“Claire!” Anthony’s cry tore at her heart but she was resolute.
White tattoos ignited across Anthony’s chest. A wave of force threw the boxes and crates around them flying. Claire covered her face as she was pushed backward.
She looked over and saw a small person in mid-air, standing in front of Anthony. Her little wings on her back fluttered peacefully but there was an irate look on her face.
“Claire Elizabeth Rockton!” the small fairy called out, tapping her foot on the air.
“Wendy, I need to!” Claire said.
“What if it fails, you foolish child? Do you think that my Anthony will be able to deal with it? Do you think that I will forgive the girl I allowed to date my boy?”
Wendy shot forward in a flash of light. Claire couldn’t even follow her; she felt a flick on her head. The familiar feeling made her recoil and she held her head. She felt a tug in her hand but the blade was in Wendy’s grip already.
“Penelope, if you will, child?”
Penelope superimposed through the chains. Her phoenix wings and her head burned through the chains as she let out a breath of fire, melting and destroying the dagger.
Anthony let out a cry as he broke the chains. They fell to the ground and he dropped to his feet.
“Claire, I want them back as bad as you, but with your death, do you think that they would accept coming back on those terms?” Anthony asked.
“We need them. Our forces are stretched thin. We barely have enough people in the fortresses around the basin. There are chaotic beasts running free across Dena. We cleared out many of the doorways but not all of them. Adventuring teams are now clearing them as we fight here in the north, in Cheon, and the east of Selenus. We have no more reserves. If we want more fighters, we need to pull from one of the other armies,” Claire yelled.
“You think that killing yourself will allow them to wake up?” Another flick landed on Claire’s head as Wendy hovered in mid-air, her eyes glowing white.
Hands on her hips, Wendy continued. “I thought that I taught you better than that, Miss Rockton. They just need something to jolt their souls into action—simple necromancy! Now, what that might be I don’t know, but magic won’t wake them up. That was how Anthony woke up. He had the most amount of mana in him, yes, but when he heard someone in danger, that caused him to get up and save Aila, not her necromantic spell. I will not have my daughter-in-law killing herself for some half-baked plan! Come here! It is time to go over your magical lessons.”
“Wen—ah!” Claire cried out as Wendy twisted her ear and pulled her backward.
Anthony grabbed his breastplate and reconnected it.
Wendy stopped dragging Claire, as if remembering something.
“Say you’re sorry and hug!” Wendy said.
“Ma!” Anthony said.
“If you were in her shoes, you would have done the same, you two headstrong fools.” Wendy sighed, releasing Claire.
“Anthony, I...” Claire felt her heart breaking, seeing him like this; with him knowing her plan, she couldn’t help but squirm.
Anthony shook his head, gritting his teeth and walked over, hugging her. “Never do that again! I...I need you.”
Claire hung on to him like a life raft. Everything wasn’t okay, but she felt as if it would be with enough time.
Then there was Wendy there, watching the two of them. She looked to be just a young teenager, but she was a world fairy. Fairies were formed by the power of Dena and the people, the cognizant parts of Dena. They grew up similar to elementals but very few of them gained consciousness. Wendy had found a young boy abandoned in the woods, his past unknown. He was sickly and weak. She had begrudgingly cared for him in the beginning, looked after him and raised him.
For years, he lived in the forest, knowing the beasts of the forests, other world fairies, clan spirits who would come to pay their respects.
She had been his mother, though she would never admit it, and his first familiar, to protect him through what came.
She had been the one to teach Claire about the mystical arts, her teacher and mother-in-law.
Claire yelped as Wendy pulled on her ear.
“What made my student think of such a stupid plot! Did you really think that shoddy formation would allow all of the power to be transformed! Where did your plot come from to release them from their bond?” Wendy berated Claire as she quickly dragged her out of the room by her ear.
Claire felt a panic rising from deep within, memories of her “studying sessions” with Wendy when she had done something stupid.
“It’s good to see you, Ma,” Anthony said.
Claire saw Wendy’s smile and the way her eyes shone, before she quickly covered her expression with a scowl.
“Who are you calling Ma! I’m too young! Only seven millennia I am—I’m your cute younger sister! It is my duty to make sure my big brother has a suitable wife!”
Anthony coughed out a laugh.
Claire felt a pressure lift from her heart at that laugh. If he could laugh, then maybe he would be able to forgive her for what she had tried to do.
***
General Fysher stood on the wall. At his hand was his familiar; formed from green jade-like power, the elemental looked similar to an eel.
There was an intelligence in her eyes as she looked over the battlefield and looked to Fysher.
“Since we have been fighting against the Drafeng, you and the other familiars have been lending humans greater strength, as if you were holding back before. More powerful familiars have bonded to humans as well,” Fysher muttered.
“Many saw us as slaves, not as companions. Only the weakest were willing to be treated that way so that they might experience the world. We do not want to fight the other races. We are friends with the clan spirits. The elementals are our cousins. We saw what the humans did, what they were becoming. Do you remember when we met?”
