Legon Restoration

by Taylor, Nicholas

  His face darkened, "What do you mean?"

  "Mors," she whispered.

  He puffed up a bit and then deflated, "You're right, but I see them whenever I close my eyes, I see her..."

  "Rachel," Emma confirmed. "Do you write her?"

  "Yes often, and she writes back. I'm glad she's in Seeon, safe."

  Emma could feel her heart breaking for Ankle; this war was all but lost for him too, just as the War of Generations had been a loss for the Elves and Iumenta. But it didn't have to be a total loss she realized. She stood taking his hand. "Follow me," she said, flicking out her mind to an assistant. She led him down a hall, past Elf guards and into restricted areas. They entered a room with a high ceiling and a crystal the size of a bathroom mirror on the wall. She walked to it, flicking her mind out.

  "Here," she said placing him in front of the crystal. An image appeared, a timid looking girl came into view, her eyes narrow and then wide with recognition

  "Ankle!" she said.

  "Rachel..." Ankle said he looked at Emma.

  She patted his arm. "Take your time, I'll be waiting for you outside," she said.

  As she walked she could hear the tension in his voice break, could hear the weight of guilt lift as he saw the now healthy girl. He could see that though he couldn't save them all, he could save at least the one and that's all that mattered.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Decisions

  "Figure out what it is you want to accomplish and then get to work."

  -The Wondering Way (Author Unknown)

  Neelya tried to keep pace with the Queen while not losing the many papers she held in her arms. Next to the Queen was Parkas, his gate was confident if not slightly haggard. They entered the Queen’s study, Neelya placing the papers on the desk.

  "This was a wise move Hoelaria," Parkas was saying.

  It was a mark of their relationship that he could address the Queen by name.

  "I think it is the only option we have at this point," the Queen growled, "if only they had dedicated more at the beginning." She started then shook her head, "No matter. Thank you Parkas, you may leave."

  Parkas left, leaving Neelya and the Queen alone. "Is there anything else I can do for you Un Prose?" Neelya asked.

  The Queen waved her hand dismissively, "Tell me Neelya, what have I accomplished today."

  This was a test she needed to answer correctly, "By convincing the Heads of all the other Provinces to stay in Bailaya, you were able to force them into committing more resources to the war effort. Perhaps force is the wrong word."

  "No I forced them, make no mistake, but in forcing them they are now in a live or die situation, at this point none can back out. What are the possible consequences of today?" she asked.

  Neelya thought. "We will hold the Capital and drive the Pawdin Empire back," she said gazing into the fire, looking at the bronze dragons; the shifting fire light on them helped her focus. "We will likely lose most of the humans bred at Mors, however human numbers have been greatly depleting and the Mors units were never intended to hold off an Elvin assault. The Pawdin Empire will be forced now to match our numbers." She looked up at the Queen, "We will win the battle for the next few months, but will have a long road ahead," she said.

  The Queen nodded, "A very long one indeed."

  * * * * *

  Legon stepped into a large conference room. To his right was Iselin, to his left was Sasha. Edling, Emma, Sydin and a few others trailed behind them. Seats filled the room, assistants from all the Great Houses in attendance, also in the wings were the Heads of many of the Houses Minor. In the center of the room, a round table stood with a crystal in it, and next to the table stood the Heads of every Great Elvin House. Legon took his place. As he stopped, a crystal the size of a marble floated to his lips, the same was at the lips of every Head of House; today, all in the room would hear clearly the discussions of the Houses.

  The Heads of House introduced themselves. When everyone was done the Head of House Coreen looked at Legon, "Evindass, you have spear headed this war, you and your people have lead it with great competence. I'm afraid without your efforts we would still be standing idly by as the Iumenta executed their plans."

  Legon nodded, "Thank you. Indeed, every House has put forth a great deal of effort in this war. Our armies stand at the brink of the Bailaya Dome, with its fall we are a few short miles from the Capital itself. Sadly, this may not be the victory we were all hoping for. The Iumenta have committed genocide, having left the Cona lands nearly void of life in their recent wake. We could have never hoped to capture all of the Impa leaders, but were hoping to maybe at least capture Hoelaria, so that she may stand trial. Today I tell you that those hopes have been dashed."

