“Tell me everything.” He asked calmly for he needed details.
“Very well. You know in the council chambers I keep many items that can be spared and all of are from specialists. Two of the items called for my attention earlier and said that the military has begun their move. An hour later another item that can project an image like an apparition informed me that the forces have sent all one hundred of the Water Guard vessels in Point Lake to the southern banks to ferry half of the forces that they have gathered, into Alluan.” Alex remembered the one Water Guard battleship and knew over a thousand could fit comfortably inside those ships. With a quick calculation he knew roughly a hundred thousand troops headed in this direction as an advanced attack force. For nearly every citizen of this city a Royal Guard warrior came for their head, and that was maybe half of the forces on their way. If such roughly estimated numbers were coming, it was only natural for such tension to fill the expressions of these warriors. “From what I’ve gathered they will reach the city walls in a month and a half’s time, two if we find ourselves lucky.
“We have to escalate our own plans to stand a chance. Luckily the fiends don’t need time to get prepared and at a moment’s notice called all of their forces to meet us here. Time is short, ya?
“This is why I’ve already prepared everyone to meet you out here. I was informed you left this gate and assumed you would return the same way. It looks like I was correct. It wasn’t my original intension to do this so quickly, but events have been put into motion earlier than first estimated. With such staggering numbers knocking on my door I’ve also had to push up my own plans. A part of those plans is asking for your help in training these carefully selected warriors with their partnered fiend. The day before I listened carefully to what you said about the personalities each group has. Yesterday I, Rakkian and other military officials compiled a list of the stationed troops on their personality and personal records. We also picked the most flexible and loyal so that they can adjust and adapt to their new partner. Missives were sent throughout the city and all arrived as ordered. You will help me, ya?”
Alex went silent for a moment to watch all the faces looking expectantly at him. He contemplated what needed to be done in the time they had left, but then he asked “Allahandra, what plans did you have that need to be expedited? What are you planning?”
Her dark eyes scanned the perimeter of the dome and knew that they could speak openly for it wouldn’t be secret for much longer. “In a month’s time we will begin our final campaign to return the lands to peace once again. I am calling all of my allies for aid as we speak and have sent letters throughout Alluan and those loyal to me in other lands as well. We have a month to train these warriors with your own. Will that be enough time?”
“Aye, but they must devote and dedicate just about all of their time if we are to succeed. They must form an unbreakable bond with their partner, one that even exceeds the ties they have to their families and lovers. There cannot be even a crack in the pairing of human and fiends or else misfortune will befall them. They will have to sleep together, eat together, laugh, cry, bicker and anything else it takes to become as close to a single entity as possible.”
“I will, of course, defer to your understanding on this subject, but may I ask why you speak so calmly when our enemy is coming in such numbers?”
This angered Alex and his grey eyes blazed upon her, but his control was so tight that his expression and tone remained calm, but the eyes will never lie. “Allahandra, you must understand our enemy isn’t they Royal Guard.” This gained her personal guards interest more than their duty at the moment. Though they were the only ones to hear it this news would be reinforced throughout all of Freelan in time. “Our only real enemy is Runkamon, not those who have been taught for so many years to blindly follow him. We are here to break the corrupted cycle he has made and set it right once again. Unfortunately his reach has only continued to grow and enough years has passed that very few know or even remember what the lands were like and the taste of freedom. I sure don’t, but the stories I’ve heard gives me hope to see such times come once again. Many will die because of my uncle’s madness and quest for even more power. It is unavoidable, but freedom will require innocent and ignorant blood. Our only choice is to be as swift as possible and limit the causalities both side will undoubtedly make. Never forget who our enemy truly is. Otherwise we will fail in this task.”
Being chastised never came easy to Allahandra and his stinging words reminded her off all that she has lost. Her parents were killed by none other than Runkamon, not the guard. “You are right.” She admitted just loud enough for others to hear. “Having a friend like you I now understand won’t be easy, but I needed that. You have a solid conscience and we all needed to be reminded of that one fact. We have focused so much on our enemy that the lone and tyrannical face has changed from one and became thousands.” Hearing those words made Alex smile and in that smile Allahandra knew she had been forgiven for her careless words.
Calling for a change of subject he asked “So what is the barrier for?”
She smiled and pointed to a lone woman sitting upon a hill a half mile away. Alex’s sharp eyes could see the middle aged woman holding a sphere the size of her head and it glowed a soft white light from within, even in the brightness of the sun. “She has cast this barrier to keep out prying eyes for your time training regimen you will be doing. I took the liberty in assuming that you’d need privacy to train so many at one time. A league is all about she is capable of sustaining. We are sealed from unwanted eyes and ears while she works her item. She can keep the dome up for as long as she is awake so time and scheduling is up to you.”
With that settled he noticed that besides her item case that she and every person had a small pouch on their hip. “What is that?”
