Shailiha looked back down at the southernmost stream and saw that the telltale phenomena described by theInkai were not appearing.
“We have failed here,” she said. “We must search the next branch.”
After Shailiha shouted out new orders to Traax, the Minion commander relayed them to Sigrid and the war party turned north. Soon they were at the shoreline where the middle stream met the sea. Again theJin’Saiou nodded to Faegan, and the wizard started the painstaking process anew. After more subtle matter had been dropped onto the water, Faegan again recited the incantation. Tense moments passed as the war party hovered, every eye trained on the dark, rippling water below.
Suddenly Shailiha saw the glow of the craft appear. The process was mesmerizing. Little by little, azure dots of light were gathering atop the surface of the tributary. Before she knew it there were thousands of them, each one signifying the exact place where a Blood Viper lurked in the water below.
Then her blood ran cold as she realized that the multitudes of haunting azure dots were slowly moving toward the restless ocean. In mere moments the first of them would enter the Sea of Whispers and perhaps escape forever. Desperate to start the second part of the process, she turned toward Faegan.
“We’ve found them!” she shouted. “But we have little time! You must call Failee’s spell before they reach the sea!”
Everyone in the war party knew how vitally important it was that Faegan perform the next part of the attack flawlessly, lest the monsters and their terrible leader escape them forever. Summoning all of his power, Faegan began reciting Failee’s centuries-old incantation:
’Tis your blood that is sought; ’Tis heat to be wrought; No god or man can end my toil; No savior may cause this enchantment to spoil; I command your blood essence to writhe and churn; You shall feel your very soul to burn.
Her heart in her throat, Shailiha stared breathlessly at the water.
CHAPTER XLVII
STANDING ON THE FOREDECK OF THETAMMERLAND, Tristan could scarcely believe his eyes. The scene unfolding all around him was overwhelming, proving once and for all that the War of Attrition was indeed conducted on a scale that he and his fellow Eutracians could once have scarcely dreamed of. Yet here they were, about to become a part of it. Simply contemplating the coming fight caused his newly gifted blood to pulse stronger.
Two days had passed since theInkai granted him their versions of the banned forestallments. Just as the elders had feared, the ordeal had almost destroyed him. Twice during the agonizing process he nearly died, his heart beating so wildly that it almost ruptured as Wigg, Tyranny, Jessamay, and theInkai watched and worried.
Only Mashiro’s craft skills kept Tristan from perishing as the spells first assaulted his blood, then finally became part of it. The process complete, he had lain senseless in his private quarters for four more hours before regaining consciousness.
Tristan had awoken weakened and confused. Wigg, Jessamay, Tyranny, and Hoshi were all there waiting to welcome him back to the world. He spent the remainder of that day and night resting. On the following morning he felt much like his old self again and he had demanded a hearty breakfast.
With Wigg and Jessamay looking on, Tristan spent the following day with Mashiro as theInkai elder explained his new gifts and instructed him in how to summon and dismiss them. Tristan’s new abilities sounded so awesome that he and the other Eutracians could scarcely believe what they were hearing. Along with his instruction to Tristan, Mashiro added a grave warning: Because you are still unaccustomed to your powers, they are not to be summoned until they are needed on the battlefield, he cautioned theJin’Sai. And only on Hoshi’s orders, he added.
Later that day, theInkai granted him, Wigg, Jessamay, Astrid, and Phoebe the much-needed language forestallments that allowed them to speak both Shashidan and Rustannican. The Eutracian mystics were astounded at how suddenly their new gifts took hold, causing them to involuntarily slip from one of the three languages now at their command into another one almost without knowing. Smiling at their ineptitude, Mashiro told them that with practice, their control over the languages would soon improve.
The next morning, Tristan stood squarely on the deck of theTammerland watching the Shashidan forces gather for the coming fight. He understood all too well that he was an irrevocably changed man. Never again would he return to the lesser being that he had once been, nor could he envision wishing to so do. It was his destiny to take part in this fight.