  His words were met with concern and confusion and he went on, "We have recently learned that Hoelaria has brought all of her Heads of Province to Bailaya. Words from spies tell us that they have all committed to Summa Commendo." There were a few gasps from the wings.

  * * * * *

  Emma was confused and nudged Opes' mind. "What is Summa Commendo?" she asked.

  He looked at her darkly. "During the War of Generations, each side committed nearly sixty percent of its population to combat, this is Summa Commendo. We will have to do likewise if we are to hold them back, regardless of our superior numbers of Ascended, Hoelaria just restarted the War of Generations." Opes turned his attention back to the meeting and Emma felt herself clam up.

  Legon was still speaking. "We predict the first formations will reach the Capital within three months. Even if we are to work as fast as we can, we cannot marshal our own society in time to stop this threat; we will take heavy casualties and lose much of the Cona Empire before we can stop the Iumenta," Legon was saying, as he leaned against the table. "We cannot let those troops get here, we must end this war soon," he said.

  "I assume that you have come up with a strategy to do this?" The Head of House Insa said.

  Legon nodded. "Yes we have, it's far from ideal, but a plan. Stacy," he said motioning to Arkin's widow, who walked forward.

  She waved her hand over the table bringing up a map of Bailaya. "Thank you for honoring me today," she started. "My organization has mapped the entire city. Bailaya, like all Iumenta occupied human cities, have two and only two jump crystals." She motioned, bringing up the locations of the crystals. "They are in the southern part of the city, well away from the main Palace; they are heavily guarded but like most city crystals, have limited power," she said, looking back to Legon.

  "Thank you Stacy," he said. "We have all but cut off ground retreat to the north. Those Iumenta troops will not be here for at least three months, this gives us time to secure the city."

  "But what good will that do? As soon as the Iumenta see that the Capital is about to fall they will use the before mentioned jump crystals to leave, we will take heavy losses at the dome and the city, just to have the Iumenta back on us." The head of House Violaceus said.

  Legon got a gleam in his eye. "Not if we get the Impa to surrender first," he said waiting for a moment and then looking back to the map. "When we crack the dome and we will, I purpose that we send all Ascended in the area to attack Bailaya right away. The Iumenta will be using their jump crystals in the Capital to help fortify the dome; they have to keep us at bay for several months, they have to hold that dome and will do whatever they must to hold it. If we attack the city right away, targeting the jump crystals and those alone, we can cut off their retreat."

  There were nods and even some smiles Emma could see, as Legon went on, "We are going to lose a lot of good people doing this, but it's our only chance; Hoelaria is betting big on this move. If we can win this battle..."

  "We have the Heads of Province trapped; they will either surrender or die long before their armies get here," House Amuun said.

  "And if the tension we've seen with the Impa in the past is any indication of what will happen now, it's highly possible that the Impa Empire will slip into Ci
vil War as Provinces fight for control," the Head of House Insa said. "House Insa is behind this plan."

  "As is House Coreen"

  The other Houses Great and Minor voted their approval and Emma felt a bit of weight lift off her. From that point on she watched as the Heads of House networked their minds along with their generals, developing a battle plan. A few hours later, Emma followed Sasha from the room.

  Sasha spoke to Sydin, "Sy, I think we have something that may help us with the dome."

  "What is that?" he asked.

  "We have found a weakness in the Iumenta crystals, we think we can exploit it, but the crystal will need to be very taxed for it to work," She explained.

  Sydin looked down at her with a smile. "Oh trust me, Un Prose, I fully plan on taxing the crystals of that dome. Feel free to do whatever you like, so long as it does not interfere with the main battle plan," he said.

  Sasha took Emma's hand. "Thank you Sy, come Emma we have work to do."

