Life

by Rosie Scott

  “And then Ciro arrived in Mistral, ending any chances of someone else being promoted, I suppose,” I commented.

  Marcus shook his head. “Not exactly. Ciro's powers and his lust for Vertun's death put him on the fast track to replace his brother, but Altan's suggestion of me was rejected before then. Given the fact that none of the other people suggested learned of their rejections until after Ciro became involved, I'd wager I was the only one rejected so quickly.”

  “Why?” I questioned.

  Marcus raised his eyebrows. “Look at me. I'm not Vhiri.”

  I sighed, exasperated. “I should have figured.”

  “Did Tilda say that was the reason in particular?” Azazel asked.

  “Sure did. She writes her rejection letters by hand. I'm sure if she didn't, Altan would have left that reason out of it to protect me from her bias. Altan's a good man. Always rushing around Eteri trying to clean up after the queen's shitty decisions.” Marcus wrinkled up his nose.

  “Do you believe you could lead a small army?” I asked him.

  “I do. I was interested in becoming a Sentinel for that very reason,” Marcus looked over the other giants, who were all in the midst of conversation, hobbies, and large board games. “The giants listen to me. There were many times I protected Reva without having to get the Vhiri involved at all.”

  I nodded toward the giant woman who had handed the crates up to Maggie earlier. “Addy listened to you right away, and with gusto.”

  Marcus nodded. “You pick up on the slightest details.”

  “It's part of my job. Speaking of which,” I began, meeting Marcus's stare with authority, “there is a chance the Sentinels will put me in charge of you all in Hammerton since we are traveling there together. If that is the case, perhaps I will hand off the responsibility of leading the giants to you.”

  Marcus tilted his head, pondering my words. “Truly? Because of sympathy?”

  “If you were an unassertive and modest presence, I would still sympathize with your rejection from the Sentinels, but I would not offer the same. As I said, I noticed how the others regarded you. I also trust Altan's judgment. If he thought you were a good pick for a Sentinel, I would treat you as such.”

  Marcus appeared contemplative. He blinked slowly, calling attention to the fact that even the eyelashes of giants were longer and more noticeable than most. Finally, he said, “There is a reason you make friends so quickly. I see it now.” The giant cleared his throat before lifting up a hand to stroke his goatee fondly. “I appreciate your offer, Kai, but don't let my plight lead you to make decisions that will negatively affect your leadership of this army.”

  I shook my head. “I'm not. I have an army of five thousand to lead.” I pointed a finger at the ceiling, where my own mixed army was on deck. “I'm assuming the giants will fight very differently than the beastmen and mercenaries I have access to. If anything, letting you lead the other giants will be a benefit to me. I would send you all into battle separately from my own men. The giants are powerful, but they are also tall. Allied casualties are a concern we need to consider.”

  Marcus nodded softly. “There have been accidents before, even just while working alongside the Vhiri. It is not much different than how often you little people step on insects. You barely notice. The same is true for us.” He smiled a bit and regarded Maggie. “Except for short stuff, here.”

  “I'm surprised you let him call you that,” I teased Maggie.

  The engineer chuckled. “It's a term of endearment.”

  “Keep telling yourself that,” Marcus jested, to which he received a playful hit on the shin.

  “Did you two know each other in Reva?” Azazel asked, noting that they seemed friendly with each other.

  “Nah. In Tal, love,” Maggie replied. “Marcus is a master builder. I put him in charge of buildin' battleships after I'd given him the plans.”

  “Ah,” I said, before lifting up an eyebrow. “See, Marcus? Yet another person who sought to put you in a leadership position. My offer shouldn't be surprising. If you were in charge of building the rest of the fleet, you did a damn good job.” I glanced up at the windows high above us. “Does it bother you that there are few windows in here?”

  “Not at all,” Marcus replied, following my gaze. “I can see out of them if I stand. Most giants are used to living and working underground in the mines. The lack of sunlight doesn't bother us too much.”

  “Neither does the lack of furniture, I assume,” I mused, pointing to the deck which was empty of anything other than huge blankets.

