The Broken Council tgc-1

by Steven R. Burke

  "All right then. I will go and get ready for our journey. I will leave you so you can meet with Lord Aellenas," the queen replied. She bowed slightly and went to her closet to gather what she would need for the battles ahead. She would take her staff with her because she felt that this would help her channel her power better while providing a measure of control over her magic. It would also enhance her destructive power while bolstering personal protective spells she had in place.

  Kana said nothing in reply and simply vanished. Kishi was too consumed in her preparations to notice the guardian's departure. The sun was beginning to peak over the horizon, and she could already hear the sounds of the army making their own preparations. When she had gathered together her staff and other magical items, she left the bedchambers to begin her last task before leaving Tiranidrol. She quickened her pace so that she would be done by the time the army was ready to depart.

  As she went about casting her protective spells, General Jaali was making his final preparations for departure. He divided up the men into a very specific formation that would help protect against ambush. The exterior had pike men to guard against horses, and behind them were a row of swordsmen. Behind the swordsmen were archers who could attack enemies at a distance while being protected by the first two rows. In the very center were the siege weapons. He was proud of this ideal formation and knew that they would not likely need to protect against much, but it is better to be safe than dead. That was his motto and everyone knew it. His desire to keep his troops from unnecessary harm made him the ideal leader. His army was fiercely loyal to him as a result.

  As the first rays of sunlight crept over the horizon, the army was ready to move out. Queen Kishi appeared out of the shadows and walked slowly to stand at the side of General Jaali. He turned to her and smiled confidently at her. She smiled back briefly and then put on a determined look. Everything went still as she looked over the thousands of troops standing at attention before her. There were nearly five hundred thousand soldiers in the army, with five thousand knights waiting for them at the secret camp. She felt a surge of confidence rush through her body, and she began to glow an eerie red color as she began to lift off the ground slightly. Outside the walls of the city several plants wilted as their life force was stolen from them for her purposes.

  As she stretched out her arms toward the heavens, she bellowed, "Let it begin!" As she said this, a series of twisters formed just outside the western wall and picked up strength as they headed toward Mount Quang. She continued to hover in the air, and her eyes were a milky white color. She then slowly began to float down toward the ground, and her arms lowered a bit. From out of nowhere, a staff flew into her right hand, and she shot straight up into the air some fifty feet. She pointed the staff directly at Alanderas and muttered something unintelligible while holding aloft her war staff. Bright blue light engulfed her momentarily and then seemed to consolidate into the staff. She then sent the built-up charge of magic into the sky over Mount Quang. Lightning began to strike the moun tainside repeatedly. Booms of thunder rang out, waking every living thing within miles of the sudden storm.

  Kishi returned to the ground and looked herself once more. She eyed the soldiers as they looked at her in awe and wonder. She smiled wickedly and said, "Move out!" She motioned with her staff toward the front gate of the outer wall. The army acknowledged her command immediately and began to file out of the city. She walked at the very front as a sign that she would take the lead with General Jaali as they headed to war. The troops began to shout and chant as they marched. Within a few hours, they had emptied the city and left only the citizens and the home guard behind.

  Kishi did not want to leave anything to chance, so she thought that her actions would work well with what Kana was planning to do. The exhilaration she felt from using such powerful magic stayed with her throughout their uncontested march to the secret base in the north lands. Magic had never lingered for so long after using it. She began to crave it even more with each passing moment. She felt like she could single-handedly take on the army of Yukio and the defenses of Queen Daria. She was so wrapped up in the moment that she did not recognize the warning signs of sacrificing other living things to use their life force to bolster your own magic. This was a slippery slope she would have normally known not to trifle with.

  After marching for the space of three days, they reached the secret northern base and were greeted by the knights who had made all of the necessary preparations. Farms had been set up to provide a renewable food source, and the forests north of the base were full of wild animals and fruits. There was also a well from which water could be drawn, and a river ran through a part of the woodland nearest the base. They could survive indefinitely, if need be, off the land surrounding them. There was a natural mote around the massive fort, which required the knights to build a series of bridges that could be retracted when needed. The walls of the natural barrier went down into the depths of the earth endlessly. The breadth of the mote was equal to five giants laying head to toe.

  The main bridge to the base had been made centuries ago and had a section in the middle that could retract slightly, which left a ten-foot gap that made it impossible for big equipment to move across. The other bridges made by the knights were considerably less stable and could only handle so much weight at a time. There was existing living quarters which had been prepared for the army's habitation. An ancient army must have built this impregnable fortress during one of the north land wars. Queen Kishi looked around appraisingly and smiled slyly at her good friend, General Jaali. She was very pleased with this outpost and knew that after only a day of rest that she would be able to begin her attack.

  "General Jaali, have the troops find their rooms immediately so that they can get some rest. In the morning, we attack!" she said savagely.

  "Yes, my queen," he said, with a rueful smile at Kishi's enthusiasm. He could see that she was full of purpose and that she actually cared for the troops and their well-being. It gladdened his heart to see such devotion in his best friend. She had been lost for so many years and had wasted a lot of time searching fruitlessly for meaning in her life. Now, she had found what she was looking for. It was rather tragic that she found it after losing her sister.

