"The best place for that would be Abrodar," Spyder finally said. "It is the one place where Val's eyes cannot reach. As Sapphire said, there are too many unfriendly eyes in Suld."
"Agreed," the Goddess said with a nod. Then she looked to Sapphire. "I heard you've called council," she said. "How many dragons do you think will help?"
"You will have all nine of my clan and every blue in my territory," she said immediately. "When I call them to war, they must obey, as is custom. That is some seventy blue dragons. The golds, silvers, diamonds, and sapphires will heed such a call to arms against Demons, and I'm fairly sure we can get a good number of the bronzes, greens, emeralds, topazes, and blacks, but I'm not sure how many of the others will agree. The reds will probably be the hardest to sway. Them and the coppers. Both are very selfish breeds. And you know how much we will have to argue with the steels to get them to agree. Sometimes they fight just for the sake of fighting."
Seventy blue dragons. Just the image of seeing seventy of those massive creatures in the sky would be enough to strike utter terror in the heart of any mere mortal that happened to witness such an event.
Standing up, Tarrin gave the Jenna a steady look. "None of this really concerns me, and I have other things to do," he announced. "Jenna, I'm going to be asking you to Teleport me to Ungardt as soon as I get everything done."
"Why Ungardt? And why leave?"
"It's the easiest route to Gora Umadar, and right now I don't want to be found," he answered. "If they can't find me, they can't deliver any ransom demands that put me in a hopeless situation. So long as I'm out of their reach, they have to keep Jasana alive. And that's what matters."
"Good point," she agreed after a moment of thought.
The Goddess looked at him, and he felt her reach into his mind. It was a gentle touch, almost comforting, but he wasn't sure what she found. He couldn't sense what she was doing, only that she did it. Whatever she found, though, caused her to smile.
He left them without another word and sought sanctuary in the one place where he could find peace, and that was the courtyard. The statue of the Goddess was missing from the merrily bubbling fountain, but the sense of peace, of welcome, that had always been a part of the courtyard remained. It was that sense of peace that made him seek this place out, to calm the turmoil of his mind. He sat on the lush grass near the fountain and closed his eyes, drawing up into a cross-legged meditative posture, closing his eyes and trying to calm his mind and his emotions. He needed to do it, because he could feel the All starting to take an interest in him. It seemed almost alive, the All, attracted by the noise that an upset Druid could cause, almost as if it were curious to find out what had upset the Druid so. It only seemed to be attracted to the stronger Druids, those with a more intimate connection to it, the ones that could make the most noise. Regardless of why it was attracted, he could feel it creeping towards him, the first of the signs Triana had trained him to detect. That feeling of swelling in the All, as if it were building up around him. That was what it felt like when the All was starting to build itself up to reaching out and making a connection with a Druid of its own volition, and his meditative attempts to calm himself caused it to lose interest in him, made that swelling in the All subside.
There was plenty to cause him turmoil. His daughter was the core of it, that much was given. Jasana's abduction was like a knife twisting inside him, an intense pain that he never thought was possible. His mind was consumed with fear and worry over the safety and well being of his daughter, the kind of reaction that only a parent could have for a child. It was all he could do to try to think through that worry, that fear, to maintain his focus and keep his mind on the task of retrieving her safely. It was not going to be easy, and that meant that he had to push that to the side. Like he told Jesmind, they could fall to pieces after she was safe. After he rescued her, he'd let all his pent-up emotions go, finally give them release. But until then, they were only a liability, and as dangerous as this was going to be, he couldn't afford any distractions.
