„Yatol Grysh begs your pardon, God-Voice,“ Carwan Pestle offered, bowing repeatedly. „He wished not to trouble you with such unpleasantness as this, but he fears that we cannot ignore the desertion.“
„All of them?“ Douan asked.
„Yes, God-Voice,“ Pestle replied. „All who were not captured trying to escape. We have soldiers scouring the steppes; the outposters are banding together for defense.“
„And have you recaptured any of the missing To-gai-ru?“
Carwan Pestle seemed to deflate quite a bit. „No, God-Voice,“ he admitted. „The outposter militia fought one battle, but it was against this… this crazy woman, the Dragon of To-gai, and they were overwhelmed.“
„Dragon?“ asked Douan. „What say your reports? Was there really such a beast as that fighting the outposters?“
„We have heard reports of a dragon flying across the night sky on the night of the great desertion, but no, there was no battle against any real dragon. Just against this demon woman and her followers, and their numbers are growing rapidly. Yatol Grysh would not have intruded upon your precious time, God-Voice, but he fears that this foe is more dangerous bv far than was Ashwarawu.“
Yakim Douan smiled at that remark, for he knew that it had been said for no better reason than to remind him of Grysh’s great victory over the fool Ashwarawu at the gates of Dharyan. That was the last good news Douan had heard!
„Indeed he must believe it to be so, to send his closest advisor all the way here,“ the Chezru Chieftain remarked. „And Yatol Grysh has indeed earned my trust and respect. You ask for two twenty-squares, and so you shall have them, and a third besides! And the mounts to support them, that they will sweep out with great and overpowering speed and strength!“
Carwan Pestle’s eyes widened nearly as much as Merwan Ma’s! Three twenty-squares, along with enough horses to support them as a cavalry unit? It was unheard of!
„But on the condition that you use them for more than the defense of Dharyan,“ Douan went on. „I doubt this new leader will be fool enough to charge in to her death, as did Ashwarawu. I will give Yatol Grysh his soldiers - some of the best of the Jacintha garrison! - but he must promise to use them to march across the steppes, destroying all resistance, and punishing the To-gai-ru so terribly that they will never again think to defy us!“
„Yes, God-Voice!“
„Do you understand?“ Douan asked, coming out of his chair to stand right before the man. „Do you truly? Tell your Yatol to exact a generational purge of the To-gai-ru. I will not have them as any threat during the time of Transcendence.“
Carwan Pestle’s face screwed up with confusion, as if he did not understand.
„A generational purge,“ Yakim Douan repeated. „Eliminate their would-be warriors. All of them! I expect that I will not hear any further requests from Dharyan, but only the news that the To-gai-ru have been properly punished.“
Carwan Pestle nodded and bowed, and followed Douan’s motion that he should then leave the room.
„What troubles you?“ Douan asked Merwan Ma after the emissary from Dharyan had gone, for it was obvious that the young Shepherd was not pleased.
„God-Voice, it is not my place to question -
„But it is, because I just told you that it was,“ Douan told him. „You are troubled by my command to Pestle?“
„A generational purge?“
Chezru Douan grinned wickedly. „I grow weary of the stubborn To-gai-ru,“ he explained. „I’ll have no more trouble from them. They have upon themselves - let them suffer the consequences of their lence and disobedience! Twelve hundred soldiers, my friend, and each are will be led by a Chezhou-Lei… no, by two Chezhou-Lei. We will nuer To-gai all over again, and this time to even more devastating effect. I then I can go to my rest, Merwan Ma. My patience is at its end.“ Merwan Ma could hardly believe the coldness in Yakim Douan’s voice, hut he didn’t dare to question the man at that time. He bowed and left the room.
Yakim Douan stood very still for a long while, considering the decision. Three twenty-squares!
But he knew what the stakes were, and after the catastrophe at the Mountains of Fire, they were very high. Douan needed Grysh to put down the rebels and to destroy this newest legend in the making, this Dragon of To-gai.