“I was a young boy, lived by the sea. I went out to help my father with the boats and fish. There was a storm, and I fell into the sea. You came from the depths, I thought I was delirious when I saw you. For two days, I was able to float there until you made a contract with me. With your power, I was able to join the military and you helped me to become the man I am today,” Fysher said.
Only lords and ladies had last names among the humans. General Hugo had taken the name Fysher to remember where he had come from.
Julie, his familiar, sighed.
“What is wrong?” Fysher asked.
“Still you are that young boy.” She turned and looked to him. “I didn’t care if you joined the army, or if you remained a fisher all of your life—I would have stuck by you. The things you did in the army, the things that you looked away from...” She turned her gaze back over the wall.
The words she left unsaid pulled on Fysher’s heart and he looked down, ashamed.
“At least now you have a chance to fight for the people of Dena, instead of the whims of a power-hungry emperor and a corrupt Church of Light. Maybe there is hope for you, for Dena yet.”
“Maybe it’s not too late for me to put down this armor after this all and fish once again. I’ve had enough of leading men and women to their deaths, now knowing that it was all at the whim of a greater enemy. What was I doing but making it easier for the enemy to attack?”
Julie looked at Hugo. “Ah, there might be hope for you yet, little Hugo.”
The two of them shared a smile, partners for decades, the divide that had separated them, weakening.
“Drafeng on the horizon!” an elf called out across the wall.
The reports were confirmed and horns that made the mountains shake were used for the first time in centuries. The work crews outside of Shivernsin were reorganized and withdrew into the stronghold as the lifts within Shivernsin were cleared and units got into their armor and machines, readying their weapons. Civilians were lowered to the lower levels while the ready military units were raised up, moving from the stronghold to the wal
ls.
Units that were in the warm huts along the wall checked on the siege weaponry, the ballistas, and cannons.
Shivernsin started to come alive. The human and beast kin armies that had turned into the Combined Army were pushed to the side, watchers.
Gheta took command of them while Fysher remained on the wall, where different generals filed in. He would be the liaison with the Combined Army.
The different groups were in their positions and ready within ten minutes.
After twenty minutes, they went to half strength; an hour, a quarter strength. But they remained in position.
Time passed slowly as the Drafeng didn’t seem to be advancing quickly.
Anthony walked into the room. Everyone turned to him as he became the center of attention in the room.
“Looks like they’ve stopped,” Logan Icearm said.
“They’re making defenses,” Anthony said.
“Why would they do that?” Logan asked.
“You’re thinking of them like beasts. The Drafeng are smart. If they hold a position opposite us, then the area behind them they can fill in with conversion towers and queens instead of being blocked up in the Northern Basin. They can birth ten times as many chaotic beasts if they push right out to the fortresses.
“Don’t forget that all of the Drafeng can also take on a ranged form. They can run up, attack us with their beams and then run back again, weaken us over time. We’ll be in a lot of danger if they take their time,” Anthony said.
They took another hour but then the Drafeng army settled down. They were well out of range of any kind of long-range spells or bombardments.
The chaotic beasts were in formations ahead of the Drafeng, who got to work, quickly erecting crystal walls across the pass. They built barracks and places to rest, taking their time to make a camp that covered the pass. Some advanced and created a new forward wall.
And on the first day, they created a camp.
Looking out at the enemy, General Fysher felt that this battle would be unlike any of the battles he had been through to destroy a doorway.
Chapter: Battle on Three Fronts
Skalafell was in bad condition, but its people were rallying. The Black Scarves and the city leadership worked hand in hand with one another to help the people.
The human army had pushed forward, trailing after the rear of the Drafeng army that were fleeing to the east.
Half of the beast kin army from the north supported them with half of the United Army. Healers and medics from all of the armies had been left behind to care for the people of Skalafell. All of the healers had to make oaths to the Order of Light, which bound them to give the best care they were possible of to heal people. Cecilia had tested it out first, and the binding oath from the Order of Light still worked.
Damien looked up from the rubble he was clearing. The building had been torn apart by the Drafeng blast that had opened Skalafell’s wall.
“Need a drink?” Ubi, a large man from the bear kin and one of the three Black Scarves leaders in Skalafell asked, holding out a canteen as he sat on some rubble.
“Undead—water goes right through me,” Damien said.
“Guess so.” Ubi took a drag of water.
“You’re a good man, Ubi,” Damien said.
“Just a headstrong bear.” Ubi laughed as he grabbed a rock as big as him and carried it toward the wall where mages were fusing the rock together, recreating the wall.
***
Damien walked into the command center.
Cecilia stood with a hob Guardian on one side and Jaxus on the other.
Other officers of all races stood around the table, looking at the map she pointed to, peering over one another’s shoulders. They all looked up as he entered the room.
Feels like the old days, when Dena was united. Seeing all of the races there, few cared where they stood, all of them focused on the fight ahead. Fighting alongside one another, the presence of the Guardians, hearing the stories of old, seeing the United Army fighting together.
