by Andy Holland
Noah smiled. "We can assume many forms, Prince. Blue Dragons don't generally attack each other."
Gerald's eyes widened in realisation. "I'm glad you didn’t take that form in your demonstration. The crowd might have turned on you."
Noah nodded. "My thoughts exactly."
"Gerald," Daisy began. "We've been travelling for days now. Are you really going to make everyone wait around in this square all day?"
Gerald laughed. "Not at all, little sister." He clapped his hands and two servants ran up to him. "Arrange accommodation for our guests; and refreshments. Make sure they are kept safe and if anyone questions their being here, ensure it is understood that they are under my protection. Have my brother and sisters' things taken to my home and a meal prepared for them."
Noah frowned. "Your hospitality is very welcome, but shouldn't we be concentrating on planning the defence of your city? An attack could happen at any moment."
Gerald shook his head. "Not at night, but you are right, it is our priority." He turned to a tall young man behind him. "Captain, alert the members of the Council. Let them know that my brother and sister have arrived with their guests and news of the Browns, and intelligence on the army of the Blue Dragons."
"Of course, your Highness. It will be done at once." The young man bowed before scurrying away.
"There, it shall be all arranged shortly," Gerald declared. "You needn't worry about a thing. My men will guard you here in this square until suitable accommodation can be found, and I'll leave you in the capable hands of my good friend, James."
James sauntered over and extended his open hand to Mark. "Pleased to meet you; you are very welcome here. Hi, Daisy. Welcome back."
"Gerald, I should go home," Crystal said. "My parents will be worried."
Gerald nodded. "Yes, I think that's a bit of an understatement. I'd suggest that you go home immediately. You have just a couple of minutes of light left if you want to fly."
"I can carry you if you wish," Levi offered.
Crystal shook her head. "I'm not sure if that's the best way for me to arrive. Thank you for the offer. Coming, Jenna?"
Jenna glanced at Arthur, who looked away indifferently. "I guess so. What happens next?"
"Don't worry, Jenna. Crystal's father will keep you both informed, I'm sure," Gerald replied.
Jenna shrugged, still watching Arthur. "Maybe. I'll see you all soon?"
"You will," Daisy replied brightly.
"I'd better go as well," Seth added. "I'll call on you later, if I'm ever allowed out again."
Crystal and Jenna turned away from the group and headed home. She heard Gerard speak to the twins as she walked away.
"Right, you two. You have a lot of explaining to do…."
Chapter 27 - Under siege
Noah had been summoned to the cavernous chambers of the Military Council in the heart of the palace, where Prince Henry and the rest of the Military Council were gathered. He understood that his presence there was due to Prince Gerald and Crystal's father, Lord Robert, who had insisted that the Council meet them. He had brought just four of the other captains with him; Jude, who led the scouts, Micah, his second-in-command, Jered, an exceptional strategist and fellow veteran from the Banshee wars and Mark, who had quickly formed a strong bond with the young prince from the Western Principality, Prince Gerald, who could prove to be a valuable ally. The Commander of the Capital Army and heir to the throne, Prince Henry, started the proceedings. Noah understood that his father never attended these meetings and was largely irrelevant.
"We've invited you here to discuss our plans for defending Furnace," the Prince began. "Naturally, we've already had in place plans for defending our capital for many years, which we've perfected over time, but now that you are here, we'll need to see how you can fit into these plans."
Noah nodded soberly. "I'm afraid to say that the first thing you should do with those plans is to burn them and start all over again."
Prince Henry laughed mockingly, looking down his nose at Noah. "Perhaps you aren't aware of the size of our forces here. Even without the reinforcements from the fallen cities, your troops hardly adds anything to our numbers and your arrival hardly warrants a complete rewrite of our plans. I must admit, I'm at a loss to why we're even bothering discussing this with you." There were murmurs of agreement throughout the room.
Noah knew that Prince Henry wouldn't welcome their presence from his discussions with Gerald and had expected this response. "Your plans would need rewriting even if we were not here. I understand that a spy stole a number of your documents and yet your plans remain unchanged. How can you be sure that doesn't include your defence plans for Furnace? After all, look how easily your other cities fell."
There was silence for a moment before Lord Daniel spoke up. "It is true; our cities did fall very quickly. We've put that down to overwhelming forces, but knowing the defence plans would have helped them enormously."
"But those plans were developed over years," Lord Jeremy argued. "They can't just be rewritten overnight. The process is long and slow. You know this, Lord Daniel."
"The Blue Dragons will not wait for you to rewrite your plans," Noah replied. "Change your process or face defeat. You have to act, and act now."
"Easier said than done," Lord Robert replied. "We work by consensus and it's hard to reach on many subjects. Individual states have the power to develop their own plans, but Furnace's plan is part of the National plan and is decided by this Council. Even minor changes take weeks."
"You don't have weeks or even days," Mark pointed out. "Nominate a single person who owns the plan and remove the need to obtain a consensus."
"Impossible," Prince Henry replied stubbornly. "I cannot agree to hand over my decision making role in this matter to anyone."
Mark gasped in disbelief. "You'd choose your pride over the lives of your people, over your own life?"
