The king of the Solestian Hegemony sat on his throne, he was an unhappy man. His son’s fiancé was stirring up trouble again. Agemendon looked to his right side where High Priest Callum stood. He had known and worked with Callum for nigh six decades and he considered him trustworthy in all matters holy and magical. Callum caught his glance and descended from the steps leading up to the throne.

“Can you explain to me, augur, why you feel the need to bring up your vision before the court over and over again?” The priest asked. “Because the threat is real! I’ve seen it.” Lyra said, frustration and anger resounding through her voice. “And this court has told you repeatedly that steps were being taken. Now, the king is a busy man, he has no time to address the same issues repeatedly. Please, lady Lyra, do not return a fifth time, unless your gifts have provided you with additional information regarding this matter. You are dismissed.”

Lyra bit her lower lip, repressing frustration. Didn’t they know how serious this situation was? She had seen the soldiers, the endless sea of armours ready to drown the countryside in an endless black tide. She shivered as she remembered the monster that had used magic of such a malign nature that no matter how many baths she took she would never feel clean again. She wanted to shout, curse them all out for old fools, but these were still the king and the high priest. So, instead she bowed and took her leave. She was awaited by Arterious, who had been leaning against a pillar, hand clutched around the pommel of his sword.

“Thanks for the support.” She hissed. He fell in line behind her, his face stern and serious. “Knowing my father he is planning something.” He tried to reassure her. “Whatever it is he isn’t doing it fast enough. You can bet that those demons aren’t sitting around either.” She bit back. “Have you tried flying North again?” The question made her uneasy. The truth of the matter was that she was afraid. Afraid of being captured again, but also of what she might find. “No, I haven’t.” She said quietly.

Noticing her shift in mood the prince put his hand on her lower back. His presence comforted her, even when he wasn’t necessarily taking her side. “Maybe you should. My father might be convinced if you gave him more details about what is happening up North. He’s always been one for pre-emptive strikes.” Lyra was uncertain. It wasn’t a feeling she was used to. “I will watch over you the entire time. If something tries to come through I will make sure it neither sees nor hears.” She looked up at him, a self-confident smile on his face. “Okay.”

Ɏ

Lazar sat on his taukar, staring at the sea, the western forest at his back. No ice. Golden flecks danced through his eyes. “Her majesty will require a new navy.” He said to one of his lieutenant generals. “If you would allow me, General, I could perform a general survey to ascertain what kinds of ships would be best suited to sail this sea.” Lazar looked up. “Can you give me an estimation of the kinds of resources this would require?” The lieutenant general, turned to look at the sea, his gaze calculating. “Two months, two hundred engineers, seventy taukars and the rations to feed them.” Lazar shook his head. “You can have fifty engineers, three months, a hundred taukars and a thousand regulars. Will that suffice.”

The other man nodded. “I will have to give the engineers more freedom than is strictly allowed according to regulations, but if you make it a direct order I’m sure no one will object, sir.” Lazar gave an affirmative nod. “Get it done lieutenant general, I will be looking forward to your report.” He turned his taukar around and lightly kicked the animal in its sides. Things were progressing exactly as his nephew had predicted. Soon, Benroy would make his bid for the viceroyalty, which was going to be interesting. “Send word to the field marshal, we have reached the sea and found no opposition. The crown lands can now be established.” A messenger sped past him, quickly leaving the other soldiers behind.

It was shaping up to be a beautiful day.

Ɏ

Lyra flew North again. Her body was asleep, her mind however was wide awake. This was her power, her magic. She could see and hear things others couldn’t, borrowing the forms of animals as she did. Always she was guided by the dream, bringing her to the places that threatened her and those she loved. She wasn’t heading for the mountain chain she had flown over last time. The dream was pushing her west instead, towards Shiburn Forest.

