by RG Long
Headmistress Cactus sniffed at this.
“Your airships would be nothing without my speakers,” she said.
“And our nation will be nothing without a king,” Commander Polk said back, allowing his voice to rise enough to echo throughout the chamber. “Let us avenge him by weeding out the rebels and showing the Court of Three that we are strong.”
Headmistress Cactus lifted up her hands and gently raised the body of the king. The soldiers who had been dressing him moved away somberly.
As they left the tower, Commander Polk’s heart filled with three separate fires. One for vengeance. Another for destroying the last remnants of the rebellion. And the last and most intense, for defeating the Court of Three.
4: Advisors
Governor Thamund looked out the window of the tower. This was the highest point within the capital. It afforded him a great distance of sight to the surrounding area of Severn. Unfortunately, the view was not pleasant. Despite the pleasant appearance of a spring morning upon the rolling hills of Severn, there arose in the distance a great cloud of dust that threatened to blot out the suns. One formed by the army of dwarves that was marching towards their capital.
The dwarves of Taystone had come to besiege the city. They had not come in small numbers but rather, from what Thamund could tell from this distance, they had come with the entirety of their armed forces.
Thamund knew the dwarves wanted to control more of their mines to the west and were bitter about their defeat at Severn previously, but he had no idea the grudges they had held would provoke them to war. He had been convinced that his predecessor had been able to convince the dwarves that war was unnecessary.
But now he understood much more what they intended to do.
After Lady Veronica of Verit had revealed that the dwarves were intent on invading LeGrove through Severn, Thamund had spent every last moment preparing for this invasion. The dwarves believed that the elves of LeGrove had decimated one of their cities. They were marching towards war with them now. Since Taystone was close to the Court of Three, Thamund was sure they had made some type of agreement with the strange nation. If the dwarves and elves fought against each other, the kingdom of Severn would serve only as a battleground. His own people would suffer for this action more than either elven or dwarven nation.
He did not know what words he would use to stop the dwarves from their war lust, but Thamund knew he had to try. He looked behind him and saw two people he trusted. The first was a rather strong, bulky woman. Andrena Surefit. She was a general who had served his predecessor and knew that the war with the dwarves had been a dreadful one. She had been a soldier in the ranks during the War of the Hammers. Now she was a seasoned general who knew the cost of a life. Her short black hair and lined face showed that she had seen more than just battles. She had seen death. But beyond that, she had seen victory as well. Thamund was trusting she would help him here.
And then there was Thymont Freemon. A younger, short man with blonde hair and a frail frame. He had spent his life studying the wars of Redact and the countries who had fought them. He was young, but he was intelligent.
The two advisors looked at Thamund with determination in their eyes. He was thankful for them in this troubled time. Andrena had been there for Vyncent. Thymont had helped him navigate the turbulent waters of Seron in his earlier campaigns. They were good companions to have.
"The dwarves are coming as you said they would," Thymont said in his squeaky voice. "The War of the Hammers is doomed to repeat itself."
"Not if we can stop it. Here. Today," Thamund replied.
"We don't have the numbers," Andrena said in her deep, short tone.
"Ride with me," he said to Andreana and Thymont who were standing behind him. "We have to speak with the dwarves."
In less than an hour’s time, Thamund was riding out to greet the army of dwarves, not with an army of his own, but instead with one general, one advisor, and one soldier who carried the flag of Severn on top of a white flag of truce.
He was familiar enough with the weapons of the shorter race to know that they could easily wipe his messengers and him out with a blast of one of their rimstone cannons. A small part of him hoped his country would righteously avenge his death if the need arose. But a larger part of him prayed that they had not yet decided that four representatives on horses were a threat worth neutralizing.
A long, low horn sound came from within the ranks of the dwarves. As one, the marching army halted. Out of their ranks came a dwarf with a long braided beard who rode on what Thamund assumed was some creature of the deep. It looked to him like a large dragon without wings. The creature had scales and the head of one of the fabled creatures. It also had huge arms and legs that it crawled upon. How he had missed this in riding up to the army, he didn't know.
His horse stamped the ground nervously, and Thamund padded its neck, feeling uneasy himself. The dwarf stopped his mount a stone's throw away from them. There was no need to caution. Thamund knew the dwarf's mount could easily devour them and their horses if it was allowed to.
"I am Governor Thamund of Severn," he said with as much authority as he could, attempting not to let his voice quick with fear. He was almost successful.
"Why do you march your armies through our country? What has provoked you down this path?"
The dwarf that rode the giant lizard looked down on Thamund. He was much higher up than the governor was on his horse. Even from this vantage point, Thamund could tell that this king was not going to give them a reason to stop his army. No skill of tongue or treaty would turn him back. He was a dwarven king of old who held grudges longer than Thamund had lived.
"One of my cities still smolders from the fires of an elven attack," he said with a deep voice. "I am Byrd. King of the dwarves. My brother fell in that attack. I seek vengeance on the elves. Though our two nations have been at war before, this war does not concern you, human. Step aside and allow us to march on."