He took some comfort in the fact that his latest reports put the Jhesta Tu still in their mountain abode, with no signs that they were planning to march in force and join the uprising on the steppes.
chapter26
Playing to Their Weakness
J hree twenty-squares,“ Pagonel reported to Brynn that tenth day of Bafway, the third month of the year. The warrior woman smiled wickedly.
„Twelve hundred soldiers,“ Pagonel said somberly.
„Then the blow will prove even greater,“ the woman replied.
The mystic started to argue, but paused and stared at Brynn’s knowing smile. They had spent the winter months rounding up the soldiers willing to ride with Brynn Dharielle, and the number had proven considerable indeed, beyond anything that Brynn dared hope after the disaster at Dharyan with Ashwarawu, for her reputation from that one fight at the Mountains of Fire had swept across the grassy steppes like wildfire. If this woman, this Dragon of To-gai, could destroy such a collection of Chezhou-Lei, and send a Jacintha twenty-square fleeing at the same time, then what did the To-gai-ru have to fear? And so her army had eagerly followed her down from the plateau divide and into the desert sands of Behren, some distance to the south of Dharyan.
„We have near to six thousand warriors,“ Brynn said to the doubting mystic.
„Only four thousand at our disposal,“ Pagonel reminded. „A third are out helping the common folk, as you ordered. They will not rejoin us for another month or two, at the least, until the spring is on in full. Even then, by going east, you are ignoring the many secured settlements within To-gai, and now behind our lines.“
„You do not agree with me?“
Pagonel gave a helpless chuckle in the face of Brynn’s too-innocent tone. „I am playing against your choices,“ he explained. „As you asked of me.“
Brynn laughed aloud and squeezed her dear friend’s shoulder. Indeed, she had instructed Pagonel to play the part of her conscience and her better judgment, to question everything she decided with every argument he could nd for alternate courses. She just never realized how good the mystic would ,e at such a task! „Four thousand will be more than I need,“ Brynn decided. „Dharyan
„Burned by the fires of a dragon?“ the mystic asked. „I warn you, the city has ballista emplacements - many of them. One shot from such a weapon ould bring Agradeleous down to the ground, and on the ground, he would face a concentrated barrage that even his great armor could not withstand.“
„Agradeleous will play a small role, if any,“ Brynn replied, and the mystic’s expression became one of surprise. „I do not need him for this.“
„But…“
Brynn noticed that some of her other commanders had heard that last remark and were now listening more intently than they were letting on.
„I will use Yatol Grysh’s confidence against him,“ Brynn explained. „But we must strike quickly, before the three twenty-squares can be deployed outside of the city.“
„You will attack a walled and fortified city, defended by fifteen hundred skilled warriors and a like number of conscripts, with a force of only four thousand?“ asked one of her commanders, an older man from Telliqik named Bargis Troudok.
„No,“ Brynn corrected. „We will attack a fortified city garrisoned by a couple of hundred soldiers with a force that numbers near to four thousand.“
That had all of them looking at her curiously, but Brynn only smiled. She had learned so much in her years with the Touel’alfar, and their understanding of battle, small and large, and had learned so much more during her time at the Walk of Clouds, studying the history of Behren more completely than the history of To-gai. She understood th
e Behrenese commanders’ expectations and likely reactions, particularly those of Yatol Grysh.
Yes, Brynn could smile. She knew her enemy at this point, understood his confidence and his eagerness to repeat the great victory he had known over Ashwarawu. She knew how to tease him with just that possibility, and then how to take it away, oh so brutally.
„He is not happy,“ Juraviel said to Brynn later that same day, when the woman had come to see him and Cazzira and Agradeleous in their separate camp, up on the side of the cliff-facing that marked the boundaries between the two countries, and some distance from the main force.
„He hungers for blood,“ Brynn said with obvious distaste.
„He hungers for adventure,“ Cazzira explained. „Agradeleous is a patient creature, but you have kept him aside for months now, serving in no capacity other than mount and supply caravan. He considers himself your greatest warrior and has pledged his support for this fight, and yet -
„I am the greatest warrior!“ came the hissing voice, and all three turned to see Agradeleous entering the area, a dead elk over his shoulder - and th dragon was carrying it with complete ease, as if it was no more a burden th a shawl. „Or do you fear that your warriors will see the truth of me, and f 1] to their knees, pledging their allegiance to Agradeleous instead of to Brynn}’
„I fear only to show our enemies the true power before the optimum tim to surprise them,“ Brynn replied.