The wind was favourable, easing the stain on her wings. Soon she saw the elven forest appear in the distance. Three large pillars of smoke were rising from it, which made her uneasy. She increased her speed. As she neared the origin of the pillars of smoke she saw a sight which deeply disturbed her. The smoke originated from several large pyres. The pyres largely constituted out of bodies. Upon closer examination they were all elven bodies. Impossible. She wanted to say, but in her crow form it just came out as a slightly upset caw.

None took notice as she flew through what had been an elven village. She had never seen one from up close. Whenever she had flown too close to one of the villages before she had been shot out of the sky. Elven marksmanship was no laughing matter. The village wasn’t anything like she had ever seen. For one, it wasn’t built, but grown. Even so, it wasn’t primitive, there was artistry to its design and the decorations were fit those of a palace. She didn’t doubt that it would look beautiful in the summer months.

She landed on a branch, waiting for something to happen. Beneath her the village was a hub of activity. The demons walked around without a care. The mood seemed to be cheerful. The dream urged her to be patient, the thing she needed to see was on its way. Movement beneath her called her attention. Two of the demons were different from the others. There were large plumes sticking out of their helmets. They were talking about something and one of them was quite upset.

If only she could understand what they were saying. The memory of a bloody hand crushing her to death rose unbidden, the words that had been spoken by the demon mage. Words that she had understood. It was like a switch was flicked in her mind. Suddenly the words the demons were saying were making sense. Or rather it was like she could hear the words they were saying before they spoke them.

“General, the assimilation act doesn’t allow for survivors.” One of the plume helmed demons said. “Lieutenant General, I didn’t come all the way to another world to slaughter children. They can be re-educated. Don’t worry Lieutenant General if somebody takes the fall for this it will be me.” The general dismissed the other man, remaining alone in the centre of the village. He was silent, but she could still hear him speak. It was strange, unpleasant even. It was like she was looking at a thousand boxes all at once. His thoughts were meticulously organized. As if he opened different boxes and retrieved the information he needed from there.

She saw how the plan formed in his head, piecing information together. She saw everything, what he was going to hide from a man he thought of as the field marshal, the lies he was going to tell, the rules he was going to break, everything. Briefly she saw memories flash by, battlefields with thousands of corpses, all demons. There were emotions too, pain, anger and a deep sadness fuelled by loss. Instantly she understood what the dream was trying to tell her.

She sat up in the bed she had been lying on. “The creatures fighting us aren’t a unified group. They can be poised against each other. They fought wars against each other not too long ago. We might be able to spark that old hatred once again.” Arterious just stared at her. “What?” He shook his head. “Nothing, never mind. What is the next step?” She thought for a few seconds.

“I don’t know. But we need to do something, because they’ve already taken Shiburn Forest and they’re going to come for us next.”

Ɏ

Agemendon and Callum walked through the hallways of the palace. “Your future daughter is quite tenacious.” Callum said. “She is. A resourceful woman, my son will be in good hands when I’m gone.” The king had a distant look in his eyes. “I trust her abilities, she’s probably right about the army.” Callum gave his old friend a sideways glance. “If that is the case than our problems are multiplying. We can’t fight the kind of numbers she’s described. Not with the Merovians at our backs and the khanates waiting for a chance to tear our countryside apart.”

The conversation fell silent as the two men continued walking. “I’m reaching out to our allies overseas. They aren’t willing to act on intelligence alone.” Callum gave him an incredulous look. “They aren’t willing? What kind of nonsense is this? When we call for them they come, just like we came when the barbarians were at their gates and their ports aflame!” Agemendon shrugged. “They won’t come until they’ve confirmed the threat. They’re sending an inquisitor.” A shadow fell over Callum’s face. “By then it might be too late. By the time their armies get here we will be overrun!” The king nodded.

“There is nothing we can do about it now, if the inquisition doesn’t turn up favourable results we are doomed.” The king quickened his steps. “There is another path we could walk.” Callum looked up in alarm. “You can’t possibly mean. No, Agemendon, I forbid it. We will not pay the tribute.” The king suddenly halted. “You forbid it? You forget your place high priest.” Callum frowned. “We made that decision years ago. When the Merovians came knocking with their bollocks tributes and their threats. We decided where they could shove that offer.”