She understood immediately and pulled out a glass vial containing a vibrant blue liquid. It looked to only hold a mouthful of the liquid. “I had Takka and Ginger go and find my poison specialists and create a potion to counteract Pikro poison. It took a day to synthesize, but the ingredients are common enough to find. Each and every person here has been given a vial incase of any unforeseen accidents. As we speak, each and every citizen will be given the antitoxin by the week’s end. I’ve also set up precautions, just incase the enemy tries to steal the vial to put a special item-ingredient into it and if the solution goes beyond ten leagues of where my specialist currently is, the solution boils and is rendered useless.” She grinned at her great scheme.
“Good thinking. The last thing we need is the Guard finding a cure quickly enough to be a threat against our forces.”
“Thank you. Can I assume you haven’t eaten yet?”
“What?” Her question was so off topic. “Nay,” He said quickly.
“I will have a meal brought while I speak to my forces. They also need to hear who is coming isn’t our enemy as well.” She added. “While I tell my warriors your request can I have you inform the fiends of the situation?”
“Aye,” With his answer she turned and remounted her mare and trotted off with her forces. When she met up with Rakkian a moment later three men on horseback galloped to the city.
Lily approached Alex and heard every word. They could hear Allahandra speaking on what Alex said about bonding with the fiends. “What do you want me to do? With Crest I mean? I fully realize the situation, but I’m confused on what I can do.”
He smiled at her and it warmed her heart. “Take a break for awhile. I need to fully explain that we only have a month until we have our first battle.”
“Alright, good luck.” She said and went over to speak with the woman to understand how the dome was projected and all the properties it had.
“Shade, call for all fiends to come here.” With a sharp howl the fiends converged around Alex and either sat or laid down on the soft grass. All of their attention was his as he informed them on what he had been told and asked for their help in expediting the bonding proces
s. Ideas were tossed around, but not a single word was upset on the time that they would have had had been cut by months. Eventually an idea was proposed and although not many liked the solution there wasn’t any denying its effectiveness.
By the time the three riders that had been sent to collect enough food to feed Alex and his family returned, he talked over the solution with Allahandra in private and she approved and sent two more men to retrieve the required from storage.
Once the meal had been finished Alex looked to his right and saw all the warriors waiting and to his left stood the eager fiends. Behind him stood the leaders of the fiends and their partners, even Clift and Marlin. He raised his voice to speak to Freelan’s most valued protectors since the fiends and warhorses already knew what he had to say. “Each and every one of you have been handpicked for a task very few will ever have a chance to or will even understand! You will partner with a fiend and by the time I’m done, the two of you will be inseparable! The two of you will become family and will rely upon each other for you will bind together like a Furion and their partners!
“You all know the time constraint we’re faced with and to solve this problem the fiends have all unanimously agreed to a solution! Once you pair up, you will be tethered at all times to your new partner!” This revelation had a mixed effect among them. “The only fiends that won’t be tethered will be the Fury, but their partner will have a matching color bound to their wrist and will have to spend a different quality of time with them! As for those with Pikro I will have you build your immune system up so that you will not need the vials at your hip! I will warn you, it will be a difficult task, but there will be no other way incase your poisoned and forget your vial! Krum and the other Orggian will be there to keep you alive until they aren’t required!
“Since time is short and there is much to do I must ask that all healers come forward!” He then turned to the fiends and asked for all Orggian to do the same. As the two groups came forth and looked at each other he said “What I say will go for every paring today! Healers, spread out a bit and allow the Orggian to move among you! They will only work alongside you because they do not wish to fight, but they are solely here to heal the injured! Don’t say a word until I tell you! Fiends and animals have instincts that will allow them to select their partner with more compatibility than you can possibly understand!”
His voice changed as he told the Orggian to begin finding a worthy candidate. Their reddish hair and glossy shells that covered their back was all that could be seen moving as they moved into the crowd of healers. Soon many of the Orggian stopped moving once they selected and stood beside their choice. Before long all movement stopped and only two healers were left out after all others had their new partner. “Those that don’t have a partner beside them, I’m sorry, but all of them have been taken! Please step off to the side, for now! Should there be any extra fiends after all were selected you will get a partner then!
“Now as to the new parings, a long line of rope is being brought to you. Cut eight feet of length and tie your left wrist with their right. After you are secured to each other move away and pick up your writing gear and get to know your new partner!”
In twenty minutes all healers gained their partner and moved off to learn about one another. Then came the next selection process. “Specialists that have no need for fast travel to use your items, come forth!” While they did that he continued. “You will bond with Pikro for they aren’t very fast, but they will protect you with their poisoned quills and strike your enemies down!” Then he spoke to the Pikro and a wall of green quills came forth. A green orb showed that Angie was also in the ranks to receive a fiend. Soon they too made partners and carefully tied their wrists to the Pikro foreleg. One Pikro remained after the selection and gladly paired up with one of the leftover healers.
“Next is the Fury pairing! All with sight items and those capable of relaying information the swiftest come forth.” Soon partners were made and dyed wraps surrounded the Fury talon and their partner’s wrist. Some of the Fury were small like Ava and stood on their partner’s shoulder while the lords simply stood beside their new human.
