"I was wondering why you seemed smaller and why none of your feathers are blue," commented Ron.
"Ron!" scolded Alice.
Please, it is alright, said Ramia. He spoke nothing but the truth. I am not what I was in that war. In time I may regain that power but I sense that we do not have that amount of time. I will gladly pledge what power I still have to oppose evil once again. I would guess one of you has a map of the world. Take it out. Before I take these two away we must decide where I will rejoin you.
The four teleported back to Assaram and waited for Ramia to return. They only had to wait six days, amazing considering the distance she had to travel. The group arranged to meet Ramia away from the town. They did not want news of Ramia's rebirth to become public knowledge just yet.
It was true that Ramia was not as large as she was in the paintings of her but she was still able to carry the four without too much trouble. Though any more weight and I fear my maneuverability will not be enough to fly over the Archfiend's lair safely, Ramia had warned. I would guess that it has many flying minions. Nevertheless, with your power added to my own and with Xlysinil slain I fear none of them.
The four had told Ramia of how Ortega had died killing Xlysinil. I am sorry that he died in combat with the dreaded beast. It would seem I owe a debt to your family, Suzanne.
"You don't owe us anything," answered Suzanne.
"Uh, Ramia," began Ron. "I don't know how to ask you this but I was curious: what's it like to die?" The question earned Ron an elbow from Alice.
I do not know that I can call it death now that I have returned from it, answered Ramia. Though I suppose I have no better word to name the event by. Of the memories I have retained from my past life those of my final battle against Xlysinil are some of the most vivid and unbroken. I remember terrible wounds and terrible pain. But after the killing blow I remember nothing. Next thing I knew I was inside of my egg.
It took only a day and a half for Ramia to fly the group from Assaram to the skies above the Archfiend's lair. Ramia was able to fly faster and higher in the air than any other bird. Although she had lost some of her powers she had retained magic that protected the four in high altitudes. With this Ramia was able to keep herself concealed until they were flying over Venorl Castle. At that point they had to descend to get a good look at the Archfiend's forces. What they saw horrified them.
"Oh my…" gasped Suzanne, unable to finish her sentence.
"This is impossible!" said Ron, barely above a whisper.
"We're doomed," said Thomas.
"This…this just can't be!" screamed Alice.
Down below a sea of monsters stretched for miles. The four had read descriptions of great armies throughout history and seen pictures of these armies made by witnesses but none of it compared to the sight before them. Perhaps most horrifying of all was that this sea of monsters was being fed by streams of monsters coming up the mountains from all directions.
"They're not even moving," noted Ron, still unable to bring volume to his voice. "They're just standing there in a huge group. How are they not fighting? How are they not dying of hunger?"
"The Archfiends' signature ability is to subvert the laws of nature," said Thomas. "Monsters' instincts are overruled and they are sustained by the Archfiend's magic. But no story of the Archfiends' power describes it as being this great."
"Can the united forces of humanity even stand a chance against a force like this?" asked Suzanne.
Chapter 29: War Begins
Emperor Vilisik of the Romalian Empire sat impatiently at a large table. The room he was sitting in was very basic; furnished with nothing more than the large table and simple chairs going all around. The room was part of a modest mansion on an island of the Batay Sea. The mansion was the best neutral site for the meeting that was about to take place. Most would say it was hardly a fitting place for what was about to happen. However, considering the nature of the events that were soon to occur Vilisik did not think that anyone involved would be focusing on the room décor.
To Vilisik's right sat Queen Calasta of Isis. Vilisik could only imagine that as bad as the past two weeks had been for him they had been much worse for her. Two weeks ago Suzanne and her party revealed that they had revived the godbird Ramia. Suzanne and Ramia then traveled to the different nations and had Ramia show them the Archfiend's armies. Vilisik had hardly been able to sleep since he saw the Archfiend's power.