That was only one of the problems facing him. He was very concerned for his sisters and friends, because what was coming would be much worse than what happened at Suld. This time it would be a pitched battle on open terrain, where there would be no fortifcations, no defensive fallbacks. Only army against army, where the one with superior numbers, magical firepower, and leadership was going to prevail. the Sorcerers, Wizards, Priests, and dragons and other magical creatures were going to be countered by the ki'zadun's black Wizards and Priests, the Fae-da'kii that had survived the battle at Suld, and the Demons. The humans, Selani, and Wikuni would be faced by humans and Goblinoids. Unless the Goddess did some serious recruiting, they were going to be severely outnumbered, and that really worried him. In a battle like that, the safety of his friends and sisters was very much in doubt. Even Allia would tire, and after battling for hours, even she would make a mistake that may get her killed. He was very worried that he was going to lose a sister or dear friend in this coming war, because more than ever before, the chances of that not happening had never been so against them.
And even if they prevailed, even if they destroyed Val's army, Val would still be there. He was a god, invincible, unstoppable, and he would only retreat to Zakkar, the ancient base of his power, and assemble another army. He would keep coming back, and coming back, and coming back, because nobody could stop him. Not even the gods themselves were willing to confront Val, to eliminate him and the danger he posed to the world once and for all, and it was all because they were afraid. That seemed unbelievable to him, but it was true. Despite all their vast power, despite the absolute need to get rid of Val, they were afraid to face him. Afraid of what damage it may do, and what he understood with sudden clarity, afraid of the losses they may suffer to themselves. They were afraid to be diminished, even if it meant that Val would rampage across the land with absolute impugnity as they did nothing but wring their hands and fret over it. Spyder said that the gods called him Entropy, but he realized that he only posed a danger because the gods were unwilling to do what had to be done to end the threat he caused. They were afraid of destroying the world, but they seemed perfectly content to allow Val to destroy it piece by tiny piece rather than risk destroying it all at once. Fear was a good thing, but not when it prevented one from doing what had to be done. That was something his mother and father had taught him, and he realized that it may be time for some gods to start thinking about that.
Again it came back to Val. Val had been behind Kravon, and he had been responsible for much of the misfortune in Tarrin's life. He was the root of it, and it was upon him that all of Tarrin's anger had been affixed. His abduction by Jula, the death of Faalken, the countless innocents he slaughtered after turning feral, the near-destruction of the Goddess' icon and the death in the battle of Suld, it was all directly attributable to him. And now he threatened his daughter, an unforgivable offense, one that made Tarrin want to tear out his eyes. Only the desperate danger his daughter was in kept his mind from wonderfully graphic and gory fantasies of somehow tearing Val limb from limb then defiling his shattered remains in a final act of defiance and hate.
But Val was a god, while he was but a mortal. Val held supreme power here, beyond that of even the Elder Gods, because he existed solely and completely in the material world. He was little more than a gnat flying in Val's face, annoying him and in danger of being crushed like nothing as soon as he annoyed Val enough.
But some gnats were more resilient than others.
Tarrrin remained in his calm state for an hour and more, trying to compose himself and ready himself for the trials ahead. A trek across Ungardt in the winter would not be pleasant, and the end of that journey led to its own significan problems. The trip was nothing more than an exercise in wasting time, anyway. Everyone was waiting for Gods' Day, even him. Everything up to that point really meant nothing. At least to him. But at least it would be time with Jesmind, a chance to spend some time with her before
everything was said and done, when he knew that nothing would ever be the same again.
But he had no regrets. He would do what must be done, just as the Goddess had commanded him. Jasana would survive, Jesmind would survive, and that was all that mattered to him.
The waiting was all. He was waiting for Phandebrass to finish his chart. He was waiting for Triana to arrive. He was waiting to leave. There would be no goodbyes, just as there were none last time. The time before, it was to maintain a veil of secrecy. This time, it was to maintain a veneer of believability. He was absolutely depending on something Spyder said, that Val would be out there listening, picking the thoughts out of everyone's minds. He went to a great deal of trouble laying down a believable convincing plan, a plan that he was absolutely certain that Val was going to learn. A plan Tarrin had absolutely no intention of following. It would be the same plan up to a certain point, but when those paths split, Val was going to be in for a nasty surprise. So much of one that it was going to allow them to get Jasana out of Gora Umadar alive, and with Sapphire's child dragon there to pick them up, get them to safety.