The dragon snorted, little bursts of flames spouting from his horselik snout. „I already showed them the power of Agradeleous’ wrath! In th south - “
„Where few escaped, and those, too horrified and disoriented to provide the truth of your power,“ Brynn argued. „And need I remind you of the reports that your presence has been attributed to a trick of the Jhesta Tu? There is much more to winning a war than battle alone, dear Agradeleous.“
The dragon snorted again, as if Brynn’s reasoning about him being no more than some mystic trick was preposterous, though they had indeed heard such a tale from some Behrenese soldiers captured at one settlement.
„I will ride against Dharyan tomorrow afternoon,“ Brynn announced.
„And I will fly against the city tomorrow afternoon!“ Agradeleous announced. „You can choose whether you wish to ride that lunch you call Runtly, or a mount truly fit for one who would be queen!“
Juraviel and Cazzira both turned alarmed looks at Brynn, but the woman only smiled. „You will fly against the city tomorrow night,“ she corrected. „I hope to fly with you, but if that is not possible, then you, and your other two riders, will know how to proceed.“
Brynn’s grin told them that there was much more to this, told them all that she had a definite plan, and one that gave her great confidence. And so they all gathered around and held silent, except for the occasional confirming grunt from Agradeleous, as she laid it out to them.
„A daring plan,“ Cazzira said to Juraviel after the woman had gone. „One designed to exploit every weakness she recognizes within Yatol Grysh.“
The elf glanced over his shoulder, to see the dragon quite busy in devouring his elk, and not paying the two elves any heed. „And one designed to win without giving away the truth of the dragon,“ he added. „Not to the Behrenese, but even more importantly, not to her own warriors.“
„You think that Agradeleous recognized the woman’s fears?“
„No, but I think that Brynn is too wise to reveal too much to anyone. She knows that even with Agradeleous, To-gai is sorely out-manned by the Chezru Chieftain.“
„And still she chooses to go after Dharyan, instead of clearing the steppes of the lesser forces.“
„It is because of that very fact that she knows she must strike, and hard,“ said Juraviel, nodding and staring into the direction where Brynn and Runtly had ridden away, a grin of respect widening on his small and angular face.
Th v were spotted traveling north through the valley of the Mazur Shin-Y tol „ Carwan Pestle reported to Grysh. „A considerable force, sev-1 times larger than that Ashwarawu led against us.“
. 1 _ ,-, f r>f r~mr*c- 4-]Tf t-l rr /i l-/“»n t“ fr»«=>m ^ I -,
„A d are there any dragons flying about them?“ Grysh asked with obvi-ircasm, and a wry crooked smile. He looked away from the map Led up on the wall to consider his attendant.
Phe Dragon of To-gai leads them, we believe,“ Pestle replied. „A woman, and not awurm.“
Grysh laughed heartily. When the Jacintha soldiers had arrived, he had hidden them to come in quietly, thinking to turn them loose upon the steppes soon as the weather softened into springtime. How glad he was now that he had delayed! And that he had kept their arrival relatively quiet! For the reports had been coming in daily that the new rebel, this Dragon of To-gai, had come down from the steppes and into Behren at the head of a considerable force.
„They say that she rode with Ashwarawu, you know?“ Grysh asked, and Carwan Pestle nodded. „She wants revenge, and so she will come against us, oblivious to the fact that we now have more than twelve hundred new warriors at our disposal.“
„Shall we deploy them as we did against Ashwarawu, Yatol?“ „No,“ Grysh said without hesitation. „This woman remembers well that disaster and she will no doubt look for signs of any armies camped nearby. Our guests are to remain in the city - no one is to leave! Not a Behrenese nor a Ru! Do you hear?“
„Yes, Yatol, it has already been ordered, all about the wall.“ „Let the Dragon of To-gai charge right up to our gates. Then we will hit ler and her wretched band with a volley of destruction that will overwhelm hem where they sit astride their pretty ponies.“ „Yes, Yatol.“
Grysh looked at the map, at the valley of the Masur Shinton. If the reports were correct, the Dragon of To-gai would arrive at Dharyan’s gates early that very evening. And there she would die, as Ashwarawu had died.