Romaly's military strength was as good as that of any other nation. Considering the empire's poor relationship with Portoga, another powerful nation, Vilisik and his predecessors had been certain to keep their country's strength up. But as great as his forces were, Vilisik knew they were nothing compared to the army he had seen gathered around Venorl Castle.
Vilisik began to think about the might of the other nations. Historically, Isis was known for their determined defense of the desert. They were quite adapt at fighting in the heat and dealing with the monsters of the desert. But Vilisik was sure the Archfiend had monsters that were accustomed to heat that the warriors of Isis had not seen before. And Vilisik was also sure that the Isisian military would be much less effective outside of the desert.
Also seated at the table was Timik, a representative of the city-state of Jipang. Vilisik expected little help from Jipang. They had been terrorized by a single, powerful monster with no minions or army. Nevertheless the people of Jipang were known for their craftsmanship and it was said that some of the old, forgotten techniques for making equipment were still known to their smiths. Any help was welcome at this point.
"Now announcing His Majesty, King Crayton the Fourth of Samanao."
The man looked in pretty good shape for the horror he had gone through. That said fatigue and weakness were still visible on the otherwise proud face of King Crayton. Although they undoubtedly would be of more help than Jipang, Vilisik did not think he could count on much from the Samanaons. The troll had left Samanao a wreck and reports indicated that Crayton was still dealing with rebellions. Vilisik had to hand it to the Archfiend; even with such an overwhelmingly large force it was still smart enough to weaken its opposition before war began
"Now announcing His Majesty, King Rogest of Eginbear."
In walked the friendy king of Eginbear. Vilisik had never trusted Rogest. The emperor suspected that Rogest's cheerful demeanor was an act to lure people off guard. But Vilisik had to admire the man's resilience. Rogest walked into the room and immediately took up small talk with the other rulers. He did not seem bothered in the slightest by the matter they had all gathered to discuss. Vilisik also had to respect the might of Eginbear. Though Rogest would normally assure people that Eginbear had no interest in war Vilisik knew that Eginbear had a great military. If Rogest agreed to join them it would make Vilisik feel a bit better but there was still one more nation Vilisik thought was critical to their efforts.
"Now announcing His Majesty, King Saldor of Portoga."
Vilisik could not remember ever being happy to see Saldor. However, his presence now was most welcome. Portoga's strength rivaled that of the empire. Their navy was without match. Now all the major powers had gathered. With their combined might they had a chance against the Archfiend. But Vilisik knew well that just because Saldor had shown up did not mean he would cooperate.
Vilisik looked around the table. Almost everyone that was invited had arrived. An invitation had been extended to Queen Talia of the elves. As Vilisik expected, Talia declined the invitation. However, Vilisik was surprised when Talia did decide that the elves would contribute some magical items should an alliance be made. Apparently, the elves had great respect for Ramia and her words carried great weight with Talia.
Besides Talia, one other person had been invited but had yet to show. But given who this person represented and the already fragile climate in the meeting room Vilisik wondered if it was best that this person not appear. However, as soon as Vilisik completed that thought the bard came in again.
"Now an
nouncing His Majesty, King Neil of Aliahan."
It was the first time Vilisik had ever seen the ruler of Aliahan. It was believed that with the odds stacked against humanity they could not afford to exclude anyone who could help. Old hatreds and mistrust would have to be put at least far enough to the side to deal with this greater, mortal threat. Despite having never met his peers inside the room, Neil walked in with dignity and greeted all of them with a king's grace. Most of the other rulers returned his greeting. However, Vilisik noticed, as he was sure everyone else did, that Saldor refused to speak or even look at Neil.
"I believe everyone has arrived who is expected to arrive," declared Vilisik. "Shall we begin?"
"Yes, we shall," answered Saldor. "And I exercise my right as the eldest of those assembled to speak first." The right Saldor referenced was common in international meetings and was believed to have originated in the Second Great War.