And that was all that mattered.
It was forty-one days until Gods' Day. Forty-one days to wait, forty-one days for snags to rise up in the plan.
Forty-one days until the very real possibility that it would be the beginning of the end of the world. Or, depending on how one saw things, forty-one days until the opportunity of wiping out Val's army and forcing him to start again from scratch and rebuild. That would give everyone all the time they needed to recover and be ready for the next round of this extended, unending contest between Val and the rest of the world.
Forty-one days.
He became aware of Triana's scent. He heard her come into the courtyard, pad over to him silently, then seat herself facing him. He made no indication he knew she was there, and she was silent a long moment, as if content to wait for him to acknowledge her.
"They said you wanted to see me," she finally said.
"I did," he said serenely, without opening his eyes. "I want you to take the other Were-cats into the Frontier. Take them as far from Suld as you can get them, and don't leave them. I don't want them anywhere near what's coming."
"I guess we can all go to Mist's place," she mused. "It's going to be a bit cramped with me and Jula there, but we can manage."
"And I want you to warn Fae-da'Nar of what we're going to do."
"I've already done that. That's why I'm so late getting here. They've agreed to help again. They know what Demons mean, cub. Everyone has to put a hand in to stop this before it gets out of control."
"Good. Me and Jesmind are going after Jasana."
"I know, they told me," she said. He felt her put her paw on his shoulder. "I don't know what you have up your sleeve, cub, but I hope it's a damned miracle. Do you have any idea what you're about to walk into?"
He opened his eyes and looked at her, and she actually flinched her hand away when she saw the look of almost burning obsession in his eyes, and the cold emptiness behind them. The eyes of a man willing to go to any lengths to recover his child. "I'll manage, mother," he told her.
Because they had seen into each other's minds, they were much closer now, and her intimate understanding of him made her pale when she realized the truth. "Don't think like that, cub," she told him, almost pleadingly. "It's not a given that you're not going to get out alive. Don't give up hope."
"I'm not. But I'm also not going to ignore reality," he told her. "After I get Jesmind and Jasana out of there, and the moment passes when Val can use the Firestaff, I'll have nothing left to use as a bargaining chip. If Jenna and the others can't distract Val long enough for me to find a way to escape, I won't."
"They said you wanted me to teach you how I travel."
"I only said that to reassure the others," he said dismissively. "I doubt I could learn something that complicated in one day."
"You're right."
"When the time comes, I have an idea of how I'm going to get out," he told her. "It's going to depend a little on luck, but no plan doesn't rely on little on luck at some point."
"You're going to give me gray hair, cub," she told him with a weak smile.
He reached out and put his paw on her leg, patting it. "Don't tell the others," he said. "Part of this depends on the other side hearing and seeing things that reinforces the ideas I've laid down. If things don't happen the way I've set them up, I'm not going to get Jasana back."
"I'll keep quiet."
"I only told you because you're a Druid, mother. Spyder told me that Val can pick the thoughts right out of your head from great distances, but I'll bet that not even he can do that easily to someone with a mind as disciplined as a Druid's. That's why nobody else can know. Val is going to find out about the plan from others, and he'll prepare to deal with that plan."
"While you have something else up your sleeve," Triana nodded. "Clever."
"I do. Forgive me if I don't tell you, but this is something I can't risk for any reason."
"I don't blame you, cub. When are you leaving?"
"Phandebrass is doing something for me. I'll leave when he's done."
"That book?" Triana asked. "I saw him when I tracked down Camara Tal. He had a book with him, and he said it was for you."
"That's what I've been waiting for," he said, quickly standing up. "There's some information in that book I need. Now that he's found it, I can go."
"Want me to gather everyone?"
He shook his head. "I don't want anyone to know I'm going. As soon as I get that book, I'm getting Jesmind, and we're leaving. I don't want any explanations. Kerri and Miranda will dog me until they get what they want out of me, and it's critical they know only what I want them to know."
