by Billy Wong
The voice from inside the cloud spoke again. "You have pretty words. Yet you cannot fool me. Already you tread the same path of destruction, pursuing knowledge that will doom all there is."
"What do you mean?"
"Why must you play at being stupid, when it should be obvious of what I speak?"
She glanced back over the city, honestly not sure what the enemy leader was getting at. Maybe having so much on her mind lately slowed the workings of her brain, or just the stress of the situation. When she got a glimpse of Scott's armored suit readying a long tube weapon she hadn't seen before, she caught on. "You must mean technology, huh? The empire's weapons and machines... using them makes you suspect us."
"Of course it does. Why would it not? You embrace the same flawed notion of 'progress' that razed the earth. How long will it be before another catastrophe, a thousand years, two thousand? It might not matter to your selfish minds what happens long after you are gone, but the life of the world and all it will birth is meant to last far longer than that. Yet it was lucky to survive the last time, and probably would not withstand another disaster on that scale. For the sake of all other beings, your race should disappear."
"I assure you we understand your concern. No one who lives now is happy about what happened. How is technology in itself wrong or evil, though? We're just using what we have to help us get by, hell, we're using it to improve our chances of defending ourselves against you. Can't you see your own actions are pushing us down the path you disapprove of? But even if you backed off, I doubt we would abandon the imperial technology available to us. It's been helpful, and if we learn to reproduce it that'll help us even more. It's just a tool, why should we disdain it simply because it can be misused?" She shifted the hammer on her shoulder and smiled at it. "My strength could be used to massacre countless innocents too, if I was like some people. Does that mean I should not use my physical gifts at all, and hide somewhere while enemies overrun the land? I make my share of mistakes, but I think I've saved a decent number of folks too. Tools are good or bad depending on how they're wielded, and one could say it's cowardly to want them eradicated out of fear of the latter."
"It is a matter of scope!" the voice roared, its sudden irateness taking her by surprise. "Your strength will not destroy the world! The progress your race forever seeks, however, is bound to. Enough talk. Even if I convince you that you walk a road to ruin, it is as you implied inherent to humans to create tools and someday reach the potential to destroy everything again. You 'people' never learn. So you should be removed before then."
She hung her head. "I can actually see where you're coming from with the 'never learn.' To ones looking in from outside, humans must seem absurd, blessed with such intellect yet forever using it to kill each other and perpetuate a world of conflict. And it's true there will always be bad people. But there'll always be good people too, and maybe someday soon they'll be the ones guiding us forward.
"Let's stop talking hypotheticals for a moment. Did you know that not far from here, stands the most beautiful place I've seen left in the world? A forest so vibrant, flowers grow on its floor as if in sunlit meadow. And guess who preserved that land since the war which destroyed most like it? Humans who don't even eat meat, they're so in tune with nature. I'm not saying I'm like or could be like that. But if people can be that nurturing to the earth, don't you think perhaps the rest of us can at least learn not to be destructive?"
The voice remained hard. "Even if aberrations exist among you, it does not excuse the rest. Why would the rare minority become the majority just because it would be ideal? That is akin to asking all rocks to become diamonds. It is more than improbable, and to gamble everything on it foolhardy."
Cart-Dragger grew irritated now, as she realized reason wasn't going to work. "All those great arguments from me and you won't budge a step?" She forced a grin, putting on her brave face though the massive cloud which hid so many threats made even her wary. "Then I'll just have to beat you down like every other King Elemental I've fought."
"Your strength... I wondered if my brother Kraken failed because the humans on this continent were more organized than elsewhere. But if you defeated him singlehandedly, then your death will no doubt be a crushing blow to your allies' morale."
She wanted to think they were more organized too, though she couldn't be sure. "Kraken? He's called Tentacle Nest. I named him, to give me power over him. And now I name you-"
Maximilian said in a flustered tone, I can't believe at a time like this...
"I am Tiamat, Queen Elemental of Air! Morsel! Let that be your name as you die and dissolve inside my belly!"