  * * * * *

  Barnin finished packing up, taking one last sweep around the room. Heath met him in the hall and they left the building that had been the closest thing to a home he'd had in months. Barnin didn't dislike his time in Salez, he felt ready for the next leg of the war. Heath felt likewise. As for Ankle, after Emma let him talk to Rachel, Ankle was like a new man.

  Barnin and Heath made their way across a brick courtyard; Emma was walking quickly in the distance. "HEY EM!" Barnin yelled.

  Emma turned, coming over to them. She looked flustered and worried. "Hey guys what can I do for you?" she asked.

  Heath frowned, "We could ask you the same, what’s got you so worked up?"

  Emma looked back the way she'd been going and turned back to them. "I'm going to pick something up on the other side of the complex, walk with me?" she asked.

  They agreed as she started back up at a brisk pace.

  "So Em, what's going on?" Barnin asked.

  She glanced at him, looking apprehensive.

  "You know you can trust us," Heath prodded.

  She sighed. "I know, it's something your command knows but likely won’t tell you. The Iumenta have gone to Summa Commendo, it's bad, very bad," she said.

  "That sounds almost like a gambling term Em, what does that mean?" Heath asked.

  "It means that the Iumenta have decided to dedicate at least sixty percent of their citizens to the war effort, they will be here in a few months."

  Barnin fought the urge to stop walking as Emma went on.

  "We have one chance to end this war before it turns back into the War of Generations," she said.

  "And if we don't succeed with this chance?" Barnin asked.

  She stopped and looked at both of them. "Humanity was in the wings for the last war, ignored by both sides. That will not be the case this time; we cannot hope to survive this. The Elves and Iumenta will cripple each other beyond repair and we, if we still exist, will be nothing more than small tribes of people hiding in caves again."

  Barnin felt goose bumps; Emma believed what she was saying and he did too. His thoughts drifted to Samantha in Manton, her face making his fears ebb away. His jaw clenched, "Thanks Em, you got stuff to do and so do we. Come on Heath." He walked off taking Heath with him. "No one hears about this, our command is right for not telling us this information, it will only hurt morale."

  They rounded a corner where his three units were getting ready, Barnin yelled at the top of his voice. "LOAD UP WE ARE HEADING OUT!" The men instantly sped up their preparations.

  Johnson came up to him, "Barnin..."

  Barnin turned to him "Major, it’s been an honor serving with you, I wish you luck in your next assignment."

  Johnson looked for a moment like he was going to say something about getting cut off, but decided against it. "It has been an honor; I wish I was accompanying you to the battle’s front, good luck."

  Trust me major, where we're going you don't want to be. Barnin saluted him and went back to rousing his men.

  * * * * *

  Keither trotted along on Pixie, Sara riding next to him. Ahead he could see plumes of smoke, the fires of many camps. They were surrounded by mountains, the cold evening air hung in his chest. Next to him Sara was nervous; she was going to be heading her own team of medics, for his part he just had to worry about feeding the troops. Sara jumped at a roar from above. Both looked up seeing hundreds of Elvin dragons flying in formation.

  "I've never seen so many," she said talking about the dragons.

  "There hasn't been this many ground troops either," Keither pointed out. "I dare say this battle will decide the outcome of this war."

  The sun was just starting to set on the horizon when Sara and Keither came over a hill. Below them was a wide open space, at the back of it there was a bottleneck in the mountains. Blocking the view of the mounts was a White Dome that flattened on the top. It resembled a bowl turned upside down. The Bailaya Dome loomed massive; it was the same size as the Precipice Dome. Above it the sky sparkled as Iumenta jumped into the area. In the air hundreds of Iumenta were in flight.

  "Do you think it will start soon?" Sara asked.

  "Impa Domes cast no shadow..." Keither said remembering a text he'd read. The sun was fast setting and the landscape grew darker, the dome let go of none of its brilliance.

  "What?" Sara asked.

  "They say that a Iumenta Dome has no shadow because it glows, and how can something that glows cast a shadow?" He said looking at his wife.

  Never had he felt a sense of awe from the Iumenta, but he did now.

