as they thought about this uncomfortable eventuality.
“What about the Shen?” Isa asked. “Couldn’t Pallos get some assistance from them?”
It was a thought that had crossed my mind, but ultimately, Shen wanted the same thing as the Radaskim – total destruction of the Xenofold. At least, that was what he wanted if the Nameless One was to be believed.
“There would be strings attached,” I said, finally. “The one time we spoke, he wanted complete control over humanity. For our own protection.”
“Protection doesn’t sound half-bad right now,” Shara said. “The Shen are powerful. They could turn the tide for sure.”
That was a thought. How would Isaru react to an army of machines pouring in from the west? Who would win that confrontation?
“But is it really victory if we don’t get what we want?” I asked. “Shen wants the Xenofold gone, but perhaps if he knew it was our protection against the Radaskim . . .”
“You think he would help us?” Isa asked.
“I don’t know. I suppose it’s worth asking him.”
For some reason, though, it gave me a bad feeling. Could Shen coexist with the Elekai? Did Anna return to hand over an entire people to a foreign power, even if that meant safety?
I didn’t know what she thought . . . Anna had been quiet lately. Almost as if she were completely gone.
Something told me, that even if with all her prophecies, that Anna could have never predicted this.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
AS WE LEFT ATLANTEA, IT felt as if we didn’t get much done, and we didn’t get to spend much time with our friends. For them, it had been three months while for us, it had only been a week.
With Nabea and his army committed here, we had no choice but to go to the dragons for help and hope for the best.
Ret, Samal, and Elder Tellor felt it best to continue helping Nabea, who needed their assistance. That left Fiona, Shara, Isa, Pallos, and I to continue our journey.
Once in flight, we stood in the wardroom, quiet and unsure of what to do next. Inevitably, every face turned to me for direction, as if I somehow knew what to do. Pallos had heard every word spoken, but surprisingly, he had not once pushed me to go to Shenshi to beg for Shen’s help. His expression was unreadable. Fiona looked at me intently, her green eyes inquiring. Isa’s blue eyes seemed fearful, while Shara’s looked steady and confident – only the tightening of her features betrayed that confidence.
I was the captain, the one they had pledged themselves to follow. And I had no idea what to do.
“We have two options, as I see it,” I said. “We can go to the dragons, or to Shenshi.”
Everyone thought over the two options, but like me, they didn’t know which would be bett
er to see first.
“Perhaps Quietus has convinced Tiamat to help us in the meantime,” Isa said, at last. “We’ve been gone three months after all.”
“I’ve taken the ship by Dragonspire a few times,” Pallos said. “They’re still there, as far as I know, and don’t seem to be leaving any time soon.”
“What could they be planning?” Shara asked.
“Perhaps they’re not planning,” Fiona said. “They could be waiting.”
“For what?” I asked.
Fiona looked at me. “For you.”
“Why would they be waiting for me?”
She looked at me as if I should have known the answer. “You’re Anna. We follow you. The dragons should follow you. The entire world needs to follow you.”
I restrained myself from correcting her, telling her that I wasn’t Anna, but Shanti, a girl from Colonia who had never asked for this.
Instead, I said something different, since the answer I wanted to say was unacceptable. “If everyone is supposed to be following me, then why does it seem that I have to beg others for help? Those who have come to Kalear don’t even reach a thousand. You heard Elder Tellor; Isaru has an army of thirty thousand, and two hundred dragons to boot. How am I supposed to stop that without selling everybody out to Shen?” I looked at Pallos. “No offense.”
“I understand where you’re coming from,” Pallos said. “But you speak of Shen as if he were a monster, as bad as the Nameless One or Shal, or even Odium.” A chill seemed to follow mentioning that horrible name, but Pallos pressed on nonetheless. “Shen is none of these things. For all we know, you could ask him for help and he would say yes, asking for nothing in return. It’s his goal to help humanity, after all.”
I didn’t find that too likely. He had offered his help when I’d met him the first time. I wasn’t ready to sell out then, but as options were closing and doom approaching, I saw little choice.
“What would getting his help look like?” I asked. “Shen wants total control over humanity. He . . . sort of sees me as a representative of the Elekai, even if most of the Elekai see me as nothing more than Taris’ murderer. What would it look like if he gave me an army and let me use it against my own people, who are forced into following Isaru if only because they see no alternative?”