"This meeting is a waste of time," declared Saldor as he stood up. "We have all seen the Archfiend's army. How many of you truly believe that even our combined forces can stand against them in the field? Better for us all to tend to our own countries. The world is a big place and the Archfiend will have to spread its military significantly to take it all. The best chance for any one of us is to raise our defenses and hope the monster tires before it reaches his or her country."
Saldor sat down, indicating that his opening statement was finished. "With all due respect," replied Crayton, "Your strategy plays right into our enemy's hands. I have seen what the Archfiend can do to a country that shuts itself away. While you build up your walls, the Archfiend will send its agents to corrode your nation from within. The Archfiend has only gained so much power because we have been too distracted by our differences to cooperate against it. That must be turned around now!"
It was Rogest's turn, "Great points by both you fine gentlemen. I am afraid I must agree with King Saldor. No doubt an alliance between all our great nations would be quite glorious. But there is a time for glory and a time for being practical. And what is most practical is for Eginbear to mind to its own business as it always has."
Rogest took his seat. It was difficult to tell who between Timik and Neil was older, which would decide who would go next. Most of the room looked at Timik to go next. Timik decided to defer giving his opinion until later. Neil did the same. Vilisik had a feeling this was for the best. Little weight would be given to Timik's words and, despite how courteous most of the other rulers had been to him, Vilisik believed the rest would look unfavorably on anything Neil had to say.
Vilisik thought it was most to his advantage to go last and so he deferred as well. This brought up Queen Calasta. "So this is the thanks that the Kingdom of Isis receives? We all know what nation the Archfiend will target first! It is easy for you all to run back to your homes hoping that we provide enough of a blood sacrifice to the monsters to keep them from your doorsteps. I hear this cowardly bunch speak and I wonder about the Second Great War myself."
"For if you remember, Isis came to the aid of the alliance against Desmond," continued Calasta scathingly. "King Saldor, I know you of all people remember the Battle of the Sandswept Plains! Do you think it would have gone so well without Isis's aid? Have all of you forgotten that Desmond had no interest in the desert? My people could have sided with him. At the time it seemed like the smart move. By siding with your peoples Isis put itself at risk. Yet Isis still came to your aid in your hour of need. But now I wonder if that was a mistake. Would the tyrant Desmond have been any worse than you cowards?"
Though Calasta had not sat down to indicate she was done speaking, Saldor rose up to answer her. "Cowards, you say? Perhaps you are correct, Queen Calasta. My duty is not to be brave. My duty is not to be honorable. My duty is not to repay a supposed debt to Isis nor is it to protect the world. My duty is to protect Portoga and its people! And I will do whatever is necessary to protect my people! If Portoga and its people survive then regardless of what I have to do or what the cost is I will have no regrets!"
With Saldor speaking out of turn the other rulers began to rise and speak as well. Vilisik rose from his seat but, unlike the others, did not join the argument. Even Timik and Neil, who had seemed timid a moment ago, joined the shouting. Vilisik slowly circled the room as the other rulers argued. After another minute, he finally decided to make his move.
"Attention!" boomed Vilisik, his voice somehow carrying above the noise made by the others. Everyone else in the room stopped shouting in response, allowing Vilisik to bring his voice to a normal speaking level. "Everyone, I thank you for your patience but I am now ready to make my opening statement."
The other rulers were still agitated from their arguing. Although they decided to hear Vilisik out none of them returned to their seats. Nevertheless, Vilisik continued, "Queen Calasta was correct about one thing: we are all afraid. I do not mean that as an insult; only a complete fool would not be afraid after seeing what we have."
"The question is: will the Archfiend tire out and settle after destroying a couple nations? I say to all of you that the monster did not raise the army that has kept us awake at nights to settle for half the world. It wants the entire world and it will not tire and it will not relent until we are all wiped out."
"We all know that if the enemy commander is taken out it deals a huge blow to the enemy army. We also know that this is truer than ever against the Archfiend's army. It is the magic of the Archfiend, and that magic alone, that holds that army together. As horrible as Desmond was it has to be said that he knew how to defeat an Archfiend's army. Destroy the Archfiend and we destroy its army."