  She looked at him, fearful tears misting her eyes. He moved to comfort her but was stopped by a collective roar from the Elves and Iumenta. His head snapped as the sky filled with artillery fire and magic.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Crimson Horizon

  "Battle, the true test of a warrior, in its tempest we throw ourselves to be tried by death and violence. To the victor songs will be sung, to the vanquished only the memory of history awaits."

  - The Exiled Captain (Author Unknown)

  Thick musty air passed over Legon's scales and armor. The sun was setting casting the landscape in dark blues, the dome standing out, its ivory exterior shining bright and defiant. Legon flew in the lead formation, behind him several hundred Ascended followed him toward similar formations of Iumenta. The air below burst with light as both sides fired siege weapons. Trails of smoke and fire streaked the sky, but Legon didn't pay the scene much attention. Instead he focused on the Iumenta ahead of him, their formations growing ever closer. Somewhere in their mists was the green class eight, Legon could feel him in the area, knew that like the last time they had fought, the green would wait until Legon was tired from battle. But not today, Legon was going to use only the minimum amount of magic, he wasn't going to make the same mistake twice.

  Sydin bellowed a command, and all the Elves shot spells at the Iumenta, all but Legon. He held his power in, weaving out of the path of several on coming spells. The air rent with the sound of wards. The two groups closed on each other. Legon turned his attention from roving the ranks of Ascended to looking at one that was right ahead of him. Legon's lack of focus must have been visible to the dragon as he saw its face move from confidence to concerned. Don't worry you have my full attention Legon thought.

  "Are you focused Legon?" Opes asked.

  Legon responded by roaring and driving himself faster. The dragon ahead of him tensed, eyeing Opes. Legon had spent the last several weeks using the same attacks again and again in preparation for today. The Iumenta assumed that Legon was going to faint and Opes instead was going to attack. The Iumenta angled expecting a faint that didn't come. To late its eyes widened as it realized it indeed was going to have to engage Legon. Legon folded his wings, snapping them against his body. He passed just above the Iumenta, dragging his claws the length of its back. It turned up in the air and Legon curled his tail letting it smack into the Iumenta's neck. Blood sprayed from the dragon’s
open wounds, it lost control. Legon could see in Iselin's mind as she watched Legon pass the dragon. Then right behind him another formation of Elves converged on the dragon killing it. Legon barreled ahead at a new foe.

  * * * * *

  Iselin pulled her attention away from her husband, turning it to the wake of chaos that he caused. Legon's main job was to disrupt the Iumenta formation, something that he seemed to be doing quite well. He was bellowing at the top of his lungs and she could feel a distinct sense of amusement coming from him. The Elvin formations collapsed in on themselves as the Elves used their higher numbers to their advantage. Iselin and Cynta focused in on a yellow class seven, both attacking the disoriented Iumenta. Each bit onto a wing and pulled. The Iumenta screamed in pain. Iselin felt muscle and joint pop as she and Cynta pulled on the dragon like they were playing a game of tug of war. There was a ripping sound of flesh and sinew, the Iumenta dropped from the sky, twisting in agony in the air. Iselin turned looking for another target. Similar events were playing out all over and the Iumenta regrouped watching each other.

  "There goes the end to our easy kills," Cynta noted.

  "We knew that tactic wouldn't work long," Iselin said rejoining her formation.

  The two groups of immortals separated, for the most part allowing large gaps using magic to fight. Iselin jerked in the air avoiding spells from larger dragons, while still sending spells of her own. A dull blue spell popped softly next to her and she felt the air from the right side of her body thin to almost non existence. She tottered, flapping hard to correct. A breaking and cutting spell smacked into her wards. The air cracked as she felt two minds pushing on the spells. One of her wards faltered under the pressure, her chest and front legs burned as they were slashed open. Healing wards sealed the wounds as Iselin righted herself, dogging two more spells. She cast a translucent pink wall in front of her. Iselin was an Energent; she pulled on her minor, altering the wall. When the next spells came at her they passed the wall with ease but faded and slowed. She avoided a breaking spell with ease, letting a freezing spell hit her. She barely felt it on her wards so weakened was it.