by Rosie Scott
“Lots of soldiers, that's for sure,” Nyx replied, before motioning to the battle plans. “Is this Comercio? Can I use this?”
“Just point at it, but yes,” I affirmed, before labeling each wall with its direction.
Nyx stared at the simple square and arrow on the parchment and said sarcastically, “Hell, Kai, fire Azazel as an artist and just draw yourself.” She grinned after I sighed before pointing to the eastern and southern walls. “Most soldiers are here and here. There are a few thousand guarding the northern gate, but not nearly as many. I guess because they found no proof of us coming from the north. The gates are closed. I saw them open it once, but only to send a message.
“One of the others overheard the soldiers talking about being trained in illusion or alteration magic. For battle. So your suspicions about Chairel relaxing some of their laws were correct. The good news is that they're not teaching some of the best spells because they don't want them to spread after the battle.”
“Do you know which spells they're allowing and which spells they aren't?” I questioned.
Nyx counted off her fingers as she said, “Alteration-wise, they allow both reject and absorb magic shields, telekinesis, and detect life. They're specifically not allowing paralyzing or shapeshifting. I heard nothing either way about burden, but that spell is rare enough and we only knew it after going underground, so I doubt they have it. And you created alleviate, so we don't have to worry about that.
“Illusion-wise, they're allowing invisibility, courage, and muffle. They're not allowing charm, fear, or confuse because those three are involved in the most crime. Go figure, because they're the most fun.” Nyx rolled her eyes.
“Where is the queen and her three royal heirs?” I questioned.
“Edrys is in her castle, cooped up but confident they can win this. Idiots one and two are there with her. Gwen is on the field with her men. I was close enough to her to smell the spice of her soap.” Nyx grinned at me with pride.
“Who are idiots one and two?” Calder asked.
Nyx shrugged. “The other heirs. Can't remember their names.”
“Brendan and Izellah,” I replied. “By all accounts, both are worthless on the battlefield. Gwen will be our main concern. She's well-liked and the first heir. What does Gwen look like?”
“She's a couple inches taller than you,” Nyx began. “Maybe five-six, five-seven. Average build. Wields a sword and shield and maybe magic considering her rings. Blonde hair, blue eyes. Looks like she'd break if you poked her, but her voice and attitude are commanding and confident. Wears medium-weight green and black armor and a cloak with Chairel's flag printed on it.”
“Did you hear any of Gwen's conversations?” Azazel asked.
“She was talking to some soldiers about the battle. As sneaky as we were about getting here, they saw us because of the big boys,” Nyx pointed at Marcus. “They're prepared for war tomorrow. Gwen doesn't seem too concerned. Said both of the goddesses they have in Comercio can take out whole crowds of soldiers while remaining safe from most attacks.”
Cyrus leaned forward. “Who are these goddesses? Did you hear names?”
“No," Nyx admitted. "Figured the soldiers were just joking around because one of them laughed and said, 'we'll be taking out their armies with love and music.' The others thought it was funny. I don't know if that was a joke or not.”
“There's a goddess of love,” I pointed out. “Amor...Amora, maybe?”
Holter added, “There's a goddess of music, too. Melodi.”
Calder laughed. “What the hell are the goddesses of love and music gonna do? Slowly fuck us to death to some good tunes?”
“I have an idea,” Holter said. When we gave him our attention, he went on, “In the wildlands, we had these creatures called sirens. They used song as a lure.”
“Ah, sirens, man,” Calder lamented. “I lost the Shaft Raft to sirens.”
I glared at him after an abrupt chuckle. “The what?”
“One of my ships,” Calder replied with a grin. “Named it myself.”
“None of us had doubts about that,” Uriel replied, although he smiled.
“How'd you lose a ship to creatures?” I asked.
“Sirens live on the coasts and sing to lure sailors in from the ocean,” Calder explained. “It's noise that's like magic. Gets in your head. Charms you to do its bidding.”