That thought did bring a twang of regret to Yatol Grysh, for his friend and trusted commander, Wan Atenn, rotting on the sun-baked stones of a tar-distant southern wasteland, would not partake of this glorious victory.
But now he had seven Chezhou-Lei at his disposal, he reminded himself, his new advisor and the six who had come in from Jacintha. That would suffice to destroy utterly this pretentious rebel and her followers. Then jrysh would lead the force personally into To-gai, spending the summer moving across the steppes, bringing harsh justice to the upstart Ru. They would accept the rule of Behren, or they would die. It was as simple as that.
„Mark the line, left and right,“ Brynn instructed as her force of nearly thousand neared Dharyan. She stretched out her front line, spacing th warriors widely, and squared them up to the city, its dark wall back-lighteH by the fires burning within.
Beside her, Pagonel sucked in his breath, as did many others.
Brynn looked to him for support. She had pleaded with him not to corn out there, but he had refused to be left behind, and in truth, she was glad that he had. Now that the time was upon her, Brynn did not think that she could get through this difficult beginning without him beside her.
But how much worse would it become if he was felled by an arrow?
Brynn growled that dark thought away. „Strike the torches!“ the woman ordered, and the call went along the line, and those few brave volunteers who had agreed to wield the torches brought them up in a blaze.
„Cadence slow!“ Brynn cried and the drummers began, beating out a slow pace, the whole of the force walking deliberately toward the distant wall. Those drums would be heard within Dharyan, Brynn knew, and in fact she was counting on it.
More torches went up along that wall, and a voice called out, „Halt where you are and be recognized!“
„Do you not know me, Yatol Grysh?“ Brynn cried back. „Have you not heard of the Dragon of To-gai?“
A great cheer went up behind her at that proclamation. „Well said,“ Pagonel remarked, and it was just the bit of support that Brynn needed at that moment.
„Fir
st volley!“ she yelled, and a thousand bows bent back and a thousand arrows soared into the dark sky, arcing for Dharyan. They were a long way out, though, and the barrage had little, if any, effect.
Little physical effect, Brynn knew, but this attack was not about that.
Brynn held aloft her sword and set it ablaze. The drums stopped.
„To-gai free!“ she cried, and brought her sword sweeping down, and so began the charge, a thousand horses shaking the ground.
A second volley went away, and then a third, with more and more arrows making the wall, even taking down enemies.
Brynn gritted her teeth as they continued their charge, for they were getting close - too close, she feared! When would the response come?
Perched a few miles away, on the cliff-face of the To-gai plateau, Juraviel, Cazzira, and Agradeleous watched the line of torches snaking across the dark plain.
„They will fight without me again!“ the dragon complained bitterly.
„No, this is no fight,“ Juraviel explained. „She waits to turn.“
„They grow close,“ said Cazzira.
awaits the revelation,“ Juraviel remarked. „She needs Yatol Grysh how his strength to chase her away.“
adeleous grumbled and shook his head, obviously not catching on to the centers the leading line of the charge,“ Cazzira noted. „Brave, per but foolish will she seem if she is cut down.“
„Then she will lead as a martyr,“ Juraviel said grimly, but his wince belied his stoic tone.
Arrows came out at them, as well as a few huge ballista bolts, giant spears
easing the air, close enough so that the charging warriors could hear them whistle past. The Dharyan catapults even fired, though their fiery pitch balls were easily spotted and avoided by the skilled To-gai-ru riders.
They were barely fifty yards from the wall by then, close enough to pick out forms scrambling in the torchlight, and so their volleys proved more deadly, and so the cries of agony began, at the wall, and then among the To-gai-ru ranks.
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