First the humans and the beast kin were competing with one another as they couldn’t attack each other; then, seeing the United Army, they saw just how weak they were divided. There is still that competitive spirit, but when you rely on them in battle to hold the line, previous perceptions can be changed and altered.
“Guardian Damien,” Cecilia said.
“I’m guessing you have a plan?” Damien walked forward, people parting for him and letting him get to the map.
“Part of one.” She pointed to the map. “I will be heading out with the eastern Combined Army and the United Army to hunt down the Drafeng and push them to the east. Our plan is to trap them in Cresmond Peak, which is believed to be another stronghold of theirs. We have a request of more troops to the north. The Drafeng is digging in, which is sure to make the fight there harder. You will take the remainder of the Combined Army, now called the Second Eastern Combined Army, and head north to support them.”
Damien looked at the path north from Skalafell to the Stoha Mountains. “We’re going to need winter gear and food supplies. Have you coordinated with the Guardians yet?”
“Not yet. We’re currently securing the supply lines to the east.”
“Okay, I’ll look into it. But if we make good time, we should be able to make it in six days.”
“Six days,” Cecilia repeated.
The two of them locked eyes.
If I was to leave sooner then I couldn’t bring as many with me. I wouldn’t have the cold gear, or food to support them on the march. We’d be marching them to their deaths. The Drafeng wouldn’t need to do anything, starvation and the weather will kill them as surely as any blade.
If I don’t take enough fighters then we can’t turn the battle around that is already raging. Every hour people are dying to hold the Drafeng. Six Days. How many will day to give us the six days we need? Can they hold that long?
“Commanding is harder than just being a warrior,” Cecilia saw through him.
“How did someone so young become so wise?”
“I was stuck around old farts underground for too long. I’ll see if there is anything I can do to speed up the supplies, divert some from armies that don’t need as much. Might save a day or two.”
“Thank you. Every warm cloak and preserved meal we can get is lives not spent waiting on us,” Damien said.
“I’ll use your Guardian flame.” Cecilia turned and left, leaving Damien. He stared at the map, at the lists of required supplies, trying to find a new route or place to squeeze out some more supplies to push north.
***
General Sun Tao of the Ninth Island Alliance Army looked over his newest “reinforcements.”
“Not sure how much use they’re going to be,” Major Jassin said.
Sun Tao was a human, but he had never felt that much attachment to Radal. Ilsal and Epan had been his home, the open sea his retreat.
Jassin was much the same. Even though he was elven, his skin was practically glowing as he spent his days outside, upon ships or working on the lands.
Epan and Ilsal were small areas but well populated. Still, the majority of their military was on a volunteer reserve basis. They all went through their training then back to their regular lives until they were called up to serve, as the Ninth had done.
“Well, we’re going to need everyone we can get our hands on if we want to take Cheon. We’ve only been able to establish a beachhead so far. We need to push inland and see what we can do about these Drafeng. They must be hiding something up north.”
“Why don’t we make another beachhead?”
“If we do that, then we spread out our strength. We don’t have the numbers for it or the supply.” Tao sighed.
“So right into the enemy’s face,” Jassin said.
“Right into the enemy’s face,” Tao agreed.
A runner entered the building that they had commanded, being checked by the guards before being allowed over to Tao.
“The admiral says that we’re ready to launch the day after next.”
“Good work!” Tao said. “Then, in eight days, we will arrive in Cheon. Major Jassin, take command of the old Army of Light. Make sure that they are organized. I won’t have a rabble on the admiral’s ships. Take a few of the Guardians with you and make sure that they are ready to set sail in two days. They’ll need their gear and weapons, nothing else.”
“Yes, General.” Jassin snapped off a salute and headed out of the command center. Guards followed him as he went to organize the old Army of Light that looked beaten and disheveled. The noble army that had rode on the backs of others to “victory” weren’t used to doing the hard work.
Sun Tao looked out of the window at the docks. There were hundreds of masts out there, with people calling out to one another as they loaded and readied the ships that would take them west across the top of Ilsal, where they would meet up with a merchant convoy filled with ammunition and supplies for the front before they crossed into the northern waters and up to the isle of Cheon.
“It’s going to be a cold journey.”
***
Fysher looked out from Shivernsin. He was shivering now and he could barely see more than ten meters in front of him. The snow was coming down sideways and the pass was covered.
Using those practiced in divination, the commanders could see through the covering snow.
“Fire,” Logan ordered.
Dwarven mortars fired across Shivernsin, retreating back into the small hill-like fortress. These cannons were as wide as a man and only two men deep. Many smaller cannons poked from between the walls, creating two firing lines between the five mortars that faced the northern approach.
The mortars were released and dropped forward. Familiars rushed in, clearing the barrel before beast kin stuffed hob-checked powder into the barrels. Cannonballs rolled down a metal frame from above, rolling down an extended arm.
Elves and gnomes checked it before the beast kin pushed it forward and into place.
They moved the arm out of the way and gears under the massive mortar pushed it back out. A dwarven team on the moving platform used different wheels and cranks to elevate the mortar to the right position.
A Lich's Love (Death Knight Series Book 5) Page 14