She trumped you.
"She actually called herself a Queen Elemental instead of King, too. I guess I'll have to take her on without the naming advantage, then—but Tentacle Nest was really the only one I named, and I still beat the others." They hadn't been able to fly, though, and it worried her that Tiamat surely could.
"Go forth, my cousins!" Tiamat cried, voice sharp and cold as a blade of ice. Airborne creatures of all sorts flew out from the cloud. The smallest were giant insects, birds and leathery-winged reptiles, man sized or larger. Then came greater avians, eagles bigger than houses that might have been called rocs, and smaller drakes and dragonkin. Behind them came dragons who rivaled great ships in size and other, stranger titans—incredibly long, thin worms which swam through the air, and whales with dozens of insectoid wings floating ponderously forward. Cart-Dragger gaped. She couldn't be certain of their numbers, though there must be thousands in total, but seeing how many were of vast size, she began to doubt the city's chances of standing against them. In terms of sheer mass, their warriors must be at a grave disadvantage...
But if she showed her discouragement, how could the hearts of those who followed her possibly hope to stay strong? She bellowed at the top of her lungs, "Is this all? You bunch of flying chickens are nothing compared to what we prepared for. Everyone, when they get in range, unleash all! Let their corpses rain down like snow!"
"Flying chickens?" Allen asked from her right. "Most of them not even birds."
She laughed awkwardly, feeling bad that he didn't understand. "Well, I'm just trying to stick with the cooking theme."
The elementals came on undeterred. As they neared, projectiles flew up by the hundreds as promised—arrows, spears, rocks, bullets, energy and magic blasts from imperial weapons and God Soldiers, and more. Scores of smaller beasts dropped in the first volley, crashing onto roofs, splattering upon the walls and pavement. Scott fired the tube his mechanical suit held, the white beam lancing through a flock of ravenlike birds so half a dozen fell at once. Abaddon shot a thick gout of flame far into the distance, cutting a worm in half then piercing a sky whale as well. It lost control of its body and spun forward erratically, causing chaos in its allies' ranks as its gargantuan form smashed into some and scattered many others before plummeting down. Cart-Dragger saw a cloud of dust rise where it landed, blood spreading out like a lake beneath it. It gladdened her to see that Galantria had indeed become strong. Yet with the horde aligned against them, would their newfound strength be enough?
While the defenders might not be as reliant on her anymore, she intended to contribute more than a bit. "Let's go, E!" She jumped on the birdlike God Soldier's back, other trained riders following suit with their mounts. "Take as many out as we can before they reach our ground forces!"
They flew to meet the aerial swarm as their landbound allies provided cover fire. Even so they were forced to break formation quickly, each mount-and-rider pair having to dodge frantically among the opposition which far outnumbered them. Cart-Dragger swung her hammer about while E weaved and spun between foes, ripping at them with claws and beak. It was somewhat overwhelming even for her, fighting while vertical one instant and sideways or upside down the next and with the wind whipping against her face, but her maul repeatedly connecting with something sold to a squawk or shriek of pain told her she managed well enough.
Since she didn't have an unlimited supply, she saved her javelins for targets that would count. E flew past an enormous dragon whose breath just missed. As it turned its moose-sized head to track them, she hurled a spear directly into its eye which disappeared into its cranium. It thrashed wildly, clawing without purpose at space, then went limp and dropped like a stone. A slightly smaller dragon, likely its relative, roared in rage and swooped towards them. Its breath of concentrated wind licked out and she ducked, but felt it sting her neck nonetheless as its fringe washed over her.
She jumped up into a standing position on E's back, then leapt off to intercept the wyrm. "Air Dragon Slayer Beta!" she called as she twisted in midair, and her maul plowed into its skull. A deafening crunch sounded, and the second dragon joined its kin in falling to its end. Cart-Dragger herself plunged towards the ground below, but landed on E's back as the latter flew down to catch her.
"Why was that Beta," E asked, "if the move you used to kill an air elemental dragon before was called Alpha?"