  "After you have carried out my orders, please get some rest. I am going to put up some of my own protection around our new base. There is some innate magic already protecting this place, but it never hurts to put our own layer of magical protection," she said confidently. "I will see you just before dawn. We will attack as the sun rises, so make sure the soldiers get plenty of sleep and that they have a substantial breakfast for the long day ahead of them."

  "I will. I would also like to say that it is good to see that you have found purpose in your life and that you care so much for the welfare of others. As your friend, I will do what is necessary to keep you from harm. As your general, I will keep you safe," he said with an appraising look at his oldest friend.

  "Thank you, Jaali. I could ask for nothing more and would expect nothing less from you. Now, let us get on with our tasks so that we can get some good rest. Good night, my friend," she said warmly as she wrapped her arms around her massive friend. They held one another for a few minutes and then she kissed him lightly on his forehead before departing.

  As the sun crested over the edge of the canyon walls outside the castle of Queen Daria, the home guard noticed an eerie glimmering along the northwestern rim. It was as if there was a long line of metal objects standing along the rim of the canyon. They had never seen anything like it before and could not understand exactly what they were seeing. Then they saw a dust ball heading toward them at a great pace. As they looked closer, they could tell that it was one of the guards from the outer defenses. As he neared them, a ball of fire came down out of the cliff and instantly incinerated the poor soldier. Then clouds began to form overhead, quickly blocking out the sun.

  The shining objects along the cliff could no longer be seen as a huge dust
storm seemed to have risen out of nowhere and was heading directly for the queen Daria's castle. Lightning began to strike randomly all about them, and the loud echoing thunder ripped through the canyons so violently that rocks began to fall to the canyon floors. Commander Zareh Hacus came out of the front gates at a dead run at the sudden disturbances. He knew almost at once that they were under attack. He had no idea who it was, but he could not mistake the fact that they were being assailed by a powerful sorcerer. He barked orders at the guards to alert the rest of the home guard and to have everyone get to their stations at once. He ran back into the castle to warn the queen about what was taking place.

  Before the army of Queen Kishi reached the first real defenses of the canyon lands, the guards had been alerted. They were stationed in cavities of the rock walls and began to shoot at will when the army came into their line of sight. The battle for the Nairi Can yons had begun. The Nairians entrenched themselves and would prove to be very difficult to kill. The high elves were not detoured by the superior defenses. They had the most powerful sorceress in all of Tuwa on their side, and Mistress Kana would be sending aid to them. With a queen as powerful as a guardian and a goddess who was more powerful than most of the Elementals, they could simply not lose the battle.

  CHAPTER 14

  Preparation

  Lord Diikker watched his former pupil leave with the army and felt a sense of immense pride come over him. He could clearly teach the sorceress nothing more as she marched toward her destiny. Now that she had gone, it was left to him to protect Tiranidrol from invasion, recapture Alanderas, and to deal with the giants. Queen Kishi may not approve of how he was going to accomplish these tasks, but she would be pleased with the end result. He felt that the experiences that Kishi was going to have while fighting the people of Nairi would help her understand his dark wisdom and cruel tactics. There is no such thing as a nice or polite war. She will understand this soon and will do what is required to capture those cursed canyon lands.

  He turned to face Commander Harley and saw the look of utter amazement on his face. It was clear that he had no idea that Kishi was so powerful. Even though he had an astonished look on his face, Diikker could tell that he was feeling even more confident about his task ahead of him. It was unsettling to be standing under the hot sun looking at Mount Quang engulfed in black rain clouds. Loud echoing booms continued to rock the neighboring mountain while flashes of lightning lit up the blackened sky. Noises that accompany utter chaos were carried on the wind from Alanderas to Mount Konane. The residents of Tiranidrol cheered at the apparent misery of General Yukio's army.

  "Commander Harley, do you have your team selected for the retaking of Alanderas?" Dukker asked. He smiled at the look that the commander gave him. Apparently he had not noticed Lord Aellenas standing there.

  "My lord," Harley said with a bow. "I did not see you there. I … I do have a group selected to go with me. When shall we attack?" It is unnerving how Dukker can appear out of nowhere.

  "That will not be for three more days. In the meantime, I want you to call another meeting of the captains. We need to select someone who will lead the home guard of Tiranidrol. You will be in charge of the guard at Alanderas, so we will need someone to take over in your absence," explained Aellenas.

  "I thought that you were in charge here; has that changed?" queried the commander. He was puzzled by what the warlock was saying. Is he leaving us?

  "No, I am not leaving you, Commander-not for good, that is. I do have a couple of special missions of my own to carry out. I will explain what I will be doing in our meeting. Now, will you go and call the captains together? We need to get our plans firmed up so that we are all on the same page. Gather the captains and meet me in the council chambers within the hour," Dukker said sternly. He had a dark, determined look on his face as he finished speaking. It was clear to the commander that Lord Dukker meant business and that it was time to get on with things. Harley bowed quickly and departed. Lord Dukker smiled darkly as he watched the good commander running as he did the warlock's bidding.