“Those with close range weapons and personalities and ideals, like the best defense is an overwhelming offence, come! You will pair with the Grizon! It would be in your best interest to not climb any fiends just yet! I will teach you the proper techniques later.” Soon the Grizon and human pairings were tied together.
“For the final groups I need to separate those with medium to long range weapons over here and close combat over there. The Shadow Fangs and Beran will choose of their volition on who to bond with. They are more picky, but ultimately they will choose right person. Be patient and wait for them to finish.
“I’ve also been told that the horses will carry back only those incapable of riding a fiend.” His silence was the cue to finalize the pairings.
As the fiends moved among their prospects Alex turned to see everyone behind him tethered to their fiend, except Allahandra and Breaker. He was about to ask why they did so, but he quickly figured out that each one of them will train with their warriors to show they are all on the same level. Even Lily tied her wrist to Crest, but Clift and Marlin already had a working system so they passed on tying themselves.
An hour and a half later all fiends had a partner, but eleven selected people were dismissed when the pairings were completed. The extra horses left when they understood their services weren’t required any further.
Now that all found a partner, he had them separate again to have the Pikro, Orggian and their partners in one group and the others remained in another. He gave his reason for they were simple. “Those with Pikro must begin building your immune systems. Unlike with Shadow Fang neurotoxin you can build immunities against your partner. I will show you the safest way to do that, but you must be with the healers at all times for the Orggian are accustomed to treating accidental Pikro poisonings.”
Then he turned to the larger group to say “For the rest of you, your partners are capable of carrying you.” Those with Fury knew they were excluded from this instruction. “Whether you have a lord or not doesn’t matter for each individual are more than capable to carry the weight of three men upon them. Follow my directives carefully and first use your tablets and ask if you may ride them.” All pulled out their instruments and began asking for permission. As a result, many fiends began removing clumps of grass to write in the ground while others bobbed their head in a nod. “Very good, now to mount your partner you must…” he then gave detailed instructions and demonstrations on how to properly find their best riding position. Some were skilled and mounted in a single try while others fell repeatedly. Those that struggled made their partner’s laugh, but to help they lowered themselves or sat down entirely. Lily mounted Crest like the exercise was second nature. Just about every person was unaccustomed to riding bareback, let alone atop their old nightmares, but the fiends had prepared themselves to be patient during this process.
Eventually everyone mounted and to get a better height advantage Alex leapt up and stood with perfect balance on the strong spinal column while Shade walked to make sure all the packs were content and calm. Alex’s balance in standing and a shift in the wind billowed his cape, making his dashing and dangerous presence more profound among those ready and eager to learn. “In time you will learn just about everything there is to know about your partner. With a twitch of an ear you will know when they want to turn or with a muscle shake know you must shift your weight. Know this above all else, they are not horses that can be forced to move to your whim. If you try and force them somewhere they don’t like they might throw you off or do something you’ll regret. You must work together. Some might allow you to make a saddle for them, but while you are under my tutelage you will ride as you are now. The best handhold, should you need it, can be found by firmly grasping the fur between their shoulders. That recess will be your best place to hold by hand, but the only thing you will truly need to
remain mounted is to clamp your legs around their ribs as tightly as you wish. When you can fight with them in open combat, without the use of holding on with your hands, will you be truly ready for any situation.
“Right now I need for everyone to clear your mind and focus solely upon the fiend beneath you. Through your legs, feel how they draw breath and the steady beat of their heart tells you that they are calm and relaxed. Lose yourself in them. Feel their muscles and how they move. Just as you feel them, they feel you. React together. Now listen to their needs and wants without words or thought.” Alex watched how his words took an effect on each and every person. Some closed their eyes while others focused solely down on the partner they were tethered to. Only those incapable of riding looked elsewhere, but mainly they watched as Alex and Shade moved silently through the throng of mounted fiends. General Rakkian sat erect with his eyes closed just as Commander Yort and Quinn watched their new comrades openly. At least they were trying.
When enough time had passed Alex said “Your partner knows how human’s have been accustomed to spurring or kicking a horses ribs into a gallop or canter and understand how useful it is in nonverbal situations. What you must do is gently gain their attention with a soft kick to their ribs. Hold fast for they will begin to move.” Many fiends looked back upon their rider and understood what the gentle prod meant and began moving in a slow walk. Soon the fiends moved as a single unit and none had fallen. Shade picked up speed, but the connections with his brother allowed them to move effortlessly while allowing Alex to remain standing so he could oversee everyone. “Feel how they move to predict what they will do next. Breathe as they do and shift your weight at the same moment they do. Be not afraid for I will have them turn so you will understand.” He then roared and all of the fiends slowly turned in different directions. Good none fell again. He thought. “Alright for the remainder of the day I want all of you to keep riding and walking. Use your tablets to make solutions with your fiends to quicken any gestures to understand the commands growing between the two of you.”
Furion's Trials (Book Two of the Items Trilogy) Page 49