  Marcus shook his head. “We don't use it. In many ways, the landscape is our furniture. It's part of the reason why we love messing with it so much. We take great pride in what we do. We're so large that the land is the only thing that gives us any resistance.”

  “Is that why many of you wanted to join us in Hammerton?” I asked curiously.

  Marcus chuckled and gave me a stare that indicated he would say something unsavory. “The giants have been stuck in Eteri for centuries, Kai, under the rule of a woman who believes us to be beneath her while using us when it benefits her. Ask me again why many of us are jumping at the chance to leave.”

  I turned ever so slightly to grin over at Azazel and Maggie. “How interesting.” Azazel chuckled.

  “Don't think this means we won't fight for Eteri. We will,” Marcus pointed out, worried at my reaction.

  “Fighting for Eteri?” Azazel questioned. “It seems to me it's more about fighting for freedom. The giants may not be imprisoned, but you are geographically confined.”

  Marcus shared a sympathetic glance with the former slave. “You would know a thing or two about that.” The giant turned once more to me. “Kai, we are loyal. Do not fear us because of what I said. As much as we may disagree with how Eteri is run, we have always accepted it. The giants are an honest people. No other ways occur to us.”

  “I believe you. My comment was not made out of fear.” I hesitated. I didn't want to let Marcus know of our plans for the queen, but I sympathized greatly with the plight of the giants and wanted to build the foundation of a potential future partnership. After choosing my words carefully in my mind, I finally said, “If all goes well in Hammerton, the giants will be far enough away from the queen's rule that it may not bother you. Regardless, I promise you that once I take Chairel, your people will be welcomed there and considered as equals. You should never have to feel confined.”

  “Ya can consider that a promise, too, love,” Maggie added. “Kai's already fought for equality across Arrayis. Equality by race, gender. I already told ya it's why I joined the Renegades. Pretty sure Tilda would've banished me from Eteri eventually.” The engineer reached past Azazel to shake my shoulder playfully. “Thanks to this one, I'm gonna have quite the cushy job in Sera. Buildin' all sorts of contraptions.”

  “You'll be good at it, too, Maggie.” Marcus laughed softly before smiling at me with admiration. “I appreciate you lending me your ear, Kai, and I appreciate your generous offers. I never thought I'd ever get the chance to see Chairel, but now I have the desire to.”

  Seven

  67th of Dark Star, 426

  The skies above Hammerton were gray and cloudy, promising to release flurries of snow into the chilly winds which assaulted exposed faces. The waters between the country and our ships were choppy and foreboding as if dancing in anticipation. Our navies had come to a full stop with my own at the rear. As such, I was the last general to receive news of our plans.

  The Sentinels and I had already discussed possible ideas for first approaching Hammerton long ago in Eteri, but as with any battle strategies, they were subject to change according to incoming intel and developments. Our navies were still a fortnight away from the shores, but we expected naval resistance and couldn't risk moving any closer.

  As I waited for Cyrus's ship to come to ours, my eyes scanned over the western horizon. My first view of Hammerton was of the enormous Border Mounts which rivale
d the sky in the south. I could not see the coast of the rest of the country, but the mountains were impossible to miss. Many of the peaks were hiding above the tumultuous rolling clouds. It was easy to see how the Border Mounts kept the dwarves safe from the beasts of the land to the south. They were far more significant in scope than the Cel Mountains, which once had been the largest I'd ever seen. The Border Mounts rose in gigantic pyramids of gray rock like the land itself had built a wall through its midsection, and each was topped in pure white snow. The great dwarven city of Olympia was hidden in this mountain range, but I could not see it. Olympia had a massive harbor sitting just on the side of a river which led to the city, and I had previously been told by Altan that the city expanded over the plains surrounding the water. Though I could not see it, our greatest challenge was just before my eyes.

  “I think I like this,” Azazel murmured beside me, his black eyes on the mountains which sought to remove the rest of the world from our view.

  “What?” I asked softly.

  “Traveling the world with you. Seeing all the surface has to offer.” A brisk breeze blew past us, making the wood of the battleship creak with protest and Azazel's black bangs to leave his face clear of obstruction. The archer was in awe at the sight before him.

