by Shelley Cass
He lifted his head to look down at me. “Kiana, do you think, if the Jenrans vote in our favour, that we truly stand a chance?”
“I think,” I replied honestly. “That if this vote passes and Jenra joins us in war, then we may at least survive. But if we are able to gain the aid of the rest of the magical races as well, we might even win.”
My head rose and fell with his chest as he let out a big pent up breath.
“That would mean you leaving us.”
“For a while,” I agreed.
Dalin dutifully rolled over and closed his eyes then so that I could rise and ready myself for the day.
When we had eaten together I joined him as he returned to his own room, where we found Noal looking stricken to have bidden Maeve goodbye once more. I patted his golden hair down reassuringly before we headed out to follow Warlord Aeron back down the mountain, back to the glorious coast, and into the dark caves.
Again Durna and his Council were awaiting us and we were seated as Durna distributed two stones to each member of the Council.
“Today,” Durna began the ceremony, “I call upon all Council members to cast their vote on behalf of Jenra. Your vote must reflect the course of action that you feel best serves our people. There will be no judgement or shame in any choice that you make in serving your country. You must place either a red or blue stone upon the table, red being a vote for war and blue being a vote against it, and the majority will decide the vote. The final outcome is to be accepted without question, but if somehow there are six stones for and six stones against war, my thirteenth stone will decide it.”
The King paced to his seat. “Warlord and Council member Aeron, on behalf of the officers and soldiers you represent, I call on you to cast your vote.”
Warlord Aeron stood before his brother and King, and lifted his hand to show a red stone sitting upon his palm.
“I vote we join the war,” he stated in his gruff, low voice. “The army is fit and driven to end any darkness that threatens their land. They know that the Three have been sent to us by the Gods, to lead us in a march to battle. The Unicorns told us of their coming, of their pure cause. The Three’s path is Jenra’s path.” He leaned over and firmly set his red stone down. With a bow to his King and then to us, he was then seated.
Dalin and Noal sat beside me with straight postures and Thale was tugging at his beard as he nervously watched from the background with Phobos, Vulcan and Thorin.
My heart was throbbing as five more members, each representing different sectors of Jenran society, all set their red stones beside Aeron’s. But inevitably one older Council member eventually held up a blue stone.
“War is havoc and misery,” he said. “Apart from depleting resources, straining production and straining the economy, war would mean shattered lives for families left behind and death for those that go.”
The next man held up a blue stone as well.
“I also say no to war,” the Council member announced. “So far Darziates has not turned his eye to us. He has left us alone even after troubling Razek and Glaidin. Perhaps we are removed enough that he will continue to leave us alone, and so we need not risk the survival of Jenra in Awyalkna’s war. But, if he doesn’t, Jenra is safe in the mountains. We can defend from the upper ground against any siege.”
I kept my face blank as my mind argued that the upper ground would be fine against mortal armies, yet useless against a Sorcerer and a Witch.
The following Council member rose, showing no expression as to which way he would decide.
“I,” he said slowly. “Vote for the war.” He held up his red stone. “We must do our part in the War for the World, for everyone’s survival, including ours. We have an army for this exact purpose. They are fine fighters after a lifetime locked in battle with the Griffins. They are ready, and they understand the risks. We must follow the Three, for they are this world’s best chance.” His red stone joined the others.
I remained outwardly calm as I watched the last voters all place their red stones down on the rock table.
Then Durna stood again. “It is hardly necessary for me to add my vote. But as it is,” he held up a red stone also and positioned it in its place. “We will aid Glaidin and the world against the threat. Jenra has never cowered in hopes that danger will pass before. And we will not cower from darkness now. We will follow the Three.”
With that Aeron stood as well. “Then I pledge the army to this cause.”
The man beside him also stood, and pledged for the merchants and farmers he represented.
One by one each of them stood and pledged for those they represented. Even those who had voted against joining the war pledged without any hesitation until finally Durna announced: “and I, as King, pledge the entirety of Jenra as a united whole to this cause.”
“So let it be,” each of them intoned simultaneously, and with their words our original Quest was fulfilled.
“Jenra will be going to war,” said Durna, looking neither pleased, nor upset. “Tomorrow the drums will sound and I will announce the decision. After tomorrow, we prepare.”
Chapter Seventy Three
Noal
The Council disbanded quickly so that each leader could start their preparations before the entire population was informed. The day was still young for us, however, and Aeron left us in the hands of a young peasant man only too glad to stop work for the day to show us around.
Our escort’s name was Gern and he thought it would be a good idea to begin on the ground level, back in the bustling village complex, as he wanted to take us through the water feature areas and to homes of the villagers while the market was quiet with everyone out in the valley working.
Yet we’d barely greeted the few people milling in the markets, before everyone working outside or inside the gates seemed to have heard of our presence. Soon it felt as if every farmer, blacksmith and washerwoman had stopped work to come and meet us.
Gern was deeply distressed as a horde halted our progress, but Kiana graciously waved at people who were calling out to her and who were craning for her attention while Dalin and I shook hands with a few wide-eyed farmers.