Tristan had never felt so powerful, so alive. He knew instinctively that even his gift ofK’Shari paled when compared to the new powers flowing through his veins. He felt like a towering giant among men, as if his will alone could shape the world and its events to his liking. Moreover, it was all he could do to keep from using his gifts here and now. They beckoned to him, begging to be used. But as much as these new feelings enthralled him, they also worried him.
He wisely confided in Wigg and Mashiro his desire to loose his gifts prematurely. As Wigg listened, he became very concerned. Mashiro did his best to reassure them by saying that theInkai believed this was to be expected. Given the nature of theJin’Sai ’s blood and the immense power it now held, how could one imagine otherwise? he asked.
He went on to say that theInkai also believed that Tristan’s mind would overcome these temptations, just as they guessed Vespasian’s had done. Although Tristan’s blood had been granted these unprecedented gifts, it had not been fundamentally changed. Tristan’s great need to be errant was not dangerous, Mashiro added, provided theJin’Sai controlled his new gifts to the best of his abilities and employed them only in the service of the Vigors. By granting him the banned forestallments, theInkai had placed more trust in him than in any other human being that had ever existed in the history of Shashida. Listen to Hoshi and use your new gifts wisely, Mashiro said, lest the world suffer at your hand rather than be helped by it.
With the arrival of Tristan’s new gifts, everyone seemed to regard him with awe and apprehension. The Shashidans bowed deeper toward him, and when they spoke their tones conveyed even greater humility and reverence. Even his fellow Eutracians seemed unsure how to behave in his presence. Such behavior toward him seemed only to heighten his newfound sense of separateness.
Hearing boot heels strike the deck, Tristan turned to see Wigg approaching. Like Tristan, the First Wizard had chosen to go to war wearing his customary Eutracian clothes. Although he and Tristan had become accustomed to Shashidan garb, today their old clothes felt more appropriate. Tristan’s worn leather vest, black breeches, and knee boots seemed like old friends, as did his dreggan and his throwing knives. Like Tristan’s clothes, Wigg’s boots and worn gray robe had been spotlessly cleaned. For a long time the two friends simply stared in awe at the gathering Shashidan forces.
“Have you ever seen the like?” Tristan asked, using the Shashidan dialect.
Remaining silent for a time, Wigg placed his hands into opposite robe sleeves.
“There simply are no words,” he finally answered in kind.
As the Shashidan war forces gathered around the two Black Ships, Wigg empowered theTammerland while Jessamay piloted theEphyra, the Eutracian vessels hovering side by side at an attitude of about one hundred meters. Tyranny, Scars, and Ox were also aboard theTammerland, while Phoebe and Astrid were stationed on theEphyra. The Black Ships’ decks were swarming with Tristan’s Minions, each warrior spoiling for a fight. Even the stalwart Minions had been rendered speechless as they too watched the massive Shashidan army gather in the sky around them.
The Black Ships’ journey from Ryoto to these distant flatlands had been accomplished by way of azure portals. Several Shashidan divisions, orbunkatsu, had gone through first to make sure that the staging area south of the lower Tani Kinkiro entrance was clear of the enemy. Each division held ten thousand male and female katsugai mosota. Only after the staging area was deemed free of the enemy were Tristan’s two Black Ships and the remainder of the Shashidan army allowed t
o follow. As Tristan watched the Shashidan forces continue to pour forth from the whirling airborne portals, their growing ranks seemed endless.
Once gathered, the Shashidan forces would be staggering in their power. Each cohort, orkensai, held ten divisions, for a total of one hundred thousand fighters. Like the Rustannican legions, each kensai was commanded by an expert mystic ormahotsukai. The Shashidan army held thirty kensai, meaning that it easily numbered three million katsugai. Julia Idaeus had informed them that the Rustannican legions numbered at least that many soldiers, perhaps more. As Tristan looked around he realized that when finally assembled, the Shashidan forces would stretch across the sky as far as the eye could see. Six million warriors would soon clash in one of the mightiest struggles ever witnessed on earth.
