by Kay Murky
Chapter Four
The gamble of the Allied General Staff to surprise the enemy’s ambush positions, had reduced the morale of the attacking Essians and had paid off. It was partially responsible for their eventual victory. In essence this was supposed to have been a policing action to prevent the Essian Army from crossing the border into Valtern, but with so many variables anything could have gone wrong. This could have turned into a long war, like the previous attempt of the Essians to invade ten years ago. That the Allies had managed to all out defeat the enemy within the space of ten marks was only due to the fact that their opponents had nothing like The Onla, humans and dragons, and the vicious Kaadish warriors on their side. Even the Imperial Mages that they had on loan from the Platar Emperor could not stand against the joint effort of the Onlashian and Koltranian mages.
All that remained now was to clean up the mess.
“Ho! Dani. Are you still coping there?” Dani lifted his head from where he was watching them remove the wounded man he had just diagnosed, and saw Karragh pushing past in the stream of humans coming to and going from the healers’ tents.
“Barely.” Dani was not going to lie. He was starting to feel his exhaustion. His brown friend might have more reason to look wilted, having just partaken in the ten mark long battle, but… ah well. He was not going to make excuses for himself. He bared his upper teeth in a grin and tilted his head a bit as he studied the Fehrarkon Commander. “I see you are in one piece. Next time, I will come with you, and have some fun. I actually missed being in the heat of the battle.”
That was no lie. Dani sighed as he watched Karragh moving through the throngs towards the Command tents. The sounds of the battle had stirred Dani’s warrior spirit, and it was only his dedication to his calling as a healer, and the man lying under his wing, that had prevented him from jumping up and flying over to join in.
A sweat and blood streaked warrior strolled past him, drinking deeply from a waterskin. Dani found his eyes fixed on that and he swallowed convulsively. Why was he suddenly so thirsty? He had drunk the rest of his water only a few moments…
It was only then that he realised that the Imperial Captain hidden under his wing had been awake, and joined with him in mind, for the last few marks. He had been too busy, too involved in what he was doing to notice it. The joining of minds had also been so instinctive, so natural that apart from that momentary dizziness, it had had no effect on him. The yellow haze he had experienced in his sight he had blamed on tiredness, but now he realised that it had been the underside of his own wing that had been overlying his own vision the whole time.
Dani felt like laughing from relief, but managed to keep it to a grin as he turned his head towards the approaching Tanika and Minelbet. The pair looked tired and care worn. Maybe it was a good thing that he was only a petmarpen, a junior commander.
“Barakish, Dani. Eshiket.” Tanika smiled a bit as she greeted and thanked him, though the smile did not reach her eyes. “Good work done so far. I think you can take a half mark break now, because I’m sure you have eyestrain by now.”
“Will do. Eshi.” It was good to be thanked for you work by your superiors, and just good manners to thank them in return for understanding your situation. What was more important now was to do something about the thirst driving him so crazy. “Do you have a waterskin with you?”
“Sure.” Tanika unhooked it from her shoulder, but looked uncertain. “Though I doubt it would do more than wet your tongue. I thought someone would have thought to bring you some!”
“Not me. My patient.”