After a while the excited crowds stopped pressing in and we were able to be drawn excitedly from one place to the next with a growing mob gathering behind us. Only at one point did an elderly woman manage to truly get close to Dalin, past our Krall guards.
He had rolled up his sleeves with the heat of so many people pressing in, and the beginnings of the gash scars on his arm were visible.
“Well met,” she told Dalin in Aolen. Then the woman grasped his scarred bicep and turned to the rest of the yearning crowd, declaring in Jenran: “Lo Raiden ge e gendaren. Ro des hund ni vo lo fatalem a lo Scaren!”
The crowd cheered rapturously and she bowed respectfully to Dalin before returning back into the swells of people.
Dalin looked faintly bewildered, but managed to keep up his smile. “What did she say?” he asked Kiana out of the corner of his mouth.
Kiana smiled slightly in return. “She said, with incredible confidence: the Raiden is a warrior. He will lead us to the downfall of the Sorcerer.”
Many of the people around us already appeared confident to switch in and out of using Jenran and Aolen after Kiana’s gift to Durna had spread. The ability to use the new language seemed to have passed throughout the nation like wild fire, and many voices continued to ring around us until, at last, after being shown a multitude of different homes, shops and features of the market and village area, we began to lose some of our followers as we moved to explore the next level.
“There are so many people!” I exclaimed tiredly as we climbed the sloping walkway. “It seems as if Jenra has a bigger population than Awyalkna!”
Then we stepped out onto the second floor and realised that the population of this area had heard we were coming, and were now all rushing to meet us too.
“No,” Kiana told me as I gaped ahead. “It’s just that Awyalkna is spread out. Here the
whole population is condensed into one place, as big as this place may be.” Her voice was nearly drowned out by the onrushing masses, all vying for attention.
“Either way, we are at risk of dying under a pile of adoring fans before we ever get to the frontlines,” Phobos asserted dryly.
Gern was obviously frustrated that his tour was being ruined, and as we proceeded onward we could hardly hear his informative details while he made grand gestures towards buildings or historical monuments. He finally conceded defeat and was placated when a tavern keeper offered us ale and lunch so that we could sit to meet people less formally.
In that way people swelled in and out cheerfully and Gern was pacified with enough ale to get a loud drinking song going so that it started to sound like everyone on the level was making vaguely musical roaring sounds.
It was late in the afternoon when we eventually left the crowds behind as they cried out in Aolen for us to visit again. And we were in good spirits as we ascended to our own rooms for the evening meal. Just in time for Maeve to arrive.
Chapter Seventy Four
Kiana
I rolled over to face the side of the bed where Dalin had laid that morning, and found my thoughts lingering on him until at last I threw the covers off and padded out of bed to where my packs rested in the corner of the room.
I pulled my own travel trousers, shirt, tunic and boots out, dressing quickly and sliding my hunting knives into my boots.
Then I took a deep breath, and ran at the open doors, leaping over the balcony railing to plunge in a free fall down the mountain.
I was exhilarated by the drop and allowed myself to hurtle for a few moments before I let my wings burst out and catch me. I flipped to face the cliff wall, braced my legs, and kicked away from the mountain so that I tore through the whistling air like an arrow.
I was dashing across the plains so fleetly that the grass rushing by below was nothing but a dark blur, but I pushed my wings to sear through the air faster so that I could hear them whirring close by my ears, just silvery glints of colour as they flashed with action.
Testing myself, I suddenly jerked to a stop and, quicker than the reflex of blinking, my wings had caught me in mid-air.
I launched back into flight, soaring higher and higher while noticing that somehow my eyes weren’t streaming with the stinging air and my flesh wasn’t stinging with the chill of the wind. My body seemed to have made adjustments to enable flight, and I whirled through the air in delight, calling to a tree full of curious birds as I passed and hearing their returning chirps of joy.
I only sobered when I realised how close I was getting to the watchtowers and, with a swift sweep, barely a moment later I was landing on the ledge of one watchtower.
I crouched in front of the five startled archers on duty so as not to lose my balance with the wind.
“Well met friends,” I said politely.
It took a few moments before one of them was able to bumble a greeting out.
“Is everything alright, One?” the archer asked uncertainly, eyes wide.
“All is well,” I reassured them. “I have decided to practice the art of flight while the skies are clear and was hoping that you could pass word along so that your archers do not mistake me for a Griffin.”
They all visibly paled at the thought of firing on me.
“Th-Thank you for the warning, One,” a guard stuttered.
“Thank you for ensuring that I won’t have to dodge arrows,” I smiled in return. “Carry on your fine work guarding Jenra while she sleeps.”
Then I plunged off the ledge and let my wings carry me over the glorious landscape, until I was close to the beach. Then I simply let myself drift down to where only a thin strip of sparkling sand remained with the risen tide.
I sat for a time on the cool, soft sand and watched the waves surging and glimmering in the silvery light, swashing forward and washing back away.
Soon I would need to cross those dark, surging expanses of water, I considered. Soon I would be truly tested.
Chapter Seventy Five
Noal
I dreamed of a cave where stalagmites and stalactites rose and fell from ceilings and floors like works of art. I dreamed of a picture in that cave where I was not part of the Three’s Quest, but was living a golden fantasy – settling down in Jenra as a happy farmer, or even as an Awyalknian ambassador. With Maeve.
