I will make you proud... Father.
After Adair had said all that he had to say, he began to rise slowly into the air. As he rose higher and higher over the peaks of the mountains, he turned slightly in order to see Mount Lamont. Without warning, he sent a flash of bright light at the snow-capped portion of the mountain. There was a loud boom and a resulting quake that had not been felt throughout the land of Tuwa since the beginning. Eventually the guardian stopped his sudden attack, and the quaking stopped abruptly. The wind began to pick up around the mountain. As the winds swirled, he continued his ascent until he disappeared into the clear blue sky.
The wind became increasingly fierce and unrelenting as soon as Adair disappeared. Foul voices and whisperings could be heard in the air. There was a feeling of dread that swept through the lands. As the gusts continued, the source appeared to be coming directly from the forbidden east lands. Dark clouds appeared on the horizon and grew larger as they moved closer to the High Plains of Landen. An unexplainable feeling of despair and fear developed in the stomachs of the different races of Tuwa on this day. Nothing would ever be the same. War was coming.
Somewhere in the snowy regions of the north land Adair stood patiently outside an eerie-looking cave. He made a series of weird grunting noises as he peered inside the dark opening. There was an answer to his unusual call, which was followed by some growls that were immediately followed by something massive moving his way. He stood back a few paces to allow whatever it was to come out into the open. A huge white outline could be seen in the darkness of the icy cave. Just out of the light, the creature made some more peculiar noises. Adair nodded his head as a sign that he understood what the beast had said to him. A gigantic white bear stuck its head out of his home to look around the clearing that the Elemental was standing in. It was obvious that he wanted to be cautious.
"There is no one else here; come on out," said the guardian with a warm smile.
The bear looked at him for a moment longer and then entered the open. He was so huge that it was clear that he was the largest of his kind. His eyes were crystal blue and had a hypnotic effect on those that looked into them. There was also an edge in his gaze that would freeze the very heart of a lesser being, but Adair did not seem to be affected in any way by this monstrous beast.
"What do you want, my lord?" the beast asked plainly. The bear could speak like the peoples of the different races.
"You look like you have put on some weight, my old friend," he cajoled the bear. He smiled slyly as he said this, knowing full well that the weight was in muscle and not fat. He liked to give his faithful companion grief.
"You look like you have aged finally," replied the bear with a snort.
"I fear that before long that I will look and feel much older. I have need of you once again. War is coming. We must have the assistance of you and your fellows."
"Why should we come out of the north to save the people of Tuwa? They do not even know about us. We like it that way." He shook his fur to shake loose some debris that had attached itself to him as he was coming out of his cave.
"I need you to convince the others to help. This war, if unchecked, will enter your territory. Then you will no longer have a choice in the matter. You will be forced to fight or flee." There was a sardonic tone in the guardian's voice as he said this.
"We never flee or retreat! We are the most valiant creatures in this world, and you know it! What is it exactly that you would like us to do?" His hair stood up on end as he spoke. He did not understand sarcasm and did not like being told that he or his kind was weak.
"I would like you to personally accompany me as I join the battle. As for your friends, I would request their assistance where needed. Men, dwarves, elves, and even giants will need your help in this fight. You must realize that what happens to them will have a positive or negative result on your kind."
"Why don't you tell me exactly what has happened and then I will see if we can be of any assistance to you."
Adair told the story about the intervention of Kana and of the split of the elves. He also related the tale of the man marrying an elven princess. When he had finished speaking, silence engulfed the small cove. The white bear looked off to the north as if lost in thought. He did not say anything about what had just heard. He simply stood there and stared off into space. After a long moment, he turned his head to look at Adair. He fixed his friend with an icy stare that clearly indicated his displeasure with what he was being asked to do.
"I will help you deal with this nightmare. There is wisdom in what you say, and I cannot overlook that. I will try to persuade the others to help out. For now, at least, you have me," he said with a slight bow. This was the first time that the creature recognized the guardian with a bow.
"Good. I will leave you to discuss this matter with the others. I will return in a few days to see what they have decided," Adair said. He petted his furry friend gently on the head and vanished.
As Kana flew through the air over the Black Forest, she felt surges of excitement and an ever-mounting anticipation. She looked forward to crushing King Ciel Tiranidrol and his dilatory elves. She knew that the good king would do everything in his power to avoid a conflict and that this reluctance would give her the time she needed to surround the forest kingdom. She laughed softly as she continued to think about her plans and what she was going to do next. She knew that garnering support from the ores and goblins would be rather easy. The rock trolls would be somewhat difficult to cajole into action, but she would find their weakness or give them something that they had longed for.
The thick forest below gave way to an open plain that had rolling hills and tall grass that swayed with the wind. The sun shone brightly overhead as she continued her journey to meetwith the first nation that would aid her high elves in exterminating the woodland elves. Two massive mountains came into view on the horizon. She altered her course slightly to head to a mountain on the east side of the Blaine River. The mountain to the west was Mount Adem, home of the dwarven king, Kasim. The mountain she was heading for was much taller and did not look like its neighbor at all. There were two jagged peaks that rose high into the air on the west and east sides. In the middle appeared to be a vast body of water that was shimmering slightly as the sun reflected off of its calm surface. Kana was heading to Mount Tarin, the home of the ores of middle Tuwa. She knew that these creatures would be some of the fiercest warriors she would have in her army.