“That's how my mother was killed,” Zephyr commented. “Some sirens migrated to Eteri a while back. Eteri wasn't used to dealing with the creatures so they didn't know how to handle it. My mother walked straight into the ocean and didn't come back out. Drowned herself because the bastards were still singing.”
“Gods,” I said. “I'm sorry.”
Zephyr shrugged lightly. “I've just always hoped it affected her consciousness so it wasn't traumatic. Nothing else I can do. But thanks for your sympathy, Kai.”
Calder said, “In the wildlands, they lure in sailors until you crash your ship on the coast. I woke up with my ship slowly sinking and all my sailors drooling like idiots and jumping overboard. Thankfully, I figured I knew what was happening and used a reject magic shield to avoid the lure. Transformed and gutted every last one of those little shits.”
“So alteration shields work against such magic,” I surmised.
“Better than anything else,” Calder replied.
Zephyr huffed dryly. “So if Tilda had legalized the lesser magics, my mother could still be alive. Give me another reason to hate Tilda posthumously why don't you?”
“Sorry,” Calder offered.
Zephyr chuckled low. “Don't apologize for that. At least we know how to combat it if Melodi's powers are similar.”
“If Melodi is even here,” Nyx pointed out. “Like I said, that could've just been a joke. Getting back to Gwen, Kai, she said that even if we are victorious in Comercio, we won't make it past Narangar.”
“What has her so confident about Narangar?” Cyrus asked.
“Their plan and their gods,” Nyx replied. “I didn't find out more than that.”
“Did you find out any of the gods Chairel is working with or their powers, even if you don't know where they are?” I asked.
“I figure they have Visha on their side if he's alive,” Nyx said. “They said something about having a god who spews poison like it's going out of style, and Visha's the god of poison.”
Calder nodded. “Mirrikh has a fondness for Visha. Might not last much longer if he's against us, though.”
“Oh,” Nyx lifted a finger and gave her full attention to me. “Terran's got a new friend, too. He's still got Raphael, but the soldiers were gossiping about how Chairel finally got into contact with another god who they think will give Terran the ability to be your equal in battle.”
“That's not possible,” Cerin argued.
“At this point,” Azazel started, “we shouldn't say it's not possible and ask ourselves, 'how is it possible?' Let's prepare for the worst so we're prepared for anything.”
Azazel was right. The only problem was that the possibilities of what we needed to be prepared for were limitless. Most of the gods I'd come across during my life had unique powers, and many couldn't be replicated. We wouldn't know what we were up against until we were thrown into the midst of it all. It was a concerning prospect for most, but I felt as confident as ever and fell asleep easily that night.
Whatever and whoever Chairel threw against me, I would conquer and destroy it.
Sixteen
63rd of Red Moon, 430
The soft coral glow of early dawn stretched its fingers into remnants of lavender from the reluctantly retreating night. Fatigue clouded my head, but confusion sharpened my senses. A chill had taken my bones hostage, but warmth clasped around my left arm as Azazel shook me awake.
“...preparing to charge,” Azazel's eyes searched mine to ensure I heard him.
“...what?” My voice was thick, groggy. I sat up on my elbows. In the plains surrounding me, our sol
diers were waking and preparing for battle. I reached over to where Cerin still slept, hitting him several times in the arm until he stirred.
“Chairel's armies are preparing to charge,” Azazel repeated, leaning back from me as I stood. “They are spreading out over the grasslands like they will try surrounding us.”
Our strategic planning had lasted far into the night and kept us from getting a full night's rest. Now that Chairel was taking the initiative, it was possible most of our foresight was for naught. I tugged on pieces of my armor as Cerin hurried to catch up.
Comercio loomed in the west, a sturdy gray stone wall towering over flat plains. The top floors of multiple buildings dotted the horizon above the wall, just as I remembered. The wall had handfuls of ranged defenders standing guard behind its battlement. Chairel's armies were spread over the grasslands between us and the city like a plague of green, each unit with its own leader and flag. A division of cavalry was front and center, getting into a charging formation. These horses weren't nearly as armored as those belonging to the Knights of Celendar, but what they lacked in armor, they made up for in numbers. There were at least fifteen thousand horses here. Those numbers were terrifying, particularly because our griffon messenger had returned the night before without seeing signs of the Naharan Army. We had planned to wait to attack until Hasani and his men arrived, but that was no longer an option.