Governor Thamund had known that such a command would be given. He had known when he heard lady Veronica tell him that the dwarves planned to attack the elves. He knew that his country was not yet fully recovered from the last war they have fought with the dwarves and that they were vulnerable. He knew that more than anything, they needed peace.
But he also knew what his predecessor would have done against such an unprovoked show of military force and how he would have responded if he was put in the same situation.
Governor Thamund sat up as tall as he could on his horse and forced himself to look the dwarf straight in the eyes as he answered the King's command.
"No."
5: Judge and General
Commander Sefen stood on the runes of fort Rerial had placed by the Gift of Laurels. Dust still hovered in the air from its decimation. It had been reduced to rubble within a day thanks to his speakers.
The pitiful resistance that Rerialhad given them was smashed and defeated amongst the stones. Sefen had little time to mourn the deaths of the soldier's bodies he stood upon. There was a war to fight.
More and more Court of Three soldiers were marching to join up with the first army that had come through. A few thousand had invaded Rerial. Several more would come behind these first reinforcements with supplies and fresh soldiers.
Commander Sefen smiled at the sight of the regiments marching to them. Several Court of Three ships were docked just off the shore. These would ferry the warriors wherever they were needed. He had planned it out meticulously. War was where he excelled.
He walked over to where some of his speakers had arranged the fallen stones into a passable map for Rerial. The Court of Three had a strategy for overtaking the country with its fleet of airships.
Commander Sefen cared little for the strategy of other generals. He was innately good at sending his troops into any fray. He needed only to know what the other fools who were beneath him planned to do so that he could act accordingly.
He looked down at the representation
of the landscape and pursed his lips.
"What do you think, Commander Sefen?" an insignificant captain asked him.
Commander Sefen simply waved her hand as he looked at the map.
"Go and fight however you please," he said with a sneer. "I will take my troops straight to the capital and not consider an alternative. We must deal the decisive blow quickly."
Commander Stephen ignored the fretful looks some of the captains gave him as they looked down at the battle strategy. He knew very well they intended to proceed slowly and take village after village until they reach the capital.
He cared little for such an elegant approach.
"Sir!" the same irksome captain said as he pointed behind Sefen. "A messenger!"
"Turning around," Captain Sefen saw a horse and soldier coming up to them with great speed. The female who road on it carried the banner of the Court of Three as well as black strips of cloth from the top. The signal of an important message.
"What does the High Court require of me now?" Commander Sefen muttered to no one.
"Commander Sefen," the woman said as she approached him and got off of her horse. She bowed down and handed him a scroll that appeared to Sefen to have been quickly wrapped and sealed. He took it from her hands and opened it up to read it. He read it once quickly and then again more slowly while his captains waited for him to say something. He rolled up to scroll and handed it back to the messenger.
"Return to War and have them send this message to Vanity and Greed. Every man and woman capable of bearing arms is to march on to Rerial. Every speaker who is battle worthy is to come alongside them. The Court of Three will not rest until Rerial has been utterly destroyed."
"But sir!" some captains said. "Only the High Court can mobilize the troops. We fight with the numbers we have been given!"
Commander Sefen removed the blade from his side and slowly put it underneath the chin of the captain.
"The High Court is dead," he said plainly. "The High Tower of War has been destroyed along with the Court of Three's ruling council. I am now the highest-ranking official in the nation. I am judge and general, and you will bow to my whims."
The captain swallowed hard.
"Why are you still here?" Commander Sefen shouted as he looked out at the female who jumped on her horse and rode quickly away.
Commander Sefen put away his sword and looked his captains in the eyes.
"I am your judge and general," he said again. "We march for Rerial."
"Commander Sefen!"
The battle-hardened elf was beginning to feel annoyed at the sound of his own name.
"What?" he asked as he spun around in the direction of the voice.
"Rerial is here!"
The soldier who was pointing towards the sky did not have to show the Commander where the defending army was coming from. If the sky held any indication, it looked as if the entire fleet was heading for the spot that the Court of Three had invaded.
"Commander! What do we do?"
"Insufferable captain," Commander Sefen said. "You will watch what a real general looks like."
Commander Sefen turned and shouted behind him.
“Speakers!“ he commanded. "Unleash hell!"
Those who were within earshot of the commander began throwing their yellow blasts of magic in the direction of the fast-approaching airships. Anticipating this, orange spheres of magic surrounded some of the airships, protecting them. But not all of them were so quick.
A few of the airships took damage and faltered, falling to the ground.
"Release the birds!" the same insignificant captain shouted beside him ordered.
Commander Sefen grabbed his arm.
"Hold that!" he said forcefully.
The captain looked at him with fear in his eyes.
Commander Sefen smiled. This was what he had commanded speakers to work on for a decade. What he had toiled over in the hopes that they would soon go back to war with Rerial. An answer to the airships. A way to fight back with more than just metal birds controlled by speakers.
This was a decisive strike against their enemies strongest weapon. He threw the captain to the ground and turned to his faithful speakers — those he had entrusted this task to.