"I don't know, maybe because I did it in one shot. But moreso just because I felt like it." Smacking aside a huge-mandibled beetle flying straight at her, she said tensely, "Tiamat still hasn't shown herself. I wonder what she's waiting for." She whacked down another bug and a third, then saw a bird's talons glance off E's metal-plated abdomen before she gutted it with her own. The empire's enhancements proved useful after all. "The enemies are reaching the city. Let's go back and help them!"
As they turned around towards the walls from which myriad projectiles still flew up, she noticed Strength on a nearby bird-lizard, clinging rather tightly to its back but still downing foes with wide swipes of her glaive. "So you did overcome your fear of flying," she commented. "Guess your impatience about waiting on the ground to engage them outweighed it."
They both struck at a roc that tried to block their way, simultaneously cutting its throat and braining it. "I was never scared!" Strength said, her face white. "I just finally found a God Soldier capable of supporting my weight at speed."
Cart-Dragger knocked a bird into the face of a drake diving towards her from above, then threw a javelin through the former pinning it to the latter. The drake blew the bird off with its breath, not quite killed by the spear in its snout, but by then she had flown up close and shattered its skull. "Okay, but that one looks pretty much the same size as the ones Lars and Ruth rode."
"Yeah, but... s-shut up!" Strength made her mount dip to avoid an oncoming worm, slit it open from beneath and shielded her eyes from its cascading guts with a forearm.
"Fine, I won't go too hard since it might demoralize you and make you not fight as well." She watched Scott send a barrage of shots—pew pew pew pew pew—up at the densely packed monsters, the beams lancing through a multitude of them which fell dead or dying. He quite impressed her, though it wasn't his own physical power. Technology was a valuable tool, and proved its worth right now. Sure, she preferred to settle things with the strength in her arms, but the survival of humanity took priority over any notions of pride at the moment. She thought of something... what if she used a "gun?" Would she do even better? Then again, she had so much experience with her weapons of choice, it'd be hard to adjust to a whole new style.
E banked right, dodging a fast armless dragonkin—wyvern?—which flew at them from behind. It turned towards them again, only for Strength to blindside it and cleave through its neck. They were almost back at the wall, where defenders now engaged elementals in close range. Lars and Allen had abandoned their crossbows for axe and spear respectively, while Ruth still managed to pick off foes with her bow in between evading their attacks. Ruth's burly partner Stan from her mercenary days was there too, hacking away with his sword. A man next to Russ fell with blood spraying from his neck, then Russ plunged his shortsword into the gut of his avian killer and kicked it off. Where could she help the most... she noticed the less trained volunteers struggling, some fleeing at the sight of their fellows' deaths or just in fright of the bestial enemy. Mindy yelled among them with hammer in hand, trying to keep a semblance of order, but despite her strong presence the blacksmith couldn't seem to give them much encouragement.
Cart-Dragger directed E to fly by them, swatting down bird after bird assailing them as she passed. "Courage, warriors! Remember your families, and humankind itself, are counting on you!" She wheeled around to spot a sky whale approaching their position, which she doubted they could handle courageous or not. Now was a good chance to provide some inspiration, though... "E, get me above that whale!" They flew over the titan, which looked up, and she jumped on its head. With unexpected agility, it barrel rolled in midair attempting to throw her off. But she stabbed a javelin into its flesh and held onto the shaft to steady herself. When its belly faced the ground again, she still stood atop it, and raised her hammer. She struck the butt of the javelin driving it like a nail through skull and brain, then leapt off back onto E while the whale sank away dying. Cheers went up from the volunteers, and other defenders who saw as well.
She found this a fine opportunity to say, "Don't be cowed by their size or natural weapons! They may have advantages, but we have our own too. We have better weapons actually made for war, and the ingenuity of humans!"