"I think that's a mistake, but I won't gainsay you, cub," she told him, standing up. "Let's go see Phandebrass, and you can get on your way."
Without another word, the pair of them left the courtyard, devoid of the statue that defined it, yet with the presence it represented still present within it.
A presence that heard every word.
Kimmie was tired.
She'd been getting strangely tired here lately, usually when working with her magic, and sometimes just after a long day. Despite her pregancy, she still tutored under Phandebrass, though now he told her that it was more of her refining the skills he taught her than any real additional instruction. Under his watchful eye, she practiced her art at a grueling pace each day, wearing herself out and coming back stronger the day afterward. But now that her pregancy was entering its final phases, her due date only a month and a half away, the child inside her was putting more and more demands on her body and her energy. What had started out as help at the fenceline turned into more of an active supervision, for she had grown too tired to continue after a shocking short time. Were-cat females were only vulnerable in their pregnancy during the last few days, when the baby was ready to drop, but they weren't totally unaffected by their condition until that time. Were-cat babies were infants, but they were Were, and that put more stresses on the mother, more demands on her energy, than a human baby. Until they made their own connection to the All and their powers became independent, the mother was carrying the burden for both mother and child, and Were-cats were a strongly magical Were race. Their regeneration, and to a lesser degree their strength, were aspects of Druidic magic, not physical conditions. Until the baby was born, became an entity completely separate from the mother, the mother was supplying the unborn infant the magical energy it needed for its Were nature to remain strong and healthy.
That was getting to Kimmie, but there was an emotional toll as well. What happened to Jasana had hit her hard, made her rather fearful for her own baby, and it had hurt her to see the damage it had done to Tarrin. She knew exactly how he felt, and to a degree felt the same way herself. Jasana wasn't her daughter, but she did love the little girl, considered her a part of her immediate family. The grief of her abduction was o
nly matched by her anger over it, and the need she felt to help Tarrin and Jesmind get their daughter back. She knew that they'd need to stay together now, in case the enemy decided that having two of Tarrin's children or mates was better than just one. They would gather together and probably have Triana with them to protect them, and they would not permit them to take another Were-cat.
She was exhausted. All of them had gathered together, including the ones from Ungardt, and Jenna told them what was happening. Keritanima immediately had something of a power struggle with Jenna, a confrontation that Jenna won; Keritanima was so used to giving orders that she probably didn't even realize she was infringing on Jenna's authority. But things did look hopeful. They needed to get a look at the army they were facing, but the simple idea that dragons may be fighting with them made any enemy numbers seem even to their own. The idea of gathering the army in small elements then having the gods themselves collect the pieces and then transport the entire mass to a surprise attack on the battlefield was a clever idea, one with a great deal of potential.
That had been the hardest thing about the meeting. The Goddess of the Sorcerers was there in person, sitting on a luxurious chair and letting the mortals make their plans, either answering questions or making suggestions from time to time. Kimmie had found herself staring at the figure more than once. It seemed too bizarre to be in the presence of a god! And she was such a beautiful one! Her very presence was overwhelming, as if her body couldn't contain all her mighty power, and her voice too seemed to echo and resonate in choral tones, as if no one voice could hold the power it contained. But her aura of power was a gentle one, and her smiles reassuring. Kimmie almost immediately understood why the Sorcerers informally referred to their Goddess as Mother. There was a nurturing quality about her, a feminine aire of protectiveness and kindness, that made her seem like the mother of them all, and she had felt quite safe sitting there in the Goddess' presence. And had been reluctant to leave it. Their Goddess was a gentle and loving goddess, and Kimmie felt a little jealous over it. The patron god of Wizards, the god of the original Wizard who had brought Arcane magic to Sennadar from his other dimension, was called Azur, and he had never once answered one of Kimmie's prayers. It seemed unfair that the Sorcerers would have a patron so intimately involved with her followers, while their own god was so terribly aloof and uncaring.
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