The Shashidan attack would be partly an airborne assault and a partly a ground assault, Mashiro had told the Eutracians. The goal was to strike with speed and surprise while Vespasian’s troops were still busy plundering the gold. Half of the Shashidan forces were already on their way north by azure portal to a point above the far entrance to the Tani Kinkiro. When both staging areas were ready, two opposing Shashidan attacks would crush Vespasian’s legions guarding the valley entrances and then proceed toward each other down the valley’s length, killing as they went. Vespasian’s legions situated in the valley would be forced to hold their positions if they wished to keep on harvesting gold. But the trapped Rustannican forces would surely fight back with everything they had, and the struggle would be savage in its ferocity.
TheInkai guessed that Vespasian would realize it was better to keep what gold he had taken and retreat to fight another day, rather than remain in the valley and fight it out. The loss of the gold would be unfortunate, Mashiro said, for it would enable Vespasian to continue fighting this war for decades to come or longer. Even so, during the brief time available to them, the Rustannicans could not have pilfered enough gold to make any appreciable difference to the Shashidan coffers.
Taking back the valley was the main goal, theInkai decided. But should Vespasian foolishly decide to fight to the end, the katsugai would gladly oblige him. So as to speed the lightning Shashidan attack, no slow-moving supply lines would be established unless the battle became a protracted one. Like the Rustannicans, the Shashidans had conjured beasts at their disposal. But because transporting and handling the various Vigors beasts was a laborious process, it was decided that they would not be employed despite the presence of Rustannican Blood Stalkers and Bedevilers. The katsugai mosota understood that they alone would bear the full weight of the attack, and they accepted the responsibility with relish.
As Tristan and Wigg watched, ever more Shashidan airborne war barges exited the azure portals, each one crammed full of katsugai mosota. Soon the great airships would blot out the sky. When Tristan had first seen the Black Ships, he was staggered by their size. He couldn’t imagine that any vessel of the sea or of the air might eclipse them in sheer magnitude. But he had been wrong.
Unlike the frigatelike Black Ships, the Shashidan vessels were true barges. Also known astataki fune, their primary mission was to bring as many katsugai to the fight as possible while protecting them at the same time. Azure portals were infinitely faster at transporting soldiers and materiel, but their inherent drawback was the immediate vulnerability of those rushing from its depths as they emerged onto the battlefield. Although far slower, the flying barges afforded greater protection to the troops while deploying them where the real fighting raged.
Each tataki fune was square in shape, measuring four hundred meters on every side. Their hulls were flat, and each one could accommodate a full Shashidan division of ten thousand katsugai. Made of wood and protected against harm byInkai enchantments, they carried no sails but were empowered by expert katsugai craft practitioners, four to each barge. Their wooden sides were straight and flat, with portholes through which the katsugai mosota and barge pilots could look out. Each tataki fune was painted a vibrant color matching the armor color of the katsugai division that it carried. To give them a fearsome appearance, intricately carved heads representing various Shashidan mythological beasts projected from their bows, and corresponding tails were fixed to their sterns. They were truly amazing craft constructs, and their magnificence only added to Tristan’s growing sense of awe.
And commanding it all-her authority over all the Shashidan forces absolute-was the woman called Hoshi of the House of Lotus Blossoms.
Tristan had not seen Hoshi that day, but he knew that she was there somewhere, busily preparing the Shashidan forces for their attack. He knew so little about her, he realized.
How old was she really, he wondered, and how had she come to be the supreme commander of all the Shashidan forces? Was she in fact ancient and protected by time enchantments, as were the other members of theChikara Inkai? Her youthful appearance was incongruous among theInkai elders, yet her vision and counsel were equally respected. Tristan assumed that only theInkai superseded her military authority, but he could not be sure. One thing was certain, however: She was a true warrior. Moreover, she brooked no misbehavior from her katsugai, and her orders were sometimes expertly enforced by the use of her sword. As well they should be, he thought grimly.
Just then Tyranny, Scars, and Ox approached. Saying nothing, Tyranny produced her gold case and lit a cigarillo. Like Wigg and Tristan, today she wore her Eutracian clothes. Tristan smiled as he was reminded how piratical she could appear.