As she neared the lake at the summit, she saw several ores running about on the shores of Lake Tarn preparing to defend their camp against her intrusion. These creatures did not trust anyone; they even fought amongst themselves because of their ill temperament. Kana dived suddenly toward these stout defenders, which caught them completely off guard. She came up abruptly and lighted on the lake's shore. She walked resolutely toward the ores who had taken up their posts at the massive arrow launchers. They had trained the weapons on her but did not fire. They had changed their minds about killing the intruder once they had seen who it was. They instantly knew that it was an Elemental and that she was very powerful.
She had forced these thoughts into her would-be attackers' minds so that she would not have to kill them unnecessarily. She had no problem with this as ores do not know how to shield their minds. She smiled slyly at the small group of defenders and then came to a halt a dozen paces in front of the nearest defensive weapon that was aimed at her. She waited calmly for them to speak or to make some kind of indication as to what they were planning to do.
The ores looked at one another uneasily as silence enveloped the standoff. They were all thinking the same thing, and that was who had the great displeasure of reporting to their general that an Elemental had arrived. Their leader would not be happy that they had not even fired once at her, especially since she was one of the wretched guardians who had always kept their kind in check. Slowly one of them in the back of the formation slid down off his seat on his launcher and began to walk toward
a small camp at the base of the mountain peak on the eastern side. Once he felt he was out of firing distance, he broke into a dead run. He began shouting something quite unintelligible in his native tongue as he ran toward the encampment.
As the orc neared the biggest tent in the camp, guards came out of nowhere and tackled the frantic messenger. They could tell by the color of his clothing that he was one of their tribe, but they did not know why he acting so crazy. As the guards wrestled with the poor soldier, the tent door swung open abruptly. General Akuji Tadok K'K stepped out into the sunlight with a look of suppressed rage at the sight of the fight taking place at his entry. He was a towering figure that was as tall as or taller than most elves. His long silver hair swayed in the breeze while the sun glistened off of his hard gray and black hide. He had a bulky muscular frame that made his stature overbearing to anyone who was in his presence. He was the leader of the largest and most feared orc army in Tuwa. His hard, cold, gray eyes fixed on the struggling figure that went still once he felt his leader's gaze.
"General Tadok K'K, you have an unexpected guest," the messenger stuttered frantically. He was shaking all over as he spoke to his general.
"Stand up, you filthy scum!" blasted General Akuji. He looked even harder at the trembling orc. "Who is it that you let live? This person had better be very important since you disobeyed my standing order to kill anyone or anything that nears our camp!" The threat sent chills down the spines of everyone that had gathered around this impromptu meeting.
"My lord, it is an Elemental. She ... she did something to us in our minds so that we would not shoot her out of the sky. She is holding the others hostage and sent me to tell you that she has business to discuss with you," the poor orc explained. He shuttered at the hard look General Akuji gave him. He was so scared that he soiled himself as he stood in front of his leader. The guards that had been holding him moved away from the shaking orc because they could sense that their general was about to do something to the messenger. The smell of feces and sweat filled the air around the antsy soldier as he shook uncontrollably in front of his general.
"I do not care if it were the guardian himself... you still try your best to kill him, you maggot!" yelled the general as he wrapped his hands around the messenger's head. In one swift motion, he ripped the poor creature's head clean off and threw it aside. He stormed off, screaming profanities in his own tongue into the air as he marched toward the shoreline. He would deal with this unwanted visitor himself.
As he neared the massive arrow launchers, he could see that the ores manning the weapons were in a transfixed state. This only enraged him more, and his cursing became even more offensive. He walked right up to the Elemental and drew his massive silver war hammer and swung it back for a deathblow on this intruder.
Kana smiled slightly at this gesture and allowed him to swing away. His blow missed the guardian somehow, and he went spinning past his target from the force of his errant attack. She immediately turned about and seized him with her mind. He rose slowly into the air as she approached him. His face was full of rage and disbelief as his struggled to break free of his invisible bounds.
"General Tadok K'K, it is a pleasure to meet you at last. I have heard stories of your power and greatness from the peoples ofTuwa. I must say that I am not at all impressed by what I see in front of me," she said nastily. "You were purported to be this fearsome leader that took no prisoners and that trusted no one. Yet, your guards did not kill me, as is your custom. Why is that?" She was taunting the captive general just to prove her superiority and power over him.
"Why are you here, you filthy witch? Why bother us when we have kept our pack with you and your wretched council?" queried the general hotly. He was trying his best to not be afraid, but that was rather difficult when a powerful being like Kana had you in her clutches. Still, he managed to give her baleful looks that clearly told her that she was not welcome in his camp.