Multiple units of infantry made up the bulk of the army behind the horses, flanked on both sides by regiments of mages and archers. There were archers in guard towers on each corner of the wall to defend the city from afar.
I walked through the crowds of our soldiers, waking and rousing them for battle. When I turned back to view Comercio, my eyes scanned over the enemy armies and the landscape surrounding them as my mind formulated new plans.
“Kai!” Cyrus jogged over to me, armored and ready to fight. “I sent another messenger to the south to check for the Naharans, but we have to assume we won't have their support for this battle. We have no cavalry.”
I tried to still my thoughts. My mind felt like a jumbled mess. “Marcus!”
Marcus tiptoed carefully around scrambling soldiers to get to me. Only when he stood nearby did he focus on putting his spangenhelm over his giant head. “Yes, little lady?”
“Change of plans. You and your men will charge first. You were effective against the boars in Hallmar; break up the cavalry's charge.” I scanned over the field to where Rek and his orcs were already prepared for battle. “Rek!”
The god came to me. “Yes?”
“The ogres...” I eyed the creatures from my distance. I hadn't heard an ogre talk yet, so I assumed they couldn't. It was possible they weren't smart enough to differentiate between friend and foe in a fight. “Do you direct them in battle? Will they know the difference between a Chairel soldier and one of mine?”
“They know simple rules,” Rek replied, looking across the fields to the Chairel Army. “I tell them green is enemy. They understand.”
I motioned to my black armor that shimmered green in the light of the waking sun. “I am also wearing green. Will they get confused?”
Rek pointed to himself, calling attention to the greenish hue of his skin. “We all are green, but they know we are kin. Ogres know you as god. You are the only one with green armor that is not foe. They understand.”
“Okay. The giants, Rek—” I pointed to Marcus. “They will lead this charge. Break up cavalry and cause chaos. Send the ogres with them.”
“The orcs not go?” Rek asked.
“Not with the ogres, no. Will they be fine in battle alone?”
“I think so. Ogres like horse meat. They will be excited,” Rek said. “Where will the orcs go?”
“I want you and the orcs on the frontlines with me. Fighting with the infantry that the giants and ogres leave in their wake.” I motioned to Calder nearby, who listened in on my current conversation. “I want you and the beastmen in one army to my left, Cal. Rek, you and the others will be on my right and will travel alongside Tieren Lake. The Seran Renegades will be in the center.”
“Brute force right behind size and chaos,” Calder commented. “What about you, love?”
“If I thrust myself into the fray, I can cause more damage,” I replied. “The more outnumbered I am, the more powerful I can be.”
“Will the giants and ogres be at risk of friendly fire?” Cyrus questioned.
I hesitated. “Yes, if they stay in the center. Marcus and Rek, I want the giants and ogres to veer left after your initial charge. Keep Chairel from flanking us in the south. They cannot flank us in the north unless they send an army around the entirety of Tieren Lake, and if they try that, we'll have time to adjust accordingly.” I turned my attention back to Calder. “I want your assassins and other non-beastmen to spread out as a supporting unit far to the rear. We need the necromancers to constantly raise the dead and keep them raised. We need numbers. Swarming.”
“And my men?” Cyrus questioned.
“In the middle,” I replied. “I want you and your Sentinels to focus on magical and melee support for those of us on the frontlines. If Chairel succeeds in flanking us, aid the Alderi at our rear.”
“Do you want us to stick to the plan of climbing the wall?” Marcus asked.
I exhaled abruptly with stress. “No. You won't be able to. Not if you're preventing them from flanking us and the assassins can't prepare to go with you.”
“Kai.” Zephyr put her mane of silver hair up into a half-ponytail as she walked closer to me. “I'll take care of the wall.”
“Opening the gates?” I questioned.