  “Good. Because we have many more years ahead,” I told him. “Even after this war ends, Azazel, I will find a way to take you everywhere. Nahara, the wildlands. You will see it all.”

  “I will look forward to it,” he replied, smiling over at me just as I heard Cyrus finally climb onto the deck.

  The Sentinel immediately caught my eye and walked over, pulling me into a friendly embrace. We hadn't seen each other in nearly half a year since Zephyr had been the one to relay messages back to me throughout our trip. Cyrus's chest heaved against my own, proof of his arduous climb up the rope ladder Maggie had sent down to him.

  “I could have come down to you,” I commented as we parted. “Saved you the effort.”

  A spark of jest flashed through his blue eyes, and he replied, “And you are telling me this now, when I am already here.”

  “Yes,” I said, “because that way it can seem like I'm being polite even after I've saved myself from inconvenience.”

  Cyrus snorted a laugh at my joke. “I've missed you.” He nodded toward Azazel and the others. “And you all. I insisted on coming to speak with you rather than Zephyr. Out of selfishness, mostly, but I also want to make sure I can talk you down from any craziness you have planned, Kai.”

  I pointed to the Border Mounts. “Let's collapse the mountains.”

  Cyrus's jaw went slack, and his eyes were wide as he gawked at me. “You're serious?”

  “No. That's a horrendous plan.” I smiled as a few of my friends laughed in both humor and relief. “I may be crazy, but I'm not stupid. We need the city. Besides, I'm assuming we're not attacking Olympia right away.”

  “No,” Cyrus agreed. “I'll tell you what the others and I have talked about and get your input. We'll go from there.”

  “Go ahead.”

  Cyrus turned to the coast, pointing one finger past the right side of the bow, calling my attention much farther north of Olympia and its surrounding mountains. “The fishing town of Pisces lies in that direction. To the northwest a fortnight or two away from it lies Monte, a mining town in the Quakes. The two towns complement each other and supply both the cities of Griswald and Olympia. We plan to take both at essentially the same time. Because the towns work together, we risk sounding the alarm to Hammerton's armies too early if we take one at a time.”

  “I'm assuming Pisces is the smaller town given its destruction in the mid-300s,” I stated.

  Cyrus nodded. “It is. They have rebuilt, but the town is not nearly as large as it used to be. Perhaps because they knew we might strike again.”

  “You said that Pisces and Monte have a connected trading route,” I said, watching Cyrus dig out a map from his military satchel. He unfolded it, turning to stand just beside me so we could look at it together. I tapped the parchment over the northernmost settlement of Boreas before dragging my finger southeast to Monte. “Is there a route between these two?”

  “Not that we're aware of,” Cyrus replied. “We figured we would leave Boreas and Oeric for now. The two are unlikely to find out about the other takeovers for a long while. The towns of Hammerton are essentially split into pairs. Two deal in stone, metals, and gems, and two deal in fishing and agriculture. There is one of each on either side of the Quakes which serve as a natural barrier splitting the country in two. It would be unwise to create trading routes through such treacherous paths when it is unnecessary, after all.”

  “And we are leaving Boreas and Oeric because I assume they supply Hallmar,” I said, pointing toward the coastal city closest to the Chairel border.

  “They do. And our need to attack from the east coast already runs the risk of alerting both Griswald and Olympia. We have to try not to alarm all settlements at once.”

  “Have you ever set foot in Olympia?” I questioned.

  “No,” Cyrus replied. “We have attacked its harbor before in wars past, but we've never been crazy enough to try to take it.”

  “Until now,” Nyx commented helpfully.

  “Right.” Cyrus wiggled his eyebrows with anxiousness. “The city is massive in every way imaginable.”

  “What is the layout of the land between the towns and cities?” I asked him. “I want to know what visibility is like. Likelihood of our armies being seen before we assault Olympia.”