"I am here on personal business, Akuji. I have need of you and your kind. I want you to join me in a cause that will cleanse Tuwa of lesser beings like the elves." She was baiting him with what every orc wanted: revenge on their neighbor to the north. It was the residents of the Forest of Renshaw that had acted as the guardians' tool in punishing them so many years ago. Revenge would be sweet and was long overdue for the ores. General Akuji's fear subsided, and he looked hard at Kana as if trying to ascertain whether or not she was being truthful.
"You want us to attack the light footed elves? What's in it for us?"
"Your chance at revenge is one of the obvious benefits. The opportunity to help me take over the rest of the Tuwa is another reward. I plan on cleansing Tuwa of elves, men, and dwarves. Ores, goblins, and rock trolls will then rule these lands once again with me as your leader."
"You plan to conquer Tuwa and make it your own? Why?" He knew that he was in no position to argue with the powerful guardian, so he decided to play along. Maybe there was something in her offer that would benefit him personally.
"The ultimate form of power is dominion over others, my witless general. The Elementals command the elements of this world in which you live, and I want to rule the people who live in Tuwa. To have control over the elements and the races would make me invincible." She desired to have absolute power, and she was willing to do whatever it took to achieve this goal; even if it meant having to deal with these unintelligent brutes. She would be able to control them much easier than any of the other races because of their lusts for blood and revenge.
"As long as you share your power with those that help you capture it, we will work with you. Agreed?"
"You are very shrewd, general; we are agreed then." She lowered him back to the ground slowly. As the general touched down, he quickly realized that she had risen slightly above the ground and was hovering a few feet in the air. It was clear that Kana wanted him to understand that she was in charge and that he was beneath her in every way. However, they would both benefit from this arrange ment and would tolerate the uneasy truce they had just established for the sake of exacting revenge and gaining power.
"What is it that you want us to do now?" General Akuji bowed slightly as he addressed Kana. The ores that were standing around this spectacle immediately bowed as well. They knew that if their leader bowed to someone else that it meant they were all in that person's service even if they all thought she was nothing more than filthy scum.
"I want you to get Generals Maurizio G'Dang, Nero Oggoa- mak, Synan Thrudak, and Tomo Bruguk Tak," she listed off the other leaders of the orc tribes. "They will be needed in order to win this war. I will be off to invite our little goblins friends next. Then I will visit the rock trolls to help shore up the weak parts of their armies. By that time, I expect you and the others to be ready to make war upon those accursed elves. Do not attack them before I return. I will need to split the army up so that we do not put all of our eggs into one basket. You will have help in your assault on the people of the Black Forest."
"Who is it that will help us in our attack on the elves? Will it be the rock trolls or the goblins ... or will it be both of them?" Not that we need help from scum like them.
"In order to answer your question effectively, I will need to explain what has happened to the nation of the elves. Many months ago the two daughters of the elven king fled with a third of the elven nation to escape their father's tyrannical rule. They now dwell in Mount Quang and Mount Konane in the north. They no longer associate with their fair brothers and sisters of the woodland. Their main army has already begun my campaign with an assault on your arch nemesis."
"You mean to tell me that they are attacking those vile Nairians?" The elves had always gotten along fabulously with the men of Nairi. General Akuji had had many run-ins with Nairian patrols along the Blaine River during his lifetime. He could not believe that the elves, someone he thought to be a long-standing enemy, were now their allies. He stood there with a skeptical look on his face.
"Yes, General Akuji, the high
elves, which is what this separatist group is known as, was betrayed by the Nairian general and his army. They attacked their capital city in the night and slew everyone in their path while they slept. I have allied myself with Queen Kishi Tiranidrol, the eldest daughter of the elven king. She is a powerful sorceress and will be able to annihilate the people of Nairi. She has powerful motives to carry out my commands. Her twin sister was murdered by the villainous General Yukio of Nairi."
"Can you guarantee me that these high elves are different from the others? How will we be able to tell them apart from the ones we are supposed to attack?"
"I personally guarantee their loyalty. If they should waver in their charges, I will allow you to destroy them on sight. In answer to your second question, the high elves have much darker skin than their fair cousins of the woods unbeknownst to them. I have also added a special symbol that represents fire and air on their armor and weapons. The symbol will glow when two of my soldiers should cross paths. This way you will not kill any of those that are on our side."
"What a wicked and cunning move. We will serve with you." He lowered his head slightly again as a show of respect.
"General Tadok K'K, go and do all that I have asked. I will return to you by week's end. Be ready to move out when I arrive." She then rose higher into the air until she was nothing more than a speck in the sky. Then she burst into a ball of fire and dashed off toward the goblins in the east.
General Tadok K'K stood there for a moment while he watched the flaming Elemental fly out of view. He quickly turned about and stared coldly at the sentries who had not done their duty when Kana had arrived. The ores that had failed their general walked dejectedly toward their leader and bowed before him. Each lowered their heads as if they were praying to a god that would somehow help them in their precarious situation. The fear was palpable in the air around the soldiers.
The Broken Council Page 19