“Yeah.” Zephyr motioned back to the griffons. “Chairel's thrown everybody out on the field to face us head-on. Their walls have a puny number of defenders. We can fly over the armies and the wall on the griffons, take them out, and open the gates. The griffons will continue fighting as we dismount and open the city to attack.”
I nodded, immensely relieved by her offer. “I want you to hold off on opening the gates for a while, Zephyr. We don't have nearly as many griffons as we did when we first came from Eteri. We don't know how many soldiers or gods or surprises Chairel still has inside those walls. Wait until we have soldiers close enough to the city to aid you if you need it.”
Zephyr tilted her head toward me in a lazy bow. “Absolutely. And may I suggest that Mr. Savior over there—” she pointed one pale finger at Holter “—be in his beast form for this fight? This battlefield is gigantic, and we could use someone to scout out the area before we infiltrate it.”
The pleased look on Holter's face for having been requested was so cute it nearly calmed my anxiety. “My thoughts exactly,” I agreed. “My only demand of you is that you take care of him.”
“I will guard Holter with my life,” Zephyr promised. Turning to the scout, she added, “I can give you shields in mid-air while mounted. If you need protection against magic or physical hits, fly near me and I'll take care of you. You pay attention to the calls of the war horns just as much as Kai, right?”
“Yes,” Holter replied.
“Sounds good,” Zephyr said. “Stick with the Renegades until I call you, then. We'll advance on the walls once the others make progress.”
“Azazel,” I said, eyeing the Chairel Army far ahead as they calmed their fumbling to prepare to charge. “Gather our men. I want them following us and giving the beastmen and orcs support. I will lead our line.”
Azazel nodded and hurried off to do as I'd asked. My right hand felt around at my belt, ensuring the war horn I used was in its usual place. “Marcus! Rek!” I shouted. “Giants and ogres to positions!”
Marcus led the giants into the field ahead. Chairel's horses snorted and stomped with the anticipation of battle. The animals did not yet show fear, but I hoped that would change once giants met their charge. Rek's shouts echoed roughly through the air to my right, where the orcs were beside my army as I'd requested.
“Focus on horses! Eat!
Green is enemy!” Rek pointed at Marcus and the other giants front and center of the field. “Follow giants! Go!”
Two dozen armored ogres lumbered across my view until they stood in a messy line behind Marcus's unit. Their armor was crudely fashioned and had several weak points, but I remembered Cerin's fight with such a beast many years ago and how hard it had been to kill even with leeching. Chairel wouldn't be able to rely on such magic to kill the ogres, so each one we had in our army was a massive challenge for them to overcome.
I heard rough laughter to my left where Calder stripped as his beastmen followed suit behind him. He grinned at me with pure joy and said, “I'm so glad to be here with you, love. These little parties you throw are always the best. Enjoy yourself and don't do anything stupid now, yeah?”
Calder's jovial spirit stripped away most of my anxiety and planted a smile on my face. “Same goes for you, love,” I told him just before he collapsed to the ground, convulsing in pain as his body transformed.
“Alteration shields now!” Uriel screamed from his army behind me and to the left. “Absorb magic on mages, reject magic on infantry and archers!”
“Make them fear!” I called out confidently to my own men. “We have the advantage in power and our numbers will only grow! Keep each other shielded and the dead rising! Over a decade of war has led to this battle! We will make history this day!”
The excited roars of the beastmen and orcs drowned out the cheers of men. Across the battlefield, my men's enthusiasm surprised the Chairel Army. Some of their soldiers even seemed uncertain and fearful. As I gazed over my allies, I understood why. Our army had an immense advantage in its variety. We had orcs, mages, assassins, giants, warriors, archers, and beastmen on our side. Thanks to Mirrikh's work the previous year, there were eight metal dragon-kins who were too large to fit in with the others and fanned out behind our massive army like humongous deadly pets.
A new surge of confidence and drive filled me, and my bubbling laughter echoed across the field. I cupped my hands around my mouth and yelled, “It would be much easier to surrender!”