Agemendon’s angry gaze softened. “I know Callum, trust me I know. But if the threat is as grave as my daughter has pointed out we might need the protection the empire offers.” Callum shook his head. “The price is too great. Let us at least try to combat the enemy first. We can always consider it is a final option.” The king shook his head. “We need to negotiate with the Merovians from a position of strength. If we’re losing the war they will just take everything.” Callum’s right hand twitched, a nervous tick that had remained after the injury to his hand had healed. “My liege, please let me explore other options first. The church may yet provide a way out of this situation.” The king was silent for a minute, lost in thought

“I owe it to the country to let you try. Be swift my old friend or I will do as I must.”

Ɏ

“Scout Jared report.” Amon was sitting behind his desk. “The son of the leader is learning our language rapidly. I have gotten to know him, given some more time he might be of service to the empire.” Amon tilted his head. “The fact that he can learn our language in a short amount of time gives me hope that we might educate all of them. Proceed to educate the boy in the ways of civilisation. He might serve as an example for his fellows. You have your orders, dismissed.”

Jared saluted and turned to leave the yurt. Outside he almost ran into Captain Sada. “Scout Jared wasn’t it?” Jared saluted. “Yes captain.” She nodded. “Keep up the good work scout and rewards will come in due time.” Jared gave her a stern nod. “That would be appreciated captain.” Without further comment Captain Sada entered the yurt.

As his captain disappeared Jared let out a relieved sigh. It was never a good thing to run into too many superiors in a short amount of time. Already, his orders were outside the scope of regulated assignments. He was an explorer, not a teacher. Not that he really minded, he had come to like his ward. Thomas made a proper salute when he saw Jared, who returned the gesture. “Scout Jared.” Thomas said in his strange accent. “Civilian Thomas.” Jared responded in kind. “I think today is a nice day for a ride.”

They dropped formalities shortly after. “You look awfully chipper.” Jared said. “I’m getting married.” His ward said with a large grin on his face. “Ah your lady said yes. Good for you, she will strengthen your bloodline through the sharing of your assets.” Thomas raised his eyebrows. “It is not about that. I love her.” Jared nodded. “These things are not mutually exclusive. It is good that you love her, but it is also good that she improves your bloodline.” Thomas had nothing to say to that, so he kept his mouth shut.

Together they walked through the camp towards the area where the taukars were stabled. “Have you ever ridden before?” Jared asked. “On horses, but not anything else.” Jared tilted his head. “The large four legged creatures? You ride those? They are quite wild, nothing like a taukar.” Thomas nodded and Jared made a mental note to inform lieutenant Amon, who would definitely be interested in such things. “Now, the thing you need to know about taukars is that they are lazy creatures. Left undisturbed they will sleep up to nineteen hours a day. The biggest challenge about riding them is not letting them fall into their preferred routine.”

Thomas looked at the strange bipedal creatures which we standing docilly in their allotted space. “But they are fast?” Jared nodded. “They have to be able to run from the predators of my homeland. Believe me, you don’t want to get caught by one of those.” Together they saddled two of the taukars, Jared giving precise instructions. “Al right, let’s go.” Jared said as he straddled the taukar. Thomas looked at his creature with suspicion. “I’m quite sure you will enjoy it.”

Ten minutes later they were moving at a quick pace through the snow. “You weren’t kidding, these things are fast.” Thomas shouted over the roaring wind. Jared had been right he was enjoying it. Riding was surprisingly easy, similar to a horse, but different. It was like he knew instinctively what to do. They halted and Jared grinned an unsettling pointy teethed smile at him. “I’m glad you’re enjoying yourself. We will be doing a lot more riding and I was thinking about teaching you how to use one of these.” He tossed something to Thomas, which the latter caught. In his hands he held a sword, safely secured in its sheath. He withdrew it, holding the blade in the sunlight. A boyish grin appeared on his face.

“Oh, I’m really looking forwards to this.”