  “High threat from Olympia, medium threat from Griswald.” Cyrus skimmed a finger over the parchment between Olympia and Pisces. “These are all open grasslands. The only obstructions are the rivers surrounding Pisces. Our armies will be seen before we even pass the forest on our way, giving them a fortnight or so of planning for our arrival. Much of Olympia is vertical and open to the air. Visibility is high.” The Sentinel redirected his finger to Griswald. “Griswald is also large, but it is obstructed by its forest. Visibility is extremely low, but so is the likelihood of assaulting it by surprise. The city is the country's only supplier of lumber. It is likely our army will be discovered by a trader or civilian who will report our presence back to Griswald. It will give us time before retaliation, but Griswald will expect our attack.”

  “So will Olympia, it sounds like,” Cerin commented.

  “Not necessarily,” I murmured, glancing over at Azazel. “I have some ideas. Are you thinking what I'm thinking?”

  Azazel nodded slowly. “Hazarmaveth.”

  Cyrus flicked his eyes back and forth between us. “What about it?”

  “We infiltrated Hazarmaveth while invisible,” Azazel commented.

  “How can we do that here?” Cyrus asked. “Very few of us know illusion magic. Our attack will still be given away by those marching openly.”

  “Not if we infiltrate it first,” I said. “You have a forest helpfully sitting here, Cy, just waiting to hide the rest of you safely while we weaken the city from within.”

  “We have two illusionists, Kai,” Nyx pointed out, a sadness flowing through her eyes as she was forced to remember our loss of Jakan. “Just you and I.”

  “We have more than that. A few of our Alderi soldiers know illusion magic from the underground.” I nodded toward the sailors on deck. “If the underground army shows, they will meet us here.” I circled a finger around the edge of the forest just south of Monte. “I told Calder to send his men along the edge of the mountains. If they arrive before we march to Olympia, we could have hundreds or even thousands of illusionists.”

  “If,” Azazel pointed out.

  I nearly chided him for being negative, but I was too much of a realist not to accept the possibility the Alderi wouldn't show. I finally frowned and said, “Yes, if. Even so, with just a handful of illusionists, we could do massive damage from within the city before the rest of you even breach it.”

  “What could you possibly do?” Cyrus
asked, receptive.

  “Remove threats. Collect intel. I'm assuming they have siege weapons kept in the city. I can disable them.”

  “How?” The Sentinel asked me.

  “Earth magic,” I replied. “Cannonballs, ballista darts, and projectiles are mostly made out of metal or stone. I can disintegrate them before they can be used. Dwarves do not deal in magic so they will be unable to be repaired. Remove a weapon's ammo, and it is quickly rendered useless.”

  As Cyrus watched me explain, his lips curved upward in a smile. “Gods, I'm glad we have you. We have options never available to us before.”

  “We do. But we also won't be attacking Olympia for some time,” I said. “So let's get back to Monte and Pisces.”

  Cyrus nodded. “Yes. Do you have a preference for which town you'd like to attack?”

  “I want to join the assault on Monte,” I replied. “It is the harder town to tackle, and it is closest to where the underground may meet us. I want to be there to greet them if they show.” Cyrus seemed to agree, so I continued, “Kirek needs to attack with Altan.”

  Cyrus frowned. “Why?”

  “She will want to slaughter dwarven civilians to follow Tilda's orders. The rest of us don't want that to happen. You and Altan are both above her rank, but you and Kirek have argued many times. Perhaps she will listen to Altan.”

  Cyrus exhaled heavily, staring at the map as if it held answers for him. “Maybe we should keep her and Dax separate,” he finally said.

  “You're worried Kirek will be less likely to relinquish her authority while in front of Dax,” I replied.

  “Exactly.”

  “It's a good idea. If she questions it, have Leura separate from Altan to keep things equal.”

  Cyrus nodded in agreement.

  “Tell me what you all have planned for the remaining trip,” I requested.

  “We will be turning the ships ninety degrees and heading north from here,” Cyrus replied, pointing toward the right side of the ship, where nothing but open ocean greeted us. “Hammerton is leery of an attack from us. Particularly after news of Narangar's destruction in Chairel and the undeniable fact that you are now working with us. Chairel is planning a larger assault on Nahara, and Hammerton refused to aid them because they are consolidating their armies. They know we'll be coming.”