"You mean the self-destructiveness of humans?" Tiamat spat. "You should have saved us the trouble and completely destroyed yourselves before. Nonetheless, the curse that is your creativity will not save you this time." A cone of wind shot howling forth from the cloud with such force it punched a sizable hole in the parapet. The wall shook as flying rubble pulverized men and others were blown off it, falling to their doom. Panicked voices filled the air at the display of power.
"She's smart," E said, "staying in there where she can do plenty of damage to us while we struggle to find her."
"Yeah, but we might not be without countermeasures for that." She looked to the horned figure towering over the city who devastated the enemy with each exploding fireball he threw into their midst. "Abaddon! See if you can't evaporate that cloud with your flames!"
He sucked in a deep breath and shot an expanding wave of flame into the cloud, clearing away a large section of it to reveal Tiamat. She hovered just above the earth, a sleek golden dragon more upright than most and taller than even Abaddon. Her wingspan must have been more than twice his height, and as she flapped them harder, the wind from them alone made warriors fall or duck to retain their footing. "Now that you see me," she asked sounding as confident as ever, "do you still think you can win?"
Cart-Dragger scoffed. "What, you want us to give up just because you're big and scary looking? That's like the very opposite of what I do. The more daunting a foe appears, the more I yearn to prove they aren't so tough!"
"Your hubris is disgusting."
She supposed she could see where Tiamat was coming from, but was it really hubris if it worked so well for her? With all on the line now, however, she didn't feel her usual compulsion to take on such a powerful opponent singlehandedly. "Abaddon! Want to give me a hand?" But as she glanced his way, she saw he suddenly had his hands full, punching with boulderlike fists at rocs and wyverns which harassed him while two larger dragons and a sky whale closed in. Did they swarm him on purpose so their master would be free to wreak havoc? Probably... it seemed Tiamat would have to be dealt with by human hands after all. She flew on E at the dragon, and a dozen or so Wings of Galantria—the moniker Russ had coined for the guards trained to fight in the air—followed having heard her call for aid. She didn't know if what little help they might be able to provide was worth risking themselves so, but then maybe she underestimated them and should give them a chance.
Strength also flew alongside her. "You up for this?" she asked the big woman, looking even paler than before.
"Don't be so condescending, of course I'm up for it!"
"I was just asking..."
As they approached, Tiamat loosed her breath again, making E barrel roll aside while three Wings were caught in the
blast and tumbled broken out of the sky. Not wanting any more warriors of Galantria to throw their lives away, Cart-Dragger yelled, "Break off, men! Strength and I will handle this."
Most obeyed, but one grizzled vet with a salt-and-pepper beard and a younger man she remembered to be his nephew stayed the course. "No need to hog the glory, Duchess. We of the Rumson family are more than ready to die in your service!"
"But I don't want you to die, turn back!" They ignored her and pushed on harder, catching up to her. Damn, the rush of battle made people do crazy things... she hoped their luck would match their bravery, however misguided.
"I'll distract her until you can convince them to back down," Strength said, spurring the bird-lizard she rode to go faster and pass them by. Cart-Dragger wondered if she did it solely out of altruism, or sought to prove she wasn't afraid by being the first to strike. Before she could reach Tiamat, something strange happened. Her mount's face inexplicably distorted, and there was a loud crack as if its head had hit something hard. Strength yelped at the abrupt jarring stop, then waved her arms in a panic as her ride went limp and dropped towards the ground far below.
Cart-Dragger didn't know if even the giantess could survive such a fall, but didn't have time to worry about that now. "Turn!" she said, yanking desperately at the reins. E twisted forcefully to the left, and just managed to avoid slamming into whatever Strength had. The older Rumson man did the same, but his younger kinsman didn't react in time, his birdlike mount plowing full speed into the—invisible wall?—in front of Tiamat. They fell together, his despondent screams trailing away to nothing.
"Donnie!" the uncle wailed.
"I told you not to follow!" She softened her voice, realizing how inconsiderate she came off. "Sorry about your nephew, but this isn't a place for you." E dipped low to dodge another wind blast, the man throwing himself down against his mount's neck in terror. "Get out of here and contribute another way to the battle, if you can."