Prince Henry's eyes narrowed, glaring at Mark. "Be careful how you address me, young man; I am heir to the throne here and could have you hung for a remark like that."
Mark reddened with anger. "You dare to threaten an invited guest and ally? Are you so short of enemies that—"
"Enough, Mark," Noah interrupted. "We will let that threat pass... for the moment. If you refuse to let anyone else take sole responsibility for your plans, I nominate Prince Henry to own the plan. Time to step up and show that you can lead."
Lord Thorne shook his head. "Did you not hear what he just said? He doesn't see the need to change the plan or to include you in it. With all respect, your Highness, giving you responsibility over this would be signing our lives away. Besides, I do share Prince Henry's doubts regarding what difference you can make."
Prince Gerald stood up to intervene. "I called the Council together here and to be fair to the members, I had my doubts when I first met the Golden Dragons last night. I think the Council members would benefit from a demonstration."
Prince Henry shrugged. "I'm not sure what they could possibly demonstrate that could convince me that a hundred small dragons could make any difference in this war. But go ahead, if you insist."
"Noah, this a large room," Micah said. "Perhaps we could clear some space to show him how small we really are."
Noah smiled and nodded. "Gentlemen, may we move these tables and chairs? Captain Mark, please demonstrate more of what we can do."
The Golden Dragons rose to their feet and took their chairs to the side of the great hall before lifting one of the great tables and carrying it to the side of the room.
"What are you doing?" Lord Oscar whined, staring haughtily at the Golden Dragons. "This isn't some common town hall."
"Trust him," Prince Gerald replied calmly. "You will want to see this." He clapped his hands and called for two of his servants to help them make some space. Mark waited for them to clear a large enough space before beginning his transformation. Noah didn't have to tell him what form to take; there was only one dragon that they needed to show them: t
he giant Teradon. Few if any of the Council members had ever even heard of the now long-extinct Teradons and none were unaware that a dragon could be so large, or that the Golden Dragons could take other forms. The room was filled with gasps of shock and surprise as Mark slowly grew, becoming larger and larger until he was able to stretch out his long neck to reach the top of the ceiling. Fully transformed, he towered over the Council members, tiny in comparison to him. He lowered his head till his eyes were on the same level as the Council members and stared menacingly at Prince Henry, who drew back in surprise and shock.
"Who were you threatening with hanging, your Highness?" Lord Daniel joked nervously.
"Yes, about that threat," Noah said coldly. "We are not your enemies, but we are not your subjects either. I think you can see how we will be able to help protect your city and believe me, you will need our help. Disrespect any of our people like that again and you will face the invaders on your own. Do I make myself absolutely clear?"
Prince Henry had turned white and just nodded feebly.
Noah looked around the table. "Have we convinced you all, I wonder…." He turned to the other captains. "Let's show them what we can do. Upon my command, Micah, Rhino, Jude, Red and Jered, Rock. Transform!"
In a flash the other three captains transformed, leaving their audience dumbstruck at the array of dragons before them. "We can take the form of any dragon we have encountered," Noah declared proudly. "We can choose to be the fastest, the strongest, the smallest, dragons with special skills, or, as you see from Jude, who has taken your form, just choose to pass by unnoticed. Do I need to explain to you how useful this ability is?"
"You could turn into a Blue Dragon?" Lord Daniel asked quietly.
"And pass through their lands and fly over their armies without being challenged," Noah replied. "How do you think we returned your children to you safely?"
Lord Thorne regarded him sourly. "What's to stop you using these skills against us? Turning on us and laying our cities to waste?"
Noah shrugged. "We could do that—it's within our power—but we are not like you or the Blues and this is not our way. We've known about you for thousands of years and had the means to attack you for all of that time, but we haven't done so. There are those of us who have been sorely tempted to do so when you've been butchering your neighbours, trying to wipe out races as the Blues are trying to do to you. But our laws do not allow us to attack other races and we can fight only in defence, or in this case, in defending an ally if that ally hasn't started the conflict."
"Fine words," Lord Thorne commented, "but why should we trust you? We know nothing of you."
Noah turned to the other captains. "Transform back and join us at the table." He waited until they were seated at the table again. "Look around you. You are this nation's military leaders and Mark alone could have destroyed you all in seconds. If we had any intent of aggression, that would have been our moment to destabilise this whole nation, but instead, we're sitting back at your table ready to start planning how to keep you alive."
Lord Daniel banged his hand on the table. "How much more time do we need to waste discussing this? We're sitting in committees while the Blues occupy our cities and prepare to attack us. It's clear that these Golden Dragons can not only help us, but tip the balance in our favour. Is there anyone here who still doubts this?"
The room remained silent for a moment after his outburst. "Even if we are agreed on that point," Lord Oscar began, "there still remains the question of how to agree changes to the plan—"
"Forget the damn rules!" Prince Gerald exclaimed. "We can't fight a war by committee. This is the capital—Prince Henry should lead us here. One person, to agree the final plan, advised by just the commanders, military intelligence and the Golden Dragons."