Tousling her dark hair in disbelief, she took another deep lungful of smoke as she watched the huge tataki fune taking up their massive formations in the sky.
“I see it, but I still can’t grasp it,” she breathed.
“I know,” Tristan answered, remembering to speak only Eutracian in her presence.
“Ox always believed Black Ships big,” the huge Minion said. “They be nothing next to Shashidan vessels.”
Tristan was about to respond when one of the Shashidan war barges floated dangerously near theTammerland. It was packed to overflowing with eager katsugai. As the barge pulled alongside, its katsugai bowed to Tristan reverently, but foremost in his mind was the worry that the two vessels might collide. He was about to order Wigg to shear theTammerland away when he saw an armored katsugai mystic officer levitate from the barge to land on the Black Ship’s foredeck.
The fighter stood there for a moment, looking at him from behind an elaborate war mask. This was Tristan’s first glimpse of a fully armored katsugai close up, and the effect was chilling.
Armor covered the katsugai’s head and body, leaving virtually no place vulnerable to attack. It was constructed of lightweight metal plates bound together by leather cords, each plate overlapping the next. The plates had been lacquered a shiny black to make them waterproof and to identify the cohort and the air barge to which he belonged. Chain mail connected the plates at strategic joints, allowing for freedom of movement. The various pieces included a breastplate and back-plate, greaves, gauntlets, footwear, and an elaborate helmet. Broad shoulder pads of bright red woven metal draped down over the upper arms. The gloves were of black chain mail.
The helmet was particularly fascinating. Also made of black lacquered metal, it was rounded on the top, with a wide brim to keep the sun out of the fighter’s eyes. A broad, low-slung metal shield attached to the back of the helmet protected the katsugai’s neck from rearward blows. The helmet was held in place by a thick black leather cord tied under the katsugai’s chin in a large bow.
Of all its amazing features, the helmet’s face mask was the most intimidating. It too was made of shiny black lacquered metal, and the image engraved upon it was fearsome. The eye slits were slanted and wicked-looking, the facial expression warlike, the open mouth and sneering lips twisted into a seething grimace. More chain mail protected the katsugai’s throat, and the traditional long and short swords were secured at the fighter’s left hip. Taken as a whole, the effect was daunting. To an uninitiated enemy, the mere sight of this armor
ed warrior might well cause him to throw down his weapons.
Tristan was about to speak when the katsugai extended one gloved hand and grasped the chin of his mask. The mask swiveled upward ingeniously and disappeared into the space between the crown of the katsugai’s head and the top of his helmet. Removing the helmet, with a shake of her head Hoshi tossed her long black hair free. She gave Tristan a solemn bow which he politely returned, once he recovered from his astonishment.
“We are ready, Jin’Sai, ” she said simply. “It is time for you to come with me.”
Tristan nodded. It would feel strange to leave his friends just before the battle, but it had to be this way, for he was not leading this fight. Hoshi was in command and he had pledged to obey her. He turned to look at Wigg.
“I leave command of the Minions and the Black Ships to you,” he said. “Aid the struggle to the best of your abilities. I will be on Hoshi’s barge, also doing what I can.”
A somber look on his face, Tristan stepped forward and embraced Wigg.
“Goodbye for now, old friend,” he said quietly. “In Abbey’s name, kill as many Rustannicans as you can.”
Nodding, Wigg blinked away a tear. “Take care, Jin’Sai, ” he answered. “Above all, remember Mashiro’s warnings and use your new gifts wisely.”
After again looking into Wigg’s misty eyes, Tristan turned and walked to Hoshi’s side. Hoshi put her helmet back in place, then pulled down her war mask and raised one hand in Tristan’s direction. They levitated up and away from theTammerland ’s bow deck to land on Hoshi’s war barge.
Moments later, the order was given, and the mighty Shashidan armada turned to sail into history.
CHAPTER XLVIII
FROM HER PLACE IN THE HOVERING LITTER, SHAILIHAlooked breathlessly down at the Sippora River’s middle stream. Failee’s spell is working! she realized.
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