Startled by some noise that was not part of this unattainable dream world, I opened my eyes and stared about the bedroom, which was lightening with the coming of morning.
Dalin was already sitting up in bed, gaping with wonder too. For Kiana had opened the doors to our balcony with a soft push of magic, sending her power swirling about our room like an enchanted breeze, and now she swept gracefully down to stand in the open doorway.
The silk drapes stirred against the walls, the light material floating about her as if she was appearing to us out of another dream. And as I blinked a swarm of overjoyed birds burst in to circle her form in a mini whirlwind before bustling back out of the room to return to their own play.
“Kiana,” Dalin gasped, peering at her face. His voice trailed off as we both noticed how changed her features seemed while she gazed back at us.
She looked exotic and wild. Her flashing blue and gold flecked eyes had become somehow sharper and fiercer, like the eyes of a bird of prey. Her wings were translucent silver, yet were longer than I’d ever seen them, ready to slice through the air, and possibly other things too, at great speed. But as we watched, Kiana put a hand to her chest and winced, as if things were changing inside too. Then the pupils of her eyes slowly shrank back to normal, her wings disappeared and she was standing before us like normal. All traces of the wild Larnaeradee hiding once more.
“Good morning,” she told us with the glimmer of her smile.
“Were you flying all night?” Dalin asked, still shocked and mussed up in bed. “You looked …”
“I was. And the native Jenran rinx birds already pointed out the illogical physical changes my body undergoes to keep me airborne,” she answered. “My lungs altered so I could breathe the thin air, my eyes sharpened for greater sight and against the wind. Even my heart worked harder to keep my blood warm.” Kiana came to sit on the end of Dalin’s bed. “The rinx birds were impressed that magic allowed me to keep my body mass in the air without tiring, when their entire anatomy is developed to help them do as much. But without my earth stone channelling Nature’s power, it would not be possible.”
“You’re a wonder Kiana,” I told her in amazement.
“Yes,” she smiled again and stood. “And you’re going to run late so it is fortunate I woke you.”
I tensed. “What do you mean? Maeve normally wouldn’t be here for a long while.”
“Today isn't a normal day,” Kiana reminded us. “The whole City is already awake and abuzz. Everyone has risen early to hear the announcement. Many people are already beginning to line the outer walkways on the valley side so that they are able to see King Durna while he speaks. The drums to summon everyone will soon be starting.”
“Oh Gods!” I exclaimed. “I haven't bathed or shaved!” I hurried out of bed at once.
Chapter Seventy Six
Dalin
The mountain shuddered and reverberated with the colossal sound, and it felt as if my pulse had changed to beat along with the tune of the drums from the sheer force of them. The drums had the strength to overpower even the rhythm of my own body.
But as soon as we had stepped out onto the walkway of the gates into the blinding sun the drums stopped, and over the ringing in my ears I heard the great uproar of the gathered crowds begin.
I felt miniscule as we squinted up at the sight of the entire Jenran population filling every open space throughout the City, and their waves of sound surged down the mountain to greet the grim faced King Durna as he stepped out into the light with us.
After taking the golden horn presented to him once again, Durna
turned to speak to his people, and in an almost instant, dramatic change – all of Jenra stopped to listen to his magically amplified voice.
“The Three have come to give us hope and direction against the Sorcerer’s threat. But amidst the joy and wonder of this there also exists a great burden. For Jenra has had to decide if she shall join the long awaited Three in their Quest against the darkness.”
Even the crowds gathered so high above that I could only make out the blurred colours of their clothes were still, though surely his voice only carried up to them as a faint whisper.
“The Three have now spoken with your representatives, and we have considered and voted. So now I stand before you to make known the choice of your Council.”
He looked at the thousands before him, all waiting in suspense, and he had the weight of having chosen the fate of his people written upon his brow.
“Jenra is going to war,” King Durna declared. “We will join in the fight against Darziates to rid this world of the evil he has spread, and the threat he poses to our land.”
There was a barrage of noise with the sudden release of many voices intermingling and lapping over each other, but when Durna gestured for quiet it again came almost instantly.
“Now,” he called, “is the time for preparation. While we have long bolstered our own City defences in the face of this threat, and have done much to organise ourselves already, we must further prepare for many of us to leave to join Awyalkna in their march through Krall. And we must do it within fourteen days.”
Now the people’s voices rose in earnest, this time a little higher and more urgently.
Two weeks was a very short amount of time to finish readying a whole nation for war, even if it was one that they’d foreseen. It took a few moments longer for the public to quieten before Durna spoke again this time.
“Our ranks of healers and the army itself are strong and ready. But any citizen who wishes to join their comrades in protecting Jenra must enlist with Warlord Aeron’s or Lady Amarantha’s assistants. Families to remain behind must ready themselves to farewell their loved ones. But we all have extra work ahead to ensure our people are armed, stocked and as safe as possible, whether they are staying in the mountains or marching away from them. Much is to be done, and much is to be gained if we prepare properly. Take the time given to you and use it in service of your nation.”