  He turned around to watch the atmospheric assault on Alanderas and laughed softly. You may escape the mountain, dear Yukio, but you will not survive what Kishi has in store for you and your army! He continued to laugh louder as he thought of the destruction awaiting their canyon neighbors. His revelry was cut short by the appearance of a mysterious creature that was walking resolutely toward him. Lord Dukker knew at once that Kana had arrived to give him some further instructions before his meeting.

  "Mistress Kana… " Diikker said with only a slight bow. "To what do I owe this distinct pleasure?" He respected the powerful guardian, but he was not afraid of her. He knew that he could hold his own against her in combat and that he could block her mental intrusions. This gave him equal footing when dealing with the temperamental guardian.

  "What? You cannot read my thoughts, Dukker?" she said with great sarcasm.

  "Let us not play games, Kana; time is against us," said Aellenas sharply.

  "You are right. Time is something we are both running out of. That is precisely why I am here," she replied pointedly. "You do not have time to garner support from the other races, so I will do that for you."

  "So, who will you recruit to our noble cause?"

  "I will get the ores and goblins to help us. I will also obtain the support of the most deadly creatures in all of Tuwa. I will send a certain number of ores to assist Kishi in her assault on Nairi while the rest focus on the dwarves and, more importantly, the elves."

  "What of the giants? What shall we do about them? Do you want me to track them all down, or just the curious bunch near Mount Quang?" I am not at all surprised by her choice of allies. Hopefully this decision does not come back to haunt us.

  "Kill the oafs nearest Alanderas after you extract any relevant information from them. The giants are so divided that they will never unite let alone ally with any other race that might oppose us. Our concern will be the kingdoms of men and dwarves. I believe that the latter will prove more difficult to deal with than the former."

  "After I take care of the curious giants, what then?"

  "After you have dealt with the brutes, your good Commander Tenanden will have already taken Alanderas back from Yukio without a single casualty. At that point, I want you to build up a small army from the home guards of Alanderas and Tiranidrol. Supple ment the ranks with the seed of your spider, Razi. Prepare for an attack on the elves; as you move in from the north, the ores will be attacking from the south." She had a wicked look on her face as she outlined her plans. She had been looking forward to this moment for a long time.

  "Will you send any of the beasts to help Queen Kishi?"

  "I have already sent her Rolon to be her steed. He will aid her plenty in their battle with the armies of Nairi."

  "So, the wolves will be one of our allies; that is excellent. How will we communicate between the different armies?" He knew that having the most infamous wolf aiding Kishi was more than he could possibly ask for, but if they could not effectively relay messages to one another, they would be finished.

  "The ravens will carry the messages between the armies. The bats will relay messages to me, and I will use them to carry instructions to you. They will also act as nighttime spies and saboteurs. I will alter the bats to have poison so potent that even the druids will not be able to heal an infected person."

  "I have only one concern about the plan so far, and it has to do with our non-bestial allies. I do not believe that ores and goblins will be able to uproot the stubborn dwarves. What do we do when that happens?"

  "Do not worry about that. I have already garnered the support of the powerful rock trolls. They will supplement the armies of goblins. The ores have grown powerful over the years and are a much greater threat than anyone realizes. I will be able to properly motivate them so that they will be equal to the tasks ahead of them. Their siege weapons and tactics are far superior to anything that the elves, men, or dwarves have.
Even the dwarven strongholds will not be able to stand against the might of the ores."

  "Will you fight alongside us? I believe that your presence periodically would bolster our armies' courage and strengthen their resolve." He wanted to find out exactly how involved Kana was going to be. He felt that if she did not openly participate in their cause that it would be lost. She could not keep her intentions secret forever, and sharing them with those fighting for her would inspire them to greater heights.

  "Look to the skies when you begin your siege of the Black Forest. I will be there. I will bring justice down upon the elves for their prolonged piety and shortsighted ways." She smiled with great satisfaction as she said this. She did not care one bit for the elves, and she would make that clear in a major way when the time was right.

  "Then it is settled. I will go and deal with our dim-witted friends while you create an axis of allies for us. Once everything is in place on our end, we will prepare for our attack on the elves. Send us a message when the ores are ready. We will attack simultaneously to catch them off guard." Aellenas was looking forward to using his powers openly for a change. He would show the elves what using magic was all about.

  Kana nodded her agreement and vanished before his eyes. Aellenas stood for a moment longer watching the black clouds swarm the mountainside of Mount Quang. He thought about what he had discussed with the Elemental and felt reassured about the course of action he was taking. Her plan made sense and provided him with several opportunities to use his power the way he had always wanted to. After all, what good was it to have magic and not use it? Those who have the power should use it to gain more and to control those who are weak. That is the nature of the mystical force; it controls those too weak to possess or embrace its true power. He noticed that he had been standing in the open square for much longer than he had intended when he saw Commander Tenanden heading toward the council chambers with a company of captains.