Lord Thorne spluttered indignantly. "Outrageous, your Majesty. The noble houses have always played a part in developing and financing the national defence plan. We could never agree handing over that duty to such a restricted group."
Lord Daniel spoke up. "If I recall correctly, only the commanders have voting rights, so we don't need your permission to change this arrangement, Lord Thorne."
For a brief moment, no one spoke and Lord Thorne regarded Lord Daniel icily. Lord Robert had explained this rule to Noah, although the commanders could invoke this rule they never did as the nobles provided all of their funding and many of the units of the army were aligned more closely with the individual houses than the principalities and their commanders. Lord Thorne was particularly powerful and antagonising him was unwise.
"A temporary arrangement," Lord Robert suggested, quickly acting to defuse the tension. "Till the war is over. All commanders in favour?"
Four hands were raised (Lord Lance being absent). Lord Thorne looked furious and was about to speak when Prince Gerald stood up to speak.
"Excellent. An undesirable but necessary action. I suggest that we end this session so that the commanders and our guests can start work immediately."
There was much grumbling as the Council members rose from their seats to leave the room. Prince Gerald turned to whisper to Noah and Mark before he left.
"That was decided surprisingly quickly. It's rare that the commanders agree on anything. Good luck, I'm afraid I have to leave as well as I've sort of talked my way out of this next bit. If you need anything, just send for me and I'll be at your service." Prince Gerald followed the rest of them out of the room.
Noah waited till the door closed behind him before standing up and addressing the room. "Now, let's discuss your new plans. There's been no sight of the Blues so far yet so I think it's safe to say they won't be launching an invasion today, but let's assume the worst and say that they attack tomorrow. This is what I propose…."
***
Prince Gerald had to wait till late in the afternoon before he heard anything further from the commanders and the Golden Dragons. A stream of messages had been sent out of the room through the afternoon but none had been for him and he started to become impatient. He rushed over to meet Mark and the others when they finally left the room.
"What's the plan?" he asked urgently. "Has everything been agreed?"
Mark nodded before launching into a detailed explanation of the plan that had been agreed with the commanders. Prince Gerald listened intently throughout.
"I like it," he commented, mulling it over. "Quite risky, but I like it. I will speak to Prince Henry and let him know that I intend to lead the troops."
"Is that wise?" Micah asked. "I don't mean to be rude, but aren't there more experienced leaders?"
Gerald laughed. "Plenty, but few that would be willing. Only those of noble birth can lead the troops and you'd be surprised how few are willing to do it. With a plan like this the number will be even smaller. But I won't ignore my duties. They won't mock the West after this battle."
Noah clapped Gerald on the back. "I have no doubt you are correct, your Highness. Come, let us begin the preparations."
***
The following morning, just before dawn, General Perak looked down upon several thousand Blue Dragons that had gathered together on top of several hills just to the south of Obud. He turned to address the flight leaders and squadron leaders waiting in front of him.
"Stay low," he urged them. "You are my fastest troops and will be starting out a long way ahead of Farak's dragons so you'll reach your targets long before the main force. These towers are used to sound the warning in the event of an invasion so it’s imperative that you reach them unnoticed and silence them before they sound the warning. Take the utmost care to ensure you are not seen. I've trained you for months at doing this on two legs; now you'll need to do this as dragons. Just destroy each bell tower and then your work for the day will be complete. You are not required for the actual attack. I don't really care if you feel you're missing out on this battle; just do your job."
Perak was no longer the commander of these troops, having handed them over to his protégé Wing Commander E
ric, who stood silently beside him. If he objected to the General doing his job for him, he didn't show it in the slightest, standing obediently to attention.
"What about those manning the towers?" one of the men asked. "Should we try and eliminate them all?"
Perak shook his head. "They're irrelevant. They'll be buried deep underground and you'll waste too much time getting to them. No, when you reach a target, just destroy the warning bell and then fly on and find the next bell tower. You have all memorised the locations?"
The men all answered in the affirmative.
"Good," Perak replied. He looked to the east. "It will be light soon. Transform and depart as soon as you can. The masses will follow soon after so you won't have as long as you might think. Each tower must be destroyed quickly." He straightened up to salute the men. "Good luck and serve me well. I will see you all at the victory celebrations!"
***
"Are all the troops ready, Captain?" Noah asked Mark. The young man was sitting in one of the tents erected in the town square and had been up for some time.
He shrugged nonchalantly. "Ours are, but who can say about the Reds. Most of them should have been sleeping at the top of those volcanoes, not relaxing in their comfortable beds."
"Be thankful they listened at all," Noah replied. "Think of our own leaders and how they would respond in a situation like this."
"What about our scouts?" Mark asked. "Have they been sent out?"
Noah nodded. "Of course, Jude and his dragons left yesterday evening and they are camped out all over the kingdom. They'll be in the air as soon as it is light."
Mark paused. "You should really be staying out of the fighting, you know. They need one of us in that war room. Their commanders have no idea what they're doing. They should have been embarrassed by that meeting yesterday."
Noah shook his head. "They need me more out there. Besides, they're better at this than you realise. They've been fighting these Blue Dragons for thousands of years."
"So had the Green Dragons," Mark replied. "That didn't save them."