"Easy for you to say," cut in Saldor. "I have seen both the armies of last two Archfiends. He may have been a military genius but even Desmond could not have cut through to this Archfiend. They are not idiots. This Archfiend will not put itself in danger."
"But we have something that Desmond did not," said Vilisik. "The phoenix Ramia has come back to life and has agreed to join our fight. With her help we can bypass a large portion of the enemy forces."
"It is a long shot, I will admit it. But is it any longer a shot than to go home and hope the big bad monster just goes away? Will we timidly abandon our fellow human beings and hope our nation is not the next target? Or will we take the fight to our enemy? Will we put up a fight to be remembered? We know the enemy's greatest weakness! We have an ace in the hole! I say we go out there, together, and bring the full might of humanity against those monsters! If it is our fate to die, let us go down in the history of monsters as the greatest horror they ever had to deal with! Let us become the cause of their nightmares!"
Vilisik did not take his seat after his speech concluded but looked around the room at the other rulers, challenging them with his gaze just as he had just challenged them with his words. Rogest was the first to respond.
"Wonderful speech!" congratulated Rogest, clapping as he did so. "Full of passion and vigor! How could I let such emotional words go to waste? Very well, Emperor, you have my support and the support of Eginbear."
Internally, Vilisik was incredibly relieved. But he had not won everyone over yet. He kept his relief from his face as he continued to look around the room. As his gaze fell on Crayton the man spoke up, "You already had my support but a stirring speech all the same." Calasta and Timik gave similar replies. Neil only nodded when Vilisik looked at him but Vilisik understood that to mean that Aliahan would cooperate as well.
The room turned to Saldor. Everyone knew it would be almost impossible to take on the Archfiend without Portoga's considerable might. Saldor seemed as though he were in an even sourer mood than he had been when Calasta had begun insulting him.
After a moment, Saldor spoke, "I give no guarentees and I do not pledge Portoga's support. Nevertheless, let us bring in our generals, our best military minds, and the godbird Ramia. If we can come up with a plan that I believe has more than a fool's chance at succeeding then Portoga will join this alliance."
; "Well guys, our journey's finally over," said Suzanne.
"Yeah," answered Ron. "Looking back on it all, I can't believe all the stuff we did."
"That's because we're the best!" exclaimed Alice. "Nobody else could've done what we did. We brought the nations together!"
"We accomplished a lot," agreed Thomas. "We've given humanity a chance. Now comes the toughest part: fighting for our survival."
"Tom's right, it doesn't get any easier from here," said Suzanne. "Are you guys going to join the alliance army?"
"You better believe it!" exclaimed Ron. "Those monsters won't know what hit 'em!"
"The emperor told us that our king is here," mentioned Suzanne. "Are you going to talk to him as soon as they're done meeting?"
"I don't know," answered Ron. "We all know how puny Aliahan's military is compared to the other nations. And I don't think the other nations have forgotten their mistrust of us. I don't think Aliahan will be given any important missions. I don't want to be stuck guarding supply lines or something like that. Put me in the vanguard!"
Thomas scoffed, "Reckless as always. Are you so eager to kill that you would put yourself in that kind of danger?"
"Hey, someone has to be on the front lines," defended Ron. "Why not me? I can do some damage. And better to look forward to it with excitement than sulk. Poor morale can do more damage than monster claws after all."
"I take it you won't be joining him up there, Tom?" asked Suzanne.
"Not if I can help it," answered Thomas. "I'll support the army from the healing tents."
"I think you're wasting an opportunity, Tom," said Ron. "Your swordwork's really come along! You're probably better than most soldiers! And you could save a lot of lives if you were right there when they got injured."
"I will do whatever is needed of me," said Thomas. "If my commander decides I would be more useful in combat I will join. But I believe I can be of most help in the healing tents. I am not as skilled at healing in combat as I am outside of it."
Dragon Quest Novel Page 45