A sinister smile came over his face as he issued the command.
"Release the Griffin."
6: The Rear of the Fleet
The large airship flew at the back of the fleet as several of the airships of Rerial sped towards the western border. The Court of Three had crossed the divide by the Gift of Laurels with a large army. In accordance with king Belfast’s order, Rerial was to respond in kind.
Ealrin stood at the helm of the airship with his sister Elise and his father, Lord Evan. Their family, reunited on the largest airship that Rerial had employed on this mission to crush the army that sought to invade their sovereign nation. The Court had once tried to expand its boundaries and had failed. The peace that had followed was uneasy and now, broken.
So much had transpired in the last few hours that it was hard to focus on the task at hand. Several explosions had rocked the three towers of Rerial. Several of the airships down in the hanger had been damaged. Most of what was left, however, had been deployed to fight off the Court of Three invasion.
Commodore Evan had grim words for the fight ahead.
“I do not know what the Court of Three has in store for us,” he told his children. “The last war we fight was brutal, and that was with airships that were not as developed as they are now. Who knows what magical creations the Court might throw at us? We have to be quick, retaliate a decisive blow, and strike quickly at them before this turns into a long, drawn-out conflict. Rerial cannot afford another border war.”
Ealrin followed the gaze of his father.
Commodore Evans eyes were fixed on the horizon. No doubt they were envisioning metal birds and speakers bringing down airships. Ealrin had seen and fought the magical constructs that were made especially to deal with Rerial’s weapon of choice. He prayed they would face nothing more terrifying.
Ealrin had not been in a battle with more than one airship before. All around him several grand ships flew straight for the Gift of Laurels. The ships covered most of the sky all around them. It was hard to find a clear piece of sky to look at, even flying at the rear of the formation. They flew with dizzying speed. Lord Evan’s airship was the slowest, Ealrin knew this. Even still, the landscape below them rushed by. It would not take them long to arrive there. What they would find, he did not know.
“Do you think the others will be okay?” Blume asked from behind him.
Ealrin turned out to look at the concern on Blume’s face.
Galp was in no fit state to come with them, and the top of the hanger had been mostly unaffected. Jurrin had been ordered by Commodore Evan to stay with the Skrilx and make sure he continued to heal with the understanding that Teresa and Urt would connect with them as soon as they were able. They had only been at the Tower of Magic. Surely getting back to the hanger would not prove difficult, even in the chaos of war preparations.
Ealrin did not enjoy leaving them behind, but the timing was important. Plus there would be repairs to do and people to help. It would be good to have some of their group stay back and see what they could do in order to help.
“They’re strong,” Ealrin said. “They’ll be fine.”
“Maybe you should worry about us a little bit?” Elise asked as she stared off towards the front of the formation. “We’re the ones heading into a battle, you know?”
Ealrin smiled. He remembered someone else who spoke like that.
“Sir!” the captain at the wheel called to the Commodore. “One of our airships is coming in quickly! Another Commander’s ship looks like!”
Commodore Evan looked over to his right. Ealrin followed his gaze and saw that another ship flying Rerial’s flag along with a banner that had three stars above it was quickly gaining on them.
“That’s Commander Polk�
��s vessel,” Evan said. “He was supposed to stay behind and head the cleanup. What’s in his head?”
The answer became immediately apparent.
Four bolts released from the magically enhanced crossbows shot towards them from the front of the airship.
“Speakers!” Commodore Evan shouted. “Shields!”
Two of the bolts were deflected off of the shields of speakers who stood towards the side of the ship. Blume took care of the other two with her own blast of magic. She looked back at Ealrin with terror on her face as the explosions rocked their airship.
“What the devil?” Commodore Evan yelled. “What would possess him to fire on his own?”
“Prepare to return fire but wait for my signal!” Evan ordered. He held his hand up in the air. Ealrin knew that once he dropped it, there would be a barrage of crossbow fire and speaker magic directed at the ship barreling at them.
The other grand ship flew close to them, and Ealrin could see the face of Commander Polk standing at the side. He spoke into a ball of energy that a speaker was creating beside him. The effect of this was that his voice was magnified so that they could hear it over the roar of the fleet of Rerial.
“Commodore Evan! Relinquish your children to me! Ealrin and Elise Belouve are believed to be rebels to the crown! They are wanted for an inquiry into the death of the king!”
“Death of the king!?” Commodore Evan shouted back as another speaker created the same orb in front of him, magnifying his own voice to match Polk’s. “I saw Belfast just this morning!”
Ealrin wasn’t sure if Commander Polk had heard him or not. Either way, Polk continued.
“King Belfast is dead and his soldiers with him! He was killed by a blast in his tower at the hand of rebels of whom I believe your children are the leaders!”
Ealrin looked at Elise. She was staring intently at Commander Polk and would not return his gaze.
“Cease this nonsense!” Commodore Evan spoke into his own magical sphere of energy that was provided for him. Return to Rerial and oversee